“I am to marry Rosamund Bolton?” he said, dizzy with the surprise.
“The marriage contract is being drawn up as quickly as it can be. Your Rosamund must be protected,” the Venerable Margaret said.
“But why me?”he burst out.
Now the Countess of Richmond laughed aloud, pleased by his attitude and genuinely amused. “Do not be so modest, Owein Meredith. You have served the House of Tudor for close to twenty-five years. You have served it well. I remember when you first were brought to Jasper Tudor by your kinsman. You were so eager to please, and sang for us in your sweet Welsh voice. I am an old woman, Owein Meredith. My son is not well. The old ways are dying, and may indeed be gone with my grandson’s reign. The children now serving at court will grow up in a different manner than you and I did. They will have other opportunities. You are not a young man any longer, Owein Meredith. You need a wife. It is time for you to settle down. Why you, you ask, and not another? Perhaps in my grandson’s time it will be different than it is now, but my son is still considered an interloper, especially by the northern families whose loyalties today, beneath the surface, are to York. Giving the heiress of Friarsgate to them would not bring them any closer to our side. They serve themselves first, and always have. They are fair-weather allies at best.
“Friarsgate is in the borders. My granddaughter’s marriage, it is hoped, will bring peace for a time. But the Scots and the English have too long a history of enmity between them to remain at peace for long. There have been English queens before Margaret. My own ancestress, Lady Joan Beaufort, was James the first’s queen. We cannot trust northern families. We need a man in whom we have complete faith to watch for us in the borders. You are that man, Owein Meredith. You are not well-known outside of the court, nor do you draw needless attention to yourself. Yet those who know you like you. Your marriage should not offend any, for Rosamund is not important. It is the location of her lands that is of interest to us.”
“The Scots do not harry her people, for the hills about her lands are too steep for driving cattle up and over,” he said honestly. “Friarsgate is quite isolated, madame. It is unlikely I should know anything before it happened. Before your own royal warden of the northern marches knew.”
“Shepherds guarding their flocks on those hills can be taught to be vigilant, Owein Meredith,” the king’s mother said quietly.
“In other words, madame, you want us to spy,” he said.
“In a sense, aye, we do. Watching from your own lands should not put Friarsgate or its people in any danger, but it cannot hurt to be a bit more vigilant than in the past. It would please us if you were, Owein Meredith,” the Venerable Margaret said.
He nodded. “It can be arranged once I am lord of Friarsgate,” the knight told the king’s mother. Then he said, “Have you told Rosamund that she is to be wed, and that I am to be her husband, madame?”
“Not yet,” came the reply. “I wanted to speak with you first. I will speak with the girl after the meal. Then I will send her to the privy garden by the river. Watch for her. You may speak with her then. My grandson and his friends will be informed as well. By you, I think,” she said with a chuckle, “after the meal and before you see Rosamund. You may tell Prince Henry that it was I who instructed you to give him this news.”
“I may make an enemy of him, madame, and I should rather not do that,” Owein said candidly. “Remember that it was I who found him with Rosamund. I believe it would be best not to link these two incidents.”
“You are right,” the king’s mother quickly concurred. “I grow careless with my age. I shall have the king announce your betrothal this evening in the hall.” She chuckled again. “My grandson will not need to be told to behave himself after such a royal declaration. You might, however, suggest to Charles Brandon that he return all the wagers to the young gentlemen. He will keep his peace, for he is a most politic fellow.”
Owein Meredith bowed. “I thank your highness for her benevolence to me. I shall ever be a loyal servant of the House of Tudor.”
“I know,”the countess said with emphasis. “Now, I am hungry, and it is past the dinner hour. You may escort me into the hall, Owein Meredith. They will have waited for me, and my son becomes cranky when he is hungry.”
Owein Meredith arose and drew the king’s mother gently from her chair. “I am honored to escort you, madame,” he told her.
In the hall Prince Henry attempted to attract Rosamund’s eye, but while she did see him, she ignored him pointedly. His boyish companions sniggered at the prince’s discomfort.
“You’ll never have her,” Richard Neville taunted smugly.
“You have no patience, Dick. One day I shall labor mightily between her milky white thighs,” came the cool reply. “Ah, here is my grandmother. We can eat at last!”
Sir Owein Meredith found his place below the salt at a trestle full of his knightly companions. He suddenly found he had no appetite. He was to marry. It was not a dream. He had pinched himself several times when he was with the king’s mother. He was really to be wed. Wed to Rosamund Bolton. He had never considered he would have a wife. He had never believed that he had anything to offer a woman, but now his loyalty and service to the Tudors had won him a bride. A bride with a goodly holding. His firstborn son would inherit Friarsgate. It was a far larger estate than his father’s lands in Wales. He would have a bigger holding than his brother. He would have a home of his own at last. A home and a wife.
But what would Rosamund think of all of this? Not that it mattered in the general scheme of things. They were both bound to the king and would obey his command. But still, once more her fate had been snatched from her hands and decided by another. Would she be content to have him as her husband, or had some young man of the court caught her eye? He didn’t want Rosamund discontent. He wanted her happy to be his bride because...because he cared for her. From the moment he had met her he had cared, and until this very moment he had not dared to admit his feelings to himself. How could he, and then see her given to another? But she had not been given to another. She had been given to him. Now he dared to think the thoughts he had been suppressing all these months. A grin split his face.
“Jesu!” the man next to him said. “Look, boys! Owein is smiling. I don’t think I’ve seen him smile like that in the past two years. You’ve been with the Venerable Margaret twice today. What news, Owein? It must be good news to bring such a look onto your face.”
“Maybe his brother died and he’s to go home to his Welsh hillside and be the heir now,” another man teased.
“I cannot speak on it, lads,” Owein Meredith said, “but this evening I shall share my news with you. I swear it!”
They laughed and returned to their ale, satisfied, for Owein Meredith was the most honorable among them. Finally the meal ended and the hall began to empty. Owein looked for Rosamund, who had been sitting with some of the countess’ women. She was already gone. He rose from his place and sought out Maybel. Maybel would know how her mistress was feeling and if she was still anxious to return home.
Rosamund returned with the countess’ women to her apartments. To her surprise Margaret was not in evidence. Then one of the countess’ tiring women came and said, “Our mistress would speak with you, lady of Friarsgate.” Rosamund arose from her place and put down her embroidery frame. She dutifully followed the servant to the small privy chamber where the king’s mother conducted her business each day.
“Come in, child,” the Countess of Richmond said.
Rosamund stood before Margaret Beaufort and curtsied prettily.
“There will be no place for you among my women when my granddaughter has gone north to wed with the King of the Scots,” the Venerable Margaret began bluntly. “It is time for you to return to your beloved Friarsgate, Rosamund Bolton, but you cannot go without what you came for. A husband to watch over you and keep you safe from your uncle. We have chosen that husband for you this very day. I think you will be pleased.”
Rosamund’s heart began to pound with both fright and anticipation. She was to go home!With a husband.And this time the man chosen for her would be her husband in every way. She was no longer a child. She was older than the king’s mother had been when she bore Henry Tudor.
