Page 39 of Lord Tristram's Love Match

Present time, 1174

The next morning Judith woke up to find her husband gone from her bed and already dressed for the day. She recalled last night’s events and how she’d finally understood he did not mean revenge. Instead of avenging himself on her, Tristram had attempted to shield her from harm. In light of what she now understood of him, she could well see the punishments he’d delivered had been but mild. And, truth be told, he’d not been harsh to her apart from the humiliating belting in the bailey and the sterner punishment she’d received last night. She resolved to have words with him, to beg forgiveness for how she’d misjudged him. Yet he only stared away from her with a sombre expression on his face.

“There’s nothing I wish to talk to you about at this time,” he said grimly.

“Please, husband,” Judith found herself pleading.

He turned to face her, and gave a short mirthless laugh and a shake of his head.

“I see. The punishment worked this time, and you seem sweet and subdued, when before you were just defiant and spiteful. But no wonder. You’re used to acting like a selfish, spoilt child. So certainly the spanking served its purpose, but I do doubt you’ll be able to behave for long. Soon you’ll start acting just as you did. With no regard for others or of how you can hurt them through your deeds.”

Judith hung her head in shame, because she’d often thought upon what she’d done. She had been too hasty in her wish to sever her ties with Tristram, and, on her mother’s advice, she’d sent the letter right after she’d made up her mind. She’d had misgivings the moment the messenger had left, but what she’d done couldn’t be called back. She’d tried to tell herself she had done right. And she had become persuaded Tristram would only have trampled upon her heart if they’d stayed married.

Now she became aware of the bitter, pained way in which Tristram was gazing at her.

“Tell me, husband, what occurred after I sent you the letter and asked the Church for an annulment?”

“Oh, don’t you know? Don’t you already know I was made a laughingstock in front of the entire court? A man unable to bed his bride? Less than a man!”

Judith blanched.

“I didn’t mean for this to happen! I didn’t lie and say you’d been unable to bed me. All I said was that we’d long been apart and we hadn’t had the chance to be proper man and wife!”

“Yet everyone knew we’d shared a bed on our wedding night. What did you think they’d say?” Tristram asked in full bitterness.

“I…”

Judith blushed scarlet with shame. Tristram had been courteous and hadn’t ravished or pushed her as, surely, other men would have done, feeling entitled to claim their wives whether they were willing or not. And this was how she had repaid him.

“I-I didn’t think,” she muttered, understanding it was just as he’d said.

“Plainly, you didn’t,” Tristram retorted tersely.

He turned his back on her.

She had been selfish. She’d thought only of herself and of her own jealousy, disregarding how her deeds might harm Tristram and his standing at Court. All she had cared about was her own pain over him loving another woman.

“But the Church refused to grant the annulment. Why?” Judith found herself asking in a small voice.

If he wanted to spank her now even harder than last night, he would be within his rights to do so, she thought. Tristram turned to scowl at her.

“Henry still needed me and he needed Redmore, knowing his feud with Eleanor might soon turn into war. He wanted our marriage to stand and he stalled for time, sending me to France to ask Eleanor to join him for Young Henry’s pending nuptials. In the meantime he was able to persuade the prelates to do his bidding. And then… Well, you know only too well that Eleanor came to Court to see Henry for a brief while, yet things became worse rather than better. The war started soon after and you obviously took Eleanor’s side just because I stood for Henry. Certainly, you resented it that your petition had been rejected, and sought to add further betrayal to what you did.”

Judith shook her head, hurrying to say, “That, I’m not guilty of! I didn’t know, Tristram. I thought… I truly thought the Church had granted the annulment. I took up the cause which seemed fair to me. I did not mean to stand againstyou!”

His dark eyes became stormy.

“Stop lying, wife!”

“I am not lying! And I still kept the letter in my chest – the sealed letter I received telling me the Church had ruled and that we were no longer wed!”

Judith didn’t wait for him to say anything, but ran to the small chest where she kept her letters. She soon found the letter, because it was a letter she’d read many times. For a while after it had first arrived, she’d read it every day.

“Here. See for yourself!” she said.

Tristram reluctantly took the parchment from her, but then he began looking at it with widened eyes and a shake of his head.

“It looks like the bishop’s seal, and the words ring true, but I know for certain the Church didn’t grant your petition. I was there when the ruling took place.”

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