Free For the King's Favor by Elizabeth Chadwick Page B

his rejection by ignoring her and keeping his distance. Once her own sons were born, her impatience with his attitude had hardened. He was the cuckoo in the nest; the child who stood between her own offspring and their rightful inheritance. And thus it remained.
    “In your eyes perhaps, but the King will confirm his legitimacy and his right to Framlingham, and there is nothing I can do about it.”
    Gundreda had been prepared to hear as much, but it still added to her feelings of frustration and misery. “Then what can you do?” she snapped. “I was told you were the best. Was that an idle boast?”
    He sighed and gestured her to sit down. “My lady, I—”
    “Countess,” she said sharply.
    He gestured again and, after a moment, she did his bidding, but made it clear that it was a concession.
    “Countess, it is not an idle boast,” he said firmly. “You will find no better legal advisers at court than me and my brother Ranulf. He is high in the King’s favour and likely to become the next justiciar, but neither of us can work miracles.”
    Gundreda eyed him narrowly. “What of the acquisition lands? I suppose you are going to tell me there is nothing you can do there either?”
    He gave her a meditative look. “The King will hold them himself for the time being, while the dispute is being considered, but there is a chance he can be persuaded to give them to your sons.”
    “And for how long is the ‘time being’?” she asked.
    “That I cannot say, Countess, but I will continue to lobby him.” He sat down beside her, hesitated, then said, “I have a proposition to put to you, which will benefit both of us, I believe.”
    The way he looked at her sent a ripple down her spine. “What kind of proposition?”
    He cleared his throat. “I am a second son, but not without prospects and I am well employed at court. My family has influence in East Anglia and I believe if we were to marry, it would be a sound match. I have witnessed and admired your fortitude and I think we would do well together.”
    Gundreda had to choke down laughter, knowing that if she began, she would never stop, and she did not want him to think her mad. “Why should I ever want to marry again?” she demanded. “Once was too much.”
    “Because it will make you better able to stand against the gale,” he said. “Because it will be more effective for me to argue the case from a marital point of view. You will not be permitted to remain a widow. Someone will ask the King for you and he may turn out to be of the same ilk as your former husband. There are many such men about, but I am not one of them.”
    Gundreda eyed him suspiciously. “What is in it for you?” she demanded. “No one weds without advantage to themselves.”
    “Indeed not. You would bring a marriage portion in East Anglia and a link for my family with the Earls of Warwick. If I can win the acquisition lands, then who knows what else we might gain?”
    She arched her brow. “How do I know I can trust you?”
    “You don’t,” he replied with candour, “but the same goes for anyone. If I have a vested interest in obtaining the estates for your son, I will be the more likely to keep pushing the cart. It will be to our mutual advantage.”
    “I am beyond child-bearing age. You will have no heirs from me.”
    “That matters not. I am a younger son; I have brothers to carry the line.”
    “And if I refuse?”
    He gave a faint smile. “Then it was worth the asking…” He hesitated. “Forgive my boldness. You have beautiful eyes.”
    Beyond all sense, beyond all cold reason, it was his last words that fixed the decision in her mind like lead tracery securing expensive green glass in a window. No man had said anything like that to her before. Hugh would rather have beaten her than pay her a compliment. She could feel heat seeping into her cheeks as if she were a foolish girl with a head full of dreams. “I will have to think on the matter,” she said, shielding