‘The Commander ordered me to return you to the Palace.’
‘The Commander does not own you!’ Her voice softened. ‘I will not hold it against you if you disobey him. And I shall simply find another solution to my dilemma. But setting my interests aside, it might be better if you do return to the Boukoleon.’
‘Oh?’
Gently she shook his arm. ‘So I might give you your document of manumission. You will need written proof you have been freed.’
William shifted and the hand fell away. ‘My lady, since I do not accept that anyone had any right to enslave me in the first place, receiving your so-called manumission is, as I see it, an empty formality.’
‘But, William…’ She hesitated. ‘Are you content that I address you as William?’
‘As you choose, my lady.’
‘William, you may believe such a document is worthless, but think…if you were questioned by someone who had chanced to see you at the market, it would be much better if you had the document with you.’
‘I don’t need a piece of parchment to know that I am a free man!’
She paused long enough for William to hear the slow drip of water close by. Cold from the wall behind them was seeping through her cloak and despite his irritation with her—he was a free man, he had always been a free man!—his instinct was to pull her closer. Briskly, he rubbed the chill from his arms.
‘Very well—’ her voice came softly through the dark ‘—I was only trying to help, as you helped me up there. I do thank you for that. I expect warding off those men was the last thing you wanted to do.’
William grunted. In all honesty, he couldn’t deny it, his mind had been fixed on escape. ‘I only wish you had stayed inside the Palace, you would have been safe there.’ He hadn’t liked the thought of her being hurt. ‘I wasn’t free for long, but I heard guards talking, you must have known that General Alexios was on the point of making his move.’
‘I did hear whispers.’
‘Then why leave the Palace today of all days? Why put yourself and the Princess at risk?’
‘I…we had other things on our minds.’
‘Such as…?’
‘I…I cannot say.’
‘Mon Dieu!’ William had never shaken a woman in his life, but he was beginning to understand Commander Ashfirth, he certainly felt like shaking one now. ‘What could be more important than your safety?’
‘William, your tone borders on insolence.’ Her voice became distant. ‘I am sorry I put your plans into disarray, but there is no need to speak to me in that manner.’
‘I will speak to you in whatever manner I please! You endangered both yourself and the Princess, and I am stuck with the consequences.’
With a rustle of skirts, she shifted away, dragging some of the cloak with her. Cold air rushed between them. William grimaced. He had been enjoying the softness of her thigh against him, he had been enjoying the shared warmth.
‘I am sorry to have inconvenienced you,’ she said in that distant voice. ‘But I do thank you, I know what could have happened. My father would have been beside himself if they had…taken me.’
Her words were startling, he peered into the dark, wishing he could see her expression. ‘You are not saying your father would have chastised you?’
She gave a light laugh. ‘I am certain that he would. Father expects me to go to my marriage in a pure, unsullied state.’
‘But those men would have forced you! No father can chastise a daughter if a man forces himself upon her.’
There was a slight movement beside him, she was shrugging her shoulders. ‘It is important to my father that I make a good marriage. If I am not pure, my value is reduced.’
‘I take it you mean your value as a bride?’
‘Of course.’
The turn in the conversation was most unusual. This was not the sort of discussion William had ever thought to conduct with a high-born lady, never mind one who was lady-in-waiting to a princess. In the past, while
ladies had been happy to tease and flirt with him, none had ever taken him into their confidence. And this was a deeply personal conversation. Perhaps Lady Anna had need of a confidant, perhaps she found it easier to talk to a stranger. Well, since he was stuck down here with her, he would listen. It was a small price to pay for her kindness at the Palace. ‘You were fortunate then in more ways than one that the Commander and I chanced to see you.’
‘Indeed.’
‘I am sure you are a daughter who makes your father proud.’
‘William, I wish that were true. But Father and I…we have not always seen eye to eye.’ She sighed. ‘But you do not wish to talk about me.’
‘Why not? With the City in turmoil, we are likely to be here for hours, we may as well entertain each other. Go on, tell me about your father.’
In truth, Apulia was beckoning and William would have liked nothing better than to get away. The cistern made his flesh creep, it was a dank and deathly place. However, he could not abandon Lady Anna to the mercy of marauding troops. It mattered little what her intentions towards him were, she might or might not intend to free him, but at heart he sensed she was a kind and gentle girl.
‘You were saying that you and your father do not see eye to eye, I find that surprising. You are lady-in-waiting to the Princess—is that not a great honour?’ William became conscious of a prickle of unease, something was nagging at the back of his mind. He had a strong sense that something important had eluded him.
‘Yes, it is a great honour,’ she murmured.
‘An honour only given to a chosen few?’
‘It is an honour I took for myself—my father does not consider that I earned it.’
‘How so?’ When Lady Anna gave no response, he added, drily, ‘I am sorry, my lady, I am impertinent. A slave should not ask such questions of his mistress.’
‘William, believe me, you are going to be freed!’ She sighed. ‘As it happens, I agree with you, we ought to talk. Since we find ourselves incarcerated down here for a time, what else might we do but talk?’
