The Protector's Forty-Nine-Year-Old Lady is a captivating romance about a powerful protector and his unexpected love for a mature, strong-willed woman. When a deep connection forms between them, they must navigate their differences in age, societal expectations, and love's intensity. As their passion and loyalty grow, they learn that love knows no boundaries, and true connection can thrive at any stage of life. This romantic tale explores themes of self-discovery, protection, and the power of unconventional love.
#TheProtectorsFortyNineYearOldLady #MatureRomance #AgeGapLove #ProtectorAndLady #UnconventionalLoveStory #PassionAndProtection #EmotionalRomance #StrongWilledWoman #MatureLoveStory #RomanceAtAnyAge #LoveKnowsNoBoundaries #RomanticDrama #OlderWomanYoungerMan #RomanticConnection #PowerfulProtector #SelfDiscoveryInLove #LoveAndLoyalty #PassionateLove #DeepEmotionalConnection #ShortDrama #ShortMovie #ShortFilm #ViralDramaSeries #TrendingDrama #LoveStory #FamilyDrama #EmotionalDrama #ModernDrama #RomanticComedy #MatureLoveDrama #UnconventionalRomance #HistoricalRomance #AgeGapRomance
#TheProtectorsFortyNineYearOldLady #MatureRomance #AgeGapLove #ProtectorAndLady #UnconventionalLoveStory #PassionAndProtection #EmotionalRomance #StrongWilledWoman #MatureLoveStory #RomanceAtAnyAge #LoveKnowsNoBoundaries #RomanticDrama #OlderWomanYoungerMan #RomanticConnection #PowerfulProtector #SelfDiscoveryInLove #LoveAndLoyalty #PassionateLove #DeepEmotionalConnection #ShortDrama #ShortMovie #ShortFilm #ViralDramaSeries #TrendingDrama #LoveStory #FamilyDrama #EmotionalDrama #ModernDrama #RomanticComedy #MatureLoveDrama #UnconventionalRomance #HistoricalRomance #AgeGapRomance
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:08He pins my wrists above my head with one hand, my own rosary beads tangled between his fingers and mine,
00:14and tilts my chin up with the other, forcing me to look at him, 25 years old, jaw carved from
00:20marble, eyes dark with fever and want, want, for me, a woman of 49 with aching knees and grey at
00:27her temples.
00:30This is a mortal sin. I'm going to burn in hell for this.
00:33Then we burn together.
00:34His pace is relentless.
00:36I hate you.
00:37You're dripping down my thighs.
00:39I hate you.
00:41I'm not stopping until you scream.
00:43I scream, three times.
00:45I am the Dowager Countess of Everwood.
00:48I came to rescue my granddaughter from an abduction.
00:51Instead, I ran headlong into the Lord Protector of the Realm, drugged out of his mind and burning alive with
00:56poison.
00:57He pinned me down.
00:58One catastrophic night later, me, the Lord Protector?
01:03In my previous life, my granddaughter Eleanor was violated before her wedding.
01:07After the marriage, her husband bled her dry, funneled her entire dowry into his debts, and made her raise his
01:13mistress's baspert as her own.
01:14In the end, she was sent to a condent.
01:17She spent the rest of her days behind those cold stone walls, watching the man who destroyed her live a
01:22respectable life with another woman, raising children that should have been hers.
01:25No one came to visit.
01:27No one came to mourn when she died.
01:30Then I wake up.
01:31And I'm back.
01:32Back to the weeks before Eleanor's wedding.
01:35I can't stand by and watch history repeat itself.
01:38My legs ache, they always ache, but I grab my walking stack and in the dead of night I climb
01:42the stone steps up the hill to the abbey.
01:50I remember it clearly.
01:52Last time, Eleanor went to St. Andrew's abbey for mass, and the Lord Protector's wretched attendant snatched her, dragged her
01:58to his master's chambers, and threw her to him like medicine for a fever.
02:02Except, I'm early.
02:04The attendant hasn't taken Eleanor yet.
