Alessandria was already on her feet, nearly toppling, but managing to keep her balance. The lure of the fire was great. Still, something that Lady de Lohr had said made her pause.
“All of my clothing, my lady?” she clarified.
Liselotte nodded. “Everything,” she said. “I do not know how long you have been in damp clothing, but the sooner we remove it, the better. How did you come to be so wet? Was it raining whilst you traveled?”
Alessandria shook her head, uncertain about removing her clothing in general much less in the presence of a woman she did not know. It was all very awkward for her and she was fearful that she might offend Lady de Lohr with her reluctance.
“It was not raining,” she said hesitantly. “I fell from a horse and into the water. Sir Chadwick jumped in to save me. I do not know how to swim, you see, so if it weren’t for him, I am sure I would have perished. Then there were men chasing us so we hid from them.”
Liselotte listened with concern. “Forgive me, my lady, but I am ignorant of why or how you have come to Canterbury,” she said. “All I was told was that there was a young woman who required my assistance. My son told me that, but it was all he told me. Why are Henry’s men after you?”
She was persistent. She didn’t receive a suitable answer from the knight so she was seeking clarification to her confusion. Unfortunately, Alessandria didn’t know much more than Lady de Lohr did. She lifted her slender shoulders.
“I was told it was because Henry wishes to hold me hostage to ensure the loyalty of my brother and cousins,” she said. “I have been at Newington Priory for the past six years, you see, and have been far removed from whatever the rest of the House of de Shera has been involved in. Sir Chadwick and his men came to Newington last night and said that I was to come with them, otherwise, Henry’s men would take me and I might find myself in the vault.”
Liselotte was shocked. Shock gave way to outrage. “Henry would hold you hostage?” she repeated, aghast. “I know that the House of de Shera supported Simon de Montfort but to take a young woman hostage to enforce their loyalty to Henry is disgraceful. What a horrible man!”
Not strangely, Alessandria felt better hearing the woman’s outrage. It made her feel comforted, as if she had a defender in the tall and elegant Lady de Lohr. Though the nuns at Newington had always been kind to her, they had never shown quite as much concern as Lady de Lohr was showing. That kind of attention was all quite new to her.
As Alessandria stood there, uncertain about stripping off her clothes, Liselotte began to help her, unfastening ties and encouraging her to pull off the damp, smelly clothing. Knowing she had no choice, Alessandria began to pull off her clothing, which didn’t amount to more than a rough woolen overdress, a damp shift beneath, and shoes that had been passed down to her from another ward at Newington. There was a hole in the left toe. But she dutifully pulled off the outerdress, laying it carefully before the hearth as Liselotte held up the coverlet to shield her from the room. The shift quickly came off then, as did the shoes, and as soon as she was completely nude, Liselotte wrapped her up in the warm, dry coverlet.
“There,” Liselotte said with some satisfaction. “Sit by the fire and you will warm up quickly now.”
Alessandria was in heaven wrapped in the heavy coverlet. She didn’t even care that she was nude beneath it, her modesty shot to pieces by the comfort of the thick blanket. Nay, she didn’t care in the least. The dry coverlet won out over any foolish protests of stripping off her clothing and she sank to the floor where the fire was warming up the stones of the hearth, wrapping the coverlet tightly around her and getting as close to the fire as she could without setting herself ablaze.
Heat blasted Alessandria in the face as she huddled close to the fire while Liselotte picked up her damp clothing and held it up, inspecting it. It was durable and well-made, but hardly the dress of a noble young lady. Liselotte eyed the clothing and the young lady seated by the hearth. All of this was quite curious to her because it was most definitely clothing worn by the clergy. The fabric was horrifically coarse and the shift underneath wasn’t much better. Liselotte cringed when she thought about such things close to a delicate lady’s tender skin.
“Are you a nun, Alessandria?” she finally asked.
Alessandria shook her head. “A ward, my lady,” she replied. “I have been considering taking my vows, however.”
“Why?”
