- 8 hours ago
The Protector's Forty-Nine-Year-Old Lady Episode
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00:00Stop! I said stop! I'm old enough to be your mother, you insufferable!
00:05Then teach me, my lady.
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.
00:1725 years old, jaw carved from marble, eyes dark with fever and want.
00:23Want. For me.
00:24A woman of 49 with aching knees and grey at her temples.
00:28Blessed Virgin.
00:30This is a mortal sin. I'm gonna burn in hell.
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,
00:54drugged out of his mind and burning alive with poison.
00:57He pinned me down.
00:58One catastrophic night later.
01:00Me?
01:01The Lord Protector?
01:02In my previous life, my granddaughter Eleanor was violated before her wedding.
01:06After the marriage, her husband bled her dry, funneled her entire dowry into his debts,
01:11and made her raise his mistress's baspert as her own.
01:14In the end, she was sent to a condent.
01:16She spent the rest of her days behind those cold stone walls,
01:20watching the man who destroyed her live a respectable life with another woman,
01:24raising children that should have been hers.
01:26No 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,
01:40but I grab my walking stack and in the dead of night,
01:42I climb the stone steps up the hill to the abbey.
01:46Eleanor!
01:46I'm here, my child!
01:48I won't let that beast lay a finger on you!
01:50I remember it clearly.
01:52Last time, Eleanor went to St. Andrew's Abbey for mass,
01:55and the Lord Protector's wretched attendant snatched her,
01:58dragged her to his master's chambers,
01:59and threw her to him like medicine for a fever.
02:02Except, I'm early.
02:04The attendant hasn't taken Eleanor yet.
02:06But, I'm the one the Lord Protector catches instead.
02:10So hot.
02:11Help me.
02:12God have mercy.
02:14I lost my husband at 30.
02:16Nearly 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.
02:24Un-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 Leon Hart.
02:35The Lord Protector of the Realm.
02:37Forged in military campaigns,
02:39built like a battering ram,
02:40efface all hard angles and sharp authority.
02:43He commands the kingdom's armies,
02:45controls the Privy Council,
02:46holds 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
02:53and seal his mouth over mine.
02:55Shh!
02:57What are you murmuring about?
02:59The scent on you, it's calming.
03:01Makes me feel safe.
03:02Of course it does.
03:03Years of kneeling in chapel have soaked frankincense into my very skin.
03:07The rest is parchment and iron girl 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.
03:38You're so sweet.
03:40A heartbeat later, my flaying hands are binded with 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?
03:57To 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.
04:15I can be a raven.
04:16He rips the lacing clean off my kirtle.
04:19Strips of linen chemise fly everywhere and I, I lose my mind.
04:22That's not what I meant!
04:24So, a woman of nearly 50, ravished by the Lord Protector of the Realm.
04:29All night long, thank God I've taken care of myself.
04:33To 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!
05:08Save 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.
05:28By 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.
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.
06:02At 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
06:13something like this.
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.
06:22But 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.
06:38I 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
06:54into empty air.
06:56Somehow, somehow I make it to the bottom.
06:59Agnes, my lady's maid, waits by the carriage.
07:02Melody, 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.
07:13I 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 try 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.
07:54Nearly 20 years.
07:56I swore at his coffin that no man would ever touch me again.
08:0020 years, I 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.
08:21I 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.
08:33At my age.
08:34Nearly 50 years old.
08:36Handled like that.
08:37Heat 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.
08:47That 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.
08:57I'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?
09:03I'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.
09:28Ignore 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.
09:48He kisses me.
09:49I wake drenched in sweat.
09:52Burning 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.
10:03I lock myself in my chambers for days, waiting for them to fade.
10:06The official story.
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
10:17after me.
10:18Days pass.
10:20Melody.
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.
10:30No strangers at the gate.
10:32No one has come looking for me.
10:34Maybe it's over.
10:35Let her in.
10:36Tell her I'm much better.
10:38Agnes 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
10:53up the mountain to find me.
10:55I'm so sorry.
10:56It was my fault.
10:57I nearly got taken by those awful men if you hadn't come for me.
11:02Geoffrey would have been so upset.
11:04Geoffrey Montfort.
11:06Eleanor's betrothed since childhood.
11:08Heir to the Montfort Duchy.
11:10A young knight who just earned his spurs before the king last year.
11:13The 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.
11:40She waits seven years.
11:42When Geoffrey 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.
11:55He announces that the child Eleanor raised as her own is his bastard.
11:59Always was.
12:00By then.
12:01Everwoods 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.
12:18No 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.
12:27Every time I think about Geoffrey 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.
12:36My hands shake so badly I 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.
13:05Can you do that?
13:05Two more years.
13:06Just two years.
13:09Here's what I know from the last life.
