by Traci E Hall
What could she say? She was not in the habit of hearing a man admit he might be at fault. “Your apology is unnecessary, Raoul. I enjoyed the show very much. Did you not hear my laughter?”
“I thought you understood Greek.” His scowl remained. “Considering the play, it is probably best that you don’t.”
“I understood the actions on stage well enough. What happens between a man and his wife and”—she smiled but hid it behind her hand—”his goat.” On impulse, she touched Raoul’s forearm, covered by the black sleeve of his tunic. “Let’s not ruin this amazing day over a misunderstanding. I would follow you, monsieur, wherever you want to go next. Lead on!” She realized her words might be misconstrued but didn’t correct them.
His chiseled features relaxed. “I’ll buy a basket of food, and we will eat by the sea.”
Bella nodded, considering what treats might be in store.
He stopped at a stall and filled a basket, then led the way up the hill.
They sat along the seawall, looking out at the aqua blue water. Raoul set the basket between them.
Bella realized with a pang that she didn’t want the day to end. “What shall we do after we are done eating?”
He expelled a breath, his onyx brow lifting as he studied her. “You’re tireless.”
She sent him an embarrassed glance. “Raised in a convent, married to a man thirty years my senior, as you more than likely guessed, I’m enjoying my first taste of freedom. Queen Eleanor has given me much. Without her …” Bella adjusted her shawl over her shoulders and ate an olive, licking the tips of her fingers to catch the juice.
“You speak of the queen as if she is an angel of mercy.” His tone suggested such a thing was impossible.
Bella jumped to the queen’s defense. “For me that is exactly what she’s been. King Louis could have married me off to one of his men for my lands and income, tying another piece of Aquitaine to France, but the queen stepped forward, claiming me as one of her own.”
“Smart woman.” Raoul put a piece of spiced meat on flatbread. “She gains your loyalty and keeps her income from your lands in her coffers.” He took a large bite and chewed.
Bella, finding that Raoul did not appear to mind her opinions, answered with a shrug. “Having mercy does not mean you give up intelligence. The queen has been blessed with many gifts.”
“Is that sarcasm coming from your mouth? First I see you in leather leggings, then you spy on me when I am naked from a swim, then you come to me with a wig, and now you seek to wound me with words?”
Bella laughed as he covered his heart with a skewer of chicken.
She reached for his arm, her fingers brushing his skin. All she could think about was Raoul striding from the ocean, the sun shining on his wet hair and tanned shoulders. She stopped laughing and leaned in.
Raoul, his lips slightly parted, met her halfway over the food basket. His hooded eyes watched her closely, and she trembled with want. Bella’s stomach tensed, and her thighs tightened with an unexpected bolt of lust. What would Raoul do if she touched her lips to his?
A bee buzzed between them and flew away, breaking the spell.
Bella sat back while Raoul tore a bite of chicken from the skewer with strong, white teeth. She could barely catch her racing breath.
“You intrigue me, Lady Isabella. Are you certain you don’t engage in trysts?”
CHAPTER 7
Suddenly the bells from the watchtower clanged and Raoul went from charming afternoon escort to serious warrior before she finished blinking. His face darkened as he tossed the chicken aside, pulling Bella from a sitting position to her feet as he eyed the coast and then the road leading to the palace.
A lone horseman rode toward them, and Bella recognized the gold hair shining in the late day sun. Jonathon.
“Bella! Bella! Thank God I found you. I have been looking for you all day. We were so worried. Sarah and I were almost ready to see the queen. Now this.” Jonathon, his handsome face riddled with frustration and anger, stared at Raoul and pointed toward the soldiers lining up along the road between the palace and the market. “What’s happening here?”
Raoul didn’t answer. “Take the lady back to the palace. Stay on the main road, where the soldiers are. Hurry.” He helped her down from the wall to the street.
“Raoul, what is going on?” Bella, still caught in the magic of their afternoon and near kiss, reached for his hand.
He gave her the basket instead. “How can I know until I talk to the commander?” With that, he jogged up the hill.
