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The Protector's Forty-Nine-Year-Old Lady - Full Movie | Short
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00:11He pins my wrists above my head with one hand, my own rosary beads tangled between his fingers
00:16and mine, and tilts my chin up with the other, forcing me to look at him, 25 years old, jaw
00:22carved from marble, eyes dark with fever and want, want, for me, a woman of 49 with
00:29aching knees and grey at her temples.
00:37His pace is relentless.
00:39I scream, three times.
00:49I am the Dowager Countess of Everwood.
00:51I came to rescue my granddaughter from an abduction.
00:54Instead, I ran headlong into the Lord Protector of the Realm, drugged out of his mind and burning
00:59alive with poison.
01:00He pinned me down.
01:02One catastrophic night later.
01:04Me?
01:05The Lord Protector?
01:06In my previous life, my granddaughter Eleanor was violated before her wedding.
01:10After the marriage, her husband bled her dry, funneled her entire dowry into his debts, and
01:16made her raise his mistress's baspert as her own.
01:18In the end, she was sent to a condent.
01:20She spent the rest of her days behind those cold stone walls, watching the man who destroyed
01:25her live a respectable life with another woman, raising children that should have been hers.
01:30No one came to visit.
01:32No one came to mourn when she died.
01:34Then I wake up.
01:35And I'm back.
01:37Back to the weeks before Eleanor's wedding.
01:39I can't stand by and watch history repeat itself.
01:42My legs ache, they always ache, but I grab my walking stack and in the dead of night I climb
01:47the stone steps up the hill to the abbey.
01:50Eleanor!
01:51I'm here my child!
01:52I won't let that beast lay a finger on you!
01:55I remember it clearly.
01:56Last time, Eleanor went to St. Andrew's Abbey for mass, and the Lord Protector's wretched
02:01attendant snatched her, dragged her to his master's chambers, and threw her to him like
02:05medicine for a fever.
02:07Except, I'm early.
02:08The attendant hasn't taken Eleanor yet.
02:11I'm the one the Lord Protector catches instead.
02:17God have mercy.
02:19I lost my husband at 30.
02:21Nearly 20 years without a man's touch.
02:23And now a boy barely past 25 has his arms locked around me like a vice.
02:27I grip my walking stick.
02:30Un-unhand me!
02:31I am the Dowage Countess of Everwood!
02:34Let go of me this instant!
02:36I'm old enough to be your grandmother in rank!
02:39Roland of Leonhart, the Lord Protector of the Realm.
02:43Forged in military campaigns, built like a battering ram, efface all hard angles and
02:47sharp authority.
02:48He commands the kingdom's armies, controls the Privy Council, holds more power than any
02:53man alive.
02:54My words don't make him let go.
02:56They make him tip my chin up with his fingers and seal his mouth over mine.
03:02What are you mumbering about?
03:04The scent on you, it's calming.
03:07It makes me feel safe.
03:08Of course it does.
03:09Years of kneeling in chapel have soaked frankincense into my very skin.
03:12The rest is parchment and iron gull ink from copying scripture.
03:15Naturally calming.
03:16But that is not the point.
03:18The point is, my name day is next month.
03:20And I will be 50 years old.
03:23I probably smell like dust and old lavender sachets.
03:26And he's still kissing me?
03:27Blessed virgin, how long has this man been starved?
03:31Let go of me.
03:33My walking stick clatters onto the stone floor.
03:36But what chance does a woman pushing 50 have against a young man built like a warhorse?
03:40He scoops me up with one arm and sets me on the oak table.
03:46A heartbeat later, my flaying hands are bind.
03:49With my own rosary.
03:51Be good.
03:53Give yourself to me.
03:54I'll take responsibility.
03:56Holy mother of God.
03:57That makes it worse.
03:59If he takes responsibility.
04:01How do I explain this to Henry?
04:03Dead 20 years.
04:04To my 32 year old son.
04:06To my 16 year old grandson and 15 year old granddaughter.
