Chapter Six
“God’s Bones, he’s back.”
Those were Gar’s softly uttered words as Winchester ran straight for him. Since he was wearing the only pair of breeches he had, even if they were something a pauper would wear, he still didn’t want to surrender them to that wild dog who seemed to have a vendetta against him.
Gar was in Hensingham’s lovely garden, which was a mix of flowers, a pond with fish in it, and, along the western wall, an array of vegetables.
There were servants on that end of the garden and he quickly headed in that direction when the dog, accompanied by a young woman, charged through the gate at him.
He made it over to the servants just in time to weave among them, walk around them, and otherwise try to keep Winchester off his tail.
But Winchester was determined to get his pound of flesh and Gar was forced to yank a branch off an apple tree, using it to keep the dog away from him.
He didn’t want to hurt the beast, but he also didn’t want to be injured, so he ended up using one of the male servants as a shield, pushing the dog away with the branch.
“Winchester!”
Someone was screaming at the dog and it wasn’t the young woman who had accompanied him.
That young woman seemed terrified by what was happening and offered no help.
Gar looked toward the sounds of the shouting at the garden entrance to see Mattie standing there, shrieking angrily at her dog.
But Winchester wasn’t apt to listen. He kept growling and barking at Gar, trying to take a bite out of him, as Gar and the frightened servant kept the dog at bay.
“Winnie, you are a menace,” Mattie said as she ran up and grabbed the dog around the neck. She was dragging him back when she caught sight of Agnes cowering near the garden wall. “Agnes! Come and get the dog!”
Agnes ran to her but was clearly frightened by the snarling dog. “Why is he doing this?” she said fearfully. “I have never seen him do this!”
Mattie picked the dog up, which was no mean feat considering he was probably half her weight, and thrust him at Agnes.
“Take him out,” she said in a tone that sounded much like a command. “Make sure he cannot get back in here!”
Agnes couldn’t quite carry the dog, so she put her arms around his body, under his front legs, and half dragged, half walked the dog out of the garden.
Mattie followed, making sure to shut the gate once they were out.
She stood there a moment, peering through the iron grate to make sure Agnes and the dog were well away, before brushing off her hands and turning back in Gar’s direction.
By that time, Gar had released the frightened servant and tossed the branch away, making his way toward Mattie. It was a wide garden, so they had their focus on one another as they closed the gap, weaving around the flower beds.
It was Gar who spoke first.
“Thank you for saving me from that vicious beast,” he said. “I do not know why he does not like me, but clearly, I must have wronged him at some point in my life.”
Mattie shook her head. “He has his heart set on vengeance when it comes to you,” she said. “They say that dogs know people better than people do. Mayhap he knows that there has been unkindness between us and he is trying to protect me.”
Gar’s manner grew subdued. “Any unkindness has been my fault,” he said. “My lady, thank you for coming to speak with me. I must ask your forgiveness for any offense I caused. That has never been my intention.”
“What was your intention?”
She was giving him the chance to explain and Gar took it gratefully, even if it was to save his career, his future.
He’d never been in a position like this in his life, but here he was, making the attempt to convince this woman that a marriage between them needed to go forward.
Gar was great in negotiations with the Scots, dealing with men on their level, but this was different.
Now, he was dealing with a woman and completely out of his depth.
She’d accused him of being manipulative before.
Now, it was the truth.
He needed her.
“I am not entirely sure what my intention was, but it wasn’t hurting the feelings of a woman I do not know,” he said.
“The truth is that I have known about his marriage for ten years, as have you. But my focus has been on my vocation. It has been my entire life. When I assumed command of Gleann na Fola, it was a great achievement for me. The Scots… There is a deep-seated hatred there and it is my duty to protect England, and my family, from that hatred. That is all I’ve thought about.
When I told you that my home is a cold and brutal thing, that was the truth.
No one has told you just how cold and isolated and brutal it is, have they? ”
Mattie regarded him, her eyes glittering as she did so. “Nay,” she said. “No one has used those words.”
He lifted his eyebrows. “I think that your father, and my father, want this marriage to happen so badly that they refrain from telling you what it will really be like.”
