Gilliane stiffened. This time she had gone too far. Adam would certainly beat her. She did not care a bit. Let him. Sir Richard would not let him kill her, and Adam would be sorry for it later. When he saw her bruises, he would give in and accept Sir Godfrey. That would keep him out of one battle at least.
“He is my vassal,” Gilliane added, breathing hard but keeping her voice steady and standing her ground. “And I do not choose to have my vassal’s land destroyed by war if he is willing to swear and be loyal.”
“No, of course not,” Adam bellowed. “I am not an idiot! But what the devil am I to do with near a thousand men…?”
Sir Richard was the only perfectly calm member of the group. He had some experience with Adam’s quick temper and, by now, nothing Gilliane did surprised him much. The final oversetting of his conventional views of women had been the sight of his gentle overlady rushing on de Cercy with that candlestick. He understood Adam’s fury, too. If he had summoned his vassals and expended sums on hiring mercenaries, he, too, would be having a fit. Fortunately, he had already considered the problem.
“Lewes,” Sir Richard said loudly. There was a startled silence. Adam looked blankly at Sir Richard, then a beatific smile illuminated his face while his color rapidly returned to normal. If Gilliane, who understood quite well what had turned Adam’s rage to pleasure, could have got at Sir Richard with the candlestick, she would have pushed him out the window as cheerfully as she had pushed Osbert out. However, she was, as Alinor promised, growing hardened. She was not less afraid something might happen; merely, she was no longer certain Adam would be lost to her. Thus, she could bear her fear. Sir Godfrey was also watching Adam, caught between anxiety and hope. If he had understood what the young overlord said, he was safe. This was confirmed at once.
“Lewes,” Adam repeated. “Ah, yes, Lewes. Indeed, you are welcome to me, Sir Godfrey. I presume you would have no objection to doing your service now in the taking of Lewes?”
“None at all, Sir Adam,” Sir Godfrey hastened to reply. Lewes was well away from Hastings and Pevensey. No one would have to know he was involved in any attack on it. Quite cheerfully, he began to tell Adam how many men he could furnish.
“If you will pardon me, gentlemen,” Gilliane interrupted icily, “there is a small matter of housekeeping I must see to. Someone must sweep up my late husband and throw him away. Really, we cannot have dead bodies littering the courtyard. Now that I am a widow, I must look to my reputation.”
There was another silence. Sir Godfrey looked stunned. Sir Richard frowned disapprovingly at Gilliane for such levity. Rage lit up Adam’s eyes again.
“Reputation?” he snarled. “What do you mean by that?”
Gilliane had not meant anything specific. She was simply annoyed at the three men standing there, totally intent on something she hated, seemingly having dismissed from their minds an event that was of monumental importance to her. She did not need to reply; the question was rhetorical and Adam was continuing hotly.
“It was you who would not hear of an annulment so we could marry. I swore a dozen times that I did not desire to take your lands or lessen your power, but you would not trust me. I will bear it no longer! I desire you as my wife, not my mistress. I will not creep to your bed like a sneaking cur. You can make what terms you like for the disposition of your lands, but before I leave this keep, I will have you married to me—will you, nill you.”
Needless to say, Adam was being unjust, although not consciously. He had never mentioned an annulment or marriage to Gilliane, but he had argued the matter over with himself so often, supplying the answers he thought Gilliane would give, that he was quite sure she had refused him more than once. Gilliane, however, had not the slightest inclination to protest against this injustice. Heaven had been offered to her. She was not about to question the kind of platter upon which it was being served.
“Oh my dear, dear lord,” she breathed, “you have surely been misled by some stupidity and lack of understanding in me. I will marry you gladly, even right here and now with my vassals as witness, without any contract at all.”
“Will you, Gilliane? Do you mean that?”
“Let Father Paul be summoned and he may marry us at once,” Gilliane urged.
Although this was scarcely a normal procedure, Sir Godfrey and Sir Richard held their tongues. Sir Godfrey did not care much for a female overlord, but he would not say anything to endanger his newfound rapport with Adam. Sir Richard had no doubts of Gilliane’s safety in Adam’s hands, and besides, he was convinced she was well able to take care of herself. Adam hesitated for a moment. He had in his possession a contract written exactly like the one his mother had devised for her own marriages, except that the names of the people and properties were different. He had intended to use it as an inducement, since it safeguarded the rights of the contracted woman. Then he signaled a servant and bid him fetch the priest to the chapel immediately. Let Gilliane believe she had given up all for love. It would be a sweet thing to hold in his heart forever, as would her joy when he showed her the contract and she realized she had lost nothing.
