Chapter Fifteen #3
Douglass thought on the implication of marriage and all of those things it would make her part of and privilege to. Certainly, she would support Tiberius, as his wife, and keep their home if they ever had one of their own. He had a small castle but she had no idea if he’d ever lived there.
“I am pleased that you are being sensible,” she said after a moment. “Pleased that I do not have to go through the next several days trying to discourage you from molesting me before marriage, as you promised my father you would not.”
Tiberius snorted. “Why do you think we are finding a priest tonight?” he said. “My willpower will only hold out so long. It is best not to tempt fate.”
Douglass giggled. “So it is all about molesting me,” she said. “And I thought you were a chivalrous man.”
“I am,” he insisted. “Chivalrous enough that I will keep my promise to your father. But in order to do it, I must marry you quickly.”
Douglass simply grinned. “He was a young man, once,” she said.
“I am sure he remembers those days of unbridled passion. He is still very affectionate with my mother, although he tries to keep his actions discreet. The truth is that he cannot. It is obvious in everything about them that they adore one another.”
Tiberius smiled when he thought of Bose de Moray being frisky with his wife. “I will confess,” he said, “that I intend to follow your father’s lead. I intend to be quite affectionate with my lovely wife, forever.”
Douglass’ cheeks grew warm, even under the moonlight.
The thought of Tiberius touching her as only a husband should made her heart race with apprehension and excitement.
She could hardly believe that after all of the struggles and denials that they were finally about to be married.
It seemed surreal. But thoughts of the marriage also brought about thoughts of children, as she would now bear Tiberius’, producing a proud de Shera son who would have a mix of de Moray and de Shera bloodlines. What a mighty son he would be, indeed.
“Tell me,” she said softly. “Now that I am to marry you, I must ask, for my own sake. Is it true what my brother said about you?”
“What do you mean?”
“That your behavior towards women has been less than… chivalrous.”
Tiberius thought on the question a moment. It was one of those questions that he suspected had no easy answer. “Would it change your mind about me if it were true?”
“Nay,” Douglass said without hesitation. “The Tiberius de Shera I have known has always been very kind and polite. Never have you displayed anything lascivious towards me. But I have come to understand that restraint with a woman is not common behavior with you.”
Tiberius pondered his answer. He wanted to marry the woman so badly that he could taste it and he didn’t want to chase her away with terrible tales of his past exploits.
It would crush him. The only time he had ever regretted his lustful ways was when he had met Douglass.
Now, he was coming to regret his behavior a great deal. She deserved far better.
“Garran was not wrong,” he finally said. “I have paid more attention to women than I should have, but I am young and unattached… or, at least I was. But everything changed the moment I met you, Douglass. You make me want to be a better man.”
Douglass smiled with appreciation, at both his sweet words and honest answer. “Do you really have a bastard?”
“I do not honestly know,” he said. “I have heard rumor of one but I have never seen proof.”
“Then some day we may see a de Shera offspring showing up at our doorstep?”
“It is possible,” he replied, cringing inside. “I will apologize in advance for the shame you will suffer. Please know I would never intentionally do anything to embarrass you.”
Douglass knew that he was quite regretful.
She could hear it in his voice. “It does not affect me because it happened before I met you,” she said.
“Whatever you did before I met you is your affair, Ty, but what you do after our marriage is my affair, indeed. But I will say this, you will not have to worry about my father and brother if you shame me after our marriage. You will have to worry about me, and I am far more formidable than they could ever hope to be. Do I make myself clear?”
Tiberius started to laugh but he fought it, mostly because he remembered the woman who had nearly brained him with a piece of wood when he was trying to save her from de Montfort’s assassins. He knew she was brave and fearless, a woman to be most proud of. He believed her implicitly.
“You do, my lady,” he said sincerely. “I seem to remember you swearing upon me great bodily harm once before in the solar at Isenhall should infidelity tarnish our marriage. I believed your threats then as I believe them now, but not as threats. As a promise. I can only swear that I shall not fail you.”
“See that you do not,” she said firmly, although she was grinning. He couldn’t see because she was behind him, yet she could feel his body heaving as he laughed at her. “You would be a very unhappy man.”
