The King, The Duke, and the Lady
Chapter 19
A/N: Returning to this story after a long absence. For those of you who are still interested, I hope you enjoy. As always, I appreciate reviews.
"I gave them my word, Your Majesty!" Brandon shouted in frustration. He was dirty and tired, and had been away from court and Brianna for more than a month dealing with the latest uprising in the North. This one had been serious, with far reaching consequences. The King had sent him to lead his armies to squash the rebellion in no uncertain terms. And he had done so, in the most brutal of ways. He still woke to nightmares of the hung corpses of the insurgents. "And the leaders of the Rebellion are in the Tower as we speak, waiting for your punishment. Can we not leave it at that?" He lowered his voice now, his exhaustion overtaking him. He did not have the strength to deal with his petulant King.
"But you did not give them My word, Suffolk! I will leave a mark on the North that they will not forget for generations. They rise up against their King. I will not tolerate that. You will return to the North and kill everyone who raised arms against me, and their families with them. Down to the smallest child. Your King demands it!"
Brandon sighed, swallowing his words of rebuke. No matter his relationship with the King, there was no dealing with him when he was like this. It was as if the wound on his leg was actually poisoning his soul. For the first time in a very long time, he feared for his safety and that of Brianna. He could do no more than what he asked. He lowered his eyes and bowed stiffly, "As you wish, Your Majesty." He backed up and then turned to leave, escaping the darkness of the room Henry kept closed up, dark like his mood, dark like his soul was becoming.
Brandon entered the chambers he shared with his wife, Brianna, and found her waiting for him by the fire. Her beauty took his breath away, even after all these years. "What has he asked of you, Charles?" she whispered, having heard the yelling.
He went to her and sunk to the floor beside her and laid his head in her lap, full again with child. And again, it would be unclear who the father was, himself or the King. Such was the tangled web the three of them wove. "He demands that I return to the North and," Charles choked out the word, "slaughter everyone who participated, including their families 'down to the youngest child.'"
Brianna gasp, her hand burying itself in his thick hair. "You cannot, Charles."
"I can do nothing less, Brianna. We are losing him to the darkness. I fear he will not be swayed on this, not by me, and not even by you. I beg you not to try. It isn't safe for us, either of us."
"His leg, he is in so much pain. And I am with child and cannot soothe him in the way I have been able to in the past." Tears coursed down her face.
"Do not take this upon yourself, Bri. You have been with him. You have nursed him and loved him and soothed him. He still loves you and desires you above all others. But you cannot ease this torture for him."
"I must speak to him. I must try to sway him from this path. Killing the children… I think of our own children, I can't bear it, Charles," she began to weep.
He held her to him while she cried. "What of Mr. Aske? Sir Darcy? They are in the Tower are they not?"
"They will be tried for their crimes and executed. Nothing can be done for them, Brianna. They led a rebellion against the King. You cannot take up their cause. You must NOT take up their cause." Brandon ran his hand through the length of her long blond hair, soothing her as his strokes soothed him as well. Her familiar lavender and lemon scent surrounded him.
"No. Of course not. Later tonight, when all is quiet, I will go to him. See if I can ease his pain though." She held her fingers to his lips as he started to object. "No Charles, I must do this. I will not advocate for Aske or Darcy. I will just be there to provide him comfort if he should need it."
"Be careful Brianna. He is very dangerous right now," Charles kissed her lips. "Even to you."
Night fell and Charles slept soundly beside her. Brianna rose and slipped on her royal blue heavy robe over her chemise, and pulled on some slippers. It was quiet in the palace and late enough to be cold. Court was not in session so there were few people around, which she preferred. She quietly opened the shared door between their rooms and the King's and met with the guard posted between the two.
"Is he alone?" She knew he occasionally took lovers other than herself, and she couldn't be sure she wouldn't walk into something she would rather not see.
"Yes, Your Grace." The guard moved aside and opened the huge wooden door silently and let her pass through. She walked through the short hallway and into the darkened bedroom, just lit by a dying fire and a few scattered candles. Brianna saw him clawing at his leg, his face crunched up in pain.
"Your Majesty," she rushed to his bedside. "Why did you not call for me?" She could tell the wound was bad. The smell alone indicated that the poison was eating away at healthy flesh.
"I do not want a lecture Brianna. I would rather suffer than have you lecture me about my treatment of my people." Even in his pain, his voice was sharp with her.
She sat on his bedside and began to unwrap the stained dressing. "Do I lecture you Your Majesty? I am only here because I learned that you are in much pain. I am but a woman and have no opinions on matters of state."
The King laughed through his pain, "That we both know is a lie. But because you are here, I will take advantage of your care. Please help me Bri. It's worse than ever."
She nodded her head. "Yes, I can see that. I need to gather a few things. I'll be back in a few minutes."
"Please hurry." The King's desperation was clear as he tore at the bedsheets around him.
Brianna woke the boy who took care of his needs during the night and had him fetch fresh water and rebuild the fire to warm the room. She threw open the windows to air the room out and lit several herbal candles she had made herself that cleared the air and removed germs. It offered her more light to work with as well. The boy brought back lots of clean linens and started warming some of the water on the fire.
