Page 59 of Love, Remember Me

"A foreigner?" The Earl of Langford looked a bit disturbed. "She'll need a good dowry, lad, to make up for a lack of English lands. I had hoped one of the girls about here would suit you, but we can talk."

"Thank you, sir," Viscount Wyndham replied, and then he accompanied his father into the house.

Varian de Winter followed, his eyes reflecting his amazement at the warmth and charm of the Great Hall ofRiversEdge. The room had a lofty, soaring ceiling with carved beams that were gilded and highlighted in a scroll design. Windows, set high, lined both sides of the hall, allowing in a wealth of bright sunlight. There were four fireplaces, none of which was now burning, as the day was so hot. The high board, at the far end of the room, was fashioned from golden oak. It was well-polished, and gleamed with the warmth that only age and loving care could give it. Behind the high board, and centered, were two thronelike chairs.

Well-trained, attentive servants were immediately in evidence, offering the guests wine and small biscuits. The servants were clean, as was their clothing. They were soft-spoken and mannerly. The Earl of March could but wonder what Nyssa would think of the elderly, creaking retainers she was going to find at Winterhaven.

Blaze Wyndham now turned to look at Varian de Winter. "And who is this gentleman, Nyssa?" she asked her daughter.

"Mama, may I present to you Varian de Winter, the Earl of March . . .my husband," Nyssa replied quietly. There! It was done.

"What!?" The single word was positively shouted by the Earl of Langford. "You cannot marry anyone, Nyssa, without my permission, and if you have, it shall be annulled immediately, girl. I will not have it! Do you understand?"

"Tony," his wife pleaded, "cease your outrage, and let me learn the truth of this matter." She turned to her sister and brother-in-law. "How were you involved in this matter, Bliss? Why did you not write to me about it?" She turned back to her daughter. "Indeed, Nyssa, why did you not write to your father and me about this?"

Owen FitzHugh spoke for them both. "This is Nyssa's story to tell, Blaze. Afterward, if either Bliss or I can add anything, we shall be happy to do so. We protected Nyssa as best we could."

"But obviously not well enough," growled the Earl of Langford. "My daughter's come home wed to some damn fortune hunter we don't even know! A fine state of affairs, and you'll answer to me for it, Owen."

Varian de Winter spoke up. "My lord, I am no fortune hunter, but your neighbor from across the river. Winterhaven is my family's home. You may have known my late father, Henry de Winter. I left my estates when I was six and was raised by my grandfather."

"And who the hell is he?" demanded Anthony Wyndham, red-faced with outrage. What the hell had possessed Nyssa to marry this man without their permission, or even their knowledge? She was not a flighty girl.

"My grandfather," the Earl of March said quietly, "is Thomas Howard."

"The Duke of Norfolk?" The Earl of Langford was visibly impressed, but he was still not satisfied.

"I would like to hear my daughter's explanation for her rash behavior," Blaze said quietly. Her husband noted the use of the wordmy.

"If you have all finished shouting, and posturing, and cross-examining each other, I will be happy to tell you how I came to be married to this gentleman," Nyssa said.

"Philip!" roared his father. "Where the hell were you in the midst of all of this? Could you not have protected your sister?"

"I knew nothing until it was an accomplished fact, my lord," Philip told his father bluntly.

"We were married in the Chapel Royal on April twentieth by the Archbishop of Canterbury and Bishop Gardiner," Nyssa said quietly. "The king was there. Indeed it was he who ordered my marriage to Varian."

"Why?" Blaze asked her daughter.

"I must start at the beginning," Nyssa told her mother. "You have heard the rumors that the king did not like his new wife, the Princess of Cleves? They are true, though why he felt this way no one can really understand. The lady Anne is a kind and good woman. Still, nothing would do but that the king escape this marriage. He was granted an annulment on the ninth day of the month on the grounds of nonconsummation."

"Nonconsummation?" the Earl of Langford snorted. "That damned satyr will flourish his lance in any convenient sheath."

"Nay, Papa," Nyssa said. "He did not use the lady Anne. I know."

"But what has this to do with your marriage to this gentleman?" Blaze pressed her eldest daughter. "I do not understand."

Nyssa quietly explained to her family what had happened on that fateful night.

"And you lent yourself to this, my lord?" Anthony Wyndham said scathingly to Varian de Winter. "I think little of you for it."

"What would you have had me do, sir?" the Earl of March said fiercely. "My grandfather did not care with whom she was discovered. Better it be someone who loved her than someone who did not." He glared at his father-in-law.

The veins in Anthony Wyndham's neck stood out with his anger, but his wife had understood the words that he had not.Better it be someone who loved her. Looking at the Earl of March, Blaze saw that he did love her daughter. He was as angry, and as protective of Nyssa, as Tony. She put a restraining hand upon her husband's arm.

"He loves her, Tony. Can you not see it? Temper your anger and look at him.He loves her," she said softly.

"But does she love him? We always promised her that she could marry the man she loved," Lord Wyndham replied. He looked at the girl. "Do you love him, Nyssa? Tell me the truth, poppet. If you are unhappy, if this is not to your liking, I will move heaven and earth to free you from this man! I will not allow you to be unhappy for the rest of your life, Nyssa. Neither your mother nor I want that."

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