“I think nothing useful will be gained by your presence, Lord Justin, and it might even do some damage. It’s pretty straightforward, after all, but it’s also a private matter that Mariel will be more comfortable talking about to Gilda and me. I will have Lady Mariel brought back to the convent tomorrow. She has been staying with a family we trust to protect her.”
Justin nodded, and Gilda assumed the interview was over, but Justin didn’t make a move to leave. Instead he addressed the abbess. “There was a situation that came up while we were at Mainz that I think you should know about.”
Telling herself that Justin wouldn’t dare speak of their pretend betrothal, Gilda watched him with wide eyes as he continued.
“You may remember that after we discovered Lady Mariel in the garden shed, two men approached. At the time I thought they had followed me. We hid Lady Mariel, and to distract the men, I embraced Sister Gilda as they opened the door.” He paused a minute to let that news sink in.
“As we have already explained, when we arrived in Mainz one of the men turned out to be Philip. At the high table that first night, I confronted Philip. Angry that I had told his brother that he had come to Saint Ives, Philip told Count Cedric about the embrace he witnessed in the shed, no doubt to discredit us. To explain the situation, I said that Sister Gilda and I were betrothed.”
Ermguerrd looked from one to the other, a questioning frown on her face. “And did Count Cedric accept your explanation?”
“He did. If he chose to reject our mission, he would have had to request that the king send new envoys. I suspect he wanted us to deal with his case without delay and therefore accepted the situation.”
There was a long silence, and just as Gilda was about to say something to fill the awkward pause, the abbess spoke up.
“I imagine the tale served its purpose. Why are you telling me this, Lord Justin?”
“Two reasons. I thought you might hear of the unusual betrothal and wanted you to hear it from me first. I also wished to know if you believe there is any regulation against such a betrothal.”
“It was a ruse, Justin,” Gilda said, before the abbess could answer.
He nodded his agreement. “At first, yes. I made up the story to protect your reputation, as well as my own. But later we consulted your brother about the situation and received his approval of the betrothal. We also discovered we had feelings for each other.”
Amazed at Justin’s words and feeling the abbess’s eyes upon her, Gilda bit her lip. “That’s all true, Justin, but I never agreed to marry you.”
“No, you didn’t. In fact, I told you that you were free to break the betrothal anytime you wished. So far you haven’t talked to me about doing this. Now I want to know from the abbess whether it is against any rules for you to be betrothed to me.”
They both looked at Abbess Ermguerrd. “It’s unusual for this to happen, but nuns have left the convent to marry before. While I appreciate your telling me the circumstances, it’s a matter between the two of you.” She looked from one to the other. “I suspect you have some talking to do. I will leave you here so that you will have some privacy.”
As soon as the abbess left the room, Gilda turned on Justin. “Why did you do that?”
“Keep your voice down,” he answered, pointing to the door that the abbess had left open. “As I said to the abbess, we have come to care for each other. You can’t deny that.”
Gilda narrowed her eyes. “I’m not marrying you, Justin. Our betrothal has served its purpose, and it is ended.”
Working hard to keep his deep hurt from showing, he spoke casually. “Well, at least you’re talking to me, which is more than you have been willing to do since we left Mainz.”
“Here’s what I have to say to you. If you want to get married, go to the palace and find Lady Lilith. Apparently, she is pining away for you.”
Gilda’s blue eyes were flashing, and her hands were clenched into fists. Justin had seen her angry before, but never to the point that her body trembled. Wondering if she could be jealous, he grinned.
It was the wrong thing to do, as Gilda spun away from him. Justin managed to grab her arm before she could sail through the open door.
Well aware that his grin meant he knew she was jealous, Gilda was humiliated. In spite of her earlier words, the thought of Justin with another woman tore her apart. She refused to meet his eyes.
“I’m going to release your arm, Gilda, before someone passes by the door and sees us. Please don’t leave.”
As soon as he dropped her arm, she moved away from the door and back into the workroom. No longer wishing to flee, she faced him. “I know you wanted to make sure being betrothed was a real possibility, I believe that. But did you have to tell the abbess that we came to care for each other? Ermguerrd has a good imagination and can figure out what you meant.”
“I thought she’d be a good person to talk to. You told her about the kiss we shared.”
“Yes—and remember how angry you were to hear I had done that.”
“You have a point. I wanted you to talk to me, Gilda. You’re back at the convent, and until a minute ago I had no idea what you were thinking. Now you say you won’t marry me. Are you just going to forget me and return to your life here?”
“I will never forget you,” she whispered.
His face fell. “You’ve already decided, haven’t you? Without
