Radulf shook his head, only gripping one of her hands with his and pressing it hard to his lips. She was warm and alive; he felt her heart beating, her breast rising and falling with each breath she took. His Lily was alive. Suddenly the dark clouds lifted from him, as they had done the day of the battle with Hew, and the sun shone warm and cheering.
Radulf raised his head and, hollow-eyed, met her worried gaze. With shaking fingers, he touched her beautiful face. His voice was so soft it was almost a whisper.
“If you had died, lady, there would have been no point to living.”
Her gray eyes widened, and one tear spilled over her lashes as he leaned forward and pressed his lips tenderly to hers.
“I am the King’s Sword,” he went on, more firmly. “Give me a battle to fight and I will fight it; send me to win a war, and so I will. But mignonne, I cannot bear your pain. I would rather die myself than stand by while you suffer.”
Lily’s expression softened. Gently, she smoothed back his dark hair. “Radulf, I will not break. I am strong. And the pain is gone now. Come, look at your daughter. She will think you do not want her, if you ignore her.”
Alice stepped forward, and handed Lily the bundle in her arms. At his wife’s urging, Radulf dropped his gaze to the face of the sleeping babe. It was round and sweet, with a pale fuzz of hair, dark lashes, and a pouting little mouth. One look, that was all he needed, and any resentment in his heart melted. Instinctively he put out his finger, and then hesitated, glancing at Lily.
“Go on,” she urged him again. “She will not break either.”
Radulf stroked his daughter’s cheek and, when she stirred, allowed her to take his large finger in her tiny hand.
“You see,” Lily whispered, blinking back more tears at the sight of Radulf, the great warrior, and this little babe. “You have a daughter, my love.”
His daughter…Lily’s daughter. Suddenly it made their love more real, more lasting. For how could it ever die, if their daughter was there to carry it on?
Radulf leaned closer, his lips seeking his wife’s, and said, “No, Lily, my love—we have a daughter.”