Love Everlasting, page 13
While Marie continued to fret, one of Royce’s men came back with the promised brazier and began to set up the tripod to hold it. A second man brought a scuttle of glowing charcoal and a basket of more charcoal, as yet unlit. A third man appeared with a large wooden tub, followed by a procession of men and women carrying buckets of hot water. Two of Royce’s squires entered and began searching through his clothing chests.
Julianna observed all of this activity with growing amusement, until Royce came into the room, unbuckling his belt as he walked. Michael was with him.
“There isn’t space enough in here for a person to turn around!” Marie exclaimed. She glared at the servants who were emptying the hot water into the tub. “Lord Royce, you cannot intend to bathe in the presence of all these people.”
“Can I not?” Royce sent a smile in Julianna’s direction that plainly said he’d do what he pleased and no maidservant would stop him. He continued, speaking to Julianna, “Michael has the room next to this one. He and I will bathe and change our clothes in there. As soon as I select the tunic and hose I plan to wear this evening, I will leave and you may enjoy your own bath in complete privacy.”
“I have no complaint at all, my lord,” Julianna responded, smiling to let him know she meant what she said. “Will you knock on the door when you are ready, or shall I come to you?”
“Come to me,” Royce said. “I expect you will take longer than I to dress and I have some correspondence to attend to. Michael and I will work until you are ready.”
The charcoal did not warm the room very much, but Julianna was so glad to remove her wrinkled and stained garments that she didn’t care how chilly it was. The moment she and Marie were alone she pulled everything off and stepped into the tub. It wasn’t large and, being tall, she had to sit with her knees drawn up almost to her ears. Hot water and her own scented soap eliminated any sense of inconvenience. Ignoring Marie’s outraged protests that she’d contract lung fever, she soaped her hair as well as her body and used the two extra buckets of water to rinse the soap away.
All of the time that Julianna was in the tub, Marie kept complaining, about the rough voyage aboard the Daisy, her bout of seasickness, the cold ride to Norwich, the small size of Julianna’s room, and her own accommodations near the kitchen.
Julianna scarcely heard her. She was thinking about Royce, how he’d cared for Alexander and Sybilla, how he had lain fully clothed beside his wife and kissed her tenderly. Julianna’s damp fingers rested against her lips, until Marie’s surly voice intruded on her dreamlike state.
“Is it your intention to keep Lord Royce waiting?” Marie demanded. “If not, decide which gown you want to wear, so I can find the shoes that match it.”
“I do think, Marie, that you’d be well advised to speak to me with greater respect,” Julianna said, “else Lord Royce will dismiss you.”
“Don’t think to threaten me,” Marie snarled at her. “Lord Deane assigned me to watch over you, and so I have faithfully done ever since.”
“He set you to spy on me, you mean,” Julianna said. “Lest you have forgotten, Lord Deane is dead. You are Lord Royce’s servant now, and he will decide whether you continue in his household, or whether you are sent elsewhere to live.”
“If you try to get rid of me,” Marie declared, “I will tell Lord Royce everything I know about you.”
Julianna sighed in frustration. It was basically the same threat that Kenric had made. Both of them knew too much about her past. She thought she had stopped Kenric - for a time, at least - with her false agreement to continue spying for him. Finding a way to stop Marie from spilling all she knew was a more difficult prospect. Julianna was certain that Marie was sleeping with Kenric and providing information to him each time she went to his bed. Kenric was using Marie, but she would never believe that.
“I am not trying to get rid of you, Marie,” Julianna said. “I just want you to be more careful. If you say or do anything to make Royce suspicious of you, both of us could land in the nearest dungeon. So could Kenric. You wouldn’t want to be responsible for his death, would you?”
“No.” Marie clasped her hands and began to wring them. “No, I want Kenric safe.”
“Then be more careful. I will wear the dark green silk gown.”
“Your hair will be wet for hours,” Marie grumbled. “It was foolish of you to wash it so late in the day.”
