His Fair Lady (40 page)

Royce felt his stomach tighten in a
hard knot. He was loath to divulge what truly lay at the root of
his dour moods. “Aye, I am in the midst of choosing a husband for
Lady Juliana,” he allowed at last. “I’m chagrined to say I’ve dealt
with her suitors unfairly, striking nearly all their names from the
lists, sometimes for the shallowest of
reasons.
^-

“Curious. Very curious.”

“Tell me friar, how can one judge their
desires objectively — whether what they want is selfish ambition or
selfless sacrifice?” Royce asked, changing the direction of his
thoughts. “From what place is it best to benefit others — from
position, power?”

“From the heart, my son.” Friar Tupper held
him with his steady gaze.

Royce considered that. “Lord Gilbert said to
look to my heart.”

“In the matter of Lady Juliana?”

“Aye . . .” Royce’s voice trailed off as he
turned his thoughts then broke them off. “What penance, good friar?
Surely I must have penance?”

“Penance? I’m not certain you’ve confessed a
sin.”

“For my anger and unfairness, then. I’d feel
better to do penance.”

“Everyone is a self-flagellant. We could
begin my own order,” Friar Tupper muttered. “Very well, pray one
Our Father, three Hail Marys and look, henceforth, through the
prism of your heart in those things that most matter.”

“That is all?”

“All? ‘Twill be enough when times of testing
come, when your heart wars with your head, and clear answers are
not apparent.”

Feeling no less conflicted than before, but
more at peace for having spoken with the friar, Royce headed back
to the tower and the repugnant task that awaited him.

»«

Juliana applied herself eagerly to learning
all there was to know of the estate she’d inherited and its orderly
functioning. She quickly discovered a system more complex than
she’d initially grasped, one dependent on an extensive household,
both domestic and military in character.

Penhurst’s most valued member was its
faithful seneschal, Edmond. ‘Twas he who administered the estate,
oversaw the castle personnel including its garrison, maintained the
lord’s financial accounts, and carried out legal responsibilities
to the community as need required.

As part of her efforts to educate herself in
all matters concerning Penhurst, Juliana accompanied Edmond on his
rounds, having him explain, from the broader points to specific
details, the various duties he was executing. In this way, she
quickly learned of the lands and fiefs Penhurst held, its acreage,
produce, and revenues, as well as the courts it periodically
held.

‘Twas Juliana’s delight that Georges and
Marie agreed to remain permanently in England. She was determined
that they would hold an honored place with her at Penhurst. Thus
she included them in all she did, even having them accompany her to
meet those who served the castle, from the men-at-arms who guarded
it down to the kitchen knaves. Together the three examined the
storerooms and their stock, inspected the kitchens, spoke with the
laundresses, and visited the stables, Juliana taking apples for
Hannibal and Nutmeg.

To her surprise, she found that managing
others and seeing their duties were properly carried out proved as
demanding as doing the work itself. She understood now what Sir
Royce had tried to impress on her and decided her days of cleaning
fish ponds were at an end.

Juliana grew comfortable in directing the
servants, finding some had slackened in their chores during Lord
Gilbert’s long absences. She ordered the rushes changed throughout
the castle and strewn with costmary and pennyroyal, required the
kitchens to be scrubbed down, and assured ample meat was salted and
smoked for winter. Depending upon her foster parents’ mastery of
brewing, she asked them to oversee the staff normally responsible
for the production of the castle’s beverages and to instruct them
in their own techniques.

In the hours left to her in the day, Juliana
applied herself to her lessons in reading and ciphering. She also
improved her skills at chess, thanks to Guy of Lisors. And when she
discovered a lute once belonging to her mother, she asked him to
teach her to play it, along with a few songs. At other times, in
the privacy of her chamber, Juliana practiced walking with a smooth
fluid gait and softened her hands with lavender oil — Luvena’s
receipt — and improved her talents with a needle.

