After breakfast the ladies of Godstone showed their visitors their beautiful cloth and tapestries.
"Ah, these tapestries are a sheer delight. Matilda, William's wife, does wonderful work on tapestries, her ladies are trained specially. At the moment she is planning one all about William's conquest of England," said Lady Mortain thoughtlessly.
Lady Alison asked, 'When will the queen be coming to England?"
"Oh, Matilda will not come dashing across the channel as I did. Too much pride! She will make William go and fetch her. Funny is it not, everyone quakes before William, but Matilda, who can't be much over four and a half feet tall, rules him with an iron hand. They are the queerest couple!"
Lillyth hid her smile as she sensed a great deal of rivalry between these two.
"Really, I must sound repetitious, but this is truly the most beautiful cloth I have ever seen. Do you really make such lovely things right here at Godstone? The colors are so, bright! How do you obtain this vibrant shade of red?" asked Lady Mortain.
"From the madder root," answered Alison.
"Why of course!" said Lady Mortain. "Why did I never think of that?"
"All our colors come from plants and wild flowers and roots. I have a stillroom full of lovely dyes," answered Alison.
Lillyth spoke up quickly, "Guy de Montgomery has an order for some of our embroidered cloth from King William. He no doubt wants it for when the queen comes to London," she said ingenuously.
Lady Mortain picked up on this immediately, as Lillyth had hoped.
"Oh, but Matilda may not be here for months yet, while I and my ladies are in desperate case for fine material such as this for our court clothes, and of course the climate is slightly different here, and we cannot make do with what we have."
"Why, madame, we would be honored to make cloth for you, and deliver it long before we fill the King's order. After all, yours is the greater need. You may buy whatever you fancy from what we already have made here and take it with you. Mother will be best to advise you on the materials. Just have my Lord Robert pay Monsieur Montgomery for whatever you choose." She swept a low curtsey and was well pleased with the bit of business she had just transacted. They would need gold to buy more lands. Lands that her sons would own someday. She reminded herself for a moment that she was not even speaking to Guy, and the corners of her lips tilted merrily. She would goad him to the end of his endurance. She shivered rapturously over what would happen then.
Lillyth went up to Andre to massage his leg. Bertha had returned to her home until after the visitors had departed, and André was avid for company. "When the hell is everyone leaving, Lillyth? I am dying to try the stairs, and I am sure I can get about really well without a crutch, but I'm damned if I am going to do it in front of this lot. I will not be a laughingstock or the butt of their jokes."
"With any luck they will leave tomorrow, but it will take all day to get them on their way, and probably Guy will give them escort for the first few miles."
"Well, I will be glad to see the back of them, how about you?"
"Some of them. Andre, is it true that Simonette was Guy's mistress?"
"Good God, you do not expect me to keep track of his women, do you? They are legion." Then he saw the hurt in her eyes and became serious. "Lillyth, do not be foolish. I don't think Guy ever looked twice at a woman until he laid eyes on you. And now he is like a dog with a bone!"
Lillyth bared his leg and André lay back against his pillows and let her hands soothe the tensions from him.
Guy swung open the chamber door and checked on the threshold, a look of utter disbelief upon his face. "How long has this been going on?" he demanded.
Lillyth ignored him completely and continued massaging Andre's limb as if they were completely alone.
"It's not what it seems, Guy. Lillyth is massaging my leg to keep the muscle from shortening. I am determined not to hobble about on crutches for the rest of my life, and Lillyth has been generous enough to help me."
"After these exertions, it is a wonder you do not end up in bed together!" Guy thundered.
Lillyth and Andre dissolved into gales of laughter. They laughed so long and so hard it brought tears to their eyes, and Guy grew livid that they did not share the joke with him. Finally to try to mollify him, Andre said, "Do you know what we have been doing here every day while you were enjoying London? Playing chess!"
