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A deep flush stained her cheeks as she recalled her actions. Elizabeth had felt drawn to the man by some force outside herself, going to him without even pausing for thought. And had, in doing so, made a complete and utter fool of herself.
Surreptitiously she looked around the room, but no one seemed to be paying any attention to her. Now that Warwicke had left with her brother, they seemed to have gone back to their own interests. Even Percy was busily fixing the string on his lute.
Then her gaze came to rest on Lady Helen, who was standing close by, with cruel amusement in her eyes.
Elizabeth flushed, but forced herself to raise her head high. She would not allow the other woman to think she had been bested.
Lady Helen smiled thinly. “He cuts quite a figure, does he not?”
Raising finely arched brows high, Elizabeth asked, “Who?”
But the other woman was clearly not fooled. “Why, my Lord Warwicke. I felt certain that you took particular notice of him, Elizabeth.”
She shrugged with as much indifference as she could summon. “Nay. I took no particular note of the man. He is my brother’s friend, as I'm sure you heard.”
“Oh, methinks there was more to it than that,” Helen countered.
The spite in Helen Denfield’s voice was discomfiting, even though Elizabeth sensed the cause behind it. She was not so simpleminded that she was unaware of the fact that most folk thought her beautiful. It was not her fault that her looks drew so much attention, but they had made her more than a few enemies. There were many who would be happy to hear of her embarrassment. Elizabeth was a very private individual and did not care for the idea that idle court gossip would be turned her way. This was one of the reasons she and Stephen had a house in the village instead of residing at the castle itself. If she did not do something to silence Helen now, her encounter with Lord Warwicke would likely have become an affair by nightfall. Court gossips never hesitated to embellish a story beyond recognition.
But Helen Denfield had her own vulnerability, in the form of Stephen, and Elizabeth wasn’t above reminding her of this.
Helen did not know her well enough, and so could not know Elizabeth would never actually spread tales. But Elizabeth was aware that most people were apt to judge others by themselves, and so Helen would likely believe otherwise. The widow would surely hold her tongue, if she thought Stephen’s sister might talk about her affair with him. Rumor of the liaison would not aid her in her quest for a husband.
Elizabeth said, “My dear Lady Helen, I'm most certain you misunderstood. After all, you seem too much fixed on the things my brother does and says to take note of aught else.”
Lady Denfield gasped, and raised her hand as if to slap Elizabeth. Then, as the younger woman continued to return her stare, the widow seemed to realize that her genteel pose would not be served by such an act. Helen turned and fled the room.
Elizabeth arched a brow, watching as the brown-haired beauty lifted a delicate hand to wipe away nonexistent tears, just in case someone had taken note of their exchange.
But Elizabeth didn’t really care. She had already forgotten Helen as she turned toward the other end of the room, where the door to the king’s audience chamber lay. There was no sign of her brother or the other two men, and she could only assume they had gone into the inner room.
Her mind was ablaze with unanswered questions concerning Raynor Warwicke. He was the most compelling man she had ever seen. Her lips tightened as she recalled the way he had barely acknowledged her presence. It simply would not do. Because of her own interest in him, Elizabeth felt a need for him to show some reaction to her.
Pensively she frowned. Not once in her life had Elizabeth been denied anything she wanted. And she did not mean to set a different precedent now.
She was not finished with Lord Warwicke yet.
* * *
The luxuriously appointed audience chamber left little impression on Lord Raynor Warwicke as he walked down the wide aisle at its center, leaving Stephen and Bronic waiting just inside the oaken door. He forced himself onward on legs that felt as stiff as tilting posts as he passed by the somberly dressed clergy and sumptuously dressed courtiers who stood at either side of him. All his attention was focused on his king, where he sat on a raised dais at the end of the audience chamber. Edward III was flanked by two of his knights, both members of the Order of the Garter. Roger Mortise and the earl of Caliber were men of exemplary character, and battle-hardened warriors loyal to the throne. Edward was a king who set such store by honor and chivalry that he had established the Order of the Garter in 1348 for the purpose of exalting those qualities.
The baron of Warwicke did his best to relax the rigid muscles in his face and shoulders. The king would not know that Raynor had come here fully prepared to forswear himself, nor that the very future of an innocent three-year-old child hinged upon his doing just that.
