Promised to the Crusader

by Anne Herries

  How much worse would it be when he went in search of Newark? Supposing he were killed and did not return? She felt cold all over and, try as she might, could not settle to her sewing.

  It was a bright but cool day. Elaine would have liked to go foraging for herbs, roots and berries to make cures, but she’d given her word that until the quarrel with Newark was settled she would not leave the manor grounds.

  It was past noon when Marion came to her and told her that she had a visitor. ‘Lady Anne is downstairs, mistress. Will you come to her or shall I bring her here?’

  ‘I shall come down,’ Elaine said, feeling pleased. She was glad of a visitor and had liked the King’s Marshal’s sister when they first met, though there had been an odd look in her eyes once or twice that made her wonder what lay behind the smiling face. ‘I wonder what made her decide to visit.’

  Anne was waiting in the hall downstairs when Elaine joined her. She turned, looking serious, and held out her hands.

  ‘Lady Elaine, my brother bid me come to see you. He would have come himself, but had urgent business elsewhere. What is this we hear—an attempt to murder Lord Zander with poisoned soup?’

  ‘Yes, there was such an attempt last night,’ Elaine confirmed. ‘I…was delayed in coming to table and the wait had disturbed the knave. He was shaking and sweating when he served me and then I saw him pass a hand over my lord’s bowl. When challenged he refused to taste the soup and later confessed that he was forced to do it because the earl had taken his wife and child prisoner.’

  ‘Is there no infamy to which Newark will not sink?’ Lady Anne cried, looking shocked. Her cheeks were pale and her eyes wide with horror. ‘Thank God that you were vigilant, Elaine. My brother was concerned when he heard the rumour. Newark should hang for this.’

  ‘Zander is determined to meet him in hand-to-hand combat,’ Elaine said. ‘He will issue the challenge soon, because once King Richard returns to England he may call a halt to all feuding and force sworn enemies to put aside their quarrel.’

  ‘Yes, his Majesty would do that,’ Anne agreed, an odd look in her eyes. ‘Yet sometimes he does allow a quarrel to be settled by combat.’

  ‘My lord brought forwards our betrothal because he wished to make me safe before he challenged Newark. Once our vows are exchanged ’tis almost as sacred as the wedding and must prevent others from trying to snatch me.’

  ‘Perhaps…’ Anne looked at her from narrowed eyes. ‘Is your heart given to Lord Zander? I had thought that perhaps you were unsure of your feelings?’

  ‘I was for a short time, but now I am certain,’ Elaine told her. ‘Now I know that he is the same man I loved before he left for the crusades. He has suffered much and is changed both physically and mentally, but I understand him now.’

  ‘In war many terrible things are done,’ Anne said. ‘You should not judge him because of what was done when the bloodlust was on him. I am sure he never meant to kill women and children.’

  ‘He and his men were deceived. They believed the village to be inhabited by renegades, but the rogues sent out innocent women and children and Zander could not prevent what happened.’

  ‘No, I dare say he could not,’ Anne said, her eyes not quite meeting Elaine’s. ‘I did not wish to put doubt in your mind.’

  ‘I might have doubted, but he has told me it all,’ she said and smiled.

  ‘Indeed?’ Anne inclined her head. ‘Then I shall not concern myself for your happiness. If you are content with what you know, I shall say no more.’

  Elaine frowned, for she did not quite understand the other woman’s manner. Anne seemed to say one thing and mean another. Was she hiding something? Was there something Elaine still did not know?

  ‘I must return to the castle, for my brother will be anxious if I am not there when he comes back from his business.’

  ‘It was good of you both to concern yourself for me.’

  Anne moved towards her, taking her hand. ‘You must know that my brother is devoted to you, Lady Elaine. If ever you should have cause to doubt…or need of our help, you have only to send word.’ Her manner was intent, almost insistent, and something in Elaine drew back; it was almost as if the lady were trying to warn her of something…to plant a seed of unease in her mind.

