Hearts and Crowns by Anna Markland

Author:Anna Markland [Markland, Anna]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2013-08-23T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

The crossing from Pevensey to Boulogne-sur-Mer was rough. Roiling waves tossed the big boats around like corks. Squires tried frantically to calm frenzied horses. Gallien was seasick for the first time in his life. He attributed it to the constant tightening in his gut when he thought of his wife, which was every waking minute. Dieu! He missed her. He longed to run his hands through her long, long hair and bury himself in her warm sheath.

He saw the rightness of what Étienne had said. He had jumped to conclusions. Peri was not the kind of woman to betray her husband, though God knew he had given her reason enough to be unhappy.

He had deemed it sentimental foolishness at the time, but he was glad now he had filched a sachet of Peri’s potpourri before his departure. He had it tucked into his gambeson, taking it out to inhale the perfume whenever he felt low.

In Boulogne, they camped on the cliffs overlooking the Narrow Sea. A gale blew up during the night, and Gallien and Étienne had difficulty keeping their tent pegged to the ground. It didn’t help that they dissolved into hysterical laughter, hanging on to the inside of the tent to prevent it flying off into the sea.

“It was good to see you laugh, brother,” Etienne remarked the next day as they broke camp. “It’s been too long.”

Gallien shrugged, but had to admit the laughing fit had eased some of his agitation.

Under the banner of Thierry d’Alsace, Henry’s nominee as Comte of Flandres, the knights made their way first to Saint-Omer. Thierry was the cousin of the murdered Comte Charles, and thus a credible candidate.

At Saint-Omer, Alexandre, Laurent and Romain de Montbryce joined the army of knights. Gallien and Étienne gave their Norman cousins a warm welcome. Laurent and Romain returned their greetings with laughter and hearty bear hugs. Alexandre merely nodded in his usual shy way.

~~~

They sat for three rain-soaked weeks, camped in muddy fields outside the town while Thierry negotiated. Gallien paced, fearing he might lose his wits or his fingers to frostbite.

With nothing much to do but converse about this and that, Alexandre became more talkative.

He and Gallien had never been close, or even friends. Gallien wondered how much his cousins knew of his disastrous marriage. Baudoin de Montbryce would have been obliged to tell his brother, Robert, since he was head of the family, but had Robert told his sons?

Gallien and Alexandre did have one thing in common—each was destined to inherit lands and titles when their father died. Upon Ram de Montbryce’s death, the older, more prestigious title of Comte de Montbryce had gone to Robert as the eldest. Baudoin inherited the lesser title of Earl of Ellesmere, earned after the Conquest.

As Robert’s oldest son, Alexandre was sole heir to the lands and titles in Normandie. He would become the acknowledged head of the Montbryce family. Baudoin, the Earl of Ellesmere, and Robert, Comte de Montbryce, were brothers. They were close friends and allies, working together for the good of the family.

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