The Unconventional Maiden (23 page)

Beth raced over to Gawain. ‘You are hurt,’ she cried in distress and placed an arm around him.

He gazed into her lovely eyes with a faint smile and placed his sound arm about her shoulders. ‘And you? You are unharmed?’

‘Aye!’ She kissed him.

At that moment those who had accompanied Gawain arrived on the scene, as did the girls. Hearing the commotion, Beth nudged her husband, but he paid no heed to her and continued to kiss her. Then she felt him sag against her and she called for assistance.

Tom and Nick came hurrying forwards, as did a younger man whom Beth did not recognise. They hoisted Gawain upright and for a brief moment her eyes met Nick’s. ‘Thank you! We must get him home,’ she said earnestly.

He nodded, and without further ado the three men hoisted Gawain up on to their shoulders and set off through the woods. Beth felt a tug on her skirts and looked down at Lydia and Tabitha. ‘Is Papa going to be all right?’ asked the elder girl.

‘Of course, he is,’ said Beth stoutly. ‘Your father is one of the strongest and mightiest men I have ever met. Come, let us go and tend him. I will need your help.’

‘Wh-what of
him
?’ asked Lydia, jerking her head in the direction of Father Hugh, lying on the ground still held in Cerberus’s powerful jaws.

Beth looked a question at Benjamin. ‘Don’t you be
worrying about this nasty fiend, me dears,’ he said. ‘The Almighty will deal with his black soul now my hound has finished with him,’ he said, dragging Cerberus away.

Beth decided there was no more to be said on that score and hurried with the children after her husband, rejoicing that he had arrived in the nick of time and praying that he would soon recover from his wound.

Gawain was propped up with several pillows in bed. Beth was perched on the side of it, holding his hand. ‘So,’ she said, ‘it was the king who insisted that you rush straight home?’

‘Aye, but not until after Master Mortimer met Nick Hurst and mentioned what his sister had told him and suggested that he speak to Wolsey of it. The Cardinal spoke to the king. Until then, Henry had found it difficult to accept that a priest could willy-nilly murder several people. Henry is extremely religious, you know!’

‘What happened next?’

Gawain’s eyes darkened. ‘Father Hugh vanished from the quarters where he had been confined. I tell you, when I heard that news I was almost beside myself with fear for you and the girls. And rightly so. He was completely mad.’

Beth said thoughtfully, ‘Master Mortimer deems it likely that Father Hugh saw Jonathan acting in a play and pursued him, even to following him everywhere he went. He must have come disguised that time Cedric visited the shop and I overheard them talking, for I remember there being a strangely dressed woman there
who stared at them in such a way that if looks could kill, then they’d have both died on the spot. If only I’d made the connection with the priest earlier on.’ She sighed. ‘As it was, I remembered him coming into the print room another time as himself and talking to my father. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but perhaps it was about Jonathan.’

‘I remember my mother didn’t like him trying to monopolise my father,’ said Gawain, squeezing her hand.

‘He mentioned your father back at the tower,’ said Beth. ‘He said something about having memories of meeting your father there when they were boys. If he hadn’t, he would have killed the girls immediately.’ She shuddered.

Gawain held her hand all the tighter. ‘Apparently they had been great friends before Father married. It was as if Hugh couldn’t accept all that had changed once my mother came on the scene. I sympathised with my mother’s feelings because I would have liked more of my father’s attention. As it was, my father loved my mother so much that sometimes I felt that there wasn’t any love left over for me. When Mother died I thought then there would be an opportunity for Father and I to grow closer together and comfort each other in our grief, but it never happened. He couldn’t live without her and I think he set his mind on joining her in death and was careless for his safety. I felt as if he had rejected me and I determined when I had children that I would always be there for them and never shut them out. It was only when I fell in love with you that I began
to understand how my father must have felt when my mother died. I wouldn’t want to live without you, darling Beth.’

‘You really love me?’ she said with stars in her eyes.

‘Of course I do.’

They kissed long and sweetly.

When they drew apart she rested her head on his shoulder and said, ‘Thank God it is all over and that Father Hugh is no longer a threat to us and we can finally look to the future.’

‘Aye,’ he said. ‘And that means you sharing my bed. I do not intend remaining quiet about your being my wife any longer. When I heard you scream in the wood, I knew then that I loved you so much that I would give my life for you. I wouldn’t want to live without you, Beth.’

