by Anne Herries
‘Oh, my lady,’ she sobbed. ‘I thought you might be dead for I knew that you were to wed that evil man…’
‘I think he tried to kill me,’ Melissa said, ‘for he hoped to claim my lands one day—but he is the King’s prisoner and I am here.’
‘The Marquis of Leominster was hanged,’ Rhona said, and made the sign of the cross over her breast. ‘I saw the crowd yesterday at the gates of the Tower, where his body has been displayed for all to see. They say that he went proudly to his death, cursing the name of Tudor with his last breath.’
Melissa turned pale, feeling a little weak at the knees. ‘I pray that God may give him rest, though I cannot pretend to feel sorrow at his death or the manner of it. He was a wicked, cruel man.’
‘They say his lands are forfeit to the Crown,’ Rhona said as she took her mistress’s cloak from her. ‘Had you been his wife, you might have found yourself a prisoner of the Tower.’
Melissa shivered, for she knew that she could not survive being incarcerated in a prison again. ‘Please, do not let us speak of these things. I am married to Sir Robert of Melford and I wish to forget everything else that happened to me.’
‘Forgive me, my lady,’ Rhona said. ‘Some of your things were sent here ahead of you and I have prepared them. Would you like to wear your blue tunic or the green?’
‘I think I shall wear the blue this evening,’ Melissa said. ‘But I need some new gowns. We must send for the silk merchant and have him bring some samples of his wares.’
‘There are many silk merchants here in London,’ Rhona said. ‘We could visit some of them and you would have a wider choice of cloth.’
‘Yes, perhaps,’ Melissa agreed. ‘I must have a new gown for the King’s coronation after all…’
‘I would come with you if I could,’ Rob told Melissa a day or so later when she spoke of her desire to have a new gown made for the coronation. ‘However, I have been bidden to attend on Henry this morning. You must take both Alanna and Rhona with you, my love—and I shall send two of my men to accompany. Your brother will hardly dare to accost you for if he harmed you, he would certainly incur the King’s anger.’
‘I do not fear Harold,’ Melissa said. ‘I should not have gone so easily with him the last time had I not feared what my father might do to Rhona. Harold does not have the same power to frighten me. I know that he hates me for he fears that I shall claim my father’s manors, but he can do nothing to harm me now.’
‘I know that he has petitioned the King, but thus far Henry has refused him an audience. I believe he is waiting to hear what I have to say on the matter.’
‘You will not claim my father’s manors?’
‘I have no use for them. My own lands are sufficient in themselves, though your lands would be something to pass on to our children, Melissa. I shall ask Henry for justice for you but nothing more.’
‘It is as I thought,’ Melissa said, and smiled. ‘My brother need not fear me—so why should he seek to harm me?’
‘He has no cause,’ Rob agreed, but frowned. ‘Yet do not trust him, my dearest. He has a vicious nature and might seek to harm you for his own satisfaction.’
‘Then I shall stay well clear of him,’ Melissa said. She moved towards him, gazing up at him. ‘It is some days since we were apart for more than a few hours. I shall miss you, Rob.’
‘I shall be back this evening and we shall dine together,’ Rob told her. ‘Enjoy yourself and make sure you buy some material for your kinswoman and Rhona, as well. They should both have new gowns for the coronation, too, even if they only stand in the street and watch the procession.’
‘How generous you are,’ Melissa said. ‘It was in my mind but I did not like to ask for I have no money of my own as yet.’
‘You will have,’ Rob promised her. ‘I am certain that Henry means to grant you all that is yours by right.’
‘Tell him that I send my good wishes and my duty.’
‘Yes, of course,’ Rob said. ‘I must go for I may not keep him waiting.’
