Читать книгу: «The Captive Bride»

Chapter One

England, July 1437

“It is unacceptable.”

Katharine put the missive aside with finality. The gaze she set upon the man standing before her was unwavering. “You may tell Duke Humphrey and Sir Senet Gaillard that my decision on the matter remains unchanged. And,”she added distinctly, “unchangeable. I will not accept Sir Senet for a husband. If Duke Humphrey finds this distressing, then I pray you will remind him that I am already betrothed.”

“He has not forgotten it, my lady,”Sir William told her with a slight bow. “But Lord Hanley has been presumed dead these past three years—”

“He is not dead!”Katharine rose from her chair. “I will not have you, or anyone else, saying so.”She gripped her skirt in a tight fist as she moved nearer the man. “The pilgrimage he’s undertaken has merely lasted longer than expected. If any ill had befallen him or his companions, I would have had word of it”

“The trouble, my lady, is that you’ve had no word from him. Nor has anyone else. It is only logical to assume the worst.”

“Not at all,”she countered. “Lord Hanley is an exceedingly devout man, and would not be given to such worldly concerns as writing mere missives when he is instead giving worship to God. He wished to make this journey before taking on the duties of marriage and so asked me to wait for his return. I will do as he requested and fulfill the promise I gave him. Surely Duke Humphrey would not want me to do otherwise.”

“My lady, only hear me—”

“There is nothing more to say,”she said brusquely. “You may convey my sentiments to Duke Humphrey exactly as I have expressed them, and tell him that I pray he leaves me in peace.”

The man hesitated.

“Are you quite certain that this is what you wish, Lady Katharine?”

“Quite certain.”

He looked behind her to where three other ladies sat watching the proceedings.

“There is no one who can change your mind?”

The ladies to whom he looked variously cast their eyes to the floor, and Katharine replied, “No one.”

He bowed. “Then I will thank you for receiving me, and bid you good day.”

Katharine nodded. “Mistress Ariette will escort you through the hall.”One of her ladies, a diminutive young woman, rose silently from her chair. “Godspeed to you, my lord.”

She collapsed into the nearest chair the moment he quit the room.

“May God forgive me,”she murmured, drawing in a deep breath and crossing herself, “for speaking so many falsehoods.”The breath was released in a rapid whoosh.

The remaining women quickly surrounded her.

“Oh, my lady, you were wonderful!”

“Thank you, Dorothea.”Katharine accepted the goblet of wine that was pressed into her shaking hand. “I thought my knees would give way before he finally left. Did he believe it, do you think?”

“He must have done so,”Dorothea answered, fanning her mistress with a small square silk linen. “You were most convincing.”

“Indeed,”said the other maid, younger than the other two. “You made Lord Hanley sound almost a saint, and that was not easily done.”

Katharine smiled. “I nearly choked on the words. If that pompous fool ever does return alive from his travels, I can only pray he’ll never hear of what transpired this day.”

“He might insist that you wed him.”

“May heaven forbid it!”Katharine said fervently, and her ladies nodded.

A soft voice came from the doorway. “My lady?”Ariette had returned. “He has gone.”

“But he’ll be back soon,”Katharine said with a frown. “Or if not him, another of Duke Humphrey’s messengers. The king’s regent has a never ceasing supply of them, so it seems. This makes the sixth we’ve dealt with thus far, not including the visit Sir Justin Baldwin paid.”

“Perhaps the duke himself might make the journey,”Dorothea speculated.

“I shouldn’t be surprised.”Katharine stood and walked back to where she’d left the missive. Unfolding and laying it upon the table, she flattened it with both hands. “I must find the means to keep Lomas without fettering myself in the doing. Surely there is some way to manage it.”

“I don’t know why you won’t at least see Sir Senet,”the youngest girl said. “’Tis rumored that he’s very handsome, as well as a brave knight who has attained much honor. And Lomas would have been his by right if naught had happened to change the matter.”

“I’ve no care for either Senet Gaillard’s looks or his attainments, Magan,”Katharine told her distractedly, studying the page before her. “His father was a traitor to the throne, and I’ll not be wed to such a one. And as to Lomas being his—I should have to be dead first.”

