Jenna Jaxon - Time Enough to Love 03 (20 page)

“What?” Both Joan and Pippa screeched so loud the baby jerked awake and began to wail.

“Shhh, hush, Thomas.”
Alyse crooned to the tiny bundle.

Well, that question seemed settled.
’Twas fitting, after all.

Alyse shifted him to her shoulder, bouncing and soothing him. “Ladies, please.” She settled the babe back to sleep. “Thomas was my first husband. Pippa, you must have heard. You may have too, Joan. We married
ere the princess sailed.”

“Oh, aye, Alyse
.” Pippa nodded. “I heard when I went to court.”

Joan cocked her head. “You were the one whose betrothal was broken and then married Lord Braeton.” Alyse nodded. “He were much different than my lord here.”

“Aye, he was smaller than Geoffrey and had blond hair and light brown eyes. He died of the pestilence after we arrived in Bordeaux.” She paused. “And five days later I married Lord Longford.”

“You married five days after your first husband was buried?” Joan looked from Alyse to him. “Were you in a hurry, begging your pardon, my lord?”

Geoffrey laughed. “That we were, Joan, for the plague was all around us, and we knew we were not promised the morrow. But then neither did we know who the sire of this wee one would be.” He sighed again, and Thomas’s words from his dream echoed in his mind.
’Tis a beautiful sight, with life, and meaning, and wonder.

“It may be that this was God’s plan all along. Had Thomas stayed in
England, he might have died before marrying and producing an heir.” Geoffrey gazed at the small bundle, where his friend lived on still. ’Twould serve.

He poked his finger
into the swaddling blankets and ran it along the soft small cheek. The babe made a short cooing noise then grasped his finger. A firm grip, at that. “Welcome, young Thomas. Your father would be very proud indeed.” He gazed at Alyse, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “As we all are.”

Epilogue

Longford Manor

Summer 1352

The summer wheat was waist high in the field. In the distance
, white wooly shapes dotted the high pasture, while the low pasture saw a small herd of seven horses, two of them young foals, frisking about in the warm afternoon sunlight. Three years after the arrival of the great pestilence, much had changed, although some things had remained constant.

Geoffrey strode forward through the golden field, working to assess the acreage and how much yield he could expect from this crop. Behind him, aping him almost perfectly
, ran young Geoff. Tall for a toddler just over two years old, he was all but inseparable from his father, which was as much his father’s doing as his. A good distance behind, but not so much as to be called a sluggard, Thomas walked in the wake of the other two, just as pleased to have the way marked for him as to blaze a trail himself. Noticeably smaller than Geoff, though a year older, he could usually hold his own against his younger brother with his fast wits and quick movements.

Alyse brought up the rear, heavy with child again this summer, but smiling indulgently at all three of her boys. She
idly stroked her belly.

This one
will be a daughter. Just for me. Well, Geoffrey may have the right to show her off now and then, but she will be mine. My Joanna
.

Alyse sighed. Joanna had shifted lower in her belly. She must send Geoffrey for Joan by the end of this week. So many things to do to get ready.

She smiled as she thought again of the days when there were more servants than one knew what to do with. Those days had been wiped out by the plague. Without servants, all the work fell on the shoulders of the lady of the house. They were down to four servants now, including John. But she and Geoffrey had learned to do their own work, and it gave satisfaction. In years to come, mayhap they could hire new ones, but for now they had sufficient.

If only Mistress Macy does not leave the kitchen. Anything but that.

She still believed her own cooking skills were one step above starvation, so as long as Hannah Macy was content, she would take on any other chore to appease her.

“Thomas! Geoff! Come back now.
’Tis time to go in.”

Thomas stopped immediately and turned toward her. He was always such a good boy. Geoff was good, but too much like his father, headstrong to a fault. Thank
fully, Geoffrey took a firm hand in raising the boy—both boys, in fact, although he seemed to treat Thomas a bit less strictly than Geoff. Perhaps because Thomas had never given either one of them a minute’s trouble.

Thomas reached her first
. “Pick me up, Mama?”

Smiling as always at his somber face, Alyse
settled the slight child onto her hip. She cuddled him close. “That is my sweet boy. You came right to Mama when she called, did you not?”

Thomas nodded. “My Papa told me to be a good boy for my mother. And I should do what my Papa says to do, should I
not, Mama?”

Something about
his words triggered a memory of a dim room and a sick man with his hand to her flat belly. Alyse drew in a sharp breath and searched her child’s face. “When did Papa tell you to be a good boy, Thomas? Was it just now? Or a few days ago?”

The small boy smiled, a rather lazy smile for one so young, and fixed his mother with his warm, brown eyes. “I do
not know when he told me, Mama. A long time ago. I have always known that is what he wants me to do.”

Alyse’s eyes flooded with tears as she set Thomas on the ground. She sat down beside him and pulled him into her lap.

“Why are you crying, Mama?”

“I was just remembering something about your Papa. Something that happened a very long time ago, long before you were even born.”

“That is a long time,” Thomas agreed. “I am already more than three years old.”

“Aye, my love. It was a lifetime ago.” Alyse’s tears stopped, but the pain of the loss was still sharp. “Before you were born, when you were here,” Alyse put his small hand on her belly, “your Papa was very, very sick. And he did not think he would get better
, so he bid me tell you how much he loved you. Even when he was dying, he wanted to be part of your life, and so he put his hand on you in my belly and told you to be a good boy for your mother.” The tears had started again, but she cared not. “And you heard him, my love, you heard him, and you have always been my good boy, have you not, Thomas?”

“Aye, Mama. I am a good boy, like Papa said. But, Mama,” Thomas looked at her with concern, “why are you crying? Papa did
not die, did he? He must have gotten better because now he is coming through the wheat field to us.”

