'Nay.' Clare came to a halt and swung around to confront him. 'Let us be clear on something here, my lord. I will make the decisions that affect the members of this household.'
Gareth's gaze was as fathomless as the crystal in his sword. 'I comprehend that you have had the sole responsibility for this household and this manor for a long time, Clare.'
'Aye.' She eyed him with frosty challenge.
'You are obviously accustomed to bearing the burden alone.'
'Precisely.'
'But you are no longer alone.'
'There is no need to remind me of that fact,' she retorted. 'I am only too well aware of it.'
Gareth's brows rose. 'You were the one who wrote to Thurston of Landry to request a husband who could provide protection for your manor.'
'What of it? I had little choice in the matter.'
'My point is that you have got what you asked for, madam.'
'Not quite.'
'Aye, that is true enough, is it not? You have made it plain that I do not meet all the requirements of your damned recipe.'
Clare badly wished she had not let her tongue run away with her. 'I did not mean that the way it sounded, sir.'
'Aye, you did mean it. But it matters not. Few of us get exactly what we want.' Gareth rested his hand on the hilt of his sword. 'We must all make the most of whatever the winds of fortune blow our way.'
Likely she was not the sort of wife he had dreamed of marrying, Clare thought. 'My lord, I am trying to make another point entirely here.'
'As am I, madam. To be blunt, I may not be what you ordered, but I am the only husband you have got. Allow me to perform my tasks without interference.'
'What has training Dalian or William got to do with the defense of this manor?'
'Clare,' Joanna called.
Clare glanced toward the workrooms. Joanna left the doorway of the drying shed and hurried across the courtyard.
'You must stop them,' Joanna said urgently. 'William is still playing with that dangerous sword.'
'I will deal with this,' Gareth said quietly.
'She is my friend,' Clare said. 'I shall deal with it.'
'As your husband and as the lord of this manor, I must ask that you stand with me on this, madam.' Gareth's gaze was suddenly very cold and very unyielding. 'I warn you, for the sake of all concerned, do not gainsay me in front of Joanna.'
'By Saint Hermione's hair, this is too much.'
'If you and do not appear united in our decisions, we will cause confusion and discontent among our people. Do you want that?'
Our people.
The words brought Clare up short. She had to accept that the people of Desire were linked to Gareth now. She knew he was right when he insisted that as lord and lady of the manor, the two of them must stand together.
'You have caught me in yet another of your crafty snares, my lord,' she muttered a few seconds before Joanna reached them. 'Beware. One day I shall have my revenge.'
'You have already had your revenge. And a most telling vengeance it is.
I am a husband who has not yet had a wedding night.'
She threw him a quelling glance as Joanna fluttered anxiously to a halt in front of them.
'Clare, why did you not instruct Ulrich to cease the training?' Joanna asked. 'William could be hurt at any moment. Just look at the way he is swinging that great wooden sword about.'
Clare steeled herself. 'Lord Gareth feels that such training will be good for both William and Dalian.
My lord and I have discussed the matter and I have concluded that he is right. I agree with his decision.'
'You agree with him?' Joanna's eyes widened in shock.
Clare did not dare look at Gareth. If he smiled in triumph at that moment, she was not at all certain that she would be able to keep from throttling him.
'Rest assured that I have given my approval for William and Dalian to be taught knightly skills,' Clare said. 'As a form of healthful exercise,' she added quickly.
'But you have never approved of such activities, not even for the sake of health,' Joanna said. 'After Edmund was killed, you told me that you never wanted to hear the sound of a lance striking a quintain again as long as you lived.'
Clare winced. 'I was distraught at the time.'
'The grief my lady wife must have experienced at the time of her brother's death no doubt prevented her taking an objective view of the benefits of exercise,' Gareth said easily.
Joanna looked uncertain. 'She was much saddened and prone to melancholy at the time. Nevertheless, I heard her say very distinctly that training a man to be a knight was a great piece of idiocy.'
Clare saw the gleam in Gareth's eye. She flushed.
'At the time, my wife was not aware of the many healthful advantages of training and exercise for young men,' Gareth said. 'I have explained those benefits to her, however, and she is eager for William and Dalian to receive them.'
'What benefits?' Joanna gave him a beseeching look. 'William could be seriously injured.'
'He could be hurt climbing an apple tree or falling down a staircase, but 'tis not likely,' Gareth said with surprising gentleness. 'Your son is safer under Sir Ulrich's eye than he is in his own bed.'
'William has a most delicate constitution,' Joanna insisted. 'Such training and exercise will exhaust him.'
'A regimen of properly supervised exercise will strengthen his constitution and align his humors,' Gareth said. 'I have seen many examples of frail young boys who have greatly improved their health through regular, vigorous activity.'
'I am not at all certain of this.' Joanna looked at Clare, seeking support.
Clare managed what she hoped was an encouraging smile. 'We must trust that my husband and Sir Ulrich know what they are about, Joanna. They have both had a great deal of experience in such matters.'
'Their experience is in hunting outlaws, not in educating young boys,'
Joanna said desperately.
'Nay,' Gareth said. 'I have been training the men who serve under my command for years. So has Ulrich. We know what we are doing.'
Joanna looked from Gareth to Clare and back. Some of her visible agitation subsided. She did not appear completely satisfied, but it was clear she realized she was facing a united lord and lady. In an odd way, it seemed to give her some further reassurance.
'Well, if you are certain William will not be hurt, I suppose it will be all right to try an exercise program.'
'Why don't you discuss the particulars of William's training at supper with Sir Ulrich?' Clare suggested to Joanna. 'I believe that he will answer all of your questions.'
Joanna brightened. 'Aye, I will do that. Sir Ulrich is a very kind and courteous knight. And very knowledgeable.'
'He will be an excellent example for young William and for Dalian.'
Gareth's eyes gleamed. 'He is not one of your typical thick-skulled, ill-mannered, foul-tempered knights.'
Clare rolled her eyes heavenward and called on Saint Hermione for strength.
'Aye, mayhap Sir Ulrich will, indeed, be a good influence on William.'
Joanna inclined her head politely to Gareth. 'Pray, excuse me, my lord.
I believe I shall go and observe the training.'