Alessandria had to grin; Lady de Lohr was very curious about things and not afraid to ask questions. She rather liked that kind of direct honesty. “Because I consider Newington my home,” she said. “Truthfully, it is the only home I have ever known. My mother died when I was young and my father immediately sent me away to foster.”
Liselotte was looking at her with some sympathy. “How old were you when your mother died?”
“I had seen five summers, my lady.”
Liselotte shook her head, clucking with sympathy. “So young,” she said. “I am sorry to hear that. I have five children and it was difficult to send each one of them away to foster. With my youngest, I could not bear it, so she simply went to Rochester, which is not far away and the stewards of Rochester are related to the House of de Lohr. They are family. I went to visit my youngest every week until my husband put an end to it.”
Alessandria wondered what it would be like to have a mother that was so attentive. “How long did your youngest stay away?”
Liselotte turned away, busying herself with Alessandria’s damp clothing. “When my husband told me I could no longer visit her, I simply brought her home,” she said, eyeing Alessandria and seeing that the woman was fighting off a grin. She broke down into a smile. “Do not think me so smothering, my lady. Veronica wanted to come home. At least, that is what I told her to tell her father. Wait until you have children of your own; you will understand.”
Alessandria’s smile faded. “I will not marry, my lady,” she said. “I plan to….”
She was cut off by a knock on the door and Liselotte went to answer it, producing a parade of people when she opened the panel. Servants with buckets of hot water rushed into the room and to the copper tub, filling it. A female servant had brought linens and other things to bathe with, while Liselotte’s youngest child, Veronica, brought up the rear with her arms full of garments.
Alessandria pulled the big coverlet tightly around her, covering herself completely as the crowd of people filled the chamber. She could smell fresh bread and her stomach growled, but she didn’t move, rooted to the spot and afraid to move lest the coverlet fall away and some measure of skin was exposed. So she remained huddled by the fire, out of the way, as people went in and out, and Liselotte held up the garments her daughter had brought to see which ones would be the best option for a small and rather skinny young lady.
Alessandria watched the hustle closely, very warm and comfortable in her blanket. In fact, she was becoming rather drowsy with the heat and more than once her eyelids had started to droop, but she shook it off, struggling to remain awake because the lure of a bath and food was just too strong. It had been a long time since she’d had either.
Eventually, the servants took their buckets and left, leaving Liselotte and her daughter behind. Alessandria could still see Rhun lingering just outside of her door, watching all who entered and exited, and she had to admit that she was starting to feel rather important. She had a guard and the lady of the castle was tending her personally. It was such an odd realization for she’d never had any reason to feel more important than anyone else. It wasn’t a wholly unlikable sensation.
“My lady, are you ready for your bath?” Liselotte asked when everyone was gone. “Please allow my daughter and me to help you.”
Alessandria looked at the lovely young woman standing next to Liselotte. “Your youngest, my lady?”
Liselotte laughed softly. “My darling daughter, Veronica Emilie de Lohr,” she said. “This is the child I could not do without. Ronnie, this is Lady Alessandria de Shera.
We are going to take care of her and make her feel most welcome.”
Veronica smiled at Alessandria. “W-welcome, m-my lady,” she said, a heavy stammer evident. “I-I have p-picked out some garments t-that I hope are t-to your liking.”
Alessandria smiled timidly at the young woman with a noticeable stammer. “I am sure whatever you have chosen will be fine.”
Veronica grinned and went to her, pulling her to her feet. Much like her mother, she wasn’t shy or timid. “Come with m-me,” she said, pulling her away from the hearth. “I b-brought some bathing oil m-my father bought me in P-Paris. It smells of exotic f-flowers.”
Lured by the idea of bathing oil, something Alessandria had never seen or used in the sparse setting of Newington, she didn’t notice that the corner of the coverlet flopped into the fire and, as she moved towards the tub, a small blaze cropped up on the fabric. She only realized it when Liselotte yelped and tried to yank the blanket off of her, but Alessandria wasn’t apt to let the only thing go that was protecting her modesty. She had no idea what was going on with Lady de Lohr trying to wrest the blanket from her body and she held on to it for dear life until she saw the smoke.
