The Marriage Prize (25 page)

could have easily seduced her into yielding her virginity to him.

But he had not, and somehow she felt as if she had lost the

battle over sex. As she lay in his arms she realized that Sir

Rodger de Leyburn was a complete mystery to her. He had

taken al control away from her and made it plain that he would

decide when to make her his wife.

Thirteen

Rosamond awoke when she heard a tapping on the chamber

door. Nan entered carrying Rosamond's vivid green gown

over one arm. She was fol owed by two maids who brought in

a slipper bath and two more who fil ed it with hot water.

Rosamond, surprised that it was morning, was vastly relieved

that Rodger de Leyburn had departed.

"Good morning, my lamb." Nan wrapped her in her silk

bedgown as two of the maids approached the bed and

stripped off the sheets.

Rosamond blushed as she glimpsed the dark crimson drops.

It was his blood, not hers; how cunning de Leyburn was!

"Hurry and bathe, my lamb. Lady Eleanor and Demi are

coming with a special breakfast tray, and heaven knows who

else wil try to get a good look at you this morning. Brides are

an irresistible curiosity. Those sheets wil be the talk of the

castle!"

"Good God, that's disgusting!" Rosamond said with a

grimace. "Hold them off as long as you can. I want to be

dressed before anyone sees me."

Rosamond was clad in the green gown, with her hair brushed

into a smooth French knot, by the time her visitors arrived.

While Bette carried in the huge tray, Lady Eleanor pressed a

kiss to her brow, and Demi hugged her close. "You look

different!"

Eleanor laughed knowingly. "She wil never be the same

again. I warrant she feels both older and wiser. Marriage

transforms a woman. Darling, you look absolutely radiant!"

Rodger de Leyburn fil ed the doorway, then stepped into the

chamber. A richly embroidered surcoat covered his chain mail

hauberk. While the ladies fawned over him he laughed good-

naturedly "I have come to give my beautiful bride her morning

gift," he said gal antly. He

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placed a velvet pouch in Rosamond's hands, then dipped his

dark head to reverently kiss those hands.

Forcing herself to remain outwardly unruffled, Rosamond

opened the pouch and lifted out its treasure. It was a gold

torque necklace carved in an exquisite Celtic design, with a

huge cabochon emerald at its center. Every woman in the

room gasped at its beauty and urged her before the mirror to

put it on. When she clasped it about her throat, she saw that it

matched her gown to perfection. With her hair drawn up to

display the elegant curve of her neck, the torque made her

look regal as a princess. Rosamond's glance met Sir

Rodger's in the mirror, and his proprietary look of ownership

stunned her. Suddenly she remembered reading somewhere

that torques were slave col ars to the ancient Celts. As her

hand lifted to remove it, she saw that her husband looked hurt.

"Please, I want you to wear it while I'm gone," he said softly.

"Gone?"

A smile of regret curved his mouth. "I am a royal steward,

chérie. I must go to London ahead of Lord Edward and our

men to make preparations for their arrival. I want you to enjoy

your last Christmas at Kenilworth, then travel in comfort with

Lady Eleanor's household." Rod made it sound as if he

wanted only her comfort and happiness, but the truth was he

could not bear the torture of sharing a bed with her for one

more night, without demanding his conjugal rights.

"Come, ladies," Eleanor said decisively, "the newlyweds need privacy to say their goodbyes."

When they were alone, Rosamond offered up a silent prayer

of thanks that she had had the foresight to dress. Her beautiful

gown gave her the confidence she needed, and she was

ready for him, ready to snatch the offensive before he did.

"You are a master of manipulation," she accused. "I drank too much wine last night and you took shameless advantage of

me!"

Rodger saw that Rosamond held herself stiffly. She had

withdrawn behind an invisible barrier, thinking to protect

herself from him. Amusement fil ed his green eyes.

"Rosamond, you are a beautiful little liar. Last night you

deliberately chal enged my manhood and pitted your wil

against mine. Although you swore you would not yield to me, I

wooed you to a giving mood. You just don't want to admit that

you lost."

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She gasped in outrage. "I stil have my virginity!"

He flashed a grin. "And therein lies the proof that you lost."

"You are a devil, de Leyburn!"

"A wicked devil," he agreed. She looked so vulnerable, it

tugged at his heart. He wanted to take her in his arms, but the

last thing he wanted was to have her recoil from him. "Lord

Edward wil bring you safely to Windsor. It's a journey of over

eighty miles, which wil take several days." When she looked

relieved, he bit his lip. "Rosamond, when we meet again at

Windsor, a brand new year wil be nigh; I hope we can start

afresh." When she did not reply, he went to the door and

paused. "Bring Chirk with you, so you won't be lonely."

When he left, she suddenly felt abandoned. Damn him to

hel fire, why hadn't he consummated the marriage? Why

hadn't he told her he loved her? The answers were obvious.

He did not love her. Now that he owned her castles, he was

quite content that they remain married in name only!

******************

King Henry was in a Plantagenet rage! News had reached

him that Edward, his heir to the throne, was plotting with his

archenemy Simon de Montfort. Terrified that they would

overthrow him as king, Henry knew he must act swiftly. He

asked his brother, Richard of Cornwal , to go immediately to

London and win back the loyalty of Richard's stepson Richard

de Clare, Earl of Gloucester. Once Richard was in London,

Henry wanted him to set up an inner council consisting of

himself, Gloucester, and the Chief Justiciar of England,

Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford, in order to ral y

Plantagenet royalists. "Richard, you wil give my traitorous son

a message. Tel him I wil make his brother Edmund heir to the

throne if he does not immediately end this treasonous plotting

with that whoreson de Montfort!"

