The Devil's Diadem by Douglass Sara

Author:Douglass, Sara [Douglass, Sara]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Published: 2011-07-26T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Three

I rose in the pre-dawn darkness, wrapping myself in a soft woollen coverlet as I made my way to the privy set into the thick stone walls of the house. When I came back to bed and slid once more under the warm covers, Raife pulled me close, complaining sleepily about my cold skin. We lay for a while in silence, both of us awake, before Raife spoke.

‘How do you feel this morning, wife?’

‘Better for the night’s rest,’ I said. I hesitated. ‘Do we need to go to court today?’

His arm tightened about me momentarily as he gave me a gentle hug. ‘I will go, but you may stay here and rest if you wish. I will pass onto Edmond your flatteries and excuses.’

I laughed softly. ‘Thank you, husband.’

‘You must eat today.’

‘I will, I promise. A day spent in a chair rather than on Dulcette’s back will work miracles on my appetite.’ I was touched by his kindness (and relieved that I did not have to attend court), and turned over in his arms to kiss him softly.

‘You will delay my attendance at court,’ he murmured.

‘Good,’ I said, and kissed him again, more deeply this time.

Later, when he was dressing, I propped myself up on an elbow and waited until his valet, Charles, had stopped fussing. Raife was garbed in a magnificent tunic, a jewelled sword belt I had not seen before (and with my purse attached to it, I was glad to see), and a mantle of such richness that, had I not been so languid from our travelling, and our early morning love-making, I would have been hard pressed not to have risen from our bed and buried my hands and face in it.

‘What is the Conqueror’s Tower?’ I asked.

Raife sat down in a chair while Charles handed him his shoes. (I had seen none of this clothing before, and thought that Raife must keep it exclusively in this house for court wear.)

‘It is the tower that William the Conqueror had built in the north-east corner of London,’ he said, pulling on one shoe then reaching for the other. ‘You will see it clearly once you have risen and can find the energy to walk to the window.’

His eyes crinkled in amusement as he said this, and I knew we were both thinking of our earlier ardent activity. It had not been easy to find time for love-making during our travels as either I was too fatigued or we shared a chamber with too many others, and to find ourselves once again with the privacy of our own chamber was a luxury we had taken full advantage of. I blessed again Raife’s somewhat unusual habit of not having any of our servants or attendants to sleep at the foot of the bed.

‘And Edmond being there is unusual?’ I asked, remembering Raife’s reaction last night.

‘Yes. It is a great palace, but usually Edmond, as other kings before him, prefers the more commodious palace at Westminster. But the Conqueror’s Tower is far more defensible.

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