  ‘Yes, thank you. I am glad to have such good friends so close at hand.’

  ‘I shall never marry now,’ Anne said suddenly, surprising Elaine by the change of subject. ‘I had hopes once, but they died long since…I hope that you fare better than I.’

  She smiled at Elaine and then walked from the hall, leaving Elaine to stare after her and wonder.

  Why had Anne come all this way to enquire after Zander’s health and then seem to imply…? Elaine shook her head. She was puzzled for she did not quite know what the lady Anne had been hinting at. Something in her manner warned Elaine that things were not just as they seemed.

  Perhaps she had merely appeared to imply more than she meant, because she was concerned for Elaine? It must be so, for she could not have come to make mischief.

  Elaine frowned, remembering Anne’s manner at her home, which had seemed more natural and friendly. She’d seemed to like Zander very well, then…had something occurred to change her opinion? Elaine felt that the lady had been hiding something or pretending to an emotion she did not feel.

  Or was there another reason why she’d seemed to be warning Elaine? Did she perhaps want Zander for herself?

  No, she was wrong to doubt her friend. The slight hesitation in Anne’s voice could mean nothing. Elaine had imagined it…

  She returned to her solar determined to put her uncertainty from her mind and settle to her work.

  Chapter Nine

  Zander looked about him and felt the heaviness of despair seep over him as he saw what remained of his father’s hall. The stone keep still stood despite the marks of fire, which had robbed it of its wooden roof. The wooden hall was gone completely and the peasants had carried away much of the stone that had formed the outer walls of the compound, to be used for their own cottages.

  Some of the land was still farmed and in good heart and Zander would seek payment of his tithes from the tenants when he was ready, but all that had been parkland or part of the manor gardens was overgrown and neglected.

  His uncle had warned him what he would find, but still it hurt him to see the wanton destruction of his old home. He frowned, because everything would have to be pulled down and built anew, which meant it might be years before he could bring his wife here. It seemed that they would have to live at Elaine’s house until he could find something decent to house her. Mayhap he could find a sweet manor nearby that he could purchase while he restored his father’s lands to their former prosperity.

  ‘Is this all Newark’s work?’ Sir Robert asked him as they surveyed the destruction. ‘Or merely the neglect of time?’

  ‘I dare say it may be some of each,’ Zander replied. ‘What Newark hoped to gain by destroying the house I know not. My father’s death was not enough, it seems.’

  ‘Or someone else hates you…’ Sir Robert frowned. ‘The neglect of years is one thing—but the fire is more recent. I spoke to a yeoman farmer a moment ago and he said the hall still stood until just a few months ago, when a fire was set. He says the people would have tried to fight it, but your steward died of a fever two years ago and they thought you had abandoned both the hall and them, so none tried to put it out.’

  ‘I suppose I did abandon them when I took the Cross—yet my steward had orders to do what he could for them. I demanded no tithes from them, which, if they worked their strips diligently, should have meant they had sufficient for their needs—and God knows, I had nothing left to give them. Philip told me that he would protect the village in times of trouble; they had only to send word,’ Zander said and frowned, because as soon as he had begun to amass wealth he had sent a chest of silver to Lord Stornway, which should have been passed on to his steward for the upkeep of the estate and t
o provide work for his people. ‘Mayhap the building was struck by lightning. That will often fire an empty shell.’

  ‘What will you do now?’

  ‘I must look for a new home for myself and my bride. We have her dower lands, but they are not enough to support us. I shall appoint a new steward and set work in hand here, which will bring prosperity to those that have suffered, but I must also purchase more land and a stout manor house.’

  ‘The Castle at Howarth belongs to your lady.’

  ‘And shall be restored to her when I can force Newark to give it up. No matter how many manors my lady might own, I would have my own. The gold I won and traded for is stored with trusted goldsmiths. I shall find something that will suit.’

  ‘Until then?’

  ‘We must leave my lady at her manor, but I shall have it reinforced and hire more men to protect her when I leave.’

