The Velvet Promise (Montgomery/Taggert 2)

“Gavin,” the woman whispered loudly.

It was a whisper of passion. Judith could only remain frozen in place. Tinder was struck and a candle lit. Judith could see clearly then. Alice, her thin, bony body nude from the waist up, lay half under Gavin. The candlelight revealed his bronze skin to advantage—there was none of it hidden. He lay on his stomach, his bare legs covering Alice’s.

“No!” Judith whispered, her hand to her mouth, her eyes blurring with tears. She wanted it to be a nightmare, but it was not. He had lied to her, over and over again. And she had come so close to believing him!

She backed away from them, Gavin not moving, Alice holding the candle, watching Judith, smiling at her from her position under Gavin. “No!” was all Judith could say. She moved farther and farther back, unaware of the staircase with no railing.

Her feet unsteady, Judith was not even conscious at first that she stepped into midair. She screamed as she fell down one step, then two, then five. Frantically, she clawed at the air, screaming again as her body fell sideways and missed the stairs altogether. Judith hit the floor below with a horrible thud, her fall finally cushioned by the pallet of one of King Henry’s knights.

“What was that?” Gavin asked in a slurred voice as he raised his head.

“It was nothing,” Alice murmured, her heart beating quickly with pure joy. Perhaps the woman had killed herself and Gavin would truly be Alice’s once again.

Gavin raised himself on one elbow. “My God! Alice! What are you doing here?” His eyes roamed over her nude body. The only thought that occurred to him was that he had not realized she was so scrawny. There was no desire for that body he had once loved.

Alice’s joy was killed by the look in Gavin’s eyes. “You do…not remember?” Her words were halting. She was truly stunned by Gavin’s reaction. She had been so certain that once she held him again, he would be hers.

Gavin frowned at her. He had been drunk, true—but not so drunk that he didn’t remember the night. He knew full well that he hadn’t gone to Alice’s bed, nor had he asked her to his.

His accusations were ready, but suddenly the great hall on the floor below them was alive with light and noise. Men shouted to each other. Then a bellow that fair shook the rafters rose: “Montgomery!”

Gavin was out of the bed in one swift movement, hastily throwing his tunic over his head. He took the steps two at a time, but he stopped at the last turn of the spiral staircase. Judith lay just below him on a pallet, her auburn hair in a tangled mass about her head, one leg bent under her. For a moment, his heart stopped.

“Don’t touch her!” he said with a low growl as he leaped the last steps and knelt beside her. “How?” he murmured as he touched her hand, then felt for the pulse at her neck.

“She seems to have fallen down the stairs,” Stephen said as he knelt next to his sister-in-law.

Gavin looked up and saw Alice on the landing, her robe clutched about her, smiling slightly. Gavin felt there was something missing in the puzzle but he had no time to search for it.

“The physician has been sent for,” Stephen said as he held Judith’s hand. She didn’t open her eyes.

The physician came slowly, dressed in a rich fur-collared robe. “Give me room,” he demanded. “I must look for broken bones.”

Gavin moved back and watched the man run his hands over Judith’s limp body. Why? How? Gavin kept wondering. What was she doing on the stairs in the middle of the night? His eyes went back to Alice. The woman stood quietly, avid interest on her face, as the doctor examined Judith. The room where Gavin awakened to find himself in bed with Alice was at the head of the stairs. He felt the blood drain from his face as he glanced again at his wife. Judith had seen him in bed with Alice! She had backed away, probably too upset to look where she was going, and had fallen. But how had she known where he was? Only if someone had told her where to look.

“No bones seem to be broken,” the physician said. “Take her to her bed and let her rest.”

Gavin murmured a prayer of thanksgiving, then bent and lifted his wife’s limp form. The crowd of people around them gasped when he held her. The pallet and her gown were soaked with blood.

“She miscarries the child,” Queen Elizabeth said at Gavin’s elbow. “Carry her above. I will have my own midwife look at her.”

Gavin could feel the warmth of Judith’s blood on his arm through the sleeves of his tunic. A strong hand was placed on his shoulder, and he knew without looking that Stephen was there.

“My lady!” Joan gasped when Gavin entered the room carrying Judith. “I just now returned and she was gone. She has been hurt!” Joan’s voice showed the love she had for her mistress. “Will she be all right?”

“We don’t know,” Stephen answered.

Gavin gently put his wife on the bed.

“Joan,” Queen Elizabeth said. “Fetch warm water from the kitchen and clean linen.”

“Linen, Your Majesty?”

“For absorbing the blood. She miscarries the baby. When you have the linen, fetch Lady Helen. She will want to be with her daughter.”

“My poor lady,” Joan whispered. “She wanted this child so much.” There were tears in her voice as she left the room.

“Go now,” Elizabeth urged as she turned back to the two men. “You must leave her. You are of no use. We will see to her.”