“You have come that we may introduce you to our beloved cousin, Lady Rowena and her daughter, Arabella, whom the king has chosen as your prospective bride, my lord. Welcome,” the queen said.
“I am honored that you would consider allowing me this connection with your own family, my gracious lady,” Sir Jasper replied.
“What elegance of speech, my lord,” the queen answered him.”Why, you might be a clever courtier instead of the soldier my lord, the king, says you are. I am glad to know that Arabella’s husband will be a man who is able to use pretty words as well as a sharp sword, Sir Jasper, but I imagine you grow impatient to meet your bride. Come forward, dear child, that I may introduce you to Sir Jasper Keane. You, also, Rowena, for I know you will want to meet your son-in-law to be.”
Mother and daughter stepped forward and curtsied politely to Sir Jasper Keane. His bride was quite lovely upon closer inspection, but hair that pale had never really been to his taste. The mother, however, was another matter. The wheaten-colored hair was lovely, and her bosom, rounded where the child’s was flat, was delightfully enticing. He felt a familiar tightening, a stirring of interest in his nether regions, which his handsome face, of course, never betrayed. “I am honored, my lady Arabella, that you would consider me for a husband,” he said smoothly, taking the child’s hand in his and kissing it.
Her heart was pounding furiously, and she felt her cheeks grow pink and warm even as she met his gaze with her own cool green one. He was surely the most handsome man she had ever seen. She had absolutely no idea what she should say and felt extremely foolish as he released her hand.
“My lady Rowena.” Lady Grey’s hand was saluted.I shall swoon dead away, Rowena Grey thought, both horrified and thrilled by her reaction to this man. These were feelings that she thought had died with Henry, and yet she could feel the wetness between her thighs already. “I am grateful, my lord, that you have come to our rescue,” she said with far more calm than she was feeling. What kind of a woman was she to have such thoughts about the man who would be her daughter’s husband? God forgive her!
No one else would have seen these thoughts which she labored so hard to mask, but Jasper Keane saw them deep within Rowena’s light blue eyes. A young widow, he almost purred with his pleasure. A young widow hot and ripe for the plucking. Mother and daughter, his for the taking. He had never had both a mother and her daughter. The thought was almost unbearably exciting, and he thanked God that his clothing hid the state of his lust. He could imagine, but vividly, the entire scene.
Strangely, it was his bride-to-be who rescued him. “My cousin, Prince Edward, has given me a deer hound puppy,” she said. “It will have to stay here at Middleham until it is weaned, however.”
“Have you ever trained a dog, my Lady Arabella?” he asked her.
“Nay, my lord, but I watched my father, and FitzWalter’s son, Rowan, has a touch with the dogs, our kennel master says. FitzWalter says, however, that the kennel master, having no sons, would like to steal his from him. He says that Rowan will be a soldier like he has been, and if he is a very good soldier, he might one day be Greyfaire Keep’s captain too.”
The queen laughed. “As you can see, Sir Jasper,” she said, her tone doting, “my little cousin is full of news. I think she loves her Greyfaire even as much as my lord, the king, loves Middleham. I hope you will be happy together. When Arabella reaches her fourteenth birthday in another two and a half years, you may plan to wed with her, provided that she is of a mind to wed with you, but I am certain that if you treat her with loving kindness, she will be content to have you for her husband. If, however, she is not, you will be compensated by the crown for the time and care you have given Greyfaire Keep.”
“I shall do my best, my lady queen, to keep faith with your majesties,” Sir Jasper said.
Queen Anne nodded, satisfied. “Then it is settled,” she said, and turning to her cousins, kissed them both in farewell. Removing a small ring from her littlest finger, she gave it to Rowena. “Should you ever have need of my help, Rowena, send me back the ring,” she told her favorite cousin, slipping the little signet upon the other woman’s finger. “I will aid you as long as I shall live.” Bending down, she spoke softly to Arabella so that only the young girl might hear her. “Wed him only, my child, if you truly love him. If you find that you do not, do not be afraid to tell him no. I would not have you unhappy. These few years before we will allow your marriage to be celebrated will give you time to know the man.”
“He is most beautiful to look upon, madame,” Arabella said shyly.
“Beauty does not always mean goodness, little cousin,” the queen warned. “You must ever look beyond beauty for the truth.” Then she hugged Arabella hard, sending her cousins and Sir Jasper upon their way.
They took their final leave of King Richard and rode out from Middleham Castle on a warm and sunny late September morning. There were a dozen men-at-arms from Greyfaire who had escorted the women from their home, and Sir Jasper had another dozen men which added to their little troop, making it quite formidable. Watching them go from his place upon the castle’s ramparts, the king wished with all his heart that all his problems were as easy to solve as had been the matter of Lady Arabella Grey and Greyfaire Keep.