04:09What am I supposed to say?
04:11Children.
04:12Grandmother found you a new grandfather.
04:15He's 25.
04:18I'd rather you just killed me.
04:20My little witch.
04:22That can be arranged.
04:23He rips the lacing clean off my kirtle.
04:25Strips of linen chemise fly everywhere and I, I lose my mind.
04:29That's not what I meant!
04:31So, a woman of nearly 50, ravished by the lord protector of the realm.
04:36All night long.
04:37Thank God I've taken care of myself.
04:39To Zan's, hippocrats, regular walks up the hill to the abbey for Massachusetts decades of discipline.
04:45Otherwise, he truly would have killed me.
04:49Somewhere around midnight, a knock sounds at the door.
04:52Your grace, the girl's here to help you break the fever.
04:54What he hears in response is, not conversation.
04:57The sounds coming from inside that room are deeply, profoundly improper.
05:01Roland doesn't stop.
05:02Doesn't even slow down.
05:04Just turns his head and snars.
05:05Get out!
05:06Ah, your grace already has company.
05:11I'll return the young lady at once.
05:14Save.
05:15Save me!
05:16Roland clamps a hand over my mouth.
05:19Don't scream.
05:20I'll have you begging soon enough.
05:23He is...
05:24Formidable.
05:25More formidable than Henry was on our wedding night 34 years ago.
05:28And Henry had been a young man then.
05:30We married at 16.
05:32By 25, Henry was already flagging.
05:35By 30, he left me all together, went to meet his maker.
05:39This kind of vigor?
05:40I've only ever read about it in those courtly romances.
05:44Lancelot, Tristan, none of them hold a candle.
05:47The pleasure is like nothing I...
05:49How is this even possible?
05:51You're enjoying it too.
05:54Aren't you?
05:55That night, we are utterly shameless.
05:58The rosary snaps.
05:59Beads scatter across the linen sheets, clicking softly, catching the firelight.
06:03That rosary, my most treasured possession, blessed by Father Benedict's own hand.
06:08I used it every single day in prayer.
06:11At first, I can't fight him.
06:13Later, I don't want to.
06:15It is magnificent.
06:16I never imagined, not at my age, with one foot already in the grave, that I could feel
06:21something like this.
06:22But beneath the bliss, a cold thread of worry coils in my chest.
06:26This man controls the kingdom.
06:28The Everwoods are respectable, yes.
06:31But we are no great house.
06:33If Roland decides to destroy us, it takes nothing more than a stroke of his pen.
06:37I can't drag my family into this.
06:40So when he finally falls asleep, I peel myself free of his arms and slip away.
06:44The damage he's done to my body is... considerable.
06:47I can barely stand.
06:49My walking stick trembles against the flagstones with every step.
06:53The stone stairs down the hillside are a special kind of torture.
06:57My legs buckle.
06:58My hips scream.
06:59The stick skids on the steps three separate times, and each time I nearly pitch forward
07:03into empty air.
07:05Somehow, somehow I make it to the bottom.
07:08Agnes, my lady's maid, waits by the carriage.
07:11Milady, Lady Eleanor was returned safely.
07:14I've been waiting ages.
07:15You look dreadful.
07:16Did something happen?
07:17Eleanor is safe.
07:18I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.
07:21Agnes is still staring at me.
07:23I wave her off.
07:25Nothing happened.
07:26I dozed off in the guest quarters, that's all.
07:28Lost track of time.
07:29Eleanor's safe.
07:30That's what matters.
07:32Take me home.
07:32In the carriage, I clench my hands together, close my eyes, and pray.
07:37Holy Mary, have mercy on me.
07:40Holy Mary, have mercy on me.
07:42Let no one ever learn of this.
07:44Not in this life.
07:45Not ever.
07:47But my mind won't cooperate.
07:49It keeps replaying, his face, the breadth of his shoulders, the relentless way he moved.
07:54Henry.
07:55I tried to summon Henry's face.
07:57My husband.
