The Everlasting Covenant (59 page)

“
Did I not tell you that they would find a way?
”
Daphne laughed.
“
At least you had the good sense to get them wed in
time.
”

“
At least you are not as young as
I
was,
”
Anne reminisced.
“
I was barely sixteen when Sloan came, and frightened. You are nearly a score. Ah, how my children grow old before my
eyes.
”

“
I
’
m afraid it is up to us to deliver my great-grandchild. Praise the saints, I am still alive to see it come,
”
Daphne said with laughter in her voice.
“
At least there is more than me now.
”

“
Deirdre, you are well? No problems?
”

“
None, madam, but that there is no word from Justin or his uncle. We do not know where the men are, nor what they do. Sir Markham travels weekly by horse to Plymouth to buy sup
plies from the merchants he knows, and there is nothing yet. I am afraid for my husband, but not for his child.
”

“
And your brothers,
”
Anne said quietly.

“
My brothers? S
loan is in Calais, and Gage ..
.
”

Anne shook her head.
“
An explanation is long overdue.
”
She quietly excused herself and returned a moment later with a large tapestry bag for keeping sewing supplies. Resting it in her lap, her hands on it, she took a deep breath and began to tell her story. Oddly, she did not tremble. Deirdre, in love with her husband and full on his child, would not abandon her now.

“
My sweeting, it is Dylan deFrayne I have been most loyal to all these years. He is the father of my sons, your brothers. It was not my wish to defy two husbands, to hurt my sons with the truth, nor to have you ashamed of me. I loved him because I could not make the love stop. Somehow, we always found each other. And now ... I sent Gage to Dylan to keep him safe from Clifton. And before Sloan left Ayliffe, he knew the truth. He hates me for it.
”

Deirdre smiled at her mother.
“
I know, madam. I think I know all of it. Daphne had to explain to me why her son would go to such lengths to help you. I am not ashamed of you. I could never be that.
”

Anne checked eyes with Daphne. Daphne shrugged.
“
There is a great deal of time to think and talk here, as you will soon learn.
”

“
I should thank you, but first tell me how long you have known.
”

Daphne laughed lightly, too old now to blush over these scandalous trials.
“
I saw that light in Dylan
’
s eyes when he was a boy. It was the same glow that I had seen in another young knight
’
s eyes
--
your father
’
s. But Ferris Gifford and I were never to have our day. I was wed to Lord deFrayn
e before I could even think of r
unning away with my chosen knight. Thence
forth, I gave all my energy to bringing up my sons. My life was not sad, dear Anne, but mostly good. I am only sorry that Ferris suffered so.

“
When I saw that same glow in young Justin
’
s eyes, I knew we had to rise above that old feud. We cannot continue to torture our children with an old, futile hatred. Bless you, dear, for wisely delivering your daughter out of Ayliffe to my grand
son.
”

“
Deirdre,
”
Anne said solemnly,
“
I did love Lord Forbes. I did try my best. And he adored you.
”

Deirdre nodded, her eyes becoming misty, more in sympathy for her mother
’
s painful confession than any feelings of loss of her own. She had been only a little girl when her father died. She was a married woman now. She could not imagine never being in Justin
’
s arms again.
“
I ..
. think I know, madam, what you must have felt.
”

“
And Heathwick?
”
Anne asked.

“
Trenton is there, but the place is full of Richard
’
s army. There is attainder on all the deFraynes from having it.
”

“
We may be attaindered from Ayliffe soon,
”
she sighed.
“
It will surely be closed to me.
”
She looked around the modest, pretty house.
“
We may have lost everything but life. Yet, if I could stay here all my days, I would be content.
”
She opened her cloth case and retrieved an old, yellowed parchment. The ink had faded badly, but she passed it to Daphne.

The older woman held it away from her eyes, straining to
read the ancient writing. Finally, she looked up at Anne, her eyes round and surprised.
“
Is this what I think it is?
”
she asked.

“
The letter from Lord deFrayne to Lord Gifford. Can you make out the writing?
”

She smiled suddenly.
“
My eyes fail me these days, but one thing is clear. I had not thought to see it ended this way.
”
She rose to leave the room, carrying the letter with her. When she returned she had more than one parchment, the second one in two pieces from having been folded for many years.
“
I should have guessed we were of like minds, Anne. I, too, saved the precious letter.
”
She passed the pages to Anne.
“
The dates are at the top.
”

Anne squinted to make them out. The letter written to the Earl of Heathwick by Lord Gifford of Raedelle was dated Oc
tober 1, 1399. It explained that Henry of Bolingbroke was in London, Richard II was in the Tower, and Parliament had read Bolingbroke
’
s claim to the throne. Gifford offered to lay down the arms that had been raised in defense of Richard for amnesty. The request was somewhat humbled and called on his old friend for compassion. Gifford had already lost many in defense of Richard.

