by Speer, Flora
Flinging up both hands to push her husband back, Lady Irmina placed herself squarely between Sir Lamont and King Henry. The knife in Sir Lamont’s hand, concealed until the very last moment in the loose folds of his new cloak, plunged into Lady Irmina’s side.
“Lamont? Why?” Clutching her side, she stared at her husband in disbelief. “What are you trying to do?”
By then, Royce was standing squarely in front of King Henry, protecting him from further assault. Cadwallon and Desmond held Sir Lamont by both arms, immobilizing him, and half a dozen men-at-arms surrounded the would-be killer.
Lady Irmina turned to Elaine. She opened her mouth, trying to say something, but no words came. She crumpled into Elaine’s arms. Certain the king was safe, Elaine concentrated on her mother, lowering her to the floor and pulling the silk gown away from the wound in her side.
“Lady Irmina!” King Henry exclaimed, bending over Elaine to look at the bleeding woman. Elaine saw the glint of metal and realized he was wearing body armor. “Is she—?”
“No, my lord,” Elaine said. “I don’t think she’s badly hurt, though her sash is ruined. All the gold trim on it deflected Sir Lamont’s blade. There’s some blood, but it’s stopping already. I believe a simple bandage will suffice.”
“She shall have the grandest, most ornate sash in all of Christendom to replace the one she sacrificed for my sake,” King Henry said. Looking up, he added, “Lord Bertrand, what of your arm?”
“My wound is the same as Lady Irmina’s, my lord,” came the ready answer. “Just a shallow gash that looks worse than it really is. I must say, sir, I do wonder what is happening here? Why did you insist I be present, when you obviously knew you were going to be attacked?”
“We weren’t sure whether you were a part of the plan to murder the king,” Royce explained.
“We put you to the test, and you passed,” Cadwallon added. “You and Lady Irmina were both willing to take the blow meant for King Henry, thus proving your loyalty to him.”
“Ohhh, Lamont, my dearest,” Lady Irmina said. She groaned as she tried to sit up. “Was this how you planned to win fame?” With Elaine supporting her, she staggered to her feet. “I should have known you’d find a way to ruin everything,” Sir Lamont snarled at her.
“But why?” “Lady Irmina asked. “I don’t understand.”
“Sir Lamont is a secret agent for King Louis of France,” Royce informed her. “He has been plotting for months to kill King Henry, and he might well have succeeded, if not for your clever daughter and her friends, who discovered the scheme and warned the king.”
“Elaine?” Lady Irmina turned bewildered eyes on her. “Why didn’t you tell me that you suspected Lamont?”
“Royce commanded my silence. Anyway, you scarcely gave me a chance to speak,” Elaine responded, smiling a little. Knowing how devastated her mother was going to be when she finally and fully comprehended how devious Sir Lamont had been and that he had apparently used his foolish, doting wife to conceal his treasonous activities, she added, “Mother, you are a heroine. You saved King Henry’s life.”
“I?” Lady Irmina stood a little straighter, wincing at the discomfort. She clutched at the wound in her side, but managed a weak smile. “I did save him, didn’t I?”
“Indeed, you did, my dear lady,” said King Henry. “I am very grateful to you. I’ll not forget what you did for me this morning. Nor will I forget Elaine’s loyalty. Now, Royce…” He turned his attention to the question of how many, and which, of King Louis’s spies ought to be rounded up and charged with complicity in the plot.
“Lamont, how could you betray your king?” Lady Irmina demanded of her husband, whose hands were being bound by his guards. “How could you betray my trust in you? I thought you loved me.”
“What man could love you, you silly old creature?” Sir Lamont responded with unconcealed distain.
“You swore eternal devotion,” Lady Irmina whispered, tears streaking down her cheeks. “If you cared nothing for me, then why did you take such pains to make me love you? Why did you marry me?”
“You held a handsome widow’s portion from your late husband,” Sir Lamont said. “You were foolish enough to believe every lie I whispered into your ear. You were greedy for physical affection. And I knew you’d stop at nothing to advance yourself – and me – in the world.”
“You misjudged me. I could not let you kill my king. I am glad you didn’t succeed. But you did succeed in killing my love for you.”
