Page 43 of Knight of Havoc
She smiled knowing he but jested with her. “Smart man.”
The priest cleared his throat demanding they return their attention to the matter at hand: his sermon. Elysande could barely sit there quietly when all she wished for was the lecture to be over so they could speak the words that would seal them together. The priest at last finished and called for the scribe who rushed forward with quill and parchment. He went to a small table set up for his use and nodded to the priest who then asked for an accounting of what each brought to their union.
Richard stepped forward offering a sum large enough to have Reynard choke in surprise at his friend’s generosity. Blake, Oswin, and Kingsley repeated the gesture and Elysande swore there was a moment where she could see Reynard’s eyes glisten with an unshed tear or two. The priest then turned toward Elysande. But there was no one to speak on her behalf so she rose from her place next to Reynard.
“Blackmore Castle was granted to me upon my grandfather’s death and comes with forty acres of surrounding land,” Elysande began with a worried frown. Blackmore was in need of major repairs. It might take years to see the estate returned to what it had once been. She glanced at Reynard, knowing what a burden her home would become to her new husband. The monies needed to restore Blackmore would be excessive, and she did not wish to ask Reynard to sacrifice any of his wealth to see her home restored. ’Twas a lot to ask.
She bit her lip, knowing she did not have much else to offer for the scribe. Her parents had land abroad in Normandy and more in England. Those estates, as far as Elysande knew, were full of cattle, horses, and other animals but since she had never been there, she was unfamiliar with the management ofsaid estates nor could she claim ownership of them whilst her parents yet lived.
The empress stood. “Lady Elysande was promised a substantial dowry once my games were concluded. I stand by my decision. Ample monies will fill her and her new husband’s coffers,” Matilda exclaimed with a smile before she continued, “enough to see Blackmore restored to all its former glory so that the Lord and Lady of Blackmore might continue their pledged fealty to me.”
“Thank you, empress,” Elysande answered, dropping down into a deep curtsey. Reynard took to his knee and bowed his head before they were both told to rise.
Overall, the empress had just made Elysande quite rich.
But ’twas the slight frown on Reynard’s brow that caused her to worry. “You appear upset,” Elysande said watching him carefully.
“You have become a very wealthy woman,” he declared, gulping.
“You are also a rich man.”
A grunt escaped him. “Only from the generosity of friends.”
She smiled. “I was not necessarily thinking of the monies they gave you. Sometimes there is more to life than the monies that fill your coffers. Those men love you like brothers. Surely that in itself is worth more than anything else.”
He ran his thumb over the back of her hand. “Aye… I suppose you are right.”
The priest asked them to step forward and before long he was proclaiming them husband and wife. Reynard quickly kissed her lips, and the empress clapped her hands, causing everyone’s attention to turn.
“Well done,” she proclaimed, then took the place of the priest. “Take a knee, Norwood.”
Elysande gasped at the significance of what she asked and Reynard’s eyes widened in surprise. He did as he was told and Empress Matilda held out her hand. Lady Eden brought forward a ceremonial blade. The empress then tapped the blade on Reynard’s right shoulder and repeated the gesture on his left.
“Rise, Reynard Norwood, Earl of Blackmore,” the empress proclaimed. A small cheer rose up.
Elysande threw her arms around her husband’s neck once he stood and proceeded to kiss him. He snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her up against his rock-hard chest and deepened their kiss. Not only had they been married but Reynard had been more than rewarded for his service to the empress’s cause. Their life together was off to a wonderful start.
Chapter Thirty-One
Reynard watched hiswife as she performed the patterns of a dance with Richard. Her laughter rang out and he wished he had been the one to cause her such joy. Wife… if someone had told him a year ago that he would be wed at the age of a score and three he would have laughed in their face. The twist and turns that life had thrown in the path of the Norwood brothers had changed their lives for the better. All three wed to beautiful women who were more than worthy of them. Reynard was still in a daze from all that had occurred just this day.
Married and then a short moment later a titled lord. Who would have known that the generosity of Empress Matilda would have gone that far? Reynard had expected such of Wymar for he was the head of the family. But Theobald and he had also gained far more than Reynard ever thought possible. His eyes searched for his wife who had disappeared amongst the dancers. Not that he was worried. Richard was like his brother and Reynard knew Elysande was as safe with Richard as if she stood next to him now. Perchance love would also find Grancourt soon.
A voice from behind him brought Reynard out of his musings.
“Have you lost your bride so soon, Norwood?”
Reynard barely acknowledged Constantine as he came to stand beside him. “Nay, I have not,” he said reaching for atankard of ale from a passing servant. “I did not see you at the wedding.”
A grunt of displeasure escaped Constantine’s mouth. “There is only so much suffering one man can stand. I had come to admire the lady, not that I would voice such feelings aloud when she clearly cared for another.”
“You did not protest at all that Elysande and I were to wed,” Reynard replied, watching Constantine closely. Could he have been mistaken thinking Warin had moved past his feelings for Elysande?
Constantine shrugged as though indifferent. “I had no objections to you wedding the lady but that does not mean I needed to bear witness to the ceremony. We would have still made a good matched if the empress had blessed our union.”
“For an arranged marriage,” grumbled Reynard, taking another long pull of his drink.
“Some have married for far less,” Constantine suggested. “I am surprised you have not whisked your beautiful bride to your chambers. I assure you, if she were mine, we would already be upstairs.” A chuckle rumbled in his chest when he looked over to Reynard who could only scowl at his rival.
