Love, Remember Me (32 page)

Then she curtsied a final time. "God bless Your Grace in all of his endeavors," she said, and backed from his presence. The king could be kind, but she had learned he was a gross monster who demanded his way in everything. She knew now the pleasures of lovemaking, and the thought of Henry Tudor as a lover sent cold chills down her spine. She most certainly did not envy Cat Howard.

When the door had closed behind her, Will Somers said to the king, "Once I chided you for letting her mother go, Hal, but nothing would do but you must have a Howard. I wonder if you do not make the same mistake again." His sharp brown eyes queried the king.

"This time it will be different," Henry Tudor said firmly. "My Catherine is a rose without a thorn, Will. I shall never be unhappy ever again. She will give me sons, and brighten my old age."

Will Somers shook his grizzled gray-brown head. The king was practically fifty years of age. He had walked this earth almost a half century, yet he was still a dreamer and a romantic. Will loved his master, and it pained him to see him hurt. How long would Catherine Howard make poor Hal happy before something or someone spoiled the idyll? Will Somers had seldom seen a happy ending here at court. He moved quietly to the windows and looked into the court below. The travelers were even now departing Greenwich.

Young Owen FitzHugh and his Kingsley cousin had been sent home earlier in the spring. They had seen the court, and there was no reason for them to remain. Nyssa and Varian would travel in the company of the Earl and Countess of Marwood, and young Viscount Wyndham. There was a coach along in the event the ladies chose to nap along the way, but for now both Nyssa and her aunt preferred to ride. A second carriage was provided for the upper servants, but Toby and Lord FitzHugh's body servants also rode. Only Tillie and Maybelle sat within. There were several baggage carts, and, of course, men-at-arms to guard it all.

The countryside was in full summer dress, but by mid-month there had yet to be any rain. In fact it had not rained since the end of May. The roads were hard, dusty, and dry as they made their way, moving west from Greenwich, and thereby avoiding the city of London. The Earl of March was impressed by the traveling arrangements made by his in-laws. There were fresh horses for them and for their coaches available all along their route. They stayed at the best inns, all of which had been notified ahead of time of their coming.

Marwood Hall and
RiversEdge
were located relatively near to one another, the boundaries of the two estates lying only five miles apart. Bliss and her husband would not, however, be going directly home. It would be necessary for them to accompany their niece to
RiversEdge
, where her parents would be told of Nyssa's marriage. Varian de Winter found himself nervous for the first time in his life. They traveled comfortably for several long days, and then suddenly one afternoon Nyssa began to recognize the landscape about her.

"We are near to home!" she said excitedly. "Look! There is the dear old Wye. Ohhh, see! The Mary's gold and the asters are already beginning to bloom." Her face was bright with delight. She knew she had missed
RiversEdge
, but not until this moment had she realized how much.

They descended from the London Road to what was called the River Road. It ran parallel along the Wye for several miles directly to
RiversEdge
. The land rolled gently on either side of the water.

Nyssa spurred her horse ahead of the others. " 'Tis Michaelschurch ferry crossing, Varian," she called to her husband. "Rumford! Rumford! 'Tis Nyssa Wyndham, and I'm home from court!"

The very elderly man seated upon a bench beneath a large oak tree arose slowly and turned to see who it was calling his name. His weathered face split into a wide grin as his eyes made out the rider. Reaching for his staff, he hobbled forward. "Mistress Nyssa! Yer home, and surely prettier than ever before," he told her as she came to a halt before him. Nyssa dismounted and hugged the old man.

"How is the ferry business, Rumford?" she asked him.

"Slow, mistress. Only the family and an occasional peddler to take across the old Wye these days," Rumford said. "Two of me three sons is now farming for yer da. Only the youngest helps me with the ferry. T'others say he can have their inheritance and good riddance. These modern times is different than when I was a lad, but what can I do."

"As long as there is a Rumford for the ferry, I can see no changes," Nyssa told him. "The Michaelschurch ferry is Rumford business."

The old man cackled with laughter. "Aye, and it is, mistress. Didn't I tell yer mama that all those years back when she come here as a bride for Lord Edmund, yer good father of sainted memory, God assoil him? Michaelschurch ferry and the Rumfords are one and the same."

