Justin held his tongue and prayed that Gilda would do the same. It would be best to keep Cedric happy with them until they could attempt to help Philip. He was relieved when she remained silent.
“What happens next?” Cedric asked.
“We will report our findings to Archbishop Humbert, as it is up to him to grant an annulment,” Justin replied. “But the evidence is straightforward and not in dispute by either party. I will also report to King Louis when I return to Aachen.”
The count was clearly pleased. “Excellent,” he said.
Bishop Gunthar came forward then, looking from Sister Gilda to Lord Justin. “Now that you have accomplished your task of investigating the situation, will you be marrying soon?”
Since Justin had no idea whether Gilda would marry him, he nodded and hoped that was answer enough for the bishop.
“You have both done a great service to Mainz, and I wish to reward you. I will marry you here.”
It was a great honor to be married by a bishop, and Gunthar’s expression made it clear he expected them to be overjoyed by his magnanimous offer. But Justin was sure Gilda, even if she agreed to marry him, would never consent to have the bishop oversee their vows. Unfortunately, he wasn’t sure how to refuse the offer without offending a man who could become a powerful enemy. Before he could think of some way to delay giving an answer, he was surprised to hear Gilda replying.
“That is a very generous offer, Bishop Gunthar. We would be happy to accept, but we were married at the Convent of Saint Ives.” She saw the puzzled look on the bishop’s face as he glanced down at her habit, and she rushed on. “We wish to keep the marriage a secret, which is why Lord Justin didn’t say anything. It seemed wise to do that until a report has been made to Archbishop Humbert.”
When the bishop turned to Justin for confirmation, Justin swallowed the lump that her surprising statement had lodged in his throat and said, “It is as Sister Gilda says. We don’t want anyone to think there has been any distraction from our mission. I’m sure we can depend upon you to keep our secret until our report has been made.”
Gunthar was still frowning, but Count Cedric spoke up. “It appears you are acting in my best interest, Lord Justin. I thank you for that. Will you be leaving for Reims tomorrow morning?”
“I’d like to stay one more day to give everyone a rest. Be assured we will be on our way as soon as possible,” Justin replied.
The count seemed disappointed at the delay, but he agreed. “I won’t keep you any longer, Lord Justin. It’s almost time for vespers.”
Justin didn’t speak to Gilda until they were in their quarters, then his words burst forth. “What were you thinking? You just told the bishop we are married, and you haven’t even made up your mind whether you’ll marry me. You can’t depend on Gunthar keeping a secret if we anger him in any way. Everyone will think we are married. It’s a story that will spread quickly.”
“We’ll get married,” she answered.
Justin frowned at her. “You are willing to be married to delay our stay here just to be able to help Philip?”
“No. That’s not it at all. I want to marry you, Justin, I do.”
“Since when?” he asked, not at all convinced.
“Since you stood up to Count Cedric and protected Lady Mariel by not telling of her ignorance. Since you put the blame for the mix-up on Bishop Gunthar and Mariel’s father, where it belonged. As I watched you dealing with them, I knew I need not fear marrying you.”
“Ever since we met you have been surprising me, Gilda.” Although he was pleased by how quickly she made up her mind, he wanted her decision to be based on something more than respect for how he dealt with others. “What else? Are there other reasons for your eagerness to wed?”
“How about my powerful desire to do this?” Gilda moved close and pulled his head down to kiss him full on the lips.
It took only a second for Justin to respond, then he lifted her off the floor so that she could wrap her arms around his neck. He fitted his body close to hers and returned her kiss, all the while edging her toward his bedchamber.
Reading his mind, Gilda whispered, “Wait.”
Justin groaned as his vision of taking her to bed disappeared. But her explanation had him wide-eyed again. “We have to rush to the monastery and find someone to marry us.”
Justin lowered her so that her feet were on the floor. “Are you sure about this, Gilda? When we were at the convent, I thought you wanted to stay there. I know you were torn.”
“Yes, I did think about staying, I won’t deny that. And it was hard for me to ride away. But even then, I think I knew I’d made my choice.”
Still in doubt as to her quick reversal, Justin took her face in his hands. “I want to marry you more than anything in the world, but we don’t have to rush to marry, Gilda.”
“Please believe me, Justin, I’m sure about this, and I don’t want my lie to the bishop to be a lie for any longer than necessary. The only reason I was able to tell it in the first place is that I knew I wanted to marry you. The bishop is utterly contemptible, and the idea of his marrying us called for drastic action.”
Justin embraced her again and twirled her around. They had whirled full circle when they saw Freda at the door. She appeared to be about to leave when Gilda called to her, “Wait, Freda. We need your help.”
“It looks like you are doing fine without any help from me,” the nun replied. “I was just going to remind
