Soldier of Fortune: The King's Courtesan (Rakes and Rogues of the Retoration Book 2) (7 page)

“Are you certain you want to miss a royal wedding, love? The pageantry, the masques, the balls and festivities, will be like nothing you’ve ever seen before. It might be politic to go, and at least tolerably entertaining.”

Intrigued despite herself, she still had to ask. “Are you bored here, William?”

“What? No, Lizzy my love.” He smoothed back her hair and kissed her brow. “I’ve never been happier. Something I never thought I’d say about living in Kent. Besides, I fear if we do go, he’ll not want us to leave. We shall write him and thank him and send a nice gift. A fine mare for his breeding stock. And if he presses the thing, one or the other of us shall fall deathly ill.”

“Do what you think best, William. You know him better than I. But shouldn’t we hear the message before crafting a reply?”

“Saucy chit!” He snatched her stockings from where they lay discarded on the ground and set off across the meadow with them flung over his shoulder, trailing behind him like a scarf.

“William de Veres, you give those back!” Barefoot, Elizabeth chased after him.

~

Charles had indeed recalled them to court to attend his impending wedding. It was both command and invitation. The haughty messenger in his royal livery was accustomed to fawning and deference. He was not accustomed to being made to wait, particularly by a country gentleman who dressed like a farmer, and his barefoot hoydenish wife.

“I say again, sir. I am His Majesty’s representative and you have kept me waiting half the day. I require a response. I require it now so I may be about my duties.”

“You’ve received your response. Thank His Majesty for his kind invitation and tell him I will write.”

“His Majesty requires a yes or no, sir.”

“His Majesty requires messengers who aren’t deaf and don’t need help finding the door.”

Two minutes later, His Majesty’s fuming courier was tossed out the back door by Tom and one of the footmen.

“Was that really necessary, William?”

“Feeding hubris only makes it grow, love.” He poured them both a drink, and sat down on an oversized upholstered couch. Elizabeth picked up the mail and came to lay with her head against the far bolster and her feet in his lap.

“Poor little shepherdess. Your feet are roughened and bruised.”

“Whose fault is that?” She wiggled her toes in his lap and he took a dainty foot and began massaging it.

“Mmmm. That’s heavenly.” She could feel his interest growing, quite literally under her feet, but a familiar heavy scrawl had caught her eye. It was a reply from Robert at last. She had just about given up on him. He had been her only friend through some difficult years and she didn’t want to lose him. She knew he would be hurt, possibly angry at the news of her marriage, but it was hardly something she could keep from him any more than she could have kept it from Charles. Her cheeks flushed and she gave William a guilty look from underneath her lashes.

“What have you there, love? A
billet doux
from a secret admirer?”

“It is a letter from Robert.”

“Robert?”

“Yes. You remember. Captain Nichols”

“Ah, yes! Marjorie’s nice young man. The one who wanted to marry you.

“She thinks you’re a nice young man too.”

“Yes, along with butcher, the baker, the footmen and—”

“William, you must stop teasing her about that. It gets her flustered”

“In a red faced grinning kind of way. So how did a little wren gain so many admirers? Poets, captains, and kings. I was lucky I kidnapped you when I did.”

“Yes, you were.”

“Did I ever meet him? I think not. Some stuffy country Puritan, wasn’t he?

“No. He’s very handsome, if somewhat private and intense. A military man. He had his own company of horse. I am hoping you will get to meet him soon. I rather invited us to his home. I believe you would like each other.”

He chuckled and she made a face at him. “William, that’s an evil laugh.”

“He’ll not like me, my dear. You know so little of men. No man likes the fellow who stole the woman he’d marked as his. Doubtless he judges me an immoral libertine and a terrible danger to your sweet soul.”

“Which you were.” She put down the letter. “You know it’s strange. When last we met he told me he had wanted to marry me when I was a girl, but I never had any idea. He doesn’t show his emotions. I thought at first he didn’t have any. He has always seemed so reserved.”

