The Overlord's Bride

“How did he come to have such an estate then?”

“It was taken from another and given to him by the earl of Chesney.”

“You do not think he deserved it?”

“That is not for me to say, my lady. The earl thought he did.”

“And his mother?”

“She died giving birth to him. His father did not marry again, like he did.”

Elizabeth tried not to look shocked, but she suddenly felt off balance and unsteady, as if she were trying to cross a raging river on a fallen tree trunk.

Yet why should she be so surprised, she reasoned. He was not a young man. Of course he might have been married before, perhaps more than once. “How many wives has he had?”

“Just the one, other than you.”

That was something at least. “Did she die in childbirth, too?”

“No, my lady.”

“Was it an illness?”

“No, my lady. He killed her.”

Chapter Six

E lizabeth didn’t want to believe she had heard aright. “What did you say?”

“He killed her, in this very room.”

Elizabeth went to stand face-to-face with Rual. “Why?”

“He said she tried to kill him, my lady.” Rual shifted the bundle to the other hip. “The tale I heard, he claimed she drugged his wine and when he slept, she put a leather strap around his throat and tried to strangle him. He pushed her off and she fell and struck her head and died.”

“That is why he has that scar around his neck,” she murmured, “and sounds as he does.” Her eyes narrowed as she regarded Rual. “You don’t believe his explanation?”

“He has a temper.”

“Was he brought before the king’s justice for murder?”

“No.”

“So what he said must be considered the truth.”

“He is a lord.”

“There is still punishment for a lord who kills his wife,” she reminded Rual. “Had he struck her before?”

“There were no marks on her, my lady—at least none that people ever saw.”

Which did not mean they were not there, beneath the woman’s gown, or that he was not cruel to her in other ways. “Was he harsh with her?”

“Not that I’ve heard, my lady.”

Again, that only meant not in public. However, considering the open nature of a lord and lady’s life, the servants would know if things were seriously amiss between them. “He has his scar and ruined voice for proof that he was attacked.”

The woman flushed and remained silent.

“Why did she want to kill him?”

“I don’t know,” the woman mumbled.

“Rual, if you don’t believe my husband’s explanation, you must have some reason to think he wanted her dead.”

“Perhaps he suspected her of infidelity.”

“With whom?”

Rual shrugged.

“Does anybody hazard a guess?”

“No, my lady.”

Elizabeth sighed with relief. If there had been infidelity, or more than the merest suspicion of it—or any other hint of a motive on Lord Kirkheathe’s part for wanting his wife dead—rumor and gossip would have flown from one part of this castle to the other. She had learned that well enough.

Rual shifted nervously. “My lady, I think I had best get these linens below.”

“Thank you, Rual,” Elizabeth replied, seeing the wisdom of Lady Katherine’s admonition never to listen to the gossip of servants, no matter how tempting. “Has my uncle eaten this morning?”

“He and his men departed at first light on my lord’s orders.”

Elizabeth stared at her incredulously. “He is already gone?”

“Once Lord Kirkheathe got the dowry, he sent him off, with his men grumbling all the while. Your uncle felt so sleepy and poorly from the wine, he could barely keep his seat.”

“But Lord Kirkheathe was here when I awoke.”

“Came back, that’s all.”

“I didn’t hear a thing.”

Rual smirked. “You were sleeping sound, I expect.”

“I suppose,” Elizabeth replied, paying little heed to Rual’s expression as she wondered how long he had been there, watching her.

“Have you no warmer gown, my lady?”