“I heard her screaming as he dragged her up the stairs.” Alys bit her lip and sniffed. “Next morning, I took care of her, as I always did.”
William did not know what to do with his rage. It pulsed through him, blurring his vision. He wished Rayburn were still alive so he could kill him. No matter how Catherine deceived Rayburn, she did not deserve such treatment. No woman did.
Could she not see he was different from Rayburn? He would never lay a hand on her. He was a man of honor; it was his duty to protect her. He renewed his determination to be patient. In time, she would see he would not harm her. She would come to him.
Three more days of waiting, and William’s patience had worn thin to breaking. He could not sleep and was so short-tempered that his men had taken to avoiding him. Edmund—the only man who dared—finally confronted him.
“What is it with you, man?” Edmund demanded as William stomped past him in the bailey yard. “I had supposed bridegrooms to be a cheerful lot, but the men are ready to join the Welsh just to get away from you.”
When William only growled at him in response, Edmund said, “What complaint can you have? You have a woman in your bed every man here would sell his soul to the devil to have.”
A glint came into Edmund’s eyes. “Oh no, William, tell me you did not do something foolish to upset that pretty wife of yours?” Grinning now, Edmund shook his head in mock disbelief. “Did you let her catch you with that serving maid? The one who flounces her wares at you every chance she gets?”
“Don’t insult me,” William said sharply. “I am wed but a week, and you think I’ve already committed adultery?” William turned on his heel and resumed his march across the yard.
“If married life suits you so poorly,” Edmund said, catching up to him, “you can send her away.”
When William ignored him, Edmund took hold of his arm, forcing William to turn and face him.
“If it is your new wife who is making you such a miserable horse’s arse, ’tis an easy matter to be rid of her. All you need do is tell the king she was party to Rayburn’s treachery.”
“Never speak against my wife again.” The deathly calm of his voice made Edmund step back. “ ’Tis only because of the bond we share from many years of fighting that they will not be scraping your bloody carcass from the bailey ground today.”
His body vibrated with anger as he stepped close to Edmund. “It will not save you a second time.”
Chapter Six
William strode toward the stables, hoping a long, hard ride would improve his mood. Before he reached them, he heard a trumpet blast.
“Who comes?” he called up to one of the men on the wall.
“They carry the king’s banner, m’lord.”
There was no time to change into something more suitable for greeting a royal visitor, so he headed straight for the gate. It could not be the king. Henry was in the North finishing off the last remnants of the rebellion there.
William recognized the young man who rode through the gate at the front of the men-at-arms as Prince Harry. As the prince dismounted, William dropped to his knee. At the prince’s signal, he rose to receive his future king.
“FitzAlan, I am glad to find you here. The king wishes me to report—” The prince stopped midsentence, his attention caught by something behind William.
“Kate!” the prince called out, his face transformed by a boyish grin.
In another moment, Catherine was beside William making a low curtsy. Prince Harry pulled her to her feet. After bestowing enthusiastic kisses on both her cheeks, he lifted her off the ground and spun her in his arms.
If the prince’s behavior was not surprising enough, Catherine’s was astonishing. She threw her head back and laughed. Then she pounded on the prince’s shoulders, shouting, “Harry! Harry, put me down at once!”
The prince did as she commanded. “I am always happy to do the fair Catherine’s bidding,” he declared, giving her a dramatic bow.
The prince turned and gave William a grin and a wink. “Truth be told,” he said in a loud whisper she was meant to hear, “your lady wife was a tyrant as a child.”
The prince put his hand to his heart and gave an exaggerated sigh. “I was in love with her when I was a lad of seven. But, alas, she was an older woman of ten and would not have me.”
The men crowded around them laughed. William did not.
Catherine stood too close to the prince, squeezing his hand, chatting at her ease. William would have given a good deal to have her smile at him in precisely that way. Seeing her grace another man with it hit him like a blow to the chest.
He ceased to follow the words of their conversation, seeing only the affection and delight the two found in each other. Before he knew it, the three of them were walking to the keep. Focused as he was on how tightly she held the prince’s arm, he almost failed to notice that Prince Harry was speaking to him.
“If you would be so gracious as to put me and my men up for the night,” the prince was saying.