Melissa was feeling pleased with herself as she left the merchant’s house. She had visited several in the thriving community, which housed cloth merchants of all kinds, selling good English wool, velvet, exquisite linens, damask and fine Italian silks. Since the Chinese monopoly had been broken, the home of beautiful silks in the western world was Italy, where some of the finest materials were produced, and transported to many countries, including England. It was from a selection of these figured silks that she had bought lengths of cloth for herself and her women.
‘We have been very extravagant,’ Alanna said as they left the last shop they visited. She was carrying some small parcels that contained laces and braid, but the bolts of cloth would be delivered to the house later that day. ‘I hope that Sir Robert will not be displeased.’
‘No, I am sure he will not,’ Melissa said, ‘for he said that I was to buy all that we need. We ought to look for a shoemaker for we shall need new shoes, but perhaps that will keep for another day.’
‘Oh, yes,’ Alanna agreed. ‘I think they are situated a little distance from here.’ She glanced across the road at the Cheapside Cross, which marked one of twelve places where Queen Eleanor’s coffin had once rested, erected to her memory by King Henry III. Alanna frowned as she saw that a man was staring at them. ‘Is that who I think it is, Melissa?’
Melissa followed the direction of her gaze, a chill running through her as she saw the man. It was her half brother, Harold, and from the way he was staring at her, he had lost none of his feeling of resentment towards her.
‘Yes, I believe it is,’ she agreed. ‘He seems to be alone. Do you think that we should speak to him?’
‘No, I do not,’ Alanna said. ‘Sir Robert said that you were to stay well clear of him, and I think it would be best if you did as he bid you in this instance, Melissa.’
‘Yes, perhaps you are right,’ Melissa said. Had she been left to herself, she might have wished her half brother well and told him that she did not mean to claim the estates that he believed his by right, but in the circumstances she decided that her kinswoman was being sensible. It would be best to stay away from him. She merely nodded her head in passing, walking to where her litter was waiting, for she was to be carried to the river and would be rowed out to the landing stage at the bottom of the garden that Rob had hired for their use. From there she and her ladies would walk up to the house through the gardens.
From across the street, Harold of Meresham watched her leave. She had several servants and armed men with her, and he knew that in his present circumstances he could do nothing to ensure her sudden demise. His mouth screwed up with bitterness, for he had just come from the King’s court at the Palace of Westminster, where he had been told once more that an audience was denied him. He had been commanded to return to his home and wait until the King’s judgement on the matter was sent to him.
Smarting from his humiliation at the court, where he had been made aware that he was a bastard and of very little consequence, his eyes followed Melissa until she entered her litter and was carried away.
How he hated her! If Lord Whitbread had married his mother he would be the rightful heir, and even when a man had been attained for acts of treachery his estate usually passed to his legitimate son. Harold had taken no part in the battle at Bosworth and he regretted it. He would have liked to be there and to have seen it end otherwise. It had in his opinion been a shameful affair, which had lasted no more than two hours, and perhaps finished as it had only because Richard had been killed. Had it ended as he believed it ought with Richard triumphant, Harold might even now be lording it at Meresham. However, his father had commanded him to Gifford and he had obeyed, as always.
He turned and walked away. That proud bitch would have everything and it was not fair. She should have been the wife of a traitor and condemned with him to imprisonment or death instead of being received as the wife of one of Henry’s favourites.
As he wa
ited in the draughty passages and courtyards of the King’s court, he had heard whispers about Robert of Melford. It was said that he was to be created an earl for the favours he had rendered the King. The prospect of his half sister becoming a countess, feted at the court at which he had been treated little better than a leper, rankled in his breast.
Had she been alone this day he would not have hesitated to do her some harm. If he could think of a way to murder her without being caught and hung, he would do it. She must surely be alone sometimes. Perhaps not here in London, but perhaps when she went home to her husband’s house at Melford.
An unpleasant smile lingered about his mouth. He would bide his time, and when the chance arose, perhaps in a few months when she was no longer so closely guarded…then he would take great pleasure in breaking that slender neck with his bare hands.