07:58We were betrothed as children, married at 16, parted by death at 30.
08:03I never remarried.
08:04Nearly 20 years.
08:06I swore at his coffin that no man would ever touch me again.
08:1020 years, I kept that vow.
08:12I thought Henry would be the only man I'd ever have.
08:15And now, practically in my grave, 20 years of faithfulness shattered in a single night.
08:21Henry.
08:22God rest your soul.
08:24I'm so sorry.
08:24Back at the manor, I order the servants to fill the wooden tub with hot water in my bedchamber.
08:29No one stays in the room.
08:31I want to scrub this night off my skin.
08:33If I scrub hard enough, maybe it never happened.
08:36But the marks on my body tell a different story.
08:39They're everywhere.
08:40Vivid proof of just how vigorous he was.
08:43At my age.
08:45Nearly 50 years old.
08:46Handled like that.
08:48Heat crawls up my neck.
08:49My cheeks burn.
08:51Margaret Everwood.
08:52Shame on you.
08:54You're practically ancient.
08:56Stop thinking about it.
08:57That night, I dream of Henry.
08:59Margaret, you swore on my coffin.
09:02You said there'd be no other man.
09:03You said we'd be buried together in the family crypt.
09:07I've been waiting for you in heaven for 20 years.
09:09You won't come down fine.
09:10But you found yourself a 25-year-old lover?
09:13I'm sorry.
09:14I'm sorry, Henry.
09:16I didn't mean to break my vow.
09:18He was too strong.
09:19I was forced, I swear.
09:21Then Roland appears out of nowhere.
09:23Wraps an arm around my waist.
09:25And pulls me upright before I can bow again.
09:28He kicks Henry square in the chest.
09:30Henry vanishes.
09:31You're a dead man.
09:32The living are none of your concern.
09:34Then Roland covers my ears with his palms.
09:36Gently.
09:37Like I'm something fragile.
09:39Margaret, ignore that old ghost.
09:40Everything he said is nonsense.
09:42You deserve the finest man in the world.
09:45I stare up at him.
09:46The finest man in the world.
09:50The finest man in the world?
09:55Shameless.
09:56Absolutely shameless.
09:58You love it when I'm shameless.
09:59He kisses me.
10:01I wake drenched in sweat.
10:03Burning up.
10:04It's barely spring.
10:06There's no reason for this heat.
10:09Agonist, draw a bath.
10:10Now.
10:11The marks Roland left on my neck are impossible to hide.
10:14I lock myself in my chambers for days, waiting for them to fade.
10:18The official story.
10:19I caught a chill climbing to the abbey and came down with a fever.
10:23Eleanor is a good girl.
10:24Even when I refuse visitors, she comes to the door of my private chapel every morning to ask after me.
10:30Days pass.
10:31Melody.
10:32Lady Eleanor came to see you again at first light.
10:35Shall I still turn her away?
10:37I glance at the window.
10:39Pale light.
10:40Quiet grounds.
10:42No strangers at the gate.
10:43No one has come looking for me.
10:46Maybe it's over.
10:47Let her in.
10:48Tell her I'm much better.
10:50Agnes beams.
10:51Right away.
10:52A moment later, Eleanor bursts through the door and throws herself around my legs.
10:59Grandmother!
10:59You're finally seeing me!
11:01I thought you were angry because I snuck out that day and you had to come all the way up
11:06the mountain to find me.
11:07I'm so sorry.
11:08It was my fault.
11:09I nearly got taken by those awful men if you hadn't come for me.
11:14Jeffrey would have been so upset.
11:17Jeffrey Montfort.
11:18Eleanor's betrothed since childhood.
11:20Heir to the Montfort Duchy.
11:22A young knight who just earned his spurs before the king last year.
11:25The kind of man who rides off to the northern front the morning after his wedding.
11:30Leaving Eleanor alone to manage a crumbling estate.
11:33While he keeps a mistress across the border.
11:35Gets her pregnant.
11:37And the worst part?
