Love Everlasting (19 page)

“No. I’ve told you so.” Julianna met the
other woman’s gaze without evasion.

“I believe you,” Janet said, scowling. “Men
can be such fools. They think they are so clever, that they are
managing everything, when all the time it’s women and the servants
who get the really important work done. Like cleaning this room. I
would dearly love to see Royce of Wortham sweeping this dusty
floor. I know him, you see. He’d be sneezing and coughing and then
he’d start to wheeze in hope that some silly woman would come along
and do the job for him.”

“Surely not,” Julianna protested. “Janet, do
be serious. I told you all of this in hope that you’d have some
good advice for me. What am I to do?”

“To get Royce back into bed, you mean?” Janet
chuckled. “Tell me, Julianna, how can a woman who is married for
the third time blush the way you do?”

“It’s my pale skin,” Julianna said. She
couldn’t tell Janet more than she already had, couldn’t bring
herself to reveal the emptiness of her previous marriages. She
feared she’d said too much.

“Well, my advice to you is to be patient,”
Janet said. “Royce may very well be distracted just now, but I’ve
noticed the way he looks at you and I doubt if he’ll leave you
alone for long.”

Later that day Janet joined Cadwallon and
Royce on the battlements. Royce watched with a twinge of envy as
Cadwallon put an arm around his red-haired wife and planted a long
kiss on her lips. He looked away, toward the low meadows beyond the
castle, where the grass was crusted with frost. After a time he
cleared his throat to remind the others that they were not
alone.

“Sorry,” Cadwallon said, not sounding at all
regretful. “Our rooms here are full of servants and children. I
seize every chance for a quiet moment with Janet.”

“Royce,” Janet said, “Cadwallon told me that
you wanted me to watch Julianna and report any odd activities to
you.”

“And?” Royce could barely breathe. He prayed
Janet hadn’t seen or heard anything that would force him to take
action against his wife.

“Have you been imagining that she has a
lover?” Janet demanded. “If so, you are very wrong. A woman with a
lover would be delighted if her husband left her alone at night,
but Julianna was terribly upset that you didn’t join her in
bed.”

“Cadwallon and I were meeting with Lord
Cortland.” He should have known that his icy cold tone wouldn’t
deter Janet’s speculations. Few things daunted Janet.

“You weren’t with Lord Cortland all night
long,” Janet said. “Cadwallon joined me shortly after midnight.
When I asked him, he said the meeting was finished. Now, tell me,
Royce, what was in that letter you received? Are you the spouse
with a lover? Is that why you’re neglecting your wife?”

“Certainly not!” Royce glared at her until
she smiled.

“I didn’t think so. You aren’t going to tell
me - or Julianna - about that letter, are you?”

“No,” Royce said, trying not to laugh at
Janet’s confrontational methods of obtaining information, methods
which hadn’t changed in all the years he’d known her.

“Cadwallon, do you know what was in that
troublesome letter?” Janet asked, turning to her husband.

“I?” Cadwallon assumed an expression of
offended innocence. “How should I know?”

“That’s what I thought.” Janet returned her
attention to Royce. “I will tell you what I have often told
Cadwallon, and I hope you will take what I say to heart. Husbands
and wives are happiest when they are honest with each other.”

“I agree,” Royce said.

“Ha! Have you any new orders for me, my lord?
I do think I make a useful spy. Don’t you?”

“Very useful,” Royce said. “Continue to
observe and listen whenever you are with Julianna. Promptly report
anything unusual to me or to Cadwallon.”

“I expect you to explain all of this to me,”
Janet said, “and to Julianna, once this is over - whatever this is.
Cadwallon, are you coming?”

“In a moment,” Cadwallon said.

“Just as I suspected. More secrets. Men!”
With that, Janet vanished through the doorway to the steps,
slamming the heavy wooden door so hard that it flew open again.
Cadwallon closed it more gently.

“You haven’t told her,” Royce said.

“I trust Janet completely, but she does have
a sharp tongue and occasionally she employs it too vigorously.
Royce, if Janet thinks Julianna is honest, the chances are good
that she is.”

“Thank you.”

Cadwallon stood where he was for a moment,
watching his friend. Then he followed his wife down the stairs,
leaving Royce alone with his thoughts.

