Fragments of Grace (Prequel to the Dragonblade Trilogy) (16 page)

The gently flowing waters were
partially hidden by a grove of trees along the banks. Chloë moved down one of
the causeways carved in between the earthworks and the moat, hearing grass
moving behind her and glancing over her shoulder to see two soldiers following
her at a respectful distance.  She made a face, thinking she would like to be
without guard dogs on her walk.  She wondered if the men reported back to Keir
every little thing she did and said. She wondered if he even cared.

She came to a halt on a rise in
the causeway, watching the river flow and thinking on Keir.  He was all she
thought of, day and night, reliving their kiss over and over, feeling shattered
that she would never know that kind of passion again.  She was shattered
thinking she would not grow old by his side, bearing his children and sharing a
love that was rare and precious.  Maybe she was a fool; she certainly felt like
one.  It was enough to bring tears to her eyes that she angrily chased away.

She had no idea how long she
stood there, gazing out over the river.  The breeze blew her hair gently and
with time, she was able to clear her mind a bit.  As she was watching a big
branch flow down the river, a voice came from behind her.

“My lady?”

Startled, she turned to see Keir
standing a few feet behind her.  She had never heard him approach.  Instantly
on guard, she turned back to the river as her eyes welled up with tears.

“I do not wish to speak with you,
Keir,” she struggled not to weep as the sight of him had her rattled. “Please
go away.”

She heard him sigh heavily.
“Please, Chloë,” he murmured. “I need to speak with you.”

She shook her head, lowering it
as tears popped from her eyes and streamed down her cheeks.

“There is nothing more you can
say to me,” she whispered. “Please go, Keir… I cannot bear seeing you.”

Instead of leaving, he moved up
behind her. She could feel the warmth of his body behind her and she audibly
gasped, moving away from the man, so very fearful of his touch.  She couldn’t
even look at him, weeping softly in to her hand.

Keir stood there, watching her
with a breaking heart.  “Chloë,” he breathed. “I have a message from your
father.”

Her head came up then, the watery
brown eyes focusing on him. The tears stopped flowing somewhat. “What... what
does he say?” she sniffed.

  He stared deeply into her eyes,
mesmerized, feeling his heart shattering in to a million pieces.  He’d spent
the past seven days wrestling with his feelings for her, knowing more by the
day that he was in love with the woman and absolutely terrified to embrace it. 
But the more he saw her, the more she refused to speak to him as she closed
herself up in her own little world, the more he knew that he could not live
without her.  

Perhaps he was fearful of loving
someone again, but as he had told his brother, he was entitled to know
happiness once again. Seven days of wrestling with that thought had seen him
come to the conclusion that he would again embrace the responsibility of a
woman he loved deeply, of a woman he could not stand to be away from for more
than a minute. He would embrace the feeling of adoration again, stronger than
he had ever known it, and he would try not to be afraid of losing it.

As he gazed into her beautiful
eyes, he could only feel surrender in his heart.  His fist slapped dully
against his thigh as he dropped his hand in defeat.

“Chloë,” he murmured. “I cannot
do this any longer. I cannot go through each day not speaking to you. It is
killing me.”

She was back to tears again.
“Then I must leave,” she wept softly. “I cannot stay here because it brings me
too much sorrow also. Will you please send me back to Aysgarth?”

He shook his head. “Nay,” he
murmured hoarsely. “I will not send you back because I am going to marry you.”

Chloë’s eyes widened and the
tears stopped. She whirled to Keir, her mouth hanging open with surprise. She
simply couldn’t believe what she was hearing after days of agony. For a moment,
she thought she might have dreamed it.

“What… what did you say?” she
gasped.

He smiled weakly. “I love you,”
he whispered. “With all of my heart and soul, I do. I am sorry if I hurt you
with my fears. It was terrible and wrong of me and I pray you can forgive me.
Please say you will.”

Chloë stared at him, shocked. 
But her shock soon turned to realization, then realization to joy, and a smile
spread over her face that outshined the sun. She just stood there and smiled,
her eyes brimming with happy tears. All of the anguish from the past several
days seemed to evaporate at that very moment.

“There is nothing to forgive,”
she breathed.  “I know you had many things to overcome.”

“But surely you are angry with
me. You would not even look at me, not for all of the days since that night we
last spoke.”

“It was self protection, I assure
you. I did not trust myself to look at you or speak to you and not break down.
It was not because I was angry with you.”

“Are you sure?”

“I am.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

His smile grew and he opened his
arms to her. “Then come to me,” he commanded quietly. “It has been far too long
since I last held you in my arms and I cannot go another moment without you.”

She ran at him, leaping into his
arms.  Keir caught her, holding her so tightly that the feel of her, the smell
of her, brought tears to his eyes. He buried his face in all of that wonderful
red hair, knowing his life was going to change from this point on but not
caring.  After the hell of the past three years, he didn’t think he’d ever feel
such joy again.  After several moments of happily hugging her, he set her on
her feet and took her face between his two enormous hands.

“Listen to me and listen well,”
he whispered, watching her glistening eyes. “I told you once that I knew I
could love you so much that it would rip my heart and body and soul to pieces
to even be away from you for a single minute.  Already this past week has seen
my heart and soul and body ripped to shreds for want of you.  I am turning
myself over to you completely, Chloë . I am yours as surely as the sun is a
part of the sky. I am not a great nobleman who can provide you with titles and
wealth, but I swear to you that I will love you until you die. Say that you
will be my wife and make me the happiest man in the world.”

She reached up and stroked his
cheeks with her thumbs, watching him kiss her fingers as she came near his
lips.  Boldly, she kissed his mouth, not surprised when he wound his arms
around her and kissed her deeply.

