ASilverMirror by Roberta Gellis Read Free Book Online

into his deliberations in any way. Sometimes she could urge
his thoughts in one direction or another, but he was now suspicious of being
manipulated and would reject everything out of hand if he felt prodded.
    “The queen asked you to accompany her to France in
September, although she knows you hate France—why?” Norfolk asked suddenly.
    Startled by the change of subject, Barbara answered without
thinking, “I do not hate France, I… Oh, that does not matter anyway. I think
Queen Eleanor only wanted to protect me. She has been so fearful since those
Londoners stoned her barge. She thought she was offering me a haven.”
    “And you refused her favor. Was she not angry?”
    “No, not at all.” Barbara looked down at her toes. “I gave
her a fanciful reason for wishing to stay, but one with which she was content.
I have served her a long time and know what she will believe.”
    “So she would welcome you if you went to Boulogne?”
    Now Barbara followed the direction of her father’s thoughts.
“I am not certain,” she admitted. “I have heard that she has been growing more
and more bitter. If she feels I am more loyal to you than to her, she might
refuse to take me back into her household.”
    “But you have no reason to believe she would reject you
without at least one meeting?”
    “I am sure Queen Eleanor would receive me,” Barbara agreed.
“Taking me as a lady again might be…doubtful.”
    “If she does not, you could lodge with Hugh,” Joanna said.
    Barbara looked anxiously at her father, but he nodded to
that abruptly and dismissively, and said, “I cannot say to Simon that I want
you to go to France. He must think of that for himself.”
    Joanna bit her lip and Norfolk stared at her sightlessly,
thinking about the problem. After a little while, Barbara giggled suddenly and
said, “I think I can manage that. I will tell Guy’s mother of the grip I have
on her son—”
    Norfolk choked. Leicester’s wife was King Henry’s own sister
and far prouder than her husband. Leicester might actually welcome Barbara as a
wife for his third son, but his wife would never agree and, fortunately,
Leicester loved her deeply and would never force her to accept Barbara as a
daughter-by-marriage.
    “Clever chick,” Norfolk said, grinning. “You had better come
with me to London and flaunt your conquest of Guy in his mother’s face before I
speak to Leicester. I agree. If you do that, you will be on the next ship out
of England.

Chapter Three
     
    Alphonse d’Aix cursed under his breath and leaned closer to
the window of the bedchamber of his lodging in Paris, hoping the slight
increase in light would help him decipher his brother’s scrawl. He knew the
trouble was not in the dull gray light of the rainy morning, however, nor was
it actually in Raymond’s writing, although Alphonse was convinced it had grown
worse over the years he had been receiving information and instructions from
his brother. As political affairs had grown more complex, Raymond’s letters had
grown more obscure. There was always the chance that King Louis would ask
Alphonse to show him a letter—the king was Raymond’s overlord and had a perfect
right to ask—and Raymond wished to be sure there was nothing that could make
trouble in what he wrote.
    That left Alys’s letter. Alphonse had no complaint about the
clarity of either the handwriting or the news Raymond’s wife sent, but her
written French was barbarous. And this letter was worse than ever before. He
could barely make out every third word. Alys spoke perfectly clearly, Alphonse
thought, gritting his teeth and applying himself again to her letter. Why could
she not write in civilized French? And what she said was quite mad, that he was
to save her father? Alphonse was ready to do all he could for William of
Marlowe, of whom he was very fond, but William was in England and he was in
France.
    Alphonse had heard of King Henry’s defeat and capture at the
battle of Lewes, but