Dark Deceptions: A Regency and Medieval Collection of Dark Romances(217)

“I was banned from visiting Morton Castle for awhile,” he said, wanting off the subject of his wild youth. “But that was long ago and now I find you at Dunster. Why are you here?”

Emberley lifted her hand as if to embrace the entire structure. “I live here,” she replied. “You and my brother were in the Holy Land with Richard when I was betrothed to Julian de Moyon. Did you not hear of it?”

He shook his head. “I will confess, I did not,” he said, somewhat regretfully. “My focus was on sand and battles until… well, until Erik was killed. Then I returned home to more battles and more intrigue.”

Her smile faded, her dark blue eyes glimmering warmly at him. “I heard that you brought my brother home for burial,” she said softly. “I never had the chance to thank you. It meant a great deal to my parents.”

“Do they live still?”

She nodded. “Still,” she said quietly. “They live at Morton Castle and have never gotten over the death of my brother. The fact that I have sons has eased their grief somewhat.”

Gart gazed into her lovely eyes, the same color and shape as her brother’s had been. He realized he missed his best friend very much, someone he’d not thought of in almost eight years. It was a sobering realization.

“Erik was a great knight,” he said somberly. “He is missed.”

Emberley smiled in agreement, in sympathy, knowing that her brother and Gabriel Forbes had been best friends since childhood. In fact, she had practically grown up knowing Forbes, a man known as Gart because he didn’t like to be called Gabriel. To see him now brought her a great deal of emotional comfort in a life that knew little.

He was an enormous man, very tall, with a muscular body and long, muscular legs. He had sculpted cheekbones and a square jaw, and murky green eyes that were mysterious and intense. His hair, a dark shade of dark blond, had been practically shaved from his scalp but it did not detract from his virile male handsomeness. The man was powerfully and painfully handsome.

Truth be told, Emberley had always been fond of Gart. As a young girl, she would dream of marrying him. But those days were long gone, as were her dreams. As she thought on the faded days of her childhood, she glanced at her boys and realized they were covered in white powder. Her brow furrowed.

“Why are my children dusty white?” she pointed at them.

Gart tore his eyes off her to look at the boys. “These are your children?”

She nodded. “Romney is my eldest,” she smiled at the boy with pride. “He is an intelligent lad, sweet and loving. Orin is my middle son and Brendt is the youngest. Boys, why are you covered in white powder?”

She addressed her sons, who had a complete change of demeanor since her arrival and were now innocent little angels.

“We were playing, Mama,” Orin insisted. “We were ghosts.”

Emberley’s delicate eyebrows lifted. “Ghosts? Why on earth are you ghosts?”

Romney took charge of the conversation before Orin blew their cover. “Because,” he said simply, hoping that would be enough to satisfy his mother. “Mama, can we eat in the hall tonight? I want to see all of the knights!”

Emberley shook her head. “Nay,” she told him. “You must eat in your chamber. Your father has business to attend to and does not want you underfoot.” She looked at Gart. “Am I to understand that you have met my sons already?”

Gart wasn’t sure how to answer. He looked at the boys, who all gazed back at him quite innocently. He didn’t believe it for a moment. In fact, he was resisting the urge to scowl at them with disbelief.

“Aye,” he said slowly, reluctantly. “I have just arrived and the boys were… that is to say, they were….”

“Mama,” Romney latched on to his mother’s arm. “We were going to show Sir Gart to the hall. May we do that, Mama? May we, please?”

“Of course, sweetheart,” Emberley smiled at her eldest. “That is quite gracious of you.”

Gart eyed the boys suspiciously as the youngest one reached out and took his big hand. “We will show you, Sir Gart,” he said politely. “Come with us.”

Gart didn’t want to pull away from the child because he didn’t want to offend Emberley. He stood there dumbly as the boy took his hand and Emberley smiled happily.

“’Tis so good to see you again, Gart,” she said sincerely, her dark blue gaze drifting over his handsome features. “It has been a very long time. Much has happened since you and I last saw one another. I would like to know what you have been doing in the twelve years since I last saw you.”

Gart could only nod. Realizing she was the baron’s wife dampened his enthusiasm at their re-acquaintance and he was coming to think that he had been very, very stupid as a young man not to have realized her potential. True, she’d always been a lovely girl, but had he known she would have grown into such an exquisite creature, he might have vied for her hand. But that thought was tempered by the fact that she had apparently raised three hooligans who had her completely fooled. The woman was raising a pack of wild animals.

Emberley smiled at him and beckoned him to follow her back up the stairs. He did so willingly, gladly, but the moment she turned her back on the boys and headed up the stairs, the youngest one yanked his hand from Gart’s fist and began smacking him on the leg.