“Take him away,” King Henry ordered, and Sir Lamont was unceremoniously dragged from the room.
“My lord king,” said Bertrand, “I hereby invoke my right to challenge Sir Lamont de Bruay to man-to-man combat. He suborned my wife, luring her into treason. The only way for me to redeem my honor is by killing him.”
“I reject your request,” King Henry told him. “Sir Lamont will be consigned to Royce and his people, who will extract as much information as possible from him before we lock him in a deep dungeon for the rest of his life. I won’t have him executed, for he may yet prove useful to me.”
“Oh, Royce, please, I beg you,” Lady Irmina cried, “do not subject Lamont to torture. Until this very hour, I loved him, and the thought of his beautiful body broken and bleeding -” Her voice dissolved into wrenching sobs.
“I do not believe in torture,” Royce assured her. “Under torture, a man will eventually say whatever his questioners want him to say, just to stop the pain. One can never be sure the information thus extracted is true. However, Lamont is unaware of my views on the subject, so the threat of torture may be enough to convince him to talk.”
“I knew I could convince you to see reason,” Lady Irmina whispered.
While Royce looked at her as if he wanted to refute her last words and deny that she had any influence on him, Lady Irmina sagged against Elaine, who staggered under the weight until Desmond scooped up the older woman.
“Royce,” Desmond said, “if you don’t need me for half an hour, I’ll carry Lady Irmina to her bedchamber and make certain she will recover.”
“No, take her back to my room and stay there with her,” Royce ordered. “Cadwallon and I will be searching the apartment she occupied with Sir Lamont. He has probably been too clever to leave evidence lying about, but we ought to be certain.”
“Lady Irmina,” King Henry said to the half conscious woman, “I will send my own physician to attend you.”
Lady Irmina moaned softly. Elaine wasn’t sure whether the sound was the result of pain from her wound, or of the emotional distress caused by her treacherous husband, or an expression of gratitude for the king’s kindness.
Chapter 20
“Your mother will recover within a day,” the royal physician assured Elaine an hour later. “I have dosed her with diluted poppy syrup to make her sleep for a time, so I advise you not to disturb her. Let her rest after her strenuous efforts in the king’s behalf. Lady Irmina is a most courageous woman. You must be extremely proud of her.”
Desmond showed the physician out of Royce’s office, then rejoined Elaine by the north window.
“She won’t change her ways after this,” Elaine said softly when they were alone. “My mother is what she is. But she will enjoy her new fame at court as the lady who risked her own life to save the king, and her pleasure will help to alleviate the shame of Sir Lamont’s betrayal.”
“If I have read Lady Irmina correctly,” Desmond said, “she will soon find a way to be rid of Lamont. I doubt if the Church will prevent her from seeking her freedom from a traitor.”
“After the annulment she will immediately begin looking for a new husband,” Elaine added with wry humor. “Perhaps King Henry will arrange for her to marry a man who is more suitable than Lamont.
“Enough about my mother. She is only one person caught up in a conspiracy involving many people. Desmond, what of the French invasion? King Louis cannot have learned yet how the plan to kill King Henry has failed, so the ar
mies of France and Flanders will be moving into Upper Normandy. They must be stopped.”
“They will be stopped,” said a new voice from the doorway. Cadwallon entered the room, with Royce following him. “We have word that the French army has reached Evreux, just a few miles over the border from France. King Henry has ordered Desmond and me to ride to Evreux and deliver a message to Louis and his ally, the count of Flanders. We are to inform them that their plan is revealed, that a dozen of their most important spies have been arrested, and that unless they withdraw at once, King Henry is prepared to meet them on the field of battle with a large and very angry army of loyal Normans and Englishmen.”
“Do you think they will withdraw?” Elaine asked.
“Without a doubt,” Royce said. “Our information indicates they haven’t brought many men with them. It seems they expected all of Normandy to be an easy conquest once King Henry was dead, and they believed most of Henry’s nobles would defect to their side. Instead, the nobles are rejecting Louis and loudly declaring their fidelity to Henry.”
