The Marriage Prize (14 page)

regarding Dymock; they'l be too afraid to trust the authority of

a woman, even though I am the mistress of Pershore."

When de Leyburn encouraged them to come and bring their

grievances, and promised they would be addressed, most

looked as if they might be wil ing to attend the court at

Pershore. Rosamond then spoke to the women. "Please

come and bring the children. When court is over, I want you to

dine in the hal tonight."

On the ride back, Rod did not try to hide his admiration for her.

"That was most thoughtful of you, Rosamond."

"Judas, I have been thoughtless overlong, never giving these

people a moment's attention for years; please do not praise

me."

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"No guilt, Rosamond. It serves no useful purpose; it neither

restores the dead nor fil s bel ies, but it can kil happiness."

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

Alyce de Clare had never experienced a pang of guilt in her

life. She snuggled down into her sable far cape, lined with red

velvet, as she rode beside her ever indulgent father-in-law,

Richard of Gloucester. Actual y, she quite liked him; he was

the sort of man she could cozen with her feline femininity. He

was neither quick-witted nor shrewd. He did have a volatile

temper, but she was careful never to rub him the wrong way,

and she knew it added to his towering pride and prestige to

have such a highborn, attractive lady for a daughter-in-law.

"I always get the impression that Simon de Montfort resents

you for being England's leading peer, my lord."

"Real y?" Gloucester sounded surprised.

"His ambition is legend. He wishes to control the barons, but

now it seems he wants to control you and Prince Edward too."

"You shouldn't concern your pretty head with politics, my dear."

"Oh, I don't, my lord. I simply don't want you to provoke the

king's displeasure." Now that she had sown the seeds, she

was happy to leave the subject alone.

"Would you like to stop at Pershore for the night? It belongs to

my young cousin, Rosamond Marshal, and since I appointed

the steward there, we are guaranteed a warm welcome."

"I'd prefer we go on to Gloucester, my lord. Your little Marshal

"I'd prefer we go on to Gloucester, my lord. Your little Marshal

cousin took an instant dislike to me."

Richard nodded his approval at her wil ingness to remain in

the saddle. "Perhaps the reason Rosamond acted cool y

toward you was Rodger de Leyburn. He always flirts

outrageously with you, Alyce."

She gave him a provocative glance. "Most men flirt with me,

my lord. There is something about a French female that men

cannot resist, nest-ce pas?"

"You are a delectable morsel, Alyce; I swear even the king

himself is half in love with you. I know it has been a sore trial to

you to be married to a boy al these years, but Gilbert is

fifteen, almost sixteen, and I warrant he's now old enough to

consummate your union." Richard

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grinned. "Gilbert needs an heir, Alyce. You won't make me wait

too much longer for a grandson, wil you, sweetheart?"

Alyce suppressed a shudder. The redheaded Gilbert with the

flaming temper was anathema to her. There was only one man

on earth whose son she'd be wil ing to bear, and that man was

her half-cousin, Prince Edward Plantagenet. The trouble was,

Edward was far too clever to impregnate her. Though he

adored the bedsport she provided, he never al owed his seed

to spend until he had withdrawn from her. Next time they were

intimate, perhaps during the celebration of the New Year, she

would have to lure him into forgetting himself.

"It is my fervent desire to give you and Gilbert an heir for

Gloucester, very, very shortly, my dearest lord." She pul ed her

sables more closely about her and thought of the emeralds

and diamonds she would demand as her reward for risking

her figure to provide the de Clares with an heir. She hadn't

much thought about it before, but now that she considered the

matter, Alyce realized that if she provided Richard of

Gloucester with a grandson and heir, it could make Gilbert the

Red quite redundant.

Alyce gave her father-in-law a bril iant smile. "I wish to spend

Christmas at Westminster, in my father's beautiful apartments,

my lord. When I become enceinte, I wil need a complete new

wardrobe, and the only place in the kingdom where the French

fashions are available is London. You wil not mind too much if

I run off and indulge myself before I settle down to

motherhood, wil you, Richard?" Her lips made a pouty little

moue she knew he would not be able to resist.

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

families came to the castle as a group, no doubt feeling there

was strength in numbers. The court was held in the dining hal ,

and Rodger advised Rosamond that the entire household

should attend. It would be a strong deterrent to the servants

who had aided and abetted Dymock in his tyranny. When al

were assembled, de Leyburn asked Griffin to bring the

prisoner from his cel . Sir Rodger and Rosamond, sitting in

judgment together, listened intently as the tenants aired their

grievances.

As the grave complaints and injuries were piled one on top of

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another, Rosamond's heart hardened against Dymock. When

she listened to the man accuse the steward of ordering his

son's death for snaring a rabbit in the woods, Rosamond's

eyes searched out the boy's mother. That was the moment

she knew she would hang Dymock, and she would try to do it

without guilt. Now she understood why most women left the

decisions to men. With power and authority came

responsibilities and hard decisions, but she resolved to do

her duty without flinching. Rosamond did not wait for Sir

Rodger to take the lead. She stood and spoke directly to

Dymock. "You are to be taken from this place and hanged by

the neck until you are dead. If you need a confessor to

unburden your soul before my sentence is carried out, you

may have one."

She looked directly into the faces of the men and women

before her. "If there are other charges against any who are

employed at Per-shore, I am ready to hear them." Without

looking at Sir Rodger, she knew his eyes were upon her with

approval and respect for what she had just done. But she also

acknowledged to herself that it was his strength that had given

her the courage to do it.