02:07I'm the one the Lord Protector catches instead.
02:12God have mercy.
02:14I lost my husband at 30, nearly 20 years without a man's touch.
02:18And now a boy barely past 25 has his arms locked around me like a vice.
02:22I grip my walking stick.
02:25Un-unhand me!
02:26I am the Dowage Countess of Everwood.
02:29Let go of me this instant!
02:31I'm old enough to be your grandmother in rank.
02:33Roland of Leonhart, the Lord Protector of the Realm.
02:37Forged in military campaigns, built like a battering ram, efface all hard angles and sharp authority.
02:43He commands the kingdom's armies, controls the Privy Council, holds more power than any man alive.
02:49My words don't make him let go.
02:51They make him tip my chin up with his fingers and seal his mouth over mine.
02:57What are you murmuring about?
02:59The scent on you, it's calming.
03:01It makes me feel safe.
03:03Of course it does.
03:04Years of kneeling in chapel have soaked frankincense into my very skin.
03:07The rest is parchment and iron gull ink from copying scripture.
03:10Naturally calming.
03:11But that is not the point.
03:12The point is, my name day is next month.
03:15And I will be 50 years old.
03:17I probably smell like dust and old lavender sachets.
03:20And he's still kissing me?
03:22Blessed virgin, how long has this man been starved?
03:25Let go of me.
03:27My walking stick clatters onto the stone floor.
03:30But what chance does a woman pushing 50 have against a young man built like a warhorse?
03:34He scoops me up with one arm and sets me on the oak table.
03:40A heartbeat later, my flaying hands are bind.
03:43With my own rosary.
03:45Be good.
03:46Give yourself to me.
03:48I'll take responsibility.
03:50Holy mother of God, that makes it worse.
03:52If he takes responsibility, how do I explain this to Henry, dead 20 years?
03:58To my 32-year-old son?
03:59To my 16-year-old grandson and 15-year-old granddaughter?
04:03What am I supposed to say?
04:05Children, grandmother found you a new grandfather.
04:08He's 25.
04:11I'd rather you just killed me.
04:13My little witch.
04:15That can be arranged.
04:17He rips the lacing clean off my kirtle.
04:19Strips of linen chemise fly everywhere and I, I lose my mind.
04:23That's not what I meant!
04:24So, a woman of nearly 50, ravished by the lord protector of the realm.
04:29All night long.
04:30Thank God I've taken care of myself.
04:32To Zanz, Hippocras, regular walks up the hill to the abbey for Massachusetts decades of discipline.
04:38Otherwise, he truly would have killed me.
04:42Somewhere around midnight, a knock sounds at the door.
04:45Your Grace, the girl's here to help you break the fever.
04:47What he hears in response is not conversation.
04:50The sounds coming from inside that room are deeply, profoundly improper.
04:54Roland doesn't stop, doesn't even slow down, just turns his head and snars.
04:58Get out!
04:59Ah, your Grace already has company.
05:03I'll return the young lady at once.
05:07Save, save me!
05:09Roland clamps a hand over my mouth.
05:11Don't scream.
05:13I'll have you begging soon enough.
05:15He is formidable.
05:17More formidable than Henry was on our wedding night 34 years ago.
05:21And Henry had been a young man then.
05:23We married at 16.
05:25By 25, Henry was already flagging.
05:27By 30, he left me all together, went to meet his mager.
05:31This kind of vigor?
05:33I've only ever read about it in those courtly romances.
05:36Lancelot, Tristan, none of them hold a candle.
05:39The pleasure is like nothing I can't.
05:41How is this even possible?
05:43You're enjoying it too.
05:46Aren't you?
05:47That night, we are utterly shameless.
05:50The rosary snaps.
05:51Beads scatter across the linen sheets, clicking softly, catching the firelight.
05:55That rosary, my most treasured possession, blessed by Father Benedict's own hand.
06:00I used it every single day in prayer.
06:03At first, I can't fight him.
06:05Later, I don't want to.