As she had countless times before, she cleaned the wound and pressed the poultice into the open sore, wrapping his leg in clean linens. His nakedness nothing between them any longer. She bathed him clean with herbal scented water until his body cooled the fever. She and the boy changed the bed linens and finally the boy took the spoiled linens away, leaving her and Henry alone.
He lay on his side with his head in her lap, his hand on her full belly. "How much longer, Brianna?" He could feel the child kicking in her womb.
"Maybe another 4 months, Henry." Her hand stroked his clean hair, longer than usual.
"Another boy do you think? He is active." He asked quietly, enjoying the feel of her fingers gliding through his hair.
"I'm hoping for a girl this time. I think I'm full up on boys. But as long as the baby is healthy I will be happy. She is active like her father."
"Do you know who's it is this time?"
"Not this time, no. It could be either of yours. We have been pretty lax in our sharing." He heard the smile in her voice.
"And you are happy?"
"I am quite content, Henry. I have my sons. I have two men who love me. I could not ask for more."
"But you would ask for more from me, wouldn't you?"
"No Henry. Not now. Now is not the time to be asking Your Majesty for anything. Now is the time for you to rest. I will stay with you until morning, my love."
"They rose up against me, Brianna. I can do nothing more than to squash the rebellion without mercy." He tried to justify his actions, his voice getting sleepier.
"I know that is what you believe, my love. It is a very dark path you take, that you lead Charles down. I would have you remain here with me in the light, but you are King and you will do as you will."
His head tilted up to hers, his eyes hooded and dangerous. "You are my light, my anchor, Brianna. But in this I cannot give you what you want."
She gave him a soft smile and leaned over him, leaving a gentle kiss on his lips. "I know my love. This I know."
When the King awoke the next morning, the pain in his leg was reduced to a mere annoyance although the swelling still had some ways to go. Brianna had left instructions for the poultice and continuing care. He dressed and went in search of Brianna.
"What is this?" he asked the maids folding clothes into large chests.
They both curtsied nervously in his presence. "Her Grace wishes to leave for the country. We are packing Your Majesty."
"Stop!" he roared. "Where is Her Grace? Tell me right now!"
"She is in the children's quarters, Your Majesty," the youngest maid squeaked. Both girls were terrified, having never been this close to the King, much less his anger. Henry spun on his heel and stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
How dare she! She was going to leave without his permission! Absolutely not. He wouldn't allow it! He stormed down the hall and threw open the door to the children's rooms. Brianna jumped along with the two maids she was giving instructions to. The children were nowhere to be seen.
"Brianna! I have not given you leave to go to the country!" the King shouted.
The three women remained in a curtsey and she finally rose, looking the King straight in the eye. "Your Majesty." She motioned to the women to leave and they scattered, closing the door behind them.
"You cannot leave. I forbid it, Brianna." He began to pace the length of the room, kicking aside a stray toy left on the floor.
"Your Majesty, Henry, please," she was prepared to beg if she had to. "I cannot stay while this is going on. I must be allowed to leave. The children and I have been planning a spring in the country, at Cheverly. We are just leaving a few weeks earlier."
"You would leave without permission?" The King grabbed her arms and held her in front of him, shaking her slightly.
"If I must, Your Majesty, then yes, I will leave without your permission. I do not want to leave that way. Please do not force me to. I must take the children from here. I must take our unborn child from here until this darkness has passed. It isn't healthy for us to remain." She played her trump card, although she wasn't at all sure it would work. He had never grabbed her before in anger.
"I AM THE KING OF ENGLAND!" he screamed into her face, spittle landing on her pale skin. He shook her hard and she gasped and sank to her knees. He caught her as he had her arms in a crushing hold before she collapsed altogether.
He lowered her gently to the ground as Brandon rushed into the room, the heavy wooden door hitting the wall behind it as he stormed through. "Henry!"
Brianna sat at the King's feet sobbing into her hands, the King staring down at her breathing hard. Charles quietly closed the door giving the three of them privacy and some quiet.
"What have I done?" The King whispered. He sank to his knees in front of Brianna, trying to bring the sleeve of her dress that had been torn in anger together. She flinched at his touch and he pulled back. "I'm so sorry Brianna. I had no right to yell. I'm just so… Can you forgive me?"
Brianna raised her tear-filled eyes to his, holding her sobs back. "We must be allowed to take our leave, Your Majesty." Her formality with him broke his heart.
"Will you come back? I couldn't bear it if you did not return." He kept his hands to himself although he longed to touch her, to wipe away the tears, to soothe her.
"They are your children. I won't keep them from you." Brianna hedged.
"And yourself? Would you keep yourself from me?" His voice broke as he asked his most important question.
"I need to go Henry. You need to let me go. I will return when this is over, and hopefully you can find your way back to my light. I love you, Henry. But I cannot stay. Not right now." Her tears fell from her face and tracked down her exposed bosom, her breathing becoming harsh as the pain of his betrayal hit her.
Henry stood. "Then you will go. The children and you will retire to the country side and enjoy the spring. I will send guards to protect you all while you are at Cheverly. Charles and I will come visit before you take to your confinement and return with the children, until you can return with the new babe to Court." He was going to blackmail her into coming back to Court, taking her children back with him so she would have to return to him. He was willing to take whatever measures necessary to keep her with him.