“Fire!” she screamed.
Alessandria let go of the blanket just as Liselotte and Veronica gave a good yank, pulling it off of her body. Completely naked, Alessandria did the only thing she could do; she jumped into the copper tub, trying to conceal her nakedness, hardly caring about the fire that was consuming the blanket. She didn’t even care that it could quite possibly spread; all she cared about was the fact that she was nude and vulnerable.
With the burning blanket over by the chamber door, blocking the exit, Liselotte and Veronica backed up next to the tub, screaming for help. Instantly, the chamber door flew open and de Russe and du Bois were standing there, startled to see all of that fire. When more bodies appeared behind them, Alessandria panicked and plunged her head beneath the water, trying to hide. It was her worst nightmare come to life; not the fire, but the hordes of strange men seeing her naked.
Dear God, could this get any worse?
That being the case, she’d rather burn to death.
A hand grabbing her hair and pulling her head out of the water told her that someone else had a different idea about it.
CHAPTER FOUR
The main level of Canterbury’s keep housed a smaller family hall, the earl’s private bedchamber, along with a small receiving room for Lady de Lohr and a solar for the earl. As far as keeps went, it was a very large one and had generous-sized rooms.
Chad knew the keep as well as he knew the grooves and contours of his own face. He’d spent much time here as a child before going to foster far to the north at Sommerhill Castle and then moving to Lioncross Abbey Castle, the seat of his famous grand-uncle. He’d spent about twelve years away from Canterbury before finally returning after he’d receive his spurs, and the place was still home for him. It had a certain smell to it that he found comforting – smoke, dogs, and freshly baked bread. His mother liked to bake bread herself, in fact, and she always seemed to be baking loaves with currants or herbs or cheese in them. So much bread. Even now, as he entered the keep, he could smell that bread. It gave him comfort like nothing else in the world.
But he could also hear voices in his father’s solar off to the right. It was a room that had been used by two generations of de Lohrs and before that, several generations of the Hampton family. Chad’s grandfather, David, had married the Hampton heiress, which is how Canterbury became a de Lohr property. But to him, it was simply home.
And he drew strength from his home, strength to face the men that had been chasing him all night, men who wanted to take that small woman hostage. Bracing himself, Chad entered the chamber.
It was a low-ceilinged room that had a layer of smoke hanging next to the ceiling beams. Two big Irish Wolfhounds were sleeping in front of the fire, their heads popping up when Chad entered the room. In fact, every man in the chamber turned to look at him when he entered, including his father.
“Chad,” Daniel de Lohr, Earl of Canterbury, sounded very happy and relieved to see his son. He came out from behind the table he’d been standing behind, a table that was cluttered with parchment and quill, maps and a couple of very precious books. “Come in, lad. Do come in and embrace me.”
Chad went to his father, eyeing the six knights who were standing in a cluster over near his father’s table. He recognized all of them; they were men known in the military ranks as Henry’s Guard of Six.
So it was the Six who followed me….
Chad didn’t say what he was thinking. In fact, at that moment, he was prepared to feign ignorance of the fact that he’d been followed and see where that took him. Therefore, he forced a smile at the group, projecting as much congeniality as he could.
“Greetings, Father,” he said as Daniel came to him and embraced him. “It is good to be home.”
Daniel squeezed his eldest son tightly. “Praise God you have made it,” he said, his voice tight with emotion. He released Chad long enough to look the man in the eye. “You are without injury?”
“Without, Papa,” he smiled wearily at the man. “You needn’t worry.”
Daniel’s tired gaze lingered on him a moment and in that expression, Chad could instantly see that not all was well. Something had his father on-edge; he could see it in the man’s eyes. Therefore, his pledge to be congenial fled.
Stefan and Perrin were in the room along with Chris, Arthur, and William. Chad glanced over at his brothers and cousins, acknowledging them, before returning his attention to his father.