06:07It is magnificent.
06:08I never imagined, not at my age, with one foot already in the grave, that I could feel something like
06:14this.
06:14But beneath the bliss, a cold thread of worry coils in my chest.
06:18This man controls the kingdom.
06:20The Everwoods are respectable, yes.
06:23But we are no great house.
06:24If Roland decides to destroy us, it takes nothing more than a stroke of his pen.
06:29I can't drag my family into this.
06:31So when he finally falls asleep, I peel myself free of his arms and slip away.
06:35The damage he's done to my body is considerable.
06:39I can barely stand.
06:40My walking stick trembles against the flagstones with every step.
06:44The stone stairs down the hillside are a special kind of torture.
06:48My legs buckle.
06:49My hips scream.
06:50The stick skids on the steps three separate times, and each time I nearly pitch forward into empty air.
06:56Somehow, somehow I make it to the bottom.
06:59Agnes, my lady's maid, waits by the carriage.
07:02Milady, Lady Eleanor was returned safely.
07:05I've been waiting ages.
07:06You look dreadful.
07:07Did something happen?
07:08Eleanor is safe.
07:09I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.
07:12Agnes is still staring at me.
07:14I wave her off.
07:15Nothing happened.
07:16I dozed off in the guest quarters, that's all.
07:18Lost track of time.
07:20Eleanor's safe.
07:21That's what matters.
07:22Take me home.
07:23In the carriage, I clench my hands together, close my eyes, and pray.
07:27Holy Mary, have mercy on me.
07:30Holy Mary, have mercy on me.
07:33Let no one ever learn of this.
07:35Not in this life.
07:36Not ever.
07:37But my mind won't cooperate.
07:39It keeps replaying, his face, the breadth of his shoulders, the relentless way he moved.
07:44Henry.
07:45I tried to summon Henry's face.
07:47My husband.
07:48We were betrothed as children, married at 16, parted by death at 30.
07:53I never remarried.
07:55Nearly 20 years.
07:56I swore at his coffin that no man would ever touch me again.
08:0020 years.
08:01I kept that vow.
08:02I thought Henry would be the only man I'd ever have.
08:05And now, practically in my grave, 20 years of faithfulness shattered in a single night.
08:11Henry.
08:12God rest your soul.
08:13I'm so sorry.
08:14Back at the manor, I order the servants to fill the wooden tub with hot water in my bedchamber.
08:19No one stays in the room.
08:20I want to scrub this night off my skin.
08:23If I scrub hard enough, maybe it never happened.
08:26But the marks on my body tell a different story.
08:29They're everywhere.
08:30Vivid proof of just how vigorous he was.
08:32At my age.
08:34Nearly 50 years old.
08:36Handled like that.
08:38Heat crawls up my neck.
08:39My cheeks burn.
08:41Margaret Everwood.
08:42Shame on you.
08:43You're practically ancient.
08:45Stop thinking about it.
08:46That night, I dream of Henry.
08:49Margaret, you swore on my coffin.
08:51You said there'd be no other man.
08:53You said we'd be buried together in the family crypt.
08:56I've been waiting for you in heaven for 20 years.
08:59You won't come down fine.
09:00But you found yourself a 25-year-old lover?
09:02I'm sorry.
09:03I'm sorry, Henry.
09:05I didn't mean to break my vow.
09:07He was too strong.
09:08I was forced, I swear.
09:10Then Roland appears out of nowhere, wraps an arm around my waist, and pulls me upright
09:15before I can bow again.
09:16He kicks Henry square in the chest.
09:19Henry vanishes.
09:20You're a dead man.
09:21The living are none of your concern.
09:23Then Roland covers my ears with his palms.
09:25Gently.
09:26Like I'm something fragile.
09:27Margaret, ignore that old ghost.
09:29Everything he said is nonsense.
09:31You deserve the finest man in the world.
09:34I stare up at him.
09:35The finest man in the world.
09:39The finest man in the world?
09:44Shameless.
09:45Absolutely shameless.