13:11The Montforts are drowning.
13:12That's why Geoffrey pushes for the wedding.
13:15Once Eleanor arrives with her dowry, he's free to ride north and chase glory.
13:19If I delay the marriage by two years, the Montforts won't last six months.
13:24Their 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.
13:34I want to stay with you too.
13:36If you hadn't come for me that night, I don't know what would have happened.
13:39Dear Grandmother, you saved my life.
13:42I'll do whatever you say.
13:43I'll write to Geoffrey right now and tell him the wedding is postponed.
13:50My dear girl, I haven't loved you for nothing.
13:54As long as Eleanor never sets foot in that den of wolves, she'll never suffer what she suffered before.
13:59And 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.
14:12Mother, 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.
14:22Their estate income can't even cover household expenses.
14:26Apparently the servants haven't received their wages or livery allowances in months, and the pantry's nearly bare.
14:32Eleanor is my only daughter.
14:34I 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.
14:44She 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.
14:54I'm glad we're all in agreement.
14:55Henry and I only had Thomas.
14:57I adored him from the day he drew breath.
15:00When his father died, Thomas was twelve.
15:02I raised him alone.
15:04His wife Catherine is a distant relation of mine, a merchant's daughter, yes.
15:08But from a wealthy house.
15:09In the previous life, Catherine and I nearly bankrupted ourselves for Eleanor.
15:13My dower.
15:14Catherine'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
15:30lots.
15:31I also order the servants to intercept every piece of correspondence between Eleanor and
15:35Geoffrey.
15:36Every letter.
15:37No exceptions.
15:38My Eleanor is a proper nobleman's daughter, raised 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 Geoffrey plan to manipulate
15:51my granddaughter?
15:52What I don't expect is for Geoffrey to show up in person.
15:55Not even a fortnight later.
15:59Milade.
16:01Sir Geoffrey 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.
16:13My fingers go still on the rosary.
16:15Turn him away.
16:17He's not alone, milady.
16:19The Lord Protector is with him.
16:22Roland of Leonhardt.
16:24Every drop of blood drains from my face.
16:27The rosary beads rattle between my trembling fingers.
16:31He, he, why is he here?
16:33That night, in my panic, I blurted out who I was.
16:36My name.
16:37My title.
16:38Has he come to settle the score?
16:39Milade.
16:40The 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
16:47him.
16:47Not a man anyone can afford to offend.
16:49As if I don't already know.
16:50I 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.
17:00Delirious.
17:00Out of his mind.
17:02He 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.
17:14I 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.
17:23I 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
17:29his honors on the battlefield.
17:30No one can expect a dowager countess past 50, still recovering from illness, to drag herself
17:35out in curtsy before a man young enough to be her son.
17:39No need to apologize.
17:41Sir Geoffrey and I arrived uninvited.
17:46I frown behind the screen.
17:49Forgive my bluntness, your grace.
17:51To what do we owe this visit?
17:53Geoffrey opens his mouth, but before a word comes out, Eleanor's voice rings from the doorway.
18:00Geoffrey.
18:02What are you doing here?
18:05Eleanor, thank God you're all right.
18:08I've written to you every day.
18:10You never replied.
18:10I was worried something had happened.
18:12Letters.
18:14What 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?
18:29Eleanor, mind your manners.
18:30This is his grace.
18:31The Lord protect her.
18:33Your grace.
18:34Please forgive my rudeness.
18:36Roland says nothing.
18:37A slight nod.
18:38Nothing more.
18:39His 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.
18:49Please 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 St. Andrew'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.
19:12No, your grace.
19:14Two weeks ago, I was here at home, keeping grandmother company.
19:18I didn't go anywhere.
19:20That's right.
19:22Eleanor is a devoted girl.
19:24She 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.
19:32Eleanor 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
19:38before she should even think about marriage.
19:40The wedding will be postponed.
19:41No!
19:42Eleanor blinks.
19:44She's never heard him use that tone.
19:46Not once.
19:47He's always played the gentle knight in her presence.
19:49Soft voice, kind eyes, courtly bows.
19:52Geoffrey, why not?
19:54Grandmother is looking out for us.
19:56Why 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.
20:08Eleanor'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.
20:18My lady, you misunderstand.
20:19That's not what I meant at all.
20:21It's just, it's, it's just.
20:25Just what?
20:27Just that the Montfeiards are hemorrhaging money.
20:31And you need my granddaughter's dowry to plug the holes.
20:41Grandmother.
20:42I catch Agnes' eye.
20:43Agnes takes Eleanor's arm and shakes her head gently.
20:46Not now.
20:47Eleanor doesn't understand, but she obeys.
20:49Steps back.
20:50Stays quiet.
20:52Good girl.
20:52My Ellie.
