The Dumont Bride (18 page)

H
e only managed to keep word of it from her due to her illness. In being restricted to her bed and then her chamber, Christian controlled her visitors and the news they carried to Emalie. Of course, she did not know that. He would not permit anyone else to invade the solace he’d created for her.

The opening sally came in the form of visitors from the Bishop of Lincoln. An entourage of clerics arrived quietly one night just before the gates were to close. ’Twas only the next morning, after they consulted with Father Elwood, that they relayed their mission to him. A complaint had been registered with the bishop and the ecclesiastical court about the validity of his and Emalie’s marriage. No specific details of the case could be shared with him, but these priests were there to ascertain the facts about their union.

Christian almost laughed in their faces, until he realized that this was a matter of life and death. These priests probably had no idea that they were being manipulated by the devil’s own and would most likely be horrified to learn the truth. They only carried out the
orders given to them by the bishop, who was currently the prince’s pawn.

They did however need his permission to question any of his people and he granted it. Better to cooperate at this point and discover John’s plan. He arranged to have Luc be his representative to witness all the questioning. If the priests thought this outside the bounds of his rights, they did not protest. He smiled grimly as the priests produced a list of those they would question. He was not surprised.

The only request he refused was theirs to speak to Emalie. He used her recent illness as the excuse, but he would not destroy the sense of security around her that was helping her recuperation. He simply reminded them that as her husband, he spoke for her in all things. They nodded, accepting his rights as a sage practice, for they knew that women lied or did not have the power to think logically as men did. He later thanked God for the self-induced separation in which these priests lived and their lack of exposure to the real world and the women who lived in it.

They questioned servants, soldiers, farmers and villagers—anyone on the list was “invited” to speak with them. Christian did not have them warned in advance and found, as Luc had once told him, they were closemouthed and protective of their lady. To a one, they praised her goodness and gave no other information to their questioners.

Only once, Luc told him later, did one of the priests become tired of the onslaught of praise and demand an answer to an ignored question. The woman, one of the whores of the village, simply looked at the priests and began to sob. Completely exasperated by this womanly display, the priest ordered her to leave. Tempted to
laugh, he remembered his own experiences in dealing with Emalie’s people and was grateful that they were on his side this time.

Then, two days and nights after they arrived, they departed.

He did not fool himself into believing this would end it. John was exploring his resistance and would make another offer soon. He was so sure of it that he was at the gate when the next attack came. This one was a frontal assault and not one he could misdirect or assuage with misinformation.

A priest rode with a contingent of soldiers. Once more, they were from the Bishop of Lincoln, but this time they did not ask, they demanded. The papers they carried demanded that he answer the Church’s court regarding his unlawful marriage to the Countess of Harbridge. The papers demanded that he present himself to be questioned at the court and, worse yet, that Emalie be brought before the court to answer for her actions.

The words that struck fear in him were the last two sentences written.

He was sickened at the thought of turning Emalie over into the bishop’s custody, for he knew not if this
meant she was safe or if she would be accessible to John and William. The order before him gave him no choice.

The messenger handed him a smaller packet before leaving and Christian peeled off the unremarkable wax seal and opened it. John’s last best offer. As his stomach churned, he read the note, an invitation to go home, honor intact. John promised to placate Richard with whatever explanation was necessary to make this go smoothly. All Christian had to do was give up all claim to the lands, titles, riches and person of the Countess of Harbridge.

Before he could read the accompanying documents, Luc approached the dais.

“She comes now, my lord.”

Christian saw Emalie walking slowly into the hall and toward where he sat. “Take this all away, Luc. She can not know of this yet.” He gathered the parchments together, rolled them as necessary and handed everything to Luc.

He stood, reached into his pocket and handed Luc a key. “Put this in Emalie’s herbal room. She is not well enough to work there yet. And lock it with this.”

Luc efficiently took everything from him and left before Emalie was halfway through the hall. Her progress to him, slowed by well-wishers, was pleasing. Her health was returning and there had been no additional episodes of bleeding or labor pains. He knew that the risk to her, when she discovered what he hid, was great. He needed to find a way to explain the situation to her without alarming her.

“Who were the messages from?” she asked as he helped her up to the table. She sat down and Alyce placed a blanket over her legs.

“Messages?”

“From our chambers I saw the riders enter, but they left too quickly.”

Not a moment too soon by his score. He smiled at her, feeling the weight of every lie he spoke. “Nothing to be concerned with, Emalie. Nothing to distract you from your first meal in the hall with us.”

She looked around at the table and nodded to each person. He could read the enjoyment on her face and wanted it to last forever. He would give anything to make it so.

At his signal, the servants began serving the meal. All of her favorites had been prepared and the company was lively with talk and teasing and good food and wine. Soon, too soon, he noticed her tiring and suggested she retire. After arguing but with little fight, Luc escorted Emalie to her room. Christian promised to join her soon.

He went to the herbal to study the documents; he needed to see how John’s man defended his claim. Risking much, he decided to have Father Elwood examine them for his own assessment. Taking the copies of the betrothal contract and Gaspar’s will with him, he sought and found the priest in his room, near the chapel. The minutes of discussion turned into hours and the good father could offer no assistance in disputing William’s claim. Christian would have continued, but he realized that Emalie would be waiting for him.

He walked back to the herbal to store the papers. Emalie sat at her table, with John’s letter in hand. Opened.

“It would appear that this is not the first offer from John on this matter.” Her voice was flat, shocked most likely at the contents of the letter.

