by Ann Turner
49
The ship moored in the bustling harbour was ready to set sail for Cyprus. There was much coming and going, with the final preparations almost complete. Soon it would be time to leave Jaffa, the Holy Land and all the dangers that came with the campaign.
Aubrette stood beside Simon and they both looked at the ship. He was sullen and despondent now the time to depart had arrived. Close by, Queen Berengaria and Joanna stood talking to the king, who had decided it would look correct if he came to see his queen and his sister as they left. He appeared to be showing a fondness towards his wife, who he had neglected since the outset of their marriage. Simon remarked that the king was finally showing some remorse for his thoughtless behaviour and Aubrette agreed. She disliked seeing her queen looking so sad.
She turned her attention back to the ship, whose captain was now shouting for passengers to board as they would be departing on the high tide. Wounded soldiers were carried on in stretchers, while those who still had their mobility hobbled up the gangplank, leaning heavily on crutches.
King Richard turned from his wife and strode over to Simon, opening his arms to embrace his half-brother. ‘My base brother, my friend, my brave soldier of Christ, God protect you in your future and we shall meet again when life is more peaceful,’ Richard announced.
Simon went down with difficulty onto one knee. ‘My desire, too, sire,’ he agreed.
Richard pulled him to his feet and looked at him, square in the face. ‘One day soon Simon, I shall win Jerusalem back for the Christians. I feel it in my bones.’ He thumped his chest hard. ‘I would have preferred to have achieved it with you by my side. I am sorry to be losing you, but I rejoice that you are still in the world.’
He turned to Aubrette, who curtsied obediently. Taking her hand in his, he kissed it. ‘Lady Fulbert, I know you have had good reason not to like me for the actions I committed in the past. I trust you will find it in your heart in the future to forgive your king for his foolishness, and that you will grow to love me,’ he said, with an apologetic smile.
She looked back at him. She wanted to retort that she could never forget that assault years before, and that he was a man with a cold, cruel streak and the ability to hurt those who loved him. However, now was not the time for this. With any luck, she may never see him again. Aubrette chose her words carefully. ‘My lord, you were gracious to take Simon to see Jerusalem and for that I am forever grateful to you,’ she said and noticed Simon smile.
Richard laughed aloud and clapped him on the back. ‘Marry this woman, Simon. She is the one for you. Marry her at your earliest opportunity and get her sprogged up. She’ll give you sons to be proud of!’ He laughed.
From behind, Queen Berengaria huffed crossly at her husband. He still had the capability to charm and wound in the same instance.
‘I intend to, if she’ll have a one-eyed, crippled crusader,’ Simon replied, making Aubrette blush. If this was a proposal, it was the one she had long hoped for.
With one final embrace to his royal half-brother, Simon boarded the ship with Aubrette. The king returned to Berengaria and Joanna, ignoring his wife’s dry, unemotional eyes, and said his final farewell, then watched as the two women were assisted onto the ship as well. Without remaining to watch the ship cast off, Richard mounted Great William and rode back to the camp. There were more battles to plan, as well as the advance on Jerusalem to coordinate. Too much time had already been wasted in sentimental goodbyes.
Aubrette watched as the king rode away. There were so many people milling around the dock, but Richard stood out as the tallest man on the tallest horse. An aura of luminosity surrounded him, singling him out. He was so obviously a king.
She then turned her attention to Simon, who was leaning heavily on his staff, silent as he watched the coastline smoothly receding. She knew he was remembering the battles, the killing of crusaders and Saracens, the death of his wife, his newborn son and his own disfigurement. It had changed the direction of his life so suddenly, and was the reason for this enforced retirement. He would still prefer to be by his royal brother’s side, seeking the glory and the pillage of victory.
‘Onwards to more adventures?’ she suggested, hopefully. He turned his attention to her, his pale face drained of colour. The realisation of returning to England was dawning on him and it was a feeling that he disliked.
‘Patrolling my estate? Sitting in judgement over petty crimes committed by vulgar, common men? Watching the seasons roll by? Growing old, useless and fat? Exhilarating.’ he replied, dourly.
‘We shall be together,’ she encouraged, and saw the acrimonious slither of a smile twitch his lips.
‘I need more than us,’ he muttered, turning away. The staff in his hand tapped onto the wooden deck as he crossed to look in the direction the ship was heading.
She followed him, watching him, and said, ‘I shall look after you when we are home.’
‘I do not need your help. I need help from nobody. I am a soldier and help myself,’ he replied, contemptuously.
Aubrette laid a hand on his arm and he shook it off, glaring at the staff.
‘Why do you mock me?’ he shouted at the offending object. ‘What pleasure do you get from reminding me that I am now useless!’ He hurled it viciously across the deck. For this action, he had to lean on the rail that ran around the ship to keep his balance. Aubrette, like an obedient hound playing a favourite game, ran after the staff, retrieved it and fetched it back.
‘You need this,’ she urged, handing it back to Simon.
He snatched it from her and shot her an infuriated scowl, which chilled her in its intensity. ‘I’ll not be treated as a crippled fool, pitied upon by all! I should have died and you let me live! You, with all your goodness, made me live and I should have died!’ He was shaking with fury.