Richard of Cornwal shook his head at the dire situation the

king faced. "I advise you to get that Bul of Absolution from the Pope, even if you have to double the bribe, Henry. If the church

nul ifies the Provisions of Oxford, most of the barons wil be

ready to compromise and you wil be able to resume royal

power. Especial y if you have a large troop of mercenary

soldiers at your back."

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Henry's queen made up her mind immediately to return to

England and take Edward's sixteen-year-old wife, Eleanora,

with her. Though the queen's figure had thickened and her

golden hair had faded, she was stil vain, and stil extremely

manipulative. She could think of no better bait than a beautiful

young bride to lure Edward back into the royal fold. The queen

decided to sail with the king's brother, Richard of Cornwal ,

since he had a swift vessel that would take them directly up

the Thames to London.

When they arrived, the queen left her brother-in-law Richard at

Westminster Palace and took Princess Eleanora by barge to

the elegant apartments that had been especial y designed for

the bride at Windsor Castle.

Sir Rodger de Leyburn and his squire arrived at Windsor to

ready Lord Edward's apartments. As wel , he intended to

furbish his own suite of rooms to accommodate Rosamond.

When the Queen of England arrived the fol owing day, bringing

Edward's bride, Rod forced himself to hide his total surprise.

When the queen found only her son's steward at Windsor, she

confronted him immediately, demanding to know where

Edward was.

De Leyburn bowed gal antly to the queen, as his facile tongue

prepared to defuse her wrath. Rod knew she disapproved of

him, along with al the "wild young men" of Edward's

household, because she feared they had more influence over

the heir than she did. "Lord Edward wil be here in a few short

days, Your Highness. He wil be overjoyed to see you."

"I asked you where he was, Steward."

"He is returning from the successful campaign in Wales. We

fought side by side with the Marcher lords from the Welsh

borders and al extended their hospitality." De Leyburn knew

better than to mention Kenilworth.

"You had best prepare Princess Eleanora's apartments. This

wil no longer be a household of bachelors," she warned.

"Indeed, Your Highness. I am now a married man myself and

my wife wil be honored to serve Princess Eleanora."

"Whom did you wed?"

"Lady Rosamond Marshal, may it please Your Highness."

The queen's eyes narrowed. It did not please her at al . If her

name

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was Marshal, she was an heiress. De Leyburn was becoming

too wealthy, and wealth meant power! She would find a way to

rid her son of this upstart steward.

Sir Rodger immediately dispatched Griffin with a message for

the prince. Edward did not like surprises. Moreover, Rod

knew that Edward and Alyce had plans to meet at

Westminster and continue their liaison. Rodger also penned a

note for Rosamond to let her know that Princess Eleanora

was already in residence at Windsor. Rod knew that the last

stop of the large cavalcade would be at Berkhamsted, and he

bade Griffin await them there.

De Leyburn ordered the supplies Windsor would need, and

alerted the servants that Lord Edward's household would be

arriving shortly. The chambers must be cleaned, beds aired,

wood chopped for the fires, and the stables plenished with

oats and hay. When he was satisfied that no detail had been

overlooked, Rod moved on to Westminster Palace, where he

would undertake the same duties.

Another surprise awaited him at Westminster. When he

learned that the king's brother, Richard of Cornwal , was in

residence, he suspected that some plot was afoot. Deciding

he would learn more if as few people as possible knew of his

arrival, de Leyburn took a chamber in a wing opposite the

spacious royal apartments and had a quiet word with the

servants. Al he learned was that the queen and Princess

Eleanora had sailed with the king's brother, whose ship was

anchored in the Thames. But late in the afternoon as he stood

at his high window overlooking the stables, he saw Humphrey

de Bohun, the Chief Justiciar of England, ride in with a troop

of guards.

Sir Rodger was alarmed. The justiciar had obviously been

summoned to London by royal order. Surmising that they were

planning to prevent Simon de Montfort and Prince Edward

from holding Parliament, Rod knew he must ride out to meet

Edward and alert him.

******************

During Christmas and the journey from Kenilworth, Rosamond

had days to ponder her marriage and the changes it would

bring to her life. Her husband's absence and distance al owed

her to think rational y and be honest with herself. She could not

forget how Rodger de Ley-burn had come to her rescue at

Pershore and, with his great authority, had single-handedly

restored her property, righting the wrongs done to

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her people. And he had done it without being high-handed

with her. In truth, he had treated her as an equal.

Then, with great strength and courage, he had saved her life,

and afterwards she had al owed a certain degree of intimacy

between them. Rosamond remembered how confident he had

made her feel, and even if he had deliberately set out to make

her feel special, she admitted how much she had enjoyed it.

Something inside her wanted to recapture what they had

shared.

A wistful shadow was cast over her thoughts, for she knew that

tomorrow she would part from the familiar de Montfort

household and go with Lord Edward to Windsor. Rosamond

knew she had two choices: Either she could dread what lay

before her, or she could think of it as a great chal enge. She

straightened her shoulders and spurred Nimbus forward to

ride with Lady Eleanor. Rosamond needed advice. If she was

to avoid loneliness and unhappiness, she knew that she and

her husband must not become enemies.

"Lady Eleanor, how have you kept your husband's love al

these years?"

"I think it is because we are wel matched," Eleanor said,

laughing. "I am not afraid to stand up to him and speak my

mind. A clever woman has a great deal of power, which she

must learn to use wisely. I like to have my own way, and Simon

indulges me, but make no mistake, Rosamond, he is master

in his own house. I have learned when to yield . . . and I

wouldn't have it any other way!"

Rosamond knew that Eleanor had taken her husband's power

and strength for her own, and she wanted to do the same. "I