“Promise?”
“I do.”
Alessandria had heard this before, as he’d indicated, but that didn’t mean she liked or accepted it. The past seven days traveling with Chad had been utter heaven. They’d come to know each other in ways she never imagined possible to know someone. After their drunken encounter at Bexley Manor, Chad made sure not to drink in excess again so other than a kiss now and again, he’d not touched her. They had stayed at inns along the way and he always paid for two rooms, one for her and one for him, but on more than one occasion, she’d discovered him stationed outside of her door, making sure she was safe as she slept.
As a result, Chad had been rather weary on their ride north but he’d never let it affect his mood. He’d remained warm and charming, and if she hadn’t been completely certain of her love for him before, she was completely certain of it now. She had fallen in love with the bright, witty man who happened to be the heir to a powerful legacy. Truth be told, she really didn’t care about the legacy part; all she cared about was him. He could have been a pauper and she couldn’t have loved him anymore than she did now.
“I hope so,” she finally said, eyeing the men that were coming close. “When do you plan to speak to Gallus about our marriage?”
He looked at her, a smile playing on his lips. “Sweetheart, we discussed this already,” he said. “Several times. I will wait until we have greeted one another and our business regarding Henry is settled before introducing the subject of our betrothal.”
She was nodding her head even as he spoke. “I know we have discussed this,” she said quickly. “I am sorry. I am just nervous.”
“Why?”
She looked at him with her big, sea-colored eyes. “What if Gallus denies us?”
Chad shook his head. “He has no reason to,” he said, but was prevented from saying anything more because Gallus, Maximus, and Tiberius were upon him. He grinned broadly at the brothers. “I have not had enough of your ugly faces as of late so here I am. Embrace me!”
The brothers laughed. Gallus was the first one to embrace him, followed by Maximus, the gruff brother, who squeezed so hard he nearly broke Chad’s ribs. Then Tiberius got a hold of him and joyfully embraced him as one would a long-lost brother.
“We thought you might come to pay us a visit,” Tiberius said, throwing a thumb back in de Moray’s direction. “Bose told us what happened with Henry and Aurelius’ sister. I see you were able to keep her from Henry. Well done, Chad.”
All attention turned to Alessandria, still standing where Chad had left her. She was dressed in a woolen garment the color of wine, durable and made for travel. When she saw all eyes upon her, she smiled timidly and dipped into a polite curtsy.
“My lords,” she greeted the general group.
Gallus made his way over to her with Chad by his side. “Lady Alessandria,” Gallus greeted, inspecting her closely. “The last I saw you was about ten or twelve years ago. You were quite young at the time. Praise God that you have not grown up to resemble your brother.”
He meant it as a joke and Alessandria’s smile turned genuine. “I would not know, my lord,” she said. “I have not seen him in years.”
Gallus shook his head with some disgust in his manner. “He is as ugly and foolish as ever,” he said. “And you need not address me so formally. You may call me Gallus.”
Alessandria nodded, grateful that he was making her feel welcome. He took her elbow and pulled her in the direction of his brothers. “You remember Max, of course,” he said, indicating the dark middle brother, “and Ty. We are very glad to see that you are safe.”
Alessandria politely acknowledged the other two brothers just as they politely acknowledged her. She had no idea who the big older knight was standing behind them, a man with black hair, black eyes, and scars on his face, but when their eyes met, the man introduced himself.
“Bose de Moray, my lady,” he said. “I am pleased to see that Chad was able to get to you before Henry’s men did. Was it a bad fight?”
His attention turned to Chad, who was standing on Alessandria’s other side. Gallus still had hold of her and Chad had been thinking that he didn’t much like seeing another man touch her, even if it was her cousin. He was stewing about it when de Moray’s question caught his attention.
“That depends on how you look at it,” Chad said, throwing a hand in the direction of the keep. “We have been traveling long days so take us inside, feed us, and I will tell you all about Henry’s men and Newington Priory. I swear to you that I haven’t stopped moving since before Evesham. I will admit my exhaustion has the better of me.”
