Page 87 of The Raven and the Rose
He grinned delightedly. “I would love it more than anything!”
She smiled quietly when she heard him singing in his dressing room. She realized that she had never fully committed herself to him. She had given him her gratitude but not her love.
Part of Edward’s fleet which Richard was commanding stood off the coast of Norfolk for days before they discovered that the Duke of Norfolk was in custody. They learned of Oxford’s patrols along the southeast coast and finally decided to sail up past Yorkshire to Northumberland, where the strong Percys would aid them.
Three of the ships were grounded in a storm off Lincolnshire. One of them capsized and sank, and it took all night to get everyone ashore. They were wet and cold in the March night, but Richard headed the men south toward The Wash to a predestined meeting place with Edward and the rest of the Hanse fleet.
James Burke couldn’t believe his eyes when Roger Montford strode into the hall at Ravenspur. Putting a silencing finger to his lips, he said, “Hush, man. I want to surprise Roseanna.”
Mr. Burke crossed himself and muttered, “Mary and Joseph, you’ll do more than surprise her!”
“We are back! Did you ever doubt it? You look like you’ve seen a ghost, James.”
“My lord, we thought you dead! Lady Roseanna near went mad with grief when two of the men who almost drowned crawled back and gave us the news. She sent me into The Fens to find your body, and I thought I had found it—beneath the body of the white Arabian stallion. I buried the remains,” argued Mr. Burke.
“That was Kelly,” said Roger grimly. “The storm had inflamed our tempers, and I accused him of Janet’s murder. He knifed me and tried to flee on Mecca, but they went down together and were drowned.”
“God’s balls!” exclaimed Mr. Burke at the appalling mess in which everyone’s lives were now tangled.
“Where is Roseanna? Fetch her, man, so that she can see with her own eyes that I am alive!”
“She is not here, my lord,” said Mr. Burke cautiously.
“Damn, don’t tell me she’s at Castlemaine! I’ve not much time. Edward has landed with an army to retake England. We are heading into Nottingham to raise more men.”
Kate Kendall had heard Ravenspur’s unmistakable voice and came into the hall on quaking limbs.
“Kate, I’m returned from the dead!” He laughed. “When is Roseanna expected back from Castlemaine?”
Kate Kendall and James Burke exchanged significant glances; each dreaded the task of revealing to their lord what had to be told.
“What is it?” he demanded. “My God, she’s not ill, is she? Is my son all right?”
Kate took a deep breath. “You’d better come and sit down, my lord. James, get him a drink—something stronger than wine.”
White-lipped with apprehension, Roger seated himself beside the warmth of the fire. James Burke handed him a potent goblet and took himself off so that Kate and Roger could have privacy.
“Try to be patient, my lord, while I tell you my incredible tale. George, Duke of Clarence, rode in here hot after Edward’s fleeing army. It would have been useless to deny to him that the army had been encamped here, for the evidence lay everywhere. When that swine Clarence saw Roseanna, thoughts of pursuing you and the King went out of his head. He had only one goal from the minute he laid eyes on her. He made no bones about it but told her baldly he meant to have her.”
Roger swallowed the contents of the goblet and shuddered slightly.
“Well, you know Roseanna, sir. She bade him begone in very salty terms. The day after that, news of your drowning came, and Roseanna didn’t care if she lived or died. She fell into a trancelike stupor. Even the baby knew something was wrong with his mother, and he cried all day. Then, God help her, something happened to snap her out of it in a hurry.”
“Thank God,” whispered Ravenspur.
“Nay, my lord. It was not God’s work, it was the devil’s. The Duke of Clarence returned. His men were drunk. They stripped Alice and raped Rebecca. He threatened Roseanna with the only weapon that would make her submit to him: He threatened to take your son’s lands and titles. He even threatened to take the child away from her.”
Ravenspur was on his feet, cursing the soul of the man who had abused his wife. “He’s dead meat! I’ll search him out on the battlefield and disembowel the swine!”
“My lord, there’s more to my tale,” said Kate quietly.
“More?” he roared. “I’ve heard enough, woman! What more could there possibly be?”
“Lord Ravenspur, I warned you that you would have to be patient, but you have to get a grip on your temper, aye, and on your sanity for what I have to tell you.”
Cold fingers clutched his heart. He feared his beloved was dead.
Kate’s voice quivered as she continued. “She was vulnerable, easy prey without a strong man’s protection. So she sought out the Earl of Lincoln, who is your son’s overlord.”
