anger and exhaustion after the sleepless night and the long ride the day before had made her restless. And she missed her pendant. She had grown used to the feel of it nestling between her breasts. It brought her close to Alexander.
Llywelyn’s voice brought her back to herself as she watched the groom fitting Tam’s bridle.
‘Would you ride with me, Aunt Eleyne? Our talks with the king don’t begin until tomorrow, so I thought I would go to Godstow to see Aunt Isabella. I owe her that much.’ He looked sheepish.
‘So your conscience troubles you. It was unkind to force her to leave Aber.’
‘I didn’t force her!’ Stung, he met her eye. ‘The king ordered her to the nunnery.’
‘But you didn’t argue, did you?’ Eleyne asked gently. ‘I’ll come with you. Poor Isabella.’ Even a visit to her would be better than staying under the same roof as her husband.
They found her thin and pale. The black habit of the Benedictines did not suit her. She looked from Llywelyn to Eleyne and back and then she laughed. ‘So. To what good fortune do I owe this visit? Or are you here to take me home?’
Llywelyn looked down. ‘It is for the king to say when you leave, Aunt Isabella. We came to see if you were well.’
‘And to gloat?’ Isabella walked restlessly across the parlour and back. ‘Well, now you have seen, I am well. You may go back to King Henry and tell him so. Tell him I am deliriously happy! Tell him I thrive. Tell him I pray for him daily!’ She kicked at the rush-strewn floor with a sandalled foot. ‘And you,
‘Isabella!’ Anguished, Eleyne moved towards her. ‘Oh my dear, please…’
‘Don’t touch me!’ Isabella flinched and turned her back on them. ‘Go away! Both of you. Leave me to God!’
V
King Henry summoned Eleyne to his private office that evening. He was not alone. With him was his son. At eight years old, Edward was tall for his age, very thin, and as handsome as his father in his own way. Precocious, with a cruel, malicious tongue which did not endear him to his father’s courtiers, Edward had his own household and apartments at Woodstock. Having escaped his new tutor, Peter of Wakering, he was sitting on a small stool, waiting impatiently to go riding. He glared at Eleyne with resentment as she came in and, feeling the child’s eyes on her, she glanced at him as she curtseyed to the king. Edward returned the look with a scowl. He did not like people intruding on the precious time when he should have his father to himself.
Henry ignored him. As Eleyne waited silently for him to speak, he paced the floor from the small ornately leaded window to the door and back, then he moved across to the high desk.
‘I have your jewel here.’ He picked it up and weighed it in his hand.
Eleyne felt her heart leap, but she kept a cautious eye on Henry’s face, trying to read his expression. Edward eyed the pendant speculatively.
‘It’s a beautiful trinket,’ Henry said at last, making no effort to give it to her.
‘Indeed, sire, I’m very fond of it.’
‘You say the King of Scots gave it to you.’ Henry looked up.
She swallowed, then nodded, uncertain which way the conversation was going. Edward listened to every word; he had become adept at picking up interesting snippets of information about the members of his father’s court.
‘I don’t want to offend Alexander,’ Henry went on thoughtfully. ‘As you know I respect and honour him, and I am very fond of the Countess of Pembroke, his sister… but neither do I want to offend the King of France, who naturally supports the Queen of Scots.’ He turned from her, the pendant still in his hand. ‘I cannot openly condone your visits to Scotland,’ he said slowly, ‘and I cannot vouch for your husband’s discretion. The man is a hothead and a drunkard.’ Holding out his hand he dropped the phoenix into her palm. ‘I wish you well, niece, but I think it best if I hear no more of these visits of yours, do you understand?’ His piercing blue eyes met hers and held them. ‘And in exchange for my lack of perspicacity I would appreciate your good offices in ensuring that your nephews toe the line in regard to the Welsh settlement. And before you ask, I want to hear no more about Isabelle de Braose either. I am pestered morning, noon and night about that woman. I wish to hear no more about her, and I wish to see no more of Sir Robert de Quincy.’
‘Sir Robert has left the palace, papa,’ Edward put in, ‘I heard him tell Prince Llywelyn he was going.’ He was looking with a strangely calculating expression at Eleyne.
The king swung round. He had forgotten his eldest son was there. ‘Wait for me in the courtyard, boy,’ he said curtly.
‘Yes, papa.’ Edward leaped to his feet and bowed meekly. He turned towards the door, then he stopped. ‘Sir Robert was very angry,’ he smiled maliciously. ‘He said all sorts of bad things about Lady Eleyne.’
Eleyne closed her eyes. Whatever Robert had said, she didn’t want to hear it. She clutched the precious phoenix tightly, as a talisman. When she opened her eyes she found Edward watching her closely.
‘He said nobody could trust her,’ Edward rushed on before his father could stop him. ‘And he said she was a witch and a murderer.’
‘That is enough, Edward,’ Henry thundered. ‘I told you to wait outside.’
‘Yes, papa.’ Edward lowered his eyes. He had surprisingly long lashes for a boy. They made him look almost demure. ‘I just thought you’d like to know what he said.’
VI
For three weeks Eleyne waited for Robert to appear. He did not come. Joanna settled back into her routine and, at Eleyne’s summons, Rhonwen joined them from London.
‘So,
It was the beginning of July when Eleyne and Hal Longshaft, who had returned to Fotheringhay as her steward, set off alone for the north, disguised in plain roughspun cloaks.
She enjoyed the ride, unencumbered by baggage or attendants. She enjoyed the empty roads, the disguise, the speed of their travel, and she enjoyed the challenge and excitement of getting a message undetected to Alexander. And above all, she enjoyed the thought of being with him again.
In the event he was at Berwick without the queen and they were able to meet easily in the house where she was lodging below the castle.
‘No one will ever know I have been in Scotland.’ She nuzzled against him, her hands busy inside his gown. ‘I’m a shadow. No more than a wisp of dust motes in a sunbeam. When you blink you’ll find I’ve gone.’
He laughed, pulling her on to his knee, his hands on her breasts. ‘Then I must be careful not to blink too soon.’ He lowered his head to her nipples, circling first one and then the other with his tongue until she cried out with pleasure.
They had only a short time together; he had to ride north almost at once and she could not go with him, but her visit had given them hope. ‘I’ll tell you if I can when I’m away from the queen, and you can come to me.’ He kissed her greedily, trying to take as much of her as he could before they parted. ‘That way we’ll be together sometimes and I shall carry the dream of you with me.’ He took the phoenix in his hand and pulled it gently, so that she had to move towards him, slipping obediently on to his knee, her breasts pressing urgently against his chest.
