Chapter Sixteen #2
“This has gone beyond money,” Caius said, trying to be gentle with her.
“The possibility of diamonds or riches on your lands is only part of it. They want the property itself and you are the key. Covington and Marius are two greedy, ambitious men and they have made a grab for the nearest valuable property – yours. The only thing you could offer them now that they would take is yourself, and they would only view you as a possession and nothing more.”
She dabbed at her eyes. “I am not going to offer myself to them,” she said. “What about hiring an army? Did you speak to Sir Maxton about it?”
“I did speak to Maxton,” he said, avoiding the question for the most part.
“I have known him for many years. He is wise beyond measure and has the ability to see a situation for what it truly is. He made a valid point – the only way to truly rid yourself of Marius once and for all is to marry someone who has a bigger army than he has.”
She stopped weeping, looking up at him in bewilderment. “Marry someone with a bigger army?” she said. “But I do not know anyone with a bigger army. I do not know anyone at all.”
“Aye, you do.”
“Who?”
“Me.”
She opened her mouth to reply but ended up choking on her words. She coughed so hard that, for a moment, she couldn’t speak. She had her hands over her mouth as she sputtered, finally looking at him with such an astonished expression that he almost started laughing. He’d never seen such shock.
“You?” she finally gasped. “But… I cannot marry you!”
“Why not?”
She blinked, her mouth open, as if dismayed by the very question. “Because… because you are a great knight,” she said. “You said yourself that men call you The Britannia Viper. I am no one of note. I only have a broken-down fortress to my name. I have nothing, Caius. I am a pauper.”
“You have The Roden Twins,” he said, trying to bring some levity into the situation.
But Emelisse saw absolutely no reason for humor whatsoever. “Aye, I do,” she said. “I will give them to you to buy your services, but I will not give you myself to buy those services. What on earth would you do with a wife like me?”
He smiled faintly. “Protect her,” he said. “Cherish her, laugh with her, and be happy with her. God willing, more than that.”
Her shock faded as the reality of what he was saying settled in. She could see that he was absolutely serious. But all she could seem to do was stare at him as if he had just suggested they fly to the moon.
“More than that?” she repeated. “What more?”
He shrugged, averting his gaze for the first time. “I am not a man prone to speak on my feelings or my dreams,” he said. “This does not come easily for me.”
“Nor me,” Emelisse said quickly, as if this whole thing were utterly ridiculous yet utterly fascinating. “But if you have something to say to me, I wish you would say it.”
“I have,” he said. “I have said more than I am comfortable saying.”
It was true. He appeared almost embarrassed. Emelisse watched him closely, for any signs that he had either lost his mind or that this was some great joke. But she saw no suggestion of either, which caused her to swallow her shock. Was he actually serious? Only one question came to mind.
“But… why? Caius, why would you offer marriage?”
He took a deep breath. “Why not?”
“Because once we are married, we are married for life,” she pointed out. “I am not a whim. I am not something to quickly take part of and then abandon. And if you think this will deter me from remaining here in the keep with the Hawkstone soldiers, you are mistaken. This will not deter me.”
He shook his head. “When I marry you, you will not have to remain in the keep with the soldiers,” he said.
“Emelisse, this is not to deter you from standing with your father and brother. This is to help you in that quest. Now, I will be involved, as your husband, and Hawkstone will belong to me. If de Wrenville thinks to take it from us, I will beat him into the ground and there will be nothing left of him or of Winterhold. I have more allies, and more resources, than he could possibly imagine.”
God, that sounded good to her. So very good.
But she couldn’t marry a man simply because he promised her a big army and protection.
That would not have been fair to him. But with Caius…
she was coming to appreciate him as an honorable man more and more.
Truth be told, she would have taken him without the promise of a big army.
But there was still so much to consider.
“So, we marry and Hawkstone is finally safe,” she said. “But at what price for us both? I will be your wife, the mother of your children. You may find me unbearable in years to come and then what? We will hate one another and regret acting on impulse.”
He looked at her, then. “That is a risk with any marriage,” he said. “But I do not think that will happen to us.”
“Why?”
“Because, believe it or not, I am not a man who acts on a whim,” he said.
