Here Be Dragons - 1 Sharon Penman (paper ebook reader .TXT) 📖

the Bishop had cried out in a truly terrible voice, a voice that carried toJoanna the shiver of thunderbolts and the smell of sulphur, "Gilbert de Remy!Let him be cursed in the city and cursed in the field; cursed in his granary, his harvest, and his children; as Dathan and Abiram were swallowed up by the gaping earth, so may Hell swallow him; and even as today we quench the torches in our hands, so may the light of his life be quenched for all eternity, unless he do repent!" An appalled silence had fallen over those watching, and then they had flung their candles to the ground, casting the church into darkness."Papa will not yield, Richard. You know he will not. And if he does not..." I"If he does not," Richard said bleakly, "God pity England." ,1f

20ABER, NORTH WALESJflMwary 1207"iTJ.s Aber much farther, Madame?" Alison's face was hooded by her mantle, but her voice was slurred with fatigue. Joanna felt a prick of remorse, for she was responsible for their punishing pace, having overruled Dylan and insisted that they push on for Aber instead of passing the night in comfort at Aberconwy Abbey. She knew she was being unfair to the others, especially to Alison. But she'd had six weeks to nurture her hopes, to hone her expectations to a fine edge.Moreover, there was an element of calculation in her insistence; she wanted to arrive at Aber after dark. It was well and good for Isabelle blithely to advise her to lure Llewelyn to her bedchamber, for Isabelle's shyness had not survived her first glance into a mirror. But Joanna did not think she had either the experience or the self-assurance to carry off an amorous ambush, to play the coquette with such obvious intent. If she were to reach Aber at night, however, what would be more natural than that she'd go to Llewelyn's chambers to let him know of her arrival? If he responded as she hoped, her journey would end in his bed; if not, she could at least protect her pride, would be able to make a dignified departure for her own chambers. The moreJoanna thought on it, 'he more foolproof it seemedand the more appealing, a private reunion in soft firelight, with a bed so invitingly available for more intimate conversation.Winter travel was always a dubious proposition; men who might easily cover thirty miles of a summer's day in June would find themselves lucky to make half that distance come January. But Joanna had ^'ovved for that, felt sure they would still reach Aber soon after dark. ^nat she had not allowed for was the snowstorm. It slowed them to a

240walk, for a time halted them altogether, and when at last they rode«tt0Aber, it was well past midnight.Joanna's disappointment was not as acute as it might otherw1 have been; by then she was so tired and so cold that she yearned on] for sleep, and as soon as a fire was lit in her chamber, she and Aliso fell, shivering, into bed. She awoke just before dawn, to find Aliso already up and dressed; when she offered apologies for the harshness of Alison's introduction to Wales, the other girl said with a grin, "If those mountains are as fearsome as you said, Madame, Ithink it was probably a mercy that I was spared the sight of them!"Joanna grinned, too, remembering her first glimpse of Penrnaenmawr Pass. "Idaresay you're right!" Alison was a genuine jewel she thought fondly, blessing her luck in having thought to mention Blanche's sulks to Isabelle. In one brief afternoon Isabelle had resolved the problem, finding Blanche a position with the Countess of Surrey and finding Alison for Joanna. A Yorkshire knight's younger daughter, Alison was ambitious enough to jump at the chance to serve in a royal household, and plucky enough to look upon a sojourn inWales as an adventure. She was, Joanna now saw, holding out the most becoming of Joanna's new gowns. Joanna had been dubious of the color, a dark wine red, but Isabelle had brushed aside her qualms, and as always, her fashion sense was flawless; when worn with a rose-colored bliaut, the effect was pleasing even to Joanna's hypercritical eye."You seemed so eager to be back with your lord husband, my lady, that Ithought you would wish to go to him upon waking."Suddenly Joanna was wide awake. She stared at the gown; it glowed with soft, seductive color, and her pulse began to quicken. "Yes," she said, "I do."Dressing with nervous haste, she fidgeted as Alison combed out her long, dark hair; she'd made the daring decision to leave it unbound, flowing free down her back. And then Alison was holding out her mantle, saying with a smile, "How pleased Lord Llewelyn shall be to see you, Madame."The snow had ended in the night, but the bailey was blanketed in drifts and a chill, damp wind was sweeping off the sea. Clutching the most elegant pair ofLlewelyn's new gloves, Joanna cautiously made her way toward her husband's quarters; never had the Welsh partiality for separate buildings seemed so ill advised. The sky was just beginning to lighten, but the mountain peaks were crowned with clouds, warning that the sun's sovereignty was likely to be brief.She knew Llewelyn was an even earlier riser than most, but this morning he seemed to be lingering abed, for his squires were still asleep, bundled under blankets in the outer chamber. The guard, too/

242dozing/ but he jerked upright as Joanna closed the door, blinking at ^a s if sne were an apparition. "Holy Jesus, Madame, where did you from?" he blurted out, with such a guileless disregard for protocol S Joanna had to laugh."You're dreaming; I'm still in London," she said teasingly, and ved past him into her husband's bedchamber. The room was in semi, frfiess, shutters drawn and candles as yet unlit, and she paused in the doorway, hesitant until she heard Llewelyn's voice. There