Alyse fought for control, for Thomas’s sake as well as hers. He would understand all one day. But not now. “Aye, love, Papa was sick and then he got better and he is coming home to us through the wheat field. Why do
you not run back to him? See if he will carry you.”

He gave her a quick squeeze then
wiggled loose and took off at a run. His thin legs pumped hard as he hurtled toward Geoffrey, toward the only Papa he had ever known. She was so grateful God had seen fit to give her this one precious piece of Thomas. With the one man willing to accept the cost. She smiled through her tears as Thomas reached Geoffrey. He swung the small boy up through the air and settled him on his shoulders, a dizzying height for such a mite.

The threesome, with Geoff stolidly bringing up the rear, reached her. In one smooth move, Geoffrey slid Thom
as down and picked her up in his arms, then started off for the house.

“Geoffrey Longford! Put me down. You will injure yourself carrying all this weight. And then what use will you be to me?” She laughed to herself. He would ever be of use to her.

“I am appalled, madam, that you have such little faith in me. As you can see, I can lift you now, even though ’tis obvious you have swallowed a cow.” Geoffrey’s eyes twinkled at her. “Do you not think Mama has swallowed a cow, boys?”

Geoff and Thomas
giggled loudly. “Aye, Papa. She does look like she swallowed a cow,” Geoff agreed. “Mama, how did you swallow a whole cow?”

Geoffrey intervened. “Well, perhaps
’twas not a whole cow. Perhaps it was only a calf.”

“Geoffrey!” Alyse could
not help laughing. ’Twas the same jest each time she grew great with child.

Geoff was still undaunted. “But Mama, how did you swallow a whole calf?”

Alyse cocked her eyebrow at Geoffrey. “Well, my lord? Will you answer your son?”

Before Geoffrey could stop laughing, Thomas
spoke up helpfully. “Perhaps it was a small calf, Papa?”

All four laughed heartily as they entered Longford Manor
. Some things remained the same, but others were thankfully changed for good.

Alyse gazed lovingly at the circle of her family—her husband, their son,
Thomas’s son—and suddenly more tomorrows seemed possible. More time seemed possible. Time enough for family. Time enough for love.

#

The documentation of the life of Princess Joanna of England is uncertain at best, with scholars unable to agree even on the date of her birth. It’s not surprising, therefore, that I’ve had to make choices about the historical information I used in the writing of
Time Enough to Love
. In all cases, I’ve chosen the dates and places that facilitate the plot and pacing of the story. Where facts are certain, I have included them in my story to the best of my ability.

Jenna Jaxon is a multi-published author of historical and contemporary romance. Her historical romance,
Only Scandal Will Do
, the first in a series of five interconnecting novels, was released in July 2012. Her contemporary works include
Hog Wild
,
Almost Perfect
, and
7 Days of
Seduction
. She is a PAN member of Romance Writers of America as well as a member of Chesapeake Romance Writers. Her medieval romance,
Time Enough to Love
, is being published this summer as a series of three novellas.

Jenna has been reading and writing historical romance since she was a teenager. A romantic herself, she’s always loved a dark side to the genre—a twist, suspense, a surprise—and tries to incorporate all these elements into her own stories. She lives in Virginia with her family and a small menagerie of pets. When not reading or writing, she indulges her passion for the theatre, working with local theatres as a director. She often feels she is directing her characters on their own private stage.

She equates her writing to an addiction to chocolate because once she starts she just can’t stop.

Connect with me online:

Blog: Jenna’s Journal http://jennajaxon.wordpress.com

Twitter: @Jenna_Jaxon

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Jenna-Jaxon/146857578723570

Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4960704.Jenna_Jaxon

Amazon Author Page:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005CHPBD2

Only Scandal Will Do

House of Pleasure series, Book 1

He has the woman of his dreams, but what price will he have to pay to win her heart?

Kidnapped and sold at auction in a London brothel, Lady Katarina Fitzwilliam squelches an undeniable attraction to the masked stranger who purchased her, pits her wits against him, and escapes him and the scandal that would ruin her life.

Unable to resist temptation in a London brothel, Duncan Ferrers, Marquess of Dalbury, purchases a fiery beauty. She claims she’s a lady, but how can she be? No lady of his acquaintance in polite society is anything like her. Then he discovers she is who she says, and that this latest romp has compromised her reputation. He knows how that is. One more scandal and he’ll be cast out of London society, but he needs a wife who’ll provide an heir to carry on his illustrious family’s name. He seeks out Katarina, intending only to scotch the scandal, but instead finds his heart ensnared. He’s betting their future he’ll capture her heart, but does he have what it takes to win the wager?

Content warning: A blade-wielding heroine who crosses swords with a master of sensuality.

Katarina clutched the chair’s golden upholstery to keep from launching herself at him and wrapping her fingers around his arrogant throat. “I am Lady Katarina Fitzwilliam, sister to the Earl of Manning. I was kidnapped and brought here tonight against my will.”

He cocked his head. Then his mouth twitched. “Truly? What an exciting life you must lead…Lady Katarina, was it?” He chuckled deep in his chest, and took a step toward the chair.

She glared at him. “I am Lady Katarina Fitzwilliam, you dullard.”

“And true ladies always run around London at night scandalously underdressed as Greek slaves?”

“My brother and I were on our way to a masquerade ball when I was abducted.”

“As was I, fair lady,” he bowed with an exaggerated flourish, “when I decided to come to this charming establishment instead. Perhaps if we had continued on our ways uninterrupted, we would even now be dancing together at the ball.” That nasty laugh grated against her nerves worse than the screech of rusty nails, making her contemplate murder. If the scoundrel didn’t believe her story, killing him might be her only means of escape.

Only Scandal Will Do
is available at Amazon, B & N., and other e-book retailers
.