09:46You love it when I'm shameless.
09:47He kisses me.
09:49I wake drenched in sweat.
09:51Burning up.
09:53It's barely spring.
09:54There's no reason for this heat.
09:57Agonist, draw a bath.
09:59Now.
09:59The marks Roland left on my neck are impossible to hide.
10:02I lock myself in my chambers for days, waiting for them to fade.
10:06The official story.
10:07I am well.
10:08I caught a chill climbing to the abbey and came down with a fever.
10:11Eleanor is a good girl.
10:12Even when I refuse visitors, she comes to the door of my private chapel every morning to ask after me.
10:17Days pass.
10:19Melody?
10:20Lady Eleanor came to see you again at first light.
10:23Shall I still turn her away?
10:25I glance at the window.
10:27Pale light.
10:28Quiet grounds.
10:29No strangers at the gate.
10:31No one has come looking for me.
10:33Maybe it's over.
10:35Let her in.
10:36Tell her I'm much better.
10:37Agnes beams.
10:39Right away.
10:40A moment later, Eleanor bursts through the door and throws herself around my legs.
10:46Grandmother!
10:47You're finally seeing me!
10:49I thought you were angry because I snuck out that day and you had to come all the way up
10:53the mountain to find me.
10:54I'm so sorry.
10:56It was my fault.
10:57I nearly got taken by those awful men if you hadn't come for me.
11:02Jeffrey would have been so upset.
11:04Jeffrey Montfort.
11:05Eleanor's betrothed since childhood.
11:08Heir to the Montfort Duchy.
11:09A young knight who just earned his spurs before the king last year.
11:12The kind of man who rides off to the northern front the morning after his wedding.
11:17Leaving Eleanor alone to manage a crumbling estate.
11:20While he keeps a mistress across the border.
11:23Gets her pregnant.
11:24And the worst part?
11:25The entire Montfort household knows.
11:27They blame Eleanor for failing to produce an heir.
11:30Then force her to raise the bastard under the polite fiction of a ward.
11:33Eleanor pours her dowry into the duchy's debts.
11:36She raises her husband's illegitimate child with patience and grace.
11:39She waits seven years.
11:41When Jeffrey finally returns from the wars.
11:44The first thing he does is petition the ecclesiastical court for an annulment.
11:48Citing consanguinity.
11:49Some threat of distant cousinship.
11:51So he can marry his mistress.
11:53And in open court.
11:54He announces that the child Eleanor raised as her own is his bastard.
11:59Always was.
12:00By then, Everwoods are nothing.
12:02Our influence has withered.
12:04Our halls stand empty.
12:05And not a single soul bothers to pay a courtesy call.
12:08Eleanor has no protector.
12:10She can't fight a man riding the crest of military glory.
12:13She endures it in silence.
12:15Then she collapses.
12:16No one visits.
12:17No one sends for a physician.
12:19She lies alone in an empty room and closes her eyes for the last time.
12:23And I, her grandmother, live long enough to watch her buried.
12:26Every time I think about Jeffrey kneeling at the altar.
12:29Playing the pious knight.
12:30When he was calculating how to strip a spare from the very beginning.
12:33Every vow he made before God.
12:35A lie.
12:35My hands shake so badly.
12:36I want to wrap them around his throat.
12:38But the Eleanor standing before me right now doesn't know any of this.
12:42She doesn't know her betrothed is a devil wearing a saint's mask.
12:46I can't tell her.
12:48Not yet.
12:50So I take her hands and smile.
12:53Ellie, you're still so young.
12:55And you're my only granddaughter.
12:58I can't bear to let you go just yet.
13:01Stay with me a little longer.
13:03Two more years.
13:04Can you do that?
13:05Two more years.
13:06Just two years.
13:08Here's what I know from the last life.
13:10The Montforts are drowning.
13:12That's why Jeffrey pushes for the wedding.
13:14Once Eleanor arrives with her dowry, he's free to ride north and chase glory.
