The Falcon and the Flower Part 8

I have more manners than to flout her gracious hospitality."

Jasmine grasped at straws. "If I don't go down immediately I'm certain Avisa wil come to fetch me."

certain Avisa wil come to fetch me."

He chuckled. "Outraged innocence ... I must admit you do that very wel . Jasmine, you know as wel as I that if we don't show up for dinner they wil exchange winks and realize I have taken you up on your invitation to bed you."

"My invitation?" Further words failed her.

He was enjoying her discomfort immensely. He held out an inviting hand. "Why don't you remove that lovely gown before it gets ruined and join me on the bed, love?"

Tears of frustration sprang to her eyes. "De Burgh, you are more wicked than the Devil. I swear you wil plague me to death!"

He laughed outright. "Jasmine, for G.o.d's sake, unbend a little.

Do you begrudge me a little teasing, a little fun?" He sat up and pul ed her into his lap. She was furious to be handled so.

He kissed the frown between her brows, then he kissed the tip of her nose and said quietly, "If you keep running off someone else wil pluck the delicious fruit that is mine. My better judgment tel s me to experience the joy of you now. After al , you are mine, we are betrothed, and none wil real y expect a bridegroom so hot to cool his blood until after the wedding."

She paled at his words and pul ed herself from his lap on shaky legs. "My lord, I promise to be courteous and civil to you if you wil escort me to dinner." Her lashes brushed her cheeks, hiding her defiance. "I know you are a most valiant knight who does not take his vows lightly. I am defenseless against you and beg you wil be honorable toward me and wait for the wedding." She raised her lashes to peep at him and gauge the effect of her words.

"You are a little witch" he smiled rueful y "who knows how to wrap a man about your fingers!"

She held out his doublet to him and the corners of her mouth turned up prettily. "Come, you may escort me to dinner, my lord."

They dined intimately in a smal room that personified Avisa's cultured taste. The furnis.h.i.+ngs were elegant rather than ma.s.sive, the table was decorated with flowers, and they drank from Venetian gla.s.s. The quality of the food took precedence over the quant.i.ty, and Jasmine realized it was the first time she had ever been exposed to intel igent dinner conversation between men and women.

Her ignorance of history, politics, and the world at large was abysmal so she only listened and absorbed everything she saw and heard.

Hubert looked at Avisa and said, "So, there is a defi- nite possibility that you wil become the Queen of England.1'

Avisa made a little moue with her lips. "When they married me to John he received al my Gloucester lands, holdings, men, and monies. Combining everything I owned in Wales and England, it made him the richest peer in the realm. I, on the other hand, received nothing; not kindness, not fidelity, not even a child. Perhaps final y I am about to receive my reward."

Avisa glanced at Estel e as if for confirmation.

After a moment's concentration Estel e said, "Prince John's outstanding qualities were vanity, temper, l.u.s.t, and greed.

King John's outstanding qualities wil be vanity, temper, l.u.s.t, and greed. As before; so again. He wil bring you unhappiness and grief."

Avisa smiled to lighten the mood. "We were ever a mismatched couple. I don't believe he ever forgave me for being tal er than he."

Falcon said, "He was truly the runt of the litter. King Henry's other sons were as tal and broad as himself, and yet for alJ his shortcomings, John was always Henry's favorite."

Hubert spoke up. "Henry, now there was a man. He was the best king England wil see in a century! After the anarchy and civil war of Stephen's reign, Henry strived for one law, one government, and national unity for thirty-five years. Do you realize that before Henry if you were charged with a crime you were given a trial of ordeal, or compurgation, or the outcome was decided by wager or battle?"

"Compurgation?" Avisa asked curiously.

Falcon supplied, "To purge or purify."

Hubert continued. "I know it was before your time, but real y it was not so very long ago the law was settled by hocus-pocus."

The three women exchanged amused glances that Hugh had come close to insulting Estel e and Jasmine, but he didn't notice as he warmed to his subject of the late King Henry, "English law is now based on trial by jury of twelve men of high morals within the community," Hugh said with satisfaction.

Jasmine spoke for the first time. "A community would be hard- pressed indeed to find a dozen men with high morals."

Avisa's amused laughter spil ed across the table. It was quite infectious, and soon the men joined in the laughter, even though the jest was at male expense.

Avisa said wistful y, "My father-in-law was a real man.

Unfortunately, he bred sons who were like a pack of wolves or a skulk of foxes save for your dear father, of course," she said to Jasmine.

Falcon raised his goblet in a toast to Avisa. "We would al dearly love to see you our queen, but if it comes to pa.s.s, England wil rue John. History does not travel upward in a straight line; a single act of violence can destroy years of effort; hatred and fear cancel good works; life is absurd."

Jasmine saw an opening to shoot a smal barbed arrow. "You live by violence and bloodshed!"

"I'm highly compet.i.tive, that's without question," he conceded with a dazzling smile, one black eyebrow contorting into a chal enging arch. "But I'm perfectly happy to give the victory to anybody who can take it."