Rob left the King’s presence and went outside into the chill of a grey autumn day, feeling slightly stunned. He had not expected to be elevated to the rank of an earl. Nor had he been expected to be given the lands and manors of Gifford.
‘I ask for nothing more than my wife’s own lands to be restored to her,’ Rob had said when it had been explained to him that he was being rewarded for coming to Henry’s aid with a strong force and for putting down the rebellious lords Gifford and Leominster.
‘You have served me well, Lord Melford,’ Henry told him. ‘I have other plans for Leominster’s manors, and those of your wife’s late father—but Gifford’s are yours by right of conquest. You are the kind of man I would have on my side in the coming months. I know that there are dissenters—Lovell and the Staffords may try to put Lincoln in my place. You are free to go home after the coronation, but keep your men at the ready for I may have need of you again.’ He smiled a little grimly. ‘Your wife’s lands are hers by right of inheritance, and I do not interfere with the law, even though she became my ward when I took the Crown. You deserve wealth and honours, Robert of Melford—and they are yours.’
Rob could say nothing but express his gratitude and promise that he would answer Henry’s summons if need be. He had hoped to earn honours and perhaps win wealth when he offered his affinity to Henry Tudor in France, but he had been given so much more.
‘In the matter of the legality of your marriage,’ Henry went on as Rob was silent. ‘It is true that Leominster might have had some claim on her—but he was a traitor and has met his death as he deserved. You have my permission for the marriage, and if I were you, I would have it blessed in church once more so that when your son is born, no man can point the finger and say he is not legitimate.’
Rob thanked him again. He knew that one of the first things Henry had done on returning to London was to have all known documents declaring King Edward’s sons illegitimate destroyed. Perhaps it was because his own right of descent began in bastardy from the union of John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford.
Walking back through streets that were rapidly becoming dark, Rob was thoughtful. His father had left him a fine estate. Now he had Melissa’s lands and manors and those of Gifford. It made him a rich and powerful man, as befitted the new title he had been given.
He was not sure what he ought to do, for Gifford was in the north and his own lands lay on the borders of England and Wales. He might sell Gifford for he did not wish to live there—and perhaps he should do something for the widowed Lady Gifford and her young son.
Rob had acted according to the King’s wish in subduing Gifford. He had not planned or wished to benefit from his actions, other than to find Melissa and marry her. Gifford had betrayed his promise by stealing Melissa from him and had paid the price for his treachery at the hands of Leominster’s bullies. He owed him nothing and would not have given him his lands had he lived—but perhaps he should help Lady Gifford.
He was frowning as he approached the house he had taken for a few weeks. He need make no decision as yet. Lady Gifford had retired to her own small manor and might be content as she was. He would think about it when he had time.
The frown left his face as he went into the house. He had good news for Melissa. He would take her to buy the clothes befitting her new rank tomorrow and perhaps visit the goldsmiths to buy her some jewels—the kind of thing that he could only have dreamed of giving her before this day.
It was only a few weeks to the King’s coronation, and after that they could go home.
Melissa started up from her dream. She had been dreaming such terrible things! She blinked as someone struck a tinder, lighting a candle and she saw Rob. He had pulled on a robe, but had obviously just risen from his bed in the next chamber.
‘I heard you cry out,’ he said. ‘Are you ill?’
‘It was a dream,’ Melissa said. She shuddered and then Rob was there beside her on the bed, his arm about her shoulders. ‘I was so afraid…please do not leave me. Stay with me…the monster comes…the monster comes…’ She caught back a sob. ‘Oh, what is it? What happened to me that haunts me still?’
Rob caught hold of her, pressing her to him, stroking her head while she wept against his shoulder. ‘Hush, my love,’ he said. ‘I am here. There is nothing to harm you.’
