Her Bastard Bridegroom

by Alice Coldbreath

  “How is it that Oswald has never married?” she murmured into Mason’s chest and felt him stiffen. They were lying propped up on pillows, half draped over each other.

  “Why?”

  “I just wondered,” she frowned. “I mean, he is older than you … I thought Enid Jauncey might be a very good wife for him. She’s a young widow. And terribly nice. And beautiful,” she added wistfully. “I would like to have her for a sister.” She felt him relax beside her, though he gave a short laugh. “Not sure those are considerations my father would think relevant.” He paused. “It’s because of father’s that Oswald’s not married,” he added, his hand coming up to stroke gently through her hair, massaging her scalp. It felt so nice, Linnet closed her eyes. “He arranges betrothals and drops them again at the drop of a hat. It’s all about alliances and power with him. Oswald’s had many engagements. By proxy of course. I doubt he’s met any of them. As soon as that family falls from favor or their fortunes take a turn for the worst, it’s broken off.”

  “Why doesn’t Oswald choose his own bride?” she frowned, running her thumb down Mason’s rib-cage.

  “I suppose he’s not in any rush,” shrugged Mason.

  She bumped her ear against his chest. “Keep still, I’m comfortable.”

  She heard his rumble of laughter coming deep from his chest. “Oswald is the heir,” he continued lightly. “So naturally he’s father’s ace card. He’s wanted to keep him close in hand.”

  “I suppose that’s why Baron – I mean, father never betrothed him to me. Because he thought I was only good enough for his youngest son,” she murmured thoughtfully.

  “Linnet,” he said tightly and suddenly rolled her onto her back where she blinked up at him. “Why is it that you keep rushing in where angels fear to tread?” he asked silkily, his eyes hard. His hands either side of her head, caging her in with his big body.

  “I keep forgetting that you don’t want to hear my thoughts,” she answered truthfully. “I keep thinking I can tell you anything.”

  He stared down at her. “Why the hell would you want to do that?”

  “Because-“

  “Don’t answer that,” he cut her off, and abruptly rolled onto his back beside her. He stared up at the ceiling as Linnet swallowed this fresh rejection beside him. She was so stupid. Why did she keep forgetting…? Fools rush in where angels fear to tread, she remembered belatedly. Her husband was calling her a fool. And telling her he didn’t want any intimacy with her that wasn’t purely physical. She really needed to get that through her thick skull. Until she did, it was going to keep hurting. She bit down on her trembling bottom lip.

  “Linnet,“ he said sounding frustrated. “Maybe we should try perfect silence after I’ve bedded you. Everything’s well, up until you start talking.”

  Linnet gasped but when she started to sit up, his hand shot out, anchoring her to his side.

  “I didn’t say I wanted you to move, wife.”

  A hammering on the door made them both jump.

  “What the bloody hells!” shouted Mason releasing her and springing out of the bed. He prowled to the door entirely naked.

  Linnet fell back on the pillows.. She pulled the sheet up to her chin as he yanked the door open viciously.

  “A summons from the king,” pronounced a messenger in a feathered hat from the doorway. One of their own servants was stood next to him, looking pale and scared. Though whether that was because of the royal summons or because of her naked, fuming husband was debatable.

  “Give it here,” Mason growled, snatching it from the messenger’s gloved hand. He tore open the scroll and marched to the nearest candle light where his eyes scanned the page. Linnet’s startled glance went from the embarrassed messenger and gawking servant to Mason’s rigid and furious face. She moistened her lips. “What is it?” she whispered, wondering what could cause him to look so enraged. Had he been called back to the battlefield? Had the north up risen again? A hundred possibilities clamored in her brain.

  “We’ve been summoned to court,” he said grimly. “Sir Jevons and my brother have petitioned the King for an annulment to our marriage.”