Nyssa remounted her mare. "I will be needing your services shortly, Rumford," she told him with a smile. "You'll hear soon enough." Then she rejoined the others in her party, who were making their way to the house.

"Who was that?" Varian asked her. When he had visited Winterhaven, he had taken a road on the other side of the river.

"Old Rumford, the ferry keeper," Nyssa told him. "There have always been Rumfords to keep the ferry at Michaelschurch, or so they tell everyone. Frankly, no one can remember a time when there were not. My mother arrived at
RiversEdge
by crossing the Wye on that ferry. My grandparents and Kingsley relations live on the other side of the river. It is how we will go to Winterhaven, is it not, my lord? Oh, look! 'Tis
RiversEdge!
" she said excitedly.

Varian gazed in the direction in which her slender finger was pointed. A magnificent dark red brick house, covered in shiny green ivy and built in the shape of an H, lay ahead of them. About it were well-tended gardens, colorful with summer blooms. "I fear, sweeting, that Winterhaven is nothing so fine as your
RiversEdge
," he told her. His eyes scanned the gray slates that roofed the house. There were a number of chimneys soaring upward above the roofs, which indicated to him a vast number of rooms with fireplaces.

"We will make Winterhaven every bit as grand," Nyssa promised him. He smiled at her, adoring her loyalty, for he knew how much she loved her childhood home.

As the horses and vehicles came to a stop before the great front door of
RiversEdge
, that door was thrown open and a very handsome couple emerged. The woman had Nyssa's eyes, but her hair was honey-colored. The gentleman was tall, with dark hair and very blue eyes. It was he who reached up and lifted Nyssa from her mount.

"Welcome home, my precious daughter," Anthony Wyndham said warmly, and he kissed the girl on both of her cheeks.

"Thank you, Papa," Nyssa said, and then turned to her mother.

The two women kissed, and Blaze knew instantly that something had changed. "Has the king dispensed with your services, my child? While I am delighted to see you home again, I am surprised. Until your uncle's outrider arrived yesterday, we had no idea that you would be coming. Is everything all right?" Blaze could see that her sister looked nervous, and who was this unfamiliar but most handsome gentleman?

Nyssa smiled at her parents reassuringly. "Let us go inside and have some wine, Mama. The road has been appallingly dusty. I shall tell you both of my adventures at court." She slipped her arm through her mother's and walked with her into the house.

Anthony Wyndham greeted his eldest son and heir. "So you've come home, lad, eh? Court not to your liking?"

"It is an experience worth having," Philip said, "but like both of my parents, I prefer the country. I did, however, meet a young lady I should like to speak with you about, sir. I realize that we are yet too young for marriage, but perhaps we could make those arrangements for the future before the year's end. She is one of the lady Anne's maids of honor. Her name is Helga von Grafsteen."

"A foreigner?" The Earl of Langford looked a bit disturbed. "She'll need a good dowry, lad, to make up for a lack of English lands. I had hoped one of the girls about here would suit you, but we can talk."

"Thank you, sir," Viscount Wyndham replied, and then he accompanied his father into the house.

Varian de Winter followed, his eyes reflecting his amazement at the warmth and charm of the Great Hall of
RiversEdge
. The room had a lofty, soaring ceiling with carved beams that were gilded and highlighted in a scroll design. Windows, set high, lined both sides of the hall, allowing in a wealth of bright sunlight. There were four fireplaces, none of which was now burning, as the day was so hot. The high board, at the far end of the room, was fashioned from golden oak. It was well-polished, and gleamed with the warmth that only age and loving care could give it. Behind the high board, and centered, were two thronelike chairs.

Well-trained, attentive servants were immediately in evidence, offering the guests wine and small biscuits. The servants were clean, as was their clothing. They were soft-spoken and mannerly. The Earl of March could but wonder what Nyssa would think of the elderly, creaking retainers she was going to find at Winterhaven.

Blaze Wyndham now turned to look at Varian de Winter. "And who is this gentleman, Nyssa?" she asked her daughter.

"Mama, may I present to you Varian de Winter, the Earl of March . . .
my husband
," Nyssa replied quietly. There! It was done.

