“Your Grace.” Jamie bowed low to Bishop Beaufort.
“I was just telling my uncle how valuable your reports were,” Bedford said.
Jamie nodded, acknowledging the compliment.
Both men eyed him until he began to feel uncomfortable. “Is there some service I can do for you now, Your Grace?”
Jamie asked the question of the duke, but it was the bishop who answered. “ ’Tis more accurate to say that we can be of service to each other.”
“You are a good man,” Bedford said, “in the mold of your stepfather, FitzAlan.”
“Thank you,” Jamie said. “There is no higher compliment you could pay me.”
“My nephew does not say it to flatter you,” the bishop said, “but to explain why we are offering you a most desired opportunity.”
Jamie felt a prickle up the back of his neck. Only two things were certain about this “opportunity.” One, it was sure to benefit the bishop and the Crown. And two, it would be nigh on impossible to refuse. When the two most powerful men in the realm wished to bestow a favor, a man refused it at his peril.
“Do you know Sir Charles Stafford?” the bishop asked.
When Jamie shook his head, Bedford said, “He paid sentage in lieu of serving, so you would not have met him in France.”
Just because the law permitted a nobleman to pay a tax instead of providing the military service he owed the king directly, that did not mean he ought to. Unless this Stafford was too elderly or infirm to fight, Jamie knew all he needed to know about him as a man.
The bishop, however, disagreed.
“What is important to know about Stafford is that he has significant holdings in the north. And,he has no male heir.” The bishop’s pinched expression suggested this was a serious failing on Stafford’s part. “This means, of course, that his daughter will inherit.”
Sweat broke out on Jamie’s palms at the mention of a daughter. Discussion of unwed daughters generally led in only one direction.
“Not only are Stafford’s holdings substantial, but they are near the Scottish border,” the bishop continued.
“You will be pleased to hear,” Bedford put in, “that the Stafford lands are not far from your uncle Stephen’s estates.”
Jamie felt like a tennis ball bounced back and forth between the two men; he wanted out of the game.
“Who holds these lands is a matter of importance to the Crown,” the bishop said. “Naturally, we have taken an interest in the selection of a husband for Stafford’s daughter.”
With a warm smile, Bedford put a hand on Jamie’s shoulder. “This seemed a perfect opportunity both to reward you for your service and to ensure these lands are in the hands of a man we can trust. Stephen and young Henry Percy could use your help in keeping the peace along the Scottish border.”
Despite the chill of the room, sweat trickled down Jamie’s back. This was a much greater honor than he expected. Turning it down was going to be difficult. Very difficult, indeed.
“I know you have need of lands,” Bedford said. “Most of FitzAlan’s are entailed and will go to your younger brother.”
Bedford did not need to explain his situation to him. Although William FitzAlan treated Jamie as his son, he was, in fact, his stepson. As such, he could not inherit the entailed lands.
“Since you advised me you wished to marry and had no lady chosen,” Bedford continued, “I spoke with Stafford on your behalf.”
Damn. He could kick himself for telling Bedford he was looking for a wife. Of course, he had done it precisely to this end. He had hoped Bedford would facilitate a good match. Since he expected to wed a woman he hardly knew and did not love, why not a land-rich heiress?
At least that was what he thought before he set his mind on Linnet. Despite his angry departure, he was no less determined to make her his wife.
“Your Grace, I…,” he began.
“I understand you are anxious to meet the lady,” Bedford said, misunderstanding him completely. “I’ve arranged for Stafford and his daughter to make the journey to Windsor with you.”
Lord, help me.He would have to spend an entire day trapped with the girl and her father in a covered barge before he could get this sorted out.
Where was his mother when he needed her? Lady Catherine FitzAlan would know how to get him out of this with the least damage to the family’s relationship with the royal family. He suspected Bishop Beaufort had a long, long memory for slights.