The Winter Love (9 page)

Henry woke before dawn and made sure Eleanor was back in her room before anyone else was up. He then started to make as much noise as he could so that Edward, if he was still in the house, would know that he was up and ready to defend Eleanor. He had lain awake long after Eleanor had fallen asleep in his arms, wondering what he could do to keep her safe. He had to admit now what he had tried to deny at first, that Eleanor was an attractive woman. Edward would not be able to resist her and would not rest until he had seduced her. Henry knew his brother’s appetites, even if he did not understand them.

Now Edward would know that Eleanor had spent another night with
Henry. Well, let him think about that for a while. If he thought she was Henry’s woman he might think twice about trying to seduce her. Henry was a trained soldier and the stronger of the two. Edward had never wanted to fight him, even when they were boys. It was not that Edward was a coward; just that he always found other means to achieve his ends.

Despite the evidence of last
night, Henry doubted that Edward would try to take Eleanor by force. He preferred his women to want him; it made it easier for him to cast them off when he was finished with them. And he finished with them very quickly. It pained Henry to think that Eleanor could join their number, but she was alert to Edward’s desires now and that would be her protection.

He met Edward coming in from the street as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Good morrow. Sleep well?” asked the younger brother.

“No,
did you?”

“No. Too many dreams
of the beautiful Sister Margaret.”

Henry took a step towards his brother. “Make sure they are only dreams. If you
touch her, I shall kill you.”

Edward paled, then recovered himself. “If it’s
because she’s Philip’s sister...”

“She’s a nun, damn you! She has a vocation and all you can think about is getting her into your bed.”

“While you apparently have no shame about taking her into yours.”

So, he had returned last night and guessed that Eleanor had slept with him. “I am her protector, if I choose to keep her close, so be it.”

“Close! You can’t be much closer than inside her.”

Henry could not stop himself; he hit Edward harder than he had hit anyone in his life and his
brother fell to the floor.

“If you touch her, I will kill you.
If you show her disrespect, I will kill you. If any harm comes to her while I am away, I will kill you. Do you understand?”

Edward said nothing. Henry kicked him. “Do you understand?”

“Yes,” mumbled Edward, as he struggled to stand.

“Good,” said Henry. “It’s time you understood that women are not put here for your pleasure. They are God’s creatures as are you and I and you will start to show them the honour that is due them.”

Henry walked past Edward and out into the street to fetch Solomon. He was in no mood to break his fast under Edward’s roof.

Eleanor had heard the quarrel between the brothers as soon as she left the bedchamber. She could not hear the words and it was only when she paused at the top of the stairs that she heard Henry threaten Edward. She was chastened to be the cause of their quarrel, but glad that Henry had made it clear that he would protect her.

Then she had heard a door slam shut and guessed that
Henry had gone into the street; she was alone in the house with Edward.

S
he decided not to go downstairs, but to wait in the gallery until the servants began bringing food into the hall for them to break their fast. Her wait was not long and she went into the hall knowing that others were nearby should she need their help. That was where Edward found her a short while later. The left side of his face was bruised and swollen. She said nothing, but did not avert her eyes. Edward looked at her sullenly. “Henry feels I do not show you the proper respect.”

“Henry is, I think, a good judge.”

“Yet you have shared his bed these past few nights.”

Eleanor
could not hide her gasp of surprise. Surely this was not a proper subject for discussion between a man and his female guest. The world outside the convent was very difficult to understand. “Because there was no room on the floor, not because of our lusts.” Eleanor reflected briefly, but this was no lie. Neither of them had acted out of lust.

Edward snorted, but that caused him some pain and he took a deep breath before he continued.
“Henry’s lusts are unusual. I doubt you inspire anything of that nature in him.”

Eleanor
’s thoughts went back to the way that Henry held her this last night. His hand had once again covered her breast and his hard body had pressed against her back. She had felt that there was some wonderful secret that lay just out of her reach, but that Henry could reveal to her if he chose. She didn’t know why Edward thought she would find Henry’s lusts unusual. It seemed entirely natural to her that a man sharing a bed with a woman would hold her in such a way.

“I may be a nun, but I know that men desire women and lay with them.”

Edward snorted again and regretted it. When he could speak again he said, “You would be better off with me.”

“I have my vocation and it is not to be a wife or mother.”

“Who said anything about marriage?”

Edward grinned and found that that hurt as well. He groaned and sank onto a bench by the table and dropped his head into his hands.

“Perhaps that is why Henry believes you do not show the proper respect,” she snapped.

Edward raised his head to look at her carefully. “Perhaps it is.”

Edward started to pick at the food, but eating seemed to cause him pain as well. Eleanor had touched nothing and was relieved when she heard Henry talking to one of the servants at the door onto the street. Then she heard his steps in the passageway.

He strode into the room, damp from the rain that was now beating against the window.

“Good morning, Sister Margaret,” he said. “Have you broken your fast?”

“No, I’m not hungry.”

“Then we shall leave now. Edward can follow when he’s ready.”

“But I have a cart for Sister Margaret.”

Henry glanced at her and Eleanor smiled at him. “I should prefer to ride Solomon.”

“Then come, he is eager to be off.”