Avisa thought on first sight that he had enormous impact. He had a presence that was larger than life. She glanced at Jasmine, hearing the chal enge the young couple sent each other. "So, you are to marry?"

Jasmine said, "We are only betrothed."

Falcon said emphatical y, "Yes, we are to marry."

Avisa's eyes met Estel e's in mutual understanding. "Women marry men thinking they are going to change them, and they never do."

Estel e added, "Men marry women hoping they wil never change, but they invariably do."

"Oh, how true," Avisa said, laughing. She arose from the table and her company fol owed suit. Discreetly the servants began to clear. "Thank you al for your company tonight. It was pleasant to play 'what if,' but it is Wil iam Marshal, Hubert Walter, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and your father, Jasmine, who wil decide on the succession."

Chapter 9.

In Normandy, Jasmine's father was indeed a deciding factor in who should be the next king. Urged on by the Earl of Chester, al the English barons present argued that the English would never accept Arthur as king. He had never set foot on English soil and because of his mother's influence he was no Anglophone.

The King of France was poised like a ravenous bird of prey to swal ow Normandy, Brittany, and the Angevin possessions. If they crowned Arthur, a thirteen-year-old boy, he would swoop down and attack. Because of this, Wil iam Marshal and Wil iam of Salisbury favored John as the next king. Without exception, the barons of the continental dominions of Normandy, Anjou, and Poitou declared for Arthur. Hubert Walter, the aging Archbishop of Canterbury, also opted for Arthur because of a personal dislike for John and his abominations. In the end, however, he al owed himself to be swayed. He shook his head and said, "I promise you that nothing you ever did have you so much cause to repent of, as you wil have of this."

To settle the matter, they issued a proclamation stating that Richard had named his brother John as his successor to the throne. He was to be crowned May 26, 1199. The most important men of the time were gathered for the coronation.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the chief justiciar, the constable, the marshal, the steward, the chamberlain, and the chancel or were the important posts, and the English barons vied with each other for appointments to the unfil ed offices.

King John was surrounded by Wil iam de Warenne, Wil iam Earl of Devon, Ranulf Earl of Chester, Geoffrey de Mandevil e, Robert Fitz-Walter, Saire de Quincy, Robert de Ros, Wil iam Mowbray, Meiler Fitz Henry, John de Courcy, and the de Lacy brothers, Walter and Hugh.

News of King John's coronation soon reached Cirencester.

Falcon de Burgh contented himself to leave his I bride-to-be with the new Queen of England.

He opened the door to the adjoining chamber Avisa had wickedly provided for the betrothed and held out his hand.

"Here, take it!"

"What?" Jasmine demanded, angered that once again he had entered without permission.

"Your wretched hedgehog, p.r.i.c.k," he said with a grimace.

"You lout! Wil you be told his name is Quil . You say I it on purpose to provoke me."

He grinned because, of course, it was true. "No sweet words for me before I depart?" he teased. "No 'thank you, milord Falcon for al owing me to be lady to the I queen'?"

"Al owing?" She almost choked on the word. "I am the granddaughter of a king. That same King Henry you I de Burghs are forever extol ing. I am a royal princess . . I am "

"You, my love, are the result of a night of il icit love, a rol in the hay, or fornication under a hedge perhaps."

"Oh . . . you . . . you . . . son of a wh.o.r.e," she blurted.

"And you, my sweet, are the daughter of a wh.o.r.e," he said with relish. "Can you be trusted among the young men who wil be flocking to Avisa's court when they hear the news?"

Her mouth opened to indignantly protest her virtue when she suddenly changed her mind. "No, no, I cannot be trusted. I'l do my d.a.m.ndest to disgrace you. If you are stupid enough to marry me, milord, I promise al your children wil be b.a.s.t.a.r.ds, just like me."

He struck her then. She crumpled onto the bed, then raised tear-fil ed eyes and swore, "Wh.o.r.eson coward!"

He took her by the shoulders and shook her. "I warn you that's enough. Persist in this and by G.o.d you'l drive me to further violence."

Her lips trembled and her eyelashes were spikey with tears, then she felt the rough sweetness of his kisses. He couldn't help himself. She was so desirable. She was at once earthy and ethereal, a combination guaranteed to drug him and become habit forming. "Ja.s.sy . . . Ja.s.sy," he murmured against her lips. "Let yourself go ... let yourself float . . . sail away with me to another world." His hands were inside her bodice, cupping her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, squeezing them lightly, playful y, rubbing his thumbs gently over her nipples until they stood out like tiny jewels. The velvety caress of his tongue almost made her melt against his powerful chest, but she stiffened as she felt him quicken against the soft curve of her bel y.

"Don't!" She pul ed his hands from her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. "You think you can strike me one minute and rape my mouth the next. We are mismatched, unsuited . . . leave me at once!"

"Opposites attract!" he insisted. "For a man and a woman to love each other, they don't have to be cut from the same cloth."

"Love?" She laughed derisively. "I'l never love you!"

He towered over her, his green eyes blazing with un-quenched pa.s.sion at the chal enge she threw at him. "You shal ," he vowed. "You shal !"