“Dry it as best you can with a towel, then braid it and pin it up,” Julianna said. “I’ll wear my gold circlet and no veil. Since the king and queen aren’t here, we may dispense with some formality.”
When she was ready for the evening, Julianna turned to the maid and spoke with a kindness she did not feel. “Marie, you need not climb all of those steps again tonight. Lord Royce will be with me and if you return here, he will only dismiss you. I’m sure you are tired, and likely not completely recovered from being so seasick. Eat in the servants’ quarters and then go to bed. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Thank you, my lady.” Marie actually sounded grateful.
Before Julianna knocked on the door of Michael’s room, she waited until Marie was gone and the servants had come to carry away the bath water and the tub. While she waited she thought of various ways to get rid of Marie without arousing Royce’s suspicions.
Chapter 9
Royce knew from their previous meetings that the King’s Constable of Norwich did not like spies. Lord Cortland hid his shrewd mind behind a bluff, open manner, but he could not quite conceal his distaste for Royce’s work. The only thing the two men had in common was their unflinching loyalty to King Henry. Cortland did know how to keep a secret and had done so many times in the past, a fact that raised him high in Royce’s estimation. Royce wasn’t sure that Cortland regarded him with the same degree of respect.
Cortland and his guests sat at the high table for the evening meal. The great hall was far from crowded; when King Henry was not in residence the castle garrison numbered only seventy-five knights and men-at-arms, and some of those were on duty, either on the walls or in the town.
“You will soon be overflowing with guests and servants,” Royce observed to Cortland in an attempt to open an uncontroversial topic.
“We have room enough.” Cortland’s sharp tone hinted at offense. “We are used to royal visitors.”
“I know you are. Norwich is one of the king’s favorite castles. That’s a high compliment to your management, Cortland, even if the royal court does eat everything in the storerooms before they all move on to the next castle.”
“Not to mention what they do to the latrines after all that eating and drinking.” A faint glint of humor showed in the constable’s eyes. “Ah, well, we have enough servants to muck out the mess afterward. I don’t imagine you have arrived so far in advance of the royal party just to discuss my arrangements for feeding the guests and cleaning up after them. What’s amiss, Royce?” Cortland leaned forward, turning a little to face Royce more directly. He spoke across Julianna, who sat between the two men. “Do you have word of a plot against the king?”
“Nothing is certain.” Royce noted Julianna’s sudden stillness and he wished Cortland had held his tongue. “If you can make time, my lord, I would prefer to speak with you later, in some more private place.”
“In my chambers, then,” Cortland said. “After I complete my evening rounds. I suppose Cadwallon and Michael will join us? They are your spies, aren’t they?”
“Cadwallon and Michael are King Henry’s men,” Royce said in a quiet way that suggested Cortland ought to stop asking questions.
“My lord Cortland, how does your lady wife fare?” Janet asked from her place at their host’s left side.
Hearing her, Royce guessed that Cadwallon had instigated the question. Cadwallon was ever sharply attentive to what was going on around him, though to those who did not know him he appeared indolent and lazy. Not for the first time, Royce blessed his friend’s quiet cleverness.
“My poor lady is much the same, I fear,” Lord Cortland responded to Janet’s query. “I thank you for asking.”
“Is she ill?” Julianna inquired politely. “If she’s here at Norwich, perhaps Janet and I could visit her and give her news of the court. A bit of humorous gossip might lift her spirits.”
“My wife does not gossip,” Lord Cortland said in a repressive tone. “She is not at Norwich. She has been confined to her bed at Sleaforth since the birth of our youngest child two years ago.”
“I am so sorry,” Julianna murmured. “I did not know. My lord, since Janet and I are apparently the only ladies present at Norwich, may we supervise the preparation of Queen Adelicia’s apartments? Janet knows the queen rather well, and I am slightly acquainted with her, so we have some idea how she likes her rooms arranged.”
“Is this some scheme of yours, Royce?” Lord Cortland demanded.
“I have not heard of the idea until this moment,” Royce said. “I think it’s a suggestion that’s to your benefit. You cannot be looking forward to having to arrange all the details of a lady’s chambers.”
