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FULL MOVIES ENGLISH SUB (2026) - FULL | Reelshort
#drama #cdrama #romantic #love #movie #shortdrama #showhot2026
FULL MOVIES ENGLISH SUB (2026) - FULL | Reelshort
#drama #cdrama #romantic #love #movie #shortdrama #showhot2026
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Short filmTranscript
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, 25 years old, jaw carved from
00:20marble,
00:21eyes dark with fever and want, want, for me, a woman of 49 with aching knees and grey at her
00:27temples.
00:29Blessed Virgin, this 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.
01:01Me? 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,
01:11and made her raise his mistress'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,
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.
01:28No 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! I'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.
02:06I'm the one the Lord Protector catches instead.
02:10So hot. Help 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
02:20has 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.
02:34Roland of Leonhart.
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,
02:47holds 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 mumbering about?
02:59The scent on you, it's calming.
03:01It makes me feel safe.
03:02Of course it does.
03:04Years of kneeling in chapel
03:05have soaked frankincense into my very skin.
03:07The rest is parchment and iron girl ink
03:08from copying scripture,
03:09naturally calming.
03:11But that is not the point.
03:12The point is,
03:13my name day is next month,
03:15and I will be 50 years old.
03:17I probably smell like dust
03:19and old lavender sachets.
03:20And he's still kissing me?
03:22Blessed virgin,
03:23how 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
03:32have against a young man built like a warhorse?
03:34He scoops me up with one arm
03:36and sets me on the oak table.
03:40A heartbeat later,
03:41my flaying hands are bind
03:42with my own rosary.
03:45Be good.
03:46Give yourself to me.
03:48I'll take responsibility.
03:50Holy mother of God,
03:51that makes it worse.
03:52If he takes responsibility,
03:54how do I explain this to Henry,
03:56dead 20 years,
03:58to my 32-year-old son,
03:59to my 16-year-old grandson
04:01and 15-year-old granddaughter?
04:03What am I supposed to say?
04:05Children,
04:06grandmother 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
04:21and I,
04:21I lose my mind.
04:23That's not what I meant!
04:24So,
04:25a woman of nearly 50,
04:27ravished by the lord protector of the realm.
04:29All night long.
04:30Thank God I've taken care of myself.
04:33Tizanz,
04:34Hippocrats,
04:34regular walks up the hill to the abbey
04:36for Massachusetts decades of discipline.
04:38Otherwise,
04:39he truly would have killed me.
04:42Somewhere around midnight,
04:43a knock sounds at the door.
04:45Your grace,
04:45the girl's here,
04:46to help you break the fever.
04:47What he hears in response is,
04:49not conversation.
04:50The sounds coming from inside that room
04:52are deeply,
04:53profoundly improper.
04:54Roland doesn't stop,
04:55doesn't even slow down,
04:57just turns his head and snars.
04:58Get out!
04:59Ah,
05:00your grace already has
05:01company.
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
05:16formidable.
05:17More formidable than Henry
05:18was on our wedding night 34 years ago.
05:21And Henry had been a young man then.
05:23We married at 16.
05:25By 25,
05:26Henry was already flagging.
05:28By 30,
05:29he left me altogether,
05:30went to meet his maker.
05:31This kind of vigor?
05:33I've only ever read about it
05:34in those courtly romances.
05:36Lancelot,
05:37Tristan,
05:37none of them hold a candle.
05:39The pleasure is like nothing.
05:41How is this even possible?
05:43You're enjoying it too.
05:47That night,
05:48we are utterly shameless.
05:50The rosary snaps.
05:51Beads scatter across the linen sheets,
05:53clicking softly,
05:54catching the firelight.
05:55That rosary,
05:56my most treasured possession,
05:58blessed by Father Benedict's own hand.
06:00I used it every single day in prayer.
06:03At first,
06:03I can't fight him.
06:05Later,
06:05I don't want to.
06:07It is
06:07magnificent.
06:08I never imagined,
06:10not at my age,
06:11with one foot already in the grave,
06:12that I could feel something like this.
06:14But beneath the bliss,
06:16a cold thread of worry coils in my chest.
06:18This man controls the kingdom.