“Bertrand wanted to ride with us to Evreux,” Cadwallon said to Desmond. “The king refused his request.”
“I should think so,” Elaine said scornfully. “Does that despicable man imagine he can redeem himself by seeming to be King Henry’s loyal messenger?”
“He’s certainly trying,” Cadwallon said, grinning.
“He’ll never succeed in my eyes,” Elaine declared with some heat. “Not after what he did to my sister.”
“When King Henry refused Bertrand’s request,” Royce said, “I suggested that Bertrand take himself off to the Holy Land, which is, after all, the preferred pilgrimage for men who hope to have their sins forgiven, both by God and by their earthly rulers. Henry declared my idea an excellent one, so Bertrand is leaving today, with the king’s blessing – and with two men-at-arms and a priest to escort him safely as far as Rome, so he cannot deviate from his route.”
“I’m glad I won’t have to see him again,” Elaine said. “Desmond, let me ride to Evreux with you and Cadwallon. If King Louis harbors any doubt that we have uncovered his plans, I can add my witness to yours, and I would dearly love to tell him what I think of Sir Lamont.”
“Ah, no,” Desmond said, laughing. “Were I to turn you loose upon poor Louis, war with France and Flanders would be inevitable. Stay here, see to your mother’s health, and pretend to be the meek daughter she wants. Cadwallon and I will return in a few days.”
“We are commanded to leave at once,” Cadwallon told him.
When Desmond boldly slid an arm around her waist and kissed her hard, Elaine did not protest. Nor did she weep when he and Cadwallon bid her farewell. She told herself she was learning to control her emotions and she met Royce’s assessing gaze with calmness.
“We need to speak about your dowry,” Royce told her when the other two men were gone. “As you know, your father left your dowry and Aglise’s in my trust afer his death. I have today obtained King Henry’s permission to combine the two properties into one large dowry, to hold for you until your marriage.”
“I don’t want it.” Elaine discovered to her chagrin that she wasn’t in as firm control of her emotions as she had imagined. The thought of Aglise brought her close to tears.
“Dear girl, be sensible,” Royce said. “Aldwynd and I were close friends, so I can say with complete confidence that he would have wanted Aglise’s portion to go to you, as his only surviving child.
“Now, if you have a preference in a husband, you may speak to me, or directly to King Henry. Unless your choice is completely and dangerously outrageous, neither of us will be inclined to refuse your wishes. I suggest you decide for yourself who you want, and that you do so before your mother revives enough to voice her opinion, or before King Henry can choose a husband for you. Henry means well, but he may choose a man whom you cannot like. You’ve been through a difficult time these past few months since Aglise disappeared, so I’d like to see you happy in your marriage. A good marriage is one of life’s great blessings.”
Royce fell silent, his head bowed, and Elaine knew he was recalling his own happy marriage to a woman he had dearly loved and whom he had made no secret of missing since her early death. Knowing of Royce’s past gave her the courage to speak her mind without reservation.
“Desmond is too proud ever to marry as Sir Lamont did, in order to gain control over his wife’s property. Besides, Desmond relishes his work as a spy. I’ve seen how he craves the excitement of it. He will not want to give up such vital stimulation; it’s too important to him.”
“Perhaps you should speak to Desmond on the matter,” Royce said with a faint smile.
The subject of Aglise’s dowry and Elaine’s marriage rose again that evening, while Elaine, Royce, and Lady Irmina were eating in Royce’s office. Lady Irmina was a bit pale, but otherwise seemed quite recovered, and she insisted on getting out of bed. Wearing a bright blue robe that was unusually plain for her and no face paint at all, she sat in Royce’s own big chair, which he had relinquished to her when she claimed to feel a bit weak. Weak or not, she ate more heartily than Elaine did, making quick work of two small game birds and a large slice of meat pie.
“What will become of me now?” Lady Irmina asked Royce. “And of Elaine? Sir Lamont’s estate is sure to be confiscated, as the properties of traitors always are. How shall we live?”