“But if I must, I trust my instincts, and they tell me that I could not find a better wife anywhere in the world. Believe me, I have been many places and I have seen all manner of women. I have even had a few of my own, but no one I would consider marrying until I met you.”
Emelisse continued to stare at him, processing what he was telling her. “It is pity,” she finally said. “You are only offering out of pity.”
“I do not do anything out of pity.”
“But I am not your problem!”
He looked at her. “You became my problem when I prevented you from killing yourself,” he said somewhat forcefully.
“Therefore, you not only owe me a debt of gratitude, but you owe me your very life. I spent last night listening to you beg me to help you. Don’t you understand?
We are in this together now, you and I, and I will kill Marius de Wrenville before I would stand aside and watch him marry you.
The man is not worthy of the strength and honor I have seen from a woman who has been beaten into the ground, yet still, she fights back.
Still, she maintains her honor. It is depth I have never seen from a woman before and probably never will again.
Such a woman would be a magnificent wife. I would be honored to have her.”
His words seemed to drain all of the confusion out of her. She went from frowning at him to very nearly smiling. Something warm was taking over her face.
“For a man who does not speak easily of his feelings, that was brilliantly done,” she said. “All I would bring into this marriage is two big diamonds and a devastated fortress. You understand that.”
“And a magical mountain,” he reminded her softly, his black eyes twinkling. “Do not forget about Hawk Mountain.”
Her smile broke through. “Of course,” she said. “How could I ever forget. You said once that you should like to see it. I would be honored to show you, someday.”
“And I would love to see it, but not now,” he said.
“Now, I am trying to convince a woman to marry me and she has not yet answered. I wish there was more time to discuss this, and for us both to think on it, but there is not. Marius will be on your doorstep tomorrow, so you must give me an answer. Lady Emelisse, I would be honored if you would consider becoming my wife.”
It was not only the sweetest proposal she had ever received, but the only one. Yet, when an offer was that sweet and that gentle, she only needed one.
She knew what her answer would be.
Foolish or not, impulsive or not, there was only one.
“Aye,” she said after a moment. “I am agreeable.”
Caius grinned, that charmingly crooked grin with slightly crooked teeth.
It was infectious and alluring, a smile that many a maiden had swooned at.
Emelisse had never seen him smile like that, so she had no idea how captivating it was.
It made her heart jump simply to see it, like nothing she had ever known.
“Good,” he said. “I am glad to see you are a woman not only of reason, but of taste.”
She smiled because he was, feeling something giddy and hopeful blossoming in her belly. It made her entire body quiver.
“You honor me,” she said. “But I hope… I hope this will not cause you too much trouble. If you marry me, Marius cannot, and you will be the target of his anger. His father will complain to The Marshal.”
He waved her off. “I would tell them to do their worst,” he said. “They cannot touch me, in any fashion. But you and I must find a priest immediately. Do you know one locally?”
She nodded. “In Whitchurch,” she said. “It is just a few miles north. We can make it within the hour if we hurry.”
Caius rose to his feet. He extended a hand to Emelisse, who placed her small palm in his. Carefully, he pulled her to her feet, but he didn’t let go of her hand. His gaze drifted over her, studying her big eyes, her beautiful hair.
All of her.
“You know,” he said slowly, “when I first saw you, I could not take my eyes from you. You were the loveliest creature I had ever seen.”
She rolled her eyes. “How can you say that?” she said. “I was wearing a gown that was too large for me, my hair was in disarray… I looked as if I had been dragged through the streets because I very nearly had.”
With his free hand, he tipped her chin up so she was looking at him. He was so much taller than she was that she barely came to his sternum. For a moment, he simply looked at her, absorbing her, memorizing her, seeing the face he was going to wake up next to every day for the rest of his life.
He was not displeased.
“You were lovely,” he murmured. “You are lovely. More than lovely; you are beautiful. And I will lay down my life a thousand times over to make sure you are always safe and always happy. As your husband, I will make you that promise.”
A smile spread across her face. “Those are the most wonderful words I have ever heard,” she whispered. “I can only thank you profusely and promise you that you shall always have my faith, my focus, and my loyalty.”