Page 35 of To Honor

His hand dropped. She looked up at him, suddenly wary of what he might say. What he was keeping from her. “Gareth?”

“When the mission is a success,” he said, “if your father does not find me worthy enough to take as your husband, I would ask for you to marry me anyway.”

“’Tis all?” She did not hide her relief. “Gareth, I would do so this very night.”

“Give up your home? Your title? ’Tis not such a simple thing.”

“And yet, it is the easiest decision I will have ever made. You said no man will have me, Gareth, but no woman will have you either.” The thought of it made Evie’s insides turn to and fro.

“By all that is holy, I am in love with you, Evelina.”

“And I you, Gareth.”

He kissed her then, a more tender one this time. Full of promise and hope and love. She would have it continue into the night, but this time, when he stopped, Evie knew it would be their last.

He confirmed her fear. “I must go.”

“You will be safe?”

If a shadow crossed his expression, he reined it in quickly. “I will,” he said, his voice confident. She almost believed him.

“Gareth?”

“I did not,” he said, leaning down to kiss her forehead, “find you just to lose you.”

“Is the mission a dangerous one?” she asked. Such a silly question. Evelina already knew the answer.

“You asked that I never lie to you, and I will not do so now. It is, but I have trained my whole life for it.”

A battle, then, as Gareth excelled on mounted horseback. She’d likely learn of it soon enough. Perhaps she did not wish to know.

“Come back to me,” she said, standing on the tiptoes of her slippered feet. Gareth met her halfway. Their kiss felt . . . final.

“Go,” he said. “I would watch you safely return to the manor before I take my leave.”

Unwilling to say any more, as if they would be parting for a final time, she turned and left.

And never looked back.

17

“You are the leader of this mission,” Fitzwilliam said. “It is for you to decide.”

Gareth stared at the besiegers. They’d been here for nearly a sennight observing, planning. It was time to act. The Guardians had never entered into open battle before. Thus far, they had hidden in the shadows, pulled strings from afar, aided in ways that Gareth and the others had only begun to understand.

Though he and the other instructors had wished for more time to train, the moment Lincoln Castle had been taken by Matilda’s allies, all knew they had to strike if Stephen laid siege.

As expected, he had done so almost immediately. It would take weeks to gather a small army to break such a siege, but the empress could not afford such a delay. Doing so would diminish the symbolic victory of having conquered such an important, and centrally located, fortress. If she were to declare herself queen and Stephen dethroned, now was the time to do it. But that could not happen, of course, if the castle was surrounded by the king’s men. Those allies that had gathered, the remainder of the Empress Matilda’s forces, which included both her husband and brother’s men, needed access to the castle if they were to crown their queen.

The Guardians would give them that access.

Gareth and Sir Adrian exchanged a glance. That he led this mission instead of Sir Adrian Fitzwilliam was a testament to Sir Eamon’s sway among the Guardians leadership. There was no more skilled man on horseback than Sir Adrian, and Gareth would utilize that fact.

From their vantage point, it was clear the thinnest line of Stephen’s men was just outside the postern gate.

“First, we ride to Darron Hill to spread word of our plan. If we are able to break through to the postern gate, timing will be crucial. We’ll need men from both inside and outside the castle walls to push back the others.”

Fitzwilliam grinned as if he were Gareth’s father, proud of his son’s assessment.