Read Online Bride of the Tower by Sharon Schulze - Free Book Online
Authors: Sharon Schulze
Ads: Link
illegitimate child? Would mother and child have been dead after a hard winter spent in Sherwood, or would they have remained shut away behind cloistered walls in a lifetime of shame and penitence for her parents’ sins?
If her mother had loved Robin more deeply than she’d cared for the man she’d married, it had never been apparent to her daughter, at least. Lady Marian had seldom mentioned her time with Robin, leaving Julianna with the sense that ’twas too painful for her to recall. ’Twas beyond herken to imagine her gentle mother roaming Sherwood with a band of outlaws and a roguish priest, and she’d never understood what could have prompted her to do so.
Within Julianna’s memory, Lady Marian had never sought adventure; ’twas difficult to imagine. She had been a true lady, a devoted and loyal wife to Lord Roger d’Arcy, and the home they’d created for Julianna had nestled her in a sanctuary of care and security.
Until recent years had brought an end to it.
The political situation in Nottingham had quieted after the tumultuous time when Robin and his men had been a force in the area. The d’Arcys had kept a distance from their neighbors for many years, occasionally receiving news of the outside world from Lord Phillip d’Arcy, Lord Roger’s elder brother and overlord. Eventually, however, the unrest at the end of King John’s reign had made it impossible for them to disregard what went on outside Tuck’s Tower.
Once the king had died and his young son taken his place, their peace had been forever shattered.
Julianna gazed unseeing into the distance, the rich green of hills and trees a verdant blur as she stared inward at the landscape of her mind. Someneighbors she wished she’d never met, chief among them Sir Richard Belleville. The man seemed petty and power-mad, and he’d not a thought in his head beyond improving his own lot in any way he could. She could not fault him for that, up to a point, but there seemed no limits to what he’d do in order to achieve his goals.
His successes had been minor ones, though more than she’d have expected of a man who as far as she knew, had little influence beyond Birkland, and no property to call his own. Though he liked to pretend he was the lord of Birkland, in truth he was nothing more than a very minor vassal who held the place for a far-away nobleman. Should he displease his distant master, his position could disappear in an instant.
The thought had occurred to Julianna on several occasions to do what she could to bring about such displeasure—and Belleville’s subsequent dismissal. Yet despite her uneasiness about him, she had scant evidence of anything more serious against him than that he possessed an arrogant and obnoxious manner.
She paused in her task, resting her brush on the window ledge and staring out at the bright blue sky. A fine fool she’d look, to try to have a mandischarged from his position for possessing the same characteristics as half the men she’d met!
But how could she ignore his subtle, repeated attempts to gain dominion over Tuck’s Tower, a niggling voice in her head reminded her.
She had no proof ’twas his aim, however, only suspicions and random hints of information that made no sense to her. For all she knew, his unknown master could have ordered him to expand Birkland’s demesne in any way he could. ’Twould be no different than the way many holdings increased in size, she thought wryly, especially in these unsettled times.
A knock on the door brought her reflections to an end. “Come,” she called, setting aside her brush and beginning to plait her now-smooth hair. Her respite over, when she’d finished she rose and went to pull on her boots.
Dora, the elderly woman who’d been her mother’s maid and now served Julianna, hurried into the room, Rolf hard on her heels. The diminutive woman, arms overflowing with a bundle of clothing, halted just inside the chamber and turned on the soldier. They
If her mother had loved Robin more deeply than she’d cared for the man she’d married, it had never been apparent to her daughter, at least. Lady Marian had seldom mentioned her time with Robin, leaving Julianna with the sense that ’twas too painful for her to recall. ’Twas beyond herken to imagine her gentle mother roaming Sherwood with a band of outlaws and a roguish priest, and she’d never understood what could have prompted her to do so.
Within Julianna’s memory, Lady Marian had never sought adventure; ’twas difficult to imagine. She had been a true lady, a devoted and loyal wife to Lord Roger d’Arcy, and the home they’d created for Julianna had nestled her in a sanctuary of care and security.
Until recent years had brought an end to it.
The political situation in Nottingham had quieted after the tumultuous time when Robin and his men had been a force in the area. The d’Arcys had kept a distance from their neighbors for many years, occasionally receiving news of the outside world from Lord Phillip d’Arcy, Lord Roger’s elder brother and overlord. Eventually, however, the unrest at the end of King John’s reign had made it impossible for them to disregard what went on outside Tuck’s Tower.
Once the king had died and his young son taken his place, their peace had been forever shattered.
Julianna gazed unseeing into the distance, the rich green of hills and trees a verdant blur as she stared inward at the landscape of her mind. Someneighbors she wished she’d never met, chief among them Sir Richard Belleville. The man seemed petty and power-mad, and he’d not a thought in his head beyond improving his own lot in any way he could. She could not fault him for that, up to a point, but there seemed no limits to what he’d do in order to achieve his goals.
His successes had been minor ones, though more than she’d have expected of a man who as far as she knew, had little influence beyond Birkland, and no property to call his own. Though he liked to pretend he was the lord of Birkland, in truth he was nothing more than a very minor vassal who held the place for a far-away nobleman. Should he displease his distant master, his position could disappear in an instant.
The thought had occurred to Julianna on several occasions to do what she could to bring about such displeasure—and Belleville’s subsequent dismissal. Yet despite her uneasiness about him, she had scant evidence of anything more serious against him than that he possessed an arrogant and obnoxious manner.
She paused in her task, resting her brush on the window ledge and staring out at the bright blue sky. A fine fool she’d look, to try to have a mandischarged from his position for possessing the same characteristics as half the men she’d met!
But how could she ignore his subtle, repeated attempts to gain dominion over Tuck’s Tower, a niggling voice in her head reminded her.
She had no proof ’twas his aim, however, only suspicions and random hints of information that made no sense to her. For all she knew, his unknown master could have ordered him to expand Birkland’s demesne in any way he could. ’Twould be no different than the way many holdings increased in size, she thought wryly, especially in these unsettled times.
A knock on the door brought her reflections to an end. “Come,” she called, setting aside her brush and beginning to plait her now-smooth hair. Her respite over, when she’d finished she rose and went to pull on her boots.
Dora, the elderly woman who’d been her mother’s maid and now served Julianna, hurried into the room, Rolf hard on her heels. The diminutive woman, arms overflowing with a bundle of clothing, halted just inside the chamber and turned on the soldier. They
Similar Books
