Standing this close, he loomed over her, and he saw how tiny she was in contrast to him. Edward's overt maleness played counterpoint to Eleanora's delicate femininity, and he felt an urge to guard her with his strength, his power, his very life. He felt her small hands tremble. "Come and be warm, love." He led her to the fire and drew her down beside him on a couch.
He slipped his arm around her possessively and began to talk. He hoped it would soothe away her fears and help her to get to know him. He suddenly realized that his size and his rank could be most intimi-
192
dating to a young lady who had likely never been alone with a man before. He dropped a kiss on her head and told her how lovely she was. She gazed up at him with adoration, and Edward realized that the gods had smiled upon him, to give him such a bride. Arranged marriages were seldom love matches, but for him it was love at first sight, or rather second; he had paid scant attention to the ten-year-old at their wedding.
He felt her soft body relax against his side, then her head slowly descended to his shoulder. He could see that her eyes were beginning to close as drowsiness overcame her. She was so trusting, his heart ached with tenderness as he watched her. She was completely in his keeping, and he vowed to do his utmost to make her happy. Very gently he lifted her against his heart, carried her to bed, and tucked her in.
One floor below, in the de Leyburns' bedchamber, Rosamond confided in her husband as he began to disrobe. "Facing the queen was a worse ordeal than I ever dreamed. When she demanded who I was, and I said Rosamond Marshal, she flew into a rage and said, 'Not the Marshal girl who lived at Kenilworth with that she-bitch Eleanor de Mont-fort?' Why does she hate Lady Eleanor so much?"
Rod took a deep breath. "When young King Henry wed Eleanor of Provence, her large family was penniless. When the new queen saw Princess Eleanor, the king's sister, bedecked in jewels and the latest fashions, reportedly she was very envious. Princess Eleanor was spoiled and apparently used to ruling the Plantagenet roost, so the two young women took an instant dislike to each other."
"The queen doesn't simply dislike Lady Eleanor," Rosamond said, "she hates her with a passion! When she discovered Eleanora gone, she accused the de Montforts of kidnapping her. I quickly tried to disabuse her of such a preposterous notion, explaining that Edward had taken his wife to Windsor, and I confessed I had helped them."
Rodger held his breath. Had the queen told her that Edward had repudiated Simon de Montfort?
"The queen slapped me mil in the face!"
"The bitch struck you?" he asked angrily. "You should have told her your name was de Leyburn, not Marshal."
"Ha! She has little love for you, my lord. She called you a rake and said your reputation stunk to high heaven and that no woman was safe
193
with you! She declared you a bad influence on her son, and lamented that now your slut of a wife was in the mix."
"I am profoundly sorry that the queen attacked you, Rosamond. She's a foreign witch who knows no better."
"Oh fie, that isn't what upset me; it was her terrible threat!" Rosamond came around the bed and took Rod's hand as if she were afraid. "She said there was a war coming, and they would destroy the de Mont-forts and us along with them!"
When Rodger enfolded her in his arms, she looked up at him with beseeching eyes. "Will there truly be a war?"
He tucked her head beneath his chin, his eyes clouded with dark thoughts of war. "Yes, I am afraid it has come to that, Rosamond."
"But we will win, won't we? With Lord Edward and my cousin Richard of Gloucester on Earl Simon's side, how can we lose?"
Rod knew he would have to tell her. But not tonight, he decided selfishly, softly stroking her back. "No more talk of war. Come to bed, Rosamond, and we'll talk of more pleasurable things."
Eighteen
I need to recruit soldiers for this campaign," Edward told Rodger.
"Windsor will adequately house them, but your personal coffers are empty. We need wealth; we won't even be able to hold the Gascons unless they are paid for the Welsh campaign, Edward."
"You are right, nothing engenders loyalty like wealth, and I need it quickly. I learned warfare from Simon de Montfort himself, and he taught me that speed and fury win the day."
"There is only one place you can get coin, and that is the New Temple, but what will you give the goldsmiths for security? "
"They already have all of my mother's jewels and even some of the bloody crown jewels as collateral for loans she has taken over the last two years." Edward suddenly raised his golden head, and his blazing blue gaze pierced Rodger, who guessed his intent immediately.
