Rumours At Court. Blythe Gifford
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He said those words as if they were a vow, then rose, as if the conversation was complete and everything settled.
Nothing? It was evident that the man had never married, or he would know that everything was to change. Or, perhaps, it was true for him. Only Valerie would, once again, rearrange her life to accommodate a husband. And, if he had no home of his own, perhaps they would live at Florham, as she and Scargill had done. The very possibility was a comfort.
‘Is it my place to tell the Queen that I am to be wed?’ How were such things done? Her life had been tied to the earth, not to the court.
He shrugged. ‘Perhaps it is for My Lord of Spain to do. I do not know the way of such things.’
‘As you will, my lord.’
He shrugged his shoulders, as if to throw off the title. ‘You must not call me that.’
My lord. It was the title Scargill preferred above all others. ‘But so you shall be.’
‘Call me something else.’
‘The Wolf?’ She permitted herself half of a smile. ‘I think I prefer my lord.’
‘My father called me Gil.’
‘Gil.’ A name bright and strong. Easy to speak. ‘Then it will be as you wish. Gil.’
He nodded, awkward, then stood. ‘Tomorrow I go to Losford on behalf of the King. We will discuss arrangements when I return.’ Duty done, he bowed. Brief. Perfunctory. ‘Goodnight, Lady Valerie.’
His task complete, as if dusting his hands of dirt.
He was three steps away when she called after him. ‘If you are to be Gil, I must be Valerie.’
He looked back, then honoured her with a stiff nod, as if every interaction was painful.
But then, he took a step towards her and did not look away. Tangled in his gaze, she rose from the bench and moved in his direction. Time slowed. Her pulse quickened. Close now, she could see his lips, no longer unyielding but softer than she had thought. One breath more, two, and they would make another step, touch, and—
‘Goodnight, Valerie.’
And then, he was gone.
Nothing will change.
She only wished it were true.
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