All the Sweet Tomorrows (19 page)

“Then I will get them,” Robbie said quietly. “The Queen has forbidden Lady Burke to leave her vessel until the contracts have your signature. Until then she must remain on what is technically English soil.”

“But the marriage ceremony is set for this evening,” the duc protested.

“There is nothing unusual about the contracts, M’sieur le Duc. Lady Burke brings you a very generous dowry, but the contracts permit her to keep her own wealth and to continue to administer her lands and those of her children.”

“But that is outrageous!”

“Nonetheless, M’sieur le Duc, that is what the contracts say. Englishwomen are perhaps more independent than other women, but certainly that is why you wanted a wife from Bess Tudor’s court.” Robbie smiled in a man-to-man fashion at the duc. “Your nephew saw nothing unusual in Lady Burke’s request when Lord Burghley explained it to him. He signed believing you would agree with him. Lady Burke’s dowry is
very
generous.”

“Do you believe yourself capable of administering such wealth, madame?” The duc looked closely at Skye.

“I have been my own mistress in such things, monseigneur, since my father’s death. It was he who put me in charge of his fleets and his wealth until my brothers were old enough to manage. At their request I still manage both my family’s ships and their monies.”

“And what else do you manage, madame?”

“The estates of my young son, the Earl of Lynmouth, and of my eldest son, Ewan O’Flaherty, although Ewan will be old
enough in another two years to manage on his own. Then there are the estates of my youngest son, Padraic, in Ireland; and my daughter, Willow’s, wealth from her father, my second husband. Then, too, there is my own wealth, monseigneur, from commercial enterprises in which I am engaged with Sir Robert.”

“You take a great deal upon such beautiful shoulders, madame,” he noted.

“Nonetheless I am capable of it, monseigneur,” she countered.

“A woman’s first duty is to give her husband heirs and to raise those children.”

“You will not find me lacking there, monseigneur. I have given children to all of my husbands—five sons, of whom four are living, and two daughters.”

He nodded. “And would you indeed refuse to marry me if I refuse to sign and ratify this marriage contract?”

“Yes, monseigneur, I would,” Skye answered, and she lifted her chin slightly as she said the words.

“You are a woman of strong character, I can see,” the duc replied, “but that can be a good trait in a woman if you pass it on to our sons. I trust you will do so, madame.” There was just the faintest hint of amusement in his voice.

“I will try,” she answered him in as serious a tone.

“Then there is nothing for it but I must sign the contracts,” he answered, taking them from Robbie. Edmond de Beaumont quickly handed his uncle an inked quill from Skye’s desk, and the duc as quickly wrote his signature at the assigned place.

Skye then came forward to place her own signature upon the documents. She had refused to sign them in England, protesting that until the duc himself agreed to her demands her signature was not necessary.

“You sign yourself Skye O’Malley, madame,” the duc noted.

“It is simpler, monseigneur, that I use my maiden name. I have had four husbands, and all their names added to my own would make another document.” She looked up at him with her marvelous Kerry-blue eyes, and the duc allowed himself a small smile.

“Now that the formalities are over, madame, will you allow me to escort you to your new home?” He held out his hand to her, and after a small hesitation she placed her hand in his. His grasp was firm. “I have planned that we be married immediately,” he told her as he led her from the ship and up to his carriage. Nervously she looked about to see that Robbie was
coming, too. Noting it, he asked, “Are you afraid of me, madame? Your eyes constantly seek out M’sieur Robert.”

“I have never married a stranger before,” she said quietly.

He nodded. “A difficult position for you, I can see, but I have never married a woman that I knew. It didn’t really matter, madame. They, like you, came to me for but one purpose, to give me heirs. Pastor Lichault says the Bible claims that ‘whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favor of the Lord.’ King David wrote in his psalms ‘Lo, children are a heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are the children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed.’ I, however, am ashamed, madam. I have but one living child, a babbling, drooling idiot who can barely hold his own head up at the age of five. The rest of my children either died in their mothers’ wombs or shortly after birth. I want children! I need heirs!”

“You have a fine heir in your nephew, monseigneur,” she said.

