To Defy a King (45 page)

That's another reason to miss sweet William. At least he'd keep me company and lose to me at dice and not begrudge it.' He eyed her with bright speculation like a hawk considering its prey in the grass.

Ela's throat was so tight she felt as if she were being strangled. 'Yes, sire, I am indeed here on my husband's behalf.' She raised her hand to touch her neck and John followed the move avidly.

'At least you are honest, which is more than the rest can claim.' John curled his lip. 'Or are you?'

Ela said nothing but stood very straight, pretending there was a steel rod down her back assisting her to face him.

'Will's not in chains, you know,' John continued. 'He is held in honourable imprisonment.'

'For which I thank God and His mother daily, but it is still a great grief to me that I do not have him with me,' Ela said stiffly. 'The children need their father.'

John's gaze was cynical. 'Surely you must find ways to solace yourself and your infants. You are a resourceful woman. I am sure you are not yet at your wits' end.'

Ela drew herself up. 'I find comfort in prayer and in God.'

He looked pained. 'Indeed.'

'I pray too for Ralph Bigod,' she said, aware of her duty to kin.

John's lip curled as he glanced across the room towards the Norfolk contingent. 'His family will deal with that matter.'

'But you could help. He is half-brother to my husband.' Ela glanced across too. Mahelt was here, in the company of some other baronial wives. At least she would have a haven in a moment. There was safety in numbers.

'And almost my kin because the Countess of Norfolk used to be my father's poppet?' John looked contemptuous. 'I think not. The Bigods are scarcely impoverished, are they?' He had spoken in a raised voice so that those nearby could hear. There was a certain amount of sniggering and knowing looks were exchanged.

'The Countess is unwell and she frets for both her sons,' Ela replied with dignity.

Still smiling, John turned to the food-laden trestle behind them and picked up a small hard-boiled egg, mottled bright yellow from being cooked in saffron. 'Your gentle heart commends you, sister. It's a rare delicacy - like this dish. Have you tried one yet?'

Ela shook her head. 'No, sire.'

'You should. Eggs are hard to come by at this time of year and the cook has impregnated the yolk with grains of paradise, no less.' He raised and lowered his brows suggestively and held it out towards her.

Knowing full well that grains of paradise had a reputation as an aphrodisiac, and revolted by his tone as he said the word 'impregnated', Ela shook her head. 'Sire, I thank you, but I am not hungry.'

'Oh, but you must try it, I insist!' John smiled wolfishly. 'We don't want you to pine away to nothing in my brother's absence, do we? He doesn't want to return to skin and bones; that would be a terrible sin. Open your mouth, there's a good girl.'

She was cornered. To others it would just look as if John were jollying her along. It was a compliment of the highest order to be given food by the King and since they were not sitting to share a trencher, this was but a variation of the favour. But she couldn't bear the thought. She felt as if she was going to gag as he put the egg against her lips. She had to part them and John parted his at the same time. Eyes brimming with delight, he began pushing it into her mouth. It was too big to eat in one go and Ela had to bite down, and then chew and swallow. And then the other half. The spices were pungent and stung the roof of her mouth and the back of her throat.

'Is it not wonderful?' John asked, licking his lips with sensual pleasure as if he was savouring the food himself.

Ela couldn't answer. She put her hand to her mouth to cover the motion of her jaw. He was waiting for her to swallow it; so she couldn't spit it out into a kerchief. Somehow she succeeded, but the taste lingered in her mouth and little morsels clung to her teeth and tongue. 'Sire, by your leave . . .' She curtseyed to him and without waiting for his dismissal clapped her hand to her mouth and fled the room. At the first latrine she reached, she was violently sick down the evil-smelling hole until her stomach was sore. She wiped her mouth and pressed her forehead against the cold stone wall while she tried to stop shuddering. At a sound behind her, she spun round and then cried out, for John was standing in the entrance, blocking her way.

She tried to scream, but all that emerged was a wordless croak. He stepped forwards, took her by the tops of the arms and pushed her against the wall.

He ran one hand down her body from breast to crotch. 'You didn't like what I gave you?' he said hoarsely. 'What a shame, when it was an item so perfect.'