It was an innocent enough remark, but William found himself smiling into the dark. What might we do? Oh, my lady, any number of things…
The darkness might have robbed him of sight, but it was easy to conjure the image of her face and figure, it was a pleasure to recall her easy grace as she glided about the Princess’s apartment. He hardly knew her, yet he could visualise her easily. They were sitting in inky blackness, but he could see her, clear as day…he could see those grey eyes widen as he loosed her gown and slid it from her…he could feel the softness of her skin against his. It would be warm as satin, soft as rose petals…those prim lips would relax, they would melt against his…her breasts would feel perfect against his chest…perfect…
A pulse throbbed in his loins. William swallowed. ‘My lady, you may confide in me. Lest you are concerned, I give you my word that I shall not breathe a word of what we say. If…’ he put a smile in his voice ‘…the word of your slave is acceptable to you? Talk to me, my lady.’
Mon Dieu, she had better talk to him, he needed distraction from thoughts that would surely shock her. And if nothing else, William might learn more about the Great Palace. He had often tried to imagine life at the Imperial Court.
‘Very well. In short, Father and I fought over the question of my marriage. I could not like the man he had chosen for me and my father refused to change his mind. After several weeks of arguing, I left Constantinople and went to join Princess Theodora. At that time, she was living in Rascia, awaiting her own marriage. It was wrong of me to go against my father’s wishes, but I simply could not stomach the man he had chosen.’
‘Rascia is a long way to go to escape marriage.’
‘Yes…’ her voice came quietly through the gloom ‘…it took weeks to get there. When I set out I was very ignorant, I had no idea the Empire was so large.’
‘And now both you and the Princess have returned to the Palace.’ That
irritating sense that he had missed something was still there, nagging quietly at the back of his mind. What is it? Something, there is something I have missed…
‘We only returned the day before yesterday, I have yet to greet my father. I have sent word—I expect to meet him later today.’
Her voice had changed, it was less confident, as though she was unsure of her ground. There is more she might say, but she is concealing it…
‘You fear your father will insist on this marriage?’
‘It seems likely.’
‘What is the name of this unwanted fiancé?’
‘Lord Romanos Angelos.’
William pressed her hand. ‘You may discover you have outgrown the revulsion you felt for him.’
She gave one of her quiet laughs. ‘I doubt it. I am in something of a mire over this because I am resolved to win my father’s approval. I fear it will be a struggle.’
‘You have been of service to the Imperial family—he must be proud of you!’
Anna heard the conviction in William’s voice and smiled. She had insisted that Katerina should buy him and she did not regret it.
I could like this man, this mysterious Frank, but I must be wary of what I say to him.
Sitting in the dark, sharing her cloak with him, she felt extraordinarily at ease, so safe.
Therein lies the danger.
In truth, I know little about him. William is an escaped slave from the Palace, one who has contrived to arm himself with a sword… I cannot be certain I will be safe. His resemblance to Erling is, now I am getting to know him, superficial. I must not let the physical resemblance to Erling warp my judgement. And above all, I must remember my duty to the Princess.
I cannot be completely open with him.
What if he discovers that Katerina is not the Princess? If I confess my involvement in a plan to deceive the entire Court and word gets out… Holy Virgin, if Father comes to hear of it, we shall never be reconciled!
‘William, I can say no more about my time in Rascia with the Princess. Suffice it to say that my father was displeased not only with my disobedience, but also with the manner of my going. I left the capital publicly and without his express permission. By doing so, I shamed him before the entire Court. My father is the Governor of Heraklea and—’
‘Clearly, he is a proud man.’
‘I can only pray he will forgive me.’ Unconsciously, Anna’s fingers tightened on William’s. ‘Nor will it endear me to him if he learns that it was I who urged the Princess to buy you. At first glance you are very like a man called Erling. If my father meets you, he is bound to remember.’
‘Erling? Who the devil is Erling?’
‘Erling was a slave on my father’s estate. In truth, he was my slave, but I never considered him as such—we were friends.’
‘Lady Anna had to look to a slave for friendship?’ His voice was teasing. ‘That I find hard to believe.’
‘Erling was a friend,’ Anna insisted, regretting the defensive tone that had crept into her voice. ‘He kept me company when I was a child.’
‘What happened?’
‘He…he died.’
‘I am sorry.’
‘I was very young and I made a foolish mistake.’ She sighed. ‘Had Erling lived, I suspect he would have resembled you.’
‘That is why you pressed the Princess to buy me?’
‘It is why you…caught my eye.’ I do not know William well enough to tell him what else ran through my mind…that I thought to use him to fend off marriage with Lord Romanos. And I certainly can’t tell him after seeing that display of swordsmanship by the Augustaion. He is clearly no ordinary slave, he has had the training of a warrior.
‘My lady, you cannot leave it at that, you must explain.’
‘There have always been slaves on the estate at Heraklea. Erling was…this may sound strange…but he was my companion. We were almost of an age. It was his task to keep an eye on me, to accompany me when I rode round the estate, to—’ Anna broke off with something that sounded suspiciously like a sob.
‘How did Erling die?’
‘My father had house guests, and Lady Ma…one of the ladies had a bracelet I admired. I borrowed it without asking her permission. When the lady discovered it was missing, she accused Erling of stealing it. I didn’t realise until it was too late. He was beaten. He died that night.’ Anna’s throat closed up.
