“Listen to me,” he said, struggling against the gloom that threatened to consume him. “We do not know any of this for certain. You said that Lance brought you the cross?”
She nodded, wiping at her nose. “He did,” she said. “That is why he was in the tent, Essien. He must have seen you leave, because he came in right after you were gone. I told him to leave, but he did not. I hope you know that I would never do anything to shame you or hurt you. And you certainly know how I feel about Lance, so there is no love lost there. I promise you, there was nothing clandestine about his appearance.”
He nodded, kissing her forehead and pulling her into a gentle embrace. “I know,” he said, though he’d felt guilty for even entertaining such a thing. “I should not have sounded as if I did not trust you, for I do. But we have a problem to solve.”
“We do.”
His brow furrowed thoughtfully. “It seems we must start with Lance,” he said. “He had contact with this man, so we must find the man and straighten this out. It could be anything, Catalina. Mayhap the man merely found the cross and made up a story. Mayhap he knew Alfred and is trying to assume his position. You must not believe the worst. Not when I know you and I are so strong together. Wewillbe strong together. We must have faith.”
The simple words of encouragement bolstered her. His strength gave her strength, but it didn’t chase away the fear. “It will be a simple thing, truly,” she said hoarsely. “I will know if it is Alfred the moment I see him. Either it is him or it is not. There will be no question.”
“Then you must see him.”
“I must.”
That was the crux of the situation—she had to see the man who had brought the cross, and Essien was starting to feel sick again. He was trying to stay positive, but it was difficult.
“If itisAlfred, then understand something,” he murmured. “He was gone for more than two years. You were informed of his death. I realize that the law allows for seven years until a missing person is declared legally dead, but you had it on good authority, from his brother, that hewasdead. You and I were married because you believed that you were a widow. I will fight this all the way to Rome, Catalina. You aremywife. Whether or not Alfred has returned is immaterial. He does not get to come back and throw your life into chaos. We have not touched the edge of heaven only to have it torn away from us.”
Catalina hugged him fiercely before finally looking him in the eye. “I am not entirely sure how the church will see this,” she said. “They may be sympathetic, but then again, if mydead husband is discovered alive, they may simply look at the marriage and not the circumstances.”
Essien knew that. God, he knew it. The fact that it had only been two years would work against them. He sighed faintly and let her go, gazing steadily into her eyes.
“Then I will ask you this,” he said, hardly able to bring the words forth. “If this man is, indeed, Alfred, what will you do? He is the Earl of Mercia now, not me. He has everything I thought was mine, including you. Will you go with him and assume your role at his side?”
Catalina looked up at him, into that handsome face. She could see the torment in his eyes and, truthfully, she had enough of her own. In her mind, and heart, there was only one answer to give.
“Nay,” she murmured. “I will not go with him. I have a little money. We can take the girls and flee to Scotland. Or to Ireland. Or anywhere you wish to go. Essien, it is true I did not want to marry you. We have established that. But now I cannot imagine my life without you. If it is possible for love to happen in just a few short days, then it has for me. I will hold you in my heart, and only you, from now until the last breath the world ever draws.”
He drew in a long, fortifying breath and reached out to grasp her hand, bringing it to his lips. He closed his eyes tightly as he kissed her flesh, sweetly.
“My love for you will endure,” he whispered. “When we become stars, we will be bound by time and space, to one another, for eternity. There is no life without you, Catalina. Whether or not this man is Alfred, it does not matter. You belong to me as I belong to you.”
She clasped his hand with her free hand and the two of them stood there a moment, foreheads touching, holding hands tightly. It was a powerful moment, one that elevated theirnew relationship to something bigger, better, and enduring. Sometimes love wasn’t readily obvious in a relationship. It could take months or years to develop. But sometimes, love recognized love at the onset. Old souls, perhaps, coming around again to find one another. Remembering the love of past lives, of past times. That was what had happened with Essien and Catalina.
Love recognized love.
“Mama!”
They were jolted from their thoughts by a familiar shout. They looked over, toward the long stable near the tournament field, to see both Adabella and Ines on a pony being led by Addax. It was a pretty blond pony and the girls were having a marvelous time. They waved at their mother. But Catalina took one look at her daughters and whimpered.
Essien heard her.
“Nay, my love,” he murmured. “Show no weakness in front of them. Children need for their parents to be strong in the face of a crisis. I watched my mother and father in the face of my father’s failing kingdom, and never did I feel afraid or lost because they were strong. We are strong.”
Catalina sucked in a deep breath, struggling for composure. “You are correct, of course,” she said. “We are strong.”
“Weare.”
With that, Catalina lifted her hand to her daughters. “That is a beautiful pony,” she called to them. “Are you enjoying him?”
The girls waved back, declaring their undying love for the animal. Catalina and Essien went over to meet them.
“His name is Algernon and he used to belong to Rebecca,” Addax said. “Now, he is growing fat for lack of use. The stable master said that you can probably have him just for the asking, so I leave that up to you to ask Hereford.”
Essien nodded, unable to reply at the moment, as Catalina went to the pony and scratched his nose.
“He’s beautiful,” she said. “How fortunate that Sir Addax found him for you. Did you thank him?”
