Read Online Hugh and Bess by Susan Higginbotham - Free Book Online Page A

outside, and I thought, There's my guard, after all. But of course it was just one of my mother's servants, coming to help me wash and dress. I’m not used to being waited on anymore, it's so strange, and I’m so awkward on a horse now, I’m surprised I made it here alive.” Remembering that he had been told it was ill mannered to speak of oneself too long with a lady, he said, “I am sorry to see you have been widowed. Who was your husband?”
      “Sir Alan Welles.”
      “Sir Alan Welles? Wasn’t he in his sixties?” Emma nodded. “Emmy, why’d they marry you off to such an old man?”
      She shrugged. “There was no ‘they’ about it, Hugh. Once your father—er—died, with my father having done some services for your father—”
      “You suffered too, for his wrongdoing. Emma, I am sorry.”
      “It wasn’t suffering, Hugh, compared to what some went through, but it is true, people stayed clear of us. My father was ailing anyway, and he died soon thereafter. I was alone then, and I thought I might as well go into a convent, even though I had no vocation. I was on the verge of doing so when Sir Alan finally spoke to me. His wife and children were long dead, and he wanted a companion to end his days with. He thought I would be good company because I had kept my father's house. I was grateful for the offer.” She twisted the wedding ring on her finger. “I was a good wife to him, and he a good husband to me. He died about six months ago. I miss him.” Emma swallowed hard, then smiled, though Hugh saw that her eyes were wet. “He was a respected man, though, and some of his respectability seems to have rubbed off on me, for the other tenants are quite civil to me now. One or two have been hinting at marriage with me.”
      “Are you considering it?”
      “I don’t know, Hugh.”
      “Why?”
      She shrugged. “I suppose it just seems a little early to decide.” Hugh stood. “Are you leaving so soon?”
      “No. I apologize. Prison manners. I got into the habit of moving around just to pass the time, and now I get twitchy if I sit for more than a few minutes.”
      “Hugh, it must have been dreadful being in prison for so long. How did you bear it?”
      It was his turn to shrug. “The last few months—after Mortimer was hung—weren’t bad. I could go out and walk on the castle grounds, and my brother Edward was allowed to keep me company. Mother and the rest of them visited whenever they could too.” He sat back down and shook his head. “Actually,” he admitted, “in some ways, the last months were the worst. When Mortimer and Isabella were running the country, I never had any hope of getting out, you see. But when the king took over at last, I kept thinking every time someone came to my door, That's the king's order releasing me. And of course, months went by and I stayed put as if nothing had ever changed. I had just about given up ho— Why, what's the matter?”
      Emma's eyes were streaming tears. “I—”
      “Well, it wasn’t all that bad. I got to take my meals in the great hall with the constable toward the end. The food wasn’t bad at—Please don’t cry, Emma. Christ! First I insult you last night, and now I make you cry. Please, Emma. I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
      He drew her closer to him and, without quite knowing how it happened, kissed her lightly on the lips. The fervor with which she returned the kiss shocked him, and he tried again, only to assure himself that he was not mistaken. He was not. “Sweetheart,” he whispered. He eased her onto his lap, still kissing her, and after a bit began to work at the fastenings of her headdress. Meeting with no resistance to the freeing of her hair, yet still not sure exactly what further liberties he would be allowed, he tentatively loosened the fastenings on the back of Emma's gown and slipped his hand underneath the fabric to cautiously lay a hand on her back, then wriggled it forward to cup a