The Marriage Prize (45 page)

agreed to ridiculous concessions to Llewelyn. He has agreed

to the

262

independence of Wales, and there is talk that he wil al ow

Llewelyn to retain al he has conquered in the Marches. You

saw for yourself that Simon wants Llewelyn for his son-in-law!

"Does Simon insist upon including the commoners in

Parliament because he realizes he must depend on them for

money and support in the struggles ahead? Al the barons in

the North are holding themselves aloof from him. Most of the

nobles are now suspicious that a brewer wil have the same

vote as a belted earl. He is taking into his own hands the

possessions of Prince Edward: Bristol, Chester, Newcastle,

Nottingham. He has given one son Dover and the other

Hereford Castle. He is excluding the proud nobles such as

Gilbert of Gloucester who aided him in the struggle, while he

consolidates his personal power."

"I don't believe you!" Rosamond cried. "You are taking the side of Edward because he is your friend!"

"I am taking the side of Edward because he is our future king.

The throne of England is his divine right. His must be the

power, his the glory, not an earl of the realm."

Rosamond stubbornly placed her hands over her ears and

turned her back upon him. Rodger took her arm and swung

her about to face him. His voice was deceptively low, but his

eyes burned with green fire. "I shal al ow you your own opinion

in this matter, Rosamond, and we shal agree to disagree.

However, you wil put on your prettiest gown, your sweetest

smile, and come down to the hal to entertain our guests this

evening. You are Lady Rosamond de Leyburn, chatelaine of

Tewkesbury, and you wil behave accordingly."

She tossed back her hair and raised her chin defiantly. Her

cheeks blazed with fury, but she did not dare to defy him.

Twenty-four

Alyce de Clare could no longer bear being confined in the

queen's household. Before the beauteous Princess Eleanora

arrived, Alyce had found a receptive listener in the queen

when she voiced her complaints against Sir Rodger de

Leyburn. The queen already hated Lord Edward's steward,

whom she believed had been a terrible influence on her son,

and she blamed de Leyburn for the theft of her jewels from the

New Temple. When Alyce suggested that the royal steward

had made himself wealthy by dipping into the royal coffers, the

queen launched an inquiry of the accounts and vowed to

confiscate de Leyburn's landholdings at Tewkesbury.

The queen also was outraged that Alyce's husband, Gilbert de

Clare, had supported the traitorous Simon de Montfort, and

she urged Alyce to return to Gloucester and lure Gilbert back

into the royal fold. Alyce began to reason that since she was

now the Countess of Gloucester, her rightful place was beside

her wealthy, powerful husband. The youthful Gilbert would be

like putty in her hands! Alyce gathered together her servants

and departed London.

******************

Tewkesbury. He was overjoyed when he learned that before

Simon de Montfort had returned to London for Parliament, he

had moved Prince Edward from Kenilworth to Hereford

Castle, putting his son Henry in charge of the royal prisoner.

Edward's Gascons, who had fled to France after the battle at

Lewes, sailed back, landing at Pembroke in Wales. Harry of

Almaine's forces, who had escaped to Ireland, returned as

Almaine's forces, who had escaped to Ireland, returned as

wel , and Rodger de Leyburn, in league with the rebel Marcher

lords, gathered the fighting

264

men at squat Ludlow Castle, seven miles from Mortimer's

castle of Wigmore.

Rodger de Leyburn decided it was time to recruit Gilbert de

Clare. As England's leading peer, the youthful Earl of

Gloucester had more men under his command than any other

noble, and Rodger knew his fiery pride was smoldering

because he had been relegated to the background of the

political struggle. Rodger spent a week at Gloucester,

flattering, persuading, and urging Gilbert to change his

al egiance, as his father had done. "Surely you wil not place

Gloucester Castle in Simon de Montfort's hands as he has

directed?" Rod questioned.

"That I wil not do! De Montfort is Earl of Leicester, a much

lower rank than Gloucester! If he appoints new castel ans for

my landholdings, I shal hang them!"

Rodger suspected that Gilbert held back from joining them

because of the rumors and gossip about his relationship with

his wife, Alyce de Clare, but when Rod broached the subject,

Gilbert waved a hand dismissively and declared, "We wil not

speak of the woman." Referring to her as "the woman" did not bode wel for Alyce de Clare, Rodger decided.

Gilbert was incensed when he learned that Earl Simon had

betrothed Demoisel e de Montfort to Llewelyn of Wales. Rod

recal ed the hunger he'd seen in Gilbert's eyes when he had

looked at Demi during his visit to Kenilworth last year. He

suspected that Gilbert fancied himself in love with Simon's

daughter.

Before Rodger left Gloucester, he hinted to Gilbert that

Edward Plantagenet might honor the Provisions of Oxford

when he came to power, and that is what final y tipped the

scales and made Gilbert agree to meet secretly with Edward,

if and when the prince could be freed.

Rodger returned to Tewkesbury for one day only before he

was off to London to attend Simon de Montfort's Parliament.

Rosamond remained cool toward him, maintaining a polite

distance, and though Rodger wished it were otherwise, he did

not have the time to devote to win her over to a loving mood.

He was thankful that Rosamond was no longer riven with fear

about the baby she carried, and promised that he would be

back at Tewkesbury before their child was born.

265

Rosamond divided her time between their castles of

Tewkesbury and Deerhurst. As head steward of both

households, Master Burke always accompanied her and

consulted her about every improvement at Deerhurst. The

property now rivaled Tewkesbury with its herds of cattle and its

prosperous tenant farms. Rosamond was particularly proud of

its stil room, in which there now hung both kitchen herbs and

medicinal herbs. As she looked around, she knew Rod had

been right in suggesting the union of the two properties. In

fact, she admitted he was right about most things, including

their own union. She could not, however, approve of his

plotting with the Marcher barons. Simon de Mont-fort had won

the war and now ruled England. Why couldn't they live in

peace? Why did Rodger have to oppose her guardian?

