Winter Song Read Online Free PDF Page A

or else she
would say that the whole thing was unimportant and there would be another
opportunity. Then the sense of what she was saying came to him.
    “Mother!” he exclaimed, angry at her innuendo that Alys
might be with child.
    “Well, why the haste if she has nothing to hide?” Jeanine
hissed.
    Raymond turned on her, and she shrank back. He bowed stiffly
to his mother. “Then I will say farewell, madame. I will see you again when my
bride stands beside me.”
    “No! No!” Lady Jeannette cried. “I never meant such a thing.
I… But Raymond, it will be thought odd. Even your grandfather will think… Wait!
If you must fly back, if you cannot bear to be parted—”
    “You have it right at last,” Raymond interrupted coldly. “It
is I who am in haste, not Alys.”
    “But Raymond, your haste does not look well for the lady.
No, I know you would not choose a girl about whom there could be any doubt, but
here, so far from her own place, no one knows her. What will be said—?”
    “I will answer with my fist or my sword! Nothing will
be said to or about Alys.”
    Lady Jeannette swallowed and shrank a trifle. It was most unlikely
that anyone would say anything about anything while Raymond wore that
expression. She had not known her son’s face could look so cold and hard, so dangerous .
Plainly the idea of keeping him at home day by day until his interest in the
blonde slut faded would not work. However, there was another way.
    “If you would only allow me to finish a sentence, my heart,”
Lady Jeannette quavered. “I only want the best for you and your sweet Alys. All
I wished to say was that if you are in such haste, we will have the marriage here .
That would be best. All our vassals should be invited to the wedding of the
heir. They would be so disappointed to miss such a celebration.”
    “Hmmm,” Raymond responded. For the first time his mother had
said something really sensible, he thought. It was true that the vassals would
be disappointed. They would resent paying the aide owed for his marriage
if they were not offered some compensation. Also, the marriage would serve as
another opportunity to exact fresh oaths of homage to his father and to himself
as heir. That was important. Raymond did not think his father was likely to die
soon, nor that young Alphonse would try to usurp his position, but it was a
very uncertain world and a good idea indeed to have the men swear fealty
directly to him. That would eliminate one more loophole for betrayal.
    As these practical thoughts ran through his mind, Raymond
was noting how his mother’s face brightened when he paused to consider what she
had said instead of rejecting it out of hand. It would be silly to deny her the
pleasure of filling the keep with guests and having all new, magnificent
clothing. Then Raymond wondered whether that might have been the reason she had
objected to Alys. Doubtless she had been counting on impressing everyone with
this marriage ever since he was a child. Well, why not? There was no reason he
could not marry Alys once in England and again in France.
    “Very well, Mother,” Raymond agreed. “That is a very good
idea. I will bring Alys home and marry her here.”
    “That will be wonderful! Wonderful!” Lady Jeannette cried,
rising and embracing her son.
    She was pleased with his consent. It did not seem possible
to her that Raymond, who claimed to be so much in love, could fail to couple
with the girl on the long trip from England. If Alys refused when he asked her,
he would grow angry and come to hate her. He would then believe his mother when
she told him that Alys was a cold, uncaring, disobedient young woman. On the
other hand, if Alys yielded, she could be painted as lascivious and unvirtuous,
in either case it might be possible to make Raymond repudiate her, or if he
would not do that—Lady Jeannette was not always totally self-deceived—because
of the marriage contract, Raymond would certainly have a strong distaste