06:20The Everwoods are respectable,
06:22yes,
06:23but we are no great house.
06:25If Roland decides to destroy us,
06:27it 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,
06:33I 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,
06:52and each time I nearly pitch forward into empty air.
06:57Somehow,
06:57somehow I make it to the bottom.
06:59Agnes,
06:59my lady's maid,
07:01waits by the carriage.
07:02Milady,
07:03Lady 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,
07:18that's all.
07:18Lost track of time.
07:20Eleanor's safe.
07:21That's what matters.
07:22Take me home.
07:23In the carriage,
07:24I clench my hands together,
07:25close my eyes,
07:26and pray.
07:27Holy Mary,
07:29have mercy on me.
07:30Holy Mary,
07:32have 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,
07:40his face,
07:41the breadth of his shoulders,
07:43the relentless way he moved.
07:44Henry.
07:45I tried to summon Henry's face.
07:47My husband.
07:48We were betrothed as children,
07:50married at 16,
07:51parted 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,
08:01I kept that vow.
08:02I thought Henry would be the only man I'd ever have.
08:05And now,
08:06practically in my grave,
08:0720 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,
08:15I 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,
08:25maybe 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.
08:38Heat 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,
08:47I dream of Henry.
08:49Margaret,
08:49you 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.
08:58You 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,
09:12wraps an arm around my waist,
09:14and pulls me upright before 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,
09:27ignore 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.
09:57Agonists,
09:58draw a bath.
09:59Now.
10:00The marks Roland left on my neck
10:01are impossible to hide.
10:03I lock myself in my chambers for days,
10:05waiting for them to fade.
10:06The official story.
10:08I am well.
10:08I caught a chill climbing to the abbey
10:09and came down with a fever.
10:11Eleanor is a good girl.
10:12Even when I refuse visitors,
10:14she comes to the door of my private chapel
10:16every morning to ask after me.
10:18Days pass.
10:19Melody?
10:20Lady Eleanor came to see you again
10:22at 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,
10:42Eleanor bursts through the door
10:43and throws herself around my legs.
10:46Grandmother!
10:47You're finally seeing me!
10:49I thought you were angry
10:51because I snuck out that day
10:52and you had to come all the way up the mountain
10:54to find me.
10:54I'm so sorry.
10:56It was my fault.
10:57I nearly got taken by those awful men
10:59if you hadn't come for me.
11:02Geoffrey would have been so upset.
11:04Geoffrey Montfort.
11:05Eleanor's betrothed since childhood.
11:07Heir to the Montfort Duchy.
11:09A young knight who just earned his spurs
11:11before the king last year.
11:12The kind of man who rides off
11:14to the northern front the morning
11:16after his wedding.
11:17Leaving Eleanor alone
11:18to 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
11:31under the polite fiction of a ward.
11:33Eleanor pours her dowry into the Duchy's debts.
11:36She raises her husband's illegitimate child
11:38with patience and grace.
11:40She waits seven years.
11:41When Geoffrey finally returns from the wars,
11:44the first thing he does
11:45is petition the ecclesiastical court
11:47for 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
11:56as 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
12:06to pay a courtesy call.
12:08Eleanor has no protector.
12:09She 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
12:21and closes her eyes for the last time.
12:23And I,
12:24her grandmother,
12:25live long enough to watch her buried.
12:26Every time I think about Geoffrey kneeling at the altar,
12:29playing the pious knight,
12:30when he was calculating how to strip a spare
12:32from 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
12:40doesn't know any of this.
12:42She doesn't know her betrothed
12:44is 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 Geoffrey pushes for the wedding.
13:14Once Eleanor arrives with her dowry,
13:16he's free to ride north and chase glory.
13:18If I delay the marriage by two years,
13:20the Montforts won't last six months.
13:23Their rot will show through
13:25for the whole world to see.
13:26Let's see them come knocking on our door then.
13:29Eleanor blushes and nods,
13:30sweet as ever.
13:33I want to stay with you too.
13:35If you hadn't come for me that night,
13:37I don't know what would have happened.
13:39Dear Grandmother,
13:40you saved my life.
13:41I'll do whatever you say.