There were two men, who were ostensibly Pershore's guards,

who had sexual y forced women against their wil . Rosamond

dismissed them from her service immediately, with a dire

warning to the other males employed at Pershore. "If this ever

occurs again, I shal not hesitate to pass a sentence of death

upon you." Rosamond's gaze traveled about the hal seeking

the girl, Edna. "Do you wish to lay a complaint against the

cook, Edna? "

The girl's eyes went as round as saucers, but she shook her

head decisively. Rosamond's icy gaze pierced the cook's for

long, drawn-out minutes as she pondered how to deal with the

obese woman. "I do not want you in my kitchen; your

standards of cleanliness wil never match mine. I believe your

bulk is more suited to being a laundress. It takes a good deal

of strength to lift and scrub wet sheets, and at least I can be

certain your hands wil be clean henceforth."

A ripple of laughter went around the hal and Rosamond

blushed slightly, knowing she had delivered that last cutting

remark with the hauteur of a countess. She held up her hands

for silence and became humble. Looking around the hal , she

said, "I deeply regret al the

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horror and hardship you have suffered. Until I came to

Pershore, I was in complete ignorance of your circumstances.

I pledge to do al I can to improve both your working and living

conditions. You are free to take wood from the forest for your

fires, and I give you my permission to hunt Pershore's game.

Should there come a time when the forests are depleted, I

may suspend hunting rights until the deer and game birds

thrive again, but please rest assured there wil always be meat

on your tables. I have appointed a new head steward by the

name of Hutton from the royal castle of Worcester. He wil

begin making improvements to your farms right away, so

please do not hesitate to discuss your needs with him.

"One of your needs is quite evident. Before winter sets in with

a vengeance, you wil al need warm clothing and footwear,

and the material for these shal be provided." Rosamond

smiled her encouragement. "Please stay and partake of our

hospitality tonight. The fires are warm and the food and ale is

plentiful. Enjoy!"

Sir Rodger took both her hands, squeezed them, then lifted

first one, then the other to his lips. "You are flushed with

success, chérie. Today you made the journey from girlhood to

womanhood, and it becomes you."

"How wil I pay for al the things I've promised?" she

whispered, experiencing sudden anxiety.

"Pershore's coffers overflow and fortunately Griffin and I have

unearthed them from where they were hidden. I'l show you

later. Go and receive your people's homage, Rosamond, you

deserve it."

Rosamond watched him as he crossed the hal . He singled

out a thin, dark boy for his attention. Out of curiosity, she

fol owed him. De Leyburn was offering the boy a chance to

become a page on the household staff of Pershore and was

explaining to the boy the opportunities that this would open for

him, perhaps even leading to the position of steward one day.

Looking at the sul en, ragged child, she thought Sir Rodger

was not being kind to dangle such an unobtainable prize

before his nose, for he looked like a most unlikely candidate

in her eyes. She murmured, "He cannot read or write, nor has

he been taught even rudimentary manners, my lord."

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"He can learn," Rod said firmly. "I would like him to have a chance to be more than a shepherd; after that it wil be up to

him. He reminds me of someone I once knew. I should have

asked you first. I wil take him into my service if you deem him

unsuitable for Pershore."

Rosamond smiled at the boy, whose eyes looked as if they

had seen things no child should witness. "Go and find Lizzy

Hutton and tel her you are to be my personal page. She'l find

you a new suit of clothes, but I warn you, she wil likely insist

you take a bath and cut your hair short." The dark boy

hesitated for only a brief moment, then he flashed her a

cheeky grin and darted off. Rosamond realized instantly that

the boy reminded de Leyburn of himself.

Before the feasting was finished, darkness had fal en and the

chatelaine of Pershore gave her tenants permission to stay

the night in the hal of the castle, if they so wished. When

Rosamond and Nan climbed the stairs to retire for the night,

Rod fol owed them and invited Rosamond into his chamber so

that she could see for herself the coffers he had found.

She lifted her eyes from the boxes of coins. "How did you

learn the steward had hidden gold?"

Rod avoided answering her directly, knowing she would not

wish to know how he had persuaded Dymock to confess. "The

records he kept for Gloucester were falsified, showing no

profits for Pershore. The books show that the income from

wool and mutton equaled expenses, which is ridiculous when

he spent nothing on the upkeep of either Pershore or its

tenant farms."

"Wil there be enough to do everything I have promised?"

"Yes, there's plenty of wood in the forests to make necessary

repairs, and the tenants can do the work themselves now that

the crops are in, the shearing finished, and many of the

animals sold for slaughter. I'l organize a hunt tomorrow, and

the venison and game can be salted down to last through the

winter. Hutton suggested we buy some swine. They'd almost

feed themselves in the oak and beech woods. Also, many of

the women know how to weave cloth, if we provide them with

looms." He grinned at her. "I've told the farmers to help

themselves to the mountain of horse manure piled behind the

stables. It wil give them bumper crops next year."

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"You are ful of surprises, my lord."

His green eyes held hers. "Do you like surprises, Rosamond?

"

She searched his face, knowing it was an intimate question.

"Up until now, I have not liked surprises; they have always

been unpleasant. But I must admit I am woman enough to like

the bathing tub and the mirror."

He walked with her to the door, then he bent close. Rosamond

thought for one wild moment that he was about to kiss her.

She had never been kissed by a man and wondered what it

would feel like. But instead of kissing her, Rod simply opened

the door, and Rosamond realized she was the only one who

was thinking of kisses.