“Have you learned anything?” Marie asked.

Julianna was dressing for the evening meal
and her maid was pinning her hair up high in the latest fashion.
Recalling Marie’s tendency when annoyed to jab the bone hairpins
into her mistress’s scalp, Julianna delayed answering until the
coiffure was finished.

“Well?” Marie handed her a small mirror.

“I like it,” Julianna said, turning her head
this way and that, though she knew her hairstyle wasn’t what Marie
had meant. “I do prefer a net to the inconvenience of a veil.”

“Not your hair.” Marie snatched the mirror
away. “You do remember Kenric, don’t you? He will be in Norwich in
a very few days, and he will be expecting information.”

“I cannot provide Kenric with information if
there is nothing to impart,” Julianna said. Standing, she smoothed
her blue silk skirts.

“You dare not defy him,” Marie said. “What
about that letter?”

“What letter?” Julianna was sure she hadn’t
hesitated for even an instant, though she was surprised to hear
that Marie knew about the letter. Julianna was curious to know how
the maid had learned of it.

“You know perfectly well what letter,” Marie
said. “The one your husband received last night. Everyone knows
about it. In fact, a lowly squire told me about it, so don’t
pretend you know nothing.”

“Royce does not confide in me. In that, he is
remarkably similar to my other husbands.”

“Make him confide!” Marie ordered. “Lure him
into bed, then refuse to let him have his way with you until he
tells you what the letter contains.”

“I doubt if my refusal would mean anything to
Royce.” Julianna wasn’t going to admit that she feared she’d be
unable to lure her husband into bed in the first place and that, if
she succeeded, she certainly wasn’t going to refuse him anything he
wanted.

“Do not play games with me,” Marie snarled at
her. “Your life, and mine, may well depend on what you can make
Royce tell you.”

“I have warned you before, Marie.” Julianna’s
nerves were stretched close to snapping. She fought to keep her
voice steady. “I will not warn you again. I no longer care what you
were to Lord Deane, or what you do for Kenric. You are the servant
here. Do not make me report you to Royce.”

“You must have information to pass on to
Kenric,” Marie said, pushing her face so close to Julianna’s that
their noses were almost touching.

“If I have nothing to tell Kenric, what
then?” Julianna demanded. “Will he kill me?”

Marie’s swarthy skin went pale, but as far as
Julianna could tell, she lost none of her aggressiveness.

“He’s far more likely to hire someone to
slash your face,” the maidservant said.

Chilled to the heart, Julianna sank onto the
side of the bed, not noticing at first that Marie had left the
room.

“What was that about?” Royce asked, coming
through the door. “Marie just stormed past me like a human
whirlwind.”

“She’s upset because I have no information
for Kenric.”

“Why not? There is plenty of information
available at Norwich for an enterprising double agent to gather.”
Royce sat beside her. “Julianna, your hand is cold as ice. What
else did Marie say?”

“I don’t see any reason not to tell you.”
Julianna shrugged her shoulders and tried to appear indifferent.
“First, you ought to know that, according to Marie, everyone in the
castle is aware that you received a letter last night, and the
servants are speculating about the contents. Also, Marie warned me
that Kenric is capable of slashing my face if I don’t do what he
wants.”

“I’ll kill him,” Royce said quite calmly. “I
told you this was a bad idea. I won’t allow you to continue this
game of double agent.”

“I have to continue,” Julianna insisted,
pulling her hand from his grasp. “Why can’t you understand that my
honor is at stake here? I will find something of little importance
to relay to Kenric, to appease him.”

“If he doesn’t kill you first.”

“Well,” she said with a laugh that was half
sob, “if he kills me, my honor will be restored and you may have
the pleasure of avenging me.”

“You are mad.” His voice held a note of
respect that Julianna hadn’t heard from him before.

Royce could tell that Julianna was afraid, as
frightened as she had been when they’d first met. The fear had
eased a little after their passionate nights together, and
especially after they departed from Caen. She was a good traveler,
taking pleasure in the sea voyage and the long ride to Norwich. She
had not complained even once about the storm at sea or the cold on
the road. But now the fear enclosed her again, and he thought he
knew why. Marie had caused the change, with her knowledge of the
letter Royce had received and her threats about what Kenric could
do.

