To Be Queen (11 page)

Louis flushed, this time from unexpected joy. He met my eyes, his hand still in mine. I saw him then as I believe he truly was, a man meant for love, had he only been strong enough to claim it.

 

 

AS WE STOOD ON THE STEPS OF MY FATHER'S CATHEDRAL after our wedding mass, Louis' men-at-arms led two horses forward, festooned with ribbons and flowers. We would ride hard for Taillebourg to evade the unknown men who hoped to kidnap me. My destrier, Merlin, was nowhere to be seen. The horse Louis' people had prepared for me was a delicate mare with a clean step and bright eyes. She looked at me as if she knew me, and I offered her my hand.

As she breathed in the scent of my skin, I wondered what they were thinking, to saddle such a delicate mare when we soon would be riding for our lives. Perhaps one of Louis' men was in on the plot to abduct me before we could consummate our union. I scanned the crowd for anyone suspicious, but soon dismissed the thought. This beautiful horse had been a wedding gift from Louis.

Louis did not move to his own mount, but stayed beside me. His hands went around my waist, raising me into the saddle. I was impressed by Louis' strength; his slender build was deceptive. But since he had placed me on my horse side-mounted, I hoped I would keep my seat once we were past the city walls, and running full out. I was an experienced horsewoman, but only a fool would ride sidesaddle when pursued by enemies. I slung my knee over the wooden haft rising from the front of my saddle, making sure that my skirts lay smooth afterward. I would hold my place. I had come too far in pursuit of this marriage to fall off my horse, into my enemies' waiting hands.

I positioned myself so that I might hold to my horse, even at a gallop, still waving to my people. They did not know that our plans had changed. I did not know who among them might have aided my unknown enemy. And if it came to an open battle, between Louis' men-at-arms and the enemy who hoped to kidnap me, I would rather Louis' men fight for me. I would save my own barons to fight another day, when I might need them more.

My lords stood ready, waiting for us to lead them back to my father's palace. No doubt everyone thought we had mounted steeds to better show ourselves as we made our progress to the castle.

I met Amaria's eyes over the crowd. She nodded to me once, then disappeared. Baron Rancon was nowhere to be seen. I waited for Louis to mount his own horse and then I moved off.

At the turning in the road, I waved one hand and headed for the city gates. The people along that road cleared out of my path at once, casting flowers down for my horse to tread on. I led Louis out through the nearest gate, then touched my heel to my horse's side. She responded as if we had known each other all our lives. She leaped under my hands, joining Louis' troops that waited for us just outside Bordeaux's city walls.

I was pleased that Louis' men-at-arms were ready for us. They fell in before and behind, flanking us so that we could no longer be seen from the city. I heard an annoyed murmuring from my people, but I had left Petra behind to soothe their fears. She and I had said our good-byes in the keep. I would send for her once I reached Poitiers.

We were out of the hands of any attackers planning to take me in the city, but I knew that there would be more warriors lying in wait beyond the walls of Bordeaux. I felt my vulnerability in spite of Louis' knights flanking us, but then I saw Baron Rancon waiting for me by a turn in the road.

Surrounded by Louis' men, I rode to meet him. My horse got a little ahead of the young king, and foolishly, I let her. It was then that I heard the shouts from a nearby hill, and saw men bearing no standard riding for us as if the devil were on their heels. Our enemies hid not only within Bordeaux, not just within my keep, but waited for us here as well. For the first time I wondered if this attempt at escape was folly. But I would be damned before I let my enemies hem me up inside my palace again. I had been locked inside my keep for too many months already. Louis' coming had set me free. I would never cower behind stone walls again, but ride out to meet my enemies head-on. I was queen; I would do as I saw fit.

I did not look back for Louis but left the road at once, my new mount responding under me. I felt the first tremor of fear as I heard the sounds of battle behind me. I hoped we were far enough from the city that none of my people would come and fight with us. Louis' men would hold off the would-be abductors, or what else was this marriage for?

Fifty of Louis' men kept pace with me, and when I turned once to look back, I found Louis close on my heels. I smiled at him, and watched as his fear warred with his newborn love for me. I called to him, “Come, my lord, this is a race. A race we must win.”

Louis did not respond, for he had lost his breath. He was not the horseman I was, but he kept up with me as the Baron Rancon led us deeper into the forest. I knew that the baron would take us to his keep at Taillebourg, staying off the roads where other men might lie in wait.

I wondered if I would ever know which lord hoped to kidnap me before my wedding night. No doubt he was a man of daring if not courage, for no man of courage would attack a helpless woman.

Of course, I was not helpless. I was Duchess of Aquitaine, and I was surrounded by the fighting men of the King of France.

We made Taillebourg by sunset; my horse was tired, though she never flagged. I did not wait to be handed down but slid from her back myself, standing close against her side.

“I will never ride any horse but you,” I told her, whispering in her ear. She rolled her eye at me, and whinnied as if she understood me.

Louis came down off his own mount, and I threw myself into his arms. He caught me, though I shocked him. I pressed myself against him, my lips on his.

“My lord king, we won. We left them in the dust.”