  XVIII

  The next hour was a blur of activity. Servants yelling, trunks being stuffed with clothes, maids crying. Well, actually it was Nan crying when Linnet decided it would be easier for her to take Gertie with her as her personal maid. Cuthbert had a temper tantrum when she suggested he might be better off staying at home. Mason had grabbed him by the ear until he’d stopped yelling. “Can your grandmother read?” he’d asked. Cuthbert’s tear-stained face nodded. “Then write her a note and tell her you’ll be a couple of weeks at court.” Cuthbert’s face had been wreathed in smiles in an instant. “Send word down to the stables to have the horses ready in an hour!” Mason had shouted as Robards ran hither and thither with a long list and a harassed expression. Clattering boots on the stair had announced her brother-in-law and father-in-law’s arrival in the Great Hall.

  “Is this true?” bellowed Baron Vawdrey. “I’ll have his hide for this!”

  Presumably he meant his youngest son, Sir Roland.

  “We will of course accompany you,” said Oswald who looked shocked. “And show a united family front.”

  “Apart from Roland,” seethed Mason, his face darkening.

  Linnet could only be glad her footwear had arrived in time, though sadly none of her new wardrobe would be ready. She would have to borrow a cloak again for the journey, she thought sadly. And the one Mr Postner had planned for her had sounded so perfect too. A sobbing Nan helped her pull on thick woolen stockings and her new ankle boots.

  “Nan, I won’t be gone for long and I will bring you a present back, I promise,” she murmured soothingly. “Tis only that Gertie is older and more experienced…. That is the only reason. Next time I will definitely take you along.”

  “You promise, milady?” sniffed Nan, looking up through her pale blue eyes.

  “I do.”

  “We have plenty of work for you to be doing while the master and mistress are away, my girl,” blustered Robards crossly. He tutted at the scene the maid was causing. “Her ladyship has enough on her mind without reassuring the likes of you!”

  “It’s quite alright, Robards,” muttered Linnet, though sadly it was true. She was in a blind panic about going to court. Due to her supposed ill-health she had never even been presented and had no idea what to expect!

  Gertie came hurrying over with the housekeeper’s cloak for her to borrow once again. Linnet was pleased she had remembered to order a new one for Mrs Perkins considering how much she was using her current one!

  Robards clapped his hands. “These trunks are to be carried out and loaded on the wagon,” he shouted. “Make haste!”

  Linnet looked around distractedly for Mason but he must have already gone out to the stables.

  Cuthbert had appeared before her with a furred hood and gloves. “Because ‘tis cold milady, travelling at night,” he explained. She didn’t ask who he’d beg, borrowed or stole them from.

  “How long will it take us to reach court?” Linnet asked Oswald who was strapping on his sword.

  “Court is currently being held at Caer-Lyonnes,” he answered her. “It is a two day ride at least, if not three depending on the weather and circumstances of travel.”

  “Caer-Lyonnes,” she echoed. “Is that not the King’s castle by the sea?” In spite of herself Linnet felt a shiver of excitement. She had never seen the sea before.

  “Indeed it is and a very fine royal palace,” conceded Oswald. “’Tis a shame you’re not seeing it under happier circumstances.”

  Linnet’s face fell. “Yes,” she agreed sadly.

  Robards appeared out of puff in the hall. He clutched his side as if he’d run all the way from the stable. “The master wants you outside, milady. He wants you on his horse up before him.”

  She had wondered if she would be expected to ride Fira but after only lesson that would hav
e been rather a tall order. She nodded and with a quick backward look over her shoulder, let her gaze linger on the two standards hung from the ceiling. The black Vawdrey panther and the golden leopard of the Cadwalladers.

  She only hoped they would still be proudly displayed side-by-side when next she returned to her home.

  XIX

  The next three days journey was exhausting and, while it was true that she saw more scenery in seventy-two hours than she had in the previous twenty-four years, the novelty of travel wore off very quickly for Linnet. She was dusty, aching all over and weary to the bone by the time they finished the first leg of their journey. Mason was a hard taskmaster and they had ridden all through the night and the next day by the time they were permitted to stop at an inn. That pattern was repeated the next day with only hurried stops for snatched meals and hard beds in coaching inns. She had no sooner fallen in the bed and rolled into her husband’s warm body then she was fast asleep and shaken awake at day break for the next stretch. Mason was uncommunicative, barely spoke and simmered on a slow burning rage for the most part, but he held her very close in the dark and she took comfort from that if nothing else. Their party was a far from merry one. Oswald looked tense and miserable. Baron Vawdrey, bad-tempered and Cuthbert was fractious and whiny for all he’d so badly wanted to come. Only Gertie seemed determinedly cheerful and she’d confided in Linnet that was because she had heard you could buy very fine lace at Caer-Lyonnes and she wanted some for her bridal veil. Linnet tried to take that as a positive omen.

