Chapter Fourteen
When Devereux awoke, it was either very late or very early; she couldn’t tell.
It was dark outside and difficult to judge the time.
She looked around the darkened room, orienting herself, not knowing where she was for a moment.
But recollections of Hollyhock came to mind and she remembered that she was in Davyss’ rooms at Hollyhock, snuggled cozy in his enormous bed. But she was quite alone.
A single small taper burned low on the table next to the bed, giving off enough light to see by.
Devereux sat up, curious as to where her husband was.
He had been lying next to her when they had returned from the Tower of London after her battle with the Spanish.
She had been exhausted and he had lain down next to her, holding her close as she promptly fell asleep.
Now he was missing and she wanted to find him.
She felt oddly alone without him beside her, as if he had been sleeping beside her for one hundred years.
Her comfort level with the man in just the few days they had spent together had grown tremendously. She felt rather lost without him.
Groggy, she rose from the fat mattress, dressed in the soft linen dressing garment that she had changed into when they had returned from the Tower.
It was a lightweight shift with long, belled sleeves and deeply V’d neckline that was cool and comfortable in the humidity of the river.
The moment she stood up, however, her nausea returned full-force and she covered her mouth, burping unladylike as her stomach lurched.
She didn’t feel particularly well at the moment.
Quietly, she moved to the door and carefully opened it, peering out into the hall.
She could hear Davyss’ voice the moment she opened the door.
It was coming from further down the hall to her left; she could see an open door and light streaming out of it.
Tiptoeing down the wide-planked wooden floor, his voice grew louder as she approached and she paused outside the door, wondering if she should announce herself.
It was apparent he wasn’t alone in the room and she didn’t want to disturb him.
But she couldn’t help but linger simply to hear the sound of his deep voice. It was beautiful and comforting.
“As I told you earlier, because we already know that de Montfort and his barons are moving south, the king has sent thousands of infantry to camp at St. Pancras,” Davyss was saying.
“Edward and I will stash the cavalry at Lewes Castle, about a mile north of the priory, and await de Montfort’s arrival.
But my army must move out of London by dawn if we are to make it to Sussex before de Montfort; we need to be ready and waiting for him when he arrives. Are there any questions so far?”
Lollardly and Andrew were standing closest to the map table, their eyes riveted to the yellowed hide that had a detailed map of the Lewes area on it.
Prince Edward had given it to Davyss so he and his men could study it.
The plan that Davyss spoke of had been hatched earlier in the day when Davyss had briefly met with the king and the prince, before the women went to battle.
At the moment, it was imperative that Davyss brief his knights on what was to come.
They had little time to prepare even though they knew this confrontation had been brewing for some time. Now, it was upon them.
“Do we know for certain who rides with de Montfort?” Lollardly asked quietly.
Davyss’ hazel eyes never left the map. “Gloucester,” he told them. “Guy and Henry de Montfort, and Lord Marshall Segrave.”
Andrew tried not to look too surprised. “The Lord Marshall of England rides with de Montfort?” he shook his head. “How is the king taking that bit of news?”
Davyss shrugged. “He is resigned. Truthfully, there is nothing he can do. But he plans to strip the man of his title once he gets his hands on him.”
“What about Hugh?” young Edmund spoke from the shadows near the windows. “Where is he in all of this? Will he not join us at Lewes?”
Andrew shot his younger brother a withering look, to which Edmund visibly shrank, but Davyss did nothing more than look up from the map. There was no emotion on his face when he spoke.
“Hugh will not be joining us,” he said quietly.
Andrew turned to look at him. “Do you know this for certain?”
Davyss lifted an eyebrow, refusing to look at him. “Fairly certain.”
“Do you know where he is?”
“I do.”
“Where.”
Davyss looked at him, then. “With the enemy. I will say no more.”
Andrew sighed heavily and stepped away from the map table, pondering thoughts he would not voice. Nik and Philip, standing several feet from the map table, came into the light, studying the layout of the town. Nik finally looked up from the map, focused on Davyss.
“I cannot believe he would fight against us,” he said quietly.
