The Marriage Priza

by Virginia Henley

  The August morning was lovely and warm, and the air smelled of new-mown hay. At noon, when Rosamond heard the clatter of hooves in the courtyard, she ran out eagerly, expecting to greet her husband. Instead, her heart dropped as she recognized Alyce de Clare and her servants, accompanied by half a dozen packhorses loaded with baggage. She swallowed her chagrin and greeted her guest graciously as grooms came hurrying from the stables to water the horses. "Good morrow, Lady deClare."

  Alyce stared at Rosamond's obvious pregnancy with covetous eyes. "I am on my way 'ome to Gloucester and dropped in to give my dear friend Rod a message from the queen."

  266

  "Sir Rodger is away from home, my lady, but allow me to offer you the hospitality of Tewkesbury."

  Alyce threw back her head and laughed. "How very droll!"

  "What do you mean?" Rosamond lifted her chin, expecting a cutting remark.

  "I hate to be the bearer of bad news when you are breeding, but the queen has decided to confiscate Tewkesbury, and all the royal steward's goods are to be seized," Alyce said with satisfaction.

  Rosamond wanted to pull Alyce de Clare down onto the flagstones of the courtyard and rip the hair from her head, but she stood rooted to the spot, unable to move or even speak.

  "Since Rod is not here, I won't stay. Gloucester is only a stone's throw away, and the comfort of my own castle beckons."

  Rosamond stood in a trance watching the cavalcade depart. When she felt Master Burke touch her elbow, she turned to him, thinking she might faint. But anger saved her. Suddenly she was seized by a blazing anger unlike any she had ever experienced before.

  "Master Burke, I want everything and everyone at Tewkesbury moved to Deerhurst. We must get started at once!" Fury fueled her energy, and she swept through the castle issuing orders. She put Nan in charge of the maids, instructing them to dismantle all the beds so that they could be moved and to gather all the house linen so that Tewkesbury's treasures could be safely packed up.

  Burke dispatched a groom to Master Gore at Deerhurst, telling him what to expect, and sent messages to all the tenant farmers to bring their hay wagons. Then he helped the servants carry furniture from the chambers and roll up the priceless carpets. It took two days to strip the tapestries from the walls, the velvet drapes from the high windows, and to wrap the valuable artifacts gathered from around the world, for transportation to Deerhurst. Hour after hour, wagons went back and forth, until Tewkesbury Castle was almost empty. With Nan's help, Rosamond packed her gowns and Rodger's fashionable garments from the great wardrobe. When they were done, she gazed about the master bedchamber. The great carved bed was gone, as well as the ebony tables, covered with Spanish leather; the only thing remaining was a feather mattress that lay on the floor, and it would have to be left.

  267

  In the courtyard, Nan climbed into the wagon with Chirk, and Rosamond handed her the pups. "I'd feel much better if you came too," Nan insisted, her lips pressed together in disapproval.

  "I shall be perfectly all right with Master Burke. You go and make sure our beds are set up. I promise to follow you shortly. While the last wagon is being loaded, I must walk through the chambers and make sure we have left nothing of value."

  As Rosamond climbed the stairs she became aware of how much her back had begun to ache. Up until now, she had been too busy to think about the nagging pain. She told herself that tonight she would lie in a tub of hot water to relieve it. Suddenly she remembered the Viking bathing tub. She hurried down to the courtyard, where Master Burke and the cart driver were loading the last wagon. "We've forgotten the red bathing tub! Do you have room for it?"

  "Plenty of room. It can go right up top and we'll tie it down," they assured her.

  Rosamond held the horse's harness while the two men went back into Tewkesbury. They carried out the tub, and Master Burke held it on his shoulders while the driver climbed up on the wagon. She was amazed at how easily the driver hauled it atop the other furnishings and fastened it securely, but then all of a sudden he lost his footing and came crashing down onto the courtyard flagstones.

  Rosamond and her steward knelt down to examine the man as he rolled about in agony. "He's broken his leg!" she cried. "This is my fault!"

  "It needs splinting, which is best done at Deerhurst. I can drive the wagon," Burke assured her as he lifted the injured man onto the cart.