Aubrette wanted to tell him that she loved him whether he was crippled or not, and could not endure a life without him. However, his anger kept her silent. In a sudden movement, Simon gave a roar of rage and threw the staff over the side of the ship, watching as it floated away with grim satisfaction.
Aubrette regarded him in disbelief. ‘What in all of life made you do that?’ she exclaimed, watching as Simon let go of the rail. He took an unsteady step. This was followed by another, before he toppled sideward and grabbed at the rail again to prevent himself from falling to the deck. He refused Aubrette’s attempts to help him.
‘I shall walk without a stick, I shall ride again and I shall be strong again. I shall fight again.’ His words were harsh and determined and she watched as he regained his balance. He began to walk slowly, edging along the side of the rail, holding it for support. Eventually he attempted to let go and take tentative steps unaided. Quickly exhausted by the effort and anger that had coursed through him, Simon stopped to gaze at the receding coastline. ‘I need to be there, beside my men, beside my fellow crusaders – not here. I am better off dead,’ he said, his voice quiet.
Aubrette had had enough of his posturing. ‘What you need? I am leaving memories behind, too, you know. It’s not only you that regrets this departure,’ she exclaimed, shocking herself with her words.
He looked blankly at her, then faced away from her, not wanting to talk anymore.
Aubrette turned to watch the coast slipping away and it soon became no more than a smudge on the horizon. ‘Goodbye Najid,’ she whispered and blew a kiss.
Simon was wretched. He was a soldier, and to be pensioned off and considered unfit to fight for his beliefs galled him. There were men still in the Holy Land that were older than he, and there were men who had suffered injury and were still fighting. They were the ones who should be standing on this deck going home, not him.
Aubrette looked at his back, rigid in pain. She decided that by the time they arrived in Cyprus, she would have made his melancholia an emotion of the past. Tomorrow, once the
re was nothing but the sea and the sky surrounding them, she would tactfully raise the subject of their marriage. There was a chance that this would take Simon’s mind off his self-pity and possibly start him looking forward to his future.
He spent many hours walking around the deck, in an attempt to strengthen his damaged leg. He refused any assistance or the offer of a newly carved stick to help his balance. He would not listen to Aubrette’s constant talking to him, and refused to listen to Berengaria or Joanna. His determination to walk was admirable to watch, and eventually Simon was strong enough to walk unassisted with a distorted step.
When not encouraging Simon with his walking, Aubrette would accompany Berengaria and Joanna as they promenaded around the deck. The three women talked over their experiences, sharing stories about their adventures. It was Aubrette who had the most to say. She told of what had occurred after her kidnapping and finally admitted to the two women about the night on the dune with Najid, of his tenderness as they had made love under the star-filled night sky. Berengaria became misty-eyed with thought. Her husband would never have acted with such romantic behaviour – any affection shown to her was always brief and brisk.
‘You and Simon belong together, it is so obvious,’ Berengaria stated, making Joanna laugh aloud.
‘The king suggested that Simon marry me as soon as he could. But look at him, he is so sad,’ Aubrette said, glancing to where Simon stood gazing out to sea.
‘Give him his space and he shall be yours. Do not try to hurry him, as he’s been hurt and needs to heal himself before he can move on,’ Joanna said, wisely.
Both Aubrette and Berengaria looked surprised, and then glanced approvingly at her. Joanna smiled gently – such an usual and soft emotion was hidden under her passionate Plantagenet nature. Her smile became broader. ‘He’s a man and thinks he’s the only one in the whole world who has ever suffered. I’ve had brothers and a husband, and they’re all the same. They think that as the sun orbits the earth, the earth orbits them, and that this makes them the centre of the universe.’
Joanna was right. Slowly, and very gradually, Aubrette touched on the subject of the promise he had made to marry her. Firstly, he would not talk about it, claiming it was the ravings of a mad man and should not have been taken seriously. However, Aubrette kept up the gentle pressure on him, reminding him what they had been through, and how they had begun their affair behind Rowena’s back. Aubrette reminded him how she had given up the two sons she had born him, so that her sister could become the mother she so desperately desired to be. All this gradually worked on Simon and he began to become more talkative. eventually speaking of their future together as husband and wife.
‘Is this a proposal?’ she coyly asked, looking up at him.
Simon looked surprised that she was even considering the question. ‘It is what you want, is it not?’ he inquired, as if there could ever be the slightest uncertainty of the answer.
‘Do you want to marry me?’ Aubrette countered back, suddenly hurt by his lack of enthusiasm. ‘I do not want you to feel that you have to marry me. All I want is the chance to raise my sons, to become their mother, and I cannot do that without you.’
Simon took her hands in his and kissed them. ‘I have loved you from the first day I saw you, with your temper and your outspoken opinions that maddened your step-father. You had a vivacity that demanded notice.’
‘I hated you,’ Aubrette said crossly, making Simon laugh.
‘I know, but that is what made it so exciting for me.’
‘But you behaved horribly towards me so often.’
