[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
carelessness and uncritical acceptance of any who made friendly gestures was
well earned.
The duke was speaking again, inviting Ranulf and his lady to sup with them
that evening in his apartments as his guests of honor.
That evening, Aldyth, bathed and dressed in Lord Ranulf's livery, helped the
duke's pages serve the meal and 135 listened to the duke's amiable, artless
chatter. Lord Ranulf and his winsome mistress must join the party as they
hunted the red deer on the morrow, Robert insisted, after kissing Lady
Vivienne's hand and complimenting Lord Ranulf on his taste in ladies.
Proffering a dish to her lord on bended knee as if she had been Lord Ranulf's
page forever, Aldyth was able to catch the flicker of distaste in Lady
Vivienne's eyes as she retrieved her hand. How she must hate acting the
lord's leman now that she had given her heart to Urse, Aldyth thought. How
she must long for the supper to be over so she could escape to Urse's arms.
One of the duke's pages, a lanky bean pole of a lad named Bertrand, invited
her to join them as the pages trooped down to the hall to seek their own
supper.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
"Do you like serving Lord Ranulf, Edward?" he asked as he heaped a trencher
between them with grilled fish, roast pheasant and crusty bread.
She found his NormanFrench , so much thicker than Ranulf's, hard to follow,
but eventually she comprehended and nodded.
"He's very kind."
Unfortunately, her slow response gave another of the pages, called Fat Louis
by the others, the idea that she was slowwitted.
"He's very kind!" he mimicked in a carrying falsetto. "Bah, he'll never
make a squire, let alone a knight, this gringalet from England who speaks
such terribleFrench ." Aldyth glared at the stocky, pimply Louis and
clenched her fists, trying her best to make it look as if
"Edward" would be a formidable opponent in spite of his slender frame.
Fat Louis continued his goading.
"And your lord, the so elegant one with his flowing black locks and exquisite
gestures-are all of the lords on the other side of the Channel such
popinjays? It seems he cares more for the fineness of his garments than
knightly skills, hein?" he jeered from across the table.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
Aldyth jumped up.
"Come here and I'll show you what a fine squire I'll make, under my 1ord's
training" -- She felt a hand gently pushing her back onto the bench. "Let
him be, Fat Louis," Bertrand said impermrbably.
"You're being insufferable, as usual. I'll bloody your nose if your antics
getus kicked out of the hall by the seneschal again. I haven't even
finished my supper."
Fat Louis subsided, but the look he gave Aldyth promised trouble.
It had been an endless evening, and Ranulf was glad to seek his bed.
He had played the genial coxcomb all evening, languidly fondling his leman
while boasting of his influence among the young lords in England. Robert had
lapped it up, as had the half dozen barons and comtes invited to share the
meal. There had been much backslapping and bonhomie exchanged between
Robert's cronies and their new Anglo-Norman ally.
He found himself wondering, as he followed the flickering path the torches
lit up the stairs, what Aldyth had thought of it all. She knew now, of
course, that the ca- msses he gave Lady Vivienne were but an act, but what
did she think of the plotting he seemed to be entering into with the
deep-drinking nobles of Duke Robert's court? Did she think that he really
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
did intend to intrigue with the eldest of the Conqueroffs sons against Rufus,
the anointed King of England? If that was what she thought, did she approve,
thinking Robert Curthose, with all his weak amiability, would be a better
king for theEnglish ? Or did she know that Rufus had sent him to spy on his
elder brother? If she knew that, did she think he was doing the right thing?
Lord Liar What would she think of Ranulf of Kingsclere if she knew where his
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]