He straightened and wrapped his armaround Lara’s shoulder.“Introduce me to our daughter.”
Lara wrapped both arms around hiswaist as they walked toward the basket.
“Denys told me whathappened,” he said.“The fire, the shod hoofprints around what wasleft of the house: the fact that two of your best milking goatswere missing.It was the missing goats that gave him the idea forthe graves to make people think you dead and buried.”
“Graves?”
He stopped and held her tighter tohim.“I thought you dead,” he whispered fiercely.“I lay on whatwas meant to be your grave, thinking you gone from me forever.”Hepressed his lips to her hair until his ragged breath eased.Then heloosened his hold, stepped back from her, reached into his tunicpocket, and held out a ring of gold encircling an emerald the sizeof a hummingbird’s egg.“Marry me, Lara?Be my wife?”
Lara opened her mouth to say yes, toshout it to the heavens, then clamped her mouth shut.“When did youacquire this ring?”
He cocked his head.“September.Iplayed the Bishop of Tours for it in a game of Shah.I put up mybest new broodmare in the wager.”
Lara chuffed.“At least I know myworth.”
“Your worth?”He cockedhis head the other way and the muscle in the side of his jawstarted to twitch.“What are you talking about?”
“When did you find outabout the babe?”
“At Christmas.Phillipelet it slip.”
“I see.”
“I don’t.”He stood at hisfull height and squared his shoulders.“Nor do I see why you didn’ttell me you were pregnant with my child before I left.”
“Because,” she snapped,suddenly ridiculously close to tears, “I didn’t want you worryingabout me or the babe while you were gone.I wanted you to come backto me for me, not out of any sense of obligation.”
His steel-gray gaze pierced hers, andthe scar across his right cheek shone white.“My child is my blood,not some obligation.
“And you, you beautiful,thorny, troublesome, maddening wildcat of a witch, are the love ofmy life.”
“I am?”
He snorted.“Which is why I asked forand was given Crossroads Keep and three hundred acres ofpastureland for my service, from which I’ve beenreleased.”
“You did?”
He nodded curtly.“After which I sentAnglbert and a few others to the keep to watch over you and myclaim whilst I rode north to Frisia, where I bought two dozenbroodmares for the Black to cover so I could breed horses andsecure us a good and prosperous life in the valley, thinking youloved me as I loved you.”
Lara sucked a shaky breath in andburst into tears.“I do love you, you arrogant ass.”She threw herarms around his neck.
“Enough to marryme?”
Lara sniffed.“Enough to marry you anddrive you mad for the rest of your days.”
He bumped his pelvis against hers.“And nights?”he rumbled.
“Oh yes.”
He kissed her, long and hard anddemanding, and Lara gave him all that was left of her, panting andfalling into his solid chest as he broke the kiss.“Can I meet ourdaughter now?”he whispered in her ear.
Lara took him by the hand and led himto the basket where their daughter stared up at Talon with widegray eyes.
“Talon Guiscard.”Laralifted the babe out of the basket and placed her in Talon’s arms.“Meet Isabeau Juditha Guiscard.”
He pushed the swaddling blanket backfrom her head and grinned at her soft cap of red curls for a longmoment before he lifted his gaze to Lara’s.“IsabeauJuditha?”
“She’s named after hergrandmothers.”