Gallus was already leading the way. “I know the feeling,” he said, politely escorting Alessandria up the stairs that led into the keep. “I have been home for nearly two weeks and I still do not feel as if I have the ability to relax, especially with de Moray’s presence. He makes me nervous.”
Maximus and Tiberius snorted. “My wife’s father has that effect on people,” Tiberius said, eyeing the big knight as he followed behind the group. “I have known him for years and he still makes me nervous.”
De Moray cocked a black eyebrow. “That is because you bear watching,” he said. “I have no idea what my daughter ever saw in you.”
Tiberius flashed an impish grin. “Shall I tell you?”
“Nay!”
They had just entered the cool confines of the keep and everyone laughed at Bose’s sharp reply. The small feasting chamber was immediately to the right, low-ceilinged and smoky as usual, and Gallus took Alessandria and Chad into the room.
Already, servants were scurrying about, bringing forth wine and bread and cheese. One servant produced a big bowl of strawberries, setting them next to the cheese, and Alessandria zeroed in on the fruit. It was the tail end of the summer berry harvest and she was quite fond of strawberries. As Gallus helped her to sit, and Chad claimed a seat beside her, she plucked a strawberry from the bowl and bit into it. She simply couldn’t wait.
Wine was poured and small talk bounced around the table. Gallus sent a servant for his wife as everyone began to partake of the fruit and bread and cheese. It was early afternoon and not having eaten since dawn, Alessandria was quite hungry. Gallus was near the end of the table, the last man to pour himself some wine.
“How long have you been traveling, Chad?” he asked. “I can only imagine what you must have had to do in order to evade Henry’s men. Do they know you have my cousin, then?”
Chad was hungry, too. He swallowed the bite in his mouth before speaking. “They know,” he said. “Let me brief you on what happened since de Moray told me of Henry’s plan for Lady Alessandria – I was able to make it to Newington Priory, where she was located, before Henry’s men did, but they were close behind. We did not know exactly how close but that became evident once I took the lady from the priory. Henry sent his Guard of Six after us and they very nearly caught us. They tracked us from Newington to Canterbury and my father admitted them to the castle, whereupon de Serreaux informed my father that Henry wanted the girl for a marriage.”
De Moray, across the table, lifted his eyebrows. “I was there when Henry spoke of the girl, Chad,” he said. “He never made mention of a marriage, not ever.”
Chad nodded. “I suspected as much and so did my father,” he said. “I think de Serreaux was trying to gently coerce us into turning the lady over to him. Telling us she was wanted for a marriage is less terrible then telling us that Henry wants her for a hostage. In any case, my father had no intention of turning the lady over and told me to bring her to Isenhall so that she could be under your protection. He felt this was a safer place for her.”
Gallus nodded. “It is, indeed,” he said, his gaze moving to the lady chewing happily on the strawberries. “She is part of our family and therefore entitled to our protection. She is welcome here.”
Alessandria sensed the attention was back on her and she smiled hesitantly, sipping at her wine to wash down the berries. Bu
t she also sensed that the men wanted to say much more than what they were saying, only refraining because she was present. She couldn’t imagine these great warriors, with the weight of a vengeful king upon their shoulders, should only want to speak of travel and protection.
“Thank you for your hospitality,” she said. “I fear I have brought a great burden down upon you. I have told Sir Chad that I cannot imagine why the king should want to take me hostage, for I am of no value to anyone. I am not an heiress and I do not hold a high social position. I am a ward of Newington Priory, so this entire adventure has been a bit bewildering to me.”
She was well-spoken, with a soft and sweet voice. Gallus smiled faintly. “You are a de Shera,” he said. “That makes you a great commodity, indeed. We owe Chad a debt of gratitude for risking himself to bring you here. In fact, we are indebted to all of Canterbury for rising to your defense.”
Chad was modest, unusual for him. “I could not let a relation of yours fall into Henry’s hands,” he said. “Moreover, she is distantly related to the House of de Lohr as well, so she is family. It was my duty. My thanks to de Moray, however, for risking himself to come and tell me of Henry’s plans. All of us owe him a great deal.”