“I will be your wife,” she
murmured against his seeking lips. “I love you, Keir. I belong to you and only
you.”

“Swear it,” he breathed.

“I do,” she murmured, a two-part
sentence because he was kissing her so furiously. “You have my heart forever.”

He smiled even though he was
kissing her.  She began to giggle and then he began to giggle, and soon he was
spinning her around in happy circles, listening to her joyful laughter.  It
echoed off the walls of Pendragon, rippled along the earthwork and causeways. 
Again, there was joy at Pendragon, something that could be heard as well as
seen.   Keir stopped spinning her long enough to kiss her again.

“I love you,” he murmured.

“And I love you,” she responded
breathlessly. “But we have a problem.”

His brow furrowed even though his
smile remained. “What is that?”

She lifted a well-shaped eyebrow.
“Cassandra,” she said as if he needed reminding. “I cannot get married before
she does. It would be humiliating for her.”

Keir’s smile faded and his lips
pressed into a flat, irritated line. “She has my brother and Pembury chasing
after her,” he pointed out. “She will not remain unmarried for long.”

Chloë shook her head. “Even so,
you must do something to hurry them along,” she told him. “I want a summer
wedding and I cannot do that if my sister is torn between two suitors.  I
believe your brother has the upper hand in this duel so you must do something
to hurry him along.”

He nodded patiently, like a man
does when his wife is nagging. It was the happiest nagging he could remember
and he welcomed it.

“I will do my best, love,” he
told her. “Do not forget that I want us to be married soon as well. Every day I
cannot call you my wife is like torture.”

She smiled at him and touched his
cheek. “You are so sweet,” she crooned, watching him kiss her hand.  “I
anxiously wait to call you my husband. No word on this earth will have greater
meaning to me than that.”

His smile was back and he pulled
her into his arms again, holding her close against him.  Chloë ’s head was
against his chest, hearing his heart beating strongly in her left ear.  One
enormous hand was in her hair, cradling her head, while the other was against
her back. 

“What did my father have to say?”
Chloë asked, snuggled against him, wildly content. “You will have to speak with
him very soon about our marriage. In fact, I think we should go to Aysgarth
tomorrow.”

He was enjoying the feel of her
against him. “
We
?” he repeated.

She lifted her head from his
chest, gazing up at him. “Do you think I will let you go without me?”

“Probably not.”

She grinned. “Then we shall go on
the morrow after you have had the opportunity to convince your brother that he
must marry my sister.”

He scowled at her, though it was
gently done. “I only have until tomorrow to convince Kurt to marry your
sister?”

“Aye.”

He released her from his embrace
and took her hand.  He began to pull her back up the hill with him.   There was
urgency in his movements.

“Where are we going?” she wanted
to know.

He helped her climb to the top of
the wet and slippery earthwork. “To find my brother, for Christ’s sake,” he
told her, feigning annoyance. “I only have eighteen hours to talk the man into
a decision that will change his life. I had better hurry up.”

She held her skirts up with one
hand while holding him with the other as they began to move across the giant
earthwork mound. “What of Michael? He will be terribly disappointed.”

Keir spied Cassandra in the
distance, lying on her stomach on the blanket that had been spread out across
the grass.  She was eating a green apple but when she spied Keir and Chloë ,
hand in hand, she suddenly sat up and waved at them.  Keir lifted a hand and
waived back.

“Sweetheart,” he turned casually
to Chloë, “while I am doing my part to convince my brother he must marry,
perhaps you should speak with your sister and tell her that she must focus on
Kurtis. It would help his confidence immensely to know that Pembury is no
longer competition.”

Chloë  eyed her sister in the
distance, who was now standing up and brushing off her coat. “I will tell her
what she needs to do,” she said confidently. “But I warn you, she is enjoying
having two men chase after her.”

“And they are enjoying the chase,
at least for the most part. But I fear the next time my brother puts soot on
Michael’s cup, there is going to be a brawl of epic proportions.”

Chloë  giggled. “It
was
rather funny to see him walk around with that foolish black smile on his face.”

Keir fought off a grin. “It was
humiliating.”

They were descending down the
slope towards Cassandra, who was now walking over to greet them.  Chloë shifted
her grip on Keir and took his arm, pulling him closer against her. She was so
thrilled to have the man in her possession, with everything well between them,
that she never wanted to let him go.

“You never did tell me what my
father said, by the way,” she said softly, gazing up at him with her big brown
eyes. “What was contained in his missive?”

Keir wriggled his eyebrows as
Cassandra drew near. “He sends his love to you and thanks to me,” he replied.
“He wishes you and your sister good health, hopes to see you soon, and assures
you that Exelby is well on its way to being repaired.  God only knows what the
man will think went on at Pendragon when Kurtis and I ride to Aysgarth to ask
for the hands of you and your sister.”

Chloë giggled. “My father wishes
for us to marry well,” she looked up at him, feigning an imperious demeanor.
“Are you wealthy, my lord?”

Keir snorted. “Not if I have a
wife who spends my money on silks, oils, soaps and jewelry.”

Her mouth opened in outrage. “I
did not buy any jewelry!”

He looked over, winking at her.
“I will take care of that when I place a magnificent wedding ring on your
finger so that all men will know you belong to me.”

Her smile returned just as
Cassandra came upon them.  The blond sister looked between the pair, a knowing
smile on her face. She had watched them approach from the east side of the
castle, hand in hand, and had felt a great deal of relief for her sister.

“May I assume, then, that all is
well now?” she asked leadingly.