Raynor was totally aware of the tall, slim man who stood to the right of the dais. There was nothing in that one’s outward appearance to tell the world that he was the most despicable of men. He was dressed as the other courtiers were, in rich fabrics and colors, and his face was strongly made, his Viking heritage firmly stamped upon it. Harrington’s eyes were blue, the hair a deep golden-brown. Not one hint of the black heart that beat inside his chest was visible. But Raynor knew it was there. Nigel Harrington had caused more misery in twenty-four years than most would bring in several lifetimes. Raynor would not allow him to have custody of little Willow. After what the man had done to his own step-sister, he was not to be trusted with the care of any female.
But Raynor had no more time to think on that now. He came to a halt only a few feet from the seated monarch, squaring his shoulders, deliberately keeping his mind focused on what he had to do. Drawing the hatred down into the deepest part of himself.
King Edward shifted his long legs as he leaned back, studying the men before him, seeming to miss little. The baron of Warwicke forced himself to bear this scrutiny without flinching.
The forty-eight-year-old Edward’s golden hair and beard were liberally streaked with gray, but he was still a vital and vibrant ruler. Over his chair was a shield that bore the arms he had taken for his own. Raynor knew it irritated the French greatly that Edward had chosen to place his own leopards on the first quarter of his shield, rather than the fleur-de-lis. Though of Norman descent, Edward had always been one to think of himself as an Englishman first and foremost.
The king caught and held Raynor’s gaze for a long, tense moment. But Raynor kept himself erect, not giving away any hint of his inner anger.
Edward spoke, saying the words Raynor had feared he would. “And you are ready to swear on a relic of the one true cross, Lord Warwicke, that the child is yours?”
His back became arrow-straight. Even though he’d known all along that the situation would come to this, Raynor was surprised at the quick shaft of guilt that pierced him at the idea of forswearing himself. But the feeling was short-lived. He must carry through, for the sake of the little one. Raynor nodded, sharply, then raised his square chin. “I am.”
He heard a quickly indrawn breath from his right, and looked toward Nigel Harrington with a quirked brow. If nothing else, Raynor was pleased at having shocked his adversary. Nigel had made the mistake of believing Raynor too honorable to play by his own tactics.
King Edward nodded to his cleric, then motioned toward Raynor. “Kneel down.”
Raynor fell to his knees, his gaze locked on the front of the monk’s black robe.
The cleric brought forth a small wooden box, which Raynor knew would contain a sliver of the Lord’s cross. He held it toward Raynor. “Do you, on your honor as a knight, swear by this piece of the one true cross, and in the name of Edward III, king of England, that the child called Willow is of your own seed, without doubt?”
Forcing himself to take the box without hesitation, Raynor brought it to his lips. “I do swear this on my honor as a knight.”
Nigel Harrington let out a growl of outrage. “He lies.”
King Edward turned toward Nigel with an expression of forbearance. “My lord Harrington, in the days you have been at court you have shown no evidence that what you say is fact. Do you have some proof to offer us at this time?”
There was a silence as Nigel fumed, his blue eyes locked on Raynor’s with fury. “No, my liege, I do not, but—”
Edward interrupted him. “Then there is nothing more to be said.” He shrugged wide shoulders encased in purple velvet. “Unless you were present at the child’s conception, you have nothing to add.”
As the king spoke, Nigel cringed, but quickly recovered. Raynor felt a burning urge to run him through right there before them all, and his fingers passed fondly over the hilt of his sword. He and Raynor were the only two people on earth who knew the true circumstances of Willow’s conception. The coward would not, could not, tell them that he had raped his own sister-by-marriage. Raynor had counted on this, but seeing the fear on the other man’s face only made him all the more disgusted.
Nigel sputtered out, “But, King Ed—”
Edward looked toward him with a dark scowl. “Lord Harrington. We have listened to you, and done our utmost to bring this matter to a speedy conclusion. We have ordered Warwicke here in haste and put him to the test. In all things we have tried to do our duty by you.” His lips thinned. “Warwicke has given his word, and as you have no proof that the child is not his, you may consider it done. We bear you no malice in this, Lord Harrington, feeling that your sister’s death has clouded your thinking, and in your grief you simply try to retain some piece of her by wanting guardianship of her child. But ’tis most clear that the child is the natural offspring of Warwicke, and he has already assured us of his intent to see the little girl well done by. You may leave Windsor with those comforting thoughts to see you safe home.”
