“I need to go to her,” said Evelina very determined. “I will not let her or her baby die.” She started to hurry toward the keep, but Claude pulled her to him and kissed her passionately on the mouth.
“Uh, I think I had better tend to the horse,” said Felix, slinking away.
“What was that for?” she asked him, looking up with bright eyes.
“I wanted you to know that I love you, Evelina.” He used his thumb to brush the dirt off her cheek.
“I love you, too, Claude. I am not sorry for what happened between us last night.”
“Neither am I.” He knelt on the cobblestones and took her hands in his.
“Claude, get up. What are you doing?”
“Marry me, Evie. I want you to be my wife.”
“What?” That seemed to surprise her. “You would ask me to marry you even though you said a marriage between two people of different statuses is forbidden?”
“Rose and my mother helped me to realize that I’ve been acting like a fool. You helped me to see that I have been stuck in the past and therefore blind to the future. What is your answer, Evie? Will you marry me?”
Evelina couldn’t believe Claude was down on one knee in the middle of the courtyard asking her to marry him. Her heart soared with joy but, at the same time, she felt frightened. She’d yet to tell Claude who she really was. She couldn’t tell him yes until she got out of the other betrothal with Lord Onfroi. Why was everything so complicated?
“My lord,” said a female servant, running from the keep. “Lady Rose is asking for her father and husband. She is slipping in and out of consciousness. Lady Isobel sent me to ask if you have seen her husband arrive.”
“Claude,” said Evelina. “I am honored by your proposal, but before I give you my answer, we need to talk. It will have to wait because, right now, Lady Rose’s life is at stake.”
“Of course,” he said, getting to his feet. “I apologize, I am not thinking clearly.”
“Why don’t you ride to the docks and see if any ships have arrived with Lord Conlin and Sir Toft?” she suggested, seeing that the events of the past few days weighed heavy on Claude’s mind.
“I need to be with Lady Rose,” he protested.
“I will be there, and so will your mother and Lady Isobel. There is nothing you can do for Lady Rose but find her father and husband. It is her request.”
“Then I will go anon. Squire,” he called out. “Fetch me a horse. We are riding to the docks. When we return, I swear we will have Baron Conlin and Sir Toft with us. This is Lady Rose’s request, and I will not let her down.”
Evelina was glad Claude left for the docks because she couldn’t give him an answer before having a long talk with him. But right now, she needed to be with Rose. If Rose died, there would be a lot of people, especially Claude, who would never be the same again.
She hurried into Rose’s chamber, stopping at the door when she saw her nearly lifeless body on the bed. Rose cried and writhed in pain.
“Lady Rose. I am here.” Evelina hurried forward, but the midwife stopped her.
“You are filthy. Do not come near Lady Rose like that,” warned the woman.
“Nay, I want her here.” Rose lifted her hand and reached into the air. Evelina ran to her and cradled her head in her arms, trying not to get her dirty.
“Evelina - your gown,” said Rose, looking up with tearstained cheeks.
“I bought the gown of a lady, just like you suggested.”
“I don’t think that dirty gown will attract any man, let alone Claude.”
“It wasn’t dirty when I got it.” Evelina forced a smile, hoping it would help ease Rose’s pain. “How are you, Rose?”
“I am dying,” she responded.
“You are not dying,” Celestine told her, coming to the other side of the bed. “I had a vision of you and Toft with your healthy baby. My visions are never wrong.”
“I hope you’re right,” said Rose, screaming out in pain once again. “I can’t do this,” she cried. “I am finished.”
The women all looked at one another, and the midwife shook her head.
“Do not talk that way,” scolded Evelina, trying not to let her fear show in her voice. “Do you want the last thing that Toft remembers of you is that you gave up? He loves you, Rose. Don’t let him down. If you won’t keep trying for yourself or for the baby, then do it for your husband.”
“I will,” said Rose. “I can’t let Toft down. And if I die, my father will blame himself for the rest of his life because he wasn’t here, just like he wasn’t here when my mother died.”
