Much Ado About Love

Much Ado About Love

By Flora Speer

Smashwords Edition

Published by Flora Speer At Smashwords

Copyright 1989 by Flora Speer

Cover design Copyright 2013

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Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

My respectful appreciation to Mr. William Shakespeare, whose charming characters Beatrice and Benedick were the inspiration for Halys and Simon.

All hearts in love use their own tongues.

Much Ado About Nothing, Act II, scene i.

The Barony of Lyonne and the manors of Corwin and Allick are entirely fictitious, as are all the characters in this story except for King Henry I of England and his queen.

Prologue.

April, A.D. 1096.

Sir William, I must speak with you about your daughter.

The healer says she will live, my lord.

Pah. I put no trust in your herbal healer, nor in physicians, either. Baron Leonce of Castle Lyonne shouldered his way past Sir William and William’s younger brother Richard to stride into the great hall of Corwin Manor as if he owned the place.

He did not own it. William, though only a knight, held Corwin directly from the king, as his father before him had held it from the king’s father, the great Norman Conqueror of this England. William found that here on his own land he resented Baron Leonce’s imperious manner, and all the more because of his fears for his beloved child. He was about to say so in rough terms to match his present passionate emotions when he was forestalled.

Sir William, came a deep voice behind his shoulder, I pray the lady Halys is not in great pain. I would not have her suffer. It was Simon of Lyonne, Baron Leonce’s eighteen-year-old son, who spoke. He was a tall, muscular fellow, with curly chestnut brown hair and a strong, angular face that was still lean with the rawness of new-grown youth. William liked him a good deal better than he liked Simon’s father.

The healer is setting her broken bones now, William said to Simon. He tells me we should be glad she’s still unconscious while he does so. When she wakens, there will be pain, true enough, but it will be bearable, and she will live.

I thank God for that. Some of the anxiety left Simon’s warm brown eyes.

His sensitive feelings somewhat mollified by Simon’s obvious concern for Halys, William gestured the younger man into the hall, where Baron Leonce had taken up a commanding position before the blazing fireplace.

Your daughter’s injuries are of grave concern to me, the baron declared, facing William boldly.

She will live, father. Simon repeated the good news. We need only postpone the wedding until she is well again.

Be silent, boy. The words were said quietly, but they had the effect of a mighty roar. Simon seemed to draw into himself, growing smaller and pulling the commanded silence around him like a dark cloak. Ignoring his son, the baron looked straight at Sir William, meeting his eyes with shameless confidence of his own right in this matter.

The betrothal must be ended. My people who helped to carry your daughter home earlier today have reported the full extent of her injuries to me. I do not believe your healer. I think the girl will die. But, if by some miracle she does survive, she will be a disfigured cripple for the rest of her life. I cannot allow such a creature to reign as lady of Castle Lyonne. More important, I do not believe she will ever be capable of producing healthy heirs to my estates. That, after all, was one of the principal reasons for arranging the marriage between my son and your daughter. Now it seems your daughter will be unable to fulfill her part of the bargain. Sir William, I must say I find you partially to blame for this unfortunate and inconvenient situation. You might have chosen a gentler mount for your daughter.

It was her favorite horse. William wished Leonce would call Halys by name instead of continually referring to her as your daughter. But to Leonce, Halys was only a means to achieve his desired end of enlarging Lyonne lands. He did not see Halys as a person to be cared for and cherished. Simon did, of that William was certain or he would not have allowed the arrangements to go forward, however advantageous the alliance with the powerful local baron might be. He stole a glance at Simon. The fellow’s face showed nothing, no emotion at all. That was as it should be. A good son would obey his father’s wishes. Simon would not reveal in public what he felt at the breaking of his betrothal just two days before the wedding.

That portion of your daughter’s dowry already paid to me will be returned to you on the morrow, and I will formally relinquish any claim to your lands, the baron said. He then turned his attention to William’s brother. A fortunate turn of events for you, Sir Richard. You will become your brother’s only heir once his daughter dies. He flashed a calculating smile at the man who stood by William’s side. You have a three-year-old daughter, I believe.

