“Are you well?”
Drake’s voice, soft and deep, pierced the quiet. Elizaveta had to reach up and pull the shift away from her eyes so she could see him.
“Aye,” she said, seeing a twinkle of mirth in his eyes. She grinned. “I suppose it was silly for me to tell you not to remove my shift because it very nearly suffocated me.”
He laughed softly. “That is why a man does not bed a woman who is clothed,” he told her. “One can end up strangled at the very least. All of that movement bunches up the clothing in rather critical places.”
It was Elizaveta’s turn to laugh. “I will remember that,” she said, gazing up into his strong and handsome face. She sobered. “I apologize for being afraid of this… this consummation. I should have trusted you.”
His smile faded. “I was not offended,” he said. “I hope it was not as terrible as you had imagined.”
“It was not.”
“Would you like to do it again sometime?”
She blushed furiously. Drake took that as an affirmative response.
CHAPTER SEVEN
The day following the wedding had dawned bright and very cold and after breaking their fast in the hall where Elizaveta had been introduced to Lady Daniella de la Rosa de Winter and also to Devon de Winter, her husband’s mirror image brother, the women were loaded up into Lady Devereux’s personal carriage and the party for Spexhall headed out under bright blue skies and fair winds.
Lady Devereux was quite emotional as she watched her eldest sons and their wives ride from the vast bailey of Thetford. She’d been quite emotional since sunrise when she knew Drake and Devon, and their respective wives, would soon be leaving, so she made sure to load up her carriage with all manner of goods and comforts that the ladies could take with them.
In addition to Elizaveta and Daniella’s trunks, which totaled eight between them, there were also trunks with bedding and other sundry items. There were chairs for their comfort, folded up, that simply needed to be fastened back together again, and two small tables. There were oiled cloths for windows and even food for the ride. Lady Devereux was very thoughtful in her quest to make the trip to Spexhall, and the subsequent stay, as comfortable as possible.
While Elizaveta had been grateful for Lady de Winter’s consideration, she had hardly given a thought to her own mother and grandmother, who were standing off alone in the bailey, watching the loading of the carriage and the preparation for the trip to Spexhall. They made sure to keep themselves well clear of the de Winters, and of the activity surrounding the wagon, and when the wagon Elizaveta was riding in finally passed them by, she simply gave the women a blank expression.
No warmth, no emotion… she gave them exactly what they had given her all of her life. Drake had even asked if she wished to bid her mother and grandmother farewell, but Elizaveta had simply shaken her head. She knew that any attempts at a farewell would be laced with threats from grandedame and after the wonderful evening she had spent with her new husband, Elizaveta didn’t want to hear the threats. She knew them by heart. She knew she had a duty. She knew she had married Drake to spy on him.
She didn’t want to hear that anymore.
So the carriage moved out of the bailey of Thetford as the brisk breeze picked up, heading southeast through the village and out into the countryside. The carriage was driven by a de Winter soldier and Drake also had several hundred men that were sworn to him, men who had returned with him from Scotland, that were riding with them so the ladies were well protected as they headed down the road. A glance behind her showed Elizaveta that Thetford and the village were fading quickly, as she embarked on her new life as Lady Drake de Winter.
It was a new life that included a new sister-in-law. Lady Daniella de la Rosa de Winter was a chatty woman with frequent and easy laughter. On the entire ride from Thetford to Spexhall, Elizaveta had been both fascinated and entertained by the young woman Devon de Winter was so mad about. Daniella was a bold flirt with her husband, who enjoyed his wife’s antics a great deal, and Elizaveta thought it rather odd to watch a man who looked just like her husband kiss another woman. Devon rode near the carriage and stole several kisses as they went along the way while Elizaveta watched with both curiosity and fascination. Was it truly possible for a husband and wife to have such a relationship? She’d never seen such a thing.