‘You really do love me then?’ asked Beth, her eyes moist.

‘Have I not just told you so?’ He brought her against him and kissed her soundly.

Eventually they drew apart and Beth sighed. ‘You must not put too much strain on your arm or shoulder or it will delay your recovery.’

He grimaced. ‘And that is something I cannot afford to do. The king commanded me to return to Greenwich once this matter was sorted out and you and the children are to accompany me. He has not forgotten your father and would like to meet you again. He also considered the girls could be playmates for the Princess Mary, who is four years old.’

Beth said, ‘You have told him we are married?’

‘Aye, I thought it best. Soon we will be unable to hide that you are carrying our son.’

Beth placed her hand on her belly. ‘You are very certain I am carrying a boy. What if it is another daughter for you?’

He covered her hand and laced his fingers through hers. ‘Then I will still give thanks to God because, if she is aught like her mother, then I will be doubly blessed.’

Beth squeezed his hand, touched by his words. They were extra-precious to her, knowing how much he wanted a son. She prayed that she would give birth to the boy that he and her father had so wanted. In the meantime, there was much else to look forward to before then. ‘So when will I meet the king if all goes well?’ she asked.

‘The eve of the Nativity. Pip Hurst and his troupe of players are to entertain the court and David Mortimer has composed music specially for the occasion.’

Beth’s face lit up. ‘You must not forget to reward his sister, Rebecca.’

‘No, I will not,’ said Gawain, smiling. ‘And what will be your reward for rescuing my daughters?’

‘I have all that I need here,’ she replied, caressing his strong jaw. ‘Although I would welcome a new gown for the occasion and a new quill, ink and paper would not come amiss. Imagine the copies of my news sheet I could sell if I wrote about the celebrations at court.’

‘Beth, you would not dare!’

She chuckled and silenced him with a kiss.

August 1521

B
eth hummed softly to herself as she and Rebecca Mortimer pegged sheets of newly printed pages on lines in the print room. They had risen early and she prayed that they would finish their task before Gawain and the printers made an appearance. He had been against her coming to the city after the birth of their son, but three months had passed since then and Jerome Gawain Llewellyn Raventon was thriving and so her husband had agreed to the family attending Bartholomew’s Fair. He had refused her little since their marriage, but she was taking no chances of having him forbid her from printing herself the tales she had spun whilst living quietly in the country awaiting her lying in.

‘What are you doing?’ enquired a male voice.

Beth almost jumped out of her skin and, guilty, she
turned to meet her husband’s eyes. In his arms he carried a grizzling baby. ‘Our son is hungry,’ he said.

‘I’ll be with you both in an instant,’ she replied hastily. ‘Just give me a moment to finish what I’m doing.’

‘What is so important that you rose so early?’ asked Gawain curiously, coming over to the two women. ‘Couldn’t one of the men do what you are doing?’

‘Aye, but I wanted to do it myself,’ said Beth cheerfully, pegging the last page on the line to dry.

‘When are you going to accept, love, that as a wife and mother you have more important work to do these days and leave the printing to one of the men,’ teased Gawain.

‘Or Rebecca,’ said Beth, flashing him a saucy smile before turning to her friend. ‘I do not see why she should not take my place here now I have a different role to fill.’

‘You are ahead of your time, love,’ said Gawain. ‘The men might accept you as you are their employer, but not—’

‘I know what you are going to say,’ said Beth with a sigh.

Rebecca said, ‘I have told her so, Sir Gawain—besides, I must return to Oxford soon, but I have benefited from my time here.’ She smiled at husband and wife. ‘I will leave you now and see you at the fair.’

Beth thanked her for her help and saw her out before turning to face Gawain. He handed their son to her. ‘The girls were asking where you had gone. They want your help to get ready. It will be the first time for us as a family watching the procession.’

She reached up and kissed him. ‘Then let us go.’ Gawain placed his arm around her shoulders and as they left the print room, he said, ‘So what were you printing?’

‘Tales of romance and adventure, but you don’t have to worry about their content. They all end happily ever after just like ours,’ said Beth.

All the characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all the incidents are pure invention.

All the characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all the incidents are pure invention.

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First published in Great Britain 2011
Paperback edition 2012
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of Harlequin (UK) Limited.
Harlequin (UK) Limited, Eton House, 18-24 Paradise Road,
Richmond, Surrey TW9 1SR

© June Francis 2011
ISBN: 978-1-408-94317-5