When Nigel opened his mouth as if to protest, the king raised an imperious hand. “The matter is done.”
With that, Edward turned to Raynor. “It is our hope that such a dispute will not again occur concerning you, my lord Warwicke. In future, should you dally, make most certain that the gentlewoman is your wife.”
Raynor lowered his eyes and nodded. “King Edward, you have my assurance that I will do so.” He did not add that he planned to stay as far away from that type of female as possible.
Edward motioned with a beringed hand. “Arise, my lord Warwicke, and consider this dispute settled. I would have no more strife because of it.” He stared at Nigel Harrington for a long moment.
Knowing that he had been chastened by the king, however politely, Nigel Harrington turned and hurried from the chamber.
Raynor felt a sweet relief ease the tight band of tension around his chest. Now Willow would be safe from that bastard who called himself her uncle.
King Edward waved a dismissive hand. “We have many other matters to attend, Lord Warwicke, and thus I must bid you good-day.”
“My thanks to you, my liege.” Raynor bowed himself from the room. He was more than glad to have this interview at an end. He forced himself to walk the length of the room with carefully measured steps.
Bronic and Stephen followed him as the great oaken door was opened, and they passed into the antechamber.
Bronic looked at Raynor, letting out his breath, as if he had been holding it for a very long time. He raked his hand through his shaggy blond hair. “Praise God.”
Stephen was looking from one to the other with curiosity.
Raynor gave a mental shrug. He might as well tell Stephen the story he had decided upon. The day’s events would be all over court in a matter of hours, anyway. And it might as well be Raynor’s version of the tale as anyone else’s.
He smiled at the auburn-haired man. They had fostered together as boys, with the earl of Norwich, but Raynor had left after only one year, when his father died. Though many things had passed in the thirteen years since, Raynor had always remembered Stephen with friendship and a sense of trust. He knew that Stephen would not embellish the story he was about to be told, but would relate it to others just as he had heard it.
Raynor said, “Harrington can go to the very devil, for aught I care. He has tried to make trouble for the last time. Edward has upheld my claim to guardianship of the little one. She will remain at Warwicke.”
Stephen asked, “What is he about? Some weeks ago he came to court, whining to whoever would listen that his sister’s child was stolen from him. Obviously the tale gained him today’s audience, but nothing more, for Edward has upheld your claim. I had no idea you were the man who was supposed to have done the evil deed until just now. Why would Harrington accuse you of such a ridiculous crime? Who does he name as the father?”
Unable to stifle a rush of anger, Raynor looked at the floor. He didn’t want Stephen to guess at his overwhelming hatred for Nigel Harrington. He must guard Willow’s secret at all costs. He had promised her mother, Louisa. “He names none, because there is none besides myself. Harrington plays a game of greed. Willow is an heiress through her mother. The lands must pass through the female of the line if there are no direct male descendants, and there are none. Nigel is the son of Lord Harrington’s first wife, and has no claim. Without the little one, he has no access to her wealth. That is why he has dragged me here to publicly humiliate both me and my child.” Raynor’s lean jaw flexed, and his lips twisted with derision. “King Edward could only take my word or Harrington’s and he has no proof to discredit me.”
“Well, it’s hardly surprising that King Edward would believe you, when Harrington could not even name any other as the father. The man is hardly rational.”
Even though his stomach was knotted with hatred and tension, Raynor nearly laughed aloud, albeit bitterly. To say Nigel was irrational was most surely a gross understatement. If Stephen only knew the truth of why Harrington kept the child’s parentage to himself. “I fear,” he said, “that there is no mystery here. Louisa’s child is my own. I regret that I was not able to marry her before she died, because our child’s parentage would not have been in question had I done so.” His brown eyes darkened to walnut in sorrow as he remembered how he had tried to convince Louisa to marry him so that her stepbrother would no longer hold sway over her. But she had refused, saying Raynor had a right to some happiness of his own. Just taking Willow in and claiming her as his own had been more than Louisa had the right to ask. Raynor’s voice was barely audible as he finished. “She died before I was able to convince her otherwise, shortly after the child was born.”
Stephen laid a hand on his arm. “I am sorry, my friend. This trouble with Harrington must make it very difficult for you.”