"It will take nerves of steel and a couple of strong arms at your back." Rod flashed a grin, the sheer audacity of the scheme appealing to his darker side. "We'll get Harry; he has such an honest face."
Within the hour, Harry of Almaine arrived at Windsor with his Cornish men-at-arms. "Speak of the devil," Edward said to Rod, then decided to rub salt in his cousin's wounds. "Where the hell have you been since you turned your coat?"
Harry flushed to the roots of his hair. "I've been in such anguish. I was honor-bound to Simon, but my father, my brother Gloucester, and then you turned against him, and I realized it was my duty to stand with my family." Harry grimaced. "On top of that, I made the mistake of going to Westminster."
"Mistake?" Edward asked sharply.
195
Harry's blush deepened. "Alyce de Clare was there; she insisted on accompanying me here to Windsor."
"God's balls, Harry, you haven't the brains of a louse!" Rod admonished him as he saw the look of panic on Edward's face.
"I told her Rosamond was here with you, but she promised to be discreet," Harry said lamely.
"Discretion isn't her long suit," Rod said dryly. "I shall join the ladies and attempt to control the damage, Lord Edward, while you convince Harry that we need his strong arm and honest face."
Rodger found the ladies in the solar. Alyce was gowned in deep royal purple, while Eleanora was wearing a lavender gown embroidered with seed pearls. He thought they looked like the wicked witch and fairy princess from some mythic tale.
"Rod, it is too long," Alyce said, pausing suggestively as her eyes slid over his maleness, "since I have seen you, mon cher; I long to see more of you." She glanced at Rosamond to deliberately provoke her, then went on tiptoe to kiss de Leyburn.
"Alyce, is your visit prompted by curiosity, or have you more information to impart?" Rod asked smoothly.
"Ah, chéri, you know I was seduced into revealing all when you and Edward came to Westminster."
Realizing she was grass-green with jealousy at Eleanora's beauty and innocence, he warned, "Revealing all can be a dangerous game."
Alyce gave Rosamond a sly, sideways glance. "But I adore dangerous games, Rod, and know you too love to play with me!"
Rosamond was ready to pull every hair from her head, but when Rodger looked into his wife's eyes, he communicated without words. Suddenly she realized that the byplay had nothing to do with Rod. Alyce de Clare was simply dying to let Eleanora know that she and Edward were lovers.
"Nan, would you take Lady Alyce to my chamber so she may repair her toilette? Her eyes are smudged with black."
Alyce's hand flew to her face and she threw Rosamond a look that was cold enough to freeze the marrow in her bones. Then she stormed out of the room, with Nan following meekly behind her.
Rosamond turned to the princess and said, "Alyce cannot help
196
flirting with every male she meets; it is a game to her. She really came to Windsor to see what you look like, Eleanora."
"Lady Alyce is a most alluring female. The queen told me King Henry is much too fond of her," she innocently confided.
Rosamond exchanged a look with her husband. "No need for alarm, my lord, I will put out any wildfires Alyce starts."
He nodded his understanding and turned to leave, but Alyce came back into the chambe
r before he reached the door.
"What a clever wife you 'ave, my Rod. She uses dragonwort to prevent conception. Will you share your herbs with me, Rosamond?"
A deathly silence fell over the room, and Rosamond paled as she realized too late she had left the dragonwort on her dressing table. Only someone well versed in the properties of herbs would know the plant's secret; even Nan thought it was used for freckles. Rosamond felt everyone's eyes on her. Eleanora looked shocked, Nan looked outraged, but it was Sir Rodger she was most aware of. His green gaze bored into her with ice-cold fury. "I use it for my skin, Lady Alyce; what do you use to make yours look like porcelain?"
"I use crushed hellebore seeds, but hellebore, like dragonwort, has more deadly properties, nest-ce pas?" Alyce asked silkily.
Rodger bowed stiffly. "I shall see you tonight, madam."
Rosamond knew he hadn't been fooled. Damn the man, he was far too wise in the ways of women. The moment Rodger departed, Alyce pretended she wanted to be friends, but Rosamond knew better.