Everyone nodded as attention turned to de Moray, who was sitting silently at the far end of the table. When Bose saw the eyes upon him, he simply shrugged.
“I could not, in good conscience, allow Henry to use the lady against her own family,” he said. “When I discovered Henry’s plan, I knew Chad was in London still and it was no small matter to find him. He was drunk at an inn we have frequented in the past. How many times did you drop your breeches that I did not see, Chad?”
The serious mood instantly lightened and the entire table erupted into laughter, but Chad simply lifted his shoulders. “I am sure it was too many times,” he said somewhat sheepishly. “I lost count.”
Across the table, Maximus poured himself more wine. “I have never in my life seen someone more apt to take his clothing off when drunk,” he said. “You have done that on other occasions, too, have you not?”
Chad cocked an eyebrow at Maximus. “Is this truly appropriate conversation in front of a lady?” he asked. “One does not usually discuss naked men in front of a lady.”
Maximus pointed down the table. “De Moray started it.”
“And I shall end it,” Gallus said, eyeing the lady in the hopes that they had not offended her too much. “My apologies, my lady. My wife will soon be here to take you away so you will not have to suffer through this crude behavior much longer.”
Alessandria smiled at him. “I am not offended, my lord,” she said. Then, she cast Chad a sidelong glance. “He did the same thing at Lady du Bexley’s home about a week ago. He jumped up on the table and unfastened his breeches. Lady du Bexley said that Chad’s backside looked like two unbaked loaves of bread that she wanted to sink her teeth into.”
Tiberius and Maximus roared with laughter while Gallus simply shook his head. “It is unseemly for you to speak of such things, my lady,” he admonished as he struggled not to laugh. He looked at Chad. “Did you really do that in front of my cousin?”
Chad was surprised she had brought that up, now struggling not to appear embarrassed. “I cannot recall,” he said honestly. “She says that I did but she could be lying.”
“Now you call her a liar?”
Chad broke down into snorts. “I do,” he insisted, although he was jesting. Everyone could see it. “She is making up stories about me. I would never drop my breeches in front of ladies.”
Alessandria pretended to be outraged. “I would never lie about such things, my lord,” she insisted. “You jumped on the table and sang a song called Tilly Nodden as you showed your buttocks to everyone. It is true!”
Chad put his hands over his face as everyone at the table now laughed at him, including de Moray. “I am ashamed,” he said, mumbling through his fingers. “I can never show my face again.”
Alessandria, giggling, reached out to pat him on the shoulder. “It was quite entertaining,” she said. “I enjoyed the song very much.”
Chad kept his hands over his face. “I am humiliated!”
Gallus was grinning. “I rather like this lady,” he said. “She is not afraid to humiliate you in every possible way.”
Everyone continued to chuckle as Chad continued to pretend he was deeply ashamed. But his hands came away from his face when servants appeared with boiled beef and carrots, and he and Alessandria were served first. Very hungry, they plowed into the food as Gallus and the others spoke of trivial things.
Alessandria stuffed herself on the beef and more strawberries, observing her cousins as they idly chatted. She remembered them from her childhood as brash young men, men she was afraid of even, but now as adults, there was nothing frightening about them. They all seemed quite congenial and pleasant.
Especially Gallus, the head of the family. Alessandria remained quiet, eating as Gallus and Chad spoke of various things. They spoke mostly about the big battle at Evesham but, even then, their conversation was fairly tame and Alessandria knew it was because of her. With the lady present, they weren’t going to get in to anything serious or distasteful. So the conversation flowed, with much variation, until a woman appeared in the entry to the chamber.
A very lovely woman with hair the color of a raven’s wing and pale brown eyes came into the room, her gaze riveted to Alessandria. Gallus reached out to the woman, drawing her to him, and grasping her hand when she came near. Gallus kissed the woman’s hand.
“This is my wife, the Lady Jeniver,” he said to Alessandria. “If you are finished eating, please go with her and she will make you comfortable.”
