“With a little help from Justin,” she added.
“With a lot of help from Justin. I guess I’d better see if I can teach Jerome to control himself. Although I must say it was satisfying to see him pummeling Cecil. It made it easier for me to refrain from doing it myself.”
Chetwynd picked up her bandaged hand. “Do you think we should apply a new wrap?”
“No. Marianna already changed it, as you well know. I think she wanted to see if the physician did a good job. She said it was looking quite clean. Come to bed, my lord, before the sun comes up.”
Happy to do as she requested, Chetwynd gently pulled her into his arms. “I have to tell you, I was scared to death when I saw you outside my cell, Isabel. You didn’t say a word. It wasn’t until you ordered the guard to unhand Jerome that I knew you were all right.”
“It took an effort to hold myself together, but the sight of those two big men with their hands on Jerome made me forget everything else. Both Jerome and Ingram were wonderful, weren’t they? We are fortunate they found the leader of the kidnappers. Justin was able to convince Lothar to release you, and we now know we don’t have powerful enemies at court.”
“Yes. I think Lothar is as relieved as we are. He was more than a little worried that I blamed him for being behind the kidnapping. Hmmm, you smell good.”
Isabel chuckled. “After the stench of the dungeon, I imagine anything would smell good.”
“Not as good as this. Your hair is heaven. And this little spot, right beside your ear, is also nice. But this spot below your breast, it’s my favorite.”
“Chetwynd, you have a lot of serious-looking bruises. Maybe we’d better wait until you have healed.”
He pulled back a little to see her face. “I guess we’re both a little tender. We should wait.”
They stared at each other for a minute. Then they both started to laugh, softly at first and then more heartily.
“We’ll be careful,” he said as he moved her bandaged hand out of the way and pulled her on top of him.
EPILOGUE
Aachen, Spring, 826
CHETWYND SAT ON THE EDGE OF THE BED and pushed back the thick mass of hair that covered his wife’s face. Isabel was lying on her stomach, and she turned her head away from him.
“You said you’d be up by the time I dressed, Isabel. I’m washed and dressed, and it doesn’t appear you have even moved,” he complained.
“I’m too tired to move, and it’s your fault.”
Chetwynd shook his head. “You were just as enthusiastic as I was. I remember you saying we had to make up for the last night we slept in this bed. Although as I recall, our cuts and bruises didn’t dampen the spirit of our lovemaking much that time either.”
“Go to the great hall, Chetwynd. I’ll join you later,” Isabel muttered into her pillow.
“I don’t trust you, Isabel. The assembly starts today, and King Louis has requested an introduction. That’s quite an honor. I told him I’d present you after the morning meal.”
Isabel rolled over, but her eyes were still only slits. “Have some compassion for my delicate condition, my lord.”
Chetwynd pushed aside the cover and laid his hand on her slightly rounded stomach. “Yesterday we traveled from Aquis on horseback. Once we arrived, you bedded your husband with great vigor. You can’t make me believe you are at all delicate.”
“You do have a seductive touch, my lord,” she whispered as he caressed her stomach.
“Isabel, we don’t have time for . . . Someone is at the door.” He threw the cover over her head and went to answer the rap.
When Isabel heard Gilda’s voice greeting her husband, she threw the covers off, leapt from bed, and ran to embrace Chetwynd’s sister.
“Delicate condition,” Chetwynd muttered. But he had to grin at the contrast of a naked Isabel being embraced by the brown-habited Gilda. “I expect to see you both in the great hall in a quarter of an hour.”
The minute Chetwynd was gone, Isabel pushed Gilda toward a bench. “I can wash and dress while you talk, Gilda. I understand you spent the winter in Aachen, and I want to hear all about it. Don’t leave anything out.”
Gilda raised her eyebrows, watching Isabel splash water on herself. “It was an eventful winter, Isabel, but hardly as exciting a tale you as seem to expect. Each time I prepared to return to Saint Ives, there was something I was needed for here. Because of the absence of Gerberga, several of us had to step in and take over her commitments. No one realized how many women came to her for help.”
Isabel pulled her dress on over her head, then asked, “And what about Justin? Have you seen much of my brother?”
“Our paths crossed. Right now we are on opposite sides of a dispute between Count Hermanne and his wife. Hermanne wishes to dissolve their marriage, claiming the countess hasn’t given him an heir. In fact she has done so, but the boy is in poor health and unlikely to survive. I am making a presentation to the bishops on her behalf, and Justin is pleading the case for the count. There is absolutely no reason why the church should dissolve the marriage, and I can’t imagine how your brother can side with the count.” Gilda’s frustration with Justin was clear by the tone of her voice as she told her story.
Disappointed to hear that two people she cared for were at odds, Isabel reminded herself that she and Chetwynd had their differences when they first met. As she struggled with her headdress, she felt Gilda’s hands helping her gather her thick curls under a veil.
“Thanks, Gilda. Tell me the news about Queen Judith. Has she been rumored to have any new admirers?”
“The queen has been on her