"I would love to see the apartments King Henry had specially designed for you, Eleanora, and you must come to see mine at Westminster Palace," Alyce said. Turning toward Rosamond, she added, "We could all go about London together!"
"Thank you, but I am going into London with my friend Demoiselle de Montfort," Rosamond coolly informed her.
Alyce laughed in her face. "That would be impossible; London's gates are closed to the de Montforts and all their adherents. How fortunate that Edward has shrewdly repudiated the king's enemy."
Rosamond went cold all over. Alyce is lying; it cannot possibly be true! she thought. She felt as if icy fingers clutched her heart and were squeezing. If such a horrendous thing had happened, Rodger would have
197
told her! Rosamond began to shiver. No, he would not have told her, because the main reason she had agreed to wed him was to strengthen the bond between Lord Edward and Earl Simon. If that bond was now broken, the pawn had been sacrificed for naught! "Richard of Gloucester, my cousin and your father-in-law ... with whom does he stand?" Rosamond asked quietly.
"The Plantagenets, of course. He is England's leading peer; naturellement he stands with the king and the heir to the throne. When King Henry arrives, Simon de Montfort will be destroyed!"
The queen's vituperous words came back to her: In the war that is coming, we will destroy the de Montforts and you along with them! Well, at least the queen realized that she, Rosamond, would remain loyal to the de Montforts, even if Lord Edward and that devil de Leyburn turned traitor!
Rosamond was distraught. What made men so vile? She had begun to trust Rodger de Leyburn. She had done so against her better judgment, and now she realized why she had been so wary. Dear God, were all men created evil? Her eardrums were screaming inside her head, and she fought the faintness that threatened to overwhelm her. Then Rosamond saw Nan looking at her with pity, and her distress suddenly turned into flaming anger.
Princess Eleanora said politely, "Come, Lady Alyce, my apartments are most beautiful. When I was in the Tower, it was so dark, I could not see to embroider, but here the sunlight streams through my lovely, long windows."
"Embroider? Is that what you do for pleasure?" Alyce asked, amused. "Edward must find that most diverting."
"Men are diverted by the oddest things ... war, whores ..." Rosamond taunted, "there is no accounting for their strange tastes. Please excuse me, ladies. Nan, stay with Princess Eleanora, she has more need of you than I, at the moment."
Rosamond escaped to her own chambers and threw the bolt across the door. She was so angry she wanted to smash something, and if she had stayed in Alyce de Clare's company one more moment, she would have smashed the strumpet's insolent face. She went to the window and
198
THE MARRIAGE PRIZE
rubbed her temples to calm herself. A picture of de Leyburn flashed into her mind. I shall see you tonight, madam. He had been angry, but his anger would be as nothing compared to the fury she would unleash on him tonight!
Upstairs, in Princess Eleanora's chambers, Alyce de Clare was seething at the luxury that had been provided for Edward's bride. She gave Bebe a surreptitious kick and glanced through the beautiful windows. Across the ward, she could see Edward, Rodger, Harry, and their squires. They were mounting to leave and looked to be in a hurry. How dare Edward leave without seeing her? She'd be damned if she'd stay here with his dull Castilian wife. She turned to face her. "Edward is leaving! I must hurry, he is escorting me back to Westminster. Now, now, you must not be jealous, chérie . . . you are his virgin bride, I am just his mistress."
******************
The three men decided their mission would be best accomplished with only their squires for escort. Six men would arouse less suspicion than an entire troop of men-at-arms. They had ridden less than a mile from Windsor when they heard galloping hoofbeats.
"The devil take her," Edward growled when he saw Alyce de Clare closing the distance between them.
"I'm sorry," Harry muttered in heartfelt apology.
"And where are you gentlemen off to in such a tearing hurry?" Alyce asked in a deceptively sweet voice.
"We are off to find a wife for Harry," Rod teased. "Bachelors will no longer be tolerated."
"Run for your life, Harry; marriage is a death sentence."
"Merely a life sentence, I believe," Rod bantered.