“Not at all. I am a soldier, not a courtier.” Lord Cortland offered a tiny smile to Julianna, a slight upward tilt of his mouth that quickly disappeared, though his tone was gentler when he spoke to her. “Thank you, my lady. I would appreciate your assistance, and that of Lady Janet.” After that he sat in silence, turning his wine goblet around and around until Royce took pity on him.
“Julianna,” Royce said, rising and extending his hand, “I know you are tired. I’ll see you to our room.”
“And I,” Cadwallon added with a nod to Royce, “will escort Janet to our rooms and kiss our children good night before I rejoin you.”
“Very well then.” Lord Cortland leapt to his feet, a look of relief crossing his face. “A pleasant night’s rest to you, my ladies. My lords, we will meet again in one hour.” Calling to two of his knights to accompany him, Lord Cortland lost no time in leaving the great hall.
“What a charming host,” Julianna murmured to Royce. “He couldn’t wait to get away from Janet and me.”
“I admit, Cortland is not much for gallantry, but he is an honest man, and a good man in a battle,” Royce said. He took Julianna’s arm and guided her toward the main stairway. He walked slowly, his attention elsewhere, so he scarcely noticed that Janet and Cadwallon were some distance ahead.
“Is anything wrong?” Julianna asked.
“What do you mean?” Royce had been contemplating the galleries above the great hall and thinking of archers secretly placed there to aim deadly arrows at the king - or his own men, in the same hidden locations, secretly protecting the king from danger. He did not like those open galleries at all, though a shortbow was a difficult weapon to conceal, and a Welsh longbow was even more noticeable.
“If you and Cadwallon are meeting with Lord Cortland in private, that must mean you are preparing a secret plan,” Julianna said.
“Why, my lady, are you seeking information that you can pass on to Kenric?” He found it surprisingly difficult to keep sarcasm out of his voice. He hated the idea that Julianna was dealing with that miserable agent of King Louis, but he reminded himself that he must not let her guess at his feelings.
“I can pass nothing to Kenric,” she noted calmly. “He isn’t here.”
“Yet,” Royce said between his teeth.
They reached the stairs and began to climb to the third level. Julianna went ahead of Royce, so he had a thoroughly enjoyable view of her slim waist and gently swaying hips. He calculated the time available until he was to meet Cortland and judged he’d have just enough time to bed his wife quickly and efficiently, before he left her to a satisfied sleep that would keep her in their room until he returned. Thus he could assure that she would not learn of the order he intended to give to his guard not to let her leave the room. Julianna would do no poking or prying about the castle that night, not if he could prevent her.
“Damnation,” he muttered. When Julianna looked at him with raised brows he motioned her on, offering no excuse for his foul mood.
He had deliberately been trying to bind her to him by his lovemaking. But he had miscalculated. He hadn’t realized that every passionate episode would also bind him more closely to her, until he wanted her with the unceasing desire that a starving man experiences for food. Still as suspicious of her possible motives as he had been on the day when he’d first met her, uncertain of her loyalty to her husband or her king though he remained, yet he longed to tumble her onto his bed and take what he knew she would not deny him.
They came to a landing and Julianna smiled at him over her shoulder. Stiffling the exaspirated oath that rose to his lips, Royce caught her about the waist and pulled her close. Her eyes widened in surprise, but her arms went around his neck readily enough. Her lips parted invitingly and Royce could not resist. He kissed her long and hard. When he was finished she looked at him with a warmth that echoed the heat suffusing his own body, and he could feel her trembling against his arm.
“This is undignified,” he whispered. “Kissing on a dark staircase is something servants would do.”
“Perhaps that’s why it’s so exciting,” she whispered back.
“Come.” Releasing her, he caught her hand and pulled her up the rest of the steps, heading for the level where their room was located. Julianna wove her fingers through his and laughed softly. That maddening, intensely female sound made Royce ache to seize her then and there.
