Lady Fortune Read Free

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    “It’s not just any man, milady,” he grumbled. “It’s his fool. Sent to entertain her ladyship and her new husband, not to mention the crowds that will be there for the wedding. He’ll need a decent bed for the night, as far away from me as you can find it. As far away from everyone, or they’ll be driven mad by his crazed yammering.”
    “He’s crazed?”
    “Close to it. I might just throttle him before we make Castle Fortham,” Sir Richard said in a dire voice. “Praise be you can keep him company in that blasted litter.”
    “Praise be,” she echoed ironically. “Can’t he ride?”
    “He refuses to. And I wouldn’t trust him on any horse. The man’s half mad, like most of his ilk.”
    “But I can ride.”
    “No, milady. You’ll ride in the litter. I didn’t bring a horse for you, and I know you wouldn’t want to take anything belonging to Reynald and his wife. Nicholas will do you no more harm than driving you mad with his ceaseless prattle. I’m certain you’ve suffered far worse in your life than a babbling fool.”
    “Far worse,” she said smoothly. “I’ll have a room prepared for him.”
    “No high windows,” Sir Richard warned. “And it might be best if he could be locked in tonight.”
    “He’s dangerous?” she demanded sharply.
    Sir Richard had the grace to look abashed. “Not that I know of. The women all seem to like him well enough, but I doubt Reynald would fancy any half-wit bastards littering his household nine months hence. I mainly want to keep him away from me.”
    “He favors men as well as women?” she inquired in a dulcet tone.
    Sir Richard’s high color turned darker still. “No! And if he did I would hardly be the sort… I mean…” Words failed him, and he blustered a moment longer, until Julianna took pity on him. It was ever her weakness—much as she wanted to be a modern Boadicea, a warrior queen, she was too easily moved to guilt and pity.
    “I understand, Sir Richard. The man is annoying. We will see him safely settled in one of the smaller bedchambers. The door can be locked, and there’s no way he can harm himself or anyone else.”
    “Many thanks, milady.” Sir Richard wiped a handkerchief across his sweating brow. It was a cool day, with a breeze blowing in the open window, but the man was clearly at his wits’ end.
    “And you might wish a few hours to compose yourself as well,” she added. “We weren’t expecting visitors, but I’m certain the kitchens can come up with a feast suitable for such distinguished guests.”
    “I’ll dine in my rooms,” he said hastily. “Traveling upsets my digestion. And you can ill afford the time to entertain me if we’re to leave at first light. See to your own affairs, milady. I won’t be kept waiting once it’s time to depart.”
    So much for pity, thought Julianna, suppressing the urge to kick him. “I’ll be ready at dawn,” she said sweetly. She turned her back on the window, the peaceful, rolling hillside that had been her solace and her pleasure for so many years. Turned her back on it with all the resolution she could muster. She had learned that weeping and bemoaning the fates did no good at all.
    She had learned efficiency, first from her mother, then from her serving woman, Agnes, a wise, maternal soul who had been at her side since she arrived at Moncrieff. Agnes, with a husband, six children, and a new one in her belly. Agnes, who must be left behind, a harder grief than all else combined.
    In truth, there was no one she could or would bring with her. She would make do on her own until they arrived at Fortham Castle . With a madman for company.
    She moved through her duties with her usual calm, instructing her serving women to pack what would fit in two small trunks. She had never had much use for finery, immured in a castle with only a disinterested husband to please, and her gowns were serviceable and not much more. She had no jewelry, no wealth to