  It was not long past noon on the third day that Mason squeezed her waist and pointed wordlessly into the distance. She sat up, expecting tall soaring towers of the royal palace but instead saw just a vast blue shimmering haze. “What is it?” she whispered over her shoulder at him.

  “The sea,” he answered.

  “Ohhhh,” breathed Linnet. “The ocean.” She gazed her fill as they carried on their way. The size of the party and a horse going lame had meant the journey had taken a full three days rather than the two her brother-in-law had hoped for.

  By the time the castle was outlined in the distance it was dark and all they could see was a looming shadow which Linnet tried not to find menacing. The town below it looked of a good size and Linnet guessed it would be bustling at day-break. But for now it remained quiet and still, a few twinkling lights at windows the only sign of life. The occasional spill of light and laughter sounded from taverns they passed on their way but other than that all was quiet.

  A fortified gate and two port-cullises led to the castle courtyard, where their summons was duly produced and shown to the waiting guards. Their horses were taken to stable and they were shown into a vast stone entrance hall with a vaulted ceiling. Lighted torches burned in the sconces and the walls were lined with suits of armor giving the eerie impression of a silent standing army.

  “Wait here,” said Mason, who disappeared through a shadowy studded doorway followed by his father and brother. None of them gave a backward glance.

  Linnet pulled her cloak tightly about her, feeling grateful when Cuthbert leant into her side. She passed an arm around him and hugged him close. “Tired?” she asked him quietly. “I’m sure we will soon be shown to our beds for the night.”

  Footsteps echoed in the distance and Linnet drew a shaky breath imagining the worst case scenario, which would be her aunt and uncle demanding she share their quarters in the castle. Perish the thought! To her surprised relief it was a bunch of complete strangers who finally appeared to greet them, along with some more armed guards. Mason looked grim in the torch-light. “Linnet, you are to accompany Lady Margaret Doverdale,” he said tersely.

  “Where will you be?” she asked at once noticing the distance he kept between them.

  “In my own quarters.”

  “Oh.”

  He gestured toward a tall, severe woman dressed rather like a nun with a heavy white wimple. Her dress however was orange and decorated with gold thread. She gave a grimace which Linnet supposed was to pass for a smile and then gestured with very long, white hands that Linnet was to come to her.

  “Gertrude, Cuthbert, you are with me,” said Linnet loudly.

  Lady Doverdale halted to a stop. “We have only one bedchamber for you in our quarters,” she said crisply. “Your servants will need to join the castle servants below stairs.”

  Linnet drew herself up to her full height. “Pardon me,” she said firmly. “But my page will sleep in a truckle bed at the foot of my bed and my maid will share with me.”

  Lady Doverdale stood very still and she and Linnet gazed at one another in silence for a moment, neither blinking before she inclined her head in slow assent. “Very well Lady Linnet, if that is your wish.”

  “My name is Lady Vawdrey,” Linnet answered her sweetly. “And thank you Lady Doverdale for your hospitality.”

  Lady Doverdale’s eyebrows rose and she turned on her heel, leading the way to her family’s quarters which were in the east wing.

  Mason crossed the floor to Linnet and briefly took her hand which he kissed almost as an afterthought. “Lock your door,” he said quietly. “And make sure you are accompanied at all times.” He hesitated as if he would say something further, but then seemed to change his mind and turned away from her to walk in the opposite direction. Two of the guards split off and accompanied him. Linnet watched until he was swallowed up in the shadows and only then did she turn and follow Lady Doverdale. The other two guards followed on her heels.

  “Where are my husband’s quarters?” she asked brightly when she had caught up with Lady Doverdale. She was determined not to let the situation get the better of her.