‘Was your father involved in the beating?’
‘I…I have said enough.’
‘You grieved for Erling.’
‘Yes.’
‘How old were you when this happened, my lady?’
‘Ten years of age. I always felt there was something I could have done to prevent his death.’
‘But you were only a child!’
‘As I said, I regretted not being able to save him. I suppose that’s one reason why, when I saw you on the slave block, I had to buy you.’
‘One reason? Will you not tell me your other reason?’ His question was little more than a whisper.
‘I…I am not prepared to say.’
There was a short silence.
‘My lady, you were motivated by more than wanting to redress past wrongs.’
She pulled her hand away, guiltily aware she was telling him only half of the truth. ‘I know it is foolish, I know you are not Erling, but part of me did want to set the balance straight.’ While another part saw you on that slave block and saw my salvation…
Chapter Five
‘It appears you have a soft heart, Lady Anna,’ William said, wishing she would tell him everything.
‘What nonsense!’
‘You are kind.’ It was the sort of gently flattering remark a knight might make to a lady with whom he was conversing, but in Lady Anna’s case it had the ring of truth about it. Lady Anna was unlike any noble lady he had ever met. He sensed a rare sensitivity in her, she gave the impression of genuinely caring for the well-being of others, whatever their rank. She had been fond of the slave called Erling, she had grieved for him.
However, she was not purely motivated by kindness, there was a hint of self-interest in the mix. The cynic in him mocked his desire to see the best in her. This was partly about atonement, Lady Anna had bought him because guilt from the past had darkened her soul for years.
There was the question of the task she had for him. It must be discreditable, otherwise she would surely explain what she had in mind. William’s lips twisted. Self-interest motivated most people, he would be the first to admit it motivated him. Yet his naïve self, the part of him that wanted to see the best in her, would not be silenced…
Lady Anna gave every sign of being a caring woman. She had ensured he was well treated in the Palace, she was sharing her cloak—would Lady Felisa be as mindful of her servants as Lady Anna seemed to be?
Lady Felisa Venafro was the Apulian lady who had misled William into thinking that she might accept him as her husband. At the time William had been delighted. Marriage to Lady Felisa would have given him the surety of a roof over his head, he would have had lands, a future, heirs.
He should not have been surprised when Lady Felisa had betrothed herself to another knight instead. William’s birth counted against him. He was not only landless, but his parentage was uncertain. Of course, he understood why Lady Felisa had pretended to consider him. She needed someone to keep unruly neighbours in check, in short, Lady Felisa needed a husband who was strong and determined, qualities William liked to think he possessed. As a result he had interpreted Lady Felisa’s interest in him as genuine. It had been no such thing. Lady Felisa had used the threat of a possible marriage with Sir William Bradfer to lure another knight into offering for her. A landed knight, one of good birth.
William had not cared particularly for Lady Felisa, his proposal had been born of ambition and her rejection had stung at the time, but no longer. Nevertheless, he could not help wondering how Lady Felisa treated her servants. Would she go out of her way to he
lp them?
A dank darkness hung about the platform, thick, black and impenetrable. Until this moment, William had not given much thought to Lady Felisa’s personal qualities. She was an heiress, any marriage between them would have been political. Admittedly, she was comely, if he had married her he would have had a wife with beauty as well as lands—what more could he expect in a wife? Meeting Lady Anna was throwing new light on long-held ambitions.
Were lands and beauty all he required in a wife?
It would be interesting to learn what had been uppermost in Lady Anna’s mind when she had bought him—the desire to help others, or the desire to atone for past failings? What can she want of me?
‘Tell me, my lady, how long were you at the market before you bought us?’
‘We had just arrived.’
‘So we were the first slaves you saw?’
‘Yes.’
Unsettled, he stared into blackness. ‘I think you would have persuaded the Princess to buy whoever stepped onto that block—it was our good fortune that you saw us first.’
‘William, that is more than enough about me. If you please, it is past time for you to tell me something of yourself. I should like to know how you came to be in the slave market.’
William hesitated. What might an itinerant knight tell a well-bred court lady? She was talking to him because he had saved her from those soldiers, because they had been forced to take refuge in this cavern beneath the streets. She was whiling away the time.
‘I know you were not born a slave,’ she prompted. ‘First, tell me about your early life, of your mother and father.’
‘My lady, I never knew my father. My mother was, like you, a noblewoman. She lived for a time in the Great Palace.’
She gasped and small fingers found his arm. ‘Your mother was Greek?’
‘Yes.’
The fingers tightened. ‘So that is why you speak our language with such ease, I did wonder. Your mother…’ Lady Anna’s voice trailed off thoughtfully before strengthening again. ‘Tell me! Tell me everything!’
‘My lady.’ William grimaced, he felt extraordinarily self-conscious. No darkness was deep enough to hide the fact that he was not used to talking about himself to anyone, and he was not sure he wanted to start. ‘I am no bard to while away the time with a pretty story. My birth is doubtful, mired in shadows. In short, it is not a fit tale for a lady’s ears.’
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