13:43I'll write to Geoffrey right now
13:44and tell him the wedding is postponed.
13:50My dear girl,
13:51I haven't loved you for nothing.
13:53As long as Eleanor never sets foot
13:55in that den of wolves,
13:56she'll never suffer what she suffered before.
13:58And if that nest of vipers
14:00goes bankrupt in the meantime,
14:02that's not our problem.
14:04My son Thomas and his wife Catherine
14:06are thrilled when they hear the news.
14:08They come to see me together that evening.
14:11Mother,
14:12did you hear something?
14:14Everyone's whispering
14:15that the Montforts are practically ruined.
14:17The old Duke's war reputation
14:18is the only thing keeping up appearances.
14:21Their estate income
14:22can't even cover household expenses.
14:25Apparently the servants
14:26haven't received their wages
14:28or livery allowances in months
14:29and 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,
14:42we'll find her a family
14:42that 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
14:48warms 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,
15:01Thomas was 12.
15:02I raised him alone.
15:03His wife Catherine
15:04is a distant relation of mine,
15:06a merchant's daughter, yes,
15:07but from a wealthy house
15:09in the previous life.
15:10Catherine and I nearly
15:11bankrupted ourselves for Eleanor.
15:12My dower.
15:13Catherine's remaining dowry funds.
15:15We poured everything we had
15:16into keeping that girl afloat
15:18in the Montfort household.
15:19That's the real reason
15:20the Everwoods fell so fast.
15:21This time,
15:22we will not let those leeches
15:23bleed us dry.
15:24I keep Eleanor close.
15:26Every morning,
15:27she comes to my private chapel
15:28to copy the book of hours
15:29with me and join in Lodz.
15:31I also order the servants
15:32to intercept every piece of correspondence
15:34between 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
15:44behind my back to meet a man.
15:46And without anyone to carry
15:47his honeyed words for him,
15:49how exactly does Jeffrey plan
15:50to manipulate my granddaughter?
15:52What I don't expect is for Jeffrey
15:54to show up in person,
15:55not even a fortnight later.
16:01Sir Jeffrey of Montfield
16:03is at the gate.
16:04He says he's here to call on you
16:06and Lady Eleanor.
16:07Thomas has taken Catherine
16:08to 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, milady.
16:19The Lord Protector is with him.
16:22Roland of Leon Hart.
16:24Every drop of blood drains from my face.
16:26The rosary beads rattle
16:28between my trembling fingers.
16:30He, he, why is he here?
16:33That night, in my panic,
16:34I blurted out who I was.
16:36My name, my title.
16:37Has he come to settle the score?
16:39Milade, the Lord Protector
16:40is the late king's youngest brother
16:41and his majesty's own uncle.
16:43The entire kingdom answers to him
16:45and they say he's merciless
16:46with those who cross him.
16:47Not a man anyone can afford to offend.
16:49As if I don't already know,
16:50I got a very thorough demonstration
16:52of 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
17:07and Sir Geoffrey to the great hall.
17:09In the great hall,
17:10I have the servants position
17:11an embroidered screen behind the dais.
17:13I sit behind it, rosary in hand,
17:16and nod for Agnes to pour the wine.
17:18I have been widowed many years
17:20and do not receive visitors in person.
17:22I beg your grace's forgiveness.
17:24My late husband Henry
17:25was the Earl of Everwood,
17:26a man who fought beside the late king
17:28and earned his honors on the battlefield.
17:30No one can expect
17:31a dowager countess past 50,
17:33still recovering from illness,
17:34to drag herself out in curtsy
17:36before a man young enough
17:37to be her son.
17:39No need to apologize.
17:41Sir Geoffrey and I arrived uninvited.
17:46I frown behind the screen.
17:48Forgive my bluntness, your grace.
17:51To what do we owe this visit?
17:53Geoffrey opens his mouth,
17:55but before a word comes out,
17:56Eleanor's voice rings from the doorway.
18:01Geoffrey, what are you doing here?
18:05Eleanor, thank God you're all right.
18:08I'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
18:19to deliver them.
18:20I'll look into it.
18:21Then her gaze drifts
18:22to the man seated beside Geoffrey.
