“I know that, but you must marry another nobleman, a prince or even a king, and create an alliance that could help keep Montciel safe for generations.”
“The only thing that can keep Montciel safe is if King Claude is no longer a threat to us. And for that I will need to stay in Montciel and make sure my father does not make any more injurious agreements with Valkenfeld.”
“But do you not wish to marry someone wealthy and powerful? Sir Gerard is neither.”
Elyce felt her heart sink. Talking to Ysa about this made her question her feelings for Sir Gerard and scrambled her thoughts.
She began tugging at her dress. “Please help me take this off.”
Ysa started helping her out of her outer garments. When she was standing in her underdress, Ysa asked, “What shall you put on?” All of her traveling clothes had been taken by the castle servants and were being washed and mended.
Elyce walked to the trunk where the servants had draped the clothing King Wenceslaus had sent to her. Surely there was something here that would not be too elaborate for walking in the garden.
No matter what Ysa said, Elyce was not going to decline this invitation from Sir Gerard.
“This one will do.” A dark reddish-brown dress that would not show mud as much. Ysa helped her put it on. She added a warm woolen cloak and was ready when the knock came at the door.
Ysa looked as if Elyce were going on a dangerous journey, not out for a walk with a respectful, courteous knight.
Elyce opened the door and smiled at the handsome man in the corridor.
“Shall we go?” Then he seemed to notice Ysa standing behind her. “Ysabeau, would you like to come walk with us?”
Why was he inviting Ysa? Perhaps he did not wish to be alone with Elyce after all. Her chest deflated. He did not care for her, not the way she cared for him.
“No, thank you,” Ysa said. “I am very tired.”
She smiled at Ysa. “Have a good rest while I’m gone.”
They closed the door, and as they started back down the long corridor, she took his arm as she had done earlier that morning. Finally, they would be alone.
Should she let him kiss her? Her heart thumped wildly at the thought. Now that they had King Wenceslaus’s help in battling Claude, she could love—and marry—whomever she wanted.
Everything was working out perfectly.
Sixteen
Gerard was glad to see Elyce’s charming smile after seeing her so often distraught and unhappy. No doubt it was due to the favor the king had shown them.
He questioned his decision to ask Princess Elyce to go for a walk in the garden. The truth was, he wanted to be alone with her, but that was unwise. What good could come from it? They still had so much farther to go, much journeying and many dangers to face before they would be able to claim success on their mission to save her people from King Claude. He should not be inviting feelings that could not be manifested.
He recalled the girl he had kissed when he was seventeen and the way she had looked at him when she caught him kissing another girl. He had never promised either of them anything, never done anything more than kiss her, but his kiss had meant something more to her than it had meant to him. He could still feel the hollow sensation in the pit of his stomach at the way she looked at him, the hurt and betrayal on her face.
Broken hearts were not a thing he wished to boast of. He wanted to be known as an honorable man, not someone who kissed maidens—or princesses—and broke their hearts.
He shouldn’t presume too much. Princess Elyce had kissed him to protect their mission. That was all.
“When do you think we should leave?” she asked him. “That is, if King Wenceslaus’s soldiers are able to go right away. I am anxious to leave in the morning, unless you think we should stay another night.”
“I see no reason to stay if you are ready to go in the morning. We will have had two good nights’ sleep.”
“That is just what I think. Two nights here should be enough. I don’t want to delay. King Claude will only put more of my people to work in his mines in our absence.”
“He does have your father’s blessing to do so.”
“That is true.” Her tone and her expression changed from sunny and bright to cloudy and gloomy.
“But don’t worry. We’ll be there soon with men and authority from King Wenceslaus himself. He cannot ignore that or he will be in trouble from the Church. This is the Holy Roman Empire, and King Wenceslaus is the Holy Roman Emperor in all but name, if I understand the politics correctly.”
“You understand correctly. And you’re right. All will be well.” Her smile returned.
She was so changeable, which Sir Oswalt had pointed out. The good thing about that was she never stayed angry or upset for long. Sir Oswalt thought her unpredictable emotions were a bad thing, but what did either of them really know about women?
“I am excited to see the garden. Our castle in Montciel, as you saw, is on a mountain, and there is not much space for a garden, only the necessary things like stables and smithing booths. But I would not trade our spring and summertime mountains covered in wildflowers for half a dozen gardens.”
“Spoken like someone who loves her homeland.”
Princess Elyce’s smile grew, her eyes shining brightly. “I do.”
They reached the door to the outside. Gerard opened it for her, letting her go out first, and they walked a narrow path that led them to an elaborate garden.
Fresh snow had fallen the night before, and the only indication of the paths were the slight indentations in the snow, flanked by snow-covered bushes of varying heights, some taller than their heads. And the marble statues were the only things not covered in the white blanket.
She let her hand slip off his arm as she preceded him on the narrow path.
“It is beautiful, even without any flowers. The trees are sparkling.”
The sun was shining brightly today for the first time in several days, making the snowflakes shimmer in the light. But even though the sun was out, it could not warm the deep cold that held sway over the region. It was as if the sun had ceased to give heat, only light.
But the fair princess of the mountainous Montciel did not even seem to notice the cold. She continued through the garden, admiring aloud the statues and the formal pattern of the garden, her breath like white smoke every time she spoke.
“Do you have such gardens in England? Do you have one at your ancestral home?”
“Formal gardens are becoming popular with wealthy noblemen and at the king’s palaces, but at Dericott Castle where I was born, there are no formal gardens such as these. There is a kitchen garden where the cook grows her vegetables and herbs, but otherwise everything is wild and free. My father liked it that way.”
“Is that how you like things to be—wild and free?”
“It depends upon the circumstance and what purpose something serves. This formal garden serves the purpose of a small space where the inhabitants of the castle may take a walk, while wild, open forests and fields are good places for hunting and grazing livestock. And people, if they are in need of a walk, may still walk there.”
“That is a very diplomatic answer.” Princess Elyce was smiling at him with those blue eyes of hers, bluer than the winter sky. “I can imagine you being quite valuable to a king in need of someone to negotiate terms of peace, compromises, and agreements.”