Читать книгу MAIDEN in the Tudor Court: His Runaway Maiden / Pirate's Daughter, Rebel Wife - June Francis, June Francis - Страница 14

A thrill raced through Rosamund at the thought of being wooed by the Baron. ‘You mean I can accompany you to the royal palace without prior permission?’

Lady Elizabeth gave a laugh that sounded like rustling dry leaves. ‘I am related to the royal family and they are accustomed to my starts and fancies. In truth, they consider me a little mad at times and I would not deny that on occasions a certain mood takes me and—‘ Her expression changed. ‘Here comes the Baron! He really is a fine figure of a man. I have not told you, but my troupe of players are all noble men and women. It is as the queen requested.’ She hailed Alex. ‘Come, sit with my goddaughter. I have decided that Rosamund will accompany us to Richmond.’

Rosamund watched his face to see if he was pleased or not, but he wore that bland expression that made his thoughts unreadable. What would he think if he knew about their earlier conversation?

‘I already had it in mind that Mistress Appleby should accompany us,’ said Alex, seating himself at the head of the table between the two women. ‘She will be much safer at Richmond.’

‘Good. I am glad we agree,’ said Lady Elizabeth placidly. ‘Here comes our meal.’

Rosamund knew that she should be relieved that her godmother and the Baron were in agreement. Yet now she felt oddly put out by the fact she appeared to have no say in what should happen to her with these two people for whom she had strong feelings. She watched as the servants began to serve boiled hare in a sauce that proved to be made from ale, pepper, bread and onions.

Lady Elizabeth began to separate the meat from the bones. ‘My dears, I am thinking that God granted me ten extra years of life so that I could be of help to you both.’ She broke off for several moments and Rosamund held her breath, thinking that her godmother might be about to reveal all to the Baron. Instead she continued with a change of subject. ‘I hope you are both hungry. I asked for toste rialle to be made for pudding. No doubt you have tasted it, Baron. I first did so in Calais.’ She signalled to the servant to pour the wine and drank off a draught all in one go.

‘What is toste rialle?’ asked Rosamund, thinking she could not help but be fascinated by all that her godmother did. How could she down her wine so swiftly when there were times when she seemed hardly able to breathe?

‘It is a paste of sugar, spices and sweet wine,’ said Alex, smiling at Rosamund as the lady paused to wipe her chin with her napkin.

‘There is more to it than that,’ said Lady Elizabeth, ‘there is quince, raisins, nuts and flour spread hot over white bread and sprinkled with sugar.’ She smacked her lips.

‘It sounds delicious,’ said Rosamund, quite affected by the Baron’s smile.

Lady Elizabeth nodded. ‘I want you to have some pleasure in life, Rosamund dear, because I fear you have been dreadfully unhappy. That is why you must marry a rich man.’

Alex almost choked on a morsel of meat and had to wait for the coughing to subside before saying, ‘You have been discussing marriage with Mistress Appleby?’

‘Aye. I have decided what she needs is a childless widower,’ said the lady.

Rosamund stared at her in astonishment.

‘I do not agree,’ said Alex, putting down his knife. ‘I wonder at your making such a pronouncement, Lady Elizabeth.’

‘I shall tell you why,’ wheezed the lady. ‘I was younger than Rosamund when my parents chose a much older man for me. My head was full of nonsense. I was convinced I would be happier with a young, brave knight in shining armour. I wept on my wedding night. But when George died I inherited all his money and was still young enough to enjoy being rich.’ She beamed at them both.

‘It is vital that a man should be able to support his future wife, but there should be affection and respect and trust in a marriage,’ said Alex, glancing at Rosamund before giving Lady Elizabeth his attention once more. ‘You were obviously not happy living with your husband if you set about enjoying yourself once he was dead.’

‘I agree with the Baron,’ said Rosamund bravely.

‘You feel like that because you are young, my dears,’ mumbled Lady Elizabeth through a mouthful of food. ‘Your blood gets heated and it is lust that drives you, not wisdom.’

Rosamund felt her cheeks burning and quickly lowered her gaze to her platter. What would her godmother say next? She hoped the Baron did not think that she had poured out all that had happened between them to Lady Elizabeth.

‘You embarrass Mistress Appleby,’ hissed Alex.