18:24And this gentleman is?
18:28Eleanor, 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, nothing more.
18:38His gaze doesn't linger on her,
18:40but my hands are clenched
18:41so tight around the rosary
18:42that the beads bite into my palms.
18:44In the last life,
18:44it 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
18:52when Roland's voice cuts through.
18:54Where was this young lady?
18:55Did she by any chance
18:56visit Epis and Andrew's Abbey
18:57outside the city?
18:59That single question
19:00squeezes my chest like a fist.
19:03Eleanor is innocent,
19:04but she's not stupid.
19:06She knows what happened that night,
19:07the ambush,
19:08the men who knocked her unconscious,
19:09how close she came
19:11to being dragged away.
19:12No, your grace.
19:13Two weeks ago,
19:15I was here at home
19:15keeping grandmother company.
19:18I didn't go anywhere.
19:20That's right.
19:21Eleanor is a devoted girl.
19:24She knows this old woman
19:25gets lonely,
19:25so she stays close.
19:27Now, Sir Jeffrey,
19:28while you're here,
19:29there's a matter
19:30I'd like to discuss.
19:31Eleanor is not in good health.
19:33I've had a physician examine her
19:34and he says she needs
19:35at least two or three more years
19:37of rest
19:37before she should even
19:38think about marriage.
19:39The wedding will be postponed.
19:41No!
19:42Eleanor blinks.
19:43She's never heard him
19:44use that tone.
19:45Not once.
19:46He's always played
19:47the gentle knight
19:48in her presence,
19:49soft voice,
19:50kind eyes,
19:50courtly bows.
19:51Jeffrey,
19:52why not?
19:53Grandmother is looking out for us.
19:55Why would you speak
19:56to her like that?
19:57Forgive me, Eleanor.
19:58I love you so much.
20:00I just want to stand with you
20:01at the altar
20:02as soon as possible.
20:03Two or three more years.
20:05I don't know
20:06if I can bear the weight.
20:07Eleanor's health
20:08comes before everything.
20:10If Sir Jeffrey
20:11finds the weight
20:12unaborable,
20:12perhaps it would be best
20:14to dissolve the betrothal
20:15altogether
20:15and seek a more
20:16suitable match.
20:17My lady,
20:18you misunderstand.
20:19That's not what I meant
20:20at all.
20:20It's just,
20:21it's,
20:21it's just...
20:24Just what?
20:26Just that the Montfeiards
20:28are hemorrhaging money.
20:30And you need
20:31my granddaughter's dowry
20:32to plug the holes.
20:40Grandmother.
20:41I catch Agnes's eye.
20:43Agnes takes Eleanor's arm
20:44and shakes her head gently.
20:45Not now.
20:46Eleanor doesn't understand,
20:48but she obeys.
20:49Steps back.
20:50Stays quiet.
20:51Good girl.
20:52My Ellie.
20:53Every ounce of effort
20:54I've poured into
20:55protecting you,
20:56worth it.
20:56Jeffrey stares at me
20:57through the screen,
20:59jaw clenched,
20:59knuckles white.
21:00I can practically hear
21:02the gears grinding
21:02behind his eyes.
21:03I stare right back.
21:05This is the man
21:06who destroyed my granddaughter
21:07in another life.
21:08I have nothing to say
21:10to him that isn't
21:10laced with venom.
21:12Sir Jeffrey,
21:12I believe I've made
21:13myself clear.
21:14You know the state
21:15of the Montfield house
21:16better than anyone.
21:17I shouldn't need
21:17to spell it out.
21:19Elena is the most
21:20precious thing
21:21the Everwood family has.
21:23Her parents and I
21:24will not send her
21:25somewhere she'll suffer.
21:26If you truly love her,
21:28I'll give you three years.
21:30Restore the Montfield name.
21:32Prove you can provide
21:33for her.
21:34Fail,
21:34and this betrothal
21:36is finished.
21:36Do you have the nerve
21:37to take that wager?
21:39I almost laugh out loud.
21:40Three years?
21:42He won't last one.
21:43Without Everwood money
21:44propping them up,
21:45the entire Montford estate
21:46will be begging for scraps
21:48within months.
