Page 53 of Love, Remember Me

"They say he raped you and forced the match," Philip said furiously. "I do not care if he is a Howard, I will kill him if it is so!"

"I did not rape your sister," Varian de Winter said quietly, seeking to calm the boy's anger. "And although my mother was a Howard, I am a de Winter, my lord."

"I am Giles Wyndham, my lord, and right glad to make your acquaintance," the younger of the two brothers interrupted, holding out his hand.

The Earl of March shook the lad's hand and smiled gravely down at him. "How do you do, Giles Wyndham," he answered.

"Well, actually, my lord, I do rather well," Giles said chattily. "The queen has asked me to stay on with her after the matter of her marriage is settled. I quite enjoy the court, you know," he explained with an infectious grin. He was doing his very best to defuse a difficult situation. Philip had always adored Nyssa, and looked practically near to tears. My brother is making a damned fool of himself, Giles thought, disgusted.

"You are truly all right?" Philip anxiously asked his sister.

She hugged him hard. "Aye, I am fine, Philip."

"Why did you marry him?"

"I will not tell you now, Philip, but you must trust me that everything is perfectly fine. The earl is a good man. He is most kind to me. I understand this is a shock to you, but never again take such a tone with me, brother, or dare to question my behavior. You should know I would never shame our name. Had I been born a boy, 'twould be I who was Earl of Langford today,and not your father. Remember it in the future, Philip. Now kiss me, and greet my husband properly."

Viscount Wyndham kissed Nyssa's cheek and then held out his hand to the Earl of March. "You have my felicitations upon your marriage to my sister, my lord," he said stiffly.

"Thank you, my lord," the earl replied. The boy was still obviously confused and angry. It would take a little time to win him over. Philip Wyndham's devotion to his sister was quite touching.

"Has anything exciting happened at court?" Nyssa asked her brothers. "It seems we have been away forever, and yet we have had really very little time to ourselves. I must report to the queen in the morning." She smiled at her husband, and then asked her brothers, "Will you go home with us when we leave court?"

"I will," Philip said. "I am not particularly enamored of the court, although I should not have missed the experience of coming."

"And I," Giles replied to his sister, "will remain in the lady Anne's service. Were you not listening when I told Lord de Winter?"

"You must call me Varian, Giles," the earl told him. "And you also, Philip. After all, we are family now."

"You asked for gossip, Nyssa," Philip said, ignoring his brother-in-law. "Mistress Catherine Howard was seen walking with the king in the Knot Garden. They were alone, and unchaperoned. Lady Ferretface could scarcely wait to spread the news to all the other ladies in the queen's apartments. The creature has missed her calling, I think. She would make an excellent pimp. Her instincts are quite base considering her bloodlines."

"Lady Ferretface?" The Earl of March was intrigued, and then his face lit up. "Of course! 'Tis Lady Rochford you speak of, is it not, Philip? What a perfect name for her. I have often thought she resembled a weasel, or a ferret." He chuckled. "Your eye is very sharp, sir. I congratulate you."

Philip softened. He said honestly, "I have never liked her. She is always lurking about, and listening."

"Nor do I like her," Varian de Winter agreed.

"Varian thinks we should tie Lady Marlowe's tongue in a knot to stop her gossiping," Nyssa told her brothers.

They whooped with laughter, and suddenly the tenseness in the room was dispelled. A servant brought in wine and cakes. The two boys remained with Nyssa and her new husband for over an hour before taking their leave of the couple. Each departed richer by a gold piece, pressed upon them by the Earl of March.

"What a pity we don't have more brothers-in-law," Giles noted.

"I suppose he is not as bad as I had anticipated," Philip admitted.

"You were very good with them," Nyssa told Varian when her brothers had finally gone. "Giles is a diplomat, but Philip is prickly."

"Philip adores you," he noted.

"Aye, I was almost four when he was born, and he was my baby from the beginning. Giles didn't come for another three and a half years. For that time it was just Philip and me. The bond between us is a strong one too. He is hurt I do not tell him the whole truth of our marriage, but I will not until we return home to tell Mama and Papa of it. Philip is very hot-headed. It would be just like him to call your grandfather out for his part in this matter. It could do no good, of course. Besides, now that the king has set his sights upon your cousin, he would not like to be denied his greatest desire, or find himself in the midst of a scandal caused by a thirteen-and-a-half-year-old boy. Philip could easily end up in the Tower, and then poor Mama would have to come to plead his case."

"This family I have gained by my marriage to you, madame, are they always involved in each other's business?" he queried her.

"Aye," she told him, nodding her head. "When you wed me, Varian de Winter, you wed the Wyndhams of Langford, and all their kith and kin. You are now related to Lord James Alcott, and his sons the Marquis of Beresford, the Marquis of Adney, and the O'Briens of Killaloe, and their wives. And of course there are my grandparents, the Morgans of Ashby Hall, Aunt Bliss and Uncle Owen, Lord and Lady Kingsley, as well as all my cousins. You will never be alone again, Varian, though I suspect there will be times when you wish you could be," she finished with a chuckle. "Oh, yes. Christmas is always kept atRiversEdge. Mama does it so well."

It would be a country life for them, he thought, not in the least displeased by the notion. His new relations would advise him on how to restore his estate to its very best. Nyssa's cousins would marry, and there would be hordes of children. A whole new generation to grow up surrounded by a large and loving family. Celebrating holidays together. Coming together for the weddings and the christenings. Sharing not just their joys, but the sorrows that were a part of life as well.

He remembered his step-grandmother, Lady Elizabeth, once saying to him, "Do not let Duke Thomas convince you that the power and the glitter are all important, Varian. Family is most important. We gain our strength in the hard times from the love of our family. Remember it."

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