“Because of your brave actions in King Henry’s behalf,” Royce told her, “he has agreed to return your original widow’s portion to you. So, you will once again hold the property that Aldwynd left to you in his will.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” Lady Irmina sipped her wine, frowning a little as if she was thinking deeply. “What about Aglise’s dowry? Shouldn’t it come to me, too, in addition to my widow’s portion?”
“No,” Royce said firmly. “It belongs to Elaine.”
“I don’t like that arrangement.” Lady Irmina’s sharp gaze rested on her daughter. “However, I suppose it doesn’t matter too much, as I shall choose Elaine’s husband. Arranging her marriage is my prerogative, and I shall insist upon a nice piece of property being granted to me in the marriage contract.”
“Since Aldwynd designated me as guardian of his daughters’ dowries,” Royce said, “I have a say in the decision. I think Elaine should marry Sir Desmond of Ashendown.”
“That rude knave? Never!” Lady Irmina exclaimed. “I will not tolerate the match. If you insist upon it, Royce, I shall speak to King Henry against it. The king will not deny me my rights as Elaine’s mother.”
“I have already spoken to King Henry,” Royce told her, “and he agrees with me that Desmond deserves some reward for his work during the past month.”
“Work as a spy!” Lady Irmina cried. “Disgraceful work!”
“Lamont was a spy and until this day you claimed to love him,” Elaine reminded her. “As to my marriage, I refuse to be anyone’s reward, or to be given away for the sake of my dowry, or as the means of my mother acquiring still more property. I will have the final say in my choice of husband. Desmond and I will talk after he returns from Evreux.”
“Evreux? What is he doing there?” Lady Irmina asked. In a tone of contempt she added, “More spying, perhaps?”
“King Henry sent Desmond and Cadwallon on a diplomatic mission to convince Louis of France to end his invasion and withdraw to his own lands,” Royce said. “Desmond, having done his best to uncover the plot against King Henry and to warn him in time to save his life—”
“I saved King Henry’s life,” Lady Irmina interrupted.
“So you did,” Royce responded mildly. “Now, Desmond is determined to stop the invasion Sir Lamont encouraged, thus benefiting all of us and perhaps saving King Henry’s life a second time. In view of what Desmond has accomplished, how can you say he doesn’t deserve the finest reward King Henry can possibly bestow upon him, – your daughter’s hand?”
“I don’t like Sir Desmond,” Lady Irmina declar
ed in the sulky tone of a thwarted child.
“I’m sure you don’t,” Elaine spoke up before Royce could respond. “Desmond is not a man to be manipulated by feminine wiles. That is why I refuse to say yes or no to this idea of a marriage between us until after he returns to Caen and we have a chance to speak together, without interference from others.”
“With your dowry combined with Aglise’s, you could make a far grander marriage,” Lady Irmina insisted. “I will oppose your marriage to Sir Desmond with my dying breath. You do not have to accept a mere knight.”
“You did.” Elaine felt not the least twinge of guilt when her mother winced at the harsh reminder.
“Lady Irmina, perhaps you don’t know,” Royce said smoothly, “that Desmond’s older brother is Baron Walcott of Ashendown. Desmond’s twin brother, older by half an hour, is Magnus, lord of Brixton Manor in Kent, and a man highly regarded by King Henry. I advise you to think carefully before you criticize Desmond’s origins. I will vouch for his resolute character, and I strongly suggest that you allow Elaine to decide for herself whether or not she wants to marry him.”
“Am I permitted to return to my own apartment?” Lady Irmina demanded of Royce. “Or am I still a prisoner here?”
“You are free to go,” Royce said.
“Good.” Lady Irmina rose and headed for the door. “I want a bath, perfume, my hairdresser, and a fresh gown before I make my appearance in the great hall this evening. Come along, Elaine.”
“No, thank you, Mother.” Elaine stayed where she was.
“You cannot attend the king in that dress!” Lady Irmina exclaimed. “He has already seen it. You will disgrace me before all the courtiers.”
“Only you can disgrace yourself,” Royce told her. “In fact, I have ordered a new gown for Elaine, and I have found a maidservant to help her dress.”
“Here? In your private rooms? Oh, this is outrageous!”
“Not as outrageous as treason,” Royce said, his quiet words momentarily silencing Lady Irmina.