13:18If I delay the marriage by two years, the Montforts won't last six months.
13:23Their rot will show through for the whole world to see.
13:26Let's see them come knocking on our door then.
13:29Eleanor blushes and nods, sweet as ever.
13:33I want to stay with you too.
13:35If you hadn't come for me that night, I don't know what would have happened.
13:39Dear Grandmother, you saved my life.
13:41I'll do whatever you say.
13:43I'll write to Jeffrey right now and tell him the wedding is postponed.
13:49My dear girl, I haven't loved you for nothing.
13:53As long as Eleanor never sets foot in that den of wolves, she'll never suffer what she suffered before.
13:58And if that nest of vipers goes bankrupt in the meantime, that's not our problem.
14:04My son Thomas and his wife Catherine are thrilled when they hear the news.
14:08They come to see me together that evening.
14:11Mother, did you hear something?
14:14Everyone's whispering that the Montforts are practically ruined.
14:17The old Duke's war reputation is the only thing keeping up appearances.
14:21Their estate income can't even cover household expenses.
14:25Apparently the servants haven't received their wages or livery allowances in months, and the pantry's nearly bare.
14:32Eleanor is my only daughter.
14:33I won't watch her suffer.
14:37This is perfect timing, Mother.
14:39Give it a couple of years.
14:40Once Eleanor's gotten over her stubbornness, we'll find her a family that actually deserves her.
14:43She can stay right here by your side.
14:45Wouldn't that be better?
14:47Seeing them both on my side warms my old bones more than any fire.
14:52Good.
14:53I'm glad we're all in agreement.
14:55Henry and I only had Thomas.
14:57I adored him from the day he drew breath.
14:59When his father died, Thomas was twelve.
15:02I raised him alone.
15:03His wife Catherine is a distant relation of mine, a merchant's daughter, yes.
15:07But from a wealthy house.
15:09In the previous life, Catherine and I nearly bankrupted ourselves for Eleanor.
15:12My dower.
15:13Catherine's remaining dowry funds.
15:15We poured everything we had into keeping that girl afloat in the Montfort household.
15:19That's the real reason the Everwoods fell so fast.
15:21This time, we will not let those leeches bleed us dry.
15:24I keep Eleanor close.
15:26Every morning, she comes to my private chapel to copy the book of hours with me and join in lots.
15:30I also order the servants to intercept every piece of correspondence between Eleanor and Jeffrey.
15:35Every letter.
15:37No exceptions.
15:38My Eleanor is a proper nobleman's daughter.
15:41Raised with impeccable manners.
15:43She would never sneak around behind my back to meet a man.
15:46And without anyone to carry his honeyed words for him, how exactly does Jeffrey plan to manipulate my granddaughter?
15:52What I don't expect is for Jeffrey to show up in person.
15:55Not even a fortnight later.
15:58M'lade.
16:01Sir Jeffrey of Montfield is at the gate.
16:04He says he's here to call on you and Lady Eleanor.
16:07Thomas has taken Catherine to visit her family.
16:10It's just Eleanor and me at the manor.
16:12My fingers go still on the rosary.
16:15Turn him away.
16:17He's not alone, M'lady.
16:19The Lord Protector is with him.
16:22Roland of Leonhart.
16:24Every drop of blood drains from my face.
16:26The rosary beads rattle between my trembling fingers.
16:30He...
16:31He...
16:31Why is he here?
16:33That night, in my panic, I blurted out who I was.
16:36My name.
16:36My title.
16:37Has he come to settle the score?
16:39M'lade.
16:39The Lord Protector is the late king's youngest brother and his majesty's own uncle.
16:43The entire kingdom answers to him, and they say he's merciless with those who cross him.
16:47Not a man anyone can afford to offend.
16:49As if I don't already know, I got a very thorough demonstration of his intensity that night.
16:54I force myself to breathe.
16:56Think, Margaret.
16:57He was poisoned that night.
16:59Delirious.
17:00Out of his mind.
17:01He might not remember an old woman's face.
