Virginia Henley

by The Raven

  Over the next two weeks a pattern was formed. On the nights when Roseanna sat with Neville, his condition remained steady; but on the nights when Jeffrey attended him, his vomiting increased, and he was on the verge of slipping into a coma.

  Kate Kendall called Joanna and Roseanna together and said in her forthright manner, “Lord Castlemaine is being poisoned, in my opinion.”

  “That is impossible, Kate. Only you and I and his children attend him.”

  Roseanna said quietly, “I agree with Kate, Mother. There is ever the smell of almonds about him.”

  “Dear God, do you know what you are saying?” cried Joanna.

  “Has the suspicion of poison never crossed your mind, Mother?”

  “God help me, yes! Tis the only thing that seems to fit.” Joanna straightened to her full height as if her spine needed strengthening for what she was about to do. “Kate, go and watch over him. Roseanna, come. We will go to the west wing and search your brother’s apartments.”

  The two women began a methodical search of Jeffrey’s chambers. He had two large rooms with an archway between. One was his bedchamber; the other was his private living room-dressing room, where he kept his armor and his weapons. The walls were decorated with the heads of animals that he had taken in the hunt, proudly displaying his accuracy with the crossbow.

  In the drawer of the bedside table Roseanna found a bundle of love letters and poems written by Sir Bryan. She blushed as she read them and puzzled as to why her brother had not given them to her, especially since her every waking thought had been centered on the young knight last summer. How mean Jeffrey had been to keep them from her! Then as she read one of the poems, she realized that they were not intended for her. They were from Bryan to Jeffrey!

  Suddenly, Joanna gave a little cry: “No!” It came from the dressing room. The letters clutched in her hand, Roseanna moved through the archway. Her mother stood staring in disbelief at a box she had just opened. The white crystal powder inside it was the same poison the head groundsman used to destroy rats and vermin.

  “There must be a reasonable explanation for Jeffrey having this poison,” whispered Joanna, turning imploring eyes to Roseanna. Yet they were already filled with hopelessness.

  Roseanna was still in shock from her own discovery. “Mother, Jeffrey and Bryan are lovers,” she whispered, and held out the letters.

  Joanna recoiled at the suggestion. How could that be, when the young knight had almost made love to her on several occasions? The two women looked wordlessly into each other’s eyes as the implications of what they were discovering became clear.

  Suddenly they heard voices and were horrified to realize that Jeffrey and Bryan had just entered the other room. They held their breath and remained motionless behind the curtained archway.

  “If that interfering little bitch had stayed at home, he’d be dead by now!” stated Jeffrey flatly.

  “You are too impatient, my love. The longer he lingers on, the less suspicion there will be. The men will be yours to command very soon now.”

  “That royal bastard has tainted my life ever since her very conception!” spat Jeffrey.

  “Come to bed, love; let me soothe you. Sometimes I think you are in love with your hatred for your family. You love your hatred more than you love me,” said Bryan petulantly.

  “Nay, nay. Come here to me. Let me undress you. The girl means nothing to me.” He paused to disrobe, then pulled Bryan down onto the bed and fondled him. “The only one I truly hate is my mother, the King’s whore! Have you been able to bed her yet?”

  “Patience. You are like a bull ready to charge,” said Bryan, laughing.

  “You like me to be a bull, don’t you?” asked Jeffrey silkily as he rammed his hard member into Bryan’s body.

  Bryan gasped, then moaned with pleasure. “I love it! You know that.”

  Jeffrey began to thrust so brutally that Bryan grasped the coverlet with tight fists to prevent himself from screaming from excitement.

  “If she was determined to give the King a child, why wasn’t it me? Why is that nobody, Castlemaine, my father? That’s why the bitch must die in the special way I’ve devised. You will do it for me, won’t you, my love?”

  “Yes, yes!” gasped Bryan, far gone in the throes of passion. “Now, now!” he begged.

  “First repeat to me what you must do to her,” demanded Jeffrey.

  Bryan had trouble making a coherent speech, but he knew his lover would withhold his release until he obeyed him. “It must be in bed…. She must die—as she reaches her climax.”