11:38The entire Montfort household knows.
11:40They blame Eleanor for failing to produce an heir.
11:43Then force her to raise the bastard under the polite fiction of a ward.
11:46Eleanor pours her dowry into the Duchy's debts.
11:49She raises her husband's illegitimate child with patience and grace.
11:53She waits seven years.
11:55When Jeffrey finally returns from the wars.
11:57The first thing he does is petition the ecclesiastical court for an annulment.
12:01Citing consanguinity.
12:02Some threat of distant cousinship.
12:04So he can marry his mistress.
12:06And in open court.
12:08He announces that the child Eleanor raised as her own is his bastard.
12:12Always was.
12:13By then.
12:14Everwoods are nothing.
12:16Our influence has withered.
12:17Our halls stand empty.
12:19And not a single soul bothers to pay a courtesy call.
12:22Eleanor has no protector.
12:23She can't fight a man riding the crest of military glory.
12:26She endures it in silence.
12:28Then she collapses.
12:30No one visits.
12:31No one sends for a physician.
12:33She lies alone in an empty room and closes her eyes for the last time.
12:37And I, her grandmother, live long enough to watch her buried.
12:40Every time I think about Jeffrey kneeling at the altar, playing the pious knight, when he was calculating how to
12:45strip a spare from the very beginning, every vow he made before God.
12:49A lie.
12:49My hands shake so badly I want to wrap them around his throat.
12:52But the Eleanor standing before me right now doesn't know any of this.
12:56She doesn't know her betrothed is a devil wearing a saint's mask.
13:00I can't tell her.
13:02Not yet.
13:04So I take her hands and smile.
13:07Ellie, you're still so young.
13:10And you're my only granddaughter.
13:12I can't bear to let you go just yet.
13:15Stay with me a little longer.
13:18Two more years.
13:19Can you do that?
13:20Two more years.
13:21Just two years.
13:23Here's what I know from the last life.
13:25The Montforts are drowning.
13:26That's why Jeffrey pushes for the wedding.
13:29Once Eleanor arrives with her dowry, he's free to ride north and chase glory.
13:33If I delay the marriage by two years, the Montforts won't last six months.
13:38Their rot will show through for the whole world to see.
13:41Let's see them come knocking on our door then.
13:43Eleanor blushes and nods, sweet as ever.
13:48I want to stay with you too.
13:50If you hadn't come for me that night, I don't know what would have happened.
13:54Dear grandmother, you saved my life.
13:56I'll do whatever you say.
13:58I'll write to Jeffrey right now and tell him the wedding is postponed.
14:05My dear girl, I haven't loved you for nothing.
14:09As long as Eleanor never sets foot in that den of wolves, she'll never suffer what she suffered before.
14:13And if that nest of vipers goes bankrupt in the meantime, that's not our problem.
14:19My son Thomas and his wife Catherine are thrilled when they hear the news.
14:23They come to see me together that evening.
14:27Mother, did you hear something?
14:29Everyone's whispering that the Montforts are practically ruined.
14:32The old Duke's war reputation is the only thing keeping up appearances.
14:37Their estate income can't even cover household expenses.
14:41Apparently the servants haven't received their wages or livery allowances in months and the pantry is nearly bare.
14:48Eleanor is my only daughter.
14:49I won't watch her suffer.
14:53This is perfect timing, mother.
14:55Give it a couple of years.
14:56Once Eleanor's gotten over her stubbornness, we'll find her a family that actually deserves her.
14:59She can stay right here by your side.
15:01Wouldn't that be better?
15:03Seeing them both on my side warms my old bones more than any fire.
15:08Good.
15:09I'm glad we're all in agreement.
15:11Henry and I only had Thomas.
15:13I adored him from the day he drew breath.
15:15When his father died, Thomas was 12.
15:18I raised him alone.
15:19His wife Catherine is a distant relation of mine, a merchant's daughter, yes.
15:24But from a wealthy house in the previous life, Catherine and I nearly bankrupted ourselves for Eleanor.