‘It was the only way I could channel my affection for you and to make you think of me. Whatever you thought of me, I was in your mind. I had to have you and you were magnificent in ways my wife could never be.’
‘You married me to Hugh, even though you knew what kind of person he was and that we would never be a believable couple. Everyone knew our marriage was a cover for his unholy union with the king,’ Aubrette protested.
‘How would it have looked if I told Oswyn I had changed my mind and did not want to marry his daughter, but wanted to take you as my wife? You had reached into my chest and tore my heart out. I could not divorce Rowena as I would have lost everything – I was a selfish bastard and wanted everything. I then agreed to Richard’s idea for you and Hugh to marry, as I felt it could be the only way I could try to forget you, even though you had given me my sons, I could not bear knowing both you and Rowena were so close. I had to do something and made the wrong decision. Seeing you riding away with that man was something I regretted every day. I was determined to forget you, but I could not.’
‘So I had to lead a miserable life so that you could play happy marriages with my sister and keep your fortune.’ She pulled away, heartbroken by his admission. ‘I loved you and I wanted to be with you, and you sent me away.’
‘You took me back,’ Simon reminded.
‘I knew I could not live without you.’
Again, he took her hand in his and raised it to his lips, looking deeply into her eyes.
‘After all we have suffered, after all I have put you through, Aubrette, can you still love a one-eyed, crippled man who is finally trying to do the right thing? If you can, will you marry him?’ he asked.
She felt her stomach flutter with excitement and pleasure. These were words she had wanted to hear for so long and now that they were echoing in her ears, Aubrette found she could not speak and nodded happily.
Simon held her close to his body and they became wrapped in each other’s arms. Aubrette felt warm and safe here, as it was where she naturally belonged. Her life was finally coming together in the way that she had desired for so long, since first admitting to herself that she loved Simon. She had dared to dream that he might love her, and now he had said it.
When Aubrette told Berengaria and Joanna of her forthcoming marriage to Simon, the two women could not have been happier for her. Joanna, in her usual brisk manner, began to plan the wedding that she insisted should happen in Cyprus so that she and Berengaria could also attend, while the English queen agreed wholeheartedly, stepping in to help with her own ideas. She promised that they would make it the most wonderful wedding Cyprus had ever seen, one that would eclipse even her own royal wedding.
50
Limassol was an active, busy and lively port, with ships docking and casting off. Many were bound for the Holy Land, carrying supplies to be delivered to Acre and Jaffa. Other ships were destined for ports throughout the Mediterranean. Berengaria and Joanna were to transfer to a ship heading for Brindisi, from where they were to travel overland to Normandy.
The queen announced that they would remain in Limassol until after the wedding between Simon and Aubrette. She was still the Queen of England, Duchess of Normandy and Aquitaine, and Countess of Anjou, and her sister-in-law was the Dowager Queen of Sicily, and they would travel when they were ready to continue the journey and not when they were told to.
The wedding was organised to take place in the Chapel of Saint George in Limassol. This brought back mixed emotions for Berengaria, as this was the same chapel in which she and Richard had married. She had then been a young and impressionable woman, in awe of her handsome husband and hopeful of a long, successful marriage that would be blessed with many sons and daughters.
Now she was back again in the same chapel, with the same columns, the same high windows, the same flagstones, the same multi-coloured and fragrant flowers blooming wildly outside, watching a couple that were deeply in love unite as one. Today, Berengaria decided, she would not be maudlin. This was Simon and Aubrette’s day.
The couple arrived together, with Aubrette riding pillion behind Simon on a borrowed horse. She looked radiant, and neither Berengaria nor Joanna could remember seeing her look so happy.
Her sea-blue dress, which was edged with gold brocade at t
he hem and sleeves, was a gift from the queens. Joanna had lent her a gold chain with a jewelled pomander to wear around her waist, and she wore a borrowed diamond circlet from Berengaria, with flowers entwined in her loose hair. Everyone agreed that there had never been a bride as beautiful as Aubrette.
Guy de Lusignan, who held Cyprus for Richard, helped her down from the horse and Simon dismounted slowly. He was in an outfit that had been brought from traders and he had purchased a new eye patch made of a golden material. He looked splendid. They both turned their gaze towards the open oak doors of the chapel and into the cool, inviting shade inside. Simon offered Aubrette his arm and they entered together, walking slowly up to the altar and the waiting priest.
Once the service was over, the heat of the sun burned down on the newly married couple as they emerged from the chapel, followed by Guy, Berengaria, Joanna and a few of the townsfolk of Limassol – most of whom remembered Berengaria’s wedding to the English King.
Guy had offered his accommodation for Berengaria and Joanna to stay in, and had had his servants prepare a room for the bride and groom to spend their first night together in. They would stay there until they were ready to depart for Marseilles.
The wedding feast was a simple affair, but was full of laughter and much dancing and singing. The queen could not remember when she had enjoyed herself so much and her merry laughter could be heard above all others. Her face was flushed and her eyes sparkled. The newlyweds attempted to slip away unnoticed, but failed when Joanna spied them and shouted for them to come back. They would not be allowed to vanish without ceremony.