“Oh, my lady, please don’t say that,”Ariette begged. “The duke may force you to wed the man. Or he may grow even angrier and make Sir Senet lord here without the necessity of marriage. Then we would all of us be beneath his hand. Even you.”

It was true, Katharine thought unhappily, and might very well occur, especially if she continued to turn aside the proposed marriage. And it was something that might already have occurred to Duke Humphrey, regardless of whatever crimes Senet Gaillard’s father had committed. The past lord of Lomas might have been a traitor to the crown, but Sir Senet, if all that she’d heard was true, had more than proven himself loyal to both king and country. He’d killed his father’s own people in the war with France—his own people, since he was so closely related to French royalty, in order to prove himself.

But none of that mattered to Katharine. She had no wish for an arranged marriage. Indeed, she had no wish for marriage at all. It was naught but a chain to women, a path to lifelong servitude. Even the betrothal that her father had arranged to Lord Hanley, whom she despised, had been awful to her. When he had decided to go on his pilgrimage, Katharine had been utterly relieved; when he’d evidently disappeared on that same pilgrimage, she’d thanked God for unexpected mercies. Not that she wished harm upon Lord Hanley, but she’d been her own mistress at Lomas since even before her father had died, and had no wish to be otherwise. If she married Lord Hanley or Sir Senet, or any man, she would suddenly become as she had once been—powerless and, worse, unable to do so much as speak her mind on how best to manage Lomas for the benefit of both the land and the people. She had seen that fate befall her own mpther before her father had been gifted with the estate and title that belonged to Lomas, when they had lived at court in London. It was as if her mother had merely become a shadow, necessary only to make certain of the comfort of others, but nothing more. And like a shadow she had eventually faded beneath such a lack of identity. Katharine’s father hadn’t even realized that his wife was slipping away until it had been too late. She would never forget how stunned he’d been at her mother’s death, how unforgivably surprised.

“I will think of a way to keep it from happening,”Katharine vowed. “I must. Even if I cannot hold off marrying forever, at least I may buy enough time to find a husband of my own choosing.”

“I cannot see what good that will do,”said Dorothea. “They are all the same, are they not? And perhaps you may find one who is even worse, than Sir Senet. Only think of Lord Hanley.”

Katharine gave a slight shudder. “You speak truly, though few men could be a worse prospect for husband than he.”She grew thoughtful. “But it would be convenient, would it not, if I truly had a betrothed? Someone who would convince Duke Humphrey and Sir Senet and any other suitors that I am soon to be wed so that they may leave me in peace.”

“But you are betrothed,”Magan told her. “To Lord Hanley. And it would be impossible to procure him, would it not?”

“Yes, and may God be praised for it,”Katharine said with a nod, “but I doubt that any of Duke Humphrey’s messengers would recognize Lord Hanley if they saw him. He was not given to visits at court, and was somewhat solitary. Would it not be most convincing to my case if he should suddenly return from his pilgrimage?”

Her ladies gaped at her, until Dorothea said, “My lady, you cannot intend to practice such deceit.”

“Can I not?”Katharine’s lips curved into a smile. “I am a woman sorely pressed, and capable of attempting anything at all. Indeed, the more I think of it, the better I like the idea. I need only find the right man to lend me aid in such a scheme, and all will be well.”

“My lady, this is madness!”Ariette protested. “Only think. You would have to marry this man—a stranger. How can that be any better than wedding with Sir Senet?”

“I can’t think I should have to do any such thing,”Katharine replied evenly. “If I can only convince whoever will help me to temporarily play the part of my betrothed, then he may leave Lomas unfettered—and much the richer—once Duke Humphrey has been convinced. I’ll have no further need of him.”

“Will you not?”Ariette pressed. “And what will happen when the duke discovers you never wed? He’ll be angrier than before, and will have you punished for such a lie.”

“Hmm.”Katharine tapped the tip of one finger against her chin, thinking of this. “You speak truly, Ariette. And it would be just as well to have the matter done with so that we need not worry over any interference in future. But the answer to that is simple, as well. I must only find a man who will wed if enough money is offered and who has no more interest in maintaining a binding union than I. Someone who will gladly be on his way once the ruse has met its goal.”She smoothed her hand over the missive once more. “I believe I know the perfect man.”

“Who, my lady?”