15:29My dower.
15:30Catherine's remaining dowry funds.
15:32We poured everything we had into keeping that girl afloat in the Montfort household.
15:35That's the real reason the Everwoods fell so fast.
15:38This time, we will not let those lieges bleed us dry.
15:40I keep Eleanor close.
15:42Every morning, she comes to my private chapel to copy the book of hours with me and join in Lodz.
15:47I also order the servants to intercept every piece of correspondence between Eleanor and Jeffrey.
15:52Every letter.
15:53No exceptions.
15:55My Eleanor is a proper nobleman's daughter, raised with impeccable manners.
16:00She would never sneak around behind my back to meet a man.
16:03And without anyone to carry his honeyed words for him, how exactly does Jeffrey plan to manipulate my granddaughter?
16:08What I don't expect is for Jeffrey to show up in person.
16:12Not even a fortnight later.
16:16Milade.
16:18Sir Jeffrey of Montfield is at the gate.
16:21He says he's here to call on you and Lady Eleanor.
16:24Thomas has taken Catherine to visit her family.
16:27It's just Eleanor and me at the manor.
16:29My fingers go still on the rosary.
16:32Turn him away.
16:34He's not alone, Milady.
16:36The Lord Protector is with him.
16:39Roland of Leonhart.
16:41Every drop of blood drains from my face.
16:44The rosary beads rattle between my trembling fingers.
16:48He... he...
16:49Why is he here?
16:50That night, in my panic, I blurted out who I was.
16:53My name.
16:54My title.
16:55Has he come to settle the score?
16:56Milade.
16:57The Lord Protector is the late king's youngest brother and his majesty's own uncle.
17:00The entire kingdom answers to him, and they say he's merciless with those who cross him.
17:05Not a man anyone can afford to offend.
17:07As if I don't already know, I got a very thorough demonstration of his intensity that night.
17:12I force myself to breathe.
17:14Think, Margaret.
17:15He was poisoned that night.
17:17Delirious.
17:18Out of his mind.
17:19He might not remember an old woman's face.
17:22Prepare hippoprash.
17:24Show the Lord Protector and Sir Jeffrey to the Great Hall.
17:27In the Great Hall, I have the servant's position and embroidered screen behind the dais.
17:32I sit behind it, rosary in hand, and nod for Agnes to pour the wine.
17:36I have been widowed many years and do not receive visitors in person.
17:41I beg your grace's forgiveness.
17:42My late husband Henry was the Earl of Everwood, a man who fought beside the late king and earned
17:47his honors on the battlefield.
17:48No one can expect a dowager countess past 50, still recovering from illness, to drag herself
17:53out in curtsy before a man young enough to be her son.
17:57No need to apologize.
17:59Sir Jeffrey and I arrived uninvited.
18:05I frown behind the screen.
18:07Forgive my bluntness, your grace.
18:09To what do we owe this visit?
18:12Jeffrey opens his mouth, but before a word comes out, Eleanor's voice rings from the doorway.
18:20Jeffrey, what are you doing here?
18:24Eleanor, thank God you're all right.
18:27I've written to you every day.
18:28You never replied.
18:29I was worried something had happened.
18:31Letters.
18:32What letters?
18:34Grandmother hasn't been well.
18:35She asked me to stay by her side.
18:37The servants must have forgotten to deliver them.
18:39I'll look into it.
18:40Then her gaze drifts to the man seated beside Jeffrey.
18:43And this gentleman is?
18:48Eleanor, mind your manners.
18:49This is his grace.
18:50The Lord Protector.
18:52Your grace.
18:53Please forgive my rudeness.
18:55Roland says nothing.
18:56A slight nod.
18:57Nothing more.
18:58His gaze doesn't linger on her.
19:00But my hands are clenched so tight around the rosary that the beads bite into my palms.
19:03In the last life, it was Roland who ruined Eleanor.
19:05Eleanor's eyes.
19:06She looks like me.
19:07Please, God.
