The Spymaster's Protection (53 page)

And she did truly want to get to know this man who had
fathered her. She hoped he would tell her of his feelings for her mother. Of
course, being an Arab and a Muslim, he must have other wives and children. How
would they feel about his half-Arab, Christian daughter? It was all so
frightening, and yet so exciting!

Seated next to Lucien on a plush silk divan, Gabrielle
clutched his hand so tightly, he chuckled and reached out to stroke the back of
her fingers with his own. “Be at ease, my heart,” he whispered encouragingly to
her. “He truly is a remarkable man.”

She turned to him and searched his calm handsome features.
“You came to admire and like him in the time you were with him, did you not?”

“I did. You will be glad of this, trust me.” The smile of
encouragement and conviction he gave her settled her nerves as nothing else
could have. Oh, to be blessed with such a man after all her years of hardship!
She had much to thank the Lord for, not the least of which was his safe emergence
from the perilous battles of the past three months.

Just as that thought made her smile, the appearance of the
Blue Wolf chased it away. From the moment he entered the room, his deep blue
eyes never wavered from her own. Gabrielle returned his stare without blinking,
but her nervousness would not let her offer him a smile.

He was dressed casually in loose linen trousers and dark brown
tunic. His long, long hair was braided again, this time in a single thick weave
down his back. With his obsidian black locks pulled austerely back from his
sharply chiseled features, his face looked harsh and forbidding.

Gabrielle’s palm grew sweaty, and it slipped a notch in
Lucien’s strong capable hand. He slid an arm around her waist and tucked her
close to his side, then he briefly bowed his head in greeting.

“Muzaffar.”

“De Aubric,” the Blue Wolf returned, sparing a quick nod for
his future son-in-law.

Gabrielle was surprised by Lucien’s use of the general’s first
name, thinking he and her father must have become rather close during the
months they had spent together.

“Daughter.” The softly spoken word carried inflections of
relief and joy and welcome. “Have you no words for me?” Taking her hand, the
general pulled her slowly to her feet.

Letting go of her fears, Gabrielle gave a little cry and
stepped into the heavily muscled arms that opened for her, unstoppable tears
flowing silently down her cheeks.

“I assume that your betrothed has told you of our
relationship,” the Blue Wolf murmured against her veil. “Long have I waited for
this day. Long have I desired it.” He set her back a small space from him and
stared at her once again. “You have your mother’s beauty….” He paused and
smiled broadly. “And my eyes.”

“Tell me about the two of you,” Gabrielle implored softly, yet
boldly.

To her surprise, the great desert lion threw his head back and
laughed. “Ah, daughter of mine, you have a brave and fearless spirit!”

“Maybe not so fearless,” she corrected him with a small smile.

“She is courageous and persevering,” Lucien insisted, having
risen beside her. “As well as beautiful.”

Muzaffar al Din Gökböri eyed the ex-Templar thoughtfully, then
looked toward Gabrielle. “You have chosen well, daughter. I have come to know
this man in the past weeks, as was my purpose in keeping him by my side as long
as I did. For the worry that caused you, I apologize. But I wanted to make sure
that you did not spend the rest of your life suffering as you have had to thus
far. Had I known of your existence earlier, I would never have let Armand raise
you or barter you to that dog Châtillon.”

“How did you learn I was your daughter?”

The general gestured for them to resume their seats, then he,
too, took a seat, one directly across from them.

“We have much to learn from one another, and we will do so if
you decide to come to Irbil with me. But I will tell you now that I learned of
you several years ago, from a mutual friend, Hazir Yazid.” The general smiled
at the widening of his daughter’s eyes. “He was a friend of your mother’s,
also. He knew of her suffering, and she had confided your true parentage to
him. When he heard of her death, he bravely told me her story when next we met.

