Page 26 of By the Sword
She gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. She had not meant to say the name aloud. How could she have mistaken Richard’s cousin, so much taller and darker than her husband?
‘Are you all right?’
She heard the concern in his voice and nodded, lowering her hand and making a pretence of smoothing her cuffs.
Unable to look him in the eyes, she said, ‘I apologise, Jonathan. A foolish notion. I’d never thought that you and Richard had much of a likeness, even for cousins. But just for a moment…’
He turned to face her, his face unreadable.
‘Not such a foolish notion,’ he said. ‘If you had ever seen us together you wouldn’t have doubted that we were related.’
She frowned trying to make sense of what he had just said. When had he ever come face to face with his cousin?
‘You told me you’d never met.’
He waved a hand at the table. ‘As you can see, supper is served. Come and sit down and I will tell you about Richard.’
She took the seat he held out for her and accepted a glass of wine. Jonathan sat down across from her and picked up his glass. He gazed into its blood-red depths for a long moment before he then looked up, a rueful smile curling the corners of his lips.
‘Another, not quite truth, Kate. I did know Richard. We were at Oxford at the same time. Not at the same college and he was older and far more sensible than I, but our paths crossed on more than one occasion. It may not surprise you to know that we didn’t get on very well. Blood does not always spell kinship, even without the added complications of longstanding family estrangement. We were probably about as different as two youngmen could be. Richard, as you well know, was a scholar. I was…’ He shrugged. ‘However, the one thing we were both determined upon was an end to Grandfather’s pointless feud.’ He set the glass down and cut his capon. ‘I once took him to Seven Ways to see Grandfather.’
Kate shook her head in disbelief. ‘Richard never told me any of this…nor your grandfather.’
‘And that surprises you?’ Jonathan looked up at her. ‘Grandfather refused to see him and Richard quite rightly saw no point in remaining where he was not welcome, so he returned to Oxford.’
‘Did you see Richard again?’ she asked.
He nodded. ‘From time to time, but we never sought each other out. Once he left Oxford we had no cause to communicate. Then, of course, the war came and the Ashleys sided with Parliament and the rift deepened.’ He met her gaze with a fierce intensity. ‘I told the truth, Kate when I said I didn’t know the circumstances of Richard’s death.’
Kate sat quite still, trying to imagine her beloved Richard and this man as young men together in Oxford, united only by one goal: to end the rift between the two families. Two more different men she could not imagine. She looked away to hide the pricking of tears behind her eyes.
‘Richard…’ she began, swallowing hard on the threatening tears. ‘Richard lacked the heart for the fight. He would have been happier with his books.’
Jonathan nodded. ‘That I could imagine,’ he said. ‘He was the scholar I could never hope to be.’
She brought her gaze back to him. ‘It took courage on both your parts to face Sir Francis. In the circumstances, I can imagine that it would not have pleased your family, or his, to even pretend an acquaintance with an Ashley.’
Jonathan grimaced. ‘My father was furious, and Ned sided with him as he always did. It was just another transgression to add to the ledger.’
Kate caught the edge of bitterness in his voice.
‘If Richard still lived, would Sir Francis have named him his heir instead of Thomas?’ she asked.
Jonathan nodded. ‘I think so. Time has softened his anger and I believe Grandfather quite genuinely regrets the estrangement, Kate. Yes, I believe he would have made peace with Richard.’
‘Then why not with his father? Richard was dead but David Ashley has only been dead this year past.’
Jonathan shrugged. ‘I can’t answer for my grandfather. It’s my observation, no more, that the King’s execution marked the final resistance for Sir Francis. Nothing else seemed to matter if they could kill a king with such impunity.’
Kate looked down at the cooling food on her plate. When she looked up again she hoped that the deepening shadows in the room would disguise the yearning she felt in her heart.
‘Do you have to leave us at York? Could you perhaps come on to Barton? I’m sure Tom would love to have you to himself for a few more days.’
He shook his head. ‘I can’t dally, Kate. The King is in Scotland and will be waiting on me and the letters I carry.’
Kate reached out and put her hand on his. ‘I fear this venture will not end well. Please don’t go, Jonathan.’
He looked down at her hand and before she could withdraw it, curled his fingers around hers. Heat rushed to her face and she pulled her hand back, burying it within the folds of her skirt as if it had been burnt. She had never behaved so wantonly in all her life. How could she be beseeching a man she barely knew to stay by her side? Stay safe…