Davyss grunted with displeasure. “And I cannot believe that he would strike a woman, any woman, but he did. Perhaps there are many things we do not know about my brother. Perhaps… perhaps I have indeed lost him.”
“Over your wife?” Andrew couldn’t keep silent any longer.
“Davyss, you know your brother better than any of us. What he did was out of character for him, I will admit that. Hugh was never the battering kind, at least to women. He was upset because you took your wife’s side over his and I cannot say that put in a similar position, I would have been less offended.
Perhaps he is not entirely to blame for the situation he finds himself in. ”
Davyss’ hazel eyes flashed. “What does that mean?”
Andrew was Davyss’ oldest, dearest friend; only he could talk to Davyss in such a manner and get away with it.
But he knew, perhaps better than anyone, how attached he had become to his wife over the past few days.
Having known Davyss the majority of his life, he could just see it in the man’s face.
“Do not become agitated, my friend,” he backed down a bit.
“I simply meant that there was no easy transition. One moment, you and Hugh were of the same mind and in the next, you were taking the side of a woman you very much protested to marry. You sent us with Lespada to the marriage ceremony, you consummated the marriage regardless of the lady’s feelings, yet suddenly she beckons and you move heaven and earth to obey her wishes.
Hugh was caught off-guard; we all were. Only Hugh reacted with jealousy and hurt.
Perhaps a word from you would have soothed him.
He loves you, Davyss; you know this. You are all to him and suddenly he found himself sharing you with a woman you had once professed to detest.”
Davyss watched his auburn-haired friend in the weak light.
He sighed heavily, scratching his sweaty scalp and wondering if Andrew wasn’t speaking the truth.
He shouldn’t have cared about explaining himself to his men but he found that he wanted to.
Perhaps Andrew was correct; the situation with Devereux had changed and he wanted to be honest. Perhaps it was all part of him growing up and becoming the man his mother had spoken of.
“Then allow me to tell all of you what I should have told Hugh,” he muttered.
“To be plain, I was wrong. So wrong I cannot comprehend what a complete idiot I was. Lady Devereux is worthy of your respect and more; she is an accomplished woman with grace, humor and beauty. I have learned to adore her and I hope you will as well.”
His knights gazed back at him with various expressions of disbelief and approval.
Lollardly was actually grinning. But this was a war council, not a gathering of friends, so Davyss cleared his throat loudly and with some embarrassment.
He didn’t like being so sentimental in front of his men; still, it had been necessary.
He was glad he had cleared the air about Devereux for all to hear.
“So with that subject laid to rest, let us focus on the coming confrontation,” he gestured at the map.
“The Earl of Cornwall is bringing thousands of men to Sussex as we speak. He will be entrenched at the priory as well. Once we have our front lines defined, it will be up to de Montfort to engage or retreat. Our sources tell us that he is seriously undermanned compared to the king’s forces so I expect this to be an easy victory. ”
“How many cavalry do we carry?” Andrew wanted to know.
“Five thousand; half of which are knights. Any more questions?”
The men shook their heads, still gazing at the map, very much entrenched in their own thoughts. Satisfied that everyone knew their tasks, Davyss nodded his head.
“Very well,” he said. “Then be prepared to depart before dawn. We have a long ride ahead of us so I suggest you make all necessary preparations now.”
Out in the hall, Devereux knew that was her cue to leave.
Quickly, silently, she raced back down the hall and into their bedchamber.
Shutting the door quietly, she ran to the bed and threw herself atop it, pulling the coverlet up and settling in quickly.
True enough, she soon heard the pounding of heavy boots and the chamber door opened very quietly.
As she lay there and pretended to be asleep, the boots entered the room quietly and shut the door. She heard the bolt thrown.
As Devereux lay there with her eyes closed, she heard Davyss move around the room, presumably removing his clothing.
She could hear the soft brush of fabric as it hit the floor, the boots as he took them off one by one.
Then, the bed rocked slightly as he slid in beside her.
Very, very carefully, he put his arms around her and pulled her against his naked chest. When he looked down to see if he had disturbed her, he saw big gray eyes gazing up at him.
He smiled at her. “I am sorry if I woke you,” he whispered. “Go back to sleep.”