At some point during the ride, Drake pulled his brother away from the carriage and put him on point. The road had become rather rough from erosion and they were entering a thickly forested area, which had Drake putting all of the men on alert. The ladies weren’t oblivious to the knights taking positions along the column or the men-at-arms who now had their weapons in-hand. The talk between the women had been very superficial until this point, with Daniella mostly speaking to Devon because he was near the carriage, but now it was just the two of them in a rather tense situation. Elizaveta was watching the road and the trees when Daniella spoke.
“I saw your father last night at the wedding feast although I was not introduced to him, my lady,” she said. “My father and Christian du Reims are good friends. Has your father ever mentioned Edgar de la Rosa from Framlingham Castle?”
Elizaveta shook her head. “He has not,” she said regretfully. “But the truth is that I have not spent a good deal of time at Thunderbey with my father. Were you born at Framlingham?”
Daniella nodded eagerly. “I was, my lady,” she said. “The House of de la Rosa has lived at Framlingham for over one hundred years, as garrison commanders for the Bigod family. We also have a manor house that my father built for my mother because Framlingham has been turned mostly into a prison for the Crown and he does not like womenfolk there. It is a shame, truly, as it is a beautiful place. There are great gardens all around it.”
Elizaveta was listening with interest. “It sounds beautiful,” she agreed. “I have spent most of my years at Rochester Castle and then Rochester Cathedral. Have you ever been there?”
Daniella shook her head. “Never, my lady,” she replied as Cortez de Bretagne suddenly charged up the column, whipping past the carriage. Daniella leaned out of the carriage to watch the man ride until he drifted out of view. She returned her focus to Elizaveta with a grin. “De Bretagne is a fine looking man. His wife is very lucky.”
She giggled like a naughty girl as she said it and Elizaveta smiled. “You have a very handsome husband yourself,” she said. “Strangely enough, he looks a good deal like my husband.”
They both laughed at that. “It seems odd, doesn’t it?” Daniella confessed.
Elizaveta nodded. “I must admit that I found it very strange to watch you kiss your husband considering how much he looks like mine.”
Daniella agreed. “Devon keeps his hair shorter than Drake does,” she said. “And Devon has a mole on his jaw, back by his left ear. There are subtle differences but not many. Do you know that Lady de Winter nearly died giving birth to them?”
Elizaveta’s eyebrows lifted in concern. “How terrible,” she said. “I am an only child. My mother said it was terrible giving birth to me as well.”
Daniella shrugged. “I have five older brothers,” she said. “Girls are not frequent in the de la Rosa household and my parents were very excited for a daughter. Poor Devon nearly had to jump over the moon in order to gain permission to court me. My parents did not wish to part with me.”
Elizaveta grinned. “But he was able to gain permission.”
“He was when I threatened to run away and never return if my parents did not permit it.”
Elizaveta laughed softly, watching as yet another knight rode forward, past their carriage. She strained to catch a glimpse of who it was, if it was perhaps her husband. Daniella’s quiet voice filled the air.
“That is Sir James de Lohr,” she said as if reading Elizaveta’s mind. “It is not Drake. He usually remains at the front of the column.”
Elizaveta smiled sheepishly. “So you knew I was looking for my husband?”
Dani
ella giggled. “I have that same expression when searching for Devon,” she said. Then, she sobered, her gaze lingering on her new sister-in-law. “I know your marriage with him was arranged. Has… has it been pleasant so far?”
Elizaveta could see that the woman was trying to be tactful. “Do you mean has he been pleasant to me because he did not want to marry?” she asked, watching Daniella grin. “Aye, he has been quite pleasant. We have been able to converse with one another on any variety of subjects and I have come to know him somewhat. He is very humorous.”
Daniella nodded fervently. “He is, indeed,” she agreed. “He does play tricks.”
“So I have heard.”
“Have you heard that he once put tree sap on Devon’s saddle so that when the man sat on it, he stuck to the leather?” she asked, watching Elizaveta’s mouth pop open in glee. “Once he put charcoal in Denys’ helm and in his gloves, so that when he pulled both off, he had black everywhere. He tried to wipe it off but smeared it more and more. He ran after Drake with a club and tried to beat him, but Drake was too fast. Had Lady de Winter not intervened, it would have been a bloody battle. She saved Drake from Denys’ wrath.”
