Page 86 of The Raven and the Rose
“Roseanna, I am the paymaster. Every one of them depends on me for their living—and a damned good living it is, too. They have no say in anything.”
“Send for the priest,” she whispered.
“Now?” he asked incredulously.
She nodded. The priest was sent for, and Kate and Mr. Burke were brought into the chamber to act as witnesses. When Line and Roseanna emerged from the anteroom, he led her to the top of the ballroom and held up his hands for everyone’s attention. Grinning like a lunatic, he said in his deep rich voice, “Ladies and gentlemen, I wish to present the Countess of Lincoln.”
There was a stunned silence that lasted for minutes; then a whisper grew into a rumble and finally a tumultuous roar as everyone realized the handsome earl had just taken a bride. He hugged her to him; her cheek felt the brown velvet of his doublet, and her eyes saw clearly the rich sheen on his sable collar, and she was giddy with relief.
“What would you like for a wedding present, my love? I will give you anything you desire.”
“I want you to take me to get my son,” she said simply.
“Now?” he asked incredulously.
She nodded. He threw back his head and laughed. “Then so be it! We’ll do it up right—we will take an escort of fifty.”
It was past midnight when the cavalcade rode into Castlemaine, but because of the Christmas revels, they hadn’t yet retired for the night. When Joanna and Neville heard the news, they were beside themselves with happiness at their daughter’s great good fortune. The celebrations took on new life and would last until morning.
Roseanna hardly waited until a toast was drunk to their health before she headed upstairs to see her son. When she saw him lying in the cradle, safe and peaceful in his slumber, she began to sob with relief. Line came up behind her. She turned her face into his chest, and the floodgates opened.
“Hush, my love, hush,” he soothed. But she could not stop. Looking apologetically at Joanna, he lifted Roseanna into his arms and carried her to the bedchamber Joanna indicated.
Roseanna cried herself into a state of exhaustion. Very gently he undressed her and put her to bed. He saw the bruise and began to understand what she had been through. He undressed quickly, got into bed, and gently drew her against him. He brushed back her long hair and placed his lips against her temple.
“I’m sorry, Line,” she whispered.
“It will do you good to cry; cry it all out. If it is inside, it has got to come out.” Silently, he thought,I’ll see to it that that bastard never becomes King!
As she lay in his arms, her fears vanished one by one until she finally slept. After about two hours something wakened her, and she was disoriented for a few moments. Then she remembered her new husband and sat up on one elbow to look at him. How lucky she was that he was so kind and understanding! Poor Line—to spend his wedding night with an hysterical bride! Her heart overflowed with gratitude; she bent over and gently kissed him. He awoke instantly. “Roseanna!” he whispered huskily.
He was young and extremely virile. He was quick to desire and quick to take his release. He was madly in love with her and went over the moon at her generous response to him. She realized that she had complete power over him; she would have to be very careful never to hurt him.
Roseanna’s marriage to the Earl of Lincoln effectively removed her and her son from any contact with or even threats from the Duke of Clarence. Although there was much discord among the nobility, Warwick decided to restore mad King Henry to the throne. George, Duke of Clarence, was bitterly resentful that the crown he had coveted for so long was being handed to another. He now hated Warwick’s authority, and he rained curses on Elizabeth Woodville, who was the author of all his misfortunes, he thought. It dawned on him that he had been better off under Edward’s rule than he was under Warwick’s. He would gladly return to Edward if his brother could be restored to the Crown.
The Earl of Lincoln knew he must go to London for the recrowning of King Henry. The nobility were flocking to London, where a great procession through the streets was being planned. Warwick’s brother, the Archbishop of York, was the first to reach the capital and pay homage. London was soon filled with Warwick’s men in smart red livery, speaking in their barbaric northern accents.
Roseanna begged Line to let her stay at home. He accepted her excuse that she was still unused to her position as Countess of Lincoln; but he also knew she wanted to spend some quiet time with her son. It was decided that she would stay at Ravenspur while Line was away. Old Dobbin once again brought all Roseanna’s mares up from Castlemaine, and her time was almost totally taken up with their foaling.
During the month that Line was away, the mare that had been covered by Zeus produced a fine black colt, and Roger’s stallion sired twins on one mare and a sturdy, sable-colored colt on another. She couldn’t wait to see the results of the three white mares that Mecca had covered. The Arabian was no more, but she had high hopes for his progeny.
The first mare had a difficult time; Roseanna spent two days in the stables soothing the restless animal and helping it with the delivery. She fed it warm gruel, then warm ale, and finally black treacle before she could rid it of the afterbirth. The results of the matings were well worth the money and time she invested. Within a couple of years Ravenspur’s stables would equal those of Castlemaine.
When Line returned he hesitated to tell her the latest rumors that were thick as flies in London. Word had it that Edward had not been idle during the months he’d been in exile. He had applied everywhere he could for loans of ships and money and fighting men to help him retake England. He asked for weapons and horses but no supplies that would take up valuable ship space. The Hanse merchants, it was rumored, had pledged a great fleet of ships and fifteen hundred soldiers. He had apparently signed bonds for loans with the French, Germans, and Dutch. Warwick was alarmed. If Edward landed in Norfolk, the most likely port, the Duke of Norfolk, a great landowner who was Edward’s kinsman would undoubtedly give him support.
Warwick took the Duke of Norfolk into custody and was about to arrest Lord Howard as another Yorkist supporter, but Howard eluded him by going into sanctuary at Colchester. Warwick ordered all his nobles to take a firm grip on their own territory and defend it against a landing and invasion.
The Earl of Oxford had control of the east of England, so Warwick felt secure that if Edward landed there he would quickly be defeated. He ordered George to go into Somerset and raise an army and at the same time patrol the borders along the Bristol Channel to prevent a landing.
Roseanna listened quietly as Line repeated the news to her. She was torn emotionally, for if the news were true it would mean a war in which Line would be involved. In her heart she wanted King Edward to regain his crown, but her husband would be fighting against him; he had pledged himself to Warwick on his guarantee that George, Duke of Clarence, would not be crowned. Although her son’s castles, land, and titles had come through Edward, it was Line who had secured them for him.
She tried to push all thoughts of war away from her. She would remain neutral—it was the only way she could retain her sanity. She wished she had Kate to talk with, but Kate and James Burke were keeping Ravenspur working smoothly while she was in Lincoln.
She busied herself with her child and spent a lot of time in the stables at Lincoln Castle trying desperately to ignore Line’s fighting men and archers as they sharpened their war skills.
Roseanna awoke with a headache. She winced and put her hand to her forehead. Line chuckled. “Serves you right for taking too much wine last night.” Then his face became serious as he asked anxiously, “Roseanna, do you need wine before you can give yourself to me?”
She stared at him aghast. Their intimate relationship had always left something to be desired as far as she was concerned, but she had no idea that he was aware of it. He was always so quick to passion that it left her feeling vaguely unsatisfied and empty. She felt guilty at this moment, for she knew that if she had taken the time, she could have schooled him to be leisurely in his lovemaking. Then he could explore his own sensuality to its limits, too. She was far more skilled in every aspect of making love than he, and she knew how to make a man feel virile. In fairness to him, she realized it was time to put quality into their bed play. She touched his face tenderly. “Line, how would you like me to make love to you for a change tonight?”