“Henry was victorious at Evesham,” he said to Daniel, “but I am sure you already know that. It looks as if Henry sent his Six to inform you personally.”
Daniel nodded. Nearing his sixth decade, he was still a handsome and healthy man, more than most. His arm was still around his son’s shoulders as he turned to Henry’s knights.
“Aye,” he said. “They have come to tell me a good deal. You know these men, do you not? Greet them properly, Chad.”
Chad knew them, indeed. Everyone did. They were some of Henry’s most trusted men, all of them knights of the highest order; Aidric St. John, Dirk d’Vant, Jareth de Leybourne, Torran de Serreaux, Britt de Garr, Kent de Poyer. Chad knew de Serreaux and d’Vant particularly well, and he’d fought side by side with de Poyer at Evesham. They were good men but their loyalties, and their relationship to the king, were complicated.
“Good knights,” Chad said evenly. “Didn’t I just see you a few weeks ago on those bloody fields at Evesham? Did you miss me so much that you had to come to Canterbury?”
The knights grinned to varying degrees. The leader of the Guard of Six was Torran de Serreaux; a big man with dark hair and dark eyes, he was as handsome as he was cunning and strong. His family was very old and his relations, both blood and political, ran deep. He and Chad had a long history and a pleasant one, and he would do his best to keep it that way.
“Chad,” he greeted politely. “My friend, as much as seeing you brings me pleasure, I am afraid that my visit here is on business for the king.”
Chad looked at the five other knights. “He usually does not send you in a group like this,” he said. “Moreover, one or more of you usually remains with him. At least, that is how it was before Simon de Montfort managed to capture him. What is so important that you are all here?”
It was a direct question following a statement that could have been construed as an insult against the Six. They were Henry’s personal guard, men who both protected him and did his bidding, and it was common knowledge that when Simon de Montfort had overwhelmed and captured Henry, Simon had stripped the Six of their weapons but had allowed them to remain with their liege, but it was in a purely captive role. They’d remained with Henry for more than a year in captivity until Evesham, when Henry had been freed by Chad, among others, and the Six, who had been with Henry, had been subsequently armed. They had fought like madmen for Pri
nce Edward and had been instrumental in bringing down de Montfort. Chad had even seen de Leybourne and de Garr participate in mutilating the man. It had been gruesome, but from their standpoint, understandable. Warfare had made it so.
De Serreaux didn’t seem to take Chad’s statement as an insult, fortunately. He smiled wryly. “Much has changed in this past year, has it not?” he said. “I can hardly believe that we have our freedom once more and a debt of gratitude goes to you. Had you not recognized Henry in de Montfort’s armor, the battle could have been quite different.”
Chad lifted his eyebrows expectantly. “So you have come to thank me?”
De Serreaux nodded. “Indeed,” he said. “From Henry’s own lips. He is very grateful for your loyalty. For the loyalty of the entire House of de Lohr. Surely Henry could not survive without your support.”
Chad sensed something more to that statement. He wasn’t sure what more, but he didn’t like it. It was almost as if de Serreaux were being too complimentary, too thankful. It seemed odd. Chad glanced at his father to see the man’s reaction to all of this before responding.
“The House of de Lohr always stands with the crown,” he said. “I was glad to be of assistance. Now, with Simon gone, Henry shall once again enjoy his right upon the throne. He no longer has to worry about de Montfort the Elder. Now, the young Simon is still flirting with rebellion, but with the father gone, I believe the son’s rebel tendencies shall fade with time.”
De Serreaux shrugged. “I was just speaking to your father about that this morning, in fact,” he said. “Simon de Montfort the Younger can still lead a substantial rebellion. Even with Simon the Elder gone, Henry does not feel that the situation will be calm. Simon the Younger can still stir up trouble for him.”
Chad was starting to see where this conversation might be going and what had his father edgy. “How?” he asked. “He does not command nearly the men his father did.”
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