Had she loved him purely out of compassion for his fate?Dagobert resettled himself on the hard pallet as if changing his posture would make that possibility more enticing.Would Alienor mourn his passing or praise the riddance of the trouble of being wed to him?
How he hated that he would never see his son.There was no consolation that he could not know what Alienor would tell the boy about him.Would she call the boy’s sire a fool or a noble knight?That the babe was a boy, Dagobert had never doubted, and he wished that he had made Alienor pledge that the boy abandon his family’s cause.
Perhaps five centuries had diluted the blood royal too thin.He knew that he had not proven himself fit for the task of regaining the throne and ’twas not for lack of effort.’Twas evident that he had not the ability to heal by simply laying his hands on the sick as had his forebears, and he could not help but wonder whether that was the only skill lost to his kin over the years.
Truly the time had passed for restoration of the crown.The futility of the quest had been proven over and over again, each time costing the lives of more great men.There had been too much dying for this dream over the years and the cause could not be worth the price it exacted.Would that his son could live a life devoid of this sort of responsibility.
Would that his son could live to hear the lady who held his heart say she loved him.
’Twas not Eustachewho greeted Alienor upstairs, but Jordan de Soissons.
Jordan?How could this be?Alienor’s eyes widened as Jordan calmly placed his mark on the clerk’s ledger, clarifying his role as her petitioner beyond all doubt.She stared, wondering how the fates could have betrayed her so.
Where was Eustache?
Dagobert had believed him to be in Paris.Why?
Alienor surveyed her surroundings, seeking another familiar face.The great hall was filled with traveling knights and their squires, evidently guests of the king.The myriad colors of their tunics and tabards were dim in the subdued light.Trestle tables were set up in rows and the men sat talking, eating, playing chess, but not a one looked even vaguely familiar to Alienor.She turned back to Jordan to find him watching her, even as the clerk scurried away.
“Aye, ’tis I who petitioned for your release,” he confirmed with a smile.“Have you no pretty words of gratitude for me, my lady?”
There could be only one reason for his intervention and Alienor retreated a step.“Should your intentions be the same as they were at Montsalvat, I see no reason to thank you,” she replied.That Jordan’s smile widened did naught to improve her temper.What was she going to do?She knew no one in Paris and had not adenierto her name should Jordan recant.All the same, she could not—would not—share this man’s bed in exchange for her freedom.
“’Tis my company or the cell,” Jordan said, as if he had read her very thoughts.When her options were stated so plainly, her decision was inescapable.
“You make the choice most clear,” Alienor said then turned back toward the oaken door that sealed the dungeon stairs.What manner of woman would turn to another while her husband was imprisoned?
She caught her breath when Jordan’s hand closed over her arm with painful vigor and brought her to an abrupt halt.She could not have said that she was surprised by his move, but she refused to look up and meet his regard.
“Should you return there, you will die with your husband,” he said softly.
Alienor could not argue with the truth of it.“’Tis a wife’s place, beside her spouse,” she said.
“Do you not think that Dagobert would wish to see you far from harm?”
These last words carried an unwelcome truth—and reminded Alienor of her obligation to her unborn child.’Twas clear enough that Dagobert would have said anything to see her free of the tiny cell.She recalled his expression when she had not answered the clerk immediately, as if he would will the very words from her mouth, and her determination crumbled.
If she remained by his side, the heir he so greatly desired would not see the light of day.Even if she survived in the dungeon until the autumn and the birth, did she not owe the child the chance to be born free of a prison?
Alienor cast a glance at Jordan, only to find him watching her closely.He smiled, looking a little less like a predator, and she forced herself to smile slightly in response.He alone might be inclined to ensure her survival in this city of strangers.And he had taken a risk to speak in her defense.Should she prove guilty later or disappear from his care before Dagobert’s trial was completed, ’twould be Jordan who paid the price.
“Why do you do this?”she demanded softly, but Jordan averted his gaze.His sole reply was a slight shrug.Had his gaze softened for a moment before he looked away?Alienor could not be sure and she almost forced him to look her in the eye that she might be certain.“’Tis not unreasonable for me to expect an explanation.”
“’Twas an impulse, no more,” he said, still not turning to face her.
“You wish to lie with me.”Alienor stated the obvious and Jordan nodded, staring resolutely down at his toe.Was that the fullness of the tale?There was no way to be certain.Alienor took a deep breath as she composed her negotiation.
If only Jordan might agree.
“I will not be unfaithful to my husband while he draws breath,” she said, feeling the weight of Jordan’s gaze upon her but unwilling to look up in her stead.
Inwardly she prayed that he would accept her excuse and stay his demands at least for the moment.She did not know what she would do when Dagobert was executed, but that was a bridge to be crossed when she reached it.In her heart, she still hoped that day would not come.Eustache was in the vicinity, she was convinced of it, for Dagobert must have had some reason to expect his friend’s presence here.And she could not plan a rescue if she were imprisoned along with her husband.
“’Tis futile to hope for his release,” Jordan argued.
Alienor nodded in acknowledgment, letting her fear for Dagobert’s future take command of her heart.Let Jordan think that she grieved, if he so desired, let him think that she only needed time to come to terms with her husband’s fate.
“I do not fool myself about his future,” she said.“But I gave my vow at my nuptials and I would honor him to the end.”
