He could not explain to her all of the reasons. It was too complicated, too twisted, and perhaps too frightening for someone like her who was unused to the dealings of politics. She would never know that it was Richard’s lust for her that set off the chain of events that would eventually claim his throne and his life. He had to tell her in terms she would understand, and in a way that would bring her comfort.
“You said once that you did not care who sat upon the throne so long as you and I could live in peace,” he said quietly. “Perhaps I saw that chance with Henry more than Richard. Perhaps I finally realized that my family was more important than my fealty to a king.”
“But Gaston turned, too.”
“He realized the same thing.”
She pondered that for a moment. “Do you believe that the wars are over for now?” she asked softly. “Do you really believe we will have the opportunity to live in peace?”
“I risked my life and reputation just for that very hope,” he said. “Nothing is more important than you and our child, Alix. I would kill a million men and betray a thousand kings just to provide my family with a safe world. Do not doubt that for one moment.”
“I do not,” she said, believing him without question. Snuggling closer, she allowed herself to feel the thrill of realizing that he was indeed home to stay. “What of Gaston? Where is he?”
“Henry has sent him to York, to a castle called Mount Holyoak. He has control of Yorkshire for now.”
“Will we see him again?”
“Of course. De Russe and I are irrevocably connected, as he is now to you, too.”
“What do you mean?”
He could not tell her what he really meant. “Suffice it to say that you did the improbable,” he touched her cheek. “You made a friend of the man.”
It was a pleasing thought and she was very glad, although she did not know what she’d truly done to deserve such an honor. She was silent a moment, contemplating the new future before them.
“What will happen now?” she asked softly.
His embrace tightened and he inhaled deeply of her faded violet scent. He had missed it painfully. “Now, we await the birth of my son in the spring.”
She smiled. “There must be more than that.”
“Of course there is,” he thought a moment on something other than the immediate future. There was so much more ahead of them, things he found himself looking forward to. “With Henry the Seventh upon the throne, I will send Johnny to Rosehill to bring father home. I will also send Mark to Kington Castle on the Welsh Marches to assume the position of garrison commander.”
“Garrison commander?” she repeated with surprise. “He is leaving Wellesbourne?”
“Aye,” Matthew replied. “As the Earl of Hereford, I have appointed my brother the garrison commander of my holdings. Three of them, in fact, all active border castles. Mark will have his hands full but I have confidence that he can control the Welsh.”
Her eyes opened wide. “Earl of Hereford?”
His eyes twinkled. “Did I forget to mention that? Henry rewarded me for my exemplary service at Bosworth. A mighty legacy to pass along to our son, don’t you think?”
Alixandrea was overwhelmed. Her husband was home, a new earl no less, a baby was on the way, and Matthew seemed confident that peace would hold. The War of the Roses would soon become a thing of the past and a new era of harmony glimmered on the horizon. It was almost too good to believe.
On that day those months ago when she had entered theHead O’Bucketin Newbold and saw a mountain of a man brooding in the corner, she could have never imagined her life to turn out as it had. It seemed like a dream. The White Lord and Lady of Wellesbourne had passed into a new age and she was ready, more than willing, to face it so long as Matthew was by her side.
Her touch spoke of untold emotion and tenderness as she gently kissed her husband’s lips. Gazing into his blue eyes, she knew that she would never be able to fully express what wasin her heart. With all they had lived and died for, all she cared about was that the man was safe.
“I think our son will have a remarkable legacy,” she kissed him again, more firmly this time. “And I think he has a remarkable father.”
Matthew could feel her warmth burning deep inside of him. She was delicious and he tasted deeply of her. “Not nearly as remarkable as his mother.”
“Matt?”
He did not want to talk; he only wanted to taste her. “Aye?”
“There is something I would like to do.”
He thought they were of the same mindset. “I am about to do it.”