“Yes,” she breathed. “Oh, Royce, let us hurry. It has been three nights.”
“I know how long it’s been,” he growled. Then he shook his head in wonder at himself. He was behaving like a randy squire. He’d had women in the years since he’d been widowed, but none had ever affected him the way Julianna did.
He knew himself well enough to understand why he wanted her so often and so eagerly. It wasn’t just her body, though she was delightful to hold and her enthusiastic compliance pleased him. What most intrigued him about Julianna, and had from the first, was the mystery of her mind. He was beginning to think he’d never plumb those feminine depths.
The sight of her trying to care for Cadwallon and Janet’s children, when she freely admitted she knew nothing about young ones, and the kindness of her actions toward a pair of precocious and rather difficult babes, had revealed a facet of her character that he hadn’t previously noticed. If it weren’t for his suspicions of her, he’d think she was trying to be a good wife to him and a friend to his friends.
But, whatever Julianna said or did, those suspicions lingered, adding the piquant flavor of danger and forbidden pleasure to the passion they shared whenever they were alone together. Royce quickened his steps. They were both a bit breathless when they reached their bedchamber.
“My lord.” The man-at-arms posted as sentry opened the door for him, then fumbled at his belt. “This message came for you just a few minutes ago. One of Lord Cortland’s men-at-arms brought it.”
“Why didn’t he deliver it to the great hall?” Royce asked, accepting the folded and sealed parchment.
“I don’t know for certain, my lord.” The man-at-arms grinned. “Perhaps he believed it was a secret message, that ought to be delivered in secret.”
“Hmm.” Royce looked from the parchment to Julianna’s expectant and definitely curious expression. “Go along inside, my dear. I’ll join you in a moment.”
She obeyed without question and Royce reached past the sentry to close the door after her.
“My wife is not to leave our room again tonight, no matter what happens,” he said to the sentry.
“Yes, my lord.”
Royce moved a few steps away, to where an oil lamp burned in a wall bracket, lighting a section of the gallery. He opened the note, held it to the light, and quickly decoded the contents.
When he entered his bedchamber Julianna was waiting for him, clad only in her shift, with a shawl wrapped around her shoulders for warmth. She came to him at once, putting both hands on his arm. Her manner suggested a certain eagerness to be embraced, but she wasn’t looking at him. Her gaze was on the parchment in his hand.
Royce’s gaze lingered on the bruise at her elbow, a black and blue mark not quite covered by her skimpy shawl.
“What happened?” he asked, motioning toward the bruise. He hoped she’d say she had fallen while moving around the Daisy during the storm.
“The last time I saw Kenric, he grabbed my arm,” she said, shrugging as if the bruise didn’t matter.
She ought to know that it did matter, that he allowed no one to abuse his property. The thought of Kenric touching her infuriated him, re-arousing the desire that had begun to cool with the arrival of that cursed message sent by one of the agents he had assigned to King Henry’s party.
“I regret that I must excuse myself,” he said, and found that he had no difficulty in sounding irritated at the interference to his earlier plan to bed her. He wanted her; Julianna drew him as a lodestone draws metal. He told himself it would only take a few moments to find the release for which he longed. He wouldn’t even have to undress. He could just unfasten his hose and pull up her shift. He could see the warm desire in her eyes and knew she wouldn’t object. The idea was wildly exciting. She was tempting, so very tempting....
He shook off her hands and moved away, turning his back on her.
“Royce?”
“This letter raises a matter of security,” he said, crumpling the parchment in his fist. “I must discuss the contents at once with Cadwallon and Lord Cortland.”
“Will you be long?” Her face was pale, her eyes wide with what he took to be alarm. “Tell me, please. Is the matter serious?”
“It is urgent, but not dangerous unless we ignore it. Don’t wait for me. I may be late. Sleep well, my lady.”
Not daring to kiss her cheek, and certainly not her beautiful mouth, lest his own desire seduce him into lingering, he caught her hand and pressed his lips to her wrist. He was gone from the bedchamber before she could ask any additional questions.
