Lady of Hay by Barbara Erskine (reading an ebook TXT) 📕

want to see you again, Jo. Not till this is over, " he had said. "Don't call me. Don't let me come near you. Not for any reason whatsoever, do you understand?"

Abruptly she retreated indoors. She turned on the stereo and threw herself down on the sofa. If only Nick were here for Ceecliff to find tomorrow. If only he were here...

She closed her eyes, trying to force herself to listen to the music. Ten minutes of Vivaldi to try and unknot the tension behind her eyes, then she would go to bed.

As they dismounted in the castle ward at Carrickfergus, Matilda found herself looking upward at the solid keep glowing ruggedly in the evening light, and she shuddered in spite of the warmth of the evening.

Word had come on Midsummer's Day that King John, together with an army of men, had sailed from Pembroke and landed at Crook on the southeast corner of Ireland. From there he had ridden to Kilkenny and been received with all honor by the Earl Marshall.

"But what's happened? Where's William? Why haven't we heard anything? Why has the king come to Ireland?" Matilda had looked wildly from Walter to his brother Hugh and back, after they had heard the news from the marshall's messenger. In the spring King John had at last agreed William could return to Wales, where he would grant him one more audience.

"I don't understand. " Walter rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"I have a letter, my lord. " The messenger fumbled in his pouch. "I was told to deliver it secretly to the Earl of Meath and no other. "

"Well then, give it to me, man. " Walter slid his finger under the seal, a worried frown on his face. Hugh and Matilda waited in silence, watching as he scanned the closely written lines. At last he let out a deep breath. He looked up at Matilda. "It's the worst news, I'm afraid. You'd better sit down while I tell you. "

Matilda went pale, but she did as she was told, sitting upright on a narrow stool. Hugh put his hand protectively on her shoulder. He cleared his throat nervously. "Go on, Walter. Tell us. "

Walter glanced down at the parchment. "It appears that William went to Hereford but at the last moment he refused to meet the king. Instead he began to rally men with a view to recapturing some of his lands by force. " He glanced up as Matilda drew in a quick painful breath. "The king promptly set off for Haverford as he had been threatening, where his host was already gathering for an invasion of Ireland. "

"An invasion?" Hugh repeated, appalled at the word.

"That's what it says here. Lord Ferrers apparently tried very hard to act as an intermediary and somehow persuaded William to ride to Pembroke after the king and there William actually saw John. According to him he offered him forty thousand marks to be paid at once if the king would restore him to favor. "

Matilda gasped. "Forty thousand? He's out of his mind. Where would we get that kind of money!"

Walter licked his lips. "I gather that's what the king said. He also commented that it wasn't William anyway, but you who really headed the de Braose family now. " He paused and glanced up quickly. "If anyone could raise any money it would be you and not your husband, and he intended to hold you and you alone responsible for the debt. "

Matilda closed her eyes for a moment, conscious of Hugh's reassuring hand gently squeezing her shoulder. After another quick glance at her, Walter went on, his finger tracing the lines of writing that grew smaller and more cramped toward the bottom of the parchment. "The king offered William the chance of accompanying him here to Meath, where they could together confront you, but William refused. He has ridden to the March, intent on raising an army of his own. It seems the king let him go. "

"Courage, Mother. We'll be safe here, you'll see. " Will half turned, watching as his wife and children with the nurses trailed disconsolately after Walter and Margaret toward the stairway that led up into the keep at Carrickfergus.

Matilda tried to smile. "I keep thinking about your father, Will. Why did he do this to us? Why didn't he try to make peace with the king? It is almost as if he did it deliberately to set the king against me. "

Will's mouth was set in a grim line. "It was unforgivable of him. He must have known that the king was going to try to find you, although Hugh reckons the king was coming anyway—and"—he hesitated—"well, Father has been behaving erratically, you must admit. I'm not sure all the time that he really knows what he's doing anymore. "

They stood watching as the last of the party climbed the wooden stairs into the keep. Only a few attendants remained hovering behind them, waiting to escort them in. The last of the horses was being led off toward the stables. Overhead two gulls, their wings pink in the last light of the setting sun, wheeled and called over the high walls.

"The king has followed us across Ireland, Will. " Matilda put her hand on his arm. "There is no safety for us here. "

He smiled at her fondly. "I know. I've talked it over with Reginald and Walter and they agree. We must all get to France as soon as possible. It's the only way now. And this is a good place to embark from, so when we've rested a little, Hugh is going to find us boats. "

She sighed. "Oh, how I long to see Giles again. Ask Hugh to hurry. I don't care about resting. Let us leave quickly. I don't think he'll take it as an insult to his hospitality. " She made a brave attempt to smile.

But it proved much harder than they had anticipated to find a boat