Free Hostage Bride by Anne Herries Page A

demanded of a servant carrying a wooden pail of water in the direction of one of the outbuildings.
    ‘It is the lady, sir,’ the servant replied. ‘She has been washing linens the whole day and bid us set up these lines to dry it all. I am taking her water to rinse the last of the linens.’
    ‘Then lead on and I shall follow,’ Raphael said and swore under his breath. What had the foolish woman been doing? Most of what he’d seen looked fit only for burning.
    As he entered the outhouse Rosamunde had commandeeredfor her marathon task, he saw her bending over a large wooden tub, her sleeves rolled up above her elbows and her arms plunged into water. She was intent on her scrubbing and did not look up immediately.
    ‘What possessed you to do all this?’ he demanded. ‘My bailey looks like a washerwoman’s yard. How are my men supposed to train and do their work with wet linen everywhere?’
    ‘You asked me to mend these things,’ Rosamunde said, and pushed a lock of hair back from her eyes. Her arms were red from the water and harsh soap used for laundering and she looked exhausted. ‘I cannot mend linen in such a disgusting state. Everything had to be washed first.’
    ‘Did Mellors not tell you women were to be brought from the village to help?’ Raphael picked up a linen tunic that had large holes in it. ‘What do you imagine I want with such rags? Have some sense, wench. I meant only to give you some mending or fine sewing. If I wanted all this linen sorted I would’ve set the servants to it.’
    ‘Some of the garments need only a few stitches to make them useful again—though I must admit I thought others fit only for the fire.’
    Raphael stared at her, seeing the frustration and tiredness, and then he laughed. ‘Well, my lady, you wanted employment and it seems you found more than you bargained for.’
    ‘It is all very well to laugh,’ she said crossly. ‘Your steward showed me the chests. I would have preferredto work on the tapestries I found, for they are beautiful, but I thought it was my duty to do as you wished.’
    ‘Tapestries?’ A mixture of emotions flitted across his face: remembered love, affection and sadness. ‘My mother was a skilled needlewoman. I dare say she left work half-done when she fell ill.’
    ‘The one I saw half-finished was very beautiful.’
    ‘Would you like to finish it?’ Raphael asked softly.
    ‘Yes, very much.’
    ‘Then leave such menial tasks to others. Tomorrow you will have women to attend you even if I have to kidnap them and bring them here myself,’ he said wryly.
    ‘You will do no such thing!’ she said sharply. ‘You should send me home with a small escort. My father needs me. I should be there to care for him.’
    ‘I am sorry your father is not well. I will send someone to see how he fares and bring you word of him, but I cannot allow you to return home just yet.’
    Rosamunde dried her arms on a cloth and let her sleeves down with some relief. ‘I do not see why I should be forced to remain here if I do not wish it. You said you did not require a ransom—why then will you not let me leave?’
    ‘Because it would not be safe for you, Rosamunde. Your father cannot protect you and you unwisely angered the prince. He might decide that he would hold you to ransom instead of your cousin,’ he pointed out.
    ‘My father has nothing left. He beggared himself to help the King—and he gave all he had left towards Richard’s ransom. He has nothing but the roof abovehis head and even that may be forfeit when the tax collectors discover he has nothing for them to steal,’ Rosamunde told him sadly.
    ‘Have they stolen from your father in the past?’
    ‘The prince’s tax collectors steal from anyone who cannot protect himself or his family.’
    ‘Is that why you were forced to obey your cousin and bring the ransom here?’ he wanted to know.
    ‘My father cannot pay his debts. I had no choice.’
    ‘What would you have done had I demanded the