Guy's scowl did not lessen, and Lillyth tossed her head and threw at him, "If you are jealous, go and rub Simonette's leg!"
She thought he would slam from the room, but he looked at her coolly and said, "Hmm, very pretty legs as I recall. Perhaps I will ask her to stay." Then he left, shutting the door quietly behind him.
Andre looked at her and said, "You goad him too far, Lillyth."
"If he had seen how bitter and hopeless you were with your face turned to the wall, and compared that with the laughing, optimistic man you are now, he would be thankful for what I have done for his brother; or he ought to be."
"I have been a sore trial to you, Lillyth, but I am determined to walk well again, and then you will know it has been worth all the trouble."
Lillyth put the rubbing oil away, washed her hands and put the ring Robert had given her back onto her finger. Her thoughts went over Guy's words and she believed them to be idle threats. It was all part of a taunting game they played with each other, but at the same time she knew there was a point beyond which she was afraid to go with him. Guy's real anger and Guy's feigned anger were two very different things indeed. She smiled to herself; she was almost to the point of forgiving him.
A soft knock on the door drew Lillyth's attention. She was pleased to see that it was Edyth, but when Edyth saw that Andre was not alone, she quickly withdrew.
"Edyth, don't run off. I have not seen you in days, where have you been hiding?" called Lillyth.
Edyth came back unsmiling and said stiffly, "I thought perhaps André might need some company for dinner, since he will be missing all the festivities below."
"That is a lovely gesture, Edyth. I am sure Andre would love some company." André's eyes had kindled at the sight of Edyth. She had taken pains to wear a very pretty pale pink tunic and underdress. He looked at her and said, "Edyth, your hair is like silver moonlight. Would you really prefer my company to the fun of the hall?"
Lillyth smiled to herself as she left. They hadn't even noticed her going.
Lillyth dressed very carefully for dinner, painstakingly fixing her hair in a more elaborate style with ribbon threaded through the curls. She put on a lime-green silk gown that was not really suitable for a winter's evening, but the great press of people below in the hall, coupled with the huge fires, would make the hall stifling. She hurried as she realized she was later than usual. She passed her mother in the hall with a heavily laden tray.
"Lady Mortain has a migraine, so I thought she would be better off to sup in her room."
"Is there anything I can do to help you, Mother?" asked Lillyth.
"No, child, she has more than enough ladies ready to run and do her bidding, it's just that I was damned if I was going to let them take over my kitchens."
"You had better hurry down, Mother, or everything will have been devoured," Lillyth laughed.
She walked into the hall to find everyone already seated. Her eyes went straight to Guy and she stiffened in horror as she saw Simonette sitting next to him in her own place. In her place! How could he offer her this insult? Her head went up proudly and she walked slowly and deliberately to Robert's right-hand side and smiled brilliantly at him as he arose to assist her into his wife's place. The ale and wine flowed freely, and Lillyth watched in disgust as Guy kept refilling his horn.
Robert said to her, "I have some goblets which I would like you to have. I don't much care for drinking from these horns. The only problem will be locating them among all the baggage, but never fear, I shall set one of the servants to searching until they are found."
"Thank you, sire," s
he smiled.
"No, no formalities please, Lillyth. This is wine from my own vineyards we are drinking."
'In that case, I will have some more," and she drank until she was a little giddy. The inhabitants of the hall were in a boisterous mood. The voices and music grew louder and one or two quarrels broke out, mainly because too much alcohol was being consumed. The men and woman were conducting themselves with an abandon unusual in Guy de Montgomery's hall. Dancing began, and the tables were pushed back to make more room. As soon as Guy took Simonette's hand and led her out into the dance, Lillyth seized upon the moment to take Robert by the hand and coax him from the hall. She had made good her escape, and Guy would not notice they were gone for a few moments. She would stay away long enough to make him suffer damnably!
She smiled up at Robert. "The hall was so unbearably hot and stuffy, I thought I was going to faint. You do not mind, do you, if we go for a walk?"