She straightened. “Kieran FitzAllen.”

A collective gasp rose among the others.

“But, Lady Katharine!”Magan cried. “He’s your own cousin!”

“My half cousin,”Katharine corrected. “And distantly removed, at that, as well as basely born. Duke Humphrey has probably never even heard of him, or known of his existence. He’d pass perfectly as Lord Hanley, without a moment’s question.”

“But he’s…he’s…”Ariette began, faltering.

“A rogue,”Dorothea stated sternly. “A complete scoundrel in every way. He’s ever in trouble, and well you know it. I can’t believe anyone would mistake such a coarse man for Lord Hanley.”

“And I can’t believe you should wish to wed him,”Magan said. “Despite that he’s the most handsome of men, he would likewise make the most unreliable of husbands. Only think of all his.women.”She reddened just speaking of it. “How could you possibly wish to be united to such a man?”

“Easily,”Katharine said with a wave of one hand. “Oh, Kie’s a troublemaker, I grant you, but his heart is good and his pockets empty. ‘Twould be a simple matter to coax him to the idea, and he’d leave Lomas readily enough when the time came. He’s never wished to marry any more than I have. I can’t think why it’s not occurred to me before now that we might lend each other aid in the matter.”

“He’d be a burden about your neck for the rest of your life,”Dorothea declared. “Always showing up when he was in trouble or needing money. You’d never be rid of him.”

“I won’t care for that, so long as he never attempts to lay claim to Lomas. And that,”she said with certainty, “is something he would not do. You know how he disdains responsibility.”She grinned at her ladies. “’Tis why he’s always roaming about, hither and yon, is that not so? Nay, Kie will give me no trouble. He’ll make the ideal husband, if I can but convince him to come to Lomas to hear what I propose.”

“I doubt you could even find him,”Ariette said with a sniff. “He only shows up when he wants something.”

“Unkind!”Katharine charged. “And untrue. You know very well that he comes often only to visit. We’ve always gotten along well, and I have counted him among my truest friends. If he has needed aid on occasion, I’ve been more than glad to lend it. He’s never grown wearisome in his company, at least, as Lord Hanley was given to do.”

“And what of Lord Hanley?”Magan asked. “What if he should one day return from his pilgrimage? What a fine road of trouble that would be, were he to find you wed to another who’d taken his name.”

Katharine shook her head. “He’ll not return. Not after so long. And if he should—”The idea made her feel slightly ill. “At least I would be safely wed to another. If I lose Lomas for the deceit, I would not also have to suffer in being his wife. But come. We waste precious time. Magan, bring parchment and ink, and I will write a missive to Kieran. If only he can be found in time, we may be ready to receive whoever else Duke Humphrey deigns to send. Even Sir Senet Gaillard, should he be so bold as to come to Lomas uninvited. But I cannot think he would do anything so rude, unless he is more treacherous than his father was.”

“Oh, my lady,”Magan said, pleading, “I beg you to think of this matter again. It can bring naught but disaster!”

“There is no more time for pondering. Indeed, we would do far better to spend our time in prayer, and ask God to aid us in finding my cousin. Knowing how he wanders, that in itself may require a small miracle.”

It looked the same as Senet had remembered it. The valley spread out below was the most beautiful he’d ever seen—although he knew, in truth, that only he would think it so. But the land surrounding Castle Lomas was ripe with crops—wheat, oats, beans—while farther away it rolled gently, dotted with oak trees. Farther still the trees grew together more thickly, forming a forest. A small, constant river meandered through the middle of the valley, bordering the castle gates on one side. He remembered fishing in that river, and riding through the oak trees and forest, and hawking with his father in the fields on cold, early mornings. His mother had liked to sit atop the castle walls on pleasant nights and gaze out at the stars, pondering their distances and trying to figure the numbers in her brilliant mind. His sister, Isabelle, had played with him in the garden in the inner bailey when they were children, although she was older than he by some few years.

How very long ago it seemed, when he had believed that Castle Lomas was a place of complete security. He had thought he would live there forever and one day be lord, that he would bring his own lady there as wife and raise his children in the castle where he himself had been born.

