The Marriage Prize Read Free

been before she had given birth to her
    children, and the necklines of her gowns were always cut to
    show off her beautiful breasts. Pride of blood showed in her
    every gesture. Eleanor was a vibrant woman who loved to
    laugh almost as much as she loved clothes and jewels. She
    was both a princess and a countess down to her fingertips.
    Her husband not only adored her, but also trusted her
    implicitly.
    When Simon spied his daughter, he swooped her up in his
    massive arms and swung her about. "Can this young lady
    possibly be my little girl?
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    Demoisel e, you have grown into a woman in the months I've
    been gone. You rival your mother in beauty; I just hope and
    pray you are neither as wil ful nor as wicked as she." Simon's
    dark eyes found Eleanor's and gazed into them for a moment,
    deliberately reminding her of the passion they had shared
    when he'd arrived home in the middle of the night. Though he
    was in his fifties, Simon was stil an extremely virile man, with
    a commanding presence. He had a soldier's body; the
    muscles on his six-foot, four-inch frame were wel honed from
    the rigors of the Welsh campaign. Simon de Montfort also had
    a supreme air of confidence that drew younger men like a
    lodestone.
    His daughter dimpled with delight and gave him an
    affectionate kiss of greeting. "The castle felt empty without
    you, Father."
    you, Father."
    "It is fil ing up by the hour as the men return from Wales. No
    doubt it wil burst at the seams when your cousin Edward
    arrives."
    "Lord Edward is coming?" Countess Eleanor raised a
    perfectly plucked eyebrow at her husband. Her brother King
    Henry and Simon de Montfort were almost enemies.
    "I am Edward's godfather, Eleanor. Just because his father
    and I disagree on every conceivable matter doesn't mean that
    Edward and I cannot be friends."
    "I agree, darling. You have been a wonderful influence on him.
    My nephew Edward wil make a magnificent king. I warrant he
    wil put both his father and grandfather in the shade when it is
    his turn to rule."
    "In spite of their reputations as hel -raisers and carousers, he
    and his young nobles acquitted themselves wel in the Welsh
    campaign."
    "Such wild boys!" Eleanor said indulgently.
    "Boys no longer... they are men, make no mistake."
    Rosamond rol ed her eyes ceilingward and Demi giggled as
    they imagined the spoiled boys parading about like men. In
    truth, Rosamond found it hard to picture them at al , for a
    month after her betrothal, the royal family had traveled to
    Spain, where Prince Edward, heir to the throne, was married
    to ten-year-old Eleanora of Castile. The political marriage had
    taken place to ensure peace between England and Spain,
    and immediately after the ceremony, Lord Edward and his
    nobles had ridden to Gascony, where he had been instal ed
    as ruler. When he returned to England at twenty, Lord Edward
    had his own household at
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    Windsor, which had been especial y built for him. Rumor had it
    that the young nobles, influenced by continental ideas, were
    wilder than ever. Edward now commanded a large troop of
    young Gascons and was so eager for military action, it had
    been impossible to keep him from the campaign in Wales.
    As the two friends broke their fast, Demi confided, "I don't
    remember much about Edward except that his hair was flaxen
    and everyone cal ed him Longshanks because he was so tal ."
    Rosamond's glance, which had been searching the hal for a
    glimpse of one particular knight, came to rest on Demi's pretty
    face. "That's because it has been five years since we've seen
    him... thank the Lord!"
    Demi laughed at her friend's irreverence. "I can't remember
    any of the young men in his household."
    "How very fortunate for you," Rosamond teased. "They were a pack of uncivilized beasts, forever fighting and trading blows
    with each other. The only one I could tolerate was Harry of
    Almaine, and that's because his mother was Isabel a Marshal
    and he's my second cousin."
    "What about Rodger de