Page 92 of The Bodyguard Who Came in from the Cold
Bolton leaned near and whispered, “We have some talking to do.”
When they stopped before Margery, her two brothers backed away and left Gareth standing there alone, beneath the frown of the king and the scandalized whispers of the court.
She smiled at him with a radiance that was breathtaking. Then she knelt down before him and bowed her head.
“My lord,” she murmured.
He stared down at her in shock. “Do not do this to yourself, Margery,” he whispered.
“But I love you,” she said in a clear voice that could be heard to the back of the hall.
Gareth didn’t know where to turn, whom to appeal to. The king’s frown was starting to fade, and the queen wiped a tear from her cheek. No help there. He would go to her brothers, tell them?—
What could he tell them? Margery had just proclaimed her choice before the entire land. She had destroyed her chances with any other man—all for him.
“You should not have done this,” he said with a shaky voice.
Margery took his hands in hers and pressed her lips to his knuckles. “You’re everything to me, Gareth. I want only you.”
He pulled her to her feet. He had to find a private place to talk some sense into her, to make her see that she’d be ruining the rest of her life.
She drew his head down and kissed him. He had never thought to feel her lips again, and for a moment he was caught up in the incredible magic of her kiss. From somewhere far away he heard cheers and applause. By the saints, what was he doing?
He gripped her shoulders and held her away. “We have to talk,” he said in an urgent voice.
King Henry raised his arms for silence. “Sir Gareth, what is your answer?”
There wasn’t a sound as Gareth swept his gaze over the crowd and saw Wallace grinning. This was all too overwhelming.
“Why are you doing this?” Gareth demanded of Margery, regardless of the waiting king.
“Because I love you and I can’t be happy with anyone else.”
“I have no land, no lineage that isn’t tainted.” Even his pride fled as he looked into her hopeful eyes.
She cupped his cheek. “I am not marrying your lineage. Do you not trust my feelings? I will not abandon you, as so many others have done. Do you love me?”
He closed his eyes. “Margery, please.”
“Do you love me?” she repeated.
“God help me—yes.”
With a glad cry, she threw her arms around him. “That is all I’ve ever wanted. We will make each other so happy!”
Gareth held Margery tight against him, amazed that he’d somehow won her love, despite his sins and his foolish mistakes. They would spend their days together, their nights in each other’s arms. And if God didn’t bless them with their own babes, they would find other children in need of a home. Margery had enough love for dozens of children.
“Silence!” The king’s voice echoed through the noisy hall. “Mistress Margery has not had her answer yet.”
Margery stepped away from him. Holding her hands, Gareth looked deep into her eyes, then dropped to his knees. He kissed her hands as she had done to him, then said in a loud voice, “I will take this woman as my bride, and I pledge that I will make myself worthy of her.”
King Henry sighed. “Very well. The queen tells me we’ll find some sort of title for you.”
Margery laughed and fell into Gareth’s arms, spreading kisses over his face as he stood up. “I knew it,” she whispered. “I knew you wouldn’t refuse me.”
“I couldn’t—especially after I found this.” From the pouch at his belt, he removed the crystal stone and held it up to the light. “I feared I’d lost it. You’d think it was the most precious jewel, the way my heart grieved for it.”
Margery closed her eyes and a tear escaped. She smiled and would have wiped it away, but he grasped her hands and leaned in to kiss her tears.
