Desired (54 page)

Queen Philippa had brought all the younger children and the new baby with their attendant maids, nannies, and laundresses. Because Princess Isabel and Princess Joanna were expected to be married soon, they had brought a staggering amount of baggage. Joanna, who would be going to Castile, had brought a bridal bed with Tripoli silk hangings, a chariot lined with purple velvet, chairs, tables, carpets, and gold and silver plate. Every article was emblazoned with the arms of England. Though she was only thirteen, her household consisted of over a hundred manservants, including pages, poulterers, sumpterers, chambermen, stewards, knights, and esquires.

Brianna was attached to Isabel’s household, which had even more furnishings and attendants than Joanna’s. Adele assured Brianna that she and Paddy would see to their trunks and crates and take everything they had brought over on the ship to Christian Hawksblood’s dwelling. Brianna had to attend Isabel and knew she would be kept busy long into the night, or perhaps for days, if that spoiled princess did not give her leave to retire.

As it turned out, it was the next day before she was allowed a few hours to get settled into her own quarters. Brianna thought she had been directed to the wrong place as she walked up the steps and saw the spacious terraces and the marble floors. Then she heard Paddy’s voice in altercation.

He was on a second-story balcony, arguing with someone she couldn’t see, and his language was rather blue. Brianna called up to him. “This is like a palace. Does it belong to Prince Edward?”

“Indeed it does not, my lady! It belongs to Lord de Beauchamp.” He almost sounded offended.

“You mean Warrick?”

“Nay, Warrick’s palace is next door. This one belongs to Christian, my lady.”

A dark woman came out onto the balcony and looked down. She was vividly attractive even with the derisive sneer on her lips. “Lady? What a pity. The last thing Hawksblood needs is a lady!”

“S
hut yer mouth, bitch, before I shut it for you, and get your stuff out of here.”

“What’s going on? Who is that?” Brianna asked, but the man and woman were too busy exchanging threats to pay heed to her. She went up the beautifully curved staircase and turned left onto the open balcony. She found the pair inside a spacious chamber, playing tug-of-war with a trunkful of gowns. “Who is this?” Brianna repeated.

They both spoke at once, giving very different replies. Paddy said, “She’s a prisoner.”

The dark beauty replied, “I am Lisette St. Lô, Baroness.”

Paddy made a rude noise. “She’s nothing but a French whore who has taken over the master bedchamber as if she owns the place. I’ll have her rubbish out of here in a jiffy, my lady.”

Lisette sat down on her trunk with determination. “Hawksblood will decide which one of us shares his bed!”

Brianna stiffened. She stared at the Frenchwoman in shocked surprise. She blanched white as the blood drained from her face. Though her emotions were in chaos, her mind in total disarray, she somehow managed to look completely detached. “Come away, Paddy. I’ll choose another chamber on the other side of the house. You may put my things in there.”

She walked blindly in the opposite direction until she encountered Adele. Paddy was following Brianna, silently cursing Lisette, cursing himself for not rousting her from the master chamber yesterday, and cursing Hawksblood for sending the woman here to Bordeaux in the first place. The bloody cat was among the pigeons and he feared where the blame would fall. He knew Lady Brianna was almost sacred to Christian, and if she was upset by this French
poule
, he’d be in shit up to his eyeballs!

“Hawksblood has been keeping a woman here. Here, in this palace,” Brianna said, wide-eyed with disbelief at what she had actually seen.

“Come and sit down, lamb. Don’t be upset over a little tart like that.” Adele glared at Paddy, who shrugged helplessly and asked, “Which chamber would you like, my lady?”

Brianna was moving from distress to anger. It seemed everybody knew about the baroness but her! “It doesn’t matter. All the chambers are exceedingly lovely in this palace. Just be sure you choose one that has a strong lock and key.”

Paddy disappeared to do her bidding. Adele said quickly, “He’s holding her and her brother, the baron, for ransom. She’s his prisoner … it’s not what it seems.”

“Oh? What does it seem, Adele?”