William shrugged, and moved his attentions from her heel to her arch. “That’s true of many who’ve seen too much of war. People tend to deal with it in different ways. It’s not a thing one tends to share in conversation. ‘Pass the biscuits.... A lump of sugar if you please.... Oh! And did I ever tell you about the poor bastard who had both his legs blown off as he stood beside me?’ It’s no surprise some develop the habit of silence.”

“Did that happen to you?”

“Obviously I didn’t develop the habit of silence,” he said with a grin. “I am the type for whom little things take on more meaning when larger ones disappoint. A fine wine, a lovely painting, a heated kiss, replace glory, honor and duty. Perhaps, for your Robert, it is the reverse. I should think that a very painful way to live.”

“Charles has disappointed you.”

“Yes,” he sighed. “I imagined I was fighting for the birth of a brave new age.”

“That was a great deal to expect from Charles, don’t you think?” she asked gently.

“Yes, my love it was.” He sighed. “Perhaps I am over harsh with him at times. But there’s something glorious in our idealism before life strips it away.”

“I suspect he feels the same.” She looked at him thoughtfully and then opened Robert’s letter and began to read.

My dearest Elizabeth,

How kind of you to write and share your happy news. I can scarcely credit that any woman managed to bring de Veres to heel. It is an act of superb generalship worthy of your father and congratulations are due. I am delighted for you, my dear, so long as he treats you well. It is kind of you to offer to visit. I, too, value our friendship, but I regret it is not possible at this time. It seems the king has found a higher purpose for Cressly, and thus, I must find one for myself. I will be gone from it by the end of next month.

Her gasp of outrage made William looked up from his writing
.
“Elizabeth? What does he say?” She raised a hand for him to wait, as she finished reading.

I am been better suited to soldiering than farming, I suspect, so it should prove no great hardship. Those of us who fought with Cromwell are highly regarded in the private armies of Europe. This has served me well in the past and I’ve no doubt I can make my fortune there. I expect to keep a small town house in London to occupy my servants and act as a pied-à-terre. Once all is arranged, I will of course, look forward to your visit.

Your servant, Captain Robert Nichols

The captain had served as a mercenary? She had never thought to ask him what he’d done during the peaceful years of Cromwell’s Protectorate, though she knew he’d been recalled to active duty in Ireland near the end. She had always assumed he’d spent them quietly, seeing to his estate.
I pictured him there, going over his books while he was tramping across the battlefields of Europe?
It struck her that despite their friendship, she really hadn’t known the man at all. She did know that he had rescued and protected her, though, and helped her back on her feet when her own world had come tumbling down.
And I know Cressly means more to him than what he lets on.

“ Is something troubling you, Lizzy? It’s not like you to be quite for so long.”

“Oh, William how could he?” she said, ignoring his teasing. “The king is taking Robert’s lands!”

William shrugged. “These things happen. He is a lesser gentleman who was on the wrong side of the war. It costs Charles nothing to displace him. There must be someone he needs to please and your friend’s lands are the most convenient way to do so.”

“Well, I have changed my mind. We
must
go to London now. Captain Nichols rescued me from Cromwell’s soldiers, Will. It was he who intervened the day after you left. He spoke for me when I was judged and facing transportation or worse, and he helped me get settled in London. Perhaps if I speak with Charles I can change his mind. I must at least try. I owe him so much.”

Their arrival at court a week later was greeted with a great deal of excitement. As they made their way through the great hall to the privy chamber the crowded room became a sea of craning necks. The court had been a duller place since the scandalous earl had left it. People still whispered and chuckled about his farewell gift to the king. They were shocked at the rumors he had married his mistress, except the Duke of Monmouth who’d made a fortune wagering on it and still maintained that Elizabeth Walters had been the earl’s childhood friend.

They look at me as if I was a tame bear,” William grumbled to Elizabeth.

Her heart skipped a beat. She wondered, for just a moment, if he’d feel the need to prove them wrong. She dismissed the thought as quickly as it came. It had been close to a year, and he had earned her trust.

