Page 49 of Suddenly a Bride
“Do ye like livin’ at the castle, milady?”
“I never thought I could enjoy it so much. I’m from London, and this is quite a bit different.”
“Aye, the fresh air and all,” Prudence said, as she pulled a linen cap over her head. “I have to be at the tavern, but would ye walk with me, milady?”
The two women walked across the green with Will running ahead of them. Clouds had begun to cover the sun and brooded over the village with the threat of rain.
“Is that not yer husband?” Prudence asked.
Gwyneth turned her head in surprise and found Edmund dismounting near the well in the center of the green. Will ran off to help him with the General, leaving the women alone.
“I guess ye can’t get away from yer husband’s eye,” Prudence said dryly.
Gwyneth glanced at her in confusion.
“Ye know he probably doesn’t want ye talkin’ to me.”
“Why?” She stared hard at the young woman, wishing she understood what emotions lingered beneath her peculiar words.
“I tried to do him a favor once. Tried to lure him away from that cold fish that was his first wife.”
Gwyneth was amazed that Prudence would tell her such a personal thing—about her own husband, yet!
Prudence’s smile died, and she stared at Edmund with a narrowed gaze. “Aye, the poor man looked like he needed a little comfort.” She gave Gwyneth a false smile. “But he’s got you for that now, hasn’t he?”
Chapter 12
At first, Gwyneth could only blink in shock. “I’m not sure why you’re telling me this, Prudence. Are you trying to warn me of your intentions?”
“Heavens, no, milady. Ye seem like a good wife for him. Just thought ye’d want to know what kind a woman he was married to before, so ye didn’t make the same mistakes.”
Gwyneth gave her a gentle smile. “She was my cousin.”
Prudence’s face reddened. “I—forgive me, milady.”
“There’s nothing to forgive.” She hesitated, casting a guilty glance at Edmund before turning back to Will’s mother. “I didn’t know her well, and when we did speak, she treated me with a disdain I couldn’t fathom.”
The woman nodded fervently. “There was no respect in her for anyone, least of all her husband. I saw that he tried to treat her nice, but she wanted none of it. Never saw a man so patient with a woman.”
Gwyneth patted her arm. “I thank you for the information.”
After Prudence had bobbed a curtsy and hurried away, Gwyneth walked toward her husband who was watering his horse. She watched him contemplatively, relieved to know he could be faithful, even to Elizabeth. Prudence had told her what she’d already known deep in her heart: that Edmund had done his best when married to Elizabeth. But then, she knew him to be an honorable man.
Yet it couldn’t be only the memory of Elizabeth that made him so wary of her. Gwyneth herself was related to the Langstons. Whenever Edmund looked at her, did he remember how they’d portrayed him as a murderer?
As she approached, Edmund looked up. “Are you finished with your errands?”
“Aye. Are you? I assume that is why you came, and not because of me.”
His eyes seemed to lighten, though he didn’t smile. “It was. I promise you I did not know I’d have to come see the carpenter when you left this morning.”
She grinned. “I was not accusing you of anything, Edmund.”
“ ’Tis good to know.”
He gave a whistle, making the General’s ears twitch and Will come running. Edmund put his large hand on the boy’s head.
“I’ll take my wife home, Will. Thank you for the excellent care you’ve shown her.”