“’Tis not. His first
offer
was presented in person during his visit.”

“Was it different from this?”

Her quiet demeanor surprised him. She was pale, from the excitement and exercise of the dinner and from this news, but she looked almost calm.

“Emalie, I do not want to upset you with this.”

“There is so little time in which to upset me, my lord. The bishop’s escort will be here in just three days.” She handed him both John’s letter and the bishop’s decree. “How long have you known?” She stared into the lantern on the table and did not meet his gaze.

“Let us go to our chambers. I would feel better discussing this in that privacy and where you will be more comfortable.”

She rose and allowed him to escort her back to their chambers. He brought all the documents. He was not happy that she had discovered it this way, but he would be grateful for her counsel. When they reached it, he closed the door behind them. Then he wasted no time.

“John summoned me even while you lay senseless and ill here the night of his visit. He offered me the chance to take DeSeverin’s place in his arrangements to have you and the wealth of Harbridge.”

“Have me?” she asked.

“Aye. I would be husband and earl here and manage the estates. You would be wife and countess. John would take whatever wealth he desired and he would have you whenever he desired.”

Emalie shuddered so deeply that he ran to her side. He reached for a cup of wine and forced her to sip some.

“Apparently that is his agreement with DeSeverin
and so he believed I would accommodate him in the same way. He must have sensed that I would not, so he offered me an escape.”

“What was that?” she whispered.

“I could simply leave, take Geoffrey and my men and go back to Poitou and my lands there. He would arrange for the annulment and I would be free of all of this.”

“Annulment? On what grounds would I be given an annulment?” She looked at the documents on the table.

“DeSeverin has produced a betrothal contract, signed by him and your father.”

She shook her head in denial of his words.

“It was signed last year before his death, Emalie.”

“There was no betrothal, Christian. You must believe me.”

He held up his hand, stopping her from her arguments. “I believe you, but they have the proof. The contract and a copy of your father’s will, both naming one William DeSeverin as your betrothed husband and guardian in the event of your father’s death. The courts, both secular and ecclesiastical, put great stock in proof.”

She threw the papers at him. “They are a waste of costly vellum and not worth the cost of it. These are lies—my father entered into no agreements with William.”

“Emalie, how do you prove lies? You say there was no agreement yet DeSeverin has the contract. You say your father would not give you to him, yet he has the contract and your father’s will. Tell me how to fight this. Tell me if I should.”

“Do you mean that you will walk away from this? From me?”

He did not answer her right away. There was a part of him that knew the outcome already and that it would not go in their favor. Did he try to cut his losses, soothe John’s outrage and make as good an agreement with the prince as he could on her behalf? Or did he fight all out and lose everything in the end? Did he walk away with his honor now or walk away with nothing in the end?

He dropped the documents back onto the table in front of her. For a few minutes all was quiet. Emalie examined everything in the packet before saying another word.

Christian knew that she must understand the reasons for their marriage before she could understand why he would even consider John’s offer. He sat across from her at the table and began.

“I married you as part of an arrangement with the king. My release from prison, my life and Geoffrey’s was based on my fulfilling an agreement with the king.”

“Prison?” she whispered, her gaze moving over him. Now she could understand the sores and the condition of his body when he had arrived here.

“We had lived through eight, nearly nine, months of constant hunger and filth and rats. Being attacked by other prisoners was commonplace, too. I managed to keep us alive, but it was a close thing. I suspect that Geoffrey was within days of dying and I would not have been long behind him.”

“But why, Christian? What crime had you committed?”

“Crime? No crime of our own, but we were paying for our father’s treason against the king. In the year before Richard’s ransom, my father had gained control
of several other estates and then swore allegiance to Richard’s enemies. Before the king’s release, his chancellor decided to act and he struck with a vengeance. Richard continues to do so even now in his Angevin and Pontevin lands.”

“Had you a part in it? Or Geoffrey?”

“I had taken Geoff and spent most of the year with cousins in Scotland. On our return we discovered our father’s fate and our own.”

“He is…” She could not say the word.

“Hanged. By order of the king’s chancellor. Our sentence was to follow him to the hangman’s gallows, but I think that the starvation would have killed us first.” He saw her wince at his words.

“Then one day I was dragged before the king and offered a chance to live and regain my titles, my lands, our lost honor. Although I feared the task, what choice did I have? Any delay would cause Geoff’s death. I agreed to carry out whatever task was demanded of me.”

“You did not know? I thought you were surprised by Eleanor’s words.”

“I was, but in all candor, I would have begged, stolen or killed if asked. Marriage was a more attractive task.”

“Even to me?” she asked.

“Even to you. In spite of your animosity toward me and your request for a reprieve, marriage was still preferable to the other things I imagined I’d be asked to do. Emalie, the most important thing to me was to regain the name and honor that my father had lost. I did not hold Richard responsible for his fate. I held my father guilty. And if I did not carry out the king’s com
mand, I would be as dishonorable as my father had been.”

“Was there something else you had to do?”

“Richard demanded that I report to him anything that linked his brother to whatever task his mother had in mind for me. I believe he knew John was stirring up trouble and wanted to keep an eye on it.” Christian stood and walked over to the window, peering out into the darkness.

“Have you told him yet of this?” She pointed to the pile before her. “Will he intervene?”

“These sons of Henry go from fighting to loving and back again on the change of the wind. If John is in Richard’s good graces, then he will prevail. If he has done something that Richard can not ignore, then he might stand against him. If what John says is true, Richard is beholden to him right now for his recent efforts in Anjou.