  “Yes, yes, you must plunge in the knife exactly when she comes!” gasped Jeffrey, excited by his own words and by the deed he pictured in his head. They cried out as they spent together.

  With swift action Joanna took up her son’s crossbow and fired an arrow at the bodies on the bed, which joined them forever throughout eternity. The arrow impaled both naked bodies, piercing Bryan’s heart and killing him instantly. Not so Jeffrey; he lay writhing and screaming, attached to the body of his dead lover.

  Roseanna had been rooted to the floor as the nightmare scene unfolded before her eyes. The evil in the room had had to be destroyed, and she knew that if her mother hadn’t taken action, she would have.

  The two women approached the bed without hesitation, joined solidly in their purpose. Roseanna took a small knife from the belt at her waist, but Joanna held out her hand steadily. Roseanna placed the knife in her mother’s hand and watched with horrified fascination as she gave her son the coup de grace by slitting his throat.

  “I could forgive him everything but the slow poison. Poison is a coward’s weapon.”

  Roseanna gathered her mother into her arms and rocked her until her body turned limp. Then Roseanna urged her from the room. She took the chatelaine’s ring of keys from her mother’s waist and locked the chamber doors behind them.

  In Joanna’s workroom, Kate Kendall, Roseanna, and Joanna spoke in hurried, low tones. “I must nurse him back to health. If he dies, I will never forgive myself,” sobbed Joanna.

  Roseanna said firmly, “Go to my father now. Keep Alice with you, but say nothing to her. This must be a conspiracy of three. Kate and I will do what is necessary. We will say they died in a hunting accident.”

  “I will never hurt Neville by telling him that his son tried to poison him,” said Joanna firmly.

  “Of course not,” agreed Roseanna. “He too must be told that it was a tragic hunting accident. But keep the news of his son’s death from him until he is stronger. Once we are sure he will recover, we can tell him. I will stay at Castlemaine to comfort him until he is strong enough to command his own men again.”

  They all agreed to the plan, and Kate and Roseanna set about the unpleasant task of separating the bodies and preparing them for burial. They burned the bloody sheets and dressed the young men in their finest doublets. When news of the hunting accident reached the Castlemaine men-at-arms, they did not ask many questions, for they had little love for their lord’s arrogant son who ordered them around as if they were dogs.

  The following day brought news of a terrible feud between the Welleses and the Dymokes, two prominent families in Lincolnshire. Over the next weeks, the feud rapidly spread into a rebellion against the King. Since both Castlemaine and Ravenspur were in Lincolnshire, it touched all their lives closely. On March seventeenth— St. Patrick’s Day—Roseanna decided she had better return to Ravenspur, for she knew that if there were trouble, her husband would be returning immediately.

  Joanna bade her daughter farewell. “Your father is still too weak to lead his men into a fight, although he argues otherwise. Tell Ravenspur that if he wants to add the fighting men of Castlemaine to his own, he is welcome.”

  That night Roseanna prepared for bed, happy to be home at Ravenspur. She warmed her hands at the fire, then pressed them to her abdomen where the child nestled. She hoped that the ugly ordeal she had undergone would not mark the child in any way. She drew bac
k the curtains of the great bed to let in the warmth from the fire and smiled at Kate as she climbed the three steps up into the bed. “I feel guilty about taking you away from my mother, Kate. She probably needs your strong shoulders to lean on more than I do.”

  Kate shook her head. “Joanna is very strong, and so are you for that matter. But as long as you are with child, my place is with you.”

  Somewhere on the far side of midnight, in the long hours before dawn, Roseanna came up slowly from a deep slumber. Her heart leaped as she realized Roger had tumbled into the bed beside her. At the time when Ravenspur had received the urgent messages from the King, he had been over a hundred miles away, behind the impassable mountains of Wales. He and his men had ridden nonstop through snow, day and night back to Lincolnshire—no easy task in winter. Once they had crossed the Welsh border, they rode north across flat Cheshire Plain; then they had climbed through the Penine Hills, where the cold rain came down in bucketfuls. There he met up with Lord Stanley, the greatest lord in Lancashire and Cheshire; Stanley had ten times as many men as Ravenspur. He was Warwick’s brother-in-law, so Roger knew he was on his way to aid Warwick and not the King. Roger recognized the blue and white banners instantly with their golden Eagle’s Foot and Three Stags’ Heads.

