Love Everlasting Read Free

to
watch her, provide her with her own suite of rooms, and ignore her.
That’s what a lot of other men do with their wives.”
    “Could you ignore Janet?” Royce asked.
    “Well, no.” Cadwallon grinned sheepishly.
“She’d never let me ignore her. You may recall that Janet has a
rather sharp tongue, and she doesn’t hesitate to use it when she is
unhappy or displeased.”
    “I do remember,” Royce said dryly.
    They left for Caen at dawn. In addition to
Cadwallon and his attendants, Royce took with him his usual
complement of a dozen men-at-arms, a few squires, his secretary,
Sir Michael, Michael’s squire, and a considerable amount of
baggage. Since Michael suffered the lingering effects of ill
treatment at French hands he was unable to ride as rapidly, or as
long each day, as the other men. Michael’s presence would slow
them, a fact that suited Royce well. He wanted time to think and to
form his plans before he met the unknown lady he knew he must
wed.
     
    The Royal Fortress at Caen
    Lord Cadwallon’s chambers.
     
    Julianna regarded the fiery-tempered Scottish
woman with respectful appreciation. Lady Janet was small, with
bright red hair and flashing blue eyes. If only Julianna dared to
speak her mind as forcefully as Janet did. It was clear to her that
the convent in Flanders where she had been educated was a very
different place from the Scottish convent where Janet had
lived.
    When Julianna was a girl, she had never dared
to raise her voice lest she be thrashed for disobedience. In those
innocent, long-ago days, she had dreamed of the happy change that
marriage would bring, for her dowry was large and she believed she
must be pretty because the nuns constantly admonished her against
the sin of vanity. Surely, if she was a good girl, her future
husband would cherish her.
    Marriage proved to be a great disappointment.
Men in general, and her husband in particular, the
fourteen-year-old, newly-wed Julianna had decided, were even worse
than nuns. For while nuns prated about the soul and disparaged the
body, a husband cared nothing about a woman’s soul, he only wanted
to make use of her body - and he attempted to do so much too often
for Julianna’s comfort or peace of mind, at least during the early
days of marriage. She understood that the conjugal joining was a
necessary, though not a very pleasant aspect of marriage. Outwardly
obedient as she had been trained to be, for years she had tolerated
what her husband did to her in bed, never enjoying it and certainly
never thinking of it as lovemaking.
    Widowhood was a blessing. Unfortunately,
Julianna knew it would be a brief blessing. A noblewoman in her
position, with four very large estates accruing to her name, must
have a husband to administer her lands.
    “I could manage my properties on my own,”
Julianna said to Janet.
    “Of course, you could,” Janet agreed. “It’s
too bad that so many men believe women are naught but giddy
fools.”
    “I’ve been paying attention and asking
questions for more than fifteen years, since I was first married.
In that time, I’ve seen two stewards dismissed for incompetence,”
Julianna went on. “In both cases, it was really my husband who
should have been dismissed. All the poor steward did was disagree
with his master, and he was right, too.”
    “Noblemen always expect everyone to agree
with them,” Janet said.
    “Do you always agree with Lord
Cadwallon?”
    “I? Not likely.” Janet laughed. “When I first
met Cadwallon, I began by snapping and snarling at him. I made his
life extremely difficult. I still do, at times. The thing is,
Cadwallon grew to respect me because I am not meek and obedient. I
want him to continue to respect me, so I am often contrary and
argumentative.”
    “Doesn’t he beat you for being
difficult?”
    “Ha! I’d like to see him try. He has never
laid a hand on me in anger,” Janet revealed with pride. “Cadwallon
loves me.”
    “Do you love him?”
    “With all my