  “That remains to be seen,” answered her hostess tartly.

  “I thought his family had permanent rooms at court,” frowned Linnet.

  Lady Doverdale shook her head. “I meant, it remains to be seen if your marriage is legal and admissible.”

  When Gertrude gave a gasp, Linnet frowned at her and gave a slight shake of her head. “As to that Lady Doverdale,” she said with a confidence she did not feel. “I am in absolutely no doubt as to the veracity of my wedding vows and so I shall tell the King.”

  Lady Doverdale gave her a doubtful look which Linnet answered with a smile. “Did you say it was the west wing?”

  “I did not,” snapped the older woman. “I said nothing as to where the Vawdrey’s quarters are.”

  “It is of no import,” yawned Linnet. “I will find out myself on the morrow.”

  “You are a most impudent young woman,” snapped Lady Doverdale. “And not at all what I was led to expect.”

  Linnet smiled. “I am quite sure,” she agreed dryly. “I daresay my aunt has spread the tale I am some poor timid invalid who may be bullied into anything. However, I am my own woman and in complete possession of my faculties I assure you.”

  Cuthbert’s hand slipped into hers as their footsteps echoed down the flagstone corridors and some ten minutes later they were ushered into a wood-paneled bedchamber with a large four poster bed covered in a scarlet bed-spread.

  “I will have fresh water and cloths fetched so you can wash after your journey,” said Lady Doverdale. “Your trunk will follow so there are some nightgowns in the wardrobe for you to wear to bed tonight.”

  “Thank you,” answered Linnet, unfastening her cloak.

  “I will order a truckle-bed bought in for your page in the morning,” sniffed Lady Doverdale backing out of the door with the briefest of curtseys.

  “Sour old trout,” mumbled Gertie. “What did she mean-?”

  Linnet shushed her and nodded at Cuthbert who flung himself in a chair before the fire which still burned though it was low in the grate.

  “I’m so tired!” he groaned.

  Linnet opened the door on the other side of the room and found a dressing room with a large mahogany wardrobe.

  “Why, there’s plenty of room in there for another couple of beds,” frowned Gertrude, puffing out her cheek
s. “Why’d she have to be so disobliging?”

  “Probably just to intimidate me and make me feel all alone,” said Linnet. “We will get beds set up in here for you and Cuthbert tomorrow, but for tonight I hope it’s alright if we all share?”

  “Of course, milady!” Gertie assured her. “Truth be told I’d be ever so scared my first night in a strange place anyway. And that there bed is huge!”

  “It certainly is,” agreed Linnet. She crossed to the window and peeped under the heavy scarlet curtains but could not make anything out in the black as pitch night. A soft knock on the door was followed by a maid with two large jugs of warm water which Gertie took from her with a word of thanks. After Linnet had secured the door with a large wrought-iron key, she dragged Cuthbert from his chair and they washed, changed into the plain white nightgowns and huddled in the large scarlet bed.

  “I don’t like it here, miss,” said Gertie. “I mean, milady.”

  “It will look entirely different in the morning,” Linnet assured her. “We will see the sea and the town and the market with your lace…” She was quite sure that if Gertie were not here beside her she would be sobbing into the pillow herself.

  Cuthbert gave a soft snore.

  “Humph!” snorted Gertie. “That boy could sleep in a barn!”

  Linnet giggled. “This is a palace, Gertie,” she reminded her. “The King lives here!”

  “Great draughty place! What would my Diggory say about this, I’d like to know!”

  “Did you have chance to speak with him before we left?”

  “Just a snatched word or so.”

  “I’m sorry,” said Linnet turning to peer at her in the dark.

  Gertie’s curly dark hair sprang up from the pillow as she lifted her head. “You got nothing to apologize for milady!” she said sounding shocked. “Think of all the tales I’ll have to tell in the servants hall when we gets back,” she said with satisfaction. “Starting with how you put Lady Snooty-whatsit in her place when she tried to say you wasn’t married!”

  Linnet smiled into the darkness. “I must keep my head held high, Gertie,” she whispered. “And my resolve firm.”