Page 37 of The Raven and the Rose
Roseanna gasped. She was aware that Kate Kendall was a formidable opponent in an argument, but she had never heard her use such vulgarities before.
Mr. Burke stood his ground. “You miserable woman. Get it through your thick skull that I am in charge around here. If I were daft enough not to take her things to the master’s bedchamber, he’d cut my balls off!”
“Ha! Out of my way, you pisspot, or I’ll pound your balls to powder—that is, if you have any,” shouted Kate.
Roseanna choked back laughter. Whatever had gotten into Kate? Didn’t she know that that wasn’t the way to handle a man? “Mr. Burke, is there some problem?” she asked sweetly.
He turned to her, and his manner did an about-face. “No problem whatsoever, ma’am. You just let me know your wishes, and I’ll move heaven and earth to see that they are carried out.”
Kate muttered, “You can always tell an Irishman, but you can’t tell him much!”
Roseanna quickly held up her hand to warn Kate. She smoothly put her other arm through Mr. Burke’s. “Do come upstairs, Mr. Burke, and see the wonderful rooms I’ve chosen. You run such an efficient household, the squires have already lit fires for me.” They entered the rooms. “Now, I thought I’d take the inner room for myself, and my two serving ladies can have the outer chamber. I have brought with me beds and linen, carpets and coffers, and dozens of beautiful tapestries to cover the walls. But alas, I fear it would take Kate weeks to furnish the rooms well, as it should be done.”
“Tonight, ma’am.” He nodded firmly.
“I beg your pardon, Mr. Burke?” She hung on his every word helplessly.
“While you are in the hall tonight for supper, I shall see that these rooms are made ready down to the last detail. By the time you are ready to retire, you will think you have lived here for years. Leave everything to me, my lady.”
“Oh, I will, Mr. Burke. You have no idea what a relief it is to know I can place complete confidence in you.”
Kate exploded the moment he was out of earshot. “The constipated cockatrice! I was ready to shove a red-hot poker up his arse!”
“Very pretty sight,” said Roseanna, smiling.
“Oh, child, I’m sorry to use such language,” she apologized.
Roseanna laughed. “I’m happy to know I’m not the only one with a ripe vocabulary, but thank heaven Mother couldn’t hear you.”
“’Twas Lady Joanna taught me to curse”—Kate grinned shamefaced—“and ’twas the King taught her!”
“Oh, here are our trunks,” said Roseanna, throwing one open and pulling out some gowns. “Find me something special to wear, and we’ll go along to Rebecca’s chamber to change for dinner while they plenish these rooms for us.”
Rebecca was abed when they arrived at her room. Her servingwomen had already unpacked her clothes, along with Tristan’s, and had hung them in the wardrobe.
“Aren’t you going to dine in the hall tonight?” asked Roseanna, surprised to find her sister-in-law abed.
“I’m not hungry,” she said, “and far too fatigued. Why don’t you have a tray sent up, and we can have a visit?”
“If I know Ravenspur, he’ll come and drag me by the hair if I didn’t go down. This is my first night, and I’ve already been warned to be on my best behavior,” Roseanna said with a grimace.
Rebecca shuddered. “They’ll all want a good look at you, especially the women. They flirt openly with Tristan and Roger, you know. Every one of them is eager to lie with them.”
Roseanna’s eyebrows shot up. “Surely their husbands wouldn’t permit such behavior!” she protested.
Rebecca shrugged. “Some of them are widows of knights or daughters not yet married. Many of the men are at Ravenspur’s other strongholds. They are an uncouth lot, and I try not to mix with them.”
Roseanna was determined to outshine all the other females tonight. She chose a gown of the palest green. The underdress had hundreds of little pleats; its sleeves were transparent and edged with silver ribbon. The velvet tunic was split all the way up each side and was tied by silver ribbons to show off the filmy underdress. She let Alice brush out her long black hair and decided to wear it loose down her back, caught at one temple with a silver butterfly that her mother had fashioned for her.
A sudden thought came to her. She picked up the cloak she had worn and removed the diamond clasp from it. Then she pinned the large R between her breasts because her wicked juices had begun to bubble and she wanted to see Ravenspur’s eyes when they fell upon it. The corners of her mouth went up. The bauble was so glitteringly eye-catching, he wouldn’t be able to keep his eyes from her breasts.
Roseanna insisted that Alice and Kate wear their most attractive gowns. She had decided they should sit at the head table in a place of honor because they were her special ladies. She made a point of arriving at the hall a few minutes late so that every eye would be upon her when she entered.
The head table was dominated by a large, ornately carved chair at the center. Beside it Ravenspur stood conversing with Tristan and Captain Kelly. As soon as she entered the hall, he raised his head and smiled his welcome to her. She wondered if the smile was for the benefit of those who watched them or for her alone. Before she reached the dais, two servants came staggering in under the weight of a second ornately carved chair, which they placed beside the first. Ravenspur came to the edge of the dais to assist her to her place.
Close up, she saw that he was dressed in dark green. They looked like players on a stage who had been costumed in the same color because they were lovers. He raised both her hands to his lips, and the diners in the hall began to shout and whistle and stamp their feet. The hall was crowded tonight; even the windowsills were occupied by the younger pages and squires. Roger grinned at his people and Roseanna gave them a dazzling smile. Finally, when they would not quiet, Roger held up his hands for silence.
“For those of you who have not yet met her, I would like to present Lady Roseanna Montford, Baroness of Ravenspur.” They took up their cheering again, and Roseanna laughed happily. Every hand present raised a goblet to her. Again Roger held up his hands so they would listen. “This has been a bachelor’s stronghold for many years. I once swore that nothing would ever again compel me to take a wife, and I have remained unmarried for eight long years. Yet here I stand, a married man.” The laughter rolled around the hall. “How do I explain it?” he asked. “It was acoup de foudre—the stroke of lightning that changes everything. I saw her, and I was stunned as a bird that’s flown into a wall!”