The Lady Jeniver ferch Gaerwen de Shera smiled at Alessandria. “Welcome to Isenhall,” she said in a heavy Welsh accent. “It is a pleasure to meet you. You must be exhausted from your journey.”
Alessandria returned the woman’s smile. “It was very long, my lady.”
Jeniver looked at Chad. “I am sure Gallus has thanked you for what you have done, but I will thank you for bringing the lady to us,” she said. “You are very brave.”
Chad was about to put a piece of beef in his mouth but stopped so that he could speak. “Your husband told you?” he asked her.
Jeniver nodded. “He told me what Bose told him, about Henry’s plans for the lady,” she said “Bose said that you had been asked to bring the lady to safety. There is not much my husband does not tell me.”
Chad wondered if that was really true. He wondered if she knew about Henry’s determination to wipe her husband and his entire family from the earth. Jeniver was the heiress to the kingdom of Anglesey, a very old kingdom, and she was, perhaps, more astute in the ways of politics and warfare than most women. Her father had made sure to school her on such things. Still, there was so much that Chad wanted to know from Gallus, and wanted to tell Gallus, but nothing would be spoken in front of the women. Therefore, he forced a smile to Lady de Shera’s statement.
“And I am sure you are one of your husband’s most trusted advisors,” he said. “My task is now finished. I deliver Lady Alessandria into your care, my lady.”
Jeniver went to Alessandria, holding out a hand. “We are very happy to have her,” she said. “If you will come with me, my lady?”
Alessandria looked at Jeniver’s outstretched fingers, remembering Chad’s words – I may not see you very much after this. So this was the moment when she would be separated from him. She had no idea when she would see him again and the mere thought brought on anxiety. She didn’t want to be separated from the man, not for a day or an hour or a minute. She wanted to remain here, at his side, because that’s what felt natural and right to her. But Lady de Shera was smiling at her encouragingly and she knew she had little choice. Swept with sadness, she brushed her hands off of crumbs and stood up.
“I am honored, my lady,” she said.
The sadness was evident in her voice, not missed by Chad. His
heart was twisting, just a little, as he watched Alessandria walk out of the chamber with Jeniver, who had her by the hand and was speaking to her on the bath that was being prepared for her. It all sounded quite comfortable and cozy, but Chad was already missing her the moment she left his sight. He wondered if it was evident in his expression as he covered his longing with a long drink of wine.
“Now,” he said before anyone else could speak, trying not to think of the angst in his heart. “Let me tell you the details of what happened when Henry’s Guard of Six came to Canterbury. My father did not want Lady Alessandria at Canterbury, for obvious reasons. He wanted her out and he directed me to bring her to Isenhall so she could be under your protection. But in order to keep Henry’s Six incapacitated so we could leave, he had my mother drug their wine. They were sleeping well enough until someone awoke and saw me leaving with the lady. Then, they tried to wrest the lady from me but were summarily beat back by my father’s knights and my brothers. That is the only way Lady Alessandria and I were able to escape but I will tell you this; I am more than certain de Serreaux has gone back to Henry to tell him what happened and I am furthermore certain that Henry is most displeased with the fact that the House of de Lohr denied him his wants when it came to holding the lady as a hostage. I fear that makes my father and the entire House of de Lohr a target for Henry’s anger.”
The four men were listening seriously. “Henry’s Six did not follow you here, did they?” Gallus asked.
Chad shook his head. “I never saw any hint that they did,” he said. “I do not know how long my father kept them at Canterbury but I am sure it was long enough that they would not be able to track me. That leads me to assume that when they left Canterbury, they simply headed back to London and to Henry.”
Gallus and the others seemed to agree with that assessment, especially if Chad saw no hint of a tail. “Even when they do return and tell Henry what has happened, I cannot imagine Henry would strike out at your father,” Gallus said. “Right now, he seems to be saving all of that anger for me. De Moray was sent here to negotiate our surrender to Henry.”
Fearsome Brides Page 54