21:48The blow lands.
21:50Jeffrey sways on his feet
21:51like I've struck him
21:52across the face.
21:57My lady,
21:58is that really
21:59what you think of me?
22:01A man of no worth?
22:03Yes.
22:04I figured that out
22:05a lifetime ago.
22:06You're nothing but a leech
22:07that latched onto my family
22:09and sucked us dry.
22:10And those so-called
22:11battlefield glories of yours?
22:12Compared to my grandsons,
22:14they're not worth
22:15the breath it takes
22:16to speak of them.
22:18Eleanor,
22:19can't you see?
22:20Your grandmother
22:21is deliberately
22:21sabotaging us.
22:23She doesn't want you
22:23to marry me.
22:25Eleanor's voice shakes.
22:26Angry tears spill over.
22:29She's thinking about
22:30our future.
22:31She's pushing you
22:31to be better.
22:32Why can't you just...
22:33Why won't you listen?
22:34So you look down
22:35on us too
22:36because the Montfields
22:37have fallen on hard times.
22:39This betrothal
22:40was sealed by your grandfather
22:41and mine while they still lived.
22:43And now the Everwoods
22:44break their word
22:45like it means nothing?
22:46Is this the honor
22:47of your house?
22:48I'm trembling with rage
22:49behind the screen.
22:50If he hadn't schemed
22:51against us first,
22:52the Everwoods
22:53would never have needed
22:54to break anything.
22:55Then,
22:56from the far side
22:57of the hall,
22:57where Roland has been
22:58leaning back in his chair,
22:59drinking hippocras
23:00as if watching
23:01a mildly entertaining tournament.
23:03Enough.
23:05Lady Everfield
23:06is the widow
23:06of a war hero.
23:07She holds
23:08the late king's
23:09personal writ
23:09of protection.
23:10She is your grandfather's peer.
23:12And you dare
23:13speak to her this way.
23:15I'd like to know
23:15how old Duke Montford
23:16raised his eads.
23:18If he couldn't manage the job,
23:19I'm happy to finish it for him.
23:21The Everwoods,
23:22I'll admit,
23:23have no one fearsome
23:24in this generation.
23:25My Thomas,
23:26God love him,
23:27is an honest man
23:28with a minor court appointment
23:29and none of his father's fire.
23:30William,
23:31Eleanor's brother,
23:32holds no title yet,
23:33no office.
23:35Offend us,
23:36and the consequences
23:37are manageable.
23:38But Roland,
23:39the late king's
23:40youngest brother,
23:41uncle to the boy
23:42on the throne,
23:42the man whose frown
23:43makes the entire king's
23:44council hold its breath.
23:46That's a different
23:46calculation entirely.
23:49Your grace,
23:50forgive me.
23:51I spoke in haste.
23:52I forgot myself.
23:54I accept
23:55Lady Everwood's terms.
23:57I'll ride
23:57to the northern marges.
23:59In three years,
24:00I'll prove my worth
24:01on the battlefield
24:01and return to seek
24:02Lady Eleanor's hand.
24:04Before you leave,
24:05report to my marshal.
24:07Twenty straptures.
24:08The heir leaves the room.
24:10Everyone knows
24:11what that means
24:11for a night.
24:12Twenty lashes
24:13is not pain.
24:14Twenty lashes
24:15is humiliation.
24:16Then Roland's gaze lifts,
24:18and even through
24:19the embroidered screen,
24:20I feel it land
24:20directly on my face.
24:22Does that satisfy you,
24:23my lady?
24:24Satisfy me?
24:25I could weep with joy.
24:27If he could simply
24:28whip the cur to death,
24:29I'd save myself
24:30years of trouble.
24:31Your grace,
24:32I defer entirely
24:33to your judgment.
24:34The screen still
24:35stands between us.
24:36Roland can't see
24:37my face clearly.
24:38That's my only comfort.
24:40I plead fatigue
24:41and rise to leave.
24:43Your grace,
24:43I am old
24:44and only recently
24:45recovered from illness.
24:46I cannot sit much longer.
24:47I'll retire to my chambers.
24:50Eleanor,
24:50see our guests out.
24:52Yes, grandmother.