“Do you think he will like it?” she asked
Luvena as she broidered an eagle on the tunic she’d made for Sir
Royce, her Christmas gift to him. She worked the emblem in gold on
black, the colors of the Lords of Penhurst, the eagle rising with
wings spread.

“He cannot help but like it, my lady.”
Luvena smiled. “I’m sure he will wear it with great pride.”

Juliana sighed and glanced to the window.
She’d found happiness in her new life at Penhurst. Yet, for all her
efforts, she doubted Sir Royce took notice of the progress she’d
made. More and more he avoided her, keeping to himself in the
tower. The days closed fast now on the time they would depart for
the king’s hunting lodge on the Thames. She knew she must trust Sir
Royce in the decisions he would make concerning her. Still, she
could not dispel the gloom that hung over her, knowing he would not
only announce the man she would marry, but his own intentions to
take Lady Sibylla to wife.

»«

“I have brought you a small repast. You did
not appear for dinner and I thought you might be hungry.” Juliana
entered Sir Royce’s cramped tower chamber, a cloth-covered tray in
her hands.

“You worry for me, Juliana?” He smiled as he
glanced up from the table where he sat, parchments stacked in neat
piles on its surface.

She returned his smile, her pulse quickening
as his eyes continued to hold her, their steely cast warming to
blue. Setting the tray before him, she withdrew the linen cloth to
reveal a plate of cold meat, cheese, bread, fruit, a wooden cup,
and a pitcher of ale.

As she took a step back, to her pleasure,
Sir Royce’s gaze continued to linger over her. She’d taken pains
with her appearance, hoping to appear a lady of refinement, however
modest her accomplishment in that regard might be.

“I never thanked you for my new rose gown.”
She smoothed her hand over the beautiful fabric. “In truth, I’d not
realized there were two identical gowns until Luvena opened the
laundress’s bundle and found the stained one.”

“I could not bear your unhappiness when the
first was ruined,” Sir Royce offered. “‘Twas your favorite and you
prized it so. Besides, the color suits you well, Juliana, and is
most flattering. If you would know, it pleases me greatly to see
you wear it.”

Juliana fumbled for words in the face of his
compliment, his gaze still warm upon her. “However did you manage
to match the fabric and color?” she finally managed. “The gowns are
perfect twins.”

“I’d bought an excess of the fabric at Dover
when I’d arranged for the original gown made. I suppose, even then,
I knew how becoming the color would look on you.” His smile drew
upward. “I brought the extra material with me to Wallingford.
Before I could gift it to you, your gown was ruined, and hence, I
engaged a court seamstress to make a second.”

Amazement filled Juliana along with a
familiar twinge of guilt. When they’d landed at Dover, she’d
already caused Sir Royce an excess of trouble and continued to
remain
headstrong and difficult all the way to
Wallingford and after. She’d not deserved such goodness.

“‘
Twas indeed most kind and generous
of you, Sir Royce,” she said softly, pulling her gaze
away.

Her eyes strayed to the stacks of
parchments, pausing over one that appeared to be a list of names,
many with lines drawn through them, though not all. A sudden chill
stole through her, chasing away the warm feelings she’d enjoyed
these last moments with the knight.

“Juliana, I—”

“Will you join us at supper this eve?”
She cut his words short, not wishing to know what he might say
concerning the matter of her suitors or of either of their
impending nuptials. “
Mere
Marie has overseen a fine stew made for this evening’s meal.
I’d hate to think of you languishing over matters that would keep
you here and undermine your health. Besides, I dare say you’ll need
your strength for when next you meet the countess.”

Unable to hide her bitterness, Juliana
turned and hurried from the room.

»«

As dawn broke, Royce sat with his lists and
accounts, staring out the tower window. He’d sat long into the
night with Friar Tupper, arguing the matter of Beckwell’s church
and the stone used to build it, filched from the castle wall. The
friar urged that the church be allowed to keep the stone. Royce
contended he could not secure his castle without it. His personal
wealth would only stretch so far, and he need install a garrison at
Beckwell and hire a simple staff.