Elizaveta giggled throughout her entire story. “It seems to me that Drake should be able to fend off his brother’s attack,” she said. “I was told that he was decorated in battle.”
Daniella nodded firmly. “He is a much-prized warrior,” she said. “In fact, my father wanted me to pursue Drake and not Devon, but Devon is much more amiable towards a wife than Drake was. Drake does not want the burden of one woman and… oh, dear….”
She trailed off, mortified at what she had just said to Drake’s new wife, but Elizaveta waved her off. “I know all of that,” she said. “Drake made certain to tell me. But he also swore to me that he would be true only to me and I believe him. I have faith in his word.”
Daniella sighed, relieved. “I am very sorry to have said such a thing,” she said sincerely. “Drake is truly a very kind and loyal and loving man. He is most fond of his family and his mother especially. I am sure he will make a very good husband.”
Elizaveta nodded, noticing that the column was emerging from the forested area and they were not back into the open fields. “I am counting on the fact that he will,” she said, not wanting to discuss her relationship with Drake with a woman she didn’t really know, at least not yet. She was reserved that way. “In any case, you and I are to be companions as well as sisters so I would be pleased if you would call me Elizaveta. ‘My Lady’ sounds so formal under these circumstances.”
Daniella was back to smiling broadly. “I would be honored,” she said. “Please call me Daniella. I will also answer to Dannie.”
Elizaveta smiled in return. She thought she could come to like Daniella, or at least she hoped so. She had never had a close friend in her entire life so this was all quite new to her.
“Now,” she said, glancing over Daniella’s shoulder to see all of the trunks piled at the rear of the carriage. “It would seem that Lady de Winter has sent us with enough possessions to fill a palace. I have never seen Spexhall and Drake hasn’t, either, so this will be new to all of us. I visited an outpost for Rochester once and it was quite dismal and tiny, so I hope Spexhall is not the same.”
Daniella nodded. “Nor do I,” she said fervently. “I hope there is at least a sitting room for us. That would be lovely, a chamber where we could do our work as fine ladies do.”
Elizaveta’s attention was increasingly drawn away from Daniella as she saw Drake at the head of the column. His helm was removed, revealing his long, dark hair, and her attention was quite riveted to him, even as Daniella continued to chatter about a having a ladies’ solar at Spexhall. She had grand plans for it, how it would look, and how she would place her loom near the windows for maximum light.
Elizaveta half-listened to the woman, watching Drake as he spoke with his men, feeling excitement in her chest simply at the sight of him. She’d never known that kind of thrill before and it was quite distracting but also quite wonderful. She found herself wishing that Daniella would cease her prattle so that she could admire Drake without distraction. But it was not to be; Daniella rattled on for the rest of the trip, all the way to the small castle of Spexhall.
The garrison sat on the crest of a small hill among the very flat country of northern Suffolk. It was positioned next to St. Peter’s Church and the small village of Spexhall crowded up around it, living their lives amongst the flatlands and heavy groves of trees. In fact, the village was mostly gathered up around the south side of the church yard because the entire north side of the church was a shared wall with the castle and then, of course, the castle itself.
The ladies strained to catch a glimpse of the castle and keep as they approached; Elizaveta went so far as to stand up in the carriage. She could see a pair of knights and several men-at-arms racing for the castle, which had an enormous curtain wall around it and a large, portcullised opening. There was no moat and she couldn’t see any gates, only the massive iron-fanged grate that protected the castle’s main access point. She could see the top of the keep inside the rectangular-shaped walls and she was relieved to note that the keep looked rather sizeable. It didn’t seem particularly tall, but it was not the tiny little structure she had feared.
