By His Majesty's Grace

“I’ve given my pledge, and would not break it. Nor would I break faith with you, sire.”

“We are aware. Still, the matter is delicate. Say you are correct, and the lady is being held against her will. What is to prevent those who have her from ending her life the instant you are sighted? She would be dead to us and unable to uphold your story, while you would be conveniently at hand to take the blame. More, the rumor which came finally to us is rife at court, so we were forced to make the charge and bring you here for this inquiry. We have also heard whispers that you might be killed in ambush to prevent any denial of it. It is this last possibility that caused us to send so swiftly after Lady Isabel, instructing that you both be brought under our protection.” Henry shook his head. “No, you will remain near us, Sir Rand. Besides, it would be unseemly for a new-made husband to be seen searching high and low for a woman not his bride.”

“Sire!”

It was Isabel who exclaimed in protest, cutting across Rand’s immediate words of gratitude for Henry’s thoughtfulness. As the king turned his basilisk stare upon her, she lowered her lashes. “I did not mean to speak. Forgive me. It was the…the surprise.”

“Surprise, when you have known for some weeks that you will be Braesford’s wife?”

“This affair of the child,” she said softly, “everyone said… That is, we were told it was a hanging matter.”

“And so it may be if the lady is not found. Meanwhile, we have directed that you will be properly wed, and so it must transpire. Our fair queen consort looks forward to this day of celebration, of tournament, feasting, mummery and dancing, as the last merriment before she must leave us. She goes soon to her forty days of seclusion before birth, you realize, so there is no time for delay. Tomorrow will be auspicious for your vows, we believe.” He turned to the erstwhile bishop of Ely. “Is this not so, Chancellor?”

“Extremely auspicious, sire,” Morton said in instant agreement.

“But…but the banns, sire?”

“Banns may be waived under special circumstances, Lady Isabel. So it has been arranged. You will sign the marriage contracts when you leave here. All that will remain, then, is the ceremony.”

“As you command, sire,” she said with a small curtsy of acquiescence, adding under her breath, “though it’s all amazingly convenient.”

Rand thought only he was close enough to hear that last. He could not blame her for that instant of derision. If Henry had decided to dispense with banns, then there was certain to be strong political incentive for it.

What troubled Rand was what might lie behind the king’s determined preparation for this wedding. Sign of high favor or a screen for other things—which was it?

“Excellent,” Henry said with satisfaction. “Tomorrow it shall be, then.”

What could either of them say to that? Rand felt Isabel’s tense reluctance, and even shared it to some extent. He had thought to spare her the shame of being wed to a suspected murderer. How soon might she be his widow, therefore ripe for another of Henry’s arranged marriages? To command them to the altar now in fine disregard of the outcome was an unwarranted interference in their lives.

Regardless, watching as Isabel inclined her head and dropped into another stiff curtsy of obedience to the royal will, Rand was grateful to have the decision made for him. His own bow was a profound gesture of compliance. And it was all he could do to conceal the sudden firestorm of anticipation that blazed through him, body and soul, as he thought of the wedding night to come.

5

I sabel longed to voice her objections to this marriage as she stood beside Braesford, wished she could refuse Henry’s royal command outright. One did not defy a king, however, no matter how galling it might be to bow to his will.

She had been summoned specifically to hear his directive concerning her marriage, she thought. There could be no other reason for her presence. Unless, of course, the king wanted her to know the particulars of the crime lodged against Braesford? A bride should understand precisely why her groom was likely to be taken from her by the hangman.

The case seemed dire. Someone must have arranged for the Mademoiselle d’Amboise’s escort and forged the papers presented at Braesford. That person must necessarily have knowledge of the court, of Henry’s signature and seals. Well, or have influence with those who did.

That was supposing her future husband had not lied. They had only his word for what had happened. Some few among his men-at-arms might corroborate it, of course. Their loyalty was strong, as she’d noticed during their southward journey, making what they might say of him suspect.

As for the midwife and her suspicions, it was odd that such a piece of gossip had reached the king’s ears. It should not, ordinarily, have spread beyond the woman’s neighbors. More, by her own admission, the midwife had seen nothing truly damning, had only surmised foul play. Surely the king would have dismissed the matter out of hand at any other time.

Nonetheless, there was the disappearance of the Frenchwoman and her child. Where were they now, if they were alive and well? Yes, and why had this Mademoiselle Juliette not sent to inform the king of her whereabouts? It was always possible the lady thought he knew because Henry himself had arranged for her captivity. Prisoners did not normally send messages to their jailer begging for succor.