  ‘It is not the easiest manor to protect.’

  ‘She will be safe enough while the King’s Marshal’s standard flies over her towers.’ Zander looked once more to the blackened ruins of the keep. He had an enemy closer to home than he had thought. A new suspicion was gathering in his mind, one that he did not care to examine.

  Elaine went to greet her lord with a smile when he returned. She saw at once that he was disturbed and decided not to mention Anne’s visit or her own silly doubts.

  ‘Something troubles you, my lord?’

  ‘My uncle warned me I should find nothing but destruction at my father’s lands and I fear he was right. It will take two or three years before the house is rebuilt and the land in good heart.’

  ‘We can live here, my lord. My mother’s land was always productive and sweet. I know you must want to restore your father’s manor, but there is no hurry.’

  ‘We can live here for a part of the year,’ Zander agreed. ‘But you know we must move from manor to manor if we are to support a large household. It is always the way and gives the house time to be cleansed and sweetened again, and the land and husbandry a chance to recover.’

  Elaine nodded. It was the custom of the nobles and barons to move their large households from one manor to the other, otherwise the middens would overflow and the land could not support them.

  ‘Do not frown so, my lady,’ he said. ‘I shall find us another manor and my father’s house will be rebuilt. I have already given orders for the lands to be put into use again and the house will be started when I have the leisure for it.’

  Elaine nodded. She would be content to stay on her dower lands, but Zander’s following was too large to make that viable.

  ‘Some carts came from the King’s Marshal this afternoon,’ she said. ‘I ordered that the locked chests were to be carried to your chambers, my lord. Some of the carts carried trunks of armour and chattels and these remain loaded until you are ready to deal with them.’

  ‘You did well, Elaine. I shall need to take the armour with me when I go and so it is as well on the carts.’

  She bit her lip, because the day when he would leave was growing closer and she did not want him to leave her.

  ‘I have been thinking…’ She placed a tentative hand on his arm.

  Zander arched his brow. ‘There is something you wish to ask of me?’

  ‘If we are to be betrothed tomorrow, would it not…would it not be better to marry? I shall be alone here and at the mercy of those who would snatch me or my lands. If I was your wife, it would not happen, for my lands would become yours and I would no longer be a prize worth the taking.’

  Zander’s gaze narrowed, surprised and yet thoughtful. ‘What has brought this on, Elaine?’

  ‘I do not know,’ she confessed. ‘Perhaps it was what happened last night. I feel that it would be best to show everyone that the deed was done. A betrothal is sacred, but it can be broken. If I am your wife, then while you live my lands are yours.’

  ‘You believe that the motive for the attempt on my life was to secure your hand and dower lands?’

  ‘Perhaps. I am not sure…’ She frowned. ‘Once we are wed you can claim the castle in my name—and all the manors that belong with it.’

  ‘Mayhap you are right.’ Zander looked into her eyes. ‘Is that what you truly want, Elaine?’

  ‘Yes.’ She moved to take his hands, looking at him earnestly. ‘I think it might make us both safer—though I do not know why I feel it.’

  Zander hesitated. ‘It was for your sake that I thought to wait until my return, but if you would have it so…Yes, perhaps, you might be safer.’ He lowered his head to kiss her on the lips, his tongue lightly tracing hers until she opened to him. He held her close and she felt the shudder of desire that ripped through him. Yet there was still darkness in him, a secret shadow that lay between them. ‘I wish only to please you, my lady.’

  He seemed distant, as if something worried him, as if he were angry—or hurt by something. She wanted to ask, but felt that he would not have told her.

  ‘Thank you for your consideration.’ Elaine did not understand where the feeling that they should wed before he left had come from, but something had been making her uneasy all day…since Anne’s visit. ‘I know it is short notice, but…’

  ‘The priest was ready to betroth us, a marriage will be little more trouble to him. We have invited our good friends to feast with us. I might have invited my uncle to join us, but he will understand—and he can visit us when we are settled in our new home, for I may ask for his assistance in finding a suitable manor close by his own.’