"I always allow a beautiful woman to have her way," he assured her. "Where shall we go?"
"I don't care! Let's get cloaks and go and see the horses, and then we can have a look at the falcons in the mews, and then we can go up in the tower and I can show you the view."
'But it's dark," he laughed.
"Exactly!" she said, closing one eye in an exaggerated wink.
They purloined cloaks from behind the door and went out into the night like two conspirators. The snow was falling thickly, and Lillyth lifted her face to let the snowflakes fall on her. She ran across to the stables. "You can show me your horse," Lillyth suggested.
"You saw him this morning," he laughed.
They stopped before the magnificent black beast and she ran her hand along its glossy flank. "What do you call him?" she asked.
"Satan," he answered, "because he's a devil. I think there is a devil in you tonight, Lillyth."
"Come up into the loft and I'll show you some newborn kittens," she invited.
He looked round at the gaping stablemen and put a restraining hand on her arm. He whispered low, "We cannot. Your reputation would be in shreds if we went up into the hay. Behave yourself."
They went outside again, where she playfully made a snowball and threw it at him. He chased her and caught up with her down by the stream.
"Let's see if the ice is thick enough to hold us," she said excitedly.
"Be careful!" he called.
Lillyth was standing on the frozen surface and she shouted, "Don't be a coward, come on." He took a tentative step and she cried quickly, "No, no, Robert, I was only teasing, it will never hold your great weight. I'm freezing! Come, let us go up in the old tower." She led the way up the spiral staircase, pulling him along behind her.
"Oh, someone has been using it as a trysting place. There are wine and cushions and some wood. Light a fire before we perish. Oh look, here's some chestnuts, let's roast them."
"I would offer you some wine, but perhaps you have had enough?" He eyed her, amused.
"Of course I shall have some wine," she said, rubbing her hands before the welcome blaze he had created.
They settled by the fire to roast the chestnuts, and she leaned against him contentedly.
"I know you are not being serious, Lillyth. I think you are only playing with me."
She looked him full in the eyes and asked, "Well, aren't you playing with me?"
He took her into his arms and kissed her very gently. "You are a widow, are you not, Lillyth?"
"Oh, the marriage was never consummated, let's not talk of it," she pleaded.
"Then you are still a virgin?" he asked.
She blushed and said, "That is not a question a gentleman asks a lady, my lord."
"I'm sorry, forgive me," he said contritely.
A silence fell over them and she gazed into the flames, and gradually her eyelids became heavy and then closed. He did not move to disturb her. Instead he studied her face, which was so close he could see the fine grain of her skin, the flare of her delicate nostrils and the curve of her lovely mouth. After she had slept for about an hour and the fire had died down, he roused her. She opened sleepy eyes and looked at him. He kissed her softly and murmured, "Come, sweetheart, we must be getting back."
She obeyed without question and thought him quite the nicest, most comfortable gentleman she had ever met. They slipped in the back way and crept quietly up the stairs. They paused before his chamber door, and putting her fingers to her lips in a gesture to indicate quiet, she watched him gently open it and disappear within.
She tiptoed along the hallway to her own sleeping quarters, and as she passed Guy's door a strong arm shot out and jerked her from her feet. Before she could cry out, a rough hand clamped across her mouth and she found herself inside Guy's chamber with the door closed firmly behind her.
"You hurt me," she flared, rubbing her lips.
"I am not gentle by nature. In fact I have a reputation for being harsh and cruel."
She turned to flee and Guy swung her around. "Never turn your back on me again," he commanded.
"I am going to bed," she said coldly.
"You will not leave this room," he ordered.
A smoldering defiance took hold of her and she struck out with her nails at his dark, haughty face. He snatched her wrists.