Alyce spurred her horse between Edward's and Rodger's, then, looking straight ahead so that Harry wouldn't know to whom she directed her words, said, "You 'ave been treating me like an inconvenience; can I expect to see more of you at Westminster?"
Rodger did not disabuse her of the idea they were going to the old palace. She would find out soon enough, when they left her at the gate. "Neither Westminster nor Windsor is convenient, my dear. With your
199
husband's father at one and our wives at the other, you know the difficulties. Perhaps you could visit your castle of Tbnbridge, a safe thirty miles from London."
Edward spoke for the first time. "Tonbridge . .. perhaps I will recruit there. The men of Kent are reputed to be stout fighters."
Alyce suspected it was a ruse to put distance between them. "I prefer London, but perhaps the men of Kent could prove amusing."
When they arrived at Westminster Palace, Rodger said, "We part company here, Alyce. Alas, we must attend to business this morning, not pleasure. Au revoir, chérie."
Her eyes narrowed, but she knew better than to make a scene, and rode off through the iron gates with a prideful toss of her head.
"Never did I see anyone dismiss a female so smoothly. Rod, you have a special touch with the ladies," Harry said with admiration. "I only wish I had half your charm."
"Alyce is no lady." Rod flashed his grin and the other two joined in the laughter. Then they sobered as they focused on the risky business that lay before them.
Once they passed Temple Church, Harry took Rodger's place beside Edward and Rod fell back with the squires. They turned their mounts toward the river and rode up to a great cluster of buildings known as the New Temple. They were met by one of the Jewish custodians, who recognized Prince Edward Plantagenet immediately.
"Your Highness, we are honored at this visit; how may we be of service to you? "
"Good morning. May I present my cousin Harry of Almaine, Richard of Cornwall's son."
Harry gave the man a sweet, beatific smile.
The custodian bowed again, highly pleased to have two royal visitors. Moreover, Cornwall had the wealth of Croesus.
Edward indicated the others. "These men are my bodyguards. I have come to be assured of the safety of the queen's property."
"Of course, Your Highness, it would be an honor to show you the vaults where Queen Eleanor's jewels are held for safekeeping." It was not an unusual request, and as the prince and his men dismounted, the custodian went inside to get his keys. He led them back to the center of
200
the great cluster of buildings, until they came to the Temple vaults. When he located the one in which the queen's jewels were deposited, he fit the great key into the lock and turned it.
Rod had his dagger at the custodian's throat before the iron key even clicked. "I do beg your pardon for this inconvenience," he said, flashing his dark, Lucifer's smile.
Harry took possession of the keys while Edward proceeded to help himself to the vault's contents. Not only did he and his men take the queen's jewels, Edward also filched ten thousand pounds in gold which had been deposited by London merchants. When their saddlebags were full, Lord Edward and his men rode from the New Temple without haste. Only Rod remained, holding the custodian at knifepoint until the thieves were long gone.
-******************
The great dining hall at Windsor rang with laughter and song as Lord Edward's men-at-arms drained their goblets before they sat down to the evening meal. It was the first time in over a year they had coins in their pockets, and most of the Gascons planned an evening of dice. Both Lord Edward and Sir Rodger wanted their beauteous wives beside them in the hall this night, but both ladies were conspicuously absent.
Edward sent a pageboy with a message to Eleanora, but when the lad returned without a reply, the prince's golden brows drew together in a frown. "It seems the mountain must go to Mohammed."
"Eleanora is a princess, after all. I think it would be unchivalrous if we didn't escort our wives to the dining hall," Rod advised.
When the pair arrived at the royal apartments, they saw that Princess Eleanora's ladies had arrived from the Tower and the hallways were filled with trunks and baggage. "It looks as if my mother has conceded the game to me this time. Splendor of God, I shall take a lesson from this: There is nothing that can beat a fait accompli!"
Edward strode toward the door that led into Eleanora's private apartments, but when he turned the doorknob he realized that the door was locked. "Eleanora . . . Nora, where are you, sweetheart?" He rattled the knob. "Would someone open this door, please?" When he received no response, he rattled the door until it danced on its hinges. "Attend me!"