Gabe felt anger rise inside him, but he pushed it down. He had to keep a steady head. He needed Sophie’s father as an ally, not an enemy.
“I know it sounds bad. It sounds as if I am taking advantage of an opportunity to get myself a duke’s daughter to wed, as if I’m stealing her away from her rightful betrothed.” Gabe swallowed past the scratchiness in his throat, wishing he hadn’t said the words. They sounded much too damning. He wasn’t sure he even liked himself anymore. “But I set out with a noble cause, with noble intentions. I intended to bring her back safely to Valten. I never wished to betray my brother or take away what is rightfully Sophie’s. But I fell in love with her in spite of myself. I love her and she loves me, and now I can’t imagine living without her.”
Baldewin softened his features with a partial smile. “But perhaps you are right. God can do anything. Perhaps he wanted you to find my daughter and save her. But you know and admit that I could see it otherwise. A less sincere man than yourself, for example, could see this as an opportunity to raise his own position in the world. The second son of a duke has fewer prospects for wealth and authority. But … if he should convince the daughter of a duke to fall in love with him … to break her betrothal …”
Gabe’s stomach sank, but he wasn’t about to give up.
“What you say, sir, is true. But I am not that avaricious person. I had no thoughts of betrayal or advancement when I set out.” Would Baldewin believe him? “I fought each feeling I encountered. I thought of her only as my brother’s betrothed —”
“So you went to her rescue because your brother asked you to?”
It was very hot in the tiny cell, and stuffy. “I went to her rescue because I — I wanted to help her, a lady in need. Her situation sounded dire … and I wanted to prove I could save her myself.”
“So you didn’t go because God urged you to.”
Gabe took a deep breath to calm himself. “I’m being completely honest with you.” Couldn’t the man appreciate that? “If I hadn’t come when I did, Sophie might be dead now.” He flung the words at the duke, but regretted them when Brother Baldewin pressed his lips together. A flicker of pain crossed his features just before he closed his eyes.
“Forgive me,” Gabe said. “The truth is, I love your daughter with my very soul, and I beg you to allow me to marry her. I promise to provide for her, to give her everything she needs, everything she wants. I’ll treat her like a princess, for to me she is a princess.”
“And if your brother were not betrothed to her, are you free from any obligations? Have your parents not betrothed you to a local nobleman’s daughter?”
Gabe tried not to choke. “I agreed to marry a count’s daughter a year ago.”
Baldewin was quiet. Gabe bowed his head and waited. He must seem like a man who didn’t keep his promises and wouldn’t be faithful. A bead of sweat ran down Gabe’s back as Baldewin remained silent. The duke would never help him now.
“I know how it must appear to you, but I love Sophie,” Gabe said. “And she loves me and we want to be married. Please help us.”
Baldewin slid to his knees on the stone floor and turned to face a small crucifix on the wall beside him. “Come. Come and pray with me. We shall ask God his will. You must pray sincerely, from your heart, to know God’s will for you … whether or not you and Sophie should marry.”
Gabe got on his knees beside the duke and clasped his hands in front of him, staring at the small statue of Jesus dying on the cross. He closed his eyes against the picture of his Savior’s suffering, but the image was imprinted inside his eyelids, it seemed.
He willed his mind to concentrate, to focus on asking God what he wanted for him, but he found himself begging God to let him marry Sophie, to influence the duke to agree.
He shook himself mentally. God, if it is best for Sophie to marry Valten, please tell me so now.
He waited, emptying his mind of all thought.
Gabe bent lower, still listening. God, you sent me to Sophie. I know you did. He clasped his hands tighter. If it be your will that we marry, I promise I will protect and love her and be the best husband I can be. I’ll love her till I die. Please speak to Baldewin and myself and make your desires known, make it known that you want Sophie to marry me and not Valten.
Gabe continued to kneel silently. God, I need your approval, as well as Baldewin’s, Valten’s, and … Brittola’s. How could he marry Sophie without hurting Brittola? No doubt it was inevitable, but it would be for the best for everyone … somehow.
Gabe’s knees were aching and his thighs were starting to cramp. Finally, Baldewin sat back on his heels and sighed audibly. His eyes were still closed, and his lips continued to move silently, but then he crossed himself and fixed Gabe with a blue-eyed stare.