The privy chamber rang with shrill screams as the courtiers stumbled back from Shaw’s wildly waving sword. Before the soldiers could even react, Alex grabbed one of their swords and tossed it to Spencer, who rushed to put himself between Roselyn and Shaw.
Queen Elizabeth rose to her feet. “By Christ’s wounds—”
But Spencer heard nothing else as his sword crossed with Shaw’s and he felt the consuming power of redemption and victory so near at hand.
“Give it up, Shaw,” he ground out as they circled each other. “No one can save you.”
“A nasty limp you have there, Thornton. Let me put you out of your misery.”
In a flurry, Shaw launched wild blows that Spencer desperately parried. More than once, he barely missed being skewered before he finally cut Shaw’s sword arm. When Shaw tried to turn and run men blocked his escape, and he was forced to face Spencer, who held his sword at the ready.
In a low voice, Spencer said, “No longer are there men to hold me in place. That was the only way you could defeat me.”
With a cry of rage, Shaw brought his sword down toward Spencer’s head. Their blades met and slid together and they glared at each other across them.
“You gambled with your loyalty and lost,” Spencer said. “Give up.”
“I’d rather you kill me!”
“Coward.” He knocked the sword from Shaw’s hand, and stepped back as the soldiers surrounded the traitor.
Spencer turned slowly around to see the proud smile on his mother’s face, and the tears on Roselyn’s. He wanted to pull her into his arms, to tell her of his love and beg her to allow him to remain at her side forever.
But there was still the queen to deal with, and granting permission to marry was something she insisted on. And he still had so many questions.
“Your Majesty,” Spencer said, “if you needed to see proof of my loyalty, why was no effort made to question me these past days? I lived practically in comfort.”
The queen regally seated herself. “Lord Thornton, we were merely keeping you safe.”
“Safe?”
“Sir Rodney had been under suspicion because of the behavior of his mother, who had recently begun to live well beyond her family’s means—and made sure all knew it.”
Shaw gaped up at the queen. “But…Mother insisted…she made me…she wanted…”
“In the end, it was your choice, Sir Rodney,” the queen said coldly. “We were forced to protect Lord Thornton from your desperate acts, and Lady Thornton obliged us by guarding Lady Roselyn well. The final proof was that letter. Well done, Lady Roselyn.”
The soldiers led Shaw from the chamber.
Spencer looked at his mother, who remained near Roselyn. “Madre, you knew everything?”
“No, my son, but one does not disobey an order from Her Majesty.”
Queen Elizabeth smiled. “Lord Thornton, you have performed admirably in our service, and the crown thanks you. Do you have information for us?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. The Spanish will not be invading.”
The court was suddenly silent, as if the security of the country rested on him.
“They could not join forces with Parma’s army in the Netherlands,” he continued, “and by the time I left the ship, they were already running out of food and powder.”
The queen raised her chin. “It is as we suspected. British power rules in the end.”
Queen Elizabeth rose from her chair and stepped down to the floor, her vivid gown glistening under the candlelight. “Lord Thornton, did our royal mission finally lift you out of your sulk?”
He stared at her. “Your Majesty?”
“We thought what better way to distract you from romantic woes than to give you noble purpose—and to make a man out of your brother by giving him the responsibility of a title to protect.”
She walked toward Alex, whose face had flushed in obvious anger.
“The ladies of the court did not recognize Sir Alexander’s masquerade. Your faces resemble one another, but the difference between you is obvious when one looks in the right place.”
She suddenly grabbed Alex’s backside, and he jumped away from her, breathing heavily and glaring at the laughing courtiers.
“A man’s body in dance always gives him away,” the queen continued smoothly, moving back to sit upon her throne.
Spencer stared helplessly at his brother, who had been the viscount for a year and a half. Alex would now go back to being the second son, although Spencer’s claim as heir was only by minutes.
He saw at once how difficult such an adjustment would be—and the queen’s humiliation only made matters worse. “Alex,” he said, “how can I ever thank you for your help?”
Alex only nodded and stalked away without the queen’s permission, and Spencer realized with regret that their relationship had been damaged further.