“He’s an arrogant, rude, black-hearted knave,” Jonathon ranted.
Bella sighed as Raoul disappeared into the base of the city wall. If anybody could keep them safe, it would be Raoul. She would have kissed him and forgotten all propriety if he hadn’t pulled back.
“Bella, are you listening?”
She tore her gaze from the warrior, but a distant figure now, and nodded at Jonathon. “Oui. You were worried.”
The knight dismounted and tucked Bella’s hand in the crook of his arm. The move felt controlling, and she especially disliked it after the freedom of this day.
“Come, my lady.” Jonathon held the reins in one hand and had Bella’s arm on the other side as they made their way toward the palace. The citizens seemed unconcerned over the bells clanging, though the soldiers lined up along the great wall in disciplined rows.
Bella tried not to jostle the purple-coated warriors as they waited for further instructions. They were quite unlike the French army, she conceded to herself, or the Germans. Was this discipline the key to Emperor Manuel’s success in holding Constantinople?
“Sarah told you I wanted to go with you today to act as chaperone. Raoul defied propriety, Bella, with no thought to our custom.”
“Raoul knows our rules.” She hid a smile. “He just doesn’t care.”
“You sound enamored with him.” Jonathon dropped his arm, freeing her hand, and Bella remembered she still had a part to play while in Constantinople. Daydreaming like a girl over a handsome boy wouldn’t accomplish her mission to gather information for the queen.
She cleared her throat and faced Jonathon with a cool look. “Dare you question the queen? I am but doing my duty, as you are supposed to be doing yours.”
“My duty is to care for you and the other ladies in the queen’s retinue.” He sounded hurt, which reminded Bella of Sarah’s tender feelings from the night before.
“You care for each of us?” Bella stared at Jonathon, watching as the light dimmed in his hazel eyes.
“As best I can.”
“I see.” To her surprise, the pain from the revelation lasted but a heartbeat. Just as she was learning the ways of being a part of the queen’s court, Jonathon too was being taught only he and the queen knew what.
“You cannot possibly know my heart,” Jonathon whispered as they walked. “And I must talk to you alone.”
“We are alone.” As alone as we will be from now on.
“We are on a street crowded with soldiers and merchants.”
“None of our party is around, so if you must say something private, then this is the best place to do it.” This was a truth she would remember in the future too.
“I want to sit with you beneath a shady tree. To look into your eyes, ma belle.”
“Jonathon, I’ve learned all I need to know of chivalry and honor. I’m ready for the next lesson the queen would have me study.”
“You wound me.” Jonathon covered his heart with his hand.
It was all Bella could do to hold back a laugh at the practiced gesture. She softened her tone, remaining unaffected by Joseph’s charms. “I do not wish to be unkind. Yet it changes nothing.” She felt it was better to be honest than play the charade further.
“I see.” Jonathon looked away and cleared his throat before briefly meeting her eyes. “The palace doors are directly ahead. Stay on this road, and you will be safe. Since you don’t really need me, I’ll go
in search of our soldiers.”
Jonathon leapt astride his horse and left without a backward glance. For a moment Bella wondered if she’d been too daring as she realized she was alone. The clanging bells, the soldiers, and the rushing Constantinople citizens dizzied her. She took a deep, fortifying breath in the surreal moment.
The weight of the basket over her arm was real. The smell of horse manure and spiced meat was real. The fading warmth from the setting sun was real.
Freedom required some adjusting.
Her pulse calmed, and she thought of the afternoon she’d spent with her target. Raoul. His words were never false or wrapped in honey as if unpalatable otherwise.
She’d never met a man like Raoul. He’d said he was intrigued, and the same was true for her. A tryst? And why not?
“Bella!” Sarah’s voice carried over the frenzy. “Over here!”
Bella saw Sarah standing next to a marble statue and waved, picking up the dusty hem of her gown to walk faster. “What’s happening?” she asked as soon as she reached her friend. “Why are the bells ringing?”