“I have no doubt.”
Douglass’ grip on him tightened, a silent gesture indicating that she believed him. She felt more settled now that the mention of Tiberius’ past had been brought into the light. Now, there was truth between them. As the darkened surroundings passed by them, she spoke again.
“Speaking of sons, bastard or otherwise,” she said, “you and your brothers have great Roman names. Are we expected to name our son after a dead Roman, too?”
Tiberius laughed, happy that the subject of his lustful past has been pushed aside. He was eager to speak on other things. “Absolutely,” he said. “Do you not know the story behind the de Shera name?”
“Nay.”
“Then I shall tell you,” he said, spurring his horse into an easy canter to make better time.
“My family descends from a lost Roman legion that was stationed at Chester. Family legend states that we descend from the House of Shericus, an ancient and noble Roman family. When my ancestor came with his legion many centuries ago, the name was shortened to Shera. My father remembers his grandfather speaking of the days before the conquest when our family was still known as Shera. It was the Normans who changed it to de Shera, or ‘of Shera’, in order to make it more fitting with their own customs and surnames. Having an ancestor who sought to work with the Normans rather than oppose them, he agreed to the change and the House of de Shera was born.”
Douglass was listening with interest. “Then it is true,” she said, feigning resignation. “All of our sons really must be named after dead Romans.”
“I am afraid so.”
She sighed, pretending to be disappointed about it, but the truth was that she thought it was all rather prestigious. “Do you already have these dead Roman names we must use?”
Tiberius shrugged. “I’ve not thought much about it, truthfully,” he said. “But legend says that the original de Shera was named Magnus Flavius Shericus and I often thought I would like to name a son Magnus unless my brothers have sons before I do.”
“Lady de Shera is with child,” Douglass pointed out. “Mayhap the earl will name his son Magnus.”
Tiberius shook his head. “His son’s name is already Bhrodi, after Jeniver’s grandfather,” he said. “Jeniver is the hereditary princess of Anglesey, you know. She has almost a greater family lineage than we do. She wants her son to bear a Welsh name and Gallus agreed.”
“That is gracious of him.”
Tiberius tried to turn around and look at her but his helm made that difficult. “I will tell you a secret.”
“What?”
“If you wanted to name our son something else, I would agree, too. I would not want you to be unhappy.”
Touched, Douglass grinned and laid her head on his back in a sweet gesture. “I like Magnus,” she said. “May I name all of our children, then?”
Tiberius was relishing the feel of her against his back, her warmth against his. “That depends,” he said. “If they are foolish names, you may not.”
“It is all a matter of taste.”
“Let us hope we have the same taste.”
Douglass laughed softly but fell silent after that, watching the bulk of the city pass to the south of her.
The walls of London were tall this night, illuminated by the half-moon in the dark sky above, and they were on a slightly raised angle so that they could see the moon glimmering on the waters of the Thames in the distance.
It was a very clear night with few clouds in the sky, as the day had been warm and breezy.
Now, the night was cool and gentle. As they crested a hill on the road and the river came into full view, Douglass could see ships along the shore of the river, moored deep.
Thoughts of ships brought back thoughts of Tallis and his cog.
“Have you ever sailed anywhere, Ty?” she asked softly.
Tiberius shook his head. “Not really,” he said. “I have been to France, of course, and took a ship across the sea to reach her, but I’ve not been on a long voyage. I did not like being caged up on a ship with miles of sea all around me.”
Douglass imagined what a trip on a boat might be like. “I should like to go to Rome someday,” she said. “The city has always fascinated me. When I saw Lady de Winter’s artwork at Wintercroft, it reminded me of Rome and of the wonderful sights I have heard of.”
Tiberius’ eyes narrowed. He could see their destination in the distance, nestled along the old, city wall. He could just see the tops of the roofline and he directed the horse down a smaller road, heading for the distant cluster of buildings.
“If it is your wish to visit, then we shall go,” he told her, encouraging the horse to go faster. “But we must wait until this madness with Henry has at least settled down. It would do no good to leave and then be summoned home weeks later.”