fear for any part of me, Lady Aline," he said, raising her hand for a kiss. "Unless it be my heart that swells with what might be the beginning of love for you."
She snatched her hand away. "If any part of you is swelling, sirrah, I'm sure it's not your heart!" With a sharp look at his genitals, and a rapid blush, she flipped the latch and marched into the dormitory.
Raoul laughed. She had him there, but the swelling had not begun until she had - so to speak - raised the subject with her sharp tongue and bold look.
The thought of tongues and eyes did little to ease him, so he went off to check the horses and use up his energy in purposeful work.
* * * * * Aline stormed into the dormitory in a daze, berating herself for stooping to low badinage and unchaste looks. Raoul de Jouray seemed to have that effect on her.
Wicked, wicked man.
And of course she wasn't going to meet him in the chapel.
On the other hand, it would be pleasant to say her nightly prayers in the sanctified chapel, and she should not let a low rogue keep her from God.
For all his bold words, the man couldn't really try to seduce her before God's altar.
Could he?
All the time she was assisting Jehanne and Winifred, the maid, with the baby, she struggled with this mix of fear, rebellion, and rampant curiosity.
It was as if she were a puppy with a skein of yarn, tangling herself further the more she twisted.
There were three other women in the dormitory - a merchant's wife and daughter, and a mason's wife. The merchant's family was returning from Nottingham, where they had heard definite news of Henry Beauclerk's coronation.
"I fear events when the Conqueror's oldest son returns home," said thin Dame Freda, shaking her head. "I was a child when the Normans came into England, but I remember it. Terrible times, and the north country still not recovered. I wouldn't go south just yet, ladies."
"Duke Robert is still far away," Jehanne told her.
"He'll move fast when the news reaches him," said the dame. "I'm staying in the north."
When Dame Freda and her pale daughter settled in then-beds, Aline said quietly to Jehanne, "Do you think Duke Robert will invade?"
"No. The Conqueror spent a mountain of gold to seize England, buying soldiers with coin and with promise of land here in England. That land is now held by strong men of Norman descent who are not likely to give it up.
Unless the barons turn on Henry, Robert has no chance."
"You're saying he wouldn't succeed, not that he wouldn't invade."
Jehanne sighed. "True. And I don't think he's a wise man. But he's still dallying in Sicily, which is south of Italy and many weeks away. Whatever he does, it shouldn't affect our journey."
"No. Your enemy is Ranulph Flambard, with Raymond of Lowick as his tool. I wonder what effect this new king will have on them."
Jehanne grimaced. "We can do nothing but hope and pray. Are you ready for bed?"
As if impelled by an outside force, Aline rose and straightened her skirts, "Speaking of prayers, I think I'll visit the chapel."
"Very well. But don't pray the night away. We leave early in the morning."
Heart beating fast, Aline went to the small door that led into the chapel.
There was a squint next to it for ladies who wished to observe Mass without venturing farther. She paused with her hand on the chilly metal latch and peeped through. Beyond a distant metal grille, the altar candles showed two cowled monks praying.
The squint, however, did not show the body of the chapel.
With a deep breath, she pressed down the latch and slipped through the door. She almost laughed. She was in a small separate chapel, divided from the main body by that metal grille which contained no gate at all. Clearly the monks had made sure that there was no danger of females sneaking out in the night to invade their chaste quarters.
That meant, however, there was no danger of Raoul de Jouray staging an attack from the main chapel upon her tower of virtue.
Suddenly ashamed of her wanton thoughts and her impious reason for coming here, Aline knelt before the minor altar and prayed earnestly for the strength to be good. She gazed intently at a wooden plaque set above the altar and draped in silk. In the dim light she could see a carving of the Blessed Mary with her