The Earl's Entanglement (Border Series Book 5)(9)

“There are others,” he said. “They should be arriving at any time.”

“The marshal sends his apologies, sir. ’Tis a groom’s naming day, and he gathered us all together to celebrate. We didn’t expect travelers so late. Not”—he rushed to continue—“that it is too late, of course. I’m glad to care for him and his companions.”

Garrick couldn’t decide what was making the boy more nervous, him or Bayard, but at least the lad had explained Eddard’s absence. The marshal cared for the boys who worked for him as if they were family.

Voices outside the stable announced the arrival of the other men. Garrick looked out through the open door to see they traveled with escorts from Kenshire. While his arrival had gone largely unnoticed thanks to his familiarity with the guards, his men had not been afforded such a boon. He turned back to take a final glance at Lady Emma. She nodded in parting, a quick, regal bow of the head.

Leaving Bayard to the boy who’d finally gained enough confidence to approach the enormous steed, Garrick joined his men as they dismounted and made their way across the expansive courtyard, now deserted for mealtime, toward Kenshire’s keep.

One night.

If she joined them for the meal, he’d have to endure the proximity of the woman for just one night. He was here to pay respects to Lady Sara, not to seduce one of her guests. Tomorrow, he’d best rise early and leave Kenshire, attempting to forget he’d ever met the undeniably exquisite Lady Emma.





5





Garrick, I’m pleased for you to meet my husband, Sir Geoffrey Waryn.”

Geoffrey was now the Earl of Kenshire, a position of equal ranking, so he and Sir Geoffrey nodded their heads in greeting. They stood just inside the entrance to the great hall.

“My apologies for not greeting you properly—”

“Nay, my lady. It is I who should apologize for arriving so late and just before the evening meal.”

Garrick watched as Sir Geoffrey gazed at his wife. Was he worthy of the good reputation that had reached Garrick’s ears? He was at least relieved to see a look of fierce love and admiration in the man’s eyes.

Knights and retainers moved past them and into the hall, but Sara seemed reluctant to do so just yet. She moved off to the side, and he and her husband followed.

“I’d prefer to speak with you before our conversation can be overheard,” she said.

Garrick inclined his head to direct three of his men, who moved past them and into the rapidly filling hall. With darkness came the need for candles, which lit both the passageway where they now stood and the great room, which he’d always thought of as one of the grandest in all of England.

“Gladly, my lady, as I wish to do the same.”

Having moved away from the entrance, Sara took his hands in hers, surprising both him and, Garrick suspected, her husband.

“’Tis so good to see you, my friend.”

He squeezed her hands. “And you, Sara.” He glanced at Geoffrey, but the man did not appear disturbed by their familiarity. Another mark in his favor. “My deepest condolences for the loss of your father. I’ve never had the pleasure of knowing a better man.”

“And I’m sorry to have to say the same. It seems this past year has not been kind to either one of us.”

They were silent for a moment, and then Garrick squeezed her hands once more before letting them go. “I came not only to offer my condolences, but to apologize for not having been here to help you. When I heard what happened—that bastard Randolf . . .”

“Garrick never did like Randolf,” Sara explained to her husband.

“Good,” Geoffrey said, looking at Garrick. An understanding passed between them—both men would lay down their lives to protect Sara.

“I’m glad you were here,” Garrick said to the new earl, nodding at him.

“As am I.”

When the earl looked at his wife again, Garrick relaxed.

Yes, there was to be no doubt—her husband loved her.

“I’m grateful for your visit,” Sara said, “but apologies are not necessary, Garrick. You were across an entire ocean fighting for Edward. There was nothing you could have done.”

“Fighting to right his father’s follies,” he said, hoping his voice did not betray him as a traitor. Although Sara knew he respected the man’s position, she likely remembered he had no love for Edward’s policies—and approved even less of his father’s. But this was neither the time nor the place for talk of politics.

Sara’s husband looked around them as if searching for one of the king’s spies.

“My husband can be overly suspicious,” she said by way of explanation.

Garrick followed his glance.

“Oh dear,” Sara said. “And I thought I’d have an ally when you arrived. It seems I’m to be overrun by the good intentions of overprotective men.”

“Sir Geoffrey—”

“Geoffrey.” He stuck his hand out to him, and Garrick shook it firmly. Aye, he liked this man with the same raven-black hair as . . .

“Oh!”

They all turned as the very woman who’d entered his thoughts nearly ran into him. She halted, breathing heavily as if she’d been running.

“I thought I was late,” she said, staring at him.