A s.h.i.+ver ran up her body. Wildly she wondered if it was fear or excitement. Disgust or antic.i.p.ation? What was it about him that brought out the very worst in her? She had intended to ask him a favor regarding David, now she wondered if she dared. She had had to say a secret good-bye to the squire.

When she told him how pleased she was that his wound was healed wel enough for him to travel home to Salisbury, he had hinted that upon his return he would be punished by de Burgh for the part he had played in escorting her. "Do you think he wil flog you?" she asked incredulously.

"Without hesitation," David said, confirming her suspicions of de Burgh's cruelty. Now she would have to risk a beating to help David. She'd just received proof that if she angered him enough he would strike her.

"I don't want David punished for my deeds; he was only obeying my orders. You have a cruel streak, and I fear for him if you intend to take out your anger on him."

"You affront me, mistress. I have a reputation for being a disciplinarian, but I also have a reputation of fairness toward men under my command. Why do you champion this David, what is between you two?" he demanded suspiciously. "Is he one of the long string of men with whom you intend to deceive me?" He lifted her in his arms and carried her to the bed. With sure hands he removed her shoes and reached up her skirts to peel the silken stockings from her pretty legs.

"My G.o.d, what are you doing?" she cried, shocked to her very core that he would be bold enough to reach up her skirts to disrobe her.

His pa.s.sion was high, fed by his anger. "There is one way to make sure your first child wil be mine. I wil plant my seed deep within you here and now!" he vowed.

"I'l scream the castle down," she threatened.

"Little innocent," he said, caressing her thigh, his fingers seeking higher until they captured the delicious curve of her heart-shaped bottom, "no one would dare disturb us while I was making love to you. They would think you were crying out in pa.s.sion."

Jasmine was by turns icy cold then burning hot. She shuddered as his hands roamed about her private places. Her eyes turned a dark shade of purple and she hissed at him through clenched teeth, "Falcon de Burgh, if you do this thing, I wil never, ever forgive you!"

Falcon longed for her to be generous toward him. He would not see her for a long time, and already his body ached for her at the mere thought of the separation. He hesitated over taking what he desired by force, for he knew deep within his heart that if she did not give it wil ingly, it would be valueless.

Slowly he removed his offending hand from beneath her gown and al owed her to sit up on the bed. He took her face in his hands tenderly and touched his lips to hers, gently, reverently.

"Ja.s.sy love . . . give me something, anything to take with me to warm my heart. A kiss ... a smile," he begged persuasively.

Silently she picked up the stockings he had removed from her and pressed them into his hand. She had decided it was best to let him go without another word. Distance between them was the safest, for whenever they came together it was like tossing a match into a keg of gunpowder.

The Earl of Salisbury sailed home the first week of June. He was surprised that Falcon de Burgh had had no trouble with the Salisbury knights, and his opinion of his future son-in-law's ability to handle men rose another notch.

John had appointed his half brother Wil iam as head of his armies, no smal responsibility with the King of France threatening war and the rebel ious unrest always present in Wales and Ireland. To top it al off, King Alexander, the Red Fox of Scotland, was demanding the return of c.u.mberland and Northumberland as the price for maintaining peace and loyalty to newly crowned King John.

Wil iam regaled de Burgh with a description of the coronation and al who were present. Then he said, "I always knew John was jealous of Richard, but now I realize he must have hated him and coveted everything that was his. He has been waiting and plotting and planning for so long, he didn't wait to remove his coronation robes before he started issuing orders and bestowing honors upon his sycophants." Wil iam spread his hands. "Wel , at least he recognized I'm a soldier and not a courtier. I'm head of the armies and over half of them are mercenaries, so we've got our work cut out for us." He paused. When de Burgh made no protest at the use of the word us, he went on. "I'd like to give you command of five hundred bowmen as wel as Salisbury's knights and men-at- arms."

Falcon grinned. "Thank G.o.d you recognize that I too am a soldier rather than a courtier."

Wil iam cast an appreciative look about. The order de Burgh had brought to the wel -stocked armory was evident.

"Speaking of court, where is that little minx, Jasmine? I have arranged for her to go to court to be lady to John's new child- bride, Isabel a of Angouleme."

"New bride?" Falcon asked with disbelief. "He's married to Avisa."

"John has put pressure on the church to grant him a divorce."

"He can't do that to Avisa!" de Burgh exclaimed, shocked.

"Falcon, he can do anything. He is the king. He intends to rule.

He saw Isabel a of Angouleme, a radiantly lovely child, vividly dark . . . only about fourteen years old. She was promised to Hugh de Lusignan, but John didn't give a s.h.i.+t about that. He abducted her, then said she agreed to become his new queen."

Falcon said, "He has no grounds for divorce."

Wil iam laughed though there was little mirth in it. "The divorce has been granted. They dragged out consanguinity again.

Avisa's grandfather, Robert of Gloucester, was the il egitimate son of Henry I. Anyway, it's a done thing. Avisa wil be wel rid of him. Why so much concern for her?"

"Jasmine went to be lady to Queen Avisa," Falcon said lamely.

"I suppose that Estel e put her up to that?"