“Don’t do that to him, Rose,” Evelina urged her. “You are stronger than this. Now gather up that strength and all the love you have for Toft and for your father, and help your baby be born.”
“Her daughter,” said Celestine. “I saw in my vision that she is going to have a girl.”
“Evelina, I’m scared,” Rose cried out.
Isobel rushed over and grabbed one of Rose’s hands while Evelina took the other.
“Ye can do this, Rose,” Isobel assured her. “Ye have always been strong and a survivor. Now listen to Evelina, and do no’ let yer faither or yer husband down.”
“I will. I can do this,” said Rose, gathering her composure.
“Try again,” said the midwife. “Take a deep breath and this time push with all your might.”
“Your daughter needs your help to come into this world,” said Evelina. “You have all the strength you need, Rose, because we are all here to help you.”
Rose gripped Isobel’s and Evelina’s hands tightly and screamed out as she pushed so hard that her face turned red and her body shook.
“It moved. The baby moved! I see her face,” exclaimed the midwife. “Do it again, Rose. Push harder.”
“One more push and it will all be over,” Evelina told her, not sure if it was true, but wanting to give Rose hope.
“I will do it,” said Rose. “I can do it,” she said with determination in her eyes. Rose was a small girl like Evelina, but her will and determination were bigger than even the strongest warrior. One more push and Rose screamed louder than before. And then, as if it were a miracle, Evelina heard the sound of a crying baby.
“You did it,” exclaimed Evelina, seeing the midwife hold up one of the biggest newborns she had ever seen. “Your baby is born. I knew you could do it.”
“I couldn’t have done it without you,” Rose told her, holding out her arms for her baby. The midwife cleaned it up quickly and laid it on top of Rose’s chest.
“She’s beautiful,” said Evelina, wishing that someday she would have a child of her own. She wanted to marry Claude more than anything and hoped it could be so.
Not a half-hour later, Toft, Conlin, and Claude rushed into the bedchamber.
“Rose,” called out Toft, running to her side. “I am here, Rose.” He stopped in his tracks when he laid eyes on the baby. “Y-you had the baby?”
“I did,” said Rose with a smile. “Our daughter is alive and healthy. So am I. We have Evelina to thank for talking me through this.”
“Rose, thank God you are all right,” said Conlin, rushing to the bedside to be with his daughter. “When we got the message, we came right away. King Edward sent us home, and he sends his best wishes as well.”
“Our daughter is beautiful and so are you, Rose.” Toft scooted onto the bed next to her and put his arm around his wife. “What will we name her?”
“I felt like Daniel in the lion’s den birthing her,” said Rose with a smile. “Mayhap, we should name her Daniela.”
“I like that,” said Toft. “Daniela, it is.”
“Rose, I am so glad you and the baby made it through this.” Claude, who was standing silently and watching, stepped forward and kissed Rose on the head.
“Thank you, Claude, for staying in England with me. That meant the world to me.”
“I would do anything for you and your baby.” Claude reached out and r
an a finger lightly over the baby’s head. “After all, what are good friends for?”
“Thank you, Claude,” said Toft with a nod of his head. “If anything had happened to Rose, I don’t know how I would go on without her.”
“Claude, I was hoping we could talk now,” said Evelina softly.
For the first time, Claude turned to look at her. But to her surprise, he was not smiling.
“I think a talk is in order. But first, someone is waiting in the great hall to see you.”
“Me?” she asked, not knowing what he meant.
“When I went down to the docks, I found Lord Conlin and Sir Toft, but they were not the only ones I found.”
“Who did you find, Claude? I don’t understand.”
“There was a ship from France that had just docked,” Claude explained. “To my surprise, two men approached me and asked if I knew a girl named Evelina.”
“They did?” It was evident where this was leading, and it wasn’t good.