"
What!
?" The single word was positively shouted by the Earl of Langford. "You cannot marry anyone, Nyssa, without my permission, and if you have, it shall be annulled immediately, girl. I will not have it! Do you understand?"

"Tony," his wife pleaded, "cease your outrage, and let me learn the truth of this matter." She turned to her sister and brother-in-law. "How were you involved in this matter, Bliss? Why did you not write to me about it?" She turned back to her daughter. "Indeed, Nyssa, why did you not write to your father and me about this?"

Owen FitzHugh spoke for them both. "This is Nyssa's story to tell, Blaze. Afterward, if either Bliss or I can add anything, we shall be happy to do so. We protected Nyssa as best we could."

"But obviously not well enough," growled the Earl of Langford. "My daughter's come home wed to some damn fortune hunter we don't even know! A fine state of affairs, and you'll answer to me for it, Owen."

Varian de Winter spoke up. "My lord, I am no fortune hunter, but your neighbor from across the river. Winterhaven is my family's home. You may have known my late father, Henry de Winter. I left my estates when I was six and was raised by my grandfather."

"And who the hell is he?" demanded Anthony Wyndham, red-faced with outrage. What the hell had possessed Nyssa to marry this man without their permission, or even their knowledge? She was not a flighty girl.

"My grandfather," the Earl of March said quietly, "is Thomas Howard."

"
The Duke of Norfolk
?" The Earl of Langford was visibly impressed, but he was still not satisfied.

"I would like to hear my daughter's explanation for her rash behavior," Blaze said quietly. Her husband noted the use of the word
my
.

"If you have all finished shouting, and posturing, and cross-examining each other, I will be happy to tell you how I came to be married to this gentleman," Nyssa said.

"Philip!" roared his father. "Where the hell were you in the midst of all of this? Could you not have protected your sister?"

"I knew nothing until it was an accomplished fact, my lord," Philip told his father bluntly.

"We were married in the Chapel Royal on April twentieth by the Archbishop of Canterbury and Bishop Gardiner," Nyssa said quietly. "The king was there. Indeed it was he who ordered my marriage to Varian."

"Why?" Blaze asked her daughter.

"I must start at the beginning," Nyssa told her mother. "You have heard the rumors that the king did not like his new wife, the Princess of Cleves? They are true, though why he felt this way no one can really understand. The lady Anne is a kind and good woman. Still, nothing would do but that the king escape this marriage. He was granted an annulment on the ninth day of the month on the grounds of nonconsummation."

"
Nonconsummation
?" the Earl of Langford snorted. "That damned satyr will flourish his lance in any convenient sheath."

"Nay, Papa," Nyssa said. "He did not use the lady Anne. I know."

"But what has this to do with your marriage to this gentleman?" Blaze pressed her eldest daughter. "I do not understand."

Nyssa quietly explained to her family what had happened on that fateful night.

"And you lent yourself to this, my lord?" Anthony Wyndham said scathingly to Varian de Winter. "I think little of you for it."

"What would you have had me do, sir?" the Earl of March said fiercely. "My grandfather did not care with whom she was discovered. Better it be someone who loved her than someone who did not." He glared at his father-in-law.

The veins in Anthony Wyndham's neck stood out with his anger, but his wife had understood the words that he had not.
Better it be someone who loved her
. Looking at the Earl of March, Blaze saw that he did love her daughter. He was as angry, and as protective of Nyssa, as Tony. She put a restraining hand upon her husband's arm.

"He loves her, Tony. Can you not see it? Temper your anger and look at him.
He loves her
," she said softly.

"But does she love him? We always promised her that she could marry the man she loved," Lord Wyndham replied. He looked at the girl. "Do you love him, Nyssa? Tell me the truth, poppet. If you are unhappy, if this is not to your liking, I will move heaven and earth to free you from this man! I will not allow you to be unhappy for the rest of your life, Nyssa. Neither your mother nor I want that."

"I do not know if I love Varian," Nyssa said honestly, "or if I will ever love him. Is that not a chance people of our station take when we marry? You did not know if Mama would ever love you when you married her. Varian is a good man, and I do not think I can expect anything more than that, Papa." She kissed her stepfather's cheek. "Now come, and give my husband your hand in friendship. Give us your blessing too."