Her gaze lingered on him a moment longer before she shrugged.
“I would be willing to believe that,” she said.
“My father has not told me anything. But you… It is clear you do not want this marriage. You told me about your castle, and where we will live, so that I would tell my father to break the betrothal. Be honest with me, Sir Gar. That is why you told me, isn’t it? ”
He couldn’t lie to her. “Aye.”
“Then I did what you intended. I asked to break it.”
Gar nodded faintly, averting his gaze as if thinking on what she said, on the situation as a whole. His gaze then drifted downward until it came to rest on his breeches. He immediately pointed to them.
“Thank you for these,” he said. “I am wearing them, as you can see. It was a very generous gift.”
Mattie looked at the breeches. “If nothing else, they will hold together until you can find a better pair,” she said. “They may not fit you well, but they are well made.”
“They fit me perfectly,” he said, rubbing his left thigh to prove it. “You are very talented.”
“They are only breeches. They were not difficult.”
“Even so, you have my thanks.”
“You are welcome.”
The conversation lagged a little until Gar caught sight of a stone bench in the corner of his eye. “Shall we sit?” he said. “I… I think we have a few things to discuss.”
Mattie went over to the bench, sitting down as he sat down a foot or so away from her.
The bench was on the edge of the fishpond and when the fish saw their shadows, they swam in their direction, looking for food.
Mattie pulled off the nearest flower and tossed it into the pond, watching the fish poke at it.
“Well?” she finally said. “What did you wish to discuss?”
That was a good question. Gar thought about it for a moment before replying.
“My father and your father are very angry with me right now,” he said.
“They did not want me to tell you the truth about Gleann na Fola, nor the living conditions. My father, in particular, is enraged at me and I do fear this incident will ruin my relationship with him.”
She looked at him seriously. “Why?”
Gar shrugged. “Because he knows I was not ready for this marriage,” he said.
“He knows I tried to discourage you. My lady, if I hurt your feelings or damaged your pride, know that I am genuinely sorry. To be honest, I did not know how you felt about this marriage. I did not know you’d been looking forward to it.
For all I knew, you were as reluctant as I, but I have since discovered that was not the case. ”
Mattie sighed faintly, looking off to the fish in the pond again. “Every young woman looks forward to their wedding,” she said. “I am no different.”
“Mayhap there is part of me that is having difficulty understanding why anyone would want to be married to me. I am not a prize.”
She looked at him again, brow furrowed. “Of course you are,” she said. “I told you that before. But if you do not want me, I cannot make you.”
“It is not that,” he said quickly. “I want to be clear about that. You are an astonishingly beautiful woman and you are clearly talented. You are far more of a prize than I am. I think that I would feel guilty being married to you.”
“Why?”
He lifted his big shoulders. “I suppose I explained it best earlier,” he said.
“You deserve a prince or an earl or a courtier. Not a warlord. Christ, how could I even protect you? Even as I sit here, I think about all of the things that could happen with raiding Scots or battles or the usual danger of the borders, and there you would be, bottled up in my castle as I tried to keep you safe from harm. I would be terrified every moment that someone was going to hurt you. Or that you would be in danger somehow. And I am not used to worrying about someone close to me.”
By this time, she was looking at him with big eyes because what he’d said didn’t sound like a man reluctant to marry. It sounded like the words of a protective husband already.
“That… that was quite a speech,” she said. “I’ve never had anyone I did not know worry for me so much. Are you truly afraid for me?”
He was unable to look at her. “I was thinking aloud,” he said. “Other than my mother and grandmother and female relatives, I’ve never really had a woman I had to worry about.”
“You’ve never courted anyone?”
He shook his head firmly. “You said something to me earlier that has stuck with me,” he said.
“You said you had been faithful to the betrothal. Faithful to me. I may be a mere warlord who knows nothing but battle, but the truth is that I do know contracts. I have been faithful to our contract, mainly because I did not wish to shame my family. Honor means a great deal to me. And you have been honorable to our betrothal, also. Please know that I respect you for that. I am grateful.”