for this. To be able to sit at the same high board her mama and da sat at will be a comfort.”
The women gathered about smiled and nodded. And then they began placing food upon the table. One drew a silver goblet studded with oval green stones from her skirts. She placed it carefully on the high board where Adair would soon sit.
“We saved several items that weren’t stolen,” Albert said quietly.
Having done their duty for now, the villagers departed the great hall. Elsbeth noted there were now two thick pallets in the bed spaces by the fire, each set upon a sheepskin, and with a small coverlet. She nodded, pleased. It wasn’t grand, but they would be warm, dry, and comfortable for the first time since they had left Windsor.
“Come on, lass, and tell me what I should know,” Albert said, motioning Elsbeth back to the settle by the fire.
Elsbeth sat down with a sigh. “The king wants her to marry. She didn’t want to wed yet. Nor did she approve of his choice of a husband for her—the by-blow of an important Lancastrian. The king is attempting to make a more permanent peace between the two factions. He’s plenty of daughters of his own, but the eldest will probably be queen of France, the next eldest is too frail for marriage, and the third girl is to go to the Lancastrian heir, Henry Tudor. The others are too young yet by far.
To show his good faith toward the Tudors the king decided to marry Adair off first. She is his ward, a noblewoman in her own right. Marriage to her will give her bridegroom the earldom, and the king promised her a generous dower portion. But my lady did not wish to be wed to a Lancastrian. They killed her parents, and orphaned her. Nor did she wish to marry yet. She is younger in age than Princess Elizabeth. She wanted to come home, Albert. And she did. She thinks the king will forget about her and find another lass to wed the Tudor’s by-blow. But he won’t.
“The king is a stubborn man, and he rules with a smile, and an iron fist in a silken glove. Servants know more than their masters, as you well understand, Albert. My lady has spent these last ten years well sheltered in the royal nurseries with the king’s children.
They know little of what goes on in the outside world.
King Edward is a charming man, and well loved by his people. But he is also a man who will be obeyed. If he says our lady is to wed, then wed she will be. I am frankly surprised no one came after us in our flight these twelve days past.”
“I am surprised you got there and back in safety without an armed escort,” Albert remarked with a shake of his head.
“Going south was hard,” Elsbeth admitted. “It took us over a month, but I followed the earl’s orders and kept from the high road. The countryside was so upset that everyone went quickly about their business. The dog, of course, was in his prime then, and no one sought to tangle with him. Returning, however, was a far different matter. We rode hard, and at times my lady took the dog up and laid him across her saddle, for he could not keep up. She loves that creature fiercely, but he’s old, and I think he may not live too long now that we are home,” Elsbeth said.
“How could my lady even be certain that Stanton still existed?” Albert said. “Many families who once had homes and land along the border are long gone.”
“The Duke of Gloucester told her. It was he who found us as we sought to reach London. My lady calls him Uncle Dickon, as all the king’s children do. She adores him, and he has always treated her with favor more even than he shows the others. He is a man who loves children,” Elsbeth said.
“Aye, I could see that on the occasions he came to Stanton,” Albert agreed. “He always brought sugared treats for the bairns.”
“There is absolutely nothing left above stairs,” Adairsaid as she reentered the hall. “Not a stick of furniture, or a carpet, or hangings.”
Albert quickly stood up. “The burning roof fell in and destroyed all,” he explained. “The floors, being stone, protected the chambers below. We saved what little was not looted and hid it away. The Scots were raiding then.
Most of the cattle went over the Cheviots with them.”
He bowed to Adair. “With your ladyship’s permission I’ll be going now. There’s food for the night on the high board. And I have posted men at the door of the hall.
They will protect you from any harm. On the morrow we’ll be bringing from hiding what we rescued, and then you will be able to determine what you are going to need for the hall.”
“Bedsteads, for one thing,” Adair said wryly.
Albert chuckled as he left them. “Good night, my lady. Elsbeth.”
“Come and eat, my precious,” Elsbeth said, drawing Adair to the high board. “The women from the village have brought food, and it is still hot.” She beckoned to Adair, and seated her in one of the two high-backed chairs at the board. Then she served her a rabbit stew, ladling it into a bread trencher. She poured some cider from an earthenware pitcher into the silver cup.
“Sit down,” Adair said, gesturing Elsbeth to the seat beside her.
“It isn’t meet that I sit at the high board,” Elsbeth replied.
“It’s only the two of us,” Adair answered.
“Nonetheless, we will observe the proprieties, my lady. You are the Countess of Stanton, and this is your seat. I’ll eat later.”
“This was my mother’s cup,” Adair noted as she looked at the silver vessel before her on the table.
“Where on earth did it come from?”
“Our people rescued what wasn’t looted, burned, or stolen. They hid them away until the day a Radcliffe returned to Stanton,” Elsbeth explained.
