Free To Capture Her Heart by Ginny Hartman Page B

such a pet, and now that he was a wedded man, and a king no less, he was anxious to feel settled. All of that was fine and well, except that now Gavin had the responsibility to take care of the beast when Terric was seeing to his other duties.
    From the moment they met, Talbot had not taken kindly to Gavin. In the presence of King Terric or Queen Rosalind, he acted like a saint, like a giant furball with impeccable manners. But as soon as Gavin was alone with Talbot, the dog's personality changed immediately. He growled; he slobbered; he pounced. He was altogether too moody for Gavin's liking. And cleaning up the dreadful beast's droppings stole the prize for the worst task he had ever performed as defender, hands down.
    Gavin threaded a rope through the leather collar that had been custom made to fit the beast's enormous neck. It was time for him to take Talbot on his daily walk through the gardens. Unfortunately, Talbot usually ended up being the one who walked him.
    As the unlikely pair made their way down the grassy path that led to the gardens, Gavin's mind wandered back to the time in his life he decided to become a defender. Like most young lads, he had been enamored with the thought of defending one of Darth's three kings. From the time he was barely learning to walk, he remembered knowing vividly that he would pursue being a defender when he became of age.
    He looked forward to the year he turned ten and two years old, knowing that was when he could apply for an apprenticeship at the nearby Herfordshire Castle. His father had died the previous year, but he hadn't let that hinder his dreams. Neither had his mother. He had been young and selfish back then, not once taking the time to think about leaving his mother to care for herself. In his mind, he was doing the noble thing. He was seeking employment to help better both of their lives.
    As the years of his training wore on, he felt less and less guilty. He saw her as often as he was able, but his rigorous schedule did not permit frequent visits. A fresh wave of regret washed over him as he remembered his visit home when he turned ten and eight and was ready to leave his apprenticeship and become an official defender.
    He used all of his strength to pull Talbot to a halt as the pain of that visit flooded his memory as if it were yesterday. He closed his eyes to the pain, but the simple task did nothing to alleviate the heartache.  All the years melted away as he relived the day as if it had just occurred.
    He had returned to the village only to find his childhood home occupied by another family. He briefly wondered if his mother had moved and forgotten to tell him. How absurd, he thought, as he made his way to the neighbors to inquire about her whereabouts. That's when he found out she had died.
    The air was sucked out of his lungs as the man, his lifelong neighbor, informed him that his mother had died months prior. She had taken ill shortly after his last visit, but refused to let him know. She knew how important his dream of being a defender was to him and found her own declining health would only get in the way of his career ambitions, and she refused to hold him back.
    He laughed sardonically which only served to startle Talbot. The beast growled ferociously at Gavin before resuming his walk, forcing Gavin to follow behind. If only his mother could see him now, he thought bitterly. She'd be almost as ashamed as he was of what he'd become.

Chapter 11
    A Lousy Swine
     
    The last two and a half weeks had crept by insanely slow, even though Millicent had attempted to keep Gwendolyn steadily busy in their haste to prepare for their upcoming trip to Herfordshire Castle. The first several days after Gwendolyn had posted the missive to Terric inquiring about her entrance had driven her half crazy. She worried on more than one occasion that her letter had somehow not gotten to her brother. Just when she was about to send a second missive, his reply came, and just as she