So Gilliane was married for the third time without the smallest preparation or ceremony. This time she did not care. She could have been naked and bedaubed with filth, so long as it was Adam who held her hand and gave the responses. However, she was not ill dressed. In anticipation of the arrival of Adam and her men, she was quite elegantly gowned. Moreover, she found she was to receive a bride-gift—for the first time. While Father Paul made ready, Adam had sent a servant to retrieve a certain chest from Alberic. This, after he had kissed his new-made wife, Adam opened. Gilliane gasped. Rubies and diamonds were hung about her neck, fastened to her wimple, slipped on her fingers and up her arms. The contract was pressed into her hand.
“There is a copy in French, my love. Read it, and you will see you have lost nothing,” Adam murmured. “Beloved, you have only gained a willing slave to serve you forever.”
“I do not want it,” Gilliane whispered, pushing the parchments back at him. “I do not need it. Dear lord, how could you think I ever mistrusted you?”
That was sweetest of all, but Adam firmly bade her take it and sign. “You do not need it to protect you from me, but it will protect our children—a second son or daughters. Sign, beloved. I believe you never mistrusted me. It was my own fault.”
The contract was signed and witnessed by Sir Richard and Sir Godfrey. Later it would be signed by Sir Edmund and Sir Philip also, and Adam intended to have it witnessed also by Pembroke and the Bishop of Winchester. He kissed his wife again, hungrily. He had been away from her for a month. Gilliane was eager also, but she had no intention of being swept into a hurried coupling, marred by the knowledge that her men were waiting impatiently below for them to have done and come back to more important business. Not on her wedding day. They had waited a month; they could wait a few hours longer until night, until there would be time for love, for sweet words, for unhurried caresses. Thus, when Adam turned aside, intending to lead her upstairs, Gilliane slipped out of his hold.
“Where do you go?” he asked sharply as she curtsied and backed away. “Sir Richard will see to the removal of de Cercy.”
Gilliane dimpled with mischievous laughter. “I will be grateful to him for it. Even dead, Osbert is an abomination to me. However, as a married woman, my reputation as a housewife must be upheld.”
“What?” Adam exclaimed, and then began to laugh also. “No! Do not tell me I have not yet broken you of that habit. Do you mean to say you are thinking of dinner again?”
“But yes, my lord,” Gilliane insisted gently. “I must see to dinner. Surely a suitable feast must be prepared for my wedding day.”
About the Author
Roberta Gellis was driven to start writing her own books some forty years ago by the infuriating inaccuracies of the historical fiction she read. Since then she has worked in varied genres—romance, mystery and fantasy—but always, even in the fantasies, ke
eping the historical events as near to what actually happened as possible. The dedication to historical time settings is not only a matter of intellectual interest, it is also because she is so out-of-date herself that accuracy in a contemporary novel would be impossible.
In the forty-some years she has been writing, Gellis has produced more than twenty-five straight historical romances. These have been the recipients of many awards, including the Silver and Gold Medal Porgy for historical novels from the West Coast Review of Books, the Golden Certificate from Affaire de Coeur, the Romantic Times Award for Best Novel in the Medieval Period (several times) and a Lifetime Achievement Award for Historical Fantasy. Last but not least, Gellis was honored with the Romance Writers of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Roberta welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
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Also by Roberta Gellis
Heiress 1: The English Heiress
Heiress 2: The Cornish Heiress
Heiress 3: The Kent Heiress
Heiress 4: Fortune’s Bride
Heiress 5: A Woman’s Estate
Roselynde Chronicles 1: Roselynde
Roselynde Chronicles 2: Alinor
Roselynde Chronicles 3: Joanna
Royal Dynasty 1: Siren Song
Royal Dynasty 2: Winter Song
Royal Dynasty 3: Fire Song
Royal Dynasty 4: A Silver Mirror
Print books by Roberta Gellis
Heiress 1: The English Heiress
Heiress 2: The Cornish Heiress
Heiress 3: The Kent Heiress
Heiress 4: Fortune’s Bride
Heiress 5: A Woman’s Estate
Royalty Dynasty: Siren Song
Discover for yourself why readers can’t get enough of the multiple award-winning publisher Ellora’s Cave. Whether you prefer ebooks or paperbacks, be sure to visit EC on the web at www.ellorascave.com for an erotic reading experience that will leave you breathless.
www.ellorascave.com
Gilliane (Roselynde Chronicles, Book Four) Page 47
