Promised to the Crusader (11 page)

‘We are now man and wife,’ he said. From the back of the chapel a gasp was heard and an odd scuffling sound. Elaine resisted the urge to look round until the bells started to ring and, taking her husband’s hand, she began to walk from the chapel.

She saw that Lord Stornway and his sister had joined the congregation, a little late
it seemed for what was supposed to have been their betrothal. The earl stared at her so strangely, almost as if he could not believe what he had heard and seen. Anne’s face was frozen in an expression of disbelief—and was that anger she was trying to hide?

Elaine’s hand trembled on Zander’s arm as they left the chapel and everyone formed a line behind them. Her ladies and Zander’s men were cheering and laughing, and they were sprinkled with dried flower petals, which smelled of lavender and roses.

‘May God bless your union, lady.’

‘May the Good Lord send you sons, my lord…’

There were jokes and good wishes, and round after round of cheering as they all trooped into the Great Hall, where the feast had been prepared.

Dishes of dates stuffed with nuts and marchpane, sugared plums and other fruits were piled high on silver dishes. All kinds of little tarts and cakes were set out for the guests to indulge their appetites as they would. Wine, ale and sack were being served to everyone by those chosen to wait on the tables at the wedding feast, but every member of the household would at some time share in the delicious food that Zander had provided.

Anne came up to Elaine as she paused in her progress to the high board. ‘I brought but a small token, for I thought today merely a betrothal,’ she said, an odd tone in her voice. ‘Had I known it was to be your wedding I would have selected something more worthy.’

She presented Elaine with a small gift wrapped in silk. It turned out to be a small box of silver and horn, which might be used to keep a token in. Elaine thought it pretty and thanked her, but Anne did not smile, merely gave her what she could only think of as a pitying smile.

Lord Stornway was congratulating Zander. The two men shook hands and seemed perfectly at ease with one another.

‘Lady Elaine,’ Philip said easily, smiling at her. ‘I must offer my congratulations—or should it be commiseration? You have married a man dedicated to his cause and will, I fear, be left too often alone while he is away fighting.’ He spoke in jest, but there was something that made Elaine’s spine tingle.

‘My lord must do as he thinks fit,’ she said. ‘I shall not be the first wife to wait for her husband’s return.’

‘No, indeed,’ Philip said and laughed. ‘I thought I should never see this fellow smile again, but you seemed to have banished his
nightmares, lady. I am heartily glad to see you both so happy.’

Elaine thanked him for his good wishes. Glancing at Anne, she saw her frown, quickly hidden, and wondered.

‘My gift to you is a silver chalice and for Zander a sword I think he will value,’ Philip went on. ‘They were meant to be betrothal gifts, but a wedding is even better.’

‘My bride and I are happy to welcome you as our principal guests,’ Zander said. ‘I thought for a moment you might miss the ceremony altogether.’

‘We were late, were we not?’ Philip apologised and looked at his sister. ‘Anne was not quite herself this morning and I told her she should stay in her chamber and rest, but she insisted upon coming. I fear it made us a little tardy.’

‘It matters not. You are here for the feasting,’ Zander said and smiled. He clapped his hands. ‘Let the celebrations begin…’

Zander led Elaine to the high table. After she had taken her seat next to him, Anne and Philip were seated, and then the others gradually found their places. At a signal from Zander, food was brought to table. Tasters had been appointed to sample each dish before the guests
were served, but nothing untoward happened and everyone ate and drank heartily. The minstrel sang songs that all the company could enjoy and the tumblers performed their tricks, followed by a fire eater and dancers.

Elaine ate sparingly. The feasting would go on all afternoon and into the evening, and fresh dishes would be served continually. She drank wine sweetened with honey and diluted with water, but only sipped it, just as she merely tasted some of the dishes offered her.

It was some time later that she glanced down the table at Anne and saw her staring at Zander with such a look that she shivered. What could that expression mean? In that moment Anne seemed almost to hate Elaine’s husband, yet the next moment she was smiling and laughing at something Sir Robert said to her. Was it merely Elaine’s imagination—or was Anne pretending to feelings that were far from those she truly felt?

‘Lady, will you dance?’

The question took Elaine by surprise. She looked up at Lord Stornway and smiled, then glanced at Zander, who nodded his approval.

‘Thank you, my lord,’ she said and offered her hand. He helped her to rise and they went
down the steps of the dais to the floor of the hall. The musicians began to play a slow, stately dance and Elaine laughed with pleasure as Philip pointed his shoe elegantly, then bowed to her. She curtsied. ‘You dance like a courtier, sir.’

‘Alas, I had a misspent youth,’ he said and smiled at her in a way she thought a little too intimate. ‘While Zander was away fighting the heathen, I fear I was dancing at court.’

