Besieged and Betrothed

‘Then I’ll do my best to oblige.’ His eyes darkened in response. ‘But first I have some good news for once.’

‘You don’t mean...’

‘Yes.’ His lips curved in a smile. ‘Stephen’s agreed to a treaty. When he dies, Henry will be King.’

‘So the war’s over?’

‘As good as.’

She let out a sob and squeezed her arms even tighter around him, tears flowing down her cheeks.

‘Why are you crying?’ He looked confused.

‘Because I’m so happy!’ She laughed. ‘I can’t believe it’s finally over. It’s been so long.’

‘Too long. This should have been over years ago, but it means that England’s a safer place for our children.’ He raised his hands to her cheeks and rubbed the tears away with his thumbs. ‘Speaking of which, where is he?’

She sniffed, bringing her emotions back under control. ‘Ulf’s giving him archery lessons. They’ve become inseparable recently. How do you think I was able to climb up on the battlements without being chided? Come on.’

They walked arm in arm to the far side of the bailey, where a small boy was aiming an arrow at a round target.

‘Lift your shoulder!’ Lothar bellowed and the boy spun around, dropping the weapon with a yelp of glee as he came hurtling towards them. Juliana took a step to one side quickly, making room as he leapt headlong into his father’s arms.

‘Careful!’ Lothar tossed him up into the air and then caught him again, ruffling his dark hair affectionately. ‘That’s your little brother your mother’s carrying.’

‘Sorry, Papa.’

‘Sister,’ she corrected him. ‘This one’s a girl.’

‘How can you tell?’

‘Because William here hardly moved at all. Whereas this one...’ She laid a hand on her stomach knowingly. ‘She never stops kicking. Definitely a girl.’

‘With red hair.’ He smiled. ‘I hope so, too.’

‘But I want a brother!’ William looked indignant. ‘Someone to do archery with.’

‘If she takes after her mother then she will.’

‘But it might be a brother?’ The little boy still sounded hopeful.

‘We’ll see, but I’ve learned to listen to your mother. She’s the Empress around here.’

‘Empress?’ She lifted an eyebrow and he grinned.

‘Would you prefer Queen?’

‘No, just chatelaine. That’s all I ever wanted.’ She reached up and planted a kiss on his cheek. ‘Until a great woman told me I could have something better.’

‘Will you come and do archery with me now, Papa?’

‘Soon.’ Lothar put the boy down, looking serious again as he nudged him back towards Ulf. ‘I just need to tell your mother somethin

g first.’

‘What is it?’ She felt a flutter of panic. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘I’ve been thinking about names for the baby.’