Chapter Two
Linnet dug her nails into her palms to fight back the sting in her eyes and kept her expression passive.
A virtuous wife, indeed.
How could Jamie be so cruel as to deliberately insult her? And to what purpose? Was it not enough that he deserted her five years ago without a backward glance? After swearing his undying devotion, he had left without giving her a single chance to explain.
She’d had her reasons for what she did. Good reasons. Who was he to judge her? Jamie grew up in the bosom of a large and politically powerful family, with devoted parents who looked out for him. She had been a young girl with few choices.
To take control of her fate, bold action was required. She did what she had to do. Jamie did not even try to understand.
She had succeeded in avoiding marriage to that lecherous, devil-eyed Guy Pomeroy. And then, before Alain could marry her off to someone else of his choosing, she acted quickly to arrange a marriage for herself.
Just like that, she got herself out from under Alain’s thumb. ’Twas most satisfying. Alain had been appalled and outraged in equal measure, but there was nothing he could do. The man she chose was too powerful. Her twin brother, Francois, had argued bitterly with her over the marriage, telling her she was cutting off her nose to spite her face.
But it had been worth it. All her plans were falling into place. Except for this awful ache that pressed on her heart whenever she thought of Jamie Rayburn, there was nothing she would change.
She stared at him as he spoke to the queen, trying to find the tender young man she once knew. This Sir James had the same long dark hair, the same striking midnight-blue eyes. Each feature was familiar; yet, he was not the same.
He was all hard angles now. It was not just that his face was leaner, his body more muscular. Jamie always had the confidence and fearlessness he showed on the bridge yesterday. But before, there had also been a sweetness to him that he sometimes showed her. There was no trace of that in the man before her.
He was telling the queen about yesterday’s events in the City. Apparently, he was unaware of Queen Katherine’s astonishing lack of interest in politics.
The queen gave him a pleasant smile and picked up her skirts. “ ’Tis time for us to join the others for dinner.”
“Your Grace, we must speak now,” Jamie said. “Gloucester will be here in two hours.”
The queen stood stock-still, staring at him with wide eyes. “Gloucester is coming? Here to Eltham?”
“Under the compromise with the bishop, your son is to travel to Westminster with Gloucester. However, they will be escorted by men trusted by both Gloucester and the bishop.”
“You speak as if the king were a grown man and not a child of three,” the queen said in a pinched voice. “But if that is what they have decided to do, there is nothing I can do about it.”
Jamie met the queen’s gaze squarely; they all knew she was powerless in this fight.
“Shall I be permitted to accompany my son?” Since the Council had ordered a separate household be set up for the king, the queen could no longer presume she would travel with her son.
“You are invited to come to Westminster,” Jamie said. “But it is suggested that when the king returns to Eltham a few days hence, you remove yourself to Windsor Palace.
“You will be safe there from the turmoil here in London,” Jamie added in a softer voice. “The king will join you in just a few weeks, for the Council has decided Christmas Court will be held at Windsor this year.”
The queen picked up her skirts again and brushed past Jamie on her way to the door.
Usually it was Linnet who attempted to alert the queen to the risks and realities around her. Her friend, however, preferred not to hear about events she felt helpless to influence. If she could not avoid unpleasant news altogether, she pushed it aside as quickly as she could.
Linnet drew in a deep breath and attempted to walk past Jamie as the queen had done, but he caught her arm.
“What are you doing here, Linnet?”
She jerked her arm from his grip. “I thought you did not wish to know.”
“I have a duty to protect the queen from every sort of danger,” he said. “Tell me why you are here.”
She glared at him. “Because she asked me.”
She turned and marched toward the door. With his longer strides, he reached it first. He stood in front of it, arms folded across his chest, blocking her way.
“Why did she ask you?” he said. “And why did you come?”
