Love, Remember Me Read Free

shallots, and new carrots as well." She smiled up at him again, and led him into the house.
    "Will you join us, gentlemen," the earl invited the king's companions, and they followed after him as he conducted them into the Great Hall.
    There the earl found his wife already introducing the king to her parents, Lord and Lady Morgan, and his mother, Lady Dorothy Wyndham. His brothers-in-law, Owen FitzHugh, the Earl of Marwood, and Lord Nicholas Kingsley; and their wives, Bliss and Blythe, also greeted his majesty. Lord Morgan presented his two youngest sons, Henry and Thomas, who were young men of sixteen now.
    The king was in his element, for he very much enjoyed the adulation of his subjects. He greeted each of them graciously, praising the Morgans for the fine family that they had raised; asking Lady Dorothy why she had not come to court of late. "There is always room at court for another pretty woman, madame," he said, chuckling.
    Lady Dorothy, now sixty-five, replied, "Alas, sire, my son will not let me go. He says he fears for my virtue."
    The king guffawed loudly. "Indeed, madame, and he is probably right." He turned back to Blaze. "And where is your fine brood, my little country girl? The last time I heard, you had four lads and a lass."
    "We've five sons now, my lord. Our Henry was born two years ago this June past, and named in honor of your majesty," Blaze told him, "and as you can see, I shall shortly deliver an eighth child."
    "There is nothing like a good English wife," the king said meaningfully, and his companions grew visibly uncomfortable. "How I miss my sweet Jane."
    "Come and sit down, Hal," Blaze invited him, leading him to the place of honor at the high board. She could see that he was favoring one leg over the other, and realized he would be more comfortable seated. "I shall have the children brought into the hall since you wish to meet them, but I did not want them to intrude upon your visit."
    "Nonsense!" the king boomed. He lowered his bulk into the chair. "I would see them all, even the littlest."
    A servant immediately put a large goblet of wine into the king's hand, and he quaffed it thirstily. Blaze signaled for her tiring woman, Heartha, and instructed her to fetch the children at once. From the minstrel's gallery high above the hall, light music began to be heard. The king leaned back in his chair, visibly relaxed now.
    The Wyndham offspring came into the hall with Lord Philip Wyndham, the heir, leading the way, and Lady Nyssa Wyndham, the eldest, bringing up the rear, her baby brother in her arms.
    "May I present my children to your majesty," Blaze said formally. "This is Philip, our eldest son. He is twelve. And Giles, who is nine; Richard, eight; Edward, four; and Henry, just two."
    Each of Blaze and Anthony's sons bowed elegantly, including the littlest boy, when he was set down upon his feet by his sister.
    "And this is my daughter, Nyssa. Although Tony has raised her like his own, she is the child of my first husband, Edmund Wyndham," Blaze said.
    Nyssa Wyndham curtsied to the king, her deep pink silk skirts billowing prettily about her, her eyes lowered modestly as she rose to stand before her sovereign.
    "As fair an English rose as I have ever seen," the king said in complimentary tones. "How old is the lass, madame?"
    "Nyssa is sixteen years of age, sire," Blaze answered him.
    "Is she betrothed?"
    "No, my lord," Blaze replied.
    "Why not? She's pretty enough, and an earl's daughter. She has a goodly dowry, I have not a doubt, madame," the king said.
    "There is no one with whom we would match her hereabouts, Hal," Blaze told him. "Her dowry is indeed a very good one. It includes Riverside, a fine house, and the lands that go with it. Nyssa is a well-propertied and -dowered girl. Actually, I should like it if she could go to court for a time." Blaze smiled sweetly, but looked pointedly at the king.
    He began to chuckle, wagging an admonishing finger at her in mock reproach. "Madame," he