  "Hurry! You can bring the wagon back for me when you have attended to his injury."

  As Rosamond watched them leave, she felt badly that her bathing tub had been the cause of the accident. The upsetting incident made her feel dizzy, and she knew she must sit down and rest. Slowly she walked inside and sat down on the stairs. A knifelike pain stabbed into her back, going all the way through to the front, contracting the muscles of her abdomen. Rosamond knew her labor had begun, even as an inner voice

  268

  cried out It's too soon, it's too soon! Panic gripped her as the emptiness of the castle echoed about her and she realized she was completely alone.

  When her pain subsided, she tried to calm herself. I'm only two miles from Deerhurst. . . . I'll be able to walk. She stood up and walked to the iron-studded castle door. Then the wrenching pain came again, so swiftly it almost cut her in half, and she knew she couldn't make it to the stables, let alone all the way to Deerhurst. She clung to the oaken door to prevent herself from falling, then, when the pain subsided once more, she crawled back to the stairs.

  Rosamond loved this baby beyond reason. She wrapped her arms about her belly protectively, having no fear for herself but only for the survival of her child. How ironic it would be if she saved all her husband's treasures, but in doing so, lost the thing that was most precious of all! She knew the task of removing Tewkesbury's furnishings to the safety of Deerhurst had brought on early labor, and asked herself why she had done it. The answer was amazingly simple. These things were precious to Rodger, and Rodger was precious to her!

  It was like a revelation to Rosamond. She had continually denied that she loved him because she was afraid to admit it. But now she realized that all the denials in the world could not stop love. It had insinuated itself inside her, filling her heart and her soul until her very being overflowed with love for Rodger de Leyburn and for his child that flourished within her. Fear clutched at her heart. To love someone was to lose them!

  No! Rosamond vowed, not this time! I will fight to my last breath to save this child! She remembered the feather mattress upstairs, and managed to crawl up two more stone steps before the next pain slashed into her. When it eased, she rested, but she was panting and damp with exertion. Somehow she found the strength to climb to the bend in the stairs, where the stone slab was larger than the others, but the next agonizing pain exhausted her and she lay down.

  She bit her lips to stop the tears from falling when she thought of Nan and of a castle filled with capable women, all proficient as mid-wives. Then she remembered the lovely bayberry she had gathered to ease the pain of childbirth, and an unbidden tear rolled down her face.

  269

  She dashed it away with an impatient hand. I need no bayberry! But then a hard contraction turned her body rigid, and she cried out, "Oh God, I do need it, I do!"

  Time seemed to stand still for Rosamond. It seemed as if hours had passed, yet no one came to look for her. She had aided enough women during childbirth to know that she was in hard labor and the head of the baby should be presenting itself. She pressed down on her distended belly and felt the child's head was not in the proper position. She knew she needed help, but she also knew she would not get it. Vivid pictures of tragic births she had attended at Kenilworth flooded her mind, then the more recent memory of the dead foal that Nimbus had delivered haunted her. She pushed the images away, determined that Death would not cheat her. Fervently she began to pray, remembering a few words of a psalm: "For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways." Her words turned into a scream as a crescendo of pain engul
fed her and mercifully swept her beyond consciousness.

  ******************

  Anxious to return to Tewkesbury, Rodger de Leyburn outdistanced his knights as well as his squire Griffin, who had been put in charge of transporting a large wooden cradle carved with lions. De Leyburn was glad he had attended Parliament, for it had confirmed all his suspicions. It had been well attended by commoners, and he had counted over a hundred members of the clergy, but only a scant twenty barons had shown up to offer Simon de Montfort their support. King Henry had been there, propped up like a puppet, but he was so aged and frail, he was only a shell of his former self.

  As Rod rode into Tewkesbury's bailey, he lifted his visor and looked around, shocked to find it empty. When no grooms rushed out to aid him, apprehension gripped him. Had Tewkesbury been attacked and raided? An eerie silence hung over the castle, clearly warning him that much was amiss. When an agonizing scream shattered the silence, Rod drew his sword and began to run.

