Bedding the Enemy. Mary WineЧитать онлайн книгу.
laced her voice. “Besides, we are together. A walk isn’t so bad since there are two of us. I get out so little, I never get to meet men that might make me blush. Perhaps I’ll want to steal his interest from ye.”
Her friend’s excitement was infectious. Helena smiled and clasped the hand Raelin closed around her own. They hurried down the wide hallways like curious children on a feast day. Now that the queen had retired for the night, many nobles had begun the process of returning to their town homes. Everyone attending court wanted to be noticed, so they did their best to be present any time the king might step into the great hall. Or send a summons for them. The chamberlain kept a list of those men waiting for an audience with His Majesty. Just getting your name on that list took a great deal of influence and often a bribe. If you failed to make a good enough bribe, your name might be very low on the list and the chamberlain might forget to mention to the king that you were waiting for a very long time.
But once the queen retired, the king often took to his private chambers with his friends. That ended the day, giving weary nobles the chance to retire until they rose at dawn to begin the entire process once again. Helena had been keeping such hours since arriving. It was becoming difficult to remain awake during services.
Tonight she didn’t care. Excitement flowed through her. They circled the private garden used by the queen and crept out into the hallways that led toward the great hall. Long shadows darkened the hallway. Lamps were lit but their light became lost in the vaulted ceilings.
“Maybe the poets are reading.”
“You mean ‘wenching,’” Raelin declared boldly.
Helena smothered a laugh. “You say the most outlandish things.”
“’Tis the only way I survive serving the queen. Her ladies are quite prudish and I refuse to forget that I am young enough to think about men.”
“Raelin…”
Her friend shrugged. “I only said think about men. What’s wrong with listening to a little posy? We’ll both marry soon enough and find ourselves shipped off to country estates to produce heirs. I, for one, would like to take a few memories along.”
“I agree.”
The young men of the court liked to practice their poems on the maids after the hall was emptied for the night. Edmund had warned her to keep well away of such gatherings. Ladies that were seen by the flicker of the candles were considered light-skirts. That didn’t stop some of the bolder noble daughters from going. One or two had snared herself a titled husband by ignoring the possible gossip and invading the male-dominated activity. But doing so was a very risky gamble. Many had not fared so well.
“We’ll stay in the eves. Ladies do it all the time. No one shall see us.”
“That’s wickedly naughty.” And she had never thought about it. The great hall was surrounded by hallways that had arched openings. At night, a dozen people might be standing there. If you were near the candles, the darkness beyond would be impossible to see into. It was so clever and so tempting.
Raelin laughed. “I know. My brother would have a fit if he knew. But I often wonder if that’s because I might see him attending. And enjoying himself.”
Helena laughed; she couldn’t help it. Edmund would be enraged if she caught him doing anything that he’d rather she didn’t know about. Which only made her laugh harder. Her belly ached with it. She stopped to catch her breath and Raelin swirled around in a circle, her golden skirts flaring up. She laughed softly, her head pointing at the ceiling like a little girl on a spring morning.
“Perfect.”
Raelin screamed, the sound erupting from her as Edmund emerged from the darkness like a serpent striking at prey. He grabbed at Raelin, ripping her bodice with one harsh motion of his hand. She snarled and tried to fend off the hands pulling and clawing at her clothing. Lace tore and her strand of pearls broke. But she did not make it simple for him. The Scots girl fought Edmund, hitting him and yanking on his fine velvet doublet, raking her nails down one side of his face. Edmund raised his hand and struck her in retaliation.
“Stop it, Edmund! Let her go!”
Her brother cursed at her and sent her tumbling with another blow from his hand. Raelin stopped trying to free herself and launched a fresh attack on him when he tried to follow up with a kick. Edmund took full advantage of her change in direction, hooking his hands into her bodice and tearing the golden silk so that her corset showed.
“Hold there!”
Guards charged down the hallway, their boots echoing. Light suddenly surrounded them all, illuminating a tousled-looking Raelin with Edmund standing nearby.
“What goes on here?”
Her brother arrogantly raised one eyebrow. More footsteps announced the arrival of witnesses. Raelin stood in shock, her hands trying to cover up one breast that was too exposed. Helena struggled to her feet, fighting with her dress while she struggled to get her feet on the floor and not on the damask that made up her skirts. Faces emerged from the shadows to stare at them. Edmund smirked in victory.
Whispers erupted among the spectators. Each hushed voice sliced as deeply as sharpened steel. Panic appeared on Raelin’s face. The change from Raelin’s normally smiling face was so sharp it horrified Helena, choking her with the ugliness of the condemning people around her.
“I’ll tell ye what goes on—that bastard needs some manners beaten into him.”
The man emerged from the darkness.
Helena stared at the face that had occupied her mind since seeing him that morning. There was nothing kind in his expression now. Rage flickered in his eyes and it drew his features tight. His breathing was rapid, betraying the fact that he had been running.
“If I hadna been all the way across the hall, I’d have snapped the whelp’s neck by now. He put rough hands on her.” He pointed a thick finger at Edmund.
Raelin’s eyes rounded when she saw him. But the Scot didn’t look at her. His attention was focused on Edmund, whose face didn’t betray even a hint of remorse. Instead he looked at the guards with a small smirk on his lips. They broke under the weight of his stare, one clearing his throat.
“He is the heir to the Earl of Kenton, a peer of this realm.” One Royal Guard member spoke quietly, his tone thick with warning. The Scot didn’t even blink. His face remained in its disapproving expression. Edmund’s blood didn’t buy him any tolerance from this man.
“What he is, is an undisciplined whelp who doesna know how to treat a woman with respect. Look at her, man! He ripped her dress down her body, and you English dare to call us Scots barbarians? I’d lay one of me own clansmen low for doing the same.”
The whispers began again. They rose in volume until it felt like they were pounding against the inside of her head. The horror was too much to bear. Helena reached for her friend and felt the Scots girl clasp her hands in a crushing grip. Raelin held her chin steady but it must have cost her greatly.
“Make way for the king!”
The crowd gawking around them split apart, backing up to the walls. James Stuart didn’t look amused. Everyone lowered themselves before him. But he only had eyes for Raelin. She tried to lower herself but wobbled on unsteady feet. Silent tears fell down her cheeks as she hugged her ruined bodice over her exposed breast. The king’s face flushed, rage flickering in his eyes.
“Get up. All of you! What is this nonsense?”
The king’s gaze settled on Raelin. A frown marred his forehead. His expression quickly changed to one of anger when he turned to look at Helena and the Scot.
“My chambers! Bring them all.”
Raelin’s hand shook. She was holding Helena’s hand so tightly, the tips of her fingers were beginning to lose feeling. But you wouldn’t have known such from the way her friend held her face—smooth and composed. All traces