Edward grinned. “I am sure you have known enough women in your time to make that judgment.”
“I have indeed, Your Grace.”
Edward laughed, thinking that Kevin’s last statement implied great stories in and of itself. But that would have to wait for another time without women present. He gestured at Annavieve, who was still standing politely at the end of the table, waiting for another royal command.
“That is the Lady Annavieve Fitz Roderick,” he said. “She is the daughter of Rhodri, brother of Llewelyn and David, and an English mother. She is soon to marry my cousin, your new liege, and she will bear him many strong sons with English good sense and Welsh tenacity. Become well acquainted with her, Hage, for she shall be your mistress and you will be sworn to her unto the death. Does it bother you knowing that your new lady bears Welsh royal blood?”
Kevin was looking at Annavieve. He had been very truthful when he said he had never seen a more beautiful woman in his entire life. She was tall, long-limbed, and blessed with an exquisite face. But the fact that she was Welsh cut into that opinion; the woman he had once loved, the lady he lost, married a Welsh prince. He didn’t have a good opinion of the Welsh but for a different reason than most– the Welsh represented that which he had lost. It was difficult to look at her and not remember that pain.
“Nay, Your Grace,” he finally said, turning back to his wine. “It does not.”
Edward wasn’t convinced of that. He’d seen Kevin’s slight hesitation before answering. Perhaps there was some resentment there, but he would do Kevin the honor of believing him. He returned to his wine as well.
“Excellent,” he said. “Lady Annavieve may sing another song for us and then Victor and I will discuss his marriage, which I have determined shall be later tonight. I want to see the marriage myself to ensure it takes place because my cousin is a very reluctant bridegroom.”
Both Victor and Annavieve looked at Edward in horror. “Tonight?” Victor repeated. “That is out of the question. I’ve only just met the woman. You cannot expect me to marry her right away. We’ve had none of the usual preparations.”
Edward faced off against his cousin in front of a table full of witnesses. He’d hoped that Victor would have kept his feelings to himself about the marriage but it seemed that would not be the case. He’d hoped that by announcing the marriage set for that evening, Victor would simply keep his mouth shut and obey, as not to be made to look a fool if he contested the king, but it was evident that Victor had no intention of remaining silent. Infuriated, and somewhat humiliated, Edward lost all of his humor. He was finished arguing with his foolish cousin. Slamming his fists down on the table, he snarled at Victor.
“No bride, no knight,” he boomed. “You will marry her tonight or Hage will not go with you to Ilchester. Those are the terms, Victor. You agreed to them.”
Victor was taken aback at the ferocity Edward was displaying. His displays of power were usually much more subtle, so the roar coming forth from the king gave Victor pause. But by bellowing the terms across the table for all to hear, Edward had put Victor in a position whereupon he could not refuse in any case.
A premier knight and a royal bride were something any man would happily accept from the king, but now everyone knew that Victor, the lifelong bachelor, would not receive the knight unless he accepted the bride. It was horrifically humiliating to allinvolved, as Edward meant it should be. Wisely, Victor backed down.
“Of course,” he said. “We shall be married tonight if that is your wish, Your Grace.”
Edward continued to glare at Victor even as the man collected his chalice and drank, refusing to look at him. There was no more good humor in Edward’s heart this night. He was weary of arguing with Victor when he was trying to do the man a good turn. Regardless of Victor’s personal feelings or personal preferences, he was going to accept his bride and be damn happy about it. That’s how Edward saw it.
Infuriated, the king reclaimed his seat, noticing that Annavieve was still standing at the end of the table, her expression a mask of shock. Edward didn’t have the patience to deal with female emotions; he waved an irritable hand at her.
“Sing,” he commanded.
Blinking back tears, Annavieve obeyed.
CHAPTER FIVE
Supper had beena nightmare, long and drawn out, her throat raw from having sung eight hymns for the king. Knowing what was coming at the end of that supper made her want to run off and hide, fleeing from a dismal future with an indifferent husband, but like a great torture scene in some horrifically bad nightmare, Annavieve was forced to endure the lengthy and loud meal. As the night progressed, the room became smokier as the fire in the hearth broke down and the participants of the feast grew drunker as they ingested all of the alcohol on the table, in the room, and probably in the entire palace.
So she sat, still and alone, the only woman at the table of loud men. There were conversations going on, some involving the king, some not, and there was laughter on occasion. Annavieve sat and stared at her lap, knowing old Magda was behind her and wishing for the woman’s comfort. It was the only comfort she had ever known.
Across the table from her sat Hage’s two knights, men he had introduced as Adonis de Norville and Thomas de Wolfe. They were the only ones in the room paying any attention to Annavieve but even then it was only distant politeness. Their conversation was quiet but when she would happen to look up,or glance their way, they would pause and smile courteously. Annavieve would quickly look at her lap again. Men made her nervous.
On and on it went, into the night, until the king had finally had enough conversation and alcohol. When the man stood up, weaving, and put an end to the meal, things began to change quickly.
As the king moved away from the table, people began to scatter. Edward began shouting to his advisors and servants alike, demanding everyone follow him across the yards and complex to Westminster Abbey.
In a group they moved as servants carried torches, with Victor being pulled along by Edward as Kevin, Adonis, and Thomas surrounded Annavieve as both escort and captors. Victor was obviously reluctant so no one knew how the lady felt; better not to let her escape. With three enormous knights convening around her, Annavieve, holding Magda’s hand tightly, followed the king and his entourage through the dark and sleeping palace.
It didn’t feel as if they were about to attend a wedding. It felt more like an execution. Dogs barked as they passed through corridors, waking them, before finally emerging into the old palace yard and headed towards the colossal abbey now silhouetted by the half-moon.
Torches, burning brightly and smelling of fat, created spots of brilliance against the dark sky as the group shuffled across the yard at a clipped pace. It seemed as if the king was in a hurry to marry his cousin off before the man could escape so, without the usual preparations or announcements or contract negotiations, the marriage would take place. Edward wanted it that way. What the king wanted, the king received.
Westminster Abbey was cold and dark and cavernous as the king barged his way in, sending two sleepy acolytes running forthe priests. As the boys fled, a few of the king’s advisors began to light the candles around them to provide a measure of light against the darkness. Phantoms lurked in the shadows of the ancient abbey.
In little time, priests were produced, including a minor canon. The dean was not in residence that night so the canon, a small and nervous man in the face of the king, was to be the man conducting the marriage mass. Quickly, the mass and liturgy were prepared as Edward demanded more wine from the acolytes and was brought something very sweet and heavy. He liked it.
Annavieve was overwhelmed with the entire circumstance. She simply did as she was told, fearful of the big knights around her, even fearful of Hage, who had been so kind to her. The man was a killer from what she had heard during the course of the evening, men speaking in hushed tones about the Scorpion and his victims, so she wasn’t sure what to think of him. Perhaps he was polite on the surface but if she made a wrong move, his politeness might turn into something deadly. Therefore, she didn’t want to make a wrong move. She did what she was told to do.