20:53Every ounce of effort I've poured into protecting you, worth it.
20:57Geoffrey stares at me through the screen, jaw clenched.
21:00Knuckles white.
21:01I can practically hear the gears grinding behind his eyes.
21:04I stare right back.
21:05This is the man who destroyed my granddaughter in another life.
21:09I 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.
21:20Eleanor is the most precious thing the Everwood family has.
21:24Her parents and I will not send her somewhere.
21:26She'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, and this betrothal is finished.
21:37Do you have the nerve to take that wager?
21:39I almost laugh out loud.
21:41Three years?
21:42He won't last one.
21:44Without Everwood money propping them up,
21:46the entire Montford estate will be begging for scraps within months.
21:49The 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?
22:02A man of no worth?
22:04Yes.
22:04I figured that out a lifetime ago.
22:07You're nothing but a leech that latched onto my family and sucked us dry.
22:10And those so-called battlefield glories of yours?
22:13Compared to my grandsons,
22:15they're not worth the breath it takes to speak of them.
22:18In the last life, Catherine and I bled ourselves white for Eleanor.
22:21My dower.
22:23Catherine's remaining dowry.
22:24We poured it all into keeping that girl alive inside the Montford household.
22:28My grandson William, the sole heir to the Everwood name, never complained.
22:32Not once.
22:33He even rode north to the border wars,
22:36trying to rebuild our family's honor with his own sword arm.
22:38And that wretch Geoffrey stole it from him.
22:41Geoffrey was William's second in command.
22:43In the decisive battle, when everything hung in the balance,
22:46Geoffrey abandoned his commander,
22:48gathered the survivors, and retreated.
22:50When word came that William had fallen,
22:52Geoffrey claimed the victory as his own,
22:54wrapped himself in stolen glory, and rode home a hero.
22:57Meanwhile, my grandson, given up for dead,
22:59with no one coming to find him,
23:01led a few hundred household cavalry deep behind enemy lines,
23:04struck the enemy camp, and recaptured the lost territory.
23:07A feat worthy of the chronicles.
23:09But by the time William returned and the truth came out,
23:13his sister was already in the ground.
23:15She never lived to see the Everwood name mean something again.
23:18This time, I've laid the groundwork years in advance.
23:21I'd like to see Geoffrey try to steal my grandson's glory now.
23:24The longer I look at Geoffrey, the more my stomach turns.
23:27And with Rowland sitting right there,
23:29I have no patience for drawn-out gains.
23:31Enough.
23:33I've said what I came to say.
23:35The Everwood family's position should be perfectly clear to you now, Sir Geoffrey.
23:40If you refuse these terms, I'll petition the king myself.
23:42My late husband was a knight banneret,
23:45sworn and belted by the late king's own hand.
23:47I trust his majesty will grant me the courtesy of dissolving this betrothal.
23:52Geoffrey's genteel facade shatters.
23:54Eleanor and I are in love!
23:57You meddling old crone, you tear us apart!
24:00Eleanor's head snaps toward him.
24:02Her eyes blaze.
24:03Geoffrey Montfeld,
24:05what did you just call my grandmother?
24:08Eleanor, can't you see?
24:10Your grandmother is deliberately sabotaging us!
24:13She doesn't want you to marry me!
24:15Eleanor's voice shakes.
24:17Angry tears spill over.
24:19She's thinking about our future!
24:21She's pushing you to be better!
24:23Why can't you just-
24:24Why won't you listen?
24:25So you look down on us too!
24:27Because the Montfields have fallen on hard times!
24:29This betrothal was sealed by your grandfather and mine while they still lived.
24:33And now the Everwoods break their word like it means nothing?
24:36Is this the honor of your house?
24:38I'm trembling with rage behind the screen.
24:41If he hadn't schemed against us first,
24:43the Everwoods would never have needed to break anything.
24:45Then, from the far side of the hall,
24:48where Roland has been leaning back in his chair,
24:50drinking hippocrats as if watching a mildly entertaining tournament.
24:54Enough.
24:55Lady Everfield is the widow of a war hero.
24:58She holds the late king's personal writ of protection.
25:01She is your grandfather's peer.
25:03And you dare speak to her this way.
25:05I'd like to know how old Duke Montford raised his ETHS.
25:08If he couldn't manage the job, I'm happy to finish it for him.
25:11The Everwoods, I'll admit, have no one fearsome in this generation.
25:16My Thomas, God love him, is an honest man with a minor court appointment and none of his father's fire.
25:21William, Eleanor's brother, holds no title yet, no office.
25:25Offend us, and the consequences are manageable.
25:28But Roland, the late king's youngest brother, uncle to the boy on the throne,
25:33the man whose frown makes the entire king's council hold its breath.
25:36That's a different calculation entirely.