Bronic spoke up, his Nordic features hard, his blue eyes narrowed. “The man is crazed. Would that this were his throat.” He clasped his large warrior’s hands together tightly.
Raynor sent him a warning look. He did not wish anyone to suspect there was more to the story than they told. If they displayed the depth of their hatred too openly, any reasoning person would begin to wonder at its cause.
And no one must ever find out the reason for Raynor’s fear for Willow. Not even Bronic understood the true circumstances of Willow’s parentage. His vehemence stemmed from loyalty to Raynor.
All Raynor said was “Harrington must follow his own course, as I must mine. Mayhap the king’s decision today will set him on a more constructive path. Now he must realize that he cannot take Willow from me.”
“You are a good and true father, to take the child though she be a bastard,” Stephen told him. “Harrington has indeed tried to besmirch you there, as well. He lays it about that you are the one who would have the little girl for her inheritance.”
Raynor stiffened. It was true that once he had been a poor man. His father had mismanaged and overspent in an effort to give his greedy mother all she wanted. After Raynor inherited the lands and title, she had tried to control and manipulate him in the same manner. But even at fourteen he had been too strong-willed for her to control him. No woman would destroy him as Mary Warwicke had his father.
The years since his father’s death had seen him turn the properties around, and while he was not the wealthiest of the king’s barons, neither was he the poorest. He knew that since Harrington had spread the lie, many would continue to believe he had taken on the responsibility of raising Willow because of her lands. But he didn’t really care, not if it kept them from looking further.
Besides, Raynor controlled her lands only as her guardian and overseer. He took no payment of any kind for looking after her interests. Everything would go to her in the event of her marriage or her twenty-first birthday.
Stephen interrupted Raynor’s thoughts with a clap on his back. “Enough of this, my friend. All has gone well for you today. Now you can be about some more pleasant sport. I have not seen you in years, and would hear what you have been about.”
Bronic nodded, looking about the crowded antechamber with ill-concealed discomfort. “But we should find some more comfortable spot for the discussion to take place.”
Raynor eyed his friend in agreement. He had no love of the court and its crowds. In fact, he would not be comfortable until they were well on their way back to Warwicke on the day after tomorrow. “I stand with Bronic. We are sharing a room with several other knights, but me-thinks they would not mind us bringing you along, Stephen. I'm sorry we cannot offer you better hospitality, but Windsor is full to overflowing, even with all the new building the king has had done in the past years.”
Stephen laughed. “Do not apologize. I know the circumstances well. That is part of why I have a house in the village.”
They started from the chamber with Raynor in the lead.
Raynor stopped as a woman moved between him and the entrance. He paused, his head tilted to one side as he looked at her. She was quite beautiful, with her creamy skin, high cheekbones and long-lashed sapphire eyes. And she seemed somehow familiar, though Raynor could not think why.
“Elizabeth,” Stephen called out from behind him. His tone was sheepish. “I had forgotten you were here.”
The woman did not deign even to glance Stephen’s way. “Obviously.”
Then he remembered. It was Clayburn’s sister. He had been introduced on his way in to see the king, but he had been of little mind to take note of anything then. Even a woman as lovely as Elizabeth Clayburn.
His eyes met hers, and for a moment a strange sort of current passed between them, making his belly tighten pleasantly. But Raynor pushed it aside. This was his friend’s sister, a noblewoman. And Raynor had no intention of dallying in that direction.
His lips twisted in a self-derisive grimace. Though he was guilty of nothing where Louisa was concerned, he had just admitted to being so. He had no intention of becoming entangled with Stephen’s sister. Even if he did see a stirring of warm challenge in her lovely eyes when she looked at him. Long ago he’d decided no woman was to be trusted in his life. Raynor’s father had loved his wife blindly, giving up every shred of self-respect to please her. And if that was love, Raynor wanted no part in it.
With that thought firmly in mind, Raynor stepped aside so that Stephen could speak with her.
He pretended not to notice how her gaze lingered on him as Stephen told her where they were going and made arrangements for her to be taken home.
Chapter Two
Late that night, Elizabeth waited in Stephen’s bedchamber for him to come home.
She sat in his chair bedside the fire, a cup of warmed wine in one hand, drumming the fingers of the other in a steady rhythm against the seasoned wooden arm. She was still fuming over the way Stephen had sent her home, as if she were some child to be gotten out of the way. He had no right to treat her thus.