  Elaine’s heart surged as she looked at him. She scarcely saw his scars now and sometimes it seemed to her that her young knight had come home to claim her. Yet at other times the shadows descended and he seemed to withdraw from her, his eyes dark with remembered grief—and was there more? A new source of disquiet or doubt that plagued him, perhaps?

  No, surely not. She knew of no reason why they should not be happy. The shadow of Zander’s challenge to the Earl of Newark remained, but when that was over he would return to her.

  If he still lived.

  A cold chill had settled at the nape of her neck. Something was wrong. Elaine was unable to say what or where the menace lay, but she felt it waiting in the shadows, to claim them and ruin all her plans.

  ‘I must go and change for the evening,’ Zander told her and held her hand briefly to his lips. His slate-dark eyes looked into hers and her insides turned somersaults. ‘I vow that you shall not suffer for this trust you show in me, Elaine. I shall honour and protect you all my life. I pray that God will forgive and guide me.’

  ‘If you could but trust in Him…’

  ‘I have thought He had turned His face from the wretch I am become but…’ Zander shook his head. ‘If I could but forgive myself.’

  Elaine let him go, the chill creeping down her spine, and She looked over her shoulder as she went to her own chamber to change her tunic for the evening. She ought to be happy. Zander had returned to her and if he was not quite as he had been, she was content to have him with his scars and hoped to ease away the bitter memories with her love.

  Why did she feel that there was a dark shadow at her shoulder? What did she not know that had caused Anne to make such odd comments and look at her as if…? Elaine was not sure what her expression had conveyed. Pity, anger or was it hatred—or even sympathy?

  The feeling that Anne had been trying to warn her would not leave her, but she dismissed it from her mind. The next day would be her wedding day and she must find a gown to wear that would not disgrace her.

  Her clothes had been left behind in the flight from Howarth. All she had were the gowns left in her mother’s chests. They were well enough for everyday wear, but her wedding was special. Somehow she must find something that befitted the occasion.

  The morning was fine and sunny. Elaine rose and was about to dress when Marion entered bearing a gown that she had never seen before. It was a tunic of white silk embroidered about the hem with silver and beads. The hanging sleeves
were of some filmy stuff that would let the contours of her arm show through and there was a jewelled band of silver set with rubies to wear about her waist. Another lady followed with a headdress of rolled silver and white velvet and a long veil of the same material as the hanging sleeves.

  ‘That is beautiful,’ Elaine cried, touching the tunic reverently. ‘Where did you find it? I did not see it in my mother’s chests.’

  ‘Lord Zander sent it for your wedding gown,’ Marion said. ‘He has sent a casket of jewels for you to choose from, my lady. There is a whole chest of beautiful silks and velvets and furs for you.’

  ‘For me?’ Elaine was surprised but delighted with her gift. ‘I had wondered what to wear…’

  ‘The silks and jewels are your wedding gifts from Lord Zander,’ Marion said. ‘He must be very rich to give you such gifts, my lady.’

  ‘He promised to bring a fortune back with him,’ Elaine said, overwhelmed by such treasures. She opened the lid of a casket made of gold and saw the rings, strings of lapis lazuli, pearls and rubies nestling against a bed of white silk. ‘I think I shall wear the pearls about my neck, but I shall not wear a ring until my lord puts a wedding band on my finger.’

  She allowed Marion and her ladies to dress her. A string of long pearls was slipped over her head; they hung to her waist and she fastened the silver cross her father had given her to them. The headdress was placed around her forehead and her long tresses allowed to flow freely on to her shoulders.

  Marion handed her a silver mirror to look at herself. It reflected a hazy image, but her ladies told her that she looked beautiful and Elaine felt beautiful. She had applied a little rose-scented oil to her wrists and her neck, and her hair had been rubbed with dried lavender to give it a faint fragrance.

  Just as she was finishing her toilette a knock came at the door and her steward was admitted. He bowed to her and then smiled.