Read Online The Border Lord and the Lady by Bertrice Small - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Bertrice Small
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father. She suddenly felt abandoned, as if she would weep.
Then a small hand slipped into hers, and a sweet voice said, “We are going to be such great friends, Cicely. I just know it!”
Turning, she looked into the smiling face of little Lady Joan Beaufort.
Chapter 3
“ H e’s looking at you again, Jo,” Lady Cicely Bowen said, giggling. At fourteen she was a slender girl of average height, much admired for her thick and wavy auburn hair and her beautiful, clear blue-green eyes.
“Oh, Ce-ce, please don’t tell me that,” Lady Joan Beaufort said. “He’s been staring at me for weeks now. Why doesn’t he just come over and speak to me? If he doesn’t stop mooning about, I don’t know what I will do! I wish we were back at Havering-atte-Bower instead of here at Windsor with the court.” She turned her blond head to look directly at her admirer, and her blue eyes danced mischievously when he flushed, turning away. “There!” She chuckled. “That will teach him to stare so rudely.”
“Who is staring rudely?” a deep voice inquired curiously, and the two girls turned to see that Henry Beaufort, the bishop of Winchester, had joined them. The bishop was Lady Joan’s uncle, and currently part of the regency council governing for the infant king Henry VI, who had acceded to his throne ten months prior, at the age of eight months.
“James Stewart, my lord,” Cicely said. “He keeps looking at Jo, but he will not speak to her. She finds it very annoying.”
The bishop chuckled. “The young king of the Scots says he is in love with you, my child. He would speak to your brother about a match between you.”
“He would do better to speak with me, Uncle,” Lady Joan Beaufort said sharply. “Not one word has the man uttered. He just stares. I’ll marry no man I don’t know or love. But he is not unattractive, I will allow.”
“You could be queen of Scotland,” her uncle murmured slyly.
“A queen without a throne,” Lady Joan said tartly.
“The regent in the north is dead over a year now, niece. His son is an incompetent fool, as we learned when we held him for ransom with young James years back. A pity the Duke of Albany could not find the wherewithal for his king, although he certainly managed to find ransom enough for his son. Our James will not forget that. Negotiations are already under way to return this king to his throne in Scotland. The Earl of Atholl has arrived, along with the Red Stewart of Dundonald and the bishop of St. Andrew’s. They have already discovered to their surprise that James Stewart is neither an easily manipulated weakling or a fool. He has asked them to deal with your brother in the matter of your marriage, Joan,” the bishop said. He was a tall, handsome man with piercing light blue eyes and white hair that had once been blond. He was the second of the Beaufort sons, and had been educated for the Church. He had been offered a cardinal’s hat by Pope Martin V, but his nephew, Henry V, would not let him accept it. Henry Beaufort was too valuable a politician for England.
“Then you had better discover a way for this exiled king to talk to me,” Lady Joan said. “An English queen for Scotland’s king would be a valuable asset, considering the age of our current king and the ambition of powerful men, Uncle.”
The bishop chuckled. “I wish my father were alive to know you, niece. You have your grandmother’s fair face, but you have your grandfather’s sharp mind. Others might find it disconcerting in a girl such as yourself. I, however, do not. I shall see that James Stewart makes himself known to you soon, Joan. I do believe that you will like him.” Then, with a nod of his head, the bishop strode off across the gardens.
“The bishop is so handsome.” Cicely sighed. “What a waste of a man. The priesthood should be only for ugly men.”
“He fathered a daughter in his youth,” Lady Joan said. “She is named Jane.”
“Who was the mother?”
Then a small hand slipped into hers, and a sweet voice said, “We are going to be such great friends, Cicely. I just know it!”
Turning, she looked into the smiling face of little Lady Joan Beaufort.
Chapter 3
“ H e’s looking at you again, Jo,” Lady Cicely Bowen said, giggling. At fourteen she was a slender girl of average height, much admired for her thick and wavy auburn hair and her beautiful, clear blue-green eyes.
“Oh, Ce-ce, please don’t tell me that,” Lady Joan Beaufort said. “He’s been staring at me for weeks now. Why doesn’t he just come over and speak to me? If he doesn’t stop mooning about, I don’t know what I will do! I wish we were back at Havering-atte-Bower instead of here at Windsor with the court.” She turned her blond head to look directly at her admirer, and her blue eyes danced mischievously when he flushed, turning away. “There!” She chuckled. “That will teach him to stare so rudely.”
“Who is staring rudely?” a deep voice inquired curiously, and the two girls turned to see that Henry Beaufort, the bishop of Winchester, had joined them. The bishop was Lady Joan’s uncle, and currently part of the regency council governing for the infant king Henry VI, who had acceded to his throne ten months prior, at the age of eight months.
“James Stewart, my lord,” Cicely said. “He keeps looking at Jo, but he will not speak to her. She finds it very annoying.”
The bishop chuckled. “The young king of the Scots says he is in love with you, my child. He would speak to your brother about a match between you.”
“He would do better to speak with me, Uncle,” Lady Joan Beaufort said sharply. “Not one word has the man uttered. He just stares. I’ll marry no man I don’t know or love. But he is not unattractive, I will allow.”
“You could be queen of Scotland,” her uncle murmured slyly.
“A queen without a throne,” Lady Joan said tartly.
“The regent in the north is dead over a year now, niece. His son is an incompetent fool, as we learned when we held him for ransom with young James years back. A pity the Duke of Albany could not find the wherewithal for his king, although he certainly managed to find ransom enough for his son. Our James will not forget that. Negotiations are already under way to return this king to his throne in Scotland. The Earl of Atholl has arrived, along with the Red Stewart of Dundonald and the bishop of St. Andrew’s. They have already discovered to their surprise that James Stewart is neither an easily manipulated weakling or a fool. He has asked them to deal with your brother in the matter of your marriage, Joan,” the bishop said. He was a tall, handsome man with piercing light blue eyes and white hair that had once been blond. He was the second of the Beaufort sons, and had been educated for the Church. He had been offered a cardinal’s hat by Pope Martin V, but his nephew, Henry V, would not let him accept it. Henry Beaufort was too valuable a politician for England.
“Then you had better discover a way for this exiled king to talk to me,” Lady Joan said. “An English queen for Scotland’s king would be a valuable asset, considering the age of our current king and the ambition of powerful men, Uncle.”
The bishop chuckled. “I wish my father were alive to know you, niece. You have your grandmother’s fair face, but you have your grandfather’s sharp mind. Others might find it disconcerting in a girl such as yourself. I, however, do not. I shall see that James Stewart makes himself known to you soon, Joan. I do believe that you will like him.” Then, with a nod of his head, the bishop strode off across the gardens.
“The bishop is so handsome.” Cicely sighed. “What a waste of a man. The priesthood should be only for ugly men.”
“He fathered a daughter in his youth,” Lady Joan said. “She is named Jane.”
“Who was the mother?”
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