Page 97 of Almost a Bride
The soldiers led Shaw from the chamber.
Spencer looked at his mother, who remained near Roselyn. “Madre,you knew everything?”
“No, my son, but one does not disobey an order from Her Majesty.”
Queen Elizabeth smiled. “Lord Thornton, you have performed admirably in our service, and the Crown thanks you. Do you have information for us?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The court was suddenly silent, as if the security of the country rested on him.
“The Spanish could not join forces with Parma’s army in the Netherlands,” he continued, “and by the time I left the ship, they were already running out of food and powder.”
The queen raised her chin. “It is as we suspected. British power rules in the end.”
Queen Elizabeth rose from her chair and stepped down to the floor, her vivid gown glistening under the candlelight. “Lord Thornton, did our royal mission finally lift you out of your sulk?”
He stared at her. “Your Majesty?”
“We thought what better way to distract you from romantic woes than to give you noble purpose—and to make a man out of your brother by giving him the responsibility of a title to protect.”
She walked toward Alex, whose face had flushed in obvious anger.
“The ladies of the court did not recognize Sir Alexander’s masquerade. Your faces resemble one another, but the difference between you is obvious when one looks in the right place.”
She suddenly grabbed Alex’s backside, and he jumped away from her, glaring at the laughing courtiers.
“A man’s body in dance always gives him away,” the queen continued smoothly, moving back to sit upon her throne.
Spencer stared helplessly at his brother, who had been the viscount for a year and a half. Alex would now go back to being the second son, although Spencer’s claim as heir was only by minutes.
He saw at once how difficult such an adjustment would be—and the queen’s humiliation only made matters worse. “Alex,” he said, “how can I ever thank you for your help?”
Alex only nodded and stalked away without the queen’s permission, and Spencer realized with regret that their relationship had been damaged further.
Roselyn faced Spencer, but could not yet stand openly at his side. When the queen turned her formidable gaze upon her, Roselyn knew that her time of reckoning was at hand.
“Lady Roselyn,” she said in a voice sure to carry throughout the privy chamber. “We understand that you fled from the marriage we had sanctioned, and pledged yourself to a less worthy man without our permission.”
Roselyn moistened her suddenly dry lips, but before she could speak, Spencer did.
“Your Majesty, Roselyn was but a young girl who followed her heart when my own behavior proved so abhorrent. The fault is mine, not hers.”
“Spencer, no,” Roselyn quickly said. “Your Majesty, I have indeed paid dearly for my mistakes, but I pray you will say that I have redeemed myself in your eyes by my actions here today.”
“You wish much of us,” the queen said in a cool voice.
Spencer slid his hand into Roselyn’s, and she gripped it tightly.
“Your Majesty,” he said, “I come to you freely and beg for this woman as my wife. She means more to me than life itself, and if you do not give your permission—”
“Lord Thornton, do you threaten us?” the queen demanded. “Surely you do not dare to marry without our permission?”
“Your Majesty already granted it to us, two years ago. Will you not, in reward for my service, grant it again?”
Roselyn was aghast that Spencer would demand such a thing from the queen, all for her. Did he feel he owed her a debt, or could he actually be in love with her?
But the queen was frowning down at her. “Lady Roselyn, this man you pledged yourself to without our permission—he is dead?”
