Page 162 of Historical Hotties
“Make yourself clear, my lord.”
“Very well,” the priest cleared his throat softly. “Six months ago, you led the escort that brought Isabella of Angoul?me to England’s shores. She was, at the time, unmarried to the king. That occurred two months later. It is a fact that the queen is now six months pregnant, which means that she conceived before her marriage to the king. Now, you must understand that I am not here on behalf of the king. It is well known that you were rumored to have had an affair with the queen and fled London to escape the king’s wrath. I am here on behalf of the church that would ensure the child the queen carries is of royal blood. Only a royal must ascend the throne and I must know the truth, Sir Creed. I must know what happened between you and the queen as it pertains to her pregnancy.”
Creed’s gaze was steady. “Who told you to seek me out?”
“All of London knows the rumors regarding you and the queen.”
“Who told you?”
“It does not matter. Suffice it to say that the rumor was confirmed by several different sources.”
“I would know who told you.”
Massimo sighed. “Does it matter?”
“It does. It is my right to know.”
“Then the queen herself told me.”
It was Creed’s turn to sigh. But his gaze never left the priest. “What, exactly, did she tell you?”
“That you seduced her and begot her with child.”
“So she told you that the child was mine?”
“She did. From her own lips, she did.”
Creed was not particularly surprised but he was growing increasingly angry. It was becoming a struggle for him to keep his normally-dormant temper down. He leaned forward in the chair, resting his elbows on his knees as he mulled over the priest’s words. After a moment, he simply lifted his massive shoulders.
“It would do no good for me to refute her,” he said. “It would be my word against hers and we clearly know who would be believed. Even if she is a lying, petty, spoiled child, by the respect due her royal blood, she will be believed in all things.”
The priest shook his head. “Not necessarily.”
Creed gave the man a disbelieving look. “Would it do any good for me to tell you that it is a well-known fact that Isabella has not been a virgin since she was a child?” his eyebrows lifted in emphasis. “As you so callously claim that everyone knows of the rumors regarding my association with her, can you also deny the rumors that Isabella has seduced as many men as the king has seduced women? She lists her own uncle as a conquest, for God’s sake. Everyone in France is aware of it and her adulterous ways are common knowledge. When I escorted her to London, know that she set her sights on me nearly the moment we were introduced. When I refused her, she flew into a rage and toldanyone who would listen that I raped her. She was a little girl spurned, my lord, and nothing more. Now that she is pregnant with what I can only assume is another man’s child, she would seek to focus the blame away from her and onto me. She seeks to destroy me for no other reason than that.”
By this time, the priest was watching him intently. “Then you deny these allegations.”
“With all my heart.”
“You will burn in hell for lying to me, Sir Creed. Now tell me again; do you deny these allegations?”
“With my immortal soul at stake, I most certainly do.”
The priest gazed steadily at him as if trying to wordlessly persuade him into changing his story. Surely he had enough power behind him to do just that. But Creed held his gaze steady, the dusky blue eyes pure with truth and honor. Massimo eventually lowered his gaze, rising from the small chair he was seated in.
“I do, in fact, know a little about you,” he said as he neared the hearth. “It is my duty to educate myself whilst conducting tasks for the church. I know that you served Northumberland flawlessly for many years before going into the service of the king. I did, in fact, speak with most of the knights who accompanied you on your mission to escort Isabella from France.”
Creed watched the man pace. “And?”
Massimo paused to look at him. “They have all told me the exact same thing you did,” he began to pace again. “Your friends are very loyal. In fact, their criticism of the queen was far stronger than your own. From them I learned that you conducted yourself with dignity and honor, even when she threw temper tantrums and hit you.”
Creed just looked at the man. Massimo studied the strong face of the knight before him, pacing thoughtfully around the room as he pondered.
“It would seem, Sir Knight, that the queen has a vendetta against you for spurning her advances,” he said as he watched his feet. “But that does not erase the face that she is pregnant with what is presumably not the king’s child. The king himself says he did not touch her until their wedding night.”
Creed just shook his head and looked at his hands. Massimo paused a few feet away, watching the man’s body language.
“You disagree?” he asked quietly.