“Yes, Edmond is a good man, but he will not marry for fear of bearing children like himself, and what normal maiden would allow herself to be possessed by the monster my nephew is?

“If I die without heirs the French will take my duchy, and Beaumont de Jaspre will cease to exist. There have been ducs de Beaumont de Jaspre since the days of the great Charlemagne. That is why I have agreed to remarry. I asked the Queen of England for a noble wife because I felt I needed new blood for my line. Procreation is, after all, the prime motive for marriage.”

“So we are taught by Holy Mother Church,” Skye replied.

“Are you of the old Church?” he demanded. “I would have thought that you were of the new faith coming from the Tudor court.”

“I am not English, monseigneur, I am Irish. I am of the one true Church. The Queen, however, is tolerant of all faiths. I am sure that I was sent to you because the Queen assumed you, also, would be of the true faith.”

“I was born to the old faith,” he said.

“Your nephew said nothing to me of your religion,” Skye replied.

“When he left Beaumont de Jaspre, madame, I still practiced that ancient faith, although I had become interested in the teachings of Pastor André Lichault. While Edmond was away, however,
I became convinced that Pastor Lichault was correct in his teachings, and I converted to his faith. You, too, will convert when you have been taught.”

“And have your people converted to the teachings of your Pastor Lichault, monseigneur?”

He frowned. “They persist in clinging to their old faith. It is wrong, though! I have driven their priests out, and I have torn down the painted and gilded idols that they persist in worshiping. Still they resist me, but I will overcome them, for I am their lord and their master!”

The duc’s carriage had moved away from the docks, and through the window of the coach Skye could see Edmond and Robbie following them on horses. She breathed a sigh of relief. She was appalled to find that the duc was not only a Huguenot, but a bit of a fanatic as well.

“Is it not better, monseigneur, that a people have a faith than not have a faith? As long as your people are God-fearing and hard-working souls, does it make any difference how they worship God?” she said.

“Yes!” He looked earnestly at her. “You are very beautiful, madame, but you are only a woman. How can you possibly understand?”

“My other husbands have always said that I was an understanding woman, monseigneur. Perhaps I will not comprehend, but how will you know unless you confide in me?” She gave him a small smile to encourage him. She must keep the lines of communication open between them else this marriage be doomed before it even began.

He leaned forward and began to speak. “The Catholic Church has become corrupt, madame. They no longer administer to the needs of their flock. They sell indulgences and absolutions! They own vast tracts of land. They engage in commerce and act as patrons to worthless artists! They are as venal and as lustful as the worst of men! They have lost sight of God!

“Pastor Lichault was once one of them, but in a vision he saw the light. Now he strives to bring that light to others. My people do not listen now, but in the end they will. The only way we will escape the fires of Hell and damnation is to live simply, to pray, to scourge ourselves free of the opulent trappings with which we have surrounded ourselves!”

Skye was astounded by the duc’s outburst and his next words sent a chill through her. “You
must
join me in my endeavors, madame. As your husband I command it! Only when we are
both free of sin will God reward us with the children that I so desperately want.”

This was hardly what she had expected, and she suspected that even the very Protestant Lord Burghley had known nothing about the duc’s sudden conversion, either. The man was unstable, and would not make a reliable ally for England. She had been sacrificed to a madman!

“You say nothing, madame.”

She chose her words carefully. “I am a daughter of the one true Church, monseigneur. My uncle is a bishop. I have read and studied the teachings of Martin Luther, but I prefer to remain as I have always been although I am more liberal than many of my faith. I have friends who have chosen to follow the new faith, and if they are happy then I am happy for them, but I cannot convert.”

“Your gown is much too immodest,” he said, ignoring her words. “Are all your gowns so low in the neckline?”

“It is the fashion, monseigneur.”

“After today you will not wear such garments. They were made to entice, and to lure a man into lust. I will send the castle seamstress to you tomorrow, and when she has taken your measurements she will make you more suitable garments.”

“I choose my own clothes, monseigneur,” Skye said sharply. “Whatever the fashion, I am, and always have been, a faithful wife. I do not flaunt my charms before other men.”