“Evelina, or should I say, Lady Evelina, your father, Count du Pont is waiting for you in the great hall along with Lord Onfroi Faucheux – your betrothed.”
Chapter 15
Claude left Rose’s room and headed down the corridor, wanting to get as far away from Evelina as possible.
“Claude, please wait,” Evelina called out, running after him. “I need to talk to you.”
“It’s a little too late for that,” he growled, having been devastated to hear that Evelina was not only a lady pretending to be a servant, but also already betrothed to someone else. First, he’d had his heart broken by Rose. And then when he decided to open his heart to a woman he thought he loved, the door was slammed in his face, and a dagger pushed through his heart once again.
“Claude, please.” Evelina reached out and grabbed his arm and he spun around on his heel, feeling angrier than hell.
“Why, Lady Evelina?” he asked. “So you can make a fool of me once again? Why didn’t you tell me who you were and that you were already promised to another man before we made love?”
“I tried to, but you didn’t give me a chance.”
“You had more than enough chances, but yet you continued to lie. I gave my heart to you, but you thrust a dagger right through it.”
“I didn’t mean to hurt you, Claude.” Tears formed in her eyes.
“I knew I shouldn’t have trusted you, but I let down my guard. That is what I get for making the mistake of falling in love.”
“I love you, Claude.”
“God’s eyes, Evelina, stop already.” He threw his hands up into the air. “I bent down on one knee in front of everyone and asked you to marry me although I thought you were only a merchant’s daughter pretending to be a maidservant.”
“I wanted to tell you, but Rose was dying. Please, you need to believe me that I never meant to make a fool of you.”
He ignored her pleas and shook his head. His top lip curled up as he said his next words. “I took your innocence. Now, I might go to war over it. I am an honorable man and would never take another man’s bride.”
“You don’t understand. I don’t want to marry Lord Onfroi. He is evil and hurts women. I love you and want to marry you.”
“We can’t be married, Evelina. You are betrothed to another man. So, once again, you are forbidden to me.”
“I’ll ask my father to break the betrothal. I’ll tell him it is you I love and no one else.”
“I am disappointed in you,” he told her. “I truly loved you, and now you’ve broken my heart.”
“I didn’t break your heart. Everything I said about loving you is true.”
“How can I believe you? You have done nothing but lie to me since the day I met you. Even if we did marry, how could I trust that you wouldn’t tire of me and go looking for another husband instead?”
“I would never do that, Claude.” The tears ran down her cheeks. He longed to reach out and comfort her and wipe her tears away, but he couldn’t. She belonged to another man. He had no right to love her. Once again, he had fallen into a trap and found himself in a situation with a forbidden love.
“Go to your betrothed, Evelina. You belong to him, not me.” Claude turned and quit the keep, heading for the stable to take a ride alone to clear his very confused mind.
“Evelina,” said Celestine, coming up to her side. “I saw Claude leave. Is anything wrong?”
“It is,” she told Claude’s mother. “I have done something very foolish. I am afraid I have hurt Claude deeply. I am a lady, but I didn’t tell him. I left France because I didn’t want to be betrothed to a man my father chose.”
“You need to talk to Claude.”
“I did. He doesn’t want to listen. He thinks I purposely betrayed him just to hurt him, but I didn’t. I love him. He asked me to marry him earlier, but now he wants nothing to do with me.”
“Claude asked you to marry him?” Celestine seemed surprised and pleased.
“I never even had a chance to give him my answer. Now it is too late. Oh, Lady Celestine, what am I going to do?”
“The first thing you need to do is to confront your father and your betrothed.”
“I’m frightened,” said Evelina.
“We’ll go with ye to talk to them.” Lady Isobel and Lord Conlin walked hand in hand down the corridor toward her.
“Come, Lady Evelina,” said Celestine. “Face your fears the way you taught Rose and Claude to face theirs. Everything will work out in the end.”
“Did you have a vision?” asked Evelina hopefully.
“I did not. However, I know what a strong woman you are and that you would never give up on love and a man you believed in, would you?”