  The chambers were empty of people and furnishings, and he could not comprehend why this was so. He started up the stairs, and then he saw her. "Mother of Christ, Rosamond!" He dropped his sword and threw offhis helm, then he gathered her into his arms and lifted her off

  270

  the cold stone landing. She opened her eyes and moaned his name in agony. Only then did he realize she was in labor. "Hush, love . . . I'm here, I'm here."

  Rodger de Leyburn was furious at the servants for leaving Rosamond alone, but he had no time for anger at the moment and resolutely set it aside. He carried her to their chamber, astonished to find it empty, and laid her gently on the feather mattress. Firmly pushing away the panic he felt closing in on him, he spoke to her calmly, softly. "I'll help you ... we'll do this together."

  She gripped his hands, digging her nails into his flesh, and he knew the torment she suffered. Then her hands went slack as she spun down into the vortex. "Rosebud, don't leave me!" The command was so sharp, her eyelids fluttered open, then closed again. Rod's mouth went dry as he saw his child's buttocks and knew it was coming arse-first. Some instinct guided him to make a swift decision. With two fingers of each hand, he pressed down and back on her belly as firmly as he could.

  Rosamond screamed, no longer drifting in and out of consciousness, and his heart was sore that he added to her travail, but miraculously he had manipulated the baby into a more normal birth position. When he saw the head, he ordered, "Push, love, push!" She did as he bid her, but it was agonizingly slow. He talked her through the long, drawn-out ordeal, encouraging, praising, cajoling, and when she was ready to give up, Rod urged, "Show me your anger, Rosamond!"

  Suddenly his child was in his hands, its cord wrapped about its neck. With shaking fingers he untwisted the cord, terrified that he would have to tell Rosamond that her baby was dead. Be calm, be calm! he told himself as he gently squeezed the cord attached to the child. All at once the baby took its first breath, and Rodger laughed with relief. He had a knife to cut the cord, and a ribbon from Rosamond's shift to tie it off, but he was in no hurry; his hands were shaking too much.

  His knights arrived at Tewkesbury at almost the same time that Master Burke and Nan returned, looking for Rosamond. Nan was the first to discover him, kneeling beside his wife, with his son in his hands. Nan quickly tied off the cord and Rodger cut it with his knife, then he gently laid the baby in Rosamond's loving arms. Nan rushed off to get water to cleanse the new mother and child, and when she returned,

  271

  Rodger joined his steward and his men, who waited below. "What the devil happened here, Burke?"

  "Alyce de Clare, Countess of Gloucester, brought news that the queen had decided to confiscate Tewkesbury and all your goods were to be seized. Lady Rosamond immediately ordered that everything of value be taken to Deerhurst for safekeeping."

  A foul oath dropped from Rodger's lips. "The queen has no authority to confiscate property! It is Simon de Montfort who rules England at the moment."

  "Then shall we move everything back, Sir Rodger?"

  "The people and the ordinary furnishings can be moved back, but perhaps Rosamond was wise to remove Tewkesbury's treasures, since Earl Simon has ordered that all royal castles be placed in his hands."

  A baby's cry came from above and the men raised their heads in disbelief. Rod flashed them a grin. "I have a son! Griffin, you'd best bring up that cradle." The men cheered and a dozen eager hands hoisted the cradle and headed up the stairs, while others lit torches against the gathering darkness.

  Nan met the men at the door of the bedchamber. "They will need a bed, and linen, and food, and—"

  Rodger held up his hands. "Tonight, we need nothing, save each other." He stepped across the threshold and firmly closed the door. Seeing Rosamond with his son at her breast brought a great lump to his throat.

  She gave him a tremulous smile. "Rod, thank you for coming, I needed your strength," she whispered.

  He shook his head, "You were far stronger than I." Rodger picked up his riding cloak and tucked it about her, then he undressed and lay down beside her. With one finger, he gently touched the baby's dark hair. "Thank you for giving me a son, Rosamond. I kiss your heart."

  "I love you, Rodger de Leyburn."

  He brushed his lips against her temple. "My sweetheart, I've known that for a long time." With their child nestled between them, de Leyburn knew that tonight, he was the luckiest man on earth.