  Ravenspur dismissed the herald sent to him. “Go back and tell Lord Stanley I’ll have a word with him. Tell him I act on the King’s behalf.”

  Soon Stanley rode up flanked by two men-at-arms; Ravenspur did not hesitate. “I wish to use this road unmolested. If you do not move your army aside within the count of ten, I shall ride straight through it.” He held up both hands and began to clench one finger at a time. Lord Stanley stared, aghast. Ravenspur had the nerve of all the devils in hell; he hadn’t even bothered to use the forms of address proper for an earl of the realm. When Stanley saw this determination, he changed his mind about aiding Warwick.

  This night, when Roger fell exhausted into the bed, he mumbled, “I didn’t mean to awaken you, darling.”

  She drew his roughened hand to her belly, where the child kicked vigorously. “I don’t mind, but he does.”

  He was asleep between one breath and the next. Roseanna scanned his dark features where the firelight illumined them. He looked much younger in sleep and disturbingly vulnerable, she thought with a catch in her throat. She had longed for him to return so that she could pour out the horror of the ordeal she and her mother had gone through and receive his absolution. But as she watched him sleep, she knew she wouldn’t burden him with her own conscience. He was burdened enough with leading his men to protect the King and the realm.

  When Roger awoke, her breast was hot against his cheek. He gently played with the nipple to rouse her so they could make love before he had to leave again. This precious time at home was time stolen from the King.

  Everynight since he’d been separated from her, his body had screamed aloud its need to be enclosed within hers. Slowly he drew down the covers, kicking them to the foot of the bed so that he could enjoy the full beauty of her nakedness and later observe their two bodies fuse together in their mating. An urgency in the very air told them that they would soon be parted again; their loveplay was rough and frenzied in its intensity.

  His lips kissed and sucked and licked her entire body; her hair was wrapped around him, and he gloried in the delicious scent of her, filling his senses with the taste and touch of her.

  Roseanna’s emotions were so intense, her kisses turned to bites. Her hot mouth moved down from his throat and across his wide, muscled chest. She stroked his maleness with hot hands, feeling his crisp black hair against her palms. Suddenly she wanted to kiss him there, and she moved down his body with her burning mouth. No experience had ever been as sumptuous as this one for them both. Roger was so wild for her that with one swift, smooth movement, she was beneath him and he straddled her. He sat back on his haunches to catch his breath, and his great lance thrust forward.

  Suddenly he lifted her up from the bed, cradling her in his massive arms, and lowered her onto his weapon. They rocked back and forth until Roseanna shuddered with her fulfillment. Then he pressed her back down to the bed and, towering above her, impaled her deeply until it brought his own shuddering climax.

  When their breathing slowed, he looked down at her, his dark eyes slumbrous with love.

  “Oh, Roger, you are the strongest man I’ve ever known. I feel so safe with you. What am I going to do when you are gone?” she whispered on a half-sob.

  After having tasted her richness, he felt like a god— invincible. He tried to calm her whispered fears.

  “Roseanna, my love, it took me so many years to find you, I’ll treasure you forever. Our souls are entwined; you make me feel whole, complete. Do you think I’d let anything destroy our togetherness?”

  “Oh, darling, I love you too much. I cannot help being afraid for you,” she whispered.

  He wanted to make her laugh. “There are only two ways I’ll die—on the upstroke or on the downstroke!”

  “Darling, be serious.” She clung to him. “There’s no danger that the King will lose?”

  “It all depends on who joins Warwick against the King,” he answered truthfully. “For instance, my own overlord, the Earl of Lincoln, has so far been neutral. His father was a staunch Lancaster supporter against the King, but he died last year. His son, the new earl, has never lifted his hand against the King. Edward always says, Those who are not against me are with me.’”

