Dirick nodded. “Merle was a fine man and had I not my own father whom to admire, I’d be proud to be of his blood. ” He pressed her index finger to his lips. “The contracts are ready to be signed. ” He hesitated, then said, “I will have them brought to you, should you wish, before I place my seal upon them. If there is aught that you do not like, I will try to change it to your liking. ”
Maris could only stare at him. He asked for her agreement before he signed the contracts? What man would do that? “My lord, I do not know what to say. ” Indeed, her tongue stuck in her throat, her mind both shocked and delighted at the realization that he should care for her opinion. “I—I…I thank you, Dirick, for your consideration. If you believe they are fair, and if they allow me to retain mine own lands should you pre decease me, I shall not contest them. ”
“Henry showed me the missive from your father, and his wishes were just that. Your dowry is generous and shall also be returned to you should I die, and even if we produce an heir, those lands shall revert to you upon my death. Our heir should accede to Ludingdon and Fairhill, unless ’tis a girl, and then, if you wish, she shall have Langumont. ”
“’Tis more than fair. ” She could barely form the words as she suddenly had an image of the babe they would produce. Her throat was dry, and she reached for the wine. “Thank you, my lord, for this beautiful gift,” she raised the cup to him, then to her mouth to drink.
The goblet never made it to her lips, as a sudden force sent it spinning to the ground. Maris shrank back from him in surprise as much from his action as the fierce look on his face.
“I did not give you such a gift. ” His grey eyes had darkened ominously, turning into steel in his ferocity. “How did you come by that thought?”
She could not speak for a moment, so unexpected was his reaction. Then, sanity reigned, and she replied, “But only moments before you came to me, a page delivered it, saying ’twas a gift from you. ”
“Did you drink of it?” He grabbed her shoulders, pulling her near him as he searched her eyes. “Maris, did you?”
Maris pulled sharply away. “Aye, but no more than a small sip. What ails you, Dirick?”
“It could have been poisoned. It most likely was poisoned!”
“Why should anyone poison me?” She could not contain her shock.
“For the same reason they should try to run you down in the market place. I do not know. ” His face sagged into serious concern. “Maris, you must have a care! Someone here does not want you to live. Promise me, promise me, that you will go nowhere without me or Raymond until we leave this place. ”
Maris nodded, the lump in her throat lodging any words she may have wished to speak inside. Why should anyone wish to kill her?
“Did you recognize the page? What did he say?”
She shook her head and described what had happened when he’d brought the wine. There were no answers there, she knew, and even only the suspicion that the wine had been poisoned. They would never know for certain.
“We will leave Westminster the day after we are wed,” Dirick told her firmly. “I will take you to Derkland for a time, to meet my mother, and then we shall go on to Ludingdon. At any rate, I shall take you away from this place and we shall stay where I know you will be safe. No one will be able to get to you in Derkland or at Ludington. ”
Maris was just about to speak when another page approached. “My lady Maris?” She nodded acquiescence and he bowed. “I have been asked to inform you that your mother, Lady Allegra of Langumont,
has arrived. ”
“My mother?” she repeated dumbly. She had hardly given Allegra a thought in the last se’ennight.
“Aye. She has been shown to the ladies’ chamber, and wishes you to attend her. ”
Maris rose, guilt blossoming inside her. “Aye. I will go to her. ” She looked down at Dirick, who stared up at her with eyes that seemed to devour her. “I will look to see you at dinner this night,” she said, barely resisting the urge to touch his cheek.
“My lady, I look more to two days hence when we shall be wed. ” He grabbed her hand and pressed a kiss to the inner part of her wrist, then released her. “Until then. ”
Allegra had been summoned to Westminster in order to attend her daughter’s wedding. She’d had no choice but to respond to the king’s wishes, and the journey had been one of haste and discomfort.
When Maris appeared, she wore a surprised but pleased expression on her face. “Mama! How glad I am that you have come to see me wed!”
Allegra drew her daughter into a brief embrace, then set her back gently. When had her daughter grown into such a lovely, strong young woman? “You are to marry Sir Dirick de Arlande?”
“Aye, only now he is called Lord Dirick of Ludingdon. ” Maris sat in a chair next to her. “Mama, why did you not tell me Papa is not my father?”
Allegra’s heart skittered in her chest, and stopped beating for a moment. “How did you come to learn this?”
A familiar expression of stubbornness crossed her daughter’s face. “It does not matter how I came to learn of it, only whether ’tis true. ”
She closed her eyes, struggling to manage the sudden horrible foreboding that settled like a heavy stone in her middle. “Aye, daughter, ’tis true. Your papa did not sire you. ” She clenched her hands tightly. “But how did you come to learn this? Tell me. ”
“Papa wrote it in a missive to the king,” Maris explained.