Ela twisted her head aside and struggled, but he held her fast.

'Think on this,' he said. 'A brother's wife becomes the other brother's property when her husband is not there to defend her. You must rely on me now to keep you safe - hmm?' He forced himself against her. 'Always remember that I am here to defend your honour, my sweet as honey sister.'

He kissed her cheekbone hard with his mouth parted so that she could feel his teeth and then he licked the side of her face before pulling away and playfully tweaking her nose. 'That's my brave girl. Your husband will be home before you know it.'

When he had gone, Ela propped herself against the wall to prevent her knees from buckling. Her breath was stuck in her chest and she had to fight to draw it into her lungs. She couldn't scream for help; she felt as if he had ripped her inside out and thrown away a vital, private part of her.

'Sister?'

Her knees did give way with relief as she saw Mahelt and Hugh, the latter with one hand on his knife hilt.

'Dear God, Ela . . .' Mahelt hastened to put her arms around her.

'I'm all right,' Ela gasped.

'No you're not. I've had my eye on you ever since John forced that egg on you. Did he harm you?'

'No,' Ela said, but her shuddering increased.

'Come.' Mahelt beckoned to Hugh. 'We'll take you to your pavilion.'

They bore Ela to her round blue and gold tent standing in a corner of the bailey. Mahelt dismissed Ela's women and seated her cousin on her fur-covered travelling bed while Hugh poured her a cup of wine.

'He would dishonour his own brother.' Ela's voice shook with loathing.

'What did he do?'

'He . . . he touched me and he said I had to rely on him for my safety because in my husband's absence, I am his property.'

Hugh's mouth curled with revulsion. 'The whoreson.'

Ela flashed him a panic-filled look. 'You mustn't say or do anything. My husband and Ralph are still prisoners. I want them both home and safe. If you speak out, I shall be dishonoured and so will my William. He is a proud man and it would overset him.'

'You are not the first he has intimidated in this way,' Mahelt said grimly.

'He attempted de Vesci's wife, and he offered insult to me when he came to Framlingham. He seems to think that everything he sees should be his.'

Ela stared at Mahelt in renewed shock. 'Dear God . . .'

Mahelt smiled with sour satisfaction. 'I twisted his jewels hard enough to make sitting a saddle a harsh discomfort. It wasn't punishment enough, but I knew I couldn't take it further with his mercenaries in our ward and him as our guest. None of us could.'

Ela swallowed. 'I want my husband home,' she said and, putting her face in her hands, began to sob. 'I want William.'

Mahelt enfolded Ela in her arms. 'You can sleep in our pavilion tonight, and we shall escort you back to Salisbury on the morrow.'

Ela nodded. A shudder ran through her diaphragm as she straightened up and controlled herself. 'Thank you.'

Hugh summoned Ela's ladies and told them to gather together what their mistress deemed necessary and bring it to the Bigod pavilion. Then, in a group, the women crossed the sward with Hugh walking protectively beside them. On the way, they encountered Mahelt's oldest brother returning to his own lodging in the company of several other young knights. Mahelt had no intention of telling him what had happened to Ela. Instead, she asked after Will's young wife Alais and behaved as if she and Ela were just socialising in the way women did at such gatherings.

'She is well,' Will replied, and his expression was more cheerful and satisfied than Mahelt had seen in a long while. 'The baby is due soon.' He looked at Hugh. 'An heir for the heir. You must know how that feels.'

'Indeed.' Hugh smiled. 'To have a part of yourself to bear your name into the future is a true gift from God. I am happy for you.'

Will returned the smile. 'You must come to the christening and wet the baby's head!'

'Oh, you can take that for granted,' Hugh said with another grin.

The young men went loudly on their way, and the smile dropped from Hugh's face. Ela was hiding herself against Mahelt's cloak. When they arrived at the Bigod pavilion, Hugh set a double guard around it and bade the men keep the camp fire burning and the torches lit all night.

36

Framlingham, April 1215

Hugh lay on the bed in his chamber, hands tucked behind his head and legs crossed at the ankles. He had discarded tunic, belt and shoes and was glad of the luxury of a soft feather mattress under him rather than a hard saddle, and before that a splintered wooden bench at Northampton Castle, from which he and his father had recently returned. More than eighteen months after its first drafting, the charter of liberties was finally on the trestle being discussed by all parties.