Catching her eye, he reached for a drink, his lips twisted in a dangerous smile, but she pointedly ignored him. Satisfied, he took the time to savor it. Chocolate, smoke, cedar wood, the aroma and taste lingered. It was meant to be experienced through all its layers, much like a fine poem. He wondered what other heady pleasures he’d missed in a hazy drift to oblivion.
But I didn’t miss her.

He reached for Elizabeth and pulled her close.
“
Why are we here again? Ah, yes. We must arrange another meeting for you with our gracious king, your old beau, so we might save your gallant captain, another old beau. I swear, little bird, you delight in giving me competition. Look. Here he comes now.”

“Please be nice, William. You know I’m fond of him, and so are you. And I
am
here to ask a favor.”

“You expect me to help you rescue a rival, and now you wish me to be nice? I fail to see what amusement there is in this for me.”

She reached up to slide her fingers through his hair, caressing the back of his neck. He bent his forehead to hers and she whispered, “You have no rival, William, and as to what amusement there is for you… you’ll learn of it tonight.”

“William! Elizabeth! How are you, my dears? What a pleasure it is to see you both returned to the fold. I expect things to be much more entertaining now the two of you have joined us.” Stepping between them, Charles Stuart clapped his arms about their shoulders and gave them both an enthusiastic hug.

“Come. I’ve been eager to show you some of the wedding preparations. You in particular, Elizabeth. I remember how taken you were by our last grand masque. My bride arrives at Portsmouth and we will sail down the Thames on a magnificent barge. Some of the decorations are being readied here on the palace grounds.”

His enthusiasm and long stride swept them through a crowd of courtiers before either had a chance to respond. He ushered them into a bustling workshop where a swarm of busy artisans and workers were carving and gilding, painting and brazing. There were giant thrones and arches, water-spouting seahorses and Poseidons, and magnificent mechanical unicorns and lions that reared and roared.

“Well...? What do you think of it, Will?”

It took William a moment to respond. “If your bride tends to garishness and excess she’ll be transported.”

“All of England will be transported. The barge will be the centerpiece of a grand flotilla. It will herald a new era for England. We make great gains through this marriage. A fresh start, William, yes? You have had yours it seems.” Charles smiled warmly at Elizabeth and she gave him a brilliant smile in return. He tore his gaze away and turned back to William. “Do you remember all our dreams, Will?”

His voice sounded wistful and William bit back a pointed reply. “I do, Your Majesty. I hope this marriage brings you more than lands and access to the Mediterranean. I hope it brings you some of the joy Lizzy and I have found.”

“Thank you. I am delighted you both came. One wants his friends around him on occasions such as this. Have you missed us here at court?”

“My fair damsel has lured me to a newfound shore, where I find myself in imminent danger of sobriety. It changes ones perspective and—”

“God’s blood, man! What evil witchery is this? You may be sure I shall do all I can to effect a rescue. Elizabeth, what
can
you be thinking? I let you have him in the full expectation you would bring him safely home.”

“And I have done so, Majesty.’

“Hah! You have usurped his attentions and stolen him away like a fairie of old. Well, no matter. There is plenty of time before the wedding. I’ve some rooms set aside I think you’ll enjoy. No doubt the many enchantments of London will soon recapture you both.”

“There is also a matter Elizabeth would like to discuss, Charles.”

“Yes, of course, my dears. People always have something to discuss. But first, dear Will, I would speak with you.”

~

Elizabeth watched with a smile as the king and her husband engaged in a lengthy
tête à tête
. They had a bond of friendship stretching back to the beginnings of Charles exile and she was glad to see them reconcile.

“Lady de Veres…What brings you back to court?”

Elizabeth turned in surprise. The greeting was almost civil. “His Majesty does, Lady Castlemaine.”

The two woman stood in awkward silence for a moment. Lady Castlemaine spoke first. “You would be wise to leave him be. He is mine.”

“I rather thought he was his Queen’s. Or soon will be.”

“That changes nothing. She is an accoutrement, like his scepter and robes of state.”

“I hope not, for her sake, poor lady.”