‘If my goddaughter is to marry, Baron, then she needs to know what to expect when bedded by a young man driven by his animal passions. That is, if she does not know already.’

There was a whimpering sound from Rosamund.

‘You will stop this,’ said Alex in a furious whisper. ‘Are you mad?’

‘I do not mean to offend, Baron, but I suggest you remember your manners, too,’ said the old lady, giving her attention to her dinner. ‘You are a guest in my house and should not speak to me in such a way. I understand you are under a great strain and I will forgive you and say no more. Now, let us eat up this good food.’

Alex wondered what she meant by his being under a great strain, but at least she was as good as her word and did not speak again. But she had created an atmosphere that made him reluctant to break the silence. What had Rosamund been saying to her? Had she lied about what had taken place on their journey to London? He felt so angry that he was tempted to storm out of the parlour and go to stay with Walther and Maud. He glared at Rosamund, who flushed to the roots of her hair, but there was an expression in her lovely eyes that kept him glued to his seat.

Rosamund was all of aquiver, remembering how she had felt when she and the Baron were caught in that forced embrace in the snow. Were her feelings then love or lust? What was he thinking? It was obvious he was angry and she did not blame him. No doubt he would never ask her to marry him and she realised that she might just enjoy finding out about love in his arms. This despite his having deceived her about his station in life.

By the time the meat course was cleared away and the dessert placed in front of them, Alex and Rosamund had calmed down a little and were able to enjoy the delicious confection set before them. More wine was poured and comments made about the food and weather. Rosamund asked when the troupe would be arriving.

‘They will soon be here, as will the musicians,’ said Lady Elizabeth. ‘You must come and watch the Baron being taught his steps. I swear he will be in trouble if he treads on my toes.’

The words had scarcely left Lady Elizabeth’s lips when a servant came hurrying into the hall and whispered in her ear. No sooner had the meal been cleared away than a young woman entered the hall, carrying a black-and-silver gown over her arm. Her eyes alighted on Lady Elizabeth and she hurried over to her. She was followed by several other young men and women. The women reminded Rosamund of butterflies because their skirts fluttered and they were dressed in a variety of colours.

‘Lady Elizabeth, I bring bad tidings,’ trilled the first woman. ‘Lady Joan cannot join us. She has caught a fever and is abed. She begs your pardon for disappointing you.’

Elizabeth uttered a tsk of annoyance before saying, ‘Poor Lady Joan, I hope she will soon be well. It does make matters awkward. The figures will not be right for the dance and we have so little time to find someone else to take her place. The Baron here will partner me.’

The group stared at Alex and one of the ladies smiled. ‘Introduce us, Lady Elizabeth.’

‘This is Baron Dalsland from Sweden. His grandfather was a great friend of mine and brought me many precious jewels from his country,’ said Lady Elizabeth.

‘Has he danced before?’ said another lady with bold eyes.

‘But of course,’ said Alex, smiling down at her. ‘I would be of little use as a replacement if I could not.’

‘I will take you in hand,’ said the bold-eyed lady.

Rosamund, sitting on a chair in front of the fire, watched this light flirtation with startled eyes and more than a little annoyance.

‘That will be unnecessary,’ said Lady Elizabeth firmly. ‘I will allow no dalliance during the dance. I have said that I will partner the Baron.’

‘What about this young lady?’ asked one of the men, noticing Rosamund.

‘Oh, I cannot dance,’ she said hastily.

He laughed. ‘I do not believe that is true. Everyone can dance.’

‘Not me,’ said Rosamund firmly.

All attention was now on Rosamund. ‘I could teach you,’ said the fair-haired man who had spoken. ‘The steps are not so difficult and you could fill Lady Joan’s place. We do not have to perform for another three days, so you could perfect the steps in no time. May I introduce myself? I am Lord Bude.’

Rosamund could not resist looking at Alex to see what he thought of the young man’s suggestion. He was frowning. Obviously, he believed she was not good enough to dance with an English lord before royalty.

‘I deem it a wonderful notion,’ said Lady Elizabeth, much to Rosamund’s surprise. ‘May I introduce my goddaughter, Mistress Rosamund Appleby, lords and ladies. Her parents are dead and she has recently come to live with me.’