“By then, you had been married to Châtillon several years. To
my great frustration, there was little I could do to intervene. My Lord Saladin
wanted your husband’s head even then, but circumstances continually interfered.
As it was, the best, and sadly the least, I could do was attempt to ensure your
safety once you were able to leave him. However, my influence with the desert
bandit tribes did not reach into the high mountain fortress of the Assassins.
This disavowed monk kept you safe from harm from them until I learned of your
husband’s contract with Rashid al Din Sinan. At that point, Lord Saladin
intervened with the Assassin leader for me.”

“I have much to be grateful to you for, father.” The word
suddenly felt so very right to Gabrielle. “Not the least of which is Lucien’s
deliverance from death at Hattin.”

“Lord Saladin was merciful, but this knight’s bravery and
honor won him his life.”

Gabrielle smiled as she reached for Lucien’s hand. “God has
blessed me well, with this man.”

The Blue Wolf nodded his agreement. “I approve and bless your
union, as well,” he told them. “Will you come to my home with me to marry? I
will not ask you to relinquish your beliefs or your loyalties. And you may stay
permanently or leave as you wish, when you wish.”

Gabrielle and Lucien had talked about this the past week, and
both had decided it would be a good thing to travel to Irbil with her father.
No priest would marry them in Jerusalem, maybe not even in Palestine. And it
would only be a matter of time before Gerard de Ridefort came after Lucien. It
was also highly unlikely that Count Raymond could ensure their safety within
his fiefdom, especially now that Saladin had seized most of it.

The kingdom of Jerusalem was being pressed to the sea,
narrowed to a thin strip of territory along the coast of Palestine. There was
talk among many of the ruling families of leaving for Cyprus. Depending on what
happened in the battle for Tyre, there could be little if any of the kingdom
left by the time the Western kings could muster another crusade to reconquer
the Holy Land. Because of their defeat, King Guy and Queen Sibylla would
probably not be able to stay in power.

Neither Gabrielle nor Lucien had ever known much of a life
anywhere else. There was nothing for them in the Western countries, across the
ocean. And because a monk took vows for life, Gabrielle wondered if any Latin
country or priest would acknowledge their union, let alone allow it.

What mattered most to both of them was that they be together.
They needed to begin new lives, and they had become part of this land in the
East. They had been born part of it. They could adapt. Gabrielle was more than
ready to follow the rest of the path the Lord had set before her. It held
infinite possibilities and unrelenting love for her. It was the right thing to
do. She had prayed hard for guidance and believed it was God’s will. She felt
it in her heart.

She looked to Lucien and saw the agreement in his dark brown
eyes. He covered their clasped hands with his free one and turned to the emir.
“We would both be happy to accept your invitation. It is most generous.”

Muzaffar al Din Gökböri smiled broadly. “Then we will be on
our way within a sennight. Lord Saladin has released me to go home, knowing of
my deepest desire to do so after many years at his side.” Standing, he clasped
Lucien’s forearm as he too rose from the divan. “We will both know peace and
fight no more, Lucien de Aubric. By God and Allah’s wish, will it be so.” The
three walked to the entrance of the sitting room. “Move your belongings back
into the palace, into the rooms that have been set aside for my temporary
residence. It will be safer, and it will allow us to be ready to leave at the
same time.” In the archway, his brown tunic rustled in the breeze as he turned
to Gabrielle. “Tell our good friend Hazir that he and his family are welcome to
come to us in Irbil if he wished it. He has done much for all three of us.”

“He has,” Gabrielle agreed. “One last request, father,” she
ventured. “What will become of the orphan children left at the Hospitaller
compound? I was in the process of making arrangements for adoption by families
in Damascus.”

“Lord Saladin has already sent a large group on their way with
an armed escort and several representatives who are familiar with your
arrangements. The rest will remain here, under the care of our people. Rest
assured that they will take as good as care of them as you have, daughter.
Allah, himself, will bless you for what you have done for his little ones.”

Gabrielle looked to Lucien with a loving smile. “I believe he
already has.”

Lucien concurred and tightened his arm around her waist. When
the general left, he stepped back into the shadows of the room with her and
bent his head to kiss the woman who had delivered him from all his
disillusionment and loneliness. With his arms wrapped tightly around her, he
vowed he would always be her protector.

THE END