“King Roger from Sicily is battling miles outside the wall. He knows we are here, and Emperor Manuel is worried Roger and King Louis will join forces against him. I overheard the soldiers talking, but they don’t seem concerned about the actual fighting. From what I understood, they skirmish all the time and the Great Wall holds.” Sarah stood and wrapped Bella in a hug. “Did Jonathon ever find you? You were gone so long.”
“Oui. Jonathon went in search of King Louis, where he could do more good than hold my hand as if I were a child.”
Sarah stared down at Bella, her wan face showing concern. “You argued?”
Bella set the basket on the ground and put her arm around Sarah’s waist. “Non. He is my friend, as always. I let him know I no longer needed his knightly services to practice on.”
“Ouch.” Sarah stepped back, and Bella detected a hint of relief in her eyes before she looked away. “Let’s find a safe place to watch the commotion. Preferably with a bit of wine, and you can tell me everything. You seem different this afternoon. Stronger. Was your assignment well behaved?”
Bella’s stomach fluttered as she remembered how much she’d wanted to kiss Raoul—but he’d pulled away. “I could not have asked for a better attendant. Don’t look so surprised.” She smiled and picked up the basket. “He bought me food, and we ate by the sea. Do you think the queen is in her room?”
”Did you learn something important today?”
Bella shrugged. “I listened. It will be up to the queen to find the jewel in the paste. Raoul plainly told me he spent the day with me on behalf of the emperor and for no other reason.”
“To get royal secrets from you?” Sarah touched the silk lily she wore above her ear, her eyes flashing.
“Are we not doing the same?” Bella laughed softly. “And hopefully with more subtlety.”
She followed Sarah up the crowded road toward the palace courtyard, noticing her friend didn’t take the long strides she normally did. “Are you feeling better, Sarah?”
“Oui, thank you.” Sarah glanced over her shoulder. “But I don’t think I’ll eat the chicken tonight.”
“I can’t blame you.” Bella realized something was going on near the wide double doors of the palace. “What’s happening, Sarah? I can’t see over the people’s heads.” There were times when being petite was a trial. It helped to have taller friends. “Thank heaven the bells finally stopped clanging.” Bella shook her head, wishing for a place to deliver the cumbersome basket.
They reached the edge of the crowd, and Sarah stood on her tiptoes. She threw back her head and laughed. “I believe our Mamie is being brought into the palace. Under arrest, maybe? Military Commander John Axuch does not appear happy with her.”
Bella peeked through the throng of curious citizens, her throat dry with concern. “Do we need to save her? Send someone for the queen? What if he puts her in the dungeon?”
“I’m not sure this palace has a dungeon, Bella. Besides, it’s Mamie’s game to play and we cannot interfere. From the way John has hold of Mamie’s arm, he doesn’t want to let her out of his sight.” Sarah winked.
Bella slipped through the people until she was close enough to see the angry flush on the commander’s cheeks as well as the contented smile Mamie tried to hide as she spoke. “Monsieur! I but wanted a look at the famous Greek army fighting the Sicilians. Why are you so upset?”
“Women—decent, God-fearing women—do not go in public wearing breast armor and carrying spears.”
Bella saw that Mamie had neither, so John must have confiscated them, which had to be the cause of his flushed face. Mamie was blessed in her physical endowments and had special armor made to fit.
“I am a member of the Queen’s Guard,” Mamie trilled, seemingly unworried.
“A farce, lady, and one that could get my men killed.”
Bella and Sarah made their way into the palace behind them and watched as John marched Mamie toward a room off the main hall, pushed her in, and slammed the door closed in the faces of two Greek soldiers trying to follow.
Sarah’s body shook with laughter. “And so Mamie wins again. That woman could teach us all how to wrap men around our fingers.”
Bella remembered Raoul’s ogling of Mamie’s curves and forcefully buried any feelings of jealousy. Her friend had promised to stay away, and … Heaven’s mercy, she was tying emotion into her mission. One of the first rules the queen taught when it came to gathering information was to stay detached. One near kiss and she was ready to throw everything she’d learned to the wind. Was this passion? It couldn’t be good.