The party eyed Rosamund with as much interest as they had the Baron. The lady who had broken the news about Lady Joan, said, ‘It is fate! You are of the same height and have the same colouring as Lady Joan, Mistress Appleby, and, as Lord Bude has said, the steps are not difficult.’

Alex wanted to disagree. Bude was the name Lady Elizabeth had mentioned earlier as a man who might possibly turn traitor. He was obviously of a flirtatious manner; if he was as poor as her ladyship had said, then he would be on the lookout for a wealthy heiress. Perhaps he thought Rosamund might inherit her godmother’s fortune. How was Alex to know that her head would not be turned by this handsome young lord? He could not allow that to happen.

But before Alex could make a move on the young lord, one of the ladies approached him.

‘I know something of your homeland, Baron,’ she said. ‘I admired Lady Elizabeth’s amber jewellery and she told me it was made in Sweden. I asked my father if he would buy me such a set, but he refused. He said I needed a rich husband if I wanted such trinkets.’

‘Hardly a trinket, Margaret, if your father cannot afford such jewellery,’ said one of the other ladies. ‘It must be worth a fortune.’

‘Enough!’ said Lady Elizabeth, clapping her hands. ‘We are here to dance. My goddaughter will attempt to fill Lady Joan’s position.’

Rosamund opened her mouth to say that she had not agreed, but it was too late. Already Lord Bude was reaching for her hand and her godmother was nodding in her direction. ‘You had best try on Lady Joan’s costume this evening in case it needs altering, Rosamund, my dear. We will walk through the dance several times to give you and the Baron a chance to familiarise yourselves with the steps without the music.’

Rosamund took a deep breath as Lord Bude’s soft, white hand clasped hers. ‘Now pay attention, Mistress Rosamund,’ he said in her ear. ‘No one expects you to be as good as the rest of us, but no doubt your pretty face will make up for any faults.’

Immediately Rosamund wanted to tug her hand out of his grasp and resume her seat by the fire, but the other dancers were already calling out instructions. She did her best to comply with what they said, but there were too many voices telling her what to do and she stepped on Bude’s toes more than once.

She glanced up at him, apologizing, and instantly was aware that his eyes were gazing down her cleavage. She lost all desire to do well and made a complete mess of the steps when the music began and she was supposed to dance in earnest. It was a relief when the wheezing Lady Elizabeth eventually signalled a halt.

Concerned about her, Alex led her over to the settle and made her sit down. She whispered to him to tell the others that there would be another rehearsal tomorrow evening at Richmond. He did so.

The musicians and dancers departed, chorusing their farewells. Only Lord Bude lingered. ‘Perhaps I could give you a private lesson this evening,’ he suggested, taking one of Rosamund’s hands and kissing it.

‘I think not, Lord Bude,’ said Alex, removing Rosamund’s hand from the other man’s grasp. ‘Mistress Appleby has had a long journey and needs her rest.’

Bude scowled. ‘Surely Mistress Appleby can make her own decisions? I really don’t see what it has to do with you, Baron?’

‘But that is because you are unaware that the lady and I are betrothed,’ said Alex politely.

Only by a blinking of the eyes did Rosamund betray that she was more surprised than Bude to hear those words. His lordship muttered an apology and with a terse good night left the hall.

‘Why did you tell him that we were betrothed?’ demanded Rosamund, as soon as Bude was out of earshot.

Alex was asking himself the same question. It would have been wiser if he had allowed Rosamund to encourage Bude to discover if he had any dealings with those with treacherous intent. ‘He is a fortune-hunter,’ snapped Alex. ‘Do not take what I said to heart. I still have no intention of getting married until I am thirty.’

A sharp laugh escaped Rosamund. ‘Then you should have remained silent. You are forgetting that not only do you wish to be avenged on my brother, but also that I have no fortune.’

‘He knows that Lady Elizabeth is extremely wealthy and that you, her goddaughter, have recently come to live with her. It is obvious Bude smells money when he looks at you.’

Two spots of colour appeared high on Rosamund’s cheeks and she tugged her hand free. ‘You are insulting. Did you not consider he might find me comely?’

‘Bude cannot afford to be swayed solely by a lovely face,’ he said harshly.

‘Why should I believe you? He is a lord of the realm, whilst you are a foreigner, unable to trust me with your real identity.’

Alex realised that he had hurt her and his voice was gentler when he said, ‘I did not trust those lords and ladies with it either.’