Lady of the English - By Elizabeth Chadwick Page 0,90
always be a queen to me.” Adeliza stepped back a little so that she would not have to crane her neck. The light streaming through the window emphasised the tawny colour of his eyes, and picked up the green flecking around the pupils. It also revealed that he was red to the tips of his ears. “Please, sit,” she said, and gestured to the bench. “Will you take wine?”
He gave an awkward smile as he sat down. “I should be pouring yours.”
“Not at all. You and your father might have been the king’s wine stewards, but you are my guest and it is kind of you to visit.” She gave him the larger of the two silver cups, but his broad hand still dwarfed it. “What brings you to Wilton?” His flush intensified. “I was in Winchester with the king, and Wilton was not far. One of my family’s serjeants recently died a leper, and I wanted to give alms to a lazar house. I intend founding a leper hospital of my own and I wanted to ask your advice.” 223
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“Indeed?” She was warmed and flattered by his attention.
“I would need to know the size of the foundation you were thinking of building and whether you want to house men and women both.”
They spoke for a while on the specifics of what he wanted to do, and Adeliza found herself enjoying the conversation. It was a subject she could discuss with expertise and authority and she was flattered he had thought to come to her rather than seek the wisdom of clerics and priests. On their second cup of wine, she told him as much.
He fidgeted with his cup. “I wanted a gentle opinion,” he said,
“one I could trust, and I wanted to see how you were faring.”
“That is kind of you,” she replied. “As you can see, I am well. I have everything I need, and I am content to do my duty to God.”
He looked at her sidelong. “But you do not take the vows of a nun?”
“I am not worthy.” She looked down. “I am waiting for a sign from God to show me what He wants.” She put her cup to one side, aware that in a moment she would be in tears and that she had drunk too much and said more than she should.
“Will you stay to dine?”
He shook his head and eased to his feet. “I will not trouble you further today. I can see I have tired you.”
“Not at all,” she said quickly. “I am just a little saddened, that is all.”
He hesitated. “I am sorry if I have brought you to that sadness.”
Adeliza touched his arm lightly. “No,” she said, “I have enjoyed your company.” She found a smile to ease the troubled look in his eyes.
He cleared his throat. “You will not mind if I visit on another occasion?”
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“You are welcome,” she said graciously, feeling a little torn between pleasure and caution at his request.
She accompanied him to take his leave. A small boy was playing in a noxious puddle of rainwater and dung near the stable wall, leaping in and out of it, shouting loudly each time he made a splash. He was perhaps five or six years old, and clad in a woollen tunic of bright blue and a brown hood. He had removed his shoes and placed them neatly to one side of the water, but there was no redeeming his garments. Will gave a broad chuckle and folded his arms. “He’s in trouble when his mother catches him,” he said.
“We buried his mother just before you arrived,” Adeliza replied. “She was a leper at the hostel. I daresay he’s given his nurse the slip. He’s as swift as an elver.” She clapped her hands.
“Adam!” Her voice was peremptory.
He jumped at her shout and anxiety furrowed his smooth, pale brow. “I was only breaking up the sky in the picture,” he said in a high-pitched treble.
“Look at the state of you! Where’s Hella?” The child thrust out his lower lip. “Don’t know.”
“Why were you breaking up the sky?” Will asked.
“Because I thought I might look through it to heaven and see my mama again,” he said. “I can’t break the sky with my hands because I can’t reach it.”
Adeliza made a small sound and turned away, her fist clenched against her lips. Will crouched to the child’s level, his great hands resting on his long, powerful thigh