“Nay, I won’t give up on Claude,” said Evelina. Holding her head high, she entered the great hall behind Lady Isobel and Lord Conlin.
“Evelina, thank God I found you.” Her father, the Count of Tarbes, rushed forward with Lord Onfroi right behind him.
“Father,” she said, swallowing forcefully, wishing Claude were at her side to help her through this. “How did you find me?”
“The mercenary returned and told us that you paid him to escort you to England,” said Onfroi. “Why in God’s name would you do that?”
“Aye,” said her father. “And why are you wearing a gown covered in mud?”
“Augustin told us you were posing as a servant,” added Onfroi. “Are you daft? I should take you across my knee for even playing such a game.”
Evelina shuddered, knowing Lord Onfroi would have no qualms with hitting her.
“Pack your things, Daughter, we are heading back to France at once,” said the count.
“Count du Pont,” said Conlin, stepping forward. “It is a shame you have to leave so soon. I would like to show you the docks and, perhaps, talk about a trade since you’ve come all the way from France.”
“What kind of trade?” Onfroi broke in. “You are a Baron of the Cinque Ports, aren’t you?”
“I am,” said Conlin. “And who would you be?”
“I am Lord Onfroi Faucheux of Grenoble. I am Lady Evelina’s betrothed.”
“Ah, I see,” said Conlin. “So, your betrothal to Lady Evelina is an alliance.”
“Of course, it is,” the man snapped. “Why else would I be marrying her? Look at her in that bedraggled gown with dirt from head to foot. When she’s my wife, she will never walk around looking like that.”
“Some men marry for love,” Conlin told him. “It isn’t always about money or what you can gain.”
“That’s nonsense,” he spat.
“We married for love,” Isobel spoke up.
“So did my daughter,” said Conlin.
“What is this all about?” asked the count. “Why are you even saying this?”
“Father, I am in love with another man. I cannot marry Lord Onfroi,” Evelina blurted out.
“You’re what?” gasped her father.
Evelina continued. “His name is Sir Claude Jean
Montague. He is a French, just like us.”
“He is?” asked the count. “What holdings does he have?”
“I don’t know,” said Evelina, “but neither do I care. I would marry him even if he were penniless because I fell in love with him.”
“She’s lying,” spat Onfroi. “Besides, she is already betrothed to me. The deal has been made.”
“Hold on, Onfroi.” The count held up his hand. “Where is this Sir Claude Montague? I would like to meet him.”
“I – I don’t know where he went,” said Evelina. “He became angry when he found out I hadn’t told him the truth and he left me.”
“There,” said Onfroi with a satisfied smirk. “The man doesn’t want her anyway, so I see no need to continue this conversation. Come, Evelina, we are going back to France to be married anon.” He grabbed her by the arm, but she pulled away.
“Nay! I don’t want to marry you.”
“You’ll not talk back to me and get away with it.” His fist shot out to hit her. Lord Conlin’s body blocked her, and he grasped the man’s hand and squeezed.
“We don’t hit women at Castle Briarbeck,” Conlin said through gritted teeth. “Show some respect, for God’s sake, and stop acting like an ass.”
“I’ll show you who is acting like an ass.” Onfroi pulled out of his grip and went for his sword, but the tip of another sword pressed up against his throat and stopped him.
“You try to touch her again, and I’ll have your head no matter if you are her betrothed or not,” said Claude, coming to her rescue.
“Claude,” cried Evelina, so happy to see him.
“I heard everything, Evie, and I believe you love me. I don’t want to see you married to a cur like this.”
“Lower your sword, Sir Knight,” commanded the count.
Claude glanced over to Evelina, and she nodded slightly. Slowly, Claude lowered his sword and backed away.
“Are you Sir Claude Montague who my daughter says she wants to marry?” asked the man.
“I am.” Claude kept his mouth in a firm line and nodded his head as he shoved his sword back into the sheath.
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