19:09Please don't let him see the resemblance.
19:10My mind is spiraling when Roland's voice cuts through.
19:13Where was this young lady?
19:15Did she by any chance visit Epi St. Andrew's Abbey outside the city?
19:19That single question squeezes my chest like a fist.
19:23Eleanor is innocent, but she's not stupid.
19:25She knows what happened that night, the ambush, the men who knocked her unconscious, how close she came to being
19:31dragged away.
19:32Know your grace.
19:33Two weeks ago, I was here at home, keeping grandmother company.
19:38I didn't go anywhere.
19:40That's right.
19:41Eleanor is a devoted girl.
19:43She knows this old woman gets lonely, so she stays close.
19:47Now, Sir Jeffrey, while you're here, there's a matter I'd like to discuss.
19:52Eleanor is not in good health.
19:53I've had a physician examine her, and he says she needs at least two or three more years of rest
19:57before she should even think about marriage.
20:00The wedding will be postponed.
20:01No!
20:02Eleanor blinks.
20:04She's never heard him use that tone.
20:06Not once.
20:07He's always played the gentle knight in her presence.
20:09Soft voice, kind eyes, courtly bows.
20:12Jeffrey, why not?
20:14Grandmother is looking out for us.
20:16Why would you speak to her like that?
20:18Forgive me, Eleanor.
20:19I love you so much.
20:21I just want to stand with you at the altar as soon as possible.
20:23Two or three more years.
20:26I don't know if I can bear the weight.
20:28Eleanor's health comes before everything.
20:31If Sir Jeffrey finds the weight unaborable, perhaps it would be best to dissolve the betrothal altogether and seek a
20:37more suitable match.
20:38My lady, you misunderstand.
20:40That's not what I meant at all.
20:41It's just, it's, it's just...
20:45Just what?
20:47Just that the Montfeiards are hemorrhaging money.
20:51And you need my granddaughter's dowry to plug the holes.
21:01Grandmother.
21:02I catch Agnes's eye.
21:04Agnes takes Eleanor's arm and shakes her head gently.
21:07Not now.
21:07Eleanor doesn't understand, but she obeys.
21:10Steps back.
21:11Stays quiet.
21:12Good girl.
21:13My Ellie.
21:14Every ounce of effort I've poured into protecting you, worth it.
21:18Jeffrey stares at me through the screen, jaw clenched.
21:21Knuckles white.
21:22I can practically hear the gears grinding behind his eyes.
21:25I stare right back.
21:26This is the man who destroyed my granddaughter in another life.
21:30I have nothing to say to him that isn't laced with venom.
21:33Sir Jeffrey, I believe I've made myself clear.
21:36You know the state of the Montfield house better than anyone.
21:38I shouldn't need to spell it out.
21:41Elena is the most precious thing the Everwood family has.
21:45Her parents and I will not send her somewhere.
21:47She'll suffer.
21:48If you truly love her, I'll give you three years.
21:52Restore the Montfield name.
21:54Prove you can provide for her.
21:56Fail.
21:56And this betrothal is finished.
21:58Do you have the nerve to take that wager?
22:01I almost laugh out loud.
22:03Three years?
22:04He won't last one.
22:05Without Everwood money propping them up, the entire Montford estate will be begging for scraps within months.
22:11The blow lands.
22:12Jeffrey sways on his feet like I've struck him across the face.
22:19My lady, is that really what you think of me?
22:24A man of no worth?
22:25Yes.
22:26I figured that out a lifetime ago.
22:29You're nothing but a leech that latched onto my family and sucked us dry.
22:32And those so-called battlefield glories of yours?
22:35Compared to my grandsons, they're not worth the breath it takes to speak of them.
22:40In the last life, Catherine and I bled ourselves white for Eleanor.
22:43My dower.
22:45Catherine's remaining dowry.
22:47We poured it all into keeping that girl alive inside the Montford household.
22:50My grandson William, the sole heir to the Everwood name, never complained.