So many chances for betrayal. Isabel’s head hurt just thinking of them. She could see no clear way through them because she barely knew this man who was to be her husband.

She did not know him, yet they were to be tied together for all eternity.

The king’s mother stepped forward then, claiming Isabel’s attention, though she spoke to Rand. Removing her hands from inside the belled sleeves of her gown, she gestured toward a pair of bundles that sat beside the throne. “The king and I pray this matter that brings you before us will soon be settled, my good and faithful knight, and in a manner satisfactory to all,” she said in quiet precision. “In token of our faith that it shall be, and in honor of your wedding, we extend these gifts to you and your lady. A servant will deliver them to your separate chambers, betimes. It is our dearest hope that you will wear them with joy and the blessings of heaven upon your union.”

Rand said everything that was appropriate, and Isabel added her gratitude. Moments later, they were dismissed. Through lowered lashes, as she backed from the royal presence, she spared a glance for the gifts. Their wrappings appeared to be of silk and the contents soft. The king often presented his dependents and favorites with clothing at Christmas or for weddings, christenings and the like. This was, she felt certain, the nature of their gifts.

Nor was she wrong.

When she had returned to her chamber, and her portion of the king’s gift was delivered, Isabel hesitated to open it. She had ordered a gown of sanguine-red silk made for her wedding, had transported it northward and back again. This replacement had the feel of a bribe, at least to her mind. To accept it seemed the final submission to her fate. Yet refusing it would be a rather childish bit of defiance. Who would be harmed by it except herself? With stiff fingers, she slipped free the cord that held the wrappings.

Inside was a sumptuous silken costume in Henry’s colors of green and white. The gown was beautifully embroidered in a pattern of bracken fronds and gold vines on a white silk ground, with dewdrops among them made of pearls. Its sleeves, attached by ties at the shoulders, were also embroidered and so wide and full at the wrists that they draped nearly to the floor. Included was a girdle for her hipline that was worked with gold and set with a cluster of emeralds, also a fillet of woven gold wire to hold back her hair, which would be left uncovered on this one occasion of her life.

It was necessary to try the new gown and girdle, so she and Gwynne might make any necessary alterations. None were required, so Gwynne insisted, though Isabel could hardly tell from her reflection in the pie-size round of polished steel held by the serving woman.

“’Tis a marvel of a gown, fit for a princess, milady. I’ve never seen silk as soft or as fine,” Gwynne said, spreading the sleeves so they draped just so, then standing back with her head cocked to one side to view the affect. “The king did well by ye, he did.”

“Yes. I wonder why.”

“Ye be his ward, and it’s his duty to dress you for your wedding. Should there be aught else?”

“There usually is, I fear.”

“You think it a reward? But for what, think you? Unless…”

“The ordeal of marrying beneath me, no doubt.”

“Yet yon knight can hold his own with any.”

This was true, something that caused an odd, heated heaviness beneath the gold mesh of her girdle when she thought of it. He had stood tall and unbowed during their audience with Henry, showing proper respect but no subservience. She had seen nobles of rank display far less dignity in the face of kingly frowns.

Such thoughts were far from comfortable. Deliberately, she said, “But he is only a knight.”

Gwynne lifted a brow. “You will receive a third of Braesford as your dower right. What else is needed?”

“You know very well.”

“An earl or a duke as husband, ’stead of Braesford? And I suppose ye’d take a hobbling old rake with title attached, instead of yon fine piece of manhood? Indeed, milady, I say ’twould be a sorry bargain.”

Isabel gave her a jaundiced look. “You have ever had an eye for a nice pair of shoulders. There is far more to a man.”

“So you noticed his shoulders, did ye? And his legs, too, I’ll be bound—strong as oaks they be. As for what he’s got between them…”

“That isn’t what I meant!”

“But you won’t claim ’tis nay important.”

No, she could not say that, though she tried not to think overmuch about that part of Rand, or of what would happen on their wedding night. She was less than successful. In truth, she had tossed and turned in her litter after he left her, trying to forget the strength of his hands, his arms, the way he seemed to fill the small, swaying space they had shared. Yes, and the brief intimation of what it might be like to feel his weight upon her, his power inside her.

His hands had been gentle as he cradled her injured finger at Braesford, before he had ruthlessly pulled the broken bone ends back into place so they might set properly. Would he be the same behind the curtains of their marriage bed, gentle at first but merciless as he possessed her?

With a quick shake of her head to dislodge the disturbing thoughts and the light-headed feeling that came with them, she said, “The richness may also indicate the value of the alliance to Henry.”