She butted his chest with her head. “If this gets out, she and Lance could be in trouble, as all of the truth will get out. Don’t you think that James would spill the truth because of his loyalty to you? There is no way he would allow you to take the blame.”
“He will if I command so.”
“And will you? Will you, for lack of a better term, fall on the sword?”
“No. If it comes to that, no.”
“How do you know?”
“That is an easy one.”
“Which is?”
“Take that one for a thousand, Isabel.”
She laughed. “I will take that for a thousand, Arthur.”
“The woman who Arthur, King of Camelot, has come to love so much that he will do anything to protect her from harm.”
Melt. Melt. Melt. Why couldn’t love come easily?
“That is a simple one,” she said when she relearned the fine art of breathing. “It would be, ‘Who is Arthur’s beloved and besotted beagle, Pix, who follows him everywhere.’”
“Wrong, my lady, although I admit Pix would be a close second. I give you another chance.”
“Pix would be a close second?”
“Lady, you would jump in front of an arrow to save Burny.”
“Oh, but he is a dog like no other. Truthfully. He is a dog like no other. And I mean that in the most, ‘what in hell is he, exactly,’ way.”
Arthur laughed and hugged her even closer. “No one knows. We do not question, we just constantly look forward to whate’er pups come about.”
“He is so sweet.”
“And he follows you around as if you were indeed his mother.”
“I did not realize you had noticed.”
“I thought I noticed every single piece of what happens around you, Isabel. Though I must admit I did not see today coming. I failed this day.”
“What? In what way?”
“I ignored the obvious, while you saw it and took action.”
“You mean with Gwen?”
“Yes.”
“You did what any good husband would do. I just happened to talk to Tom, and then talked to Gwen.”
“Which should have been my responsibility.”
“You didn’t fail, Arthur. How many burdens are you supposed to take on? Not that Gwen is a burden. We have been enjoying the afternoon. She has been delightful, Arthur. I don’t know what exchange there was between you, but she holds no bitterness at all that I noticed. In fact, she seems more at peace than I have seen her since meeting her.”
“She truly is a good woman,” Arthur said. “Just so very young. I do not know what I was thinking.” He kissed her again. “But no matter. I just had need to see you and make certain all was well.”
“Are you relieved or saddened by your talk with Gwen?”
“Much of the former, a little of the latter.”
“Understandable, Arthur.”
“And then I had this burning desire to check on your welfare. Not that I believe . . . well, that is a very lame excuse. I just wanted to see you.”
“Oh, Arthur,” she said, brushing his hair away from his temple. Wow, it had grown so much in just days. “You have many, many issues to deal with at the moment. I should be the least of your worries.”
“Worry was the pretense. Seeing you was the need.”
“We will see each other later. You need to get back to what you most treasure.”
He stared down at her. “Isabel, if I have not made this clear, you are what I treasure above all else.”
“Camelot—”
“Is but a place. Yes, I love Camelot. But am I able to hold Camelot at night? Am I able to lie with it and share what has happened on any given day? I will, without even a moment’s thought, give it up for the rest of my days if every moment of those days be spent with you.”
“Oh, Arthur, I would never ask.”
“Of course you would not. Another reason why I love you, Isabel. But do not ever doubt my priorities.” He kissed her, and then let go. “You have not correctly questioned my answer,” he said.
Isabel stood totally dazed, confused and with a heart filled with so much emotion, she didn’t know what to deal with first.
“I forget the answer,” she finally said.
“I will repeat. ‘The woman who Arthur, King of Camelot, has come to love so much that he will do anything to protect her from harm.’” He grinned. “The first response was slightly insulting, as it was a slobbering dog. I will, however, forgive that one and allow another choice.”
“Who is Countess Isabel?” she whispered.
“Oh, so correct, Isabel.”
“I have one for you.”
He smiled. “As you say many a time, hit me.”
“The woman who refuses to allow you to give up your lands, your dream, your love just for her. The woman who is so ready to follow you into battle to keep the dream of Camelot alive.”
He took her face in his hands. “The question would be, Who is the one I would hold captive afore I e’er allowed her to run into harm’s way on my behalf? It will not happen, Isabel. I cannot even believe of such.”
“Has it ever occurred to you that women could actually help behind the lines? Allow us to take part.”
“No. I will not have women harmed. And you . . . I could not live if you were harmed. I just could not.”
“And yet you expect me, or any of us, to stand by and watch you be injured, or worse?”
“I do. It is what I must do. Please, Isabel, do not make me worry about you, should it come to this. I could not do my job.”
“Is it coming to this?”
He hesitated, but finally nodded. “It appears a possibility. Those not invited to the table have banded together, according to reports. We must prepare.”
“Then we will.”
“Isabel, no.”
“I will not allow anyone to harm you without a fight. Wouldn’t you do the same for me?”
“’Tis not the same.”
“It is exactly the same. If you think women are incapable of doing what they must to protect their king, their castle, their life, then you are underestimating us all.”
“I do not underestimate. I have need to protect. You, most of all.”
“How much time do we have?” she asked.
“Isabel—”
“How much time, Arthur?”
“My best estimate with my men’s information is three weeks. We believe they plan to attack when all of the knights invited to the table have gathered.”
“That sounds like a pretty stupid plan to me.”
“Not should there be traitors sitting amongst us.”
“Do you know which?”
“I have a fair idea.”
Isabel growled. “The women will not only aid, we are going to kick ass.”
“Isabel.”
“Yes, Arthur?”
“You excite me and drive fear into me at one and the same time.”
