Chapter 327: I Know What Kingsmere Is

"If you indeed go ahead with this marriage, be sure that every time you cause me a headache, I will respond by giving you several of your own, consistently, back to back," she said.

"I did not mean to disrespect you," Richard said. "I needed Lady Livia for something, that is all. There is no attachment left there, I assure you."

Seraphina looked at him. Richard shifted. Lady Seraphina Morley’s quiet gaze made him feel like a boy.

"I..." He cleared his throat. "I should get going." He got to his feet.

Seraphina reopened her book. Richard walked towards the door. He almost reached it.

Then stopped.

Something in him resisted leaving like this. Not because he knew what to say. He did not. Livia had ruined him for other women.

But this marriage had to happen. That had been the arrangement with the king. He turned back.

Seraphina lifted her eyes. "Did you need anything?"

Richard looked at her across the withdrawing chamber. She had not asked to be handed into his life. "Would you like to visit Kingsmere?" he asked.

Her brows lifted. "Kingsmere?"

"My estate."

"I know what Kingsmere is."

"Of course."

"You are inviting me there?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Richard looked briefly towards the window, then back at her. "To know the estate. If this marriage is to proceed, they should know you." He added, more quietly, "And perhaps it will help change the way you look at me."

"How do I look at you?"

"As if I am an irritation."

"I do not..."

Richard watched her stumble over her words. Clearly, she hadnt realised she had been quite obvious.

"That is not what I am doing," she said at last. "I simply do not appreciate your attitude."

"The workers would like to know their future duchess," he said.

"Is that all I will be?"

Richard frowned. "What more is there to it?"

Seraphina rose slowly from her chair. "Your wife, perhaps? Or am I to live under the shadow of a woman who belongs to another man?"

Richard saw the cruelty of what had been asked of her. He could not love her today. He was not false enough to pretend it.

But he could begin with respect. He could at least give her that.

"I shall come for you myself in the morning," he said. "Wear a riding habit,"

Then, because he did not trust himself to say anything else without making the situation worse, Richard turned and walked out.

It was unfair. He knew that. But neither of them had bargained for the kind of life that awaited them.

*****

"My lady?" Tabitha called. "Stephen is here. He says you have somewhere to go with him."

"Tonight?" Livia asked.

Tabitha gave a small shrug, though her eyes remained fixed on Livia’s face. Something had been wrong with her since she returned from the ball the previous night. She had assumed it had something to do with the rumours.

The Italian witch.

"At this hour?"

Tabitha crossed the room, opened the wardrobe press, and selected a modest but proper gown, one suitable for leaving the inner chambers.

Livia stood still while Tabitha dressed her hurriedly. "Did he say where?" she asked.

"No, my lady."

"Did he say why?"

"No."

Livia’s fingers tightened in the folds of her gown. "Nothing?"

"He merely said you are to come alone."

"Alone?"

"With him, apparently." Tabitha pulled the final fastening into place.

Within a few minutes, Livia stepped out into the passage. Stephen waited there, dressed plainly.

He bowed. "My lady."

"Stephen."

"Would you please come with me?"

"To where?"

"We leave for outside Whitehall."

"I understood that part. Where?"

"I cannot say, my lady."

Livia sighed and followed him. They moved through the palace quickly, avoiding the busier passages.

At the courtyard, Lionel waited mounted on his horse. He gave her a small bow from the saddle.

"My lady."

"Lord Ashcroft."

A coach stood ready nearby, its lanterns dimmed. Stephen helped her into the coach and climbed in after her.

The vehicle began to move.

Livia looked at him through the gloom. "What is going on? Where are you taking me?"

The coach rolled out of the courtyard, its wheels crunching over stone. Stephen looked pained now, which only made her more anxious.

He met her eyes at last. "My lady, you know I cannot say a word. If I could, I would have said something the moment you first asked me."

Livia kept quiet after that. There seemed little point in questioning a man who had already decided his silence.

The journey lasted perhaps twenty restless minutes. It felt longer. Had something happened to Henry?

Had Richard done something reckless?

By the time the coach slowed near a quiet Thames wharf, her nerves had become a committee, and none of them were sensible.

Stephen opened the door and stepped down first. Then he turned and offered his hand. "My lady."

Livia accepted it and descended.

The air by the river was cold and damp. The Thames moved black beneath the night, catching broken pieces of lantern-light on its restless surface. Only one boat waited in sight, drawn close against the landing steps. Its lanterns were low. Its men were silent. Everything about it looked prepared for secrecy.

Stephen helped her across the planks and onto the boat. Lionel remained nearby, mounted and watchful, his horse shifting beneath him. He said nothing, but his face was grim enough that Livia’s stomach tightened further.

Inside the covered cabin, Henry was waiting. He stood near the far side, straight-backed and fully dressed. His face looked drawn. His eyes were shadowed.

"Your Majesty," she said, and quickly curtsied.

"Livia..."

"What is going on?" she asked.

"I am giving you your freedom."

Livia blinked. "Excuse me, Your Majesty?"

"I heard you last night. I release you, Livia Valenti."

The cabin seemed to tilt beneath her.

"There are enough coins and gold aboard to carry you safely wherever you wish to go," Henry continued. "Lionel will leave with you. He is sworn to protect you. If he wishes to return after that, it will be his choice."