Adele flushed. “Well, you know … that she’s his mistress.”

“Exactly! Or should we say
one
of his mistresses? He’s an Arabian, don’t forget!”

“Oh, my lamb, don’t let her spoil your pleasure in this lovely palace. It has a marble bathing pool and the gardens
will take your breath away. And there’s a fountain and a jade tile pond with gold and silver fishes darting about—”

“Of course I shan’t let her spoil my pleasure. Did Paddy happen to tell you how in the world the Arabian came to own such a place?”

Adele knew Brianna must be furious to refer to her lord husband as “the Arabian.” “Well, he did tell me about the first time they came to Bordeaux. When Hawksblood saw Warrick’s palatial home, he bought this one that stood next to it. At that time, he had never met the Earl of Warrick and only suspected him of being his sire. Paddy said it was a matter of pride. He had to buy a house that was bigger and better than Warrick’s.”

“But where did he get the money?”

“Paddy said he bought it with
gold
.”

“Well, Paddy is a veritable treasure-trove of information. Did he happen to mention from whom he stole the gold?”

Adele bit her lip. It was unlike Brianna to be icily sarcastic. “I’ll go and see where he has put your trunks. Put your feet up and have a little rest.” Adele found Paddy across the hall in a pretty room that had been plastered in palest pink.

He muttered, “If she intends to lock the door against Hawksblood, she doesn’t know her husband very well.”

“You bloody fool, Paddy. Why wasn’t she out of the master suite before Brianna arrived?”

“Because she’s a sodding woman! They live just to cause trouble and aggravation.”

“Well! That’s a fine thing to say!”

“Now, love, I didn’t mean you. I know you avoid trouble like the plague. So take my advice and make yourself scarce when himself arrives. He’ll soon settle Lisette’s bloody hash, and if Lady Brianna gives him any aggravation, he’ll settle her hash too! Here is her bloody key, for what good it’ll do her!” He gave the key to Adele. “Wish me luck, darlin’ … I’m off to drag the Frenchie out by the scrag of her neck and lock her in a cubbyhole somewheres.”

Lady Joan Holland had a ton of baggage to be taken aboard ship. Her clothes, furs, and jewelry alone filled a dozen trunks. Her own featherbed was carried aboard to
assure her comfort and she would sleep aboard the night before the ship departed, so they could sail on the early morning tide.

Her good-byes to her brother were tearful. “I wish you were coming with me, Edmund.”

“I’m the crown’s representative here in Calais, Joan,” he said regretfully.

“Don’t pretend you are unhappy about it, Edmund. Your position draws females like honeybees.”

He winked at her. “Position is everything, my sweet, remember that!”

“Why do men always have to be vulgar?”

“Don’t tell me approaching motherhood has turned you all prim and proper?” he teased.

“It’s time you thought about settling down and having children, Edmund. My little girl will need cousins to play with.” She kissed him. “Good-bye, Edmund. I’ll miss you.”

“You will love Bordeaux. Southern France is like paradise.” His careless air became serious for a moment. “For God’s sweet sake, have a care for yourself, Joan.” He wrapped her fur about her shoulders and squeezed affectionately.

“The angels take care of me, Edmund,” she said softly.

“I believe they do, sweetheart.”

Joan and Glynis had half a dozen of Holland’s men escort them to the ship. It was Sir John’s last night in garrison headquarters. He would come directly to the ship in time for the early morning floodtide.

Edmund of Kent made his way from Joan’s house to the garrison in the center of Calais. Holland greeted him, “I’m glad you dropped in, my lord earl. I’ve appointed Sir Neville Wiggs to take over my command here. He’s not opposed to using strong-arm tactics if and when they are required.”

“Oh, I don’t believe we’ll have trouble in Calais. I believe we’ve anglicized the town. Although I do concede there are some seedy areas with pox-diseased drabs along the docks.”

Holland shook his head. “We’ve had trouble in one of the better-heeled neighborhoods. Over on the south side there are a couple of high-priced brothels need watching. I
could show you the areas that need patrolling if you fancy a walk, my lord.”