But truth made her admit, at least to herself, that Stephen was only a small part of her irritation. Most of it was directed at herself, because of her own reaction to Raynor Warwicke. Whatever had gotten into her?
Any number of men would fall upon their very knees to have her notice them. But she, fool that she was, looked to a man who acted as though he could not even see her.
But hadn’t there, just for a moment, been a spark in his eyes, when she’d stood before him as the men were leaving the antechamber? Yes, she was sure there had been more than indifference in his gaze as it slid over her. He’d covered it so quickly that another woman might not have noticed. But Elizabeth was not another woman. She responded to even the slightest of reactions in the baron of Warwicke. When he’d looked at her that way, seeing her as a desirable woman, her body had answered in kind. Elizabeth had been left achingly aware of him, the tanned flesh on the wide column of his throat, the very deep rhythm of his breathing. There was something about Lord Warwicke that made her feel alive as never before.
Why, she did not know. But Elizabeth was going to find out. She couldn’t just let this feeling go, this strange singing in her veins that she had heard spoken of but had never thought to experience.
And she meant to enlist her brother’s aid.
She simply had to see the baron again, speak to him, find out whence these stirrings came. What manner of man was he, to engender such feelings inside her? She knew he was handsome, with his dark eyes and unruly hair, but what of the person inside? Surely he must be a knight of great repute to awaken such amorous reactions in her so easily.
Then she forced herself to pause in her headlong thoughts. Mayhap he was not as he appeared. Her own girlish twitterings did not mean that Raynor of Warwicke was of good and noble character.
But Elizabeth could not make herself believe this. How could her own instincts be so badly askew as that? Surely, if she was to judge by her feelings, Raynor was truly a man among men. Else how could she explain how her heretofore-dormant emotions had been so suddenly awakened?
Just then she heard the sound of her brother’s booted feet coming up the narrow wooden stairs that led from the large living chamber below. Olwyn must have let him in. Elizabeth felt a stab of guilt at thinking about the other woman. She’d managed to avoid speaking to her mistress since Elizabeth snapped at her upon coming home from Windsor. But she had given Elizabeth many long, disapproving looks to let her know how badly she had behaved.
Elizabeth knew that as soon as Olwyn was ready to listen, she would need to apologize to the woman who was more friend than aught else. After all, it was Stephen she was unhappy with. Olwyn had been her companion since the day Stephen brought her to court, after their parents died, seven years ago. At seventeen, four years Elizabeth’s senior, Olwyn had just been widowed, and had needed a way to make her living. Her husband had been the youngest of six brothers and thus had left her with little but his horse and sword. Stephen had felt the older girl would be able to teach Elizabeth about the realities of living at court, and hopefully keep her out of trouble.
But Elizabeth didn’t want to think about that now. She and Olwyn had had more serious disagreements over the years, and had settled them quickly enough. At the moment, she wanted to concentrate her attention on Stephen.
Stephen opened the door of his chamber, his face taking on a pained expression as his gaze swept the room. The chamber was not large, and in the cheery glow of the firelight he could see that it was immaculate. The wooden floor had been scrubbed clean, the hangings on the bed had been pulled back, so he could see that the linens were tucked so tightly he could have bounced a sword upon them and not made a wrinkle. Not one single item of a personal nature was visible. The lids of his two chests were shut tight upon their contents, which were usually spilled about in happy disarray. “Ah, Beth, you've been cleaning again.”
She smiled with feigned politeness. “I thought your chambers in need of a good airing, dear brother. You would not have me neglect you.”
He grimaced. Not so much as a speck of dust dared lend a hint of casual livability to the room. The only objects she had let remain unhidden were the pitcher and cup on the table beside his chair. And, judging from the mug she held in her hand, that had not been for his comfort. He shut the door behind him with a sigh. “It will be weeks before I am able to find everything again. What has come over you now, woman? I asked you last time to stay clear of my personal chamber.”
Her chin tilted. “But think, dear brother, and you will have your answer. I was most laboriously occupied in helping you to fend off the attentions of your former mistress when I suddenly found myself banished for home.” She shrugged, her blue eyes wide with feigned innocence. “I but looked about for some way to make myself useful.”
“God’s blood, Beth. Do you mean you hold that against me? I hadn’t seen Warwicke for years.”