William drew in his breath in shock, before realizing he ought not to be surprised. It was common knowledge that Leonce was galled by the fact that Richard and William were not his vassals. Having failed to gain William’s lands by way of Halys, it was only natural for Leonce to try for Richard’s lands through Richard’s infant daughter. But William’s brother remained as loyal as he had ever been, and his response could not have pleased Leonce.

"I pray for Halys’ complete recovery. I have no wish to see my niece laid in the ground at the tender age of fourteen. As for my daughter, she is too young for me to think of arranging her marriage just yet. I do not hold with this custom of betrothing babies, my lord, Richard said coldly, rejecting the invitation that had been implicit in Leonce’s words. Casting a quick look in Simon’s direction, he added, In any case, I do not think your son can be very happy at this decision of yours. Have you thought to ask his opinion?"

My son is in complete agreement with me, Baron Leonce stated. He has no desire to bed a cripple.

William saw Simon bow his head at that, and knew that whatever his true feelings in the matter, Simon would never disobey his determined father. Like Simon, William was no fool. He, too, realized his best course was to accept gracefully what could not be remedied. He could not even take offense at what Leonce had just done. In the baron’s place, he might well have done the same. He swallowed affronted pride and fatherly affection, though the taste was bitter.

I accept your decision, my lord, William said.

Then I take my leave of you. Leonce stalked out, his arrogant air intact, his dutiful son close behind him.

By God, Richard breathed, I’d like to split his skull. And whip that cowardly puppy he calls a son.

Simon is no coward, William said. Did you not notice his eyes just now? I think he does not like this sudden change in his life’s direction. He’s too well-bred to challenge his father before others, but I wager there will be strong words exchanged once they are in private. As for Leonce, I cannot blame him for his decision, nor quarrel with his reasoning. He has been honest with us. I see no cause to make an enemy of such an important man, especially when he may be in the right. Halys may never recover completely from this accident.

Cold-hearted bastard, Richard muttered, unwilling to give it up. If it were my daughter, I’d go to war against him.

I’m not strong enough to win, not even with your forces added to mine. William draped an arm across his shorter brother’s shoulders. ‘Tis your fondness for Halys speaking, and I thank you for that love. I’ve kept quiet about it since Leonce first approached me, Richard, but this marriage arrangement was not entirely to my liking. My lands to be gobbled up by that man, as though our family were nothing beside his grandeur! And that he would dare, at such a time as this, to hint he’d take your daughter in place of Halys! No, we are well rid of that connection. Let Leonce turn his covetous eyes toward someone else’s properties. He will leave us alone after this. And Halys is best unbetrothed for now, until we see how she recovers from her injuries.

I trust you will tell her that herself when she wakes up? Richard deliberately avoided inserting an if into the question.

Her mother and Anne will tell her, William replied. They will make her understand. From this day onward, Halys of Corwin will never again have to meet or deal with, either Baron Leonce or his son.

Chapter 1.

Autumn, A.D. 1107.

Uncle, I have told you and told you, I do not want to go to court. Halys looked up from her needlework to frown at the plump man standing before her. She did not want to hurt his feelings, but she could not do what he had asked. He ought to have known as much before he spoke.

Nonsense. Richard was so determined that he actually shook a finger at her. You cannot spend all your life here at Corwin Manor, locked up with your books.

Why not? It’s how you spend your life at Allick.

No more. I have lived in retirement these last years since Anne died, but now it is time to bestir myself. And so should you. You ought to marry, Halys.

I am too ancient to marry. You will recall that I was twenty-five last April. She smiled a little, shaking her head at him.

They had had this discussion before. It remained a discussion and not an argument because Richard was a kind man who would not force her into wedlock. He understood her reasons too well. He had been there when the accident happened. He had been a frequent visitor during her long convalescence. Once he had even held her in his arms while she wept from a broken heart and no one else would understand her grief or comfort her. He had been more than an uncle, he had been a steadfast friend during the time since then. All of which made Halys wonder why he was so insistent now that she should go to court.

What man, she went on, would want an over-aged wife who is also a disfigured cripple?

You are not crippled. You only have a slight limp that never prevents you from doing anything you care to do. And the scar is not disfiguring. I hardly notice it at all.

Dear uncle, you do not see me as King Henry’s courtiers would. You look at me with love, whereas they would see only a country woman with country manners, who can neither dance nor ride in their hunting parties, and who has an ugly scar across one cheek.

They were in the solar, the brightest room in the manor house. Pale autumn sun streamed over Halys’ shoulder, firing her braided hair with rose-gold lights and illuminating the needlework stretched on a frame before her. She deliberately turned her head into the sun so her uncle could see the scar on her left cheek more clearly.

It’s not as bad as you make it out to be, Halys, Richard insisted. Nor is your limp. As for dancing, I’ve seen you do it, and very well. You could ride, too, I’m sure, if you would only get on a horse again. Why don’t you try?

No. She could not be any firmer. I will never sit upon a horse again. I will not marry, not ever. And I will not go to court.

But you must. Richard began to sound desperate. Halys, I need you there. It’s vitally important.

I cannot think why. Halys calmly plied her needle, knowing full well Richard would soon tell her why. She wondered again at his urging. He was not usually so persistent, nor so tactless as to mention her infirmities.

It’s because of Melisande, Richard said, sighing. And Jasper.

What have those imps been up to this time? The faintest smile curved Haly’s mouth, softening its determined set. While she loved her twin cousins almost as much as she loved her uncle, she was fully aware that Richard had never been able to control his children. They wound him around their fingers, laughing, and he always gave in to them. He was an adoring father, too much so for the good of his offspring, or for his own ultimate peace. His next words explained much.

My cursed mother-in-law, Richard said in exasperation, and Halys nodded agreement with this sentiment, listening sympathetically as he went on with his angry explanation. There ought to be a royal edict passed that when a wife dies, her mother must have no more contact with the son-in-law. You know I loved Anne with all my heart, but her mother has always loathed me because I’m only a second son, with no great title. She would never have allowed Anne to marry me if her husband had not dared to defy her just that one time. Now she insists that Melisande must go into her household for training. Training, hah! Discipline is what she means, of the thick-rod-on-bare-buttocks variety, the way she raised her own children. I can’t have my poor Melisande subjected to that.

Beatings were normal discipline for children, as was the practice of sending them away from home to be raised. Still, Halys sympathized, remembering how unhappy she had been during the few years she had been fostered by friends of her parents. And Lady Clemance, Richard’s mother-in-law, was famous for her bad temper.

Poor Melisande, indeed. I thought she would be in the convent school for another year yet. That is what you wanted for her, isn’t it?

There has been some difficulty about the school. It seems Melisande rewrote several hymns. In perfect Latin, you understand. She has always been a good student. Richard ran one hand through hair newly grown more grey than its original red-gold. The verses Melisande wrote suggested the nuns were involved in some rather scurrilous doings.

Truthfully? Halys could not keep the dancing laughter out of her eyes or her voice. How like Melisande this story sounded. If there had been anything the least bit out of order at the convent, Melisande would have detected it. Halys would have given much to read those rewritten hymns. They piqued her curiosity and her sense of humor.

Apparently, there was some grain of truth in Melisande’s comments, Richard acknowledged. As a result, the nuns in their outrage have insisted that she be removed from their care at once.

And taken away to her very strict grandmother’s remote castle in Northumbria for proper disciplining? Halys finished for him.

That’s about it, Richard admitted.

And Jasper? What has he done?

He fought a duel with broadswords.

Fought -? Uncle, he’s only fourteen years old! He’s still a page. He shouldn’t be using a broadsword yet. Was he hurt?

Not a bit. The fight was stopped before it went very far, but I understand his opponent sustained a minor wound on one finger, which allowed Jasper to claim victory. I believe the quarrel was over a young lady, though the full details have been withheld from me out of care for the lady’s reputation. She, it seems, was unaware of what was happening and is completely innocent in the affair. But the result of all this is that I’ve had to remove Jasper from the household where he was attached.

Merciful heaven. Halys ought to have been shocked and appalled by these disclosures. Instead - she could not help it - she began to laugh. Oh, Uncle Richard, what have you spawned? A pair of little monsters!

You can see I need your help badly.

What can I possibly do? Halys dried her eyes, trying to control herself. She realized her cousins were in serious trouble and her own humor was ill-advised to say the least. Surely you don’t expect me to discipline them for you?

They would listen to you.

No, uncle, I can’t. It’s impossible. This time you will have to do it yourself.

Actually, it’s only Melisande, he said, to reassure her. Jasper is old enough now to be a squire, and I have found him a suitable master.

Really? With the reputation he must have after this? Don’t imagine it can be kept quiet, uncle. Even here in peaceful Corwin I know how quickly gossip spreads. Who would accept Jasper into his household now? What great lord, or even simple knight, would want our Jasper in the face of this scandalous behavior?

I want you to take Melisande under your care, Richard begged. "It is time for me to go to court for the forty days I owe King Henry. He’s at Westminster until the new year. I’m leaving in two weeks to join him there. We can travel to London together, and you may use my house on the Strand. I’ll be in attendance on the king most of the time, and my steward, Mauger, will be in charge of the household, so you will be free of all your usual duties. You will have ample time to spend instructing Melisande. She will be at the house, waiting for us, by the time we arrive.

Such an arrangement should pacify Lady Clemance, Richard added, exclaiming bitterly, Lady Clemance, indeed! There never was a poorer-named woman in all of Christendom. Lady Malediction is more like it. I will explain to her that when the forty days are over, Melisande will come to Corwin Manor, both of you traveling in my company for safety, and that she will then remain here with you until I find a suitable husband for her. May it please God to let the old lady forget the plan she has concocted to wed a friend and neighbor of hers, a seventy-year-old baron named Pervan, to my girl.

Uncle Richard, Halys said, irritated by his lack of attention to her earlier refusal, I’ve told you, I don’t want to go to court.

"Neither do I, my dear. I’d rather stay quietly at home with my books, just as you would. We are alike in that, aren’t we? But I cannot shirk my yearly duty to my king, and while I am at court I intend to renew certain connections that may lead to a greater title and improve the chances of making good marriages for my children. Then I need pay no heed to this foolish idea Lady Clemance has for Melisande.

As for you, Halys, Richard went on, You ought to make an appearance at court now and then. It’s not enough to send the required men-at-arms and not go yourself. It’s good policy to show your personal loyalty to Henry, and it will only be for the forty days. I need your help, Halys. Please do it for me. And for Melisande. She would benefit enormously from living with you and learning to follow your excellent example. You are the best person I know to finish her education and prepare her to become mistress of a large household once she is married. You manage Corwin so well, my dear. I want Melisande to have the advantage of learning from you, not from her miserly grandmother.

Halys was proud of her accomplishments as chatelaine, as Richard well knew. It was hard to resist such determined flattery. Despite her reluctance to acquiesce in his scheme to put Melisande into her care, and her unwillingness to expose herself to the criticism of courtiers who might well look harshly upon a woman with her disabilities, despite all of that, she found herself weakening, just a little. She did hate to think of Melisande being subjected to her grandmother’s heartless tyrannies, for she would be subjected to them, if Halys did not take the girl into her own home. Richard would not be able to withstand Lady Clemance’s insistence for very long.

I nearly forgot, Richard now told her. I have a surprise for you. I had my agent in London send some dress materials for you, and they have just arrived today. I brought them with me when I rode over from Allick Manor, along with a seamstress my agent found, who’s reputed to be a wonder with a needle. She’s waiting below stairs, with the largest pile of fine fabrics I have ever seen. The silks from Byzantium are beautiful. I took one bolt for myself. I hope you don’t mind. It was bright orange-red, not your sort of color at all, but I’ll have my tailor make it up for me and I think I’ll look quite well in it.

What you mean, Halys said dryly, Is that you waited until the fabrics and this woman arrived before coming to see me, and you brought both with you as a bribe. You know how I love beautiful clothes.

Almost as much as you love books. Please say you’ll come to London with me, Halys.

He could have ordered her. He was her guardian, after all. Instead, he brought her a seamstress, and he pleaded with her. Richard had always been so kind to her. She felt terribly guilty about refusing.

I will think about it very seriously, she promised him, adding, You haven’t told me who is to be Jasper’s knight and master.

I know you will want to see the seamstress. I’ll tell her you will send for her shortly. I have engaged her for a week. Make the most of her. Now, I must go and talk with Paul.

Richard was out the door before she could say anything more, leaving Halys to wonder why he had not answered her question about Jasper. It was not like him to be evasive, but then, he was unquestionably upset over Jasper’s outrageously precocious behavior, and it could be that he did not want to talk about it. Perhaps the knight to whom Jasper would be attached was some lowly personage and Richard was embarrassed by that. She would know who the man was soon enough.

She would make certain to know, for she was as concerned about Jasper as she was about Melisande. She had laughed at their joint escapades since they were old enough to crawl, but they had reached an age when childish pranks were no longer acceptable, when they were expected to behave with more decorum. They needed the loving discipline they had not had since their mother’s death, and which, apparently, neither had received while away from home.

Halys thought about Lady Clemance, recalling gibes at her own disabilities hurled from that badly named lady’s sharp tongue. She thought about the seventy-year-old baron who was Melisande’s prospective husband if Lady Clemance had her way. How would she, Halys, have felt, promised at fourteen to a man so old? But she had been fortunate, or so she had thought, to be betrothed to a man only four years older than herself. He had been handsome, and his words in their brief moments alone had been so sweet that she had foolishly begun to hope for love…

Halys pulled her thoughts away from the past. There was nothing she could do to change what happened eleven years ago, but she might be able to help Melisande to a happier fate than her own. She had only to agree to do as her uncle wanted, and Melisande would come to live with her, to be loved and treated with kindness.

She was wavering, losing her determination to stay at home and avoid the royal court and the indignities she imagined she might suffer there because of her limp and the scar on her face. She had not seen either of her cousins for more than two years, and she had missed their bright, youthful presence in her life. And, as Richard had said, they would only be in London for forty days. It was not really so long a time, considering how she loved Melisande and Jasper.

With amused exasperation she thought about the seamstress Richard had brought. Halys delighted in lovely materials and the clothing made from them. She always chose the designs carefully, to help disguise what she thought of as her disfigurement. Her clever uncle had known she would find it hard to resist such an inducement. He must also have known that once she had accepted the gowns from him she would feel obligated to fall in with his plan.

She had been well and thoroughly bribed with love and material pleasure, but she found she did not resent it at all. Melisande clearly needed her. Perhaps Jasper did, too. Making up her mind to do the right thing, Halys signaled to the serving woman who had remained sitting silently nearby during the conversation with Richard.

Bring that woman my uncle mentioned to me, Ursule, she ordered. Then tell Sir Paul I will want to speak with him this evening about preparations for a journey, and to Lady Judith about arrangements for the household while I am gone.

Halys was not the usual sheltered and carefully guarded heiress. She had been once, when she had been a laughing girl with sparkling gray eyes and thick, straight golden hair which shone with rose-gold glints in certain lights. In those days, there had been some who called her a great beauty, and she had known she was a matrimonial prize worthy of any man, bringing in her dowry riches from her mother as well as eventual inheritance of her father’s considerable lands. Sir William had been surprisingly shrewd for a fighting man, and had taken an interest in more than horses and warfare and hunting. He had cleverly found ways to increase his lands and his portable wealth. As a result, there had been many men who wanted to marry his daughter, or who sought her hand for their sons. The most persistent of these men had been Baron Leonce, whose principal honor, the estate upon which stood the great Castle Lyonne, bordered the lands belonging to Halys’ father.

The baron was eager to extend his lands and his power, and was willing to use his sole son and heir in that cause. For their part, Halys’ parents had wanted to see their daughter, the lone survivor of a brood of five children, raised to the ranks of baroness. After judicious negotiations between the two fathers under the careful eye of representatives of the king, who was the ultimate arbiter of William’s lands, an agreement had been reached. The marriage would take place one week after Halys’ fourteenth birthday, and upon her father’s death his lands would pass into the baron’s control, to