17:04Prepare hippoprash.
17:06Show the Lord Protector and Sir Geoffrey to the Great Hall.
17:09In the Great Hall, I have the servants position an embroidered screen behind the dais.
17:13I sit behind it, rosary in hand, and nod for Agnes to pour the wine.
17:19I have been widowed many years and do not receive visitors in person.
17:22I beg your grace's forgiveness.
17:24My late husband Henry was the Earl of Everwood, a man who fought beside the late king and earned his
17:29honors on the battlefield.
17:30No one can expect a dowager count has passed 50, still recovering from illness, to drag herself out in curtsy
17:36before a man young enough to be her son.
17:39No need to apologize.
17:41Sir Geoffrey and I arrived uninvited.
17:53Geoffrey opens his mouth, but before a word comes out, Eleanor's voice rings from the doorway.
18:00Geoffrey.
18:01What are you doing here?
18:05Eleanor.
18:06Thank God you're all right.
18:07I've written to you every day.
18:09You never replied.
18:10I was worried something had happened.
18:12Letters.
18:13What letters?
18:15Grandmother hasn't been well.
18:16She asked me to stay by her side.
18:18The servants must have forgotten to deliver them.
18:20I'll look into it.
18:21Then her gaze drifts to the man seated beside Geoffrey.
18:24And this gentleman is?
18:28Eleanor, mind your manners.
18:30This is his grace.
18:31The Lord Protector.
18:33Your grace.
18:34Please forgive my rudeness.
18:35Roland says nothing, a slight nod, nothing more.
18:38His gaze doesn't linger on her.
18:40But my hands are clenched so tight around the rosary that the beads bite into my palms.
18:44In the last life, it was Roland who ruined Eleanor.
18:46Eleanor's eyes.
18:47She looks like me.
18:48Please, God, please don't let him see the resemblance.
18:51My mind is spiraling when Roland's voice cuts through.
18:54Where was this young lady?
18:55Did she by any chance visit Epis and Tandrew's Abbey outside the city?
18:59That single question squeezes my chest like a fist.
19:03Eleanor is innocent, but she's not stupid.
19:06She knows what happened that night, the ambush, the men who knocked her unconscious, how close she came to being
19:11dragged away.
19:12Know your grace.
19:13Two weeks ago, I was here at home, keeping grandmother company.
19:18I didn't go anywhere.
19:20That's right.
19:21Eleanor is a devoted girl.
19:23She knows this old woman gets lonely, so she stays close.
19:27Now, Sir Geoffrey, while you're here, there's a matter I'd like to discuss.
19:31Eleanor is not in good health.
19:33I've had a physician examine her, and he says she needs at least two or three more years of rest
19:37before she should even think about marriage.
19:39The wedding will be postponed.
19:41No!
19:42Eleanor blinks.
19:43She's never heard him use that tone.
19:45Not once.
19:46He's always played the gentle knight in her presence.
19:49Soft voice, kind eyes, courtly bows.
19:52Geoffrey, why not?
19:53Grandmother is looking out for us.
19:55Why would you speak to her like that?
19:57Forgive me, Eleanor.
19:59I love you so much.
20:00I just want to stand with you at the altar as soon as possible.
20:03Two or three more years.
20:05I don't know if I can bear the weight.
20:07Eleanor's health comes before everything.
20:10If Sir Geoffrey finds the weight unaborable, perhaps it would be best to dissolve the betrothal altogether and seek a
20:16more suitable match.
20:17My lady, you misunderstand.
20:19That's not what I meant at all.
20:20It's just, it's, it's just.
20:24Just what?
20:26Just that the Montfeiards are hemorrhaging money.
20:30And you need my granddaughter's dowry to plug the holes.
20:40Grandmother.
20:41I catch Agnes's eye.
20:43Agnes takes Eleanor's arm and shakes her head gently.
20:45Not now.
20:46Eleanor doesn't understand, but she obeys.
20:49Steps back.
20:50Stays quiet.
20:51Good girl.