22:55Not once.
22:56He even rode north to the border wars, trying to rebuild our family's honor with his own sword arm.
23:01And that wretch Jeffrey stole it from him.
23:03Jeffrey was William's second in command.
23:05In the decisive battle, when everything hung in the balance, Jeffrey abandoned his commander.
23:10Gathered the survivors and retreated.
23:12When word came that William had fallen, Jeffrey claimed the victory as his own,
23:17wrapped himself in stolen glory and rode home a hero.
23:19Meanwhile, my grandson, given up for dad, with no one coming to find him,
23:24led a few hundred household cavalry deep behind enemy lines,
23:27struck the enemy camp, and recaptured the lost territory.
23:30A feat worthy of the chronicles.
23:33But by the time William returned and the truth came out,
23:35his sister was already in the ground.
23:38She never lived to see the Everwood name mean something again.
23:41This time, I've laid the groundwork years in advance.
23:44I'd like to see Jeffrey try to steal my grandson's glory now.
23:47The longer I look at Jeffrey, the more my stomach turns.
23:50And with Roland sitting right there, I have no patience for drawn-out games.
23:55Enough.
23:56I've said what I came to say.
23:58The Everwood family's position should be perfectly clear to you now, Sir Jeffrey.
24:03If you refuse these terms, I'll petition the king myself.
24:06My late husband was a knight banneret, sworn and belted by the late king's own hand.
24:10I trust his majesty will grant me the courtesy of dissolving this betrothal.
24:15Jeffrey's genteel facade shatters.
24:18Eleanor and I are in love!
24:20You meddling old crone, you tear us apart!
24:23Eleanor's head snaps toward him.
24:25Her eyes blaze.
24:27Jeffrey Montfeld, what did you just call my grandmother?
24:32Eleanor, can't you see?
24:34Your grandmother is deliberately sabotaging us.
24:37She doesn't want you to marry me.
24:39Eleanor's voice shakes.
24:40Angry tears spill over.
24:43She's thinking about our future.
24:45She's pushing you to be better.
24:47Why can't you just- why won't you listen?
24:49So you look down on us too!
24:50Because the Montfields have fallen on hard times!
24:53This betrothal was sealed by your grandfather and mine while they still lived.
24:57And now the Everwoods break their word like it means nothing?
25:00Is this the honor of your house?
25:02I'm trembling with rage behind the screen.
25:05If he hadn't schemed against us first, the Everwoods would never have needed to break anything.
25:10Then, from the far side of the hall, where Roland has been leaning back in his chair,
25:14drinking Hippocrats as if watching a mildly entertaining tournament.
25:35The Everwoods, I'll admit, have no one fearsome in this generation.
25:40My Thomas, God love him, is an honest man with a minor court appointment and none of his father's fire.
25:45William, Eleanor's brother, holds no title yet, no office.
25:50Offend us, and the consequences are manageable.
25:53But Roland, the late king's youngest brother, uncle to the boy on the throne,
25:58the man whose frown makes the entire king's council hold its breath.
26:01That's a different calculation entirely.
26:04Your Grace, forgive me. I spoke in haste. I forgot myself.
26:10I accept Lady Everwood's terms. I'll ride to the Northern Marges.
26:14In three years, I'll prove my worth on the battlefield and return to seek Lady Eleanor's hand.
26:19Before you leave, report to my marshal.
26:23Twenty straptures.
26:24The heir leaves the room. Everyone knows what that means for a knight.
26:28Twenty lashes is not pain. Twenty lashes is humiliation.
26:32Then Roland's gaze lifts, and even through the embroidered screen, I feel it land directly on my face.
26:38Does that satisfy you, my lady?
26:40Satisfy me? I could weep with joy.
26:43If he could simply whip the cur to death, I'd save myself years of trouble.
26:47Your Grace, I defer entirely to your judgment.
26:50The screen still stands between us.
26:52Roland can't see my face clearly.
26:54That's my only comfort.
26:56I plead fatigue and rise to leave.