'The King has rejected the charter,' Hugh told Mahelt.

'He says he will listen to grievances on a case-by-case basis but he refuses to consider a document that will bind him for all time.'

'Of course he has rejected it!' she scoffed. 'It's not in his interests to agree.'

Hugh raised his elbows behind his head and gripped his hair in a frustrated gesture. 'We thought there was a chance of negotiation, since it's based on a charter agreed by the first King Henry, but he's refused outright. Now we must decide if we should openly renounce our fealty. It will come to a confrontation, no doubt about that.'

He looked pensive. 'Your father stands by John and so does Langton. He says agreement must come through sanction and negotiation. John's asked the Pope for his backing. FitzWalter and de Vesci want to force John to negotiate by defying him and inviting the French to intervene, but FitzWalter and de Vesci are hardly the stuff of leadership.'

Mahelt felt as if she was caught between two rooms and being squeezed in the doorway. Her father would hold firm for John whatever happened, because his honour demanded it. He had given his allegiance for better or worse. She had been taught that a promise was a promise and you stayed true, but what if the other person was a perjured oath-breaker and a despoiler of all? What was right and what was wrong? She no longer knew, and neither, she thought, did anyone else. 'If you renounce John, you will be at war with my father.' She knew Will would be among the rebels too.

Although he and their father were on speaking terms, they still stood on opposite sides of the divide.

Hugh sighed. 'If we can get John to at least consider some compromises, there might be hope. No man wants open war.'

'Lest he be a mercenary, or lest he can gain power from it.' Mahelt moved to close the shutters against a chill evening breeze and lit more candles.

'Then we must make sure that men gain more from peace. That is the ambition of your father and mine, and the Archbishop, but we must wait and see what the Pope has to say.' Hugh looked at his fingernails. 'I heard today that Longespee is to be freed at last. The exchange is to take place this week.'

Mahelt brightened. 'Oh, that is great news for Ela and for your mother.'

Hugh did not look particularly overjoyed. 'Indeed, but Ralph is still a prisoner and it has been nine months now. Being the half-brother of the King's half-brother plainly carries no weight except in terms of the demand.

That I helped capture Dreux goes ignored. Once Longespee is home, I hope he sees fit to contribute towards Ralph's release, but I won't hold my breath.

I also suspect Longespee is being ransomed now because John needs his support against the threat of armed defiance.'

Mahelt turned from lighting the candles and joined him on the bed. 'You should not let Longespee trouble your soul. God knows, we have enough worries without you brooding on him.'

'He doesn't trouble my soul,' Hugh snapped. 'It just is not right that he goes free and Ralph does not.' He looked thoughtful. 'I wonder what Longespee will do when he discovers what John did to Ela.'

She looked alarmed. 'You wouldn't tell him . . .'

Hugh made an irritated sound. 'Of course not. It is not my place and even if it were, he would not listen to me. I am just his rustic Bigod brother who doesn't understand noblesse oblige and has no idea of a proper man's behaviour.' He started to leave the bed because the thought of Longespee had agitated him into motion, but Mahelt pushed him back down.

'I have some news for you of my own.' She took his hand and laid it against her waist. 'I am with child again.'

As she had hoped, his focus immediately changed. A slow smile spread across his face and he angled his fingers downwards over her womb. She was tall and taut-muscled, never showing her pregnancies until well into her fifth month, so there was no telling how far along she was. They had not been taking precautions since Christmas time. 'That is good news indeed.

'Do you know when?'

'Before November, I think.'

He pulled her down to him and kissed her tenderly and for a brief while lost his cares and concerns in paying thorough attention to his wife.

In the morning, Mahelt visited Ida, who was dozing by the fire as usual.

These days she barely ate enough to keep a sparrow alive, but now she was animated and her eyes were sparkling.

'Have you heard the news about my son, my William?' she cried. 'He's to be released!'

Mahelt embraced her. 'Yes, Mother, I have heard.'

'I hope he comes to visit soon. I'm longing to see him.'