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She tore her gaze from the door, glancing up into his kind brown eyes. The other knights were filing from the room, as was Father Sutton, and Jordan took the offered arm.

All of a sudden, her wedding was over and she felt a distinct depression at that thought. For something she had waiting and dreamed so fervently for, it was over quicker than she wished. Her husband was gone, off attending his liege, and she was now being escorted back to her rooms with her cousin just as she had been a hundred times over since her arrival. The rooms would be unchanged, her clothing would be the same, and the atmosphere would be the same.

There would be guards in her hall, making sure no one molested the fair Scot lass. Tomorrow would dawn just as it had for millions of years, the same as always. Everything was unchanged in spite of the brief ceremony here tonight. Except there was one difference that turned her depression into soaring joy.

She was now Lady de Wolfe.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Henry III, King of England, and his wife, Eleanor of Provence, arrived to a herald of pomp shortly after the nooning meal of the following day. They had spent nearly a month at Beverley Castle and would be attending the earl’s wedding before heading back to Windsor.

Jordan stood by the window, watching the incoming caravan with a great deal of nervousness. William and the other knights were in full regalia, down in the outer bailey forming an honor guard as the king and his wife rode in. Jordan could see him from where she stood, so regal and proud in the saddle. Even his destrier was decorated with plates of highly-polished ceremonial armor.

Curious and agitated to a fault, Jordan wrung at her hands as she tried to get a better look at the man who had ruled England for twenty five years. When he climbed from his litter, she was afforded a good view of him; Henry was a small man, yet fairly well-built for his size and age. It was said he was fickle, weak-willed, and greedy. He had sold the two dukedoms of Normandy and Anjou simply for the money obtained and because he didn’t need them, anyway.

He had all of England at his hand. But it was also said he was a temperate man, although she wondered just exactly what that meant, yet he was educated and had ruled England rather well after the tumultuous reign of his father, King John. He was neither outstanding nor a complete failure, but rather average. Still, she was wildly curious about him.

Eleanor followed her husband from the litter, assisted by William himself. She was about the same size as her husband, but it was difficult to tell much more than that. She wore a wimple and veil that covered everything but her face, and a voluminous dark surcoat that revealed nothing of her figure. If she hadn’t been laden with jewels, she would have resembled a nun.

The earl was there to greet his third cousin on his mother’s side. Jordan watched him scrape and bow and noted that except for the hair color, the king and the earl were as different as night and day. Alexander and Analiese were right behind their father, bowing and scraping as well.

The enormity of the situation began to settle over Jordan then. Sweet Jesu,’ the bloody King of England was here, and to witness her marriage to the earl, no less. She hadn’t been particularly fearful until this point, and she moved away from the window when she realized she was growing terrified. What if the king found out what they were up to? What if he punished the earl and William? What if…what if…what if….?

The dress she was wearing suddenly wasn’t good enough and she ripped it off, diving into her wardrobe for her emerald green silk with the golden trim. She struggled to put the dress on and to fasten the stays, not wanting to take the time to call her maids. With sweating hands, she put on her hose, garters, and slippers and ran a brush through her hair. Then she suddenly remembered she had a big green silk ribbon that accessorized the dress and she plunged into one of her chests to find it.

She tied the ribbon around her head, pulling her hair off her face. She also dug out a gold and emerald necklace that had belonged to her mother and put that on as well, standing back after a moment to study herself in the mirror. Did she look lovely enough to be presented to the king and queen of England? Would they think her worthy of the treaty? Sweet Jesu,’ she hoped so.

Jemma, who had been in the downstairs hall observing the activity, burst into the antechamber, her face flushed with excitement.

“Did ye see them?” she exclaimed as she rushed into Jordan’s bedchamber.

“Aye, I did,” Jordan twisted her fingers anxiously, then burst out: “Jemma, the bloody King of England is here. My God, what was I thinking when I married William last night? What is going to happen if the king finds out? We shall all go to the block.”

“The king is not going to find out,” Jemma assured her. “Try to calm down. Ye dunna want him to see ye so nervous or he will think ye a ninny.”

“I am a ninny for letting William and the earl risk their lives for me,” she wailed.

“Stop that.” Jemma admonished her. “They dinna do anything they dinna want to. Ye worry over much.”

Jordan paced about like a caged animal, chewing on her fingernails. Jemma watched her cousin, wondering if she should go and find William or Paris to calm her down. She knew for a fact that Jordan could get herself worked up into a frenzy quite easily and she had never had much luck calming her down.

“Jordan, ye must relax,” she said, pouring her cousin a cup of wine. “Someone will be coming for ye soon to meet the king and ye canna meet him all shaking and silly.”

Jordan took the wine and downed it all in one swallow. “I know,” she grunted as the wine coursed down her throat. “But I canna help it. I am so scared.”

There was a sharp rap at the antechamber door and Jemma went out to open it. Kieran and Michael stood in the doorway, with Kieran smiling pleasantly at Jemma.

“Greetings, my lady,” he said. “Is Lady Jordan dressed?”

Jemma pulled him into the room. “Aye, she is, dressed and making herself sick.”

Kieran passed a glance at the bedchamber door in time to see Jordan passing through it. She looked a little pale, but other than that, was absolutely ravishing in the green dress.

“My lady,” he greeted her.

Jordan ignored the knights and went right to the wine decanter. Pouring herself another full cup of wine, she took two huge gulps before Kieran took the cup away from her.

“No more of that,” he said softly. “You will need your wits about you when you are presented to the king and queen.”