24:53But Roland
24:53turns to Jeffrey first.
24:55You,
24:56leave.
24:57Jeffrey's jaw tightens.
24:58He wants to argue
24:59anyone can see it,
25:00but he doesn't dare
25:01defy the Lord Protector
25:02to his face.
25:03He forces a stiff bow.
25:05I take my leave.
25:06And storms out.
25:08Eleanor watches him go,
25:09then turns back
25:10to Roland with wide.
25:11Your grace,
25:12it's getting late.
25:13Aren't you heading back
25:14as well?
25:15Roland's entire demeanor shifts.
25:17Where Jeffrey received
25:18cold steel,
25:19Eleanor gets warmth.
25:20He even winks at her.
25:21My lady,
25:22it is getting late.
25:23I'm rather tired.
25:25I was hoping
25:26to stay the night
25:27at Everwood Manor
25:28if you'd be willing
25:29to take me in.
25:30My blood goes cold.
25:31In the last life,
25:32Roland was the one
25:33who violated Eleanor.
25:34This time it was me instead.
25:36But Eleanor is sweet,
25:37lovely,
25:37young.
25:38What's to stop him
25:39from developing ideas?
25:41Your grace,
25:41there are only two women
25:42in this house
25:43and no male head
25:43of household present.
25:44An unmarried man
25:45staying the night
25:46would 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
25:53the Lord Protector
25:54of the realm
25:54out onto the road?
25:55Your grace,
25:56please don't be offended.
25:58Grandmother has lived
25:58quietly for many years.
26:00She's simply not
26:01accustomed to visitors.
26:02There's an old solely
26:03on the west side
26:04of the manor.
26:05It was my grandfather's
26:06study when he was alive
26:07where he read
26:08and handled estate business.
26:09If your grace wouldn't mind,
26:11you're welcome
26:11to stay there
26:11for the night.
26:13Eleanor.
26:14Clever girl.
26:15Color floods
26:16Eleanor's cheeks.
26:17She ducks her head.
26:18Your grace flatters me.
26:19My stomach drops.
26:21Is he flirting
26:22with my granddaughter?
26:23I'm not worried
26:24about Jeffrey anymore.
26:25After today,
26:26Eleanor has seen
26:27through his mask.
26:27She won't cling
26:28to that sinking ship.
26:30But if she turns around
26:31and falls for the Lord Protector,
26:33I can't exactly tell her.
26:34The man you're blushing at
26:36has already bedded
26:36your grandmother.
26:37God would rain fire
26:38and brimstone
26:39on this house.
26:40No.
26:41Absolutely not.
26:42I just pulled Eleanor
26:44out of one wolf's jaws.
26:45I will not push her
26:46into another's arms.
26:47Eleanor.
26:48Come here.
26:49Come stand beside me.
26:51Agnes,
26:51escort his grace
26:52to the west solar.
26:54Coming, grandmother.
26:55Eleanor turns
26:56and hurries toward me
26:58and catches her foot
26:59on something.
27:00She stumbles,
27:01crashes into the screen
27:02and knocks it
27:03several inches
27:04to the side.
27:05For one horrible,
27:06frozen moment,
27:07there is nothing
27:08between Roland and me
27:09but open air.
27:10Our eyes lock.
27:11My heart slams
27:12against my ribs.
27:13His gaze is sharp.
27:15Searching.
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
27:26the one thing
27:26that makes me want
27:27the floor
27:27to open up
27:28and swallow me whole.
27:29My lady,
27:30have we met before?
27:33Ha, your grace,
27:34a man as busy as yourself
27:35can hardly be expected
27:36to remember every face.
27:37But now that you mention it,
27:39your grace,
27:40don't you recall?
27:41Years ago,
27:42when I visited the palace
27:43to pay my respects
27:44to Queen Mother Isabel,
27:45I held you in my arms.
27:47You were still
27:48a nursing babe.
27:49The moment I picked you up,
27:50you wet yourself
27:51all over my gown.
27:52My, how the years fly.
27:54Look at you now,
27:56all grown up.
27:58That's right, boy.
28:00You want to match wits
28:01with this old woman?
28:02You're 20 years too green.
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