20:52My Ellie.
20:53Every ounce of effort I've poured into protecting you, worth it.
20:56Geoffrey stares at me through the screen.
20:59Jaw clenched.
20:59Knuckles white.
21:00I can practically hear the gears grinding behind his eyes.
21:03I stare right back.
21:05This is the man who destroyed my granddaughter in another life.
21:08I have nothing to say to him that isn't laced with venom.
21:12Sir Geoffrey, I believe I've made myself clear.
21:14You know the state of the Montfield house better than anyone.
21:17I shouldn't need to spell it out.
21:19Elena is the most precious thing the Everwood family has.
21:23Her parents and I will not send her somewhere she'll suffer.
21:26If you truly love her, I'll give you three years.
21:30Restore the Montfield name.
21:32Prove you can provide for her.
21:34Fail.
21:34And this betrothal is finished.
21:36Do you have the nerve to take that wager?
21:38I almost laugh out loud.
21:40Three years?
21:42He won't last one.
21:43Without Everwood money propping them up,
21:45the entire Montford estate will be begging for scraps within months.
21:48The blow lands.
21:50Geoffrey sways on his feet like I've struck him across the face.
21:57My lady, is that really what you think of me?
22:01A man of no worth?
22:03Yes.
22:04I figured that out a lifetime ago.
22:06You're nothing but a leech that latched onto my family and sucked us dry.
22:10And those so-called battlefield glories of yours?
22:12Compared to my grandsons,
22:14they're not worth the breath it takes to speak of them.
22:18Eleanor, can't you see?
22:20Your grandmother is deliberately sabotaging us.
22:22She doesn't want you to marry me.
22:25Eleanor's voice shakes.
22:26Angry tears spill over.
22:29She's thinking about our future.
22:31She's pushing you to be better.
22:32Why can't you just...
22:33Why won't you listen?
22:34So you look down on us too?
22:36Because the Montfields have fallen on hard times?
22:39This betrothal was sealed by your grandfather and mine while they still lived.
22:43And now the Everwoods break their word like it means nothing?
22:46Is this the honor of your house?
22:48I'm trembling with rage behind the screen.
22:50If he hadn't schemed against us first,
22:52the Everwoods would never have needed to break anything.
22:55Then, from the far side of the hall,
22:57where Roland has been leaning back in his chair,
22:59drinking Hippocrats as if watching a mildly entertaining tournament.
23:03Enough.
23:05Lady Everfield is the widow of a war hero.
23:07She holds the late king's personal writ of protection.
23:10She is your grandfather's peer.
23:12And you dare speak to her this way?
23:15I'd like to know how old Duke Montford raised his eads.
23:18If he couldn't manage the job, I'm happy to finish it for him.
23:21The Everwoods, I'll admit, have no one fearsome in this generation.
23:25My Thomas, God love him, is an honest man with a minor court appointment and none of his father's fire.
23:30William, Eleanor's brother, holds no title yet, no office.
23:35Offend us, and the consequences are manageable.
23:38But Roland, the late king's youngest brother, uncle to the boy on the throne,
23:42the man whose frown makes the entire king's council hold its breath.
23:46That's a different calculation entirely.
23:49Your grace, forgive me.
23:51I spoke in haste.
23:52I forgot myself.
23:54I accept Lady Everwood's terms.
23:56I'll ride to the northern marges.
23:59In three years, I'll prove my worth on the battlefield and return to seek Lady Eleanor's hand.
24:04Before you leave, report to my marshal.
24:07Twenty straptures.
24:08The heir leaves the room.
24:10Everyone knows what that means for a knight.
24:12Twenty lashes is not pain.
24:14Twenty lashes is humiliation.
24:16Then Roland's gaze lifts, and even through the embroidered screen, I feel it land directly on my face.
24:22Does that satisfy you, my lady?
24:24Satisfying me?
24:25I could weep with joy.
24:27If he could simply whip the cur to death, I'd save myself years of trouble.
24:31Your grace, I defer entirely to your judgment.