To that end, he’d spoken with Georges and
Marie about coming to Beckwell and supervising the brewing and
cider-making, at least initially, as he strove to bring the castle
back to life. They agreed most graciously, to his relief. Though
he’d never ask them to leave Juliana, once she married, her husband
would make the decisions concerning Penhurst and its residents.
Royce told the couple they were always welcome at Beckwell and
would ever have a place in his hall.

Royce’s thoughts drifted to Juliana. She’d
worn her hair differently at supper last night, more elaborate and
wound with colorful ribbons. ‘Twas Luvena’s handiwork, he was sure.
He hadn’t meant to disappoint Juliana when he said he much
preferred her hair loose and flowing. Yet he could see the ache in
her eyes.

What a clumsy ox he’d become. Juliana had
worked hard to improve herself and assume her place as Penhurst’s
lady. And what did he do but offer criticism when he should have
given praise. Repentant, he made a mental note to have a new gown
made for her, one for the Christmas Court. She would need a new
mantle and slippers, as well, to compliment the gown. He liked to
see Juliana dressed attractively, as much as he liked to see her
shining hair unbound.

Royce glanced down at the remaining names on
the list of suitors, those he’d not scratched through. Seized with
frustration, he crumpled the list in his hands and threw it across
the room. Juliana and he were to leave on the morrow for Guildford,
where he would seal both their fates. Royce sank his head into both
hands, his heart warring with his mind, waging a fierce battle
there. How was he to choose?

“
Love without anxiety and without
fear

Is fear without flames and without
warmth.

Day without sunlight, hive without
honey,

Summer without flower, winter without
frost.”

—
Cretien de Troyes

Guildford, Surrey

The hunting lodge at Guildford proved to be a
massive square keep, rising from a great mound of earth that
overlooked the River Wye. Sir Royce informed Juliana ‘twas one of
King John’s favorite residences, built by his father, Henry II.
Adjacent to the palace stretched a vast amount of forested land, a
private park, stocked with game for the pleasures of the hunt.

As their retinue pressed toward the castle,
Juliana drew her gaze over the stark woodland, its leafless
branches lifted like a thorny headpiece, nicking at the dreary gray
sky. The bleakness of the day only added to the bleakness she felt
in her heart. Shortly, Sir Royce would announce his decision, but
what would that decision be?

Many at Penhurst worried with her, and
for her as well. She’d seen it in their faces when she departed,
especially
pere
Georges
and
mere
Marie. She’d seen it
many times since in the eyes of her traveling companions — dear
Luvena, Guy of Lisors, even the men-at-arms.

It warmed Juliana to know she’d found a
place in the heart of the castlefolk at Penhurst, as did Sir Royce.
But this journey to Guildford would change all. Subject to the
pronouncements made here, Sir Royce would soon take up residency at
Linford Castle as its new earl, while at Penhurst, another would
take his place.

Passing through the gatehouse, they came
upon a thick congestion in the castle ward. There the entourages of
many a lord and lady attending the Christmas revels unloaded their
baggage wains. Leaving instructions with his men, Sir Royce aided
Juliana and Luvena from their mounts and, together with Guy of
Lisors, led them to the keep.

As Juliana faced the flight of steps looming
before her, she braced herself against the hours and days to come.
A small voice within urged she trust Sir Royce. Had he not proven
himself a man upon whom she could rely? Still a heavy foreboding
weighed Juliana’s heart as she set her foot upon the first of the
risers.

Colorful liveried guards greeted their party
as they gained the top of the steps and crossed through the
threshold of the keep. Holly and ivy bedecked the entry while
minstrels filled the air with festive tunes welcoming all to
Guildford. Juliana held close to Sir Royce as they moved slowly
forward in a misshapen line, the guests identifying themselves to a
steward to check against his list. When at last Sir Royce gave
their names, an official standing to one side and robed in dark
clothes stepped instantly forward.

“Sir Royce, Lady Juliana, His Majesty is in
anticipation of your arrival. I am to take you to his presence at
once. This way, if you will.”