It had gone away so quickly, all of it. The land, the castle, the title—even his parents. His father had found it more difficult to give fealty to his family than to France, the land of his birth, and so had turned traitor when England had sought the French throne. Even after England had secured the throne he’d continued plotting treason, and when the betrayal had been discovered, Lord Lomas had been promptly executed. Castle Lomas, the lands and the title had been stripped away, claimed by the crown as forfeit for the crime. Senet’s mother, an English noblewoman, had died soon thereafter, of a broken heart His sister, Isabelle, had been given into the care of their mother’s half brother, Baron Hersell, and had been made to labor as little better than a lowly servant. Senet himself had become a slave to the man who had been fostering and training him for knighthood, but who would no longer countenance to train the son of a traitor. For years Senet had labored as if he were an animal, and had prayed daily for death, finding the thought of it far preferable to the life he had. His father’s deeds had taken away everything, even Senet’s claim to honor.

When he was sixteen he’d been miraculously rescued by Sir Justin Baldwin, the man who had saved Isabelle from Baron Hersell and taken her as his wife. Sir Justin had given him a home, a family, and had trained him for knighthood. In his selfless, gentle manner he had also given Senet something far more—the courage and the means to fight for his honor again. And Senet had done just that, serving England for the past ten years in its bloody, hopeless war against France, proving his loyalty time and again on the battlefield. Whatever his father had given away to France, Senet had taken back again, not letting himself think too long or too hard on who it was that he killed, or that his enemy might also be of his own, half—French blood.

And now he was nearing the last of it. His final goal. Castle Lomas would be his before the day was out, as it should always have been, and he would have his honor restored in full.

“The king’s messenger is returning.”Kayne, standing beside him, pointed to where the small figure of a man on horseback moved across the valley floor. “I wonder if Lady Katharine’s response was any different today than it has been these past many weeks.”

“It matters not,”Senet said. “Today is the finish of her wavering, whether she said ‘nay’ or ‘yea.’ Today I will have Lomas, either by reason or by force, and tomorrow, by the same reckoning, Lady Katharine will become my wife.”

“What I wonder,”said Aric, standing on Senet’s other side, “is if she’s ugly. A woman that age, twenty and one, and unmarried—there must be a reason for it.”

“It matters not,”Senet repeated. “I’ve no care for what she looks like, even if she should be an ugly hag. She will be my wife. Tomorrow.”

“’Tis indeed a goodly land,”Kayne remarked, crossing his arms against his chest. “I can understand why you longed for it. But, God’s feet, what a price you’ve been made to pay.”

Aye, he’d paid a price for it, Senet thought, in blood, with his very soul. Nothing would take it from him now.

“I give you good day,”a voice behind them greeted, accompanied by the sound of a horse’s hooves.

“John, well met.”Senet moved to hold that man’s horse as he dismounted. “How is it that you’ve returned before the king’s messenger? Did all go well?”

With a good—natured smile, John Ipris joined his friends at the edge of the hill, his stance leisurely and relaxed compared to the ready manner of his warrior companions.

“I’ve completed my survey of the castle proper, Senet, if that is what you mean. As to Lady Katharine—from what I overheard of her conversation with Sir William, your suit has not yet met with acceptance. She invoked the name of Lord Hanley again and insisted upon her loyalty to him.”

“’Tis an admirable quality in a woman,”Kayne said. “Loyalty.”

“And not often found in the fairer sex,”Aric added somewhat bitterly. “She’s a fool to waste the virtue on a dead man.”

“If what John says is true, and we will discover the full of it when Sir William arrives, then we must fall upon our next planned course of action.”

Kayne sighed. “I had prayed it would not be so. I am heartily weary of killing.”

“As am I, my friend,”Senet said soberly, “but it will not come to that, if we are carefuL John can tell us what weaknesses Lomas possesses, if they are any different from what I have remembered, and we will easily take it. Indeed, I have no wish to bring harm to any in the castle. Certainly not to my future wife or those belonging to her.”

Aric chuckled. “’Twould not be the most befitting way to begin a marriage.”

“She’ll have every opportunity to give way in peace,”Senet said. “Just as soon as the attack has begun.”

“And what if she will not do so?”Kayne asked.

“Then I’ll know what manner of woman I’m taking to wife, will I not? And she,”he continued evenly, “will discover what manner of man she shall have for a husband.”