As the carriage approached the walls, the portcullis began to lift and admitted the knights and men who were gathered outside of it. Elizaveta reclaimed her seat, feeling a certain amount of excitement and apprehension as the big opening eventually swallowed up the carriage and spit them out into a big, square bailey beyond that surrounded the square tower in the middle. There was a small hall with a severely pitched roof along the north wall and she could see hints of the stables off to the west, most of her view blocked by the keep. There seemed to be quite a few men about, and a few women as well, all going about their business. Spexhall seemed to be a busy and rather vital place.
This is to be our home together, she thought as her gaze fell on Drake several feet away, dismounting his horse. It was truly never anything she had ever dreamed of, or anything she had hoped for, but here it was. Her home with her new husband. It was like a dream, surreal, as she gazed up at the big, gray-stoned keep. Why had she never dreamed of such things before, of a husband and family? That was fairly simple – her example of marriage was how her mother and father lived apart, so that was not something that particularly attracted her. Such emptiness. But she never wanted to live away from Drake, not ever. Where he was, she wanted to be. She was so involved in observing her surroundings that she was startled by a soft, male voice at her elbow.
“Lady Drake de Winter?”
Elizaveta turned sharply to see Drake standing outside of the carriage, a grin on his face. She grinned in return, realizing he had caught her daydreaming.
“I am sorry,” she said. “I did not see you approach.”
Drake laughed softly and went around to the rear of the covered carriage where there was an opening. Elizaveta saw that Daniella was already out of the carriage and clinging to Devon, laughing and happy as she always was. Drake held out his hand to Elizaveta, who took it gladly. He helped her out of the carriage and held on to her. Or perhaps she was holding on to him. Either way, he was holding her hand and smiling warmly at her.
“What do you think?” he asked, gesturing to the surprisingly big keep. “Welcome to Spexhall Castle, my lady.”
Elizaveta’s gaze moved over the stone structure once more. “It is beautiful,” she said sincerely. “It seems to be in excellent condition. May we go inside?”
Drake nodded, directing her towards the keep entry, which was strangely on the ground floor. Most castle keeps had entries on the second and even third floors, reached by wooden stairs, but Spexhall had the door right on the ground floor. Drake helped Elizaveta navigate the muddy water puddles of the bailey as they approached, finally coming to the entry door. It was a massive thing, made mostly of iron, and just as Drake gave it a shove to pus
h it open, someone called his name.
“Drake!” James was approaching him with an unfamiliar knight walking next to him. James pointed to the man. “Drake, this is Watcyn de Witt. He is the garrison commander.”
Drake accepted de Witt’s smart salute. “You have received word from Edward, de Witt?” he asked. “Spexhall Castle is now mine. I have married the East Anglia heiress and have been assigned to Spexhall by Edward so that I may integrate into what will become my lands.”
De Witt nodded; a tall, slender man with a long face and big teeth, he was dressed in mail, indicative of his military status. “I received the king’s missive yesterday, my lord,” he said. “He told me about your marriage to the du Reims heiress. I am to be at your disposal.”
Drake cocked his head. “You say that as if you know the House of du Reims?”
De Witt nodded as he glanced at Elizaveta, standing next to Drake. “I am from Suffolk, my lord,” he said. “I know well of East Anglia and of the great houses in this area. I know of and respect the House of de Winter also.”
It made sense and Drake nodded his head. “Very well,” he replied. “Gather your men and have them join us in the hall. Meanwhile, I will show my wife the keep first if that is acceptable.”
Before anyone could reply, Elizaveta spoke. She put her hand on Drake’s arm. “That is not necessary,” she said quietly. “You do not have to waste time showing me the keep when it is more important to see to your men. Daniella and I will inspect the keep together. It is no trouble.”
Drake looked at her with some surprise. You do not have to waste time with me. Is that what she truly thought? That he believed time spent with her was trivial or wasted? He didn’t know why he felt hurt at that moment, but he did. He also felt quite embarrassed because he wanted to deny her statement in the worst way but he didn’t want to look like a silly fool doing it. Therefore, he simply nodded to her assertion. It was the only safe thing to do. Until he could figure out why he was feeling such things, and why his heart was twisting giddily in the presence of his new wife, the best thing to do was remain as detached as possible.