The other letter, Anne
’
s possession, written by the Earl of Heathwick, said very nearly the same thing, if just a bit more pompously, since his side had found the seat of power. DeFrayne called for Gifford
’
s surrender, but offered both friendship and safety for fealty to Henry. It was dated October 2.

“
The first could not have been received,
”
she began. Daphne slowly shook her head.
“
Then who is to say
--
?
”

“
Exactly, my dear Anne. Had we compared the letters fifty or sixty years ago, we would have found the error. The courie
rs must have passed each other –
the two small bands of knights and archers met each other too soon, midway between Heath
wick and Raedelle. They may not have even known they fought each other. The battle that ended the lives of the Earl of Heath
wick and the Earl of Raedelle was said to have happened on the fifth day of October, eight days before Henry
’
s coronation ..
. only three days after Lord deFrayne wrote his offer to Lord
Gifford. The two earls may not have even received their re
spective offers.
”
She shrugged her shoulders.
“
There were no survivors. Who is to say there was not a third force of arms that did them all in, carrying away their own dead with them, re
moving their presence from the field? We will never know
--
there was war all over England then. Those of Raedelle were attaindered and lost their high rank because of their loyalty to Richard.
”

“
It was all a mistake,
”
Anne said in a breath. Tears came to her eyes and she blinked hard.
“
None of it should have ever happened.
”

“
Later, I think, there were other reasons why they fought. After the deaths of Gifford and deFrayne there were other skir
mishes. Each family sent out little troops to lie in wait for the opposition. But this was the beginning,
”
Daphne said, pointing to the old letters.
“
And that was nothing more than a mistake. God
’
s pity on us.
”

Jane and Deirdre were both silent and alert as Anne and Daphne recounted the years and the battles they could remem
ber between the families. Anne told Daphne how she had met Dylan and how they had put down the feud together in that first meeting. Finally, Anne pulled another letter from her satchel and gave it to Daphne.

“
I don
’
t know why my father attempted a letter to you, since the date indicates you were already wed to Lord deFrayne. And perhaps this is one of the rea
sons my mother hated you so ..
. for I found it with her belongings after she was dead. But this was for you. You should finally have it.
”

Daphne
’
s hands trembled slightly as she accepted the old letter. Tears came to her eyes, but she smiled bittersweetly.
“
He was a good and kind man,
”
she said softly.
“
I think he suffered much more than I did. Did you know, Anne,
”
she began, her voice cracking from emotion,
“
that it was your father who de
livered me a tabard bearing Ayliffe
’
s badges, that I might have my son rescued?
”
Daphne nodded affirmatively before Anne could even respond.
“
Just before he died.
”
And then, rising, she very quietly asked to be excused. Daphne took the old letter
out of the room. Anne suspected she wanted privacy for the reading, and for her memories.

“
What will happen now, Mother?
”
Deirdre asked.

“
Now?
”
Anne replied in kind.
“
There is nothing to do now but wait. I believe Sloan rides toward his own father with a hurt, angry vengeance. My youngest child has been delivered to his sire, and my husband is driven with a sick vengeance of his own, although in a moment of rare mercy he did allow me to escape. If I could end it all by tossing these mistaken letters into the fire, I would do so. But,
”
she said with a sigh,
“
I
’
m afraid it will not be that easy for us.
”
She reached into Deirdre
’
s lap, giving her hand a squeeze.
“
I will pray for Justin, my love. You are young and deserve to have happiness.
”

For herself, Anne would ask for nothing.

There was no chapel, nor a priest to hear Anne
’
s prayers, but she found that both the wilderness beyond the house and the beach offered her a sense of serenity that aided her prayers of thanks, of repentance, and even her requests. There were few duties in the small house, all of which the caretaker
’
s wife and Jane could manage quite well. Sir Gravis and Sir Markham hunted, or traveled to Plymouth for news, so Anne was often able to enjoy the solitude and beauty of her surroundings. It was the first time in twenty-six years that she did not have to worry about the care and feeding of multitudes.

At this stage in her life there was very little she wanted for herself. She would be grateful just to know that her sons were safe and well. If she could hold her grandchild in her arms, her most ardent prayers would be answered. She prayed Dylan would survive the unrest in England, but she asked for no more, even on his behalf. They had been through so much, she would be content to know that they had repaid the saints by uniting Deirdre and Justin. She hoped Sloan would one day overcome his anger and his hatred of her, but she wasted little time praying for that. She had gi
ven Sloan all she had to give –
she had taken him from her breast and nurtured him into manhood with the
greatest of care. If he clung to useless hostility now, it was his burden.