‘Do you go often to court, my lord?’ Elaine was puzzled for he was the King’s Marshal. She wondered that he would attend Prince John’s court more often than necessary.

‘I thought it right to present my sister with opportunities for marriage, but, alas, she found no suitors that pleased her.’

‘Did she not once think of marriage?’

‘Did Anne tell you that?’ Lord Stornway looked surprised. ‘She seldom speaks of her disappointment to anyone. She must truly value you, Elaine. Her childhood sweetheart took the Cross at the same time as Zander, though they came from different parts of the country. He promised to return and wed her when his fortune was made—but he was killed in the Holy Land. I had hoped she might forget him and
take another husband, but I fear she will never marry now.’

‘She told me as much,’ Elaine said. ‘I am sorry for her loss. I have been luckier.’

‘Yes. Zander returned to you, did he not?’ Philip said and for a moment his eyes were oddly distant. ‘I pray that you shall not have cause to regret.’

‘What mean you, sir?’ Elaine shivered, though she tried to control it. The ice was at her nape once more.

‘Why, only that he is a man obsessed by his need to avenge his father,’ Philip replied. ‘I could wish he would settle here with you and forget his quarrel with Newark, but I fear he will press it to the limit.’

‘Yes, I know that nothing will sway my lord from his vow to be avenged on the man who murdered his father.’

‘If Richard were to return in time, he would forbid it. For all his faults, Newark is the King’s man. Richard will need all his loyal knights, for if the common man does not flock to his standard he may find that Prince John has too strong a hold on the throne.’

‘The prince would not deny his brother’s rights?’ Elaine was horrified. She knew that Prince John had ruled harshly in his brother’s
absence, ill treating the poor and the nobles who remained loyal to Richard and committing many injustices. Yet surely he would not defy his rightful king?

‘I only say it could happen.’ Philip shook his head. ‘But I should not speak of such things on your wedding day, my lady.’

Elaine frowned. ‘I know Zander craves revenge for the wrong done his father—but he is loyal to Richard. If the king returned before it was settled between them, he would accept his judgement.’

‘Perhaps…’ Philip’s expression was thoughtful. ‘I would not see you a widow too soon, Elaine—but if it should happen, remember I am your friend. If ever you should need me…’

Elaine nodded, but did not smile. Why did she feel his words were almost a threat rather than an act of kindness?

‘No more of this—it is your wedding day, a celebration,’ he said as the music died. For a moment his fingers closed possessively over hers and then released her.

Elaine returned to her seat beside Zander. He had been talking to Anne and was smiling. Anne had been laughing and Elaine could only think she had mistaken her expression earlier.

These people were Zander’s closest friends.
She was foolish to suspect them of not being honest in their good wishes. She was letting her own fears cloud her mind. It was ridiculous to see something malicious or menacing in the warnings of both brother and sister.

No, she must forget these foolish imaginings and think only of the coming night, when she would at last be Zander’s wife in truth. Her heart beat wildly and she was suffused with warmth when she thought of the pleasure to come.

T
he evening was well advanced when Elaine left her place at the high board to return to her chamber. Zander had whispered to her that it was time.

‘Go now, my love, before it becomes too rowdy. The men have drunk well and their tongues grow loose. I shall follow in a while—and do not worry, I shall come alone.’

Elaine nodded. She had wondered about the bedding ceremony, which some men insisted on. It was humiliating for the bride, for in some cases the groom’s guests and friends insisted on being shown proof of the bride’s virginity and the groom would toss out the sheet with her blood on it to those who waited near the door. Zander would spare her such heavy jesting
and she went happily to her own chamber. His friends might come as far as the door, but then he would send them away.

She allowed her ladies to help her disrobe, and dress her in a fine, silken night-chemise. Her hair was brushed and allowed to flow freely down her back and then her ladies departed. Elaine walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge. She was nervous now and did not want to lie in her bed too soon lest she fall asleep.

She waited, listening for sounds from below in the hall. They were growing less and less and now it was quiet. She sat up straighter, expecting Zander would come, but the time passed and still he did not come to her. Her eyes were growing heavy. She crawled up the bed and lay against the pillows, determined not to give in to the urge to sleep.

Why did he not come to her? Her eyes would hardly keep open now. It must be almost morning? Where was he? Was it his intention to leave her waiting all night in vain?

Exhausted by the events of the day, Elaine’s eyes closed and soon she was sleeping. She did not wake when Zander entered the room just before dawn sent fingers of rose through the sky. He bent over her sleeping figure, pulled
a coverlet over her and smiled, then bent to kiss her cheek. Then he placed a beautiful, late-blooming rose and a note by her pillow before turning to leave the room.

Elaine woke later than usual. She frowned as she sat up and stretched. Why had her ladies not woken her?