During the evening meal Julianna sat between
Royce and Lord Cortland, eating little and saying less. In her
carefully controlled demeanor Royce saw all the signs of incipient
terror. Her face was pale and her hand trembled when she lifted her
wine goblet.

He knew of one certain way to reassure her.
As soon as the meal ended he took her to bed, where he treated her
with slow, patient tenderness until she shivered into ecstasy in
his arms.

Only as he slowly emerged from the pleasure
of his own passionate release did Royce fully comprehend what a
delicious trap Julianna’s body was. He could not stay away from
her. When he withdrew from her and rolled onto his back she curled
beside him, her cheek resting on his bare chest, one slim hand
stroking his waist, and Royce knew he did not want to be parted
from her.

Yet a lifetime of finely honed skills as a
spy, added to King Henry’s suspicions of her and the new threat
against the queen, all warned him not to trust her.

He had to be certain, had to prove to
himself, one way or another, whether she was honest or not, and
whether or not she was involved in the plot to kill the queen.
Fortunately, he knew just how to learn the truth. So he lay with
his arm around his wife, holding her close while a cynical little
smile played across his lips. As Julianna slept he devised a test
that would not require him to absent himself from their bed.

In less than three days Queen Adelicia’s
apartments were cleaned to the satisfaction of the ladies who were
supervising the servants. On the morning of the third day, Janet
summoned Royce to demand his approval.

“Well done,” Royce said after a quick
inspection of the rooms. “I’m sure the queen will be pleased.” He
sniffed the air, which was faintly scented with dried lavender and
sweet woodruff.

“You are not sneezing, my lord,” Julianna
said. “I take that as a sure sign that all of the dust is
gone.”

“So it would seem.” Royce sent a faint smile
in her direction, then moved to secure a narrow servant’s door, so
no one could enter through it until it was opened from inside the
room. He spoke over his shoulder. “The herbs you have used don’t
affect me in the way dust does. I am pleased, my ladies.”

“Thank you, Royce.” Janet, who was looking
pale, suddenly clamped a hand over her mouth and headed for the
main entrance to the apartment. “Please excuse me. I must leave
you.”

“It’s still early in the day,” Julianna
explained in response to Royce’s startled expression. “Janet is ill
every morning.”

“Ah, I understand.” His face cleared.
“Cadwallon will be pleased.”

“I gather that he already is. Janet told him
at once. They are very close.” Julianna turned away to fasten the
shutters over one of the windows.

“Is there anything else you need to do in
here?” Royce asked.

“Not until the queen’s servants arrive with
her furniture,” Julianna answered.

“In that case, I’ll send one of my
men-at-arms to stand guard at the door. Once you close the
shutters, no one may enter these rooms without my permission.”

“Isn’t that unusual?” Julianna asked.

“I am responsible for the queen’s safety,” he
said.

“She has her own knights to guard her. Why
should she require your men as well?”

“We came here at King Henry’s behest, to make
the arrangements for the royal arrival,” he reminded her, his sharp
gaze never leaving her face. “In my mind, that assignment includes
assuring the safety of the queen.”

“Do you have reason to believe she’s in
danger?”

“Is she?” He moved closer, not touching
Julianna, but holding her in place with his intense gaze.

“I do not know.” Julianna answered. She shook
her head and shrugged her shoulders to emphasize her ignorance.
When Royce continued to look straight into her eyes, she said, “If
you are asking whether Kenric revealed anything of the sort to me
before we left Caen, the answer is, no. If he had, I would have
informed you at once. Kenric never tells me what he is planning. I
am not his confidante. My only use to him is as a gatherer and
relayer of information.”

“That would seem to make you a poor double
agent,” Royce told her.

“You don’t trust me.” It wasn’t a question,
for Julianna knew he wasn’t certain of her loyalty. She understood
that a spymaster could never be absolutely sure of any double
agent. The promise of a large reward, or the threat of death, could
lead an agent who was serving both sides into betrayal. By trying
to save herself with her scheme of passing information to both
Royce and Kenric, she had aroused her husband’s suspicions, and
rightly so. He wouldn’t be the man he was if he didn’t have doubts
about her honesty.