“Well, by an amazing coincidence, I’m going in that direction this evening, Sir John. There’s nothing like an evening stroll to work up an appetite.”

The two men headed south, toward the larger houses where the richest burghers lived. They passed the imposing house where the queen had stayed, then turned a corner into what looked like an alley. “It’s these back streets that need patrolling. Ah, good, I see one of our men is on the job.”

As the man-at-arms approached them, Holland unsheathed a wide-bladed knife with an extremely lethal point and drove it forcefully into Edmund of Kent’s back. With an agonized cry he went down between the two men, his lifeblood gushing up from the massive wound as Holland first twisted, then withdrew the blade.

“A knife in the back is not unheard of in this wealthy part of Calais. It’s extremely good pickings for thieves.” He bent to lighten his victim of his moneybelt. As Edmund’s eyes were clouding with death, Holland smiled at him. “Don’t worry yourself about my wife, she has just come into a fortune.” He wiped the dripping blade on his handkerchief, then sheathed it beneath his arm. “Sir Neville, if by chance you do encounter trouble on the streets tonight, be certain to report it after the cog royal has sailed.”

Wiggs saluted him smartly with his sword. “Good-bye, sir. Thank you for your confidence in me. You won’t regret it.”

Paddy found Hawksblood with Warrick. They were in the stables where they had just finished sewing up the wounds of half a dozen destriers injured on the voyage from England. Actually they were fortunate none had to be destroyed. When a warhorse broke loose below decks, the result could be catastrophic.

They had spent the entire day unloading horses, their most precious cargo. Those belonging to the royals and the nobles were stabled. Those of lesser knights were put into outdoor paddocks.

The moment Hawksblood saw Paddy’s face, he sensed trouble. “Is there a problem?”

“In a manner of speaking, there is, my lord.”

Ali, who had helped unload and calm horses for the last eighteen hours, cast him a look of disgust. “We’ve handled three thousand equines and you cannot handle two females?”

“
Three
females, and I guarantee they can wreak more havoc than three thousand horses!”

“Three?” Hawksblood questioned. Then he smote his forehead. “How obtuse of me. I forgot all about Lisette St. Lô.”

Warrick cocked an eyebrow at his son. “I take it the French filly you hold for ransom is more mistress than prisoner?”

“Hell, no. She was never my mistress. Christ, one tumble and I have to pay for it the rest of my life!” He looked at Warrick with speculative eyes. “Will you house the St. Lôs until their ransom is paid?”

“I suppose I’d better, if you ever expect another peaceful night as long as you live,” Warrick said with a grin.

The four men made their way to the two white stone palaces bathed in moonlight. As Warrick broke from the group to enter his own dwelling, Christian said, “We’ll be right back.”

As he opened the gate in the high wall that surrounded his own imposing palace, Christian ventured, “Is my lady very upset?”

“Mad as hellfire is my guess. Ye cannot keep two women ye’ve bedded beneath the same roof,” Paddy explained as if Christian were an untried boy.

“We manage to do so in Arabia,” Ali said in lofty tones. “It is common practice to keep four wives as well as concubines.”

“We’ll let you explain it all to Lady Brianna,” Paddy said sarcastically.

“Where did you put the baroness?”

“I put her in her brother’s rooms and threatened him with castration if he didn’t keep her under control,” Paddy supplied.

“Move them next door to Warrick,” Hawksblood directed.

Christian Hawksblood inspected the master suite to see that all was in readiness to receive his wife. He nodded with satisfaction. Paddy had directed the servants well. The room was all white with touches of gold. The bed was low and wide, covered with snowy linen and piled with bolsters and pillows embroidered with the initials of C and B in gold thread. Filmy white silk gauze hung from ceiling to floor, surrounding the bed.

White shutters were folded back making the open balconies part of the large, airy chamber. One entire wall was a built-in wardrobe with mirrored doors. The floor of white Carrara marble veined with gold was guaranteed to provide coolness on the hottest nights.