Rosamond's loyalties were hopelessly divided.

Her days were busy, but in the evening, when she sat with

Nan, sewing tiny garments for the baby, her thoughts were

fil ed with her dark, compel ing husband. She missed him

sorely and longed for his return. She regretted the cool way

she had treated him, before he left for London and

acknowledged that his loyalty to Lord Edward was admirable.

She ran her hand over her bel y, wishing she could caress the

child growing beneath her heart, and knew it was the fear of

war that had prompted her anger toward Rodger. Though she

loved Simon and Eleanor, deep down in her heart she knew

her first loyalty should be to her husband, the father of her

child. Moreover, she could not deny that Edward was the

rightful heir to the throne, and he would indeed make a

magnificent king.

The August morning was lovely and warm, and the air smel ed

of new-mown hay. At noon, when Rosamond heard the clatter

of hooves in the courtyard, she ran out eagerly, expecting to

greet her husband. Instead, her heart dropped as she

recognized Alyce de Clare and her servants, accompanied by

half a dozen packhorses loaded with baggage. She

swal owed her chagrin and greeted her guest graciously as

grooms came hurrying from the stables to water the horses.

"Good morrow, Lady deClare."

Alyce stared at Rosamond's obvious pregnancy with covetous

eyes. "I am on my way 'ome to Gloucester and dropped in to

give my dear friend Rod a message from the queen."

266

"Sir Rodger is away from home, my lady, but al ow me to offer

you the hospitality of Tewkesbury."

Alyce threw back her head and laughed. "How very drol !"

"What do you mean?" Rosamond lifted her chin, expecting a

cutting remark.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news when you are breeding,

but the queen has decided to confiscate Tewkesbury, and al

the royal steward's goods are to be seized," Alyce said with

satisfaction.

Rosamond wanted to pul Alyce de Clare down onto the

flagstones of the courtyard and rip the hair from her head, but

she stood rooted to the spot, unable to move or even speak.

"Since Rod is not here, I won't stay. Gloucester is only a

stone's throw away, and the comfort of my own castle

beckons."

Rosamond stood in a trance watching the cavalcade depart.

When she felt Master Burke touch her elbow, she turned to

him, thinking she might faint. But anger saved her. Suddenly

she was seized by a blazing anger unlike any she had ever

experienced before.

"Master Burke, I want everything and everyone at Tewkesbury

moved to Deerhurst. We must get started at once!" Fury

fueled her energy, and she swept through the castle issuing

orders. She put Nan in charge of the maids, instructing them

to dismantle al the beds so that they could be moved and to

gather al the house linen so that Tewkesbury's treasures could

be safely packed up.

Burke dispatched a groom to Master Gore at Deerhurst,

tel ing him what to expect, and sent messages to al the tenant

farmers to bring their hay wagons. Then he helped the

servants carry furniture from the chambers and rol up the

priceless carpets. It took two days to strip the tapestries from

the wal s, the velvet drapes from the high windows, and to

wrap the valuable artifacts gathered from around the world, for

transportation to Deerhurst. Hour after hour, wagons went

back and forth, until Tewkesbury Castle was almost empty.

With Nan's help, Rosamond packed her gowns and Rodger's

fashionable garments from the great wardrobe. When they

were done, she gazed about the master bedchamber. The

great carved bed was gone, as wel as the ebony tables,

covered with Spanish leather; the only thing remaining was a

feather mattress that lay on the floor, and it would have to be

left.

267

In the courtyard, Nan climbed into the wagon with Chirk, and

Rosamond handed her the pups. "I'd feel much better if you

came too," Nan insisted, her lips pressed together in

disapproval.

"I shal be perfectly al right with Master Burke. You go and

make sure our beds are set up. I promise to fol ow you shortly.

While the last wagon is being loaded, I must walk through the

chambers and make sure we have left nothing of value."

As Rosamond climbed the stairs she became aware of how

much her back had begun to ache. Up until now, she had been

too busy to think about the nagging pain. She told herself that

tonight she would lie in a tub of hot water to relieve it.

Suddenly she remembered the Viking bathing tub. She

hurried down to the courtyard, where Master Burke and the

cart driver were loading the last wagon. "We've forgotten the

red bathing tub! Do you have room for it?"

"Plenty of room. It can go right up top and we'l tie it down,"

they assured her.

Rosamond held the horse's harness while the two men went

back into Tewkesbury. They carried out the tub, and Master

Burke held it on his shoulders while the driver climbed up on

the wagon. She was amazed at how easily the driver hauled it

atop the other furnishings and fastened it securely, but then al

of a sudden he lost his footing and came crashing down onto

the courtyard flagstones.

Rosamond and her steward knelt down to examine the man

as he rol ed about in agony. "He's broken his leg!" she cried.

"This is my fault!"

"It needs splinting, which is best done at Deerhurst. I can drive the wagon," Burke assured her as he lifted the injured man

onto the cart.

"Hurry! You can bring the wagon back for me when you have

attended to his injury."

As Rosamond watched them leave, she felt badly that her

bathing tub had been the cause of the accident. The upsetting

incident made her feel dizzy, and she knew she must sit down

and rest. Slowly she walked inside and sat down on the stairs.

A knifelike pain stabbed into her back, going al the way

through to the front, contracting the muscles of her abdomen.

Rosamond knew her labor had begun, even as an inner voice

268

cried out It's too soon, it's too soon! Panic gripped her as the

emptiness of the castle echoed about her and she realized