Chapter Two
Sir Jasper Keane could not remember when he had ever been so content in his entire life. A man could go soft living so comfortably, he thought, as he gazed with a pleased eye about the little hall at Greyfaire Keep. It was a pleasant place, with four windows that held real glass to keep out the winter winds which, even now, blew about the small castle. The stone floors were swept daily, their rushes and sweet herbs totally replaced, for Lady Rowena was an excellent housekeeper and could not abide evil odors. There were two fireplaces in the hall, and neither smoked. Consequently, the hall was relatively warm and cozy.
Before him upon the burnished oak table of the highboard was a polished pewter plate with a hollowed-out trencher of freshly baked bread. A silent servant ladled hot oat porridge into the trencher, while another set a second plate with bread, a wedge of cheese, and a slice of ham by his side, and a third filled his goblet with brown ale. Jasper Keane began to eat with good appetite, smiling as he discovered sweet chunks of dried apple in the cereal, for he had mentioned in passing to Lady Rowena that he did not care for the bland oat dish that was served daily each morning. It took but a word to Row, and she would immediately endeavor to correct the problem.
Sir Jasper Keane had been at Greyfaire Keep for five months now. He had been extremely pleased by what he had found upon his arrival. Everything was in good order, and FitzWalter, the keep’s captain, had immediately deferred to him, readily accepting him as Greyfaire’s new lord. Consequently, it would not be necessary to replace him or demote him, which relieved Sir Jasper. He did not intend to remain upon the border forever, and when he went off, he would have two needs, to know that his home was in capable hands, and to have Seger, his own captain, by his side, for Seger was invaluable to him.
His little bride-to-be was an amusing, if somewhat outspoken girl, but there was time enough to correct her behavior. If he had one complaint, it was the fact that he had had to curb his behavior in order that these two females who held his future in their hands not take offense. He had refrained from using the keep’s women servants to service his needs, instead roaming the border for his amusement while the weather had remained clement. For the last few weeks, however, the weather had been foul, and he had been forced to remain within his walls.
His loins ached for a woman. He wondered if he might, now that several months had passed, seduce Rowena. That she desired him he had absolutely no doubt, although she struggled mightily to conceal her longing. He had no doubt that he was responsible for the increasingly long hours she spent in the keep’s chapel upon her knees, but he knew she had not confided her sinsto Father Anselm, their resident priest, for the cleric’s kindly manner toward Jasper Keane had not changed since their first meeting.Sweet Row,he had heard the king call her. Was she indeed sweet?
Jasper Keane’s eyes narrowed in contemplation. He imagined Rowena, whom he now knew to be four years his junior, naked. She had fine, full breasts and a still slender waist, he could see. She was small of stature, which he liked in a woman, and he did not imagine her legs would be long. Were her thighs soft and rounded? Her Venus mont pink and silky-skinned? Would her bottom be plump? He hoped so, for nothing irritated him more than a woman with skinny shanks. A woman with a fat rump displayed well the marks of his palm upon her fair flesh.
Rowena Neville Grey had a pretty face. He liked her round and trusting light blue eyes. He particularly liked her full and pouting lips. It was a voluptuous mouth which he did not doubt would be skilled at kissing. Did she have other skills at which her lips were equally as deft? If she did not, he would soon teach her. The thought of that sensual mouth expertly mastering him was almost more than he could bear. He wanted her. He would have her. He had waited long enough. The question of how to persuade Rowena to overcome her scruples was something he must ponder, and then the answer became crystal clear.
Arabella!His little bride-to-be was the answer. He would threaten to debauch the girl, who was the apple of her mother’s eye, if Lady Rowena did not yield herself to him. The lady, already struggling against her own lustful nature, could surrender herself to him with a clear conscience and the belief that she was protecting her daughter. He almost laughed aloud at his own cleverness. He would accost her this very day, and tonight he would enter her bed, wipe away her few guilty tears, and she would be his for as long as it amused him.
And suddenly, as if he had called her, she was at his side, smiling hesitantly. “Good morrow, my lord. Was the porridge more to your liking this morning?”
“Aye,” he answered her. “Where is Arabella? I have not seen her yet today.”
“She has taken a chill, and I have told her she must remain in her bed this day. It is rare she is ill.”
“Come,” he said, standing up. “Let us go and see her. I’m certain our company will cheer her up.”
“My lord, she is in her shift. I do not think it proper that you see her in her shift,” Rowena protested nervously.