Edward made no further effort to stop them and Eleanor followed Henry down the stairs and out of the house. It was raining heavily when they stepped into the street. Eleanor greeted Solomon, then Henry lifted her onto the horse’s back. He swung himself up behind her and took the reins from Sam, the kitchen boy, who had been holding them.

“
Get closer to me and I’ll wrap my cloak around us both.”

Eleanor pressed herself against Henry as much as she could and he put an arm around her waist and pulled her closer, then wrapped his cloak around
her. She rested her head against his chest.

“Are you comfortable?”

“Yes.” She moved herself slightly, trying to make herself more comfortable against his hard body, but they were moving before she could change position. She moved around, trying to find the right position.

“Keep still,” hissed Henry and she thought she must have hurt him somehow. If anything, he became more uncomfortable
as she leaned against him.

“I must move,” she begged. “I shall be bruised and sore.”

Solomon stopped moving. “Do it now,” said Henry through gritted teeth, “and then be still.”

Eleanor pressed her chest to his
as much as she could, wrapped her arms tightly round him and rested her head on his shoulder.

“Ready.”

She was shocked by the sensations that coursed through her body as they set off, but she dared not ask Henry to stop again. To her surprise Henry began to fidget and move around in the saddle, but she retained her hold on him. Even Solomon seemed uncomfortable and pranced along like a pony until Henry growled and set him to a gallop once they were clear of the town walls.

The roads were deserted, but muddy and Solomon could not keep up the pace that Henry had set him when they left the town. The rain gradually seeped through Henry’s cloak and Eleanor grew cold and miserable. She clung tighter to Henry in the hope of warming them both, but he shivered and she doubted he had any benefit of it.

Henry said nothing and she had
no inclination to break the silence, sensing it was not a silence born out of an unwillingness to speak to her. She was beginning to understand that Henry was a man who liked silence. Although she liked silence herself, she sensed that Henry needed silence more than she did and the idea pleased her.

When she began to shiver Henry said, “It is not far now.”

For some time his hand had been rubbing up and down her back to warm her, but now he stopped and Eleanor felt a change in his body. He rested his chin on the crown of her head and spoke quietly.

“There are three riders coming towards us. Do not turn to
wards them unless I tell you to. Do you understand?”

She nodded enough that he would feel it. There were questions that she wanted to ask, but Henry’s attention was already somewhere else. She guessed that he must be
thinking about what he had said to her about trusting to Solomon rather than to him and worried for a moment that he might leave her to Solomon and stop to fight these men. Then he said, “Hold on to me and do not let go unless I am dead. If I am killed or wounded throw me off and escape.”

She clutched him more tightly and tears pricked her eyes at the
thought that he might be killed here. Henry released her and she felt a slight change in Solomon’s pace as if he, too, had become more alert.

“Hello, friend,”
shouted a voice. Its nearness startled Eleanor.

“Good morrow,” replied Henry.

“How are the roads between here and the town?”

“Clear, but muddy.”

“This rain is no one’s friend. Your companion says nothing.”

“He’s sick with fever. The innkeeper threw us out this morning.”

There was a quiet exchange between the three men. Eleanor assumed that they were worried by her supposed sickness.

“
There is fever in the town?”

“Some. No more than usual. My servant was unlucky.”

“You’re a man of wealth, then.”

Henry
tensed even more; he had said the wrong thing. Eleanor released one of her hands and stroked his back, then held on again before he could reproach her. She felt him relax slightly.

“Just enough to be able to afford a sick boy. An
d you, friend, are these two men your servants?”

Eleanor heard laughter from the men.

“No, we travel together for the sake of friendship.”

“Then I will keep you from your journey no longer.”

Solomon started walking again.

“Stay, friend. We will
ride with you a while.”

“We go in opposite directions.” There was
a firmness in Henry’s voice that had been missing before. Eleanor prayed that the men would heed the warning that it contained.

“A man should not travel alone; these are dangerous times.”

“I am not alone; I have the boy.”

“A sick boy will be no help if you are set upon by thieves and vagabonds.”

“Then I’m afraid I’ve given you the wrong impression.”

“How so?”

“You seem to believe that I would need help if we were attacked.”

“You would
not?”

“No, I
would not.”

Solomon started walking again.

“I think you are mistaken, friend.”

“Then let us
hope you never find out that you are wrong.”

Eleanor heard a sound that
she had only heard twice before and knew that the men had unsheathed their swords. Henry sighed and she remembered what he had told her about his injury, but she doubted they could outrun three mounted men with two of them on Solomon. Then she thought that Henry would make her leave him here. She was more exposed than he and she didn’t think he would let her come to harm if he could avoid it.

Henry pulled back the cloak so he could move his sword arm.
Eleanor had felt him unsheathe his sword even before they had stopped moving to talk to the strangers.

“It’s a woman,” said one
of the men. She didn’t like the way he said it and neither did Henry, for it was this that spurred him into action. He rode towards the man who had spoken and had sliced his sword into the man’s torso before he had a chance to do much more than raise his own sword. He screamed and clutched at his side, dropping his sword before he fell from his horse. The horse tossed his head and ran away. The other two horses smelled the blood and moved away from the fallen man, the whites of their eyes showing in their terror. Eleanor struggled to see what was happening without disturbing Henry, but could not afford to be surprised if the time came for her to use her dagger, which she had attached to her belt this morning as she had done each morning since she had been with Henry.