  “I have Zeus back. You will need more than one horse if you are riding into battle. Take Zeus or Mecca.”

  “I thank you, my love. I’ll take Mecca, for I know how deep your love runs for Zeus.” He kissed her roughly with the depths of passion he felt for her, then swung his long legs from the bed. “Love, I must go.”

  She was bereft, but she loved him too much to burden him with hysterics. “I know it,” she whispered. “Godspeed!”

  King Edward and his brother Richard, the constable of England, rode from York with their army. The first skirmish was at Stamford. Warwick’s brother John, the Earl of Northumberland, failed to support Warwick, and his other supporters in Lincolnshire deserted. As the rebels ran away, they cast off the livery that showed they belonged to the King’s brother George, the Duke of Clarence. The body of George’s servant was found with letters and written evidence that, aided by Warwick, the Duke of Clarence was trying to seize the throne.

  Warwick and his supporters fled to the south of England, to Dartmouth, to his fleet of warships, for Warwick was still captain of Calais and master of the Channel Edward, Richard, and Ravenspur were about four days behind them.

  When Warwick arrived at the coast for his ships, he had a nasty surprise. Anthony Woodville, the newly appointed Lord Rivers, had seized half his ships. The King’s proclamation not to give Warwick aid had already reached Calais, and the French port was full of Edward’s men. Warwick and George had to sail to Honfleur, in France, before they could set foot on land.

  Roger returned to Ravenspur in May. He devoted the following two months to spoiling Roseanna outrageously. At the end of July, right on schedule, her labor began. Roger stayed dutifully at her side, rubbing her back, bolstering her confidence, and helping her bear the endless hours of wracking labor pains. Finally in desperation she said to him, “For God’s sake, Roger, please leave me! Go to the farthest turret of Ravenspur where you cannot hear my screams, for scream I must. Since I cannot bear to distress you, I’ve bitten my lips raw to stifle my cries, but I can hold on no longer. Go!”

  He retreated with a bottle to blot out his deep anxiety. After two hours Tristan joined him; then after four Mr. Burke, too, sought their company and had the good sense to bring another bottle.

  Roseanna’s labor was normal for a first child. Fourteen hours after she felt the first twinges, she bore a son and heir for Ravenspur. By the time the news of Roseanna’s safe delivery was brought to them, the three men were nervous wrecks. They came down from their high turret
on shaky legs, vowing never to go through a similar ordeal again.

  “Don’t forget Roseanna’s gift,” prompted Tristan, “not after all the time and trouble you took to have it made.”

  Roger unlocked a coffer and took out a velvet box. Then the three of them entered the room where Roseanna was lying in. They were all grinning like lunatics as she held up her beautiful son for inspection; then before any of them could actually touch him, she tucked him back protectively at her side.

  Kate Kendall ushered Tristan and Mr. Burke out of the chamber. “We’ll leave them alone for a minute, shall we?”

  Mr. Burke turned to her and said, “You did real good, Katie,” and Kate actually bridled.

  Roger looked at his wife, pale but triumphant, and said, “Roseanna, my heart overflows with love for you.” He gently caressed her and held her to his heart. Then he pulled down the blanket to have a good look at his beautiful son.

  “I’d like to name him after both my fathers—Edward Neville,” she said.

  He nodded. “We’ll call him Ned.”

  She lifted her face to receive his kiss; then as his mouth went lower, she threw her head back, and his lips devoured her throat. Her hands slipped inside his shirt, and her fingers came into contact with the velvet box. “What’s this?”

  She gasped as she opened the box. It was a magnificent necklace of diamonds and rubies with a large teardrop pearl to nestle in the cleft of her breasts. There were matching pearl drops for her ears. “Such precious jewels!” she exclaimed.

  “Roseanna, you are my precious jewel,” he whispered.

  “Hand me my mirror,” she urged him after he had fastened the necklace for her. As she gazed at the reflection of her creamy skin, her jet black hair, and her throat encrusted with the glittering diamond and ruby stones, she thought breathlessly, I am beautiful

  The christening was held in August, and a very lavish affair it turned out to be. The King and his Court arrived, as well as his brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester.