Traitors Vengeance - Part 8
"He cannot hide in there forever," Francis said as he and Marie and their entourage made their way down the corridor towards Henry's chamber. Henry had retired when Danielle left the castle and had been in there alone for hours.
"But Milord they are newly weds, he must be missing her something awful."
"Well of course he misses her, he wouldn't be human if he did not, but if he refuses to reason with Spain then he may not be able to keep her." Marie knew that he was right.
"Now Francis don't go barging into the room, he needs to be reasoned with not dictated to." Francis took heed of his wife's wise words and gently knocked on Henry's door. There was no answer. He knocked again. Still there was no answer. Eventually he became exasperated and barged into the room.
"Henry, we need to talk," Marie said as she followed her husband. Henry was not there. "Where on Earth is he. Did Laurent not say that he came in here and has not left?" Then she spotted the rope tied to his bed trailing out of the window, and the note lying next to it. She took it up and read it.
Dear Mother and Father,
I am so sorry, but I need to be with her. I will be back in the morning. Please just let me have this night. I shall meet with the King of Spain in the morning, there is much to be said.
Henry.
Marie handed the letter to Francis. She expected to see him explode, but he remained calm. "How long ago did he come into the room?" Francis asked.
"Two hours Your Majesty," Laurent replied. "Would you like me to call out the guard?"
"No, he's long gone by now. I'll deal with him in the morning."
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Riding across the open fields, Henry felt alive again. The rush of the wind through his hair, his cape flying out behind him. He knew that he was a beacon for every thief and Gypsy within a hundred miles, but the thrill of the danger was worth it.
He never thought he would feel like this. The pounding of the hooves on the ground and the wind whipping past his ears was a usual occurrence in his long history of attempting to run away, but this time he was running to something, not away. Within the hour he would be with Danielle again.
The time seemed to fly by. His two favourite things kept him going. The memories of the past thirteen days with Danielle and the thought of being with her tonight. In what seemed like just minutes he was riding his Horse into the courtyard of the manor, towards the stables.
The lights still burned at the manor. He could imagine Danielle sitting with all of her old friends talking passionately about those subjects which had endeared her to himself. He hoped to be able to slip into the manor unnoticed to surprise Danielle, but if what he heard of Steven Grey was true then there was little chance of that.
He dismounted the horse and led her quietly into the stables. He was reminded of the last time he was there, stealing one of their old nags. He raised his hand to his head. There was still a slight bump where Danielle had hit him with the apple. He chuckled to himself at the thought of an apple changing his life.
As he was putting his horse in a stall, he heard a rustling noise behind him. It sounded like there was somebody else in there. He put his hand to his sword and went to investigate. It couldn't be one of the servants, they would not be out of the house that late.
As he stepped out of the stall he felt somebody punch him in the face. It was a blow with such power as he had never felt before. As he hit the floor he was stunned. Then a pair of hands grabbed hold of his cape and drag him back to his feet.
"What are you doing here?" His attacker demanded as he was forcibly turned around. Through the fog Henry vaguely recognised the commanding voice.
"Nice to see you doing your job properly Lord Grey," Henry replied. "Just remind me not to sneak up on you again." His head began to regain some of its previous clarity.
"Your Highness, we did not expect to see you here. Were you not to stay at the palace?" Lord Grey babbled.
"Danielle left something, I took the liberty of bringing it myself. Where is she Grey?"
"The Princess is in her chamber,"
"Lead me to her, but do not let anyone know that I am here, I want this to be a surprise." The two men made their way across the courtyard. Henry was beginning to feel excited at the prospect of spending another night with Danielle.
The inside of the manor was filled with warmth and laughter. He could imagine a young Danielle in a place like this. How awful it must have been for her when Rodmilla took over. The thought of Rodmilla having such power over all of these lives sent shivers down Henry's spine.
The excitement he was feeling was becoming sheer giddiness as they mounted the stairs. The same butterflies that he felt every time he was near her, started again. What had he done that was so good that he deserved his wonderful Danielle?
"Here is the Princess's chamber Your Highness."
"Thank you Lord Grey. You needn't sit out here all night. Ask one of the servants to make up a chamber for you." He turned to leave, but Henry had one last thing to say to him. "Steven, I'm pleased to see that your fighting skills have improved since you were a boy. I would not have felt happy entrusting my wife's safety with that scrawny child I beat all those yeas ago."
Steven smiled. he was pleased that Henry remembered their childhood scuffles, when he visited Hautefort with his father. It simply proved to him that Henry was a man and not a royal.
Henry quietly pushed the door open and peeked inside. Danielle was not there. This gave Henry a chance to set up his surprise arrival. He could hear her in the next room, presumably her dressing gown. He placed the book prominently on a table and hid himself behind a curtain. he then called to Danielle, trying to sound as much like Steven Grey as possible.
Danielle came dashing out of her changing room in her night-gown and robe. "Have you sent the page Lord Grey? Lord Grey." She looked around her, obviously puzzled by the lack of a guard in her room. then she noticed the book on her table. She moved to it slowly, obviously wondering how anybody had got to the palace and back so quickly. Henry bit his lip to stop himself from laughing out loud.
As she took up the book, she turned her book to the curtain. Henry saw his chance. He took a flower from a vase on the window and tip toed up to her. She was so absorbed in her book Henry doubted that she would realise if an elephant was coming up behind her. He moved his arm around quietly and touched her nose with the flower.
Danielle jumped and spun round. Ready to strike at the intruder in her room. When she realised that it was Henry, the look of happiness on her face almost matched the look of horror on Henry's when he thought she might hit him. "Henry!" she cried, flinging herself at him. The two of them, fell to the floor in a heap.
"What are you doing here?" she asked smothering him with kisses. "I thought you were to stay at the palace." Henry could barely reply with the barrage of kisses Danielle was showering on him.
"I couldn't ... let you ... go ... the entire ... night ... without ... your ... book." His words were broken up as he was returning her kisses with the same fervour.
Danielle was so happy to see him, she could not wait for them to get up and go over to the bed. She wanted him to make love to her right there and then. She was desperate to feel his warm breath on her neck, his hands caressing her back, his skin touching hers.
She rapidly began to undo the laces of his jacket and pulled his shirt out of his breeches. Henry would have been only too happy to oblige his princess and carry on right there on the floor, but he was beginning to become aware of just how cold the floor actually was. Not wishing to disrupt the flow of things however, he continued to kiss her as he stood up and guided her over to their bed. All the way Danielle was pushing off his jacket and trying to lift his shirt over his head.
Then suddenly she stopped. Henry almost fell over as she moved away from him. "Danielle my love, what is it?" She then went around all of the candles in the room and put out every one until just the light from the fire was in the room. She looked over at Henry. In just his breeches, no shirt and the light was flickering over the well developed muscles in his chest and shoulders he looked like a Greek god. Danielle just had to stand there and look at him for a minute, he was so perfect.
At the same time Henry looked at Danielle. The fire behind her highlighted her soft curves through the sheer night-gown she was wearing. He desired her in a way he never thought possible. It was not just because she was incredibly beautiful, but also because she stimulated his mind and his emotions unlike anyone he had ever known.
Eventually this staring all became too much for Danielle and she ran back to Henry. He gently pulled the hem of her night-gown up, inch by inch until it was up and over her head and he finally felt the precious sensation of skin on skin. They fell backwards together, onto the bed. They were beginning to lose the powers of rational thought.
"Henry de Valois, I love you more than anything I have ever known," Danielle whispered in-between kisses.
"Do you know what? I love you too Danielle de Valois."