25:39Your grace, forgive me.
25:41I spoke in haste.
25:43I forgot myself.
25:45I accept Lady Everwood's terms.
25:47I'll ride to the northern marges.
25:49In three years, I'll prove my worth on the battlefield and return to seek Lady Eleanor's hand.
25:54Before you leave, report to my marshal.
25:57Twenty straptures.
25:58The air leaves the room.
26:00Everyone knows what that means for a knight.
26:03Twenty lashes is not pain.
26:05Twenty lashes is humiliation.
26:07Then Roland's gaze lifts, and even through the embroidered screen, I feel it land directly on my face.
26:12Does that satisfy you, my lady?
26:15Satisfying me?
26:16I could weep with joy.
26:17If he could simply whip the cur to death, I'd save myself years of trouble.
26:21Your grace, I defer entirely to your judgment.
26:25The screen still stands between us.
26:26Roland can't see my face clearly.
26:29That's my only comfort.
26:30I plead fatigue and rise to leave.
26:33Your grace, I am old, and only recently recovered from illness.
26:36I cannot sit much longer.
26:38I'll retire to my chambers.
26:40Eleanor, see our guests out.
26:42Yes, Grandmother.
26:43But Roland turns to Jeffrey first.
26:46You, leave.
26:47Jeffrey's jaw tightens.
26:49He wants to argue anyone can see it, but he doesn't dare defy the Lord Protector to his face.
26:53He forces a stiff bow.
26:55I take my leave.
26:57And storms out.
26:58Eleanor watches him go, then turns back to Roland with wide.
27:02Your grace, it's getting late.
27:04Aren't you heading back as well?
27:05Roland's entire demeanor shifts.
27:07Where Jeffrey received cold steel, Eleanor gets warmth.
27:10He even winks at her.
27:12My lady, it is getting late.
27:14I'm rather tired.
27:15I was hoping to stay the night at Everwood Manor, if you'd be willing to take me in.
27:20My blood goes cold.
27:22In the last life, Roland was the one who violated Eleanor.
27:25This time it was me instead.
27:26But Eleanor is sweet, lovely, young.
27:28What's to stop him from developing ideas?
27:31Your grace, there are only two women in this house and no male head of household present.
27:35An unmarried man staying the night would be improper.
27:38And if I insist?
27:39What can I say to that?
27:41I'm a powerless widow.
27:42Am I supposed to throw the Lord Protector of the Realm out onto the road?
27:46Your grace, please don't be offended.
27:48Grandmother has lived quietly for many years.
27:51She's simply not accustomed to visitors.
27:53There's an old Soli on the west side of the manor.
27:55It was my grandfather's study when he was alive, where he read and handled estate business.
28:00If your grace wouldn't mind, you're welcome to stay there for the night.
28:03Eleanor.
28:04Clever girl.
28:06Color floods Eleanor's cheeks.
28:07She ducks her head.
28:09Your grace flatters me.
28:10My stomach drops.
28:12Is he flirting with my granddaughter?
28:13I'm not worried about Jeffrey anymore.
28:15After today, Eleanor has seen through his mask.
28:18She won't cling to that sinking ship.
28:20But if she turns around and falls for the Lord Protector, I can't exactly tell her.
28:25The man you're blushing at has already bedded your grandmother.
28:28God would rain fire and brimstone on this house.
28:31No.
28:32Absolutely not.
28:33I just pulled Eleanor out of one wolf's jaws.
28:36I will not push her into another's arms.
28:38Eleanor.
28:39Come here.
28:40Come stand beside me.
28:41Agnes, escort his grace to the west solar.
28:45Coming, Grandmother.
28:46Eleanor turns and hurries toward me.
28:48And catches her foot on something.
28:50She stumbles, crashes into the screen, and knocks it several inches to the side.
28:55For one horrible, frozen moment, there is nothing between Roland and me but open air.
29:00Our eyes lock.
29:02My heart slams against my ribs.
29:04His gaze is sharp, searching.
29:07It pins me in place.
29:08I don't breathe.
29:10I can't breathe.
29:11Don't recognize me.
29:13Don't recognize me.
29:14Roland's brow creases.
29:16And then he says the one thing that makes me want the floor to open up and swallow me whole.
29:20My lady, have we met before?
29:23Your grace, a man as busy as yourself can hardly be expected to remember every face.
29:28But now that you mention it, your grace, don't you recall?
29:32Years ago, when I visited the palace to pay my respects to Queen Mother Isabel, I held you in my
29:37arms.
29:38You were still a nursing babe.
29:39The moment I picked you up, you wet yourself all over my gown.
29:43My, how the years fly.
29:45Look at you now, all grown up.
29:49That's right, boy.
29:51You want to match wits with this old woman?
29:53You're 20 years too green.
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