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chamber, she heaved a small sigh, relieved that she did not know him personally.
    "His Majesty has retired, he requires nothing more."
    "The king sent for me, my lord," she said breathlessly, surprised at her own daring.
    He shook his head. "His Majesty ordered no wench tonight."
    "Did he not?" she challenged silkily. "King Edward likes something sweet when he retires."
    "Don't we all, sweetheart?" he asked, laughing, then reached for her veil.
    "Nay!" Jory took a step backward, then lowered her voice confidentially. "My lord, I am not a wench, I am a lady. The king would be angered if my identity became known." She had him half convinced and pressed her advantage. "He told me you would be on the door tonight and that you were the most discreet
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    A ItAK AINU A DAY
    of all his gentlemen of the bedchamber." While he digested the compliment, Jory scratched on the oaken door and slipped inside.
    Edward Plantagenet, wearing a crimson velvet bedrobe, lifted his golden head, sensing, rather than hearing, the intrusion. "Yes, what is it?" he demanded.
    She advanced into the chamber and lifted her veil to reveal her face. "Your Majesty, it is Marjory de Warenne."
    His brows drew together. "What the devil are you doing here?"
    "Sire, I come from Princess Joanna."
    The expression on the king's face turned cold. "I've had this Monthermer upstart thrown into irons!
    The ambitious swine has taken advantage of my daughter. Yet she will not be held blameless in this, nor will those about her who urged this disastrous step." His voice and his eyes were like ice. "They have dishonored the memory of Gilbert de Clare, and his family is greatly insulted. The marriage will be set aside."
    Jory let the veil fall from her hair, then she went down on her knees before him in supplication.
    "Your Majesty, Joanna sent me to you to beg your forgiveness and your understanding. She wanted you to hear the truth from my lips before the others poisoned your thoughts with their false tales."
    Jory watched Edward's icy gaze fall upon her lips and hoped he would thaw a little. She saw his gaze lift to her hair and she knew he had noticed her fragrance. As he reached down, taking her hands to raise her, she could see the battle he fought within.
    "Say your piece," he ordered, but not harshly.
    Jory took a deep breath and saw his eyes flicker over her rising breasts. "Your Majesty, Joanna knows you honored her by wedding her to your greatest noble, the Earl of Gloucester. She did it for love, but not love for Gilbert de Clare . . . Joanna did it for love ofyou."Jory wondered if he remembered the terrible tantrums the imperious Joanna had thrown before she'd capitulated and married the aging earl.
    "This time she followed her
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    heart; she wed Ralph de Monthermer because she is deeply in love with him."
    "Monthermer is a lowly squire!"
    "Never lowly, Sire. He was Gilbert de Clare's most valiant warrior. Ralph de Monthermer was de Clare's right hand. He was the one who won glory in battle for de Clare in his declining years. The Earl of Gloucester trusted him with his life and I believe he made Ralph swear an oath to look after Joanna always."
    Jory, caught up in her own tale, began to embroider it a little more. "It will break Joanna's heart to see her beloved in chains, Sire. Her deepest wish is for you to know Monthermer and learn his worth.
    The men of Gloucester and Hertford whom he commands hold him in highest respect. Send for him, Sire.
    Give him a chance to show you his mettle and his loyalty."
    "You plead his case well. What is it about this Monthermer that has blinded both you and Joanna to your duty?"
    Jory was suddenly inspired. "He reminds Joannaof you , Sire. That is the great attraction, I swear it."
    As Edward's shrewd eyes roamed over her delicate beauty, his face softened a little. "I hope Joanna appreciates your friendship. What is it about the de Warennes that makes their loyalty absolute?"
    "You honor us with your trust, Sire. To a de