24:34The screen still stands between us.
24:36Roland can't see my face clearly.
24:38That's my only comfort.
24:40I plead fatigue and rise to leave.
24:42Your grace, I am old, and only recently recovered from illness.
24:46I cannot sit much longer.
24:47I'll retire to my chambers.
24:50Eleanor?
24:50See our guests out.
24:51Yes, Grandmother.
24:53But Roland turns to Jeffrey first.
24:55You.
24:56Leave.
24:56Jeffrey's jaw tightens.
24:58He wants to argue anyone can see it, but he doesn't dare defy the Lord Protector to his face.
25:03He forces a stiff bow.
25:05I take my leave.
25:06And storms out.
25:08Eleanor watches him go, then turns back to Roland with wide.
25:11Your grace, it's getting late.
25:13Aren't you heading back as well?
25:15Roland's entire demeanor shifts.
25:17Where Jeffrey received cold steel, Eleanor gets warmth.
25:20He even winks at her.
25:22My lady, it is getting late.
25:23I'm rather tired.
25:25I was hoping to stay the night at Everwood Manor, if you'd be willing to take me in.
25:30My blood goes cold.
25:31In the last life, Roland was the one who violated Eleanor.
25:34This time it was me instead.
25:36But Eleanor is sweet, lovely, young.
25:38What's to stop him from developing ideas?
25:41Your grace, there are only two women in this house and no male head of household present.
25:44An unmarried man staying the night would be improper.
25:47And if I insist?
25:49What can I say to that?
25:50I'm a powerless widow.
25:52Am I supposed to throw the Lord Protector of the Realm out onto the road?
25:55Your grace, please don't be offended.
25:58Grandmother has lived quietly for many years.
26:00She's simply not accustomed to visitors.
26:03There's an old soli on the west side of the manor.
26:05It was my grandfather's study when he was alive, where he read and handled estate business.
26:09If your grace wouldn't mind, you're welcome to stay there for the night.
26:12Eleanor.
26:14Clever girl.
26:15Color floods Eleanor's cheeks.
26:17She ducks her head.
26:18Your grace flatters me.
26:19My stomach drops.
26:21Is he flirting with my granddaughter?
26:23I'm not worried about Jeffrey anymore.
26:25After today, Eleanor has seen through his mask.
26:27She won't cling to that sinking ship.
26:30But if she turns around and falls for the Lord Protector, I can't exactly tell her.
26:34The man you're blushing at has already bedded your grandmother.
26:37God would rain fire and brimstone on this house.
26:40No.
26:41Absolutely not.
26:42I just pulled Eleanor out of one wolf's jaws.
26:45I will not push her into another's arms.
26:47Eleanor.
26:48Come here.
26:49Come stand beside me.
26:51Agnes, escort his grace to the west solar.
26:54Come in, grandmother.
26:56Eleanor turns and hurries toward me and catches her foot on something.
27:00She stumbles, crashes into the screen, and knocks it several inches to the side.
27:05For one horrible, frozen moment, there is nothing between Roland and me but open air.
27:10Our eyes lock.
27:11My heart slams against my ribs.
27:13His gaze is sharp, searching.
27:16It pins me in place.
27:18I don't breathe.
27:19I can't breathe.
27:21Don't recognize me.
27:22Don't recognize me.
27:23Roland's brow creases.
27:25And then he says the one thing that makes me want the floor to open up and swallow me whole.
27:29My lady, have we met before?
27:33Your Grace, a man as busy as yourself can hardly be expected to remember every face.
27:37But now that you mention it, Your Grace, don't you recall?
27:41Years ago, when I visited the palace to pay my respects to Queen Mother Isabel,
27:45I held you in my arms.
27:47You were still a nursing babe.
27:49The moment I picked you up, you wet yourself all over my gown.
27:53My, how the years fly.
27:54Look at you now, all grown up.
27:58That's right, boy.
28:00You want to match wits with this old woman?
28:02You're 20 years too green.
Comments