“I want that which you gave to me for safekeeping eighteen years ago, Henry. I want Arissa.”
Henry’s reaction was immediate; his eyes widened and his jaw swung open. He attempted to speak, but all that came forth from the great gaping mouth was something of a strangled cough. Licking his parched lips, he tried again.
“Arissa? God’s Blood, she’s a child!”
“She’s eighteen years old and a woman grown.”
Henry’s face turned an ugly shade of red. “Out of the question, Sir Richmond. She’s a novice nun, pledged to Whitby, and a princess of royal blood. She’s beyond your….”
“Give me Arissa or you can fight Hotspur by yourself.”
Richmond did not think it possible that Henry’s eyes could grow any wider; he was wrong. They bulged grotesquely and the king’s body stiffened in astonishment. Throughout the twisting and gasping, however, Richmond remained calm. He had to maintain his composure if he was to obtain his wants in the face of such outrageous shock.
“I mean every word, Henry. Give me Arissa or Northumberland can march on London with my blessing.”
Henry clenched and unclenched his meaty fists in agitation. “How dare you threaten me!”
Richmond watched his furious monarch quite impassively. “I am not threatening you. I am simply stating a fact. You want me for a very important task; I am more than willing to complete that task successfully if you are willing to pay for my services,” he shoved the chair out of the way that had been separating them; face to face, they glared at each other. “You gave Arissa to me at birth, instructing me to watch over her, care for her, protect her, and I have done so flawlessly. She has always been mine, Henry. What I am asking is nothing outlandish or impulsive. I simply want my due. I wanther.”
Henry had to look away from Richmond lest he give in to his inclination to strangle the man. “I entrusted her protection andsafety to you and nothing more. And now you intend to claim her like a… a prize?”
Richmond shook his head firmly. “Not a prize, Henry. I want her as my wife. I love the woman with all my heart.”
Somewhere in the midst of his tirade, a small seed of recollection burst forth, blooming into a garden of memories. As Richmond’s words settled, Henry found himself remembering the delicate black-haired woman he had loved so long ago, a woman he had worshiped with his words and emotions and body. A woman who tore his heart to pieces when she committed her life to a north Yorkshire abbey.
A good deal of bluster drained out of Henry as he found himself reliving pieces of broken memories. A certain touch, a stolen meal, a night of ecstasy. The same ecstasy that had resulted in a beautiful dark-haired daughter. The daughter Richmond had been assigned to protect.
“Oh, Richmond,” Henry’s voice was faint, his hand over his face in a gesture of disbelief and resignation. His hand came away from his brow and he grasped at the chair next to him as if the furniture could support his weakening body. “Youloveher?”
Richmond studied Henry intently, scrutinizing every move, every word. “I cannot remember when I haven’t loved her,” he said, his voice softening. “And she returns my love. But let me be clear; it wasn’t always like this. Only over the past two years have I been living every moment for the sound and sight and smell of the woman. I fought my feelings as long as I could but I can no longer deny them. How could I not have fallen in love with such beauty and sweetness?”
“She’s beautiful?” Henry turned to him inquisitively, immediately shaking his head with the foolishness of his question. “Of course she’s beautiful. Her mother was beautiful. I myself saw Arissa when she was eleven years old and even then she was beautiful.”
Richmond’s heart began to soften as he pictured Arissa in his mind, savoring every exquisite feature. “The angels are jealous of her beauty, Henry. A more magnificent creature has ever existed.”
Henry leaned on the chair a moment longer before lowering his body onto the supple cushions. His movements were slow, laced with defeat. The longer he pondered Ellyn and the result of their liaison, the more depressed he became.
“You are entirely serious about this?” his dull eyes met Richmond’s gaze, a fair eyebrow cocking gently for effect. “You will leave me to Hotspur’s mercy if I do not grant you Arissa?”
Richmond sighed, thinking that mayhap he had been too harsh, too demanding in his presentation. But he was determined to gain Arissa, no matter what. Henry had to know there was no room for negotiation.
“I am serious,” he replied softly. “Give me Arissa and I swear to you that Northumberland will remain your ally. You have my word as a knight.”
Henry scratched his chin, wearily. “Which brings me to another point. You are a mere knight, not even a baron or an earl. If Arissa were to marry, it would have to be to a man of higher rank.”
“So grant me a title. Have I not earned one for my years of service?”
Henry cast him a droll glance. “I did grant you one, you fool. If you marry Cecily you shall have a bloody earldom.”
“I do not want Cecily’s earldom. I want Arissa and lands of our own.”
Henry rolled his eyes sardonically, clapping a hand over his face and wiping at his perspiring forehead. “God’s Blood, I cannot believe you would take advantage of me this way. Threatening to throw me to the wolves if I do not grant your request.”
Richmond slowly took the chair opposite the king, his eyes soft and speculative. “I am not threatening you, Henry. But you want something from me, and I want something from you. We are bargaining to gain what we both desire.”
“Bargaining?” Henry snorted. “Hardly. You seem to hold the advantage.”
Richmond shook his head weakly, their confrontation leaving him drained. “Wrong again. You hold the advantage, ’else I would not be so determined to bargain,” he sighed heavily, with feeling. “You are my friend, Henry. I do not relish backing my friend into a corner with harsh demands and warnings of disservice. But for Arissa, I would do just that. You must understand how important she is to me.”
