Page 30 of One Knight
Elisande looked from the king to her husband, but said nothing. The fortifications and buildingplans were not for her to opine upon. Anything that kept Hilda and her people safe was welcome.
“Any news from the next holding? Baron Goddard’s lands?” the king asked Sir Rolf.
“No, Your Majesty. It has been quiet. Our patrols have been uneventful.”
“Huh,” was all the king said in reply.
Elisande couldn’t help but wonder what his plan was for Alger’s father’s lands. He had been a close friend of her brother’s, though she did not prefer him at all. Elisande hadn’t mentioned it to Henry, but the thought of living under Baron Goddard’s roof had definitely made a match with Alger out of the question. The way he looked at her had made her skin crawl since she had been a young girl.
“Show me to a chamber, if you would,” said the king.
Elisande dismounted without assistance. “Right this way, Your Majesty. Please follow me.”
“Lady Elisande, I will be within after I speak to my men,” her husband said.
“Yes, my lord.” Elisande curtsied despite days of travel dust. “If it pleases Your Majesty,” she said as she gestured to the front door.
“Follow me within, Henry, as soon as you finish.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Servants stepped aside and bowed their heads as Elisande led the king into her home. It was surreal that this was happening. She opened the doorto the solarium, grateful she had set it to rights before she left.
“This is the best we have, Your Majesty. I wish it were more befitting for a king.”
He looked at her with a grin. “After days on the road, it will feel like a palace, my lady.”
She curtsied again. “I know the feeling. I will have water heated and a bathing tub brought in as soon as it is ready, Your Majesty.”
“Heat the water, but hold off on bringing it in until I speak with your lord husband.”
“Yes, sire.”
She backed toward the door as he spoke again, and this time, the softness was absent in his tone.
“And, Lady Elisande?”
She looked up to find his gaze serious.
“If you have loyalty to anyone but me or him, I suggest you lose it immediately.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
CHAPTER 15
Finally in a bed beside his wife, after bathing, Henry felt at peace in a way he hadn’t before. But that didn’t make what he had to say to her any easier.
“I may go to battle tomorrow.”
In the flicker of a single candle flame, fear glinted in Elisande’s green gaze.
“What?” She sounded incredulous. “How? Where?”
“We ride northeast, ready for anything.”
“Baron Goddard’s lands,” she said.
“Yes.”