“You would disobey me, madame?” His look was black.

“No, monseigneur, I would simply overrule you in an area in which you are not competent to judge.”

“But the sight of so much beauty is distracting, madame!”

“I do not flaunt my beauty. If you are distracted then the fault is within you, monseigneur. It is not with me.”

“You are right,” he whispered, and obviously shaken by the truth of her words, he withdrew into himself.

Skye turned to look out the window of the coach at the beautiful little town of Villerose. Her conversation with the duc had disturbed her greatly. He was obviously not a man of strong character if in his nephew’s absence he had been led astray by this Pastor Lichault. At least his people resisted this attempt to force them from the true Church. He may think he has driven the priests out, Skye thought, but I will wager that they are still here. I will have to find one. She focused her eyes upon the town.

It was a lovely place, and to her immense delight each building
was painted pink and roofed in red tile. The streets were cobbled but not overly narrow, and flowers grew everywhere, in gardens, in windowboxes, hanging from pots and balconies. “Why are the buildings all pink?” she asked the duc.

“It was the favorite color of one of my ancestors. Villerose has been pink for over three hundred years now.” He fell silent again, and Skye turned back to the window.

The town seemed filled with small squares, each with its own fountain sending forth a spray of crystal-clear water into the hot afternoon. There were children everywhere, healthy, well-fed boys and girls, running and playing about the houses and fountains. The duchy of Beaumont de Jaspre was obviously a happy and prosperous place, Skye decided as they passed well-filled, busy shops and small open-air markets. It was everything that Edmond had promised her with one exception: the duc. How could she marry this intense, fanatical man? But she knew she must.

The coach wound its way upward through the cobbled streets until it reached the castle, perched upon the crest of a hill above the town, overlooking the blue sea. Like the town, the castle was of pink stone, its tower roofs tiled in red. A wide moat filled with pink and white waterlilies surrounded the building. The carriage drove across the lowered drawbridge into the courtyard, and Skye was further enchanted. In the courtyard’s center was a square tiled pool that was edged with a flowerbed filled with brightly colored blooms. At one end of the fountain, a mischievous bronze cupid rode a bronze dolphin from whose open mouth poured a clear stream of water.

“How lovely!” she exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

“I am pleased that you like it,” the duc answered. The intensity was gone, and she felt more comfortable with him.

The vehicle stopped and a footman hurried to help them out. Edmond and Robbie were dismounting their horses. They both hurried over to the carriage as Skye exited it.

“Well,” Edmond demanded, “what do you think of Beaumont de Jaspre,
chérie?
”

“It’s beautiful, Edmond,” she said, but Robbie noticed her lack of enthusiasm and drew her away from the duc.

“What is the matter?”

“He’s a Huguenot, Robbie. Newly converted by a Pastor Lichault, and quite the fanatic about it. He claims to have driven the priests from his duchy, and he wants to change my wardrobe
to something more modest.” Speaking about it, Skye didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry.

“God’s foot!” swore Robbie, who although a member of the Church of England, was a tolerant man.

“Come, madame.” The duc was at her side again. “You will want to refresh yourself before we are married. Will half an hour suit you?”

“So soon? Could we not wait a few days, monseigneur, so that we might get to know one another?”

“Are you able to receive a man now, madame?” he demanded quite bluntly.

Skye blushed at his indelicacy, and whispered, “Yes.”

“Then there is no need for us to wait. You know my feelings on the matter, as we have already discussed them in the coach.” He took her arm. “Come now. You will see M’sieur Robert Small and Edmond at the ceremony.”

There was nothing for it but to follow him, though behind her she heard Robbie growl a low protest. She dared not turn but kept walking, allowing the duc to lead her into the castle. “Your maid should already be here, madame,” he said, moving through the main hall of the castle. The walls were hung with many beautiful crimson, azure and gold silk banners, some of which Skye could see were very old. She followed him as he hurried two flights up a wide staircase with magnificently carved bannisters and then down a corridor lit by windows that faced onto the courtyard now bright with the late-afternoon sunlight. He stopped before a pair of doors shaped like upside down U’s, and knocked. The door opened to reveal Daisy.