26:58Your Grace, I am old.
27:00And only recently recovered from illness, I cannot sit much longer.
27:03I'll retire to my chambers.
27:06Eleanor, see our guests out.
27:08Yes, Grandmother.
27:09But Roland turns to Jeffrey first.
27:11You, leave.
27:13Jeffrey's jaw tightens.
27:14He wants to argue anyone can see it, but he doesn't dare defy the Lord Protector to his face.
27:19He forces a stiff bow.
27:21I take my leave.
27:23And storms out.
27:24Eleanor watches him go, then turns back to Roland with wide.
27:27Your Grace, it's getting late.
27:30Aren't you heading back as well?
27:31Roland's entire demeanor shifts.
27:33Where Jeffrey received cold steel, Eleanor gets warmth.
27:36He even winks at her.
27:38My lady, it is getting late.
27:40I'm rather tired.
27:42I was hoping to stay the night at Everwood Manor.
27:45If you'd be willing to take me in.
27:46My blood goes cold.
27:48In the last life, Roland was the one who violated Eleanor.
27:51This time it was me instead.
27:53But Eleanor is sweet, lovely, young.
27:55What's to stop him from developing ideas?
27:58Your Grace, there are only two women in this house and no male head of household present.
28:01An unmarried man staying the night would be improper.
28:05And if I insist?
28:06What can I say to that?
28:07I'm a powerless widow.
28:09Am I supposed to throw the Lord Protector of the realm out onto the road?
28:12Your Grace, please don't be offended.
28:15Grandmother has lived quietly for many years.
28:17She's simply not accustomed to visitors.
28:19There's an old soli on the west side of the manor.
28:22It was my grandfather's study when he was alive, where he read and handled estate business.
28:26If your Grace wouldn't mind, you're welcome to stay there for the night.
28:30Eleanor.
28:31Clever girl.
28:32Color floods Eleanor's cheeks.
28:34She ducks her head.
28:36Your Grace flatters me.
28:37My stomach drops.
28:39Is he flirting with my granddaughter?
28:40I'm not worried about Jeffrey anymore.
28:43After today, Eleanor has seen through his mask.
28:45She won't cling to that sinking ship.
28:47But if she turns around and falls for the Lord Protector, I can't exactly tell her.
28:52The man you're blushing at has already bedded your grandmother.
28:55God would rain fire and brimstone on this house.
28:58No.
28:59Absolutely not.
29:00I just pulled Eleanor out of one wolf's jaws.
29:03I will not push her into another's arms.
29:05Eleanor.
29:06Come here.
29:07Come stand beside me.
29:09Agnes, escort His Grace to the west solar.
29:12Come in, Grandmother.
29:14Eleanor turns and hurries toward me.
29:16And catches her foot on something.
29:18She stumbles, crashes into the screen, and knocks it several inches to the side.
29:23For one horrible, frozen moment, there is nothing between Roland and me but open air.
29:28Our eyes lock.
29:29My heart slams against my ribs.
29:32His gaze is sharp.
29:34Searching.
29:34It pins me in place.
29:36I don't breathe.
29:37I can't breathe.
29:39Don't recognize me.
29:41Don't recognize me.
29:42Roland's brow creases.
29:43And then he says the one thing that makes me want the floor to open up and swallow me whole.
29:48My lady, have we met before?
29:51Ha.
29:52Your Grace, a man as busy as yourself can hardly be expected to remember every face.
29:56But now that you mention it, Your Grace, don't you recall?
30:00Years ago, when I visited the palace to pay my respects to Queen Mother Isabel,
30:04I held you in my arms.
30:06You were still a nursing babe.
30:08The moment I picked you up, you wet yourself all over my gown.
30:11My, how the years fly.
30:13Look at you now, all grown up.
30:17That's right, boy.
30:19You want to match wits with this old woman?
30:21You're 20 years too green.
30:23You're 20 years too green.
30:23You're 20 years too green.
30:23You're 21 years too green.
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