Of course, they imagined that she had spent the night making love. As she moved from the bed, the small piece of parchment and the rose fell to the ground. She bent to pick them up and saw the letter was in Zander’s hand, recognising it because of the document he had given her containing her wedding settlement. Elaine had not bothered to read it for she knew he would have provided for her if something should happen.

God forbid! She felt coldness at the nape of her neck as she broke the seal. Zander had written:

Elaine sighed as she held the rose to her nose. It had a wonderful perfume and she knew that it grew in a sheltered spot by a south-facing wall, which was why it was always the first and last to flower each year. Her mother had loved the rose, because Elaine’s father had planted it for his wife.

She would press the rose between the pages of her bible. It was a huge book of handwritten scripts in Latin, bound in leather and decorated with bright colours and gold leaf at the beginning of each page. It must have taken the monks who produced it many years to complete and was very precious. Lady Howarth had written Elaine’s birth on the first blank page and then
her husband had added the name of her stillborn son. Elaine’s mother had passed it down to her and she would pass it on to her daughter if she had one.

Elaine frowned, for her marriage had not been consummated before Zander left. She felt a little uneasy, because she knew that some would not consider her truly married—and it was possible to overturn a marriage that had not been properly consummated by means of an annulment.

Who would want to overturn her marriage? Certainly not Zander or Elaine herself—besides, how could anyone but she know that he had not come to her in the early hours?

‘You are awake, my lady?’ Marion looked in at the door. ‘My lord left orders that you were not to be disturbed, even though he left at first light.’

‘I am not ready to rise for a few minutes. Bring me food and drink and I will be ready when you return—until then I am not to be disturbed.’

‘Yes, my lady. I shall tell the others.’ Marion smiled as she closed the door behind her.

As soon as she had gone, Elaine jumped out of bed. She found a little knife that she used for cutting herbs and pricked her finger, pressing
it so that the blood flowed. She then sprinkled a few drops on her linen sheets and smeared the remainder on her night-chemise. Her ladies would see the stains and take it as proof that her virginity had been lost. She was not sure why she’d done it, but something had made her feel it was necessary to practise the deceit.

She returned to the bed and rose, stretching and yawning when her ladies brought food, ale and fresh water for her to wash. Getting out of bed, she left the covers thrown back. She saw their secret smiles and heard them whisper and laugh when they saw the bloodstains. At least her ladies were convinced that she was truly wed to Zander. Elaine did not know why that was important, but she had felt instinctively that it might be best to have proof if proof were needed.

‘I think I shall spend the day sitting quietly,’ she told them. ‘We shall embroider a new hanging for my husband’s bedchamber. We must think of a suitable theme.’

‘Lord Zander is a truly honourable knight,’ one of the ladies said. ‘We should picture him riding his horse on the way to the crusades, with the Cross before him.’

‘Yes, that is a good idea for a part of the hanging,’ Elaine agreed. ‘But I would show him
being a good overlord, tilling the land and husbanding the soil of his fields.’

The ladies joined in with ideas of their own and a length of silk was fetched from the chests. Threads of all hues were matched and cut to lengths with a tiny knife from the chatelaine Elaine wore. Each lady chose her colour and they took a corner of the cloth, each to begin working out the emblems they would depict and matching the shades they would use.

Elaine asked Marion to read to them from the scriptures. Her mother’s bible was the only book she owned, though she knew that there were transcriptions of fables and love poems from France. Such volumes were rare and neither Elaine nor her mother had ever owned such a book, though she’d heard stories and poems told by minstrels or storytellers. Now and then one such man would come to the manor and be invited to tell them a story for his supper.

The day passed quietly. Sometimes, Elaine left the sewing to her ladies and went to the narrow windows of her solar to look out. As each hour passed she hoped for news of her husband, but none came. She had no idea where the meeting was to take place or what would happen,
and, as the night fell softly around them, she began to worry.

‘Tell the men that I shall dine here while my lord is away,’ she instructed. ‘They may sup when they are ready. Marion, you will sup with me, but those who wish to eat in the hall may leave us once we have been served.’

The other ladies got up and left to bring food and wine. Elaine sighed heavily, going to stand at the window once more.

‘Looking for Lord Zander will not bring him home, my lady.’

‘I know, but I cannot help it. I wish we’d had longer together.’

‘He will return to you.’

‘Yes, of course.’ Elaine turned to look at her. ‘You have heard nothing from Bertrand since the earl’s men took him.’

Marion flinched and shook her head. ‘I know he would send me word if he could. Sometimes, I fear the worst…’

‘You think he is dead? How can you bear it?’

‘I cry every night,’ Marion confessed. ‘He did not even know that I loved him, for I thought it immodest to tell him until he had asked for me.’