‘Oh, Rob,’ she said on a sobbing breath. ‘It was such a terrible dream. I was in a black cavern and there were the bones of men who had died there. I called out for you but you did not come and then I saw it…the black-winged monster of death. It came for me.’ She gazed up at him, her eyes wide and frightened. ‘It was so real. I was cold and hungry and the candles had burned down and…’ She stopped as the mists in her mind finally cleared and she remembered. ‘But it wasn’t a dream, was it? I was there in that terrible place. The marquis said that he did not need me for I was his wife by law and that he would claim my lands by force if need be…’ Another shudder ran through her. ‘I am not dreaming now—am I?’
‘No, my love,’ Rob said, and held her all the tighter. ‘It must seem like a nightmare, but it did happen. I did not know what that monster Leominster had done to you until I entered the castle.’ He groaned aloud, because he knew that if the siege had been prolonged into weeks or months, as it might have been, he would surely have been too late. ‘I am sorry for what happened to you. I cursed myself for not coming to you earlier that night at Gifford, Melissa. Forgive me for not protecting you as I ought.’
‘Oh, Rob,’ she said, and now the tears ran down her cheeks for with the return of her memory had come release from the hidden shadows in her mind. ‘It was not your fault. My kinsman used a secret way to enter the castle. Agnes knew he was there but she did not warn me. I believe she thought that I would report her to the Bishop for killing my aunt. I have not told you, but she gave the Abbess her medicine the night she died. The dose was too strong and it killed her. I am not sure if she knew what would happen before she gave it, but I think she may have been carrying out my father’s orders.’
‘She has been sent away,’ Rob said. ‘You need never see her again.’ He smiled and touched her cheek. ‘Has it all come back to you now, my love?’
‘Yes, I think so,’ Melissa said, and looked at him. ‘It has been coming back little by little, and now I think I remember everything. I know that I sent you away the night we were wed, but then I came to you in your bed, because I wanted to be your true wife and you were ill. You told me that you would set me free, but I came to you again because I did not wish to be free of my vows and…’ Her cheeks were tinged with rose as she recalled the passion of their loving that night. ‘You must have thought me shameless.’
‘I thought you warm, giving and lovely in every way,’ he said, ‘but never shameless, my sweet. I would have you no other way.’
‘Then you have forgiven me for what I did—for all the things that were done to you in my name?’
‘Long ago,’ he said, and smiled at her.
‘Then why did you not come to me?’
‘Because you were so ill. I feared to touch you for I was afraid that you might become ill again.’
‘O
h, Rob,’ Melissa said as she nestled against his strong body, her hands moving over his chest, her fingers pushing in between the sprinkling of dark hairs that arrowed down to his navel. ‘I am so lucky. If you had not seen me that day by the stream, I should have been wed to the marquis now and desperately unhappy.’
‘It was a fortunate day for us both,’ Rob said. ‘We must put all the rest behind us, forget it as if it had never been, for both our sakes.’ His arms surrounded her, pulling her to him as they lay together, kissing her with all the hunger and need such a desperate thought had aroused in them both.
They made love then, and it was a slow, sweet coupling that became a conflagration at the last, consuming them both so that they lay together, satiated and completely as one.
The streets of London were filled with people who had come out to see the new King on his way to be crowned. It was a great occasion for no expense had been spared, for the Steward of the Royal Household had sent his minions flying all over London to purchase cloth of gold, ermine for trimmings, ostrich feathers, silk fringes for the banners that would hang from arches and poles and all manner of costly things. Now that the day had come it was an array of glittering pomp and magnificence that had the people gasping.
Melissa and Rob were amongst the many nobles who attended the ceremony and the feast afterwards, for Henry Tudor knew how to gain the respect of those about him. Melissa was wearing a gown of green silk velvet braided with gold. She wore Rob’s wedding gift about her throat and a cap of gold set with more emeralds and pearls on her head.
Watching her as she enjoyed the spectacle, Rob thought that she was as regal as any queen. Her proud spirit had been restored and she was once again the fiery beauty that had stolen his heart.