When the queen turned her formidable gaze upon Roselyn, she knew that her time of reckoning was at hand.
“Lady Roselyn,” she said in a voice sure to carry throughout the privy chamber. “We understand that you fled from the marriage we had sanctioned, and pledged yourself to a less worthy man without our permission.”
Roselyn moistened her suddenly dry lips, but before she could speak, Spencer did.
“Your Majesty, Roselyn was but a young girl who followed her heart when my own behavior proved so abhorrent. The fault is mine, not hers.”
“Spencer, no,” Roselyn quickly said. “Your Majesty, I have indeed paid dearly for my mistakes, but I pray you will say that I have re-deemed myself in your eyes by my actions here today.”
“You wish much of us,” the queen said in a cool voice.
Spencer slid his hand into Roselyn’s, and she gripped it tightly.
“Your Majesty,” he said, “I come to you freely and beg for this woman as my wife. She means more to me than life itself, and if you do not give your permission—”
“Lord Thornton, do you threaten us?” the queen demanded. “Surely you do not dare to marry without our permission?”
“Your Majesty already granted it to us, two years ago. Will you not, in reward for my service, grant it again?”
Roselyn was aghast that Spencer would demand such a thing from the queen, all for her. Did he feel he owed her a debt, or could he actually be in love with her?
But the queen was frowning down at her. “Lady Roselyn, this man you pledged yourself to without our permission—he is dead?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Then since you did not carry out our wishes two years ago, we will see it done now. Let us retire to our chapel and conduct this wedding.” She rose to her feet and swept from the dais.
Roselyn stared in stunned dismay. This was happening so fast! She needed to be certain marriage was truly what Spencer wanted.
Spencer slid his arms about her, and she resisted the urge to surrender to the comfort of his embrace.
“You do not need to marry me,” she whispered. “I lied to you about the letter, when you would have been grateful for the peace of mind it could give you.”
He caressed her cheek. “You merely protected yourself and our country. I thought of nothing but marrying you every moment I was in the Tower, Roselyn. God—and the queen—has granted me a second chance to make you my wife, and I will let nothing stop me.”
She slid her hands up his chest and cupped his face. “Tell me why, Spencer, after all we’ve done to one another, you still wish to marry me.”
He kissed each of her hands. “Such an easy task you ask of me, my heart. It is because of love that I would wed you, the love that even now makes everything worth the price. Can you love a man who betrayed you in more ways than one?”
“Oh, Spencer,” she whispered, standing on tiptoes to kiss him. “How I love you.” She kissed each of his cheeks, then brought up his hands to kiss as well. “We were both young and foolish, too blind to see what we could have. I only thank God that we saw the truth. Now I can finally be a part of your wonderful family.”
A darkness seemed to pass over his face. “Rose, I don’t know how I can ever ask my mother’s forgiveness.”
“I think you misunderstand yourself,” she said, brushing his hair tenderly from his eyes. “You were afraid that we’d never be as blessed with love as they were. By being scandalous, you ensured that no one would want to marry you. You warned every woman away—including me—before any could be hurt.”
“Rose.” His aching whisper touched her.
“On Wight, after we made love, you left without a word to make me hate you. But…something has changed. You’re no longer afraid to love, to trust.”
“Only because you made me see that life without you was meaningless. When I put you in danger, when you could have died—”
“Shh,” she whispered, leaning up to stop his words with her mouth.
He murmured, “I love you” against her lips, and they clung together, body to body, soul to soul, joined in their hearts.
“Lord Thornton!” Queen Elizabeth called from the ornate doorway where she stood tapping her foot. “This wedding is only part of the business the court must conduct this day. Bring your betrothed to us! There will be time for kisses later.”
Laughing, Roselyn let Spencer take her arm and lead her through the privy chamber.
He leaned down to press his mouth to her ear. “We shall be married, my heart, but I must request that before you ravish me this evening, you allow me a bath.”
She chuckled and leaned her head against his shoulder.
With a rakish grin, Spencer said, “I’m quite certain I have a tub that we’ll both fit in.”