This evening, like all his evenings now, belonged to Robert. God help him, his king valued him for the secrets he could wheedle out of people. What honor was there in that?
The king should be pleased to learn Stephen was employing his “special talents.” So far, there was no shortage of local men who wished to drink with him or women who wished to bed him.
“Stephen!”
He did not see Marie de Lisieux until he had to grab her to keep from knocking her to the ground. God in heaven, the woman was always underfoot. She pursued him with a persistence that had long since ceased to be flattering.
Marie pressed her hand to her ample bosom. “You must come sit with me while I recover.”
The spark in her eyes told him sitting was not what the lady had in mind. Keeping her marriage vows was just the beginning of the scruples the voluptuous Marie de Lisieux did not have. The woman was trouble. But who was he to deny the king’s command to “insinuate” himself with the local nobility?
“I cannot now.” Over her shoulder, he saw William and Jamie coming across the bailey yard. Robert was with them.
Marie tugged on his arm. “Then when?”
“Saturday,” he said and waved to the others.
“But that is days away!”
Her perfume was so strong it made his eyes water. Odd he never noticed before.
“Tonight,” she insisted. “You must come to me tonight.”
“Late,” he said, prying her fingers from his tunic. He gave her a wink and ran off to join the others.
His mood lifted as the four of them walked in the direction of the Old Palace. Between it and the Exchequer was an open space where they usually practiced.
“I am pleased you are joining us,” he said, clamping his hand on Robert’s shoulder. “After all you’ve done for me, I shall make it my personal duty to keep you in fighting shape.”
Robert laughed. “I should enjoy the challenge, but I cannot today. I’ve come to ask a favor.”
Stephen threw him a black look. “What is it?”
“A noblewoman from Northumberland arrived by ship this morning,” Robert said, turning to address William and Jamie, as well. “The king has put her in my care. Since she is here without friend or family, it would be a kindness if you would talk with her.”
The back of Stephen’s neck prickled. He could think of only one explanation for the arrival of a lone English lady in Caen.
“If this is some foolish girl my mother and Catherine have sent, I will send her back. No matter the consequences.” His suspicion shifted quickly to outrage. “Robert, how could you be party to this scheme of theirs?”
“Afore God, I am innocent!” Robert said, putting his hand over his heart and laughing. “This lady is here to make a political marriage. Believe me, I shall have to answer to the king if anything more than friendly talk occurs between you.”
Stephen’s good humor returned at once. “What was the king thinking, putting her into your care?”
“As it happens, her mother is a distant cousin of mine.”
“The king believed that?” Stephen said, grinning. “What of her betrothed? Surely the man does not know you, to allow it.”
“The lady is safe in my hands,” Robert said. “As for the man, he is in Rouen—and has yet to learn of his impending betrothal.”
Isobel tried to ignore her maid’s fidgeting as she watched for Sir Robert. From their bench in front of the Old Palace, she could see most of the buildings enclosed within the castle’s outer walls. The Exchequer Hall, where Sir Robert said King Henry held court, was to her right. If she leaned forward and looked the other way, she could see past the curtain wall of the keep all the way to the eastern gate, Porte des Champs.
Soldiers were everywhere she looked.
“There are so many men here,” her maid said. “Are we safe, m’lady?” The woman’s eyes flitted from side to side, as though she expected to be attacked at any moment.
“Hush!” Isobel was exasperated with the woman’s endless questions. Since she had no servants of her own now, she was forced to bring this silly woman from her father’s household. “The men guarding us wear the king’s livery. We could not be safer.”
The unease that gnawed at her stomach had nothing to do with finding herself in the midst of hundreds of armed men. All her anxiety centered on one man.