"Very pretty behavior!" His eyes caught sight of Robert's ring and his anger exploded. "You whore! Damn you to hell, you little whore!" A pulse throbbed savagely in his jaw and he raised his hand and struck her full across the face. Bright red blood ran across her cheek and down her neck, where he had opened up a gash in her delicate skin. She swayed toward him and the red madness receded from his eyes.
"My darling, forgive me! Oh, my little love; mon petit chou, what have I done?" He cradled her in his arms and was distracted at the damage he had caused her face.
She thought oddly, Well, I asked for it. Her manner toward him did not soften, however.
"Let me go! My mother will attend to me," she said coldly.
Helplessly he let her go, as he knew she needed immediate attention. He had probably scarred her for life.
The cavalcade got under way just before noon the next day, and before they left Guy sought out Lillyth, who had stayed in her room all morning. When she saw him she said, "We have nothing to say to each other," and turned her face away. He saw with relief that the cut on her cheek was not as bad as he had feared, but she was bruised.
"You are mistaken! We have a great deal to say to each other, but it can wait until my return. We have a wedding to arrange," he said, and turned on his heel and left.
Guy held himself stiff and aloof from Mortain and his knights, and made himself useful to the ladies and the baggage train, urging them to keep up with the rest of the party. After they had ridden for three hours, Guy told his men they were to start back to Godstone. He rode forward to take his leave of Robert, who looked at him with kindly eyes.
"She loves you very much, you know, and would have none of me. However, I was at a distinct disadvantage with a wife hovering about, while yours is off safely in Normandy." He smiled. "For friendship's sake I did not tell her you were married."
Guy smiled back. "Good-bye, old friend, and I thank you."
They saluted each other, and Guys heart was happy that they were not parting as enemies and that he was turning "home," as he fondly thought of Godstone.
Chapter 19
The first thing Guy did upon his return was to put all his things back into the large chamber. When he was finished he looked around with satisfaction and vowed before long to have his Lillyth sharing it with him. During the next couple of days Lillyth avoided him, and try as he might, he could not seem to get her alone. When he realized it was by her design, he finally got a grip on the situation and strode into her chamber briskly.
"Get the fur cloak I gave you, we are going riding," he said.
"I think not, my lord," she answered.
He ignored her words, found her cloak and wrapped her in it. Then he took her arm and pulled her
after him, ignoring all protests. In the stable he ordered that Zephyr be saddled, while he saddled his own horse. They rode out side by side into the crisp morning air.
"Lillyth, I am sorry I hurt you. I will never strike you again."
"Ha!" she retorted.
"Why did you deliberately provoke me with Robert?" he asked.
"Ha!" she said again.
He began once more, holding his patience. "This business of Simonette— she means absolutely nothing to me."
"Ha!" she said, louder than ever.
They rode on in silence for a while, then Guy said reasonably, "I am offering to share the present and the future with you, Lillyth. I cannot give you my past."
"Ha!" she repeated.
"Stop making that annoying noise!" he shouted.
"Ha!" she provoked, then added, "You are a lecherous monster, an insufferably arrogant, cruel and whoremongering Norman!"
"You are never again to speak to me in such a manner. I will not tolerate your insolence," he ordered.
They rode on a few more miles, until Guy said, "This is ridiculous. Dismount so we can converse properly."
They got down and stood face to face.
"Our marriage is to set an example to the others at Godstone. I am sure that once our marriage takes place, others will follow."
"I would not marry you if you were the last man on earth!" she taunted.
"Be silent!" he thundered. Lillyth's horse was immediately startled into action, and she galloped off in the direction they had come before either of them could grab her. Guy mounted and picked Lillyth up before him. Her nearness affected him immediately, and he said coaxingly, "I've not had another woman since the first day I saw you, Lillyth, even though there were dozens who would have been willing. I have been completely faithful to you."
"Ha!" she said once again.
"If you make that bloody noise once more, I will put you down and you can walk home."
She felt the statement to be ridiculous since they were many miles from home, so she immediately tossed her head and said, "Ha!"