break.
Finally,
she spoke without lifting her gaze from the flames. 'It is not that I
disapprove of what you have done, my dear.
Young
love is not a crime to be punished. But you must understand that I cannot bear
to have babies around me. It is too painful for me. Even a pregnant woman
reminds me ... of what I have lost ... seeing life go on as if my son had never
existed. I cannot do it.'
Hilda,
hovering protectively behind Lady Anne's chair, glowered at Raffe. 'You need
your rest, m'lady. I keep telling everyone that, but they take no notice.'
Lady
Anne absently patted her arm and glanced up again at Elena. 'Perhaps it is for
the best. I don't like the thought of having young girls sleeping in the manor
when Osborn and his men are here. There are many in his retinue who believe
that any comely maid is simply there to be plucked for their sport, like a
squab from a dovecote, no matter how much she resists. And I can't keep hiding
you out of sight in the kitchens. For your own safety, Elena, it is as well you
should leave now.'
Hilda
crossed herself. 'I swear I'll not be able to close my eyes while those brutes
are here.'
Raffe
snorted. You can sleep soundly, mistress. There's not a man alive who wouldn't
sooner bed his own horse than try your virtue.'
She
flushed angrily. 'What do you know of being a man, you -'
Lady
Anne rose. 'Enough! There is nothing else to be said, go now. Leave me, all of
you. Can't you see there are far more pressing matters weighing on my mind than
a pregnant girl? I have lost my husband and my son, and now I have lost my
lands too. I cannot bear any more. You cannot ask me to!'
But as
Raffe guided Elena from the chamber, Anne added more gently, 'God in his mercy
grant you a safe delivery, Elena, you and the child.'
Lady
Anne was a good woman, Raffe thought, a saint, and she did not deserve to have
that bastard Osborn foisted on her by King John in her own home, a home she'd
spent a lifetime defending for her son. Raffe savagely kicked a stone on the
track and heard it crack against the ice in the ditch.
There
was a shriek behind Raffe and he spun round. Elena was crouching on the icy
path, rubbing her knee. At once he was by her side.
'Have
you hurt yourself?'
She
shook her head and Raffe lifted her to her feet. She stood swaying unsteadily
for a moment. Raffe realized she was shivering. In the vastness of the darkness
that surrounded them the tiny figure looked more fragile than ever. Her eyes,
round and bright as the moon, glittered in the torchlight as she glanced
fearfully up at him.
Placing
the torch into her hands for a moment, he unfastened his cloak and wrapped it
around her. Then, taking back the torch, he clasped her frog-cold hand in his
own. She stiffened, trying to pull away, and instantly his anger came surging
back.
'Stop
that prudish nonsense! You're as bad as that old hag Hilda, thinking every man
wants to ravish you. It's slippery. You've already fallen once, next time you
might not be so lucky. But if you want to take that risk in your condition, go
ahead.'
He
turned away and started off again, but he had not taken more than a couple of
strides before he felt a small arm burrow into the crook of his own. His anger
dissolved in an instant. He drew Elena close and they walked on, slowly this
time. He felt a surge of unexpected joy as he sucked in the closeness of her
and knew for the first time the warmth of her small body pressed into his. He
could feel the movement of her slender ribcage against his arm, the bones so
delicate that a man might snap them with his fingers. Her sweet breath hovered
in a veil of white mist as she panted in the icy air.
They
were the only two people awake in the world, one tiny ship of frosted light
floating through an empty black ocean. A faint breeze rippled through the
branches of birch and willow
Finally,
she spoke without lifting her gaze from the flames. 'It is not that I
disapprove of what you have done, my dear.
Young
love is not a crime to be punished. But you must understand that I cannot bear
to have babies around me. It is too painful for me. Even a pregnant woman
reminds me ... of what I have lost ... seeing life go on as if my son had never
existed. I cannot do it.'
Hilda,
hovering protectively behind Lady Anne's chair, glowered at Raffe. 'You need
your rest, m'lady. I keep telling everyone that, but they take no notice.'
Lady
Anne absently patted her arm and glanced up again at Elena. 'Perhaps it is for
the best. I don't like the thought of having young girls sleeping in the manor
when Osborn and his men are here. There are many in his retinue who believe
that any comely maid is simply there to be plucked for their sport, like a
squab from a dovecote, no matter how much she resists. And I can't keep hiding
you out of sight in the kitchens. For your own safety, Elena, it is as well you
should leave now.'
Hilda
crossed herself. 'I swear I'll not be able to close my eyes while those brutes
are here.'
Raffe
snorted. You can sleep soundly, mistress. There's not a man alive who wouldn't
sooner bed his own horse than try your virtue.'
She
flushed angrily. 'What do you know of being a man, you -'
Lady
Anne rose. 'Enough! There is nothing else to be said, go now. Leave me, all of
you. Can't you see there are far more pressing matters weighing on my mind than
a pregnant girl? I have lost my husband and my son, and now I have lost my
lands too. I cannot bear any more. You cannot ask me to!'
But as
Raffe guided Elena from the chamber, Anne added more gently, 'God in his mercy
grant you a safe delivery, Elena, you and the child.'
Lady
Anne was a good woman, Raffe thought, a saint, and she did not deserve to have
that bastard Osborn foisted on her by King John in her own home, a home she'd
spent a lifetime defending for her son. Raffe savagely kicked a stone on the
track and heard it crack against the ice in the ditch.
There
was a shriek behind Raffe and he spun round. Elena was crouching on the icy
path, rubbing her knee. At once he was by her side.
'Have
you hurt yourself?'
She
shook her head and Raffe lifted her to her feet. She stood swaying unsteadily
for a moment. Raffe realized she was shivering. In the vastness of the darkness
that surrounded them the tiny figure looked more fragile than ever. Her eyes,
round and bright as the moon, glittered in the torchlight as she glanced
fearfully up at him.
Placing
the torch into her hands for a moment, he unfastened his cloak and wrapped it
around her. Then, taking back the torch, he clasped her frog-cold hand in his
own. She stiffened, trying to pull away, and instantly his anger came surging
back.
'Stop
that prudish nonsense! You're as bad as that old hag Hilda, thinking every man
wants to ravish you. It's slippery. You've already fallen once, next time you
might not be so lucky. But if you want to take that risk in your condition, go
ahead.'
He
turned away and started off again, but he had not taken more than a couple of
strides before he felt a small arm burrow into the crook of his own. His anger
dissolved in an instant. He drew Elena close and they walked on, slowly this
time. He felt a surge of unexpected joy as he sucked in the closeness of her
and knew for the first time the warmth of her small body pressed into his. He
could feel the movement of her slender ribcage against his arm, the bones so
delicate that a man might snap them with his fingers. Her sweet breath hovered
in a veil of white mist as she panted in the icy air.
They
were the only two people awake in the world, one tiny ship of frosted light
floating through an empty black ocean. A faint breeze rippled through the
branches of birch and willow
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