  Twenty-five

  At Hereford Castle, Lord Edward was on the best of terms with the young men who guarded him. He was a model prisoner who gave his cousin, young Henry de Montfort, no cause for suspicion. In their childhood, they had been playmates, and their friendship had lasted all their lives. Henry had received his knighthood at the hands of Lord Edward, whom he greatly admired, and he totally trusted him to honor his agreement to be held hostage.

  But, in truth, Edward Plantagenet was filled with such a consuming fire to take up arms and vanquish the man who now ruled England that he was determined to escape Hereford and join his friends who were gathering a force only a few miles away. Edward, Henry, and their attendants spent each afternoon in an open meadow outside the castle, riding their horses for exercise. The high-spirited young men often organized races to alleviate their boredom, and each day Edward watched the woods and waited for a signal.

  When it came, Edward was ready. He spurred his horse forward, easily outdistancing both Henry de Montfort and the attendants who guarded him. Just inside the woods, Lincoln de Warenne and his men awaited him with fresh mounts, and it was impossible for Henry de Montfort to prevent the prince from escaping with his heavily armed escort. They rode directly to the castle of Wigmore, where Mortimer's wife, Maud, awaited the royal fugitive and de Warenne with food, clothes, and warm hospitality. Although Wigmore was only twenty miles from Hereford, it was in wild border country, which made it a safe haven. Under cover of darkness, they rode north to Ludlow Castle on the banks of the River Jug, where the royal army was being gathered.

  At Tewkesbury, Rodger de Leyburn was content to fill his days

  273

  with domestic affairs while he waited for Edward's inevitable escape from Hereford. Rod knew it would be only a matter of time, and he took advantage of the respite to enjoy his wife and new son.

  Rosamond quickly recovered from her ordeal, and basked in the attention her husband lavished upon her. It was clear to everyone around them that they were in love, for the pair, seldom apart from each other, spent most of their time talking, touching, whispering, and laughing. Rod had fallen into the habit of carrying Rosamond down to the hall each night, after he watched her feed their son and rock him to sleep in the carved cradle.

  When Nan arrived to watch over the sleeping baby, she rolled her eyes as Rodger picked up Rosamond to carry her down to dinner. "I can walk," Rosamond protested, but Rodger held her possessively. In the hall, he sat her down beside him on the dais, seemingly oblivious to the grins of his knights.

  R
osamond blushed. "Rod, I have legs," she murmured, "perfectly good legs."

  He nuzzled her ear. "Mmm, I know. Have you any notion how many times I pictured them while you were playing the ice maiden? When I actually saw them, I couldn't believe how long they were. They are what made me fall in love with you."

  She gave him a provocative look. "I thought it was my hair." She tossed the golden mane back over her shoulder and watched the green fire spark in his eyes.

  "That too." He reached out and caught a tress between his fingers. "After I take you upstairs and undress you, I'm going to brush it until it falls in waves about your naked body. Then I'm going to wrap myself in it while you wind those long silken legs about me."

  The lovers shared the same wine goblet, aching for the moment when the meal was over and they could withdraw to the privacy of their chamber. The moment their door closed, Rosamond was in Rod's arms, pledging her love and her trust to her beloved husband.

  The next evening, just as the sun set, a lone rider brought the message that Rodger de Leyburn had been awaiting. Rosamond graciously showed the man every hospitality, seating him in the place of honor next to her husband at the evening meal and asking Master Burke to plenish a

  274

  guest chamber. When she and Rodger were at last alone, she questioned him. "Is it news about Lord Edward?"

  Rod did not want to deceive her. "Yes," he said quietly.

  "The messenger is Mortimer's man Has Edward escaped?"

  Rod was surprised at how much she perceived. "Yes," he acknowledged.

  "So, it begins." She lifted his hand and rubbed her cheek against it. "Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me."

  Rod cupped her cheek with the palm of his hand. "I have complete trust in you, Rosamond. I believe in your strength, your ability, and your love. I do not have a moment's hesitation in entrusting our child to you when I go off to battle, even knowing I might not return. I trust you to guard him and guide him for the rest of your life." Tenderly he brushed a tear from her cheek, with his thumb. "The question is, do you trust me?"