“The danger has passed. The danger has passed,” a crier called, moving through the curious onlookers. Most were willing to disperse, since the commotion by the palace door was over.
“Is he telling the truth?” Bella asked, leading Sarah toward a side entrance to the hall. She’d used this passage to meet Raoul beneath the bridge. “Raoul says Emperor Manuel constantly has to protect Constantinople from invaders.”
“Constantinople will not fall today or tomorrow,” Odo de Deuil said, coming from their right. “The cursed town is blessed with more fortifications than a single army can combat. And the king”—he lowered his voice—”will not consider treachery from within.”
He shook his head as if disgusted with King Louis’s piety and faith in humankind. Then he eyed Bella and Sarah with that same trace of revulsion. “Did you see Lady Mamie of Rou dressed as a warrior standing on the wall? God knows how she got up there.”
“Oui. She is being chastised now by the emperor’s commander.” Sarah kept a serious demeanor, and Bella bit the inside of her cheek to keep a straight face.
“Good. She deserves whatever punishment he sees fit, although I might take umbrage that he is punishing one of our own. You women make it difficult for men to do what needs to be done. Causing commotion. Showing your legs.”
He left, still muttering. He was the king’s chaplain and staunch supporter, which made him a natural enemy of the queen. They each wanted Louis’s ear, and the queen had womanly things to offer as enticement, where Odo was left with naught but reason. Poor Odo, Bella thought with a smile. He meant well.
Bella started for the large staircase leading to the women’s wing.
“Shall we return to the privacy of our room and wait for Mamie? Perhaps the others are there too. There’s a nice white wine in the cupboard.” Sarah sighed, giving the door through which Mamie had disappeared a last curious look.
“Oui.” Pulled by instinct alone, Bella reversed direction and walked toward the open large doors of the palace and up to the watchtower. Raoul, his hair glinting like jet in the late afternoon sun, stood on the wall. Legs apart and arms crossed, he stared out over the vast lands beyond the wall as if daring an enemy to try and knock him from his perch.
She clasped the basket handle tight, her body humming with anticipation of meeting him agai
n.
Raoul strode through the palace halls in search of the emperor. He’d not questioned his liege’s truce with the Turks, but how did he explain King Roger’s sudden swell in ranks of soldiers trying to beat down Constantinople’s sturdy Roman-built walls? Treachery.
He finally found the emperor inside his second favorite chapel in the palace, showing King Louis sacred relics from the time of Christ. He tried to back away before being seen, but it was too late. Emperor Manuel lifted his hand in greeting.
“Raoul! Come, come! Louis and I were just examining the thorns from the crown of Christ. Louis claims to see bloodstains.” The emperor clapped the king on the back. “He is praying for a miracle, that his pilgrimage to Jerusalem will bring his dead brother peace.”
Ah, so it was true. The king’s personal mission overrode the Roman Empire’s edict to make war and regain Edessa. Which explained the emperor’s next words.
“I’ve invited Louis and his attendants to stay within the palace walls, where he can be closer to this chapel as well as Hagia Sophia. I find his piety an example to be commended.”
And without threat.
Well, Manuel could trust all he wanted. Raoul would scrutinize the king like a prized hawk watched his prey. At least the move would keep King Louis away from King Roger of Sicily.
“Shall I ready the rooms?” Raoul turned on his heel.
Manuel stayed him with a look. “No, I’ve sent word to the empress. She loves to organize these things. It will make her happy knowing Eleanor and Louis are on the same side of the wall. Funny, what ideas women get in their heads.”
The same side of the wall but not the same chamber. Raoul heard King Louis had pledged abstinence until the French Crusaders’ triumphant return.
To his knowledge, the queen had made no such pledge.
Women were treacherous. Even Lady Isabella had secrets behind those guileless violet eyes; he would stake his life on it. What she desired could be as simple as what most women wanted: a husband or a lover. He looked forward to performing the latter service, but never again would he offer the first. It could be as deceitful a wish as coin or clothing. Yet she wore the same finery as the other queen’s ladies and had mentioned a wealthy dead husband. What else could she want?