‘I am so sorry,’ Elaine said and looked at her
with sympathy. ‘Yet perhaps he still lives. If he is a prisoner…’

‘He may be suffering at the hands of the earl,’ Marion said. ‘I am not sure whether I should wish him alive or be glad that he can suffer no more.’

‘I would always wish Zander to live,’ Elaine said. ‘I know he would bear whatever they did to him in the hope that he might escape and return to me.’

‘At least you had one night with him.’

‘Yes…’ Elaine turned away, because she did not wish her serving woman to know the truth. her heart ached, because she did not have even that memory to keep and cherish. Zander had kissed her a few times, making her body melt and her longing to be in his arms become a living flame—but she was still untouched. ‘I have my memory…but he will return to me. I know he will.’

‘Yes, my lady. I am certain of it…’ Marion looked at her uncertainly. ‘If he should not…will you take another husband?’

‘No!’ Elaine shuddered. ‘I would rather die than marry the Earl of Newark.’

‘I know. That is why I asked, my lady. If you are to defend yourself against men of his ilk,
you need a husband. Lord Stornway loves you. I think you would be happier wed to him than the Earl of Newark.’

‘What makes you say such things?’ Elaine frowned at her. ‘How could I think of marriage to any other man when I am just wed to Zander?’

‘Forgive me if I offend you, my lady. I saw the way Lord Stornway looked at you—and he told me to send for him if ever you should be in trouble.’

‘When did he say that to you?’ Elaine was a little annoyed with her companion. ‘I think he must have forgot himself.’

‘You are angry, but I believe he meant it for the best, lady. Without your lord’s protection you are vulnerable here. We have enough men to defend the walls, but we could not withstand a long siege. You need to salt meat and make preserves that would last for several weeks.’

‘Yes, I dare say you are right,’ Elaine agreed. ‘While my lord was here there seemed no need, for we had fresh meat all the time—but I should ask the steward how our stores stand and begin to build them. we have feasted often since we came here and I dare say much needs to be replenished. Tomorrow we shall make a start on
salting meat—and we should buy more sheep and cattle so that we can prepare for the winter.’

‘I think you may need to prepare a great deal of food, should we be forced to winter here rather than move on to a new manor.’

Elaine nodded. Zander had made other plans, but he had gone to meet and fight with his enemy. She could not be certain that he would return to her again.

Her steward confirmed that their stores were running low on various goods, including flour, sugar and salt, which was so important for preserving meat for the winter.

‘You must send to market and buy enough stores to last us for several weeks,’ she told him. ‘And buy in sheep and cattle so that we can salt meat for the winter—or to withstand a siege.’

‘My lord told me he would see to the stores when he returned, my lady.’

‘These are my dower lands. I am your lady and you will do as I bid you,’ Elaine said, feeling annoyed because Elgin seemed to imagine she was not fit to have charge of her own manor. ‘My lord will order these things when he is here, but for the moment he is gone. I would be prepared should we have to draw up our bridge because of an attack.’

The steward looked surprised at her order, but did not question her again.

Over the next few days, Elaine continued to watch for Zander’s return, but received no word from him.

A week passed and then another. She and her ladies began to preserve plums, apples and berries and to pickle walnuts—and then to salt meat into large barrels. When after a month, she considered that they were provisioned sufficiently to go through the winter or withstand a siege, Elaine found herself at a loss. She spent hours standing at her window, just looking out into the distance and sighing.

Where was Zander and why did he not either send word or return?

‘You will be ill if you continue to fret for your lord,’ Marion said to her one afternoon. ‘Sit with us, my lady. We have half finished the hanging for my lord’s chamber. Come and see how fine it is.’

Elaine went to sit in her chair, looking round at her ladies. They regarded her with anxious eyes and she knew they were concerned for her. Marion was right; she was foolish to let her thoughts of Zander occupy her every waking
moment. She had not been thus all the years he’d been away fighting, but somehow this time she was shadowed by constant fear.

Getting up once more, she went to the window of her solar and looked out. ‘I cannot help worrying for him,’ she said. ‘To send word from the Holy Land was much harder, but he is in England—and we are married. He must know that I am anxious. I fear that he cannot send word to me.’

‘You should send to the King’s Marshal,’ Marion said. ‘Mayhap he can find out what has happened to your husband.’

Elaine shook her head. She was reluctant to send to Zander’s friends for help, though she knew it would be the sensible thing to do. Lord Stornway could make enquiries and discover what had happened between Zander and the Earl of Newark.

‘I shall wait another week,’ she said. ‘If by the end of that time I have still heard nothing, I shall ask Lord Stornway for help.’

Elaine woke startled from her sleep. She sat up in bed, shivering and feeling afraid. Her dream had been so terrible that it frightened her even now that she was awake. Zander had
been imprisoned in a bleak place. It was a castle surrounded by mist that rose from a deep lake. He’d called to her to help him and she had tears on her cheeks.