She cut him off swiftly with the assurance, “That was all a mistake, Simon. He did not take me for himself but for a Lord Rothwell, who had lied to him, claiming I was his betrothed and had refused to wed him. Naturally, as soon as I informed Sir Ranulf that I had never even heard of this Rothwell, he was honorbound to bring me home. ’Twas no fault of his that he was misled by a craven lord who thought to have me at any cost. Rothwell is no different than de Rochefort, and I am glad you answered my summons so quickly, for we need to discuss what to do about my presumptuous neighbor, though I am inclined to let the matter be with my wedding pending—which we also need to discuss.” When his eyes returned suspiciously to Ranulf, she added, “When did you arrive?”
“This morn, to be given that letter that was left behind,” Simon replied surlily.
“Oh, that,” she said with a forced grin. “Come now, Simon, admit ’twas cleverly done and it worked, but not a word of it was true. Look at him. Does he look like a man who would kill a defenseless woman just to avoid a little skirmish? I would have been perfectly safe had you followed, though ’tis well you did not, for de Rochefort is likely watching Clydon for another opportunity, and ’tis not likely he knew I was absent, leaving after matins as we did. I cannot tell you how much I had worried over that, and how it eased my mind, hoping you were here to defend against another attack.”
He took her soothing and pacifying words as they were intended, relieving his guilt that he had done naught to get her back, and praising him for doing naught to get her back.
“Come, John, Meyer.” She beckoned the other two knights forward. “I would have you meet the man who has given up a fortune just on a lady’s word. This is Ranulf Fitz Hugh.” And to Simon: “He did not have to believe me, you know. ’Twas only my word against everything Lord Rothwell had told him.” She had to grin at that point, knowing without looking at him that Ranulf would not like what he was hearing, that doubt was rearing up in his mind as he wondered if she was the one who had lied. Mischievously, she waited a long moment before adding, “I am sure confirmation at this point would not be amiss. Do one of you gentlemen relieve Sir Ranulf’s mind. Am I, or was I ever, betrothed to a Lord Rothwell?”
There were three ready “Nays” to that, but it was John Radford, even older than Simon, who added gruffly, “She is to wed John de Lascelles, if the boy can ever find his way back to Clydon, which is become doubtful.”
“Do not be cruel,” Reina admonished gently. “Lord John has had his troubles, which have kept him from coming sooner. But as to wedding him, I have had a change of heart. Do you all come inside and we will discuss it over supper, but I really must let my ladies know I have returned safely, and see that my servants have not grown lax in my absence. Simon, do you assume my honor and introduce your men to my guests and make them welcome for me.” At last she turned to Ranulf. “I will join you in the hall anon,” and then with a grin: “You may be sure my ‘soon’ is sooner than yours, my lord.”
She knew he hated to let her out of his sight, but there was naught he could do as she rushed up the stairs and into the keep. He was left standing amidst her men, and with the lady gone, the other knights converged on him. But he need not have worried. Her having informed Lord Simon that he and his men were guests and welcome was all that was necessary to assure there would be no antagonistic questioning. Simon did no more than she had bidden him, introducing the two groups of knights, then slowly leading the way into the keep, talking about anything and everythingexceptthe lady’s abduction.
Chapter Eighteen
“Theo! What means this?”
“Reina, thank God!”
Entering her chamber and finding the boy trussed up in the corner was not at all what she had expected. “Do you tell me you have been like this since I left?” she asked incredulously.
“Nay, Wenda found me yestermorn and untied me. We took the letter left here to Sir William, still bedfast but no longer delirious. But when he read the letter aloud, I—I was so afraid for you I meant to go after you. Sir William refused, but Aubert, that scurrilous cur, caught me trying to go anyway last eventide and ordered this. I will kill him when I get my hands on him,” Theo vowed.
“Nay, you certainly will not,” Reina said sternly, but failed to keep a grin from appearing as she began to untie him. “You silly boy, what did you think you could do? Do I look as if I suffered from my little adventure? I was in no real danger, which you should have realized. I am too valuable to kill untilafterI am wed.”
“How could I know that when ’twashimwho took you?” he demanded.
“Well, as to that, he is not so terrible after all. He brought me back, did he not?”
“Aye, but wed to him,” Theo groaned.
“How did you know that?”
The boy’s eyes turned into perfect circles. “I was but jesting!”
“But I am not.”
“Reina!” he cried. “How could you? You know how I felt about him!”
“Are you jealous, my dear?”
“Well—no, I guess not,” he admitted thoughtfully. “If I cannot have him, you might as well. Buthim, Reina? Were you given no choice?”
“Not much, but if anyone had to be browbeaten into marriage, ’twas he,” she said matter-of-factly. “I was not taken for him, you see, but for an old lord who hired him. He was not easy to convince he should have me instead.”
“You mean youwantedhim?”
“’Twas either him or the old lord.” This needed no further explanation. “Now help me change and quickly. I cannot leave him alone for long with my vassals.”
“What didtheysay about this sudden marriage?”
“They do not know, nor are they to know, so you do not tell anyone what I have told you, not even Wenda. There would have to be a second wedding for their benefit anyway, so I mean to let them think the second is the first. I will tell them Ranulf has agreed to wed me and ’tis he I want. That way, they will not harbor doubts about why I wed him, thinking I was somehow forced to it even though I would say not. That could only lead to distrust of him, which I do not want.”
“But if you would like to get rid of him, Reina, now is the time, ere you tell Lord Simon you want the giant.”
“But I do want him, Theo. I have thought it through and he is actually the better man for Clydon. John and Richard could neither of them devote themselves exclusively to Clydon, but Ranulf Fitz Hugh will. He has no land of his own, no family he will claim, no other obligations to take him away from protecting us. And he is not poor. He will see to all that needs doing, that I have been unable to do.”
