I presume, having climbed the wall, you don't want to return?"
"Not at the moment. But I've got to tell you - "
Again he shushed her. "Not yet." He scanned the area, then turned her sharply to enter an inn.
"Ho, Paul!" he called out cheerfully to the enormous innkeeper, keeping Aline hugged indecently close to his side. "Any rooms to spare?"
The man's small eyes took in the two of them, then his belly bounced with his wheezing laughter. "You know I keep a few for emergencies, my friend.
Down the corridor. Second on the right."
Raoul spun him a silver coin. "And a jug of wine."
The innkeeper turned a spigot on a huge cask and filled an earthenware jug with wine before handing it over with a wink.
Aline, still forced against Raoul by an unbreakable hold, tried to remember that she was on important business and Raoul was probably only trying to keep her safe. But the thought that he knew this man, and knew that he kept rooms free for men and their whores, made her want to scratch his eyes out.
In moments they were in a small room - a partitioned alcove really - containing a bed, a bench, and a table. And a settled-in stink.
Raoul let Aline go, and she stalked over to the bed and flipped back the covers to expose dirty sheets. "I hope you don't intend me to use this bed."
"Of course not. The wine's probably safe, though." He poured some into the two wooden beakers and passed one to her. "Drink. Then you can tell me what's going on. Quietly, though. These walls hardly deserve the name."
Aline clutched the beaker, fighting to calm her rage and keep her mind on important matters.
And failing.
"You find Ella as soon as you arrive at Heywood," she hissed, "and this place as soon as you arrive in London!"
"I wouldn't use that bed, either, Aline."
He looked not the tiniest bit guilty. Aline just turned away.
"Jehanne," he reminded her.
So she had to turn back and talk to him anyway. She did it, but with a scowl. "Jehanne is a prisoner at the convent," she said in the softest possible voice. "We all are, I suppose, but she is kept apart, and I don't like that."
He drew her over to his side so he could speak into her ear. "Galeran said as much. He doesn't like it either, but he spoke with her, and there didn't seem to be anything seriously wrong. He expects the matter to be over with by tomorrow. He believes the king will favor his side over Flambard. The bishop daren't even appear in the streets of London for fear of his life.
There's no reason for the king to support him."
Aline resisted the temptation to cuddle up against his broad chest. "Jehanne wants to attend the hearing."
"Let her want."
Aline frowned up at him, making her neck hurt. "She's not a fool! She couldn't say why she has to be there, but it's important. It's not some whim."
He lifted her to sit on the rickety table, more on a level with him and face- to-face. "She's in the king's custody, Aline. It will hardly turn him to her favor for her to escape and confront him. Nor will your escapade. I thought the idea was to convince the world that Jehanne's a weak woman, distressed into foolishness by the death of her child."
To be close, he was standing between her legs. Since he seemed to think nothing of it, Aline tried to do the same. "I know," she murmured, then swallowed to clear her throat. "It bothers me too. But she is determined on it. So, should we tell Galeran?" Unable to ignore their positions, she wrig- gled away slightly, causing the whole table to sway.
He put his hands on her hips. "Stay still. Telling Galeran seems the reasonable thing to do."
"She doesn't want that, though."
Why couldn't she ignore his hands on her hips? It wasn't an indecent contact. ...
The way their bodies pressed together was, though, despite the layers of clothing between them. He didn't seem to be disturbed at all, however. His mind was entirely on Jehanne and Galeran's problems.
As it should be.
As hers should be ...
"If I had to stake my sword on it," he said thoughtfully, and his thumbs moved against her hipbones, making her want to wriggle again, "I'd say the Lady Jehanne loves her husband as much as he loves her. Am I right?"
To tell him to stop that little movement would reveal