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who paraded their wenches in public.”
    “Now we come to it. The real reason for your mood.”
    “I will not have her in this house one more night. Do you hear me?”
    Giles laughed, uproariously amused at my command. No law upheld a woman’s quarrel with her husband. He may do exactly as he wished, especially with a defenseless wife without a father or a brother to protect her. I was a chattel of Giles Beaufort and I resented his authority.
    “Do I hear you ?” His eyes glittered and I stepped back as he stepped forward. “I may not ever give you private rooms. I prefer to sleep knowing you are safely in my bed and not cavorting with the like of Father Simon.”
    I played a mean trick. “My courses have come. I’ll not share a bed with you for a week.” My lie may easily be disproved but Giles paused and ran his gaze the length of me.
    “I hoped for better news than this.” I trembled at his cold words but lashed out, encouraged by his disappointment.
    “Mayhap God does not approve of our union. Or your dalliance.” I regretted my words. God may have given us a blessing but bitterness consumed me and in my powerless position I grasped the chance to hurt my husband.
    He paused on his way to the door. “God approves and the king will not be defied. I’ll send for the woman, Gerda, to see to your needs.”
    The door closed, leaving me alone and tired. I did not wait for Gerda but slid into bed exhausted and slept well into the night.
    ****
    I woke before dawn and saw the faint flicker of the fireplace in the outer room. I listened for Gerda’s snore but heard nothing. Throwing on a woolen blanket before seeking the heat of the fire I crept forward staring into the darkness. A bulky shape covered the couch and before I retreated it spoke.
    “Come warm yourself. I leave at daybreak.”
    “My lord, what are doing on the couch?”
    “Trying to sleep without disturbing you.”
    “Where is Gerda?”
    “I sent her away, she snorts like a pig.” He did not exaggerate. I was used to her noise and found it comforting in the dark when I slept alone. “If word travels to London that I fail to bed my wife the king will make inquiries.”
    “You have spies in the house?”
    He shifted to allow room on the couch for me. “Only a fool would believe otherwise.” Sparks flew out from the fire and for a fleeting moment they danced brightly before landing on the cold grate to die away. Giles turned his face from mine and I marveled at his fine features, increased by the firelight. The sharp, clean edge of his jaw and cheek seemed carved from stone.
    “The noise woke you?”
    “What noise?”
    And then it started. The high wailing cries of a newborn baby filled the empty halls of the castle. I froze, reluctant to speak lest I begin another tirade.
    “The child came in the night.”
    I wished to run away from him at that moment. His joy could only be my horror. His relief was my distress.
    “My sister has achieved her purpose.”
    “Your sister?” My head spun.
    “Anne, my half-sister, defied our father before his death and consorted with the man she chose for a husband. My father wanted her for someone else but Anne is bullheaded, as you will find out soon enough.”
    “Why did she slap you and call me names?”
    Giles shrugged. “She blames me for her son’s bastard birth. I took Robert Dorset to Lincoln when I received word of our betrothal. Robert is not permitted to marry Anne until I agree to it. As yet he has not returned. He brings the rest of your goods from Langley.”
    “Will you allow them to marry?”
    “I cannot send her to another man. I would not wish her temper on an unsuspecting fool.” He took my hand. “We have a nephew, and Robert asks us to be godparents for the babe.” Giles grinned. “Firstly, he will marry my sister and then we arrange the baptism.”
    With no experience of infants it occurred to me that an opportunity presented itself to learn by watching Anne’s babe. “Robert is