The exhilaration of the day left me breathless. Fear had given way to the joy of the hunt. Adventure was sweet, much sweeter than I had thought it would be. After being locked away in my father's keep for months on end, I found that I had a taste for it. Even as I pressed myself against him, I could see that Louis did not.

Louis had lost his breath. At first, I thought it was from our frenzied ride, but as his eyes met mine, I knew that it was from my nearness. I felt his desire pressed hard against me. I smiled up at him, only to see him blush like a maid.

I kissed him again, lingering over his lips, heedless of all who stood nearby. Louis did not spare them a glance, but kept his eyes on me.

“Life with me will never be dull, my lord king.”

“I believe you, Eleanor.”

He kissed me then without my prompting. Though his lips were clumsy and his touch feeble compared with the Baron Rancon's, I felt the swell of victory in my breast. I would bed him this night and take him away from the Church he loved so dearly. I knew this as certainly as I knew that I would draw my next breath. I was young, and had never known defeat.

As I drew back, his blue gaze seemed to gleam with the same hope and the same joy. Louis grew bolder. He kissed me once more, his palms lingering on my waist, before he took my hand and led me into the keep.

Baron Rancon met us in his great hall, where food and music waited. From politeness, we ate with him, though I wanted to be upstairs, alone with Louis.

Geoffrey saw this in my face, for he cut our meal short, waving one hand before the servers could bring the last course. “I will have my women serve your fruit in your rooms, my lady.”

“Thank you, my lord. And might they send warm water for my bath? It has been a tiring day.”

Baron Rancon saw that I lied. I was not weary from the ride or from the fact someone had tried to take me by force. My cheeks still glowed with the challenge I had faced and overcome. Geoffrey's eyes darkened with desire as he looked at me, though my husband sat at my side, half-asleep with his goblet of wine.

“It will be my pleasure, my lady, to serve you in this, as in all things.”

The king's men stood and herded Louis toward the stairs. He looked back to find me, and I smiled at him, and raised one hand. Satisfied, he smiled back, and let them lead him on. He was a trusting soul; I would see to it that I deserved his trust. I owed him that, for the crown he had given me.

Geoffrey was at my side then, drawing out my chair. I offered him one hand, careful to keep a seemly distance between us. I saw that he would have taken my maidenhead then and there, had we not been surrounded on all sides by Louis' men. I felt the weight of their gaze on me like hands. As soon as Geoffrey kissed my fingertips, I drew back.

“Thank you for offering us sanctuary, my lord. The king and I will never forget it.”

Geoffrey did not reply, but bowed low. I left him there, and climbed the steps to the upper floor alone with the eyes of Louis' men on me.

Geoffrey's women had come with fruit and wine. The rooms set aside for me looked to be the best rooms in the keep. I wondered idly if Rancon had given us his bed to spend our wedding night in. I shivered as I looked at the great carved bedstead with its dark woolen hangings. I thought of Geoffrey's hands, so large they might span my waist. I thought of how he could lift me easily onto that bed, and my skirt afterward.

I let the women leave me in my shift. They combed my hair smooth, for it had snarled while I was riding pell-mell from Bordeaux. I missed Petra, and Amaria's calming touch, but I reminded myself that Amaria would be there on the morrow, with my gowns in tow. Petra would meet us in two days' time in Poitiers, to see us crowned as Count and Countess of Poitou.

Louis came to me dressed in his shirt and cloak. The cloak was the one he had worn at our wedding, and the shirt was stained. I suppressed a flicker of disappointment that he would come to me so dirty, thoughtless of the fact that this was our wedding night. I felt slighted, until I saw his face. He gazed on me with eyes of worship tinged with fear.

It was I who moved toward him. Louis swallowed hard, and his eyes shifted from my breasts to my face. I realized then that he could see the outline of my body through the thin linen. I moved slower, that he might look his fill.

I stopped just short of brushing against his body with my own. I stood not an inch from him, raising my lips to his without actually touching him. His breath caught, as my own did. He might be shy and Church raised, but surely nature would take its course, if only we let it.

Louis did not touch me, nor did he kiss me. I felt the first icy tinge of fear. He was a man. This should be his doing. I had ordered the rest of that day's proceedings. Surely now he would take a man's part and do what must be done.

Though I could see his manhood rising beneath his long linen shirt, he did not move to touch me. I lifted his cloak from his shoulders, and draped it across a nearby chair. He gasped when I touched him, but still he did not move. I pushed aside my misgivings, and followed my own inclinations. I took his hand in mine.

“Come, my lord,” I said, suddenly inspired. “Come into the bath with me.”

Alarm crossed his face, and at first I thought he feared to see me naked. I raised my arms and drew my shift off in one smooth motion. I saw that my nakedness was not what he feared, but the strength of his own desire. Louis' eyes filled with a longing so intense, it made Baron Rancon's lust look like the rutting of a boar in a thicket. Louis worshipped me from the first, and never so much as when he first saw my naked body in the firelight, with nothing and no one between us.

I stepped into the hip bath, and held out my hand. As I watched, he warred with himself. I held steady, my eyes on his.