A powerful full drama movie filled with love, secrets, and unexpected twists.
Follow a powerful story where relationships are tested, hidden truths are revealed, and lives change forever. From romantic moments to shocking surprises, this drama keeps you engaged from beginning to end.
Featuring stories about CEO, billionaire lifestyles, family connections, and life-changing decisions, this movie delivers strong emotions and unforgettable scenes.
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New full drama movies uploaded regularly. Stay tuned for more captivating and trending stories.
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Follow a powerful story where relationships are tested, hidden truths are revealed, and lives change forever. From romantic moments to shocking surprises, this drama keeps you engaged from beginning to end.
Featuring stories about CEO, billionaire lifestyles, family connections, and life-changing decisions, this movie delivers strong emotions and unforgettable scenes.
Watch the full movie and discover what happens in the end.
New full drama movies uploaded regularly. Stay tuned for more captivating and trending stories.
#drama #fullmovie #lovestory #dramatic #billionaire #ceo #family #relationships #movie #story
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AmusantTranscription
00:00Stop, Vincent, stop, I'm old enough to be your mother, you insufferable, then 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
00:13And tilts my chin up with the other, forcing me to look at him, 25 years old, jaw carved from
00:20marble
00:20Eyes dark with fever and want, want, for me, a woman of 49 with aching knees and grey at her
00:27temples
00:28Blessed Virgin, this is a mortal sin, I'm gonna burn in hell
00:33His pace is relentless
00:35I hate you, you're dripping down my thighs
00:39I hate you, I'm not stopping until you scream
00:43I scream, three times, I am the Dowager Countess of Everwood
00:47I came to rescue my granddaughter from an abduction
00:50Instead, I ran headlong into the Lord Protector of the Realm, drugged out of his mind and burning alive with
00:56poison
00:56He pinned me down
00:58One catastrophic night later
01:00Me? The Lord Protector?
01:03In 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, and made her raise his
01:13mistress'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, raising children that should have been hers
01:25No one came to visit
01:27No one came to mourn when she died
01:29Then I wake up
01:31And I'm back
01:32Back to the weeks before Eleanor's wedding
01:34I 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, I climb the stone steps up the hill
01:44to the abbey
01:46Eleanor! I'm here, my child! I won't let that beast lay a finger on you!
01:50I remember it clearly
01:51Last time, Eleanor went to St. Andrew's Abbey for mass, and the Lord Protector's wretched attendant snatched her
01:57Dragged her to his master's chambers, and threw her to him like medicine for a fever
02:02Except, I'm early
02:03The attendant hasn't taken Eleanor yet
02:06I'm the one the Lord Protector catches instead
02:12God have mercy
02:13I lost my husband at 30
02:15Nearly 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! I am the Dowage Countess of Everwood
02:29Let go of me this instant!
02:31I'm old enough to be your grandmother in rank
02:33Roland of Leonhart, the Lord Protector of the Realm
02:37Forged in military campaigns, built like a battering ram, efface all hard angles and sharp authority
02:43He commands the kingdom's armies, controls the Privy Council, holds more power than any man alive
02:49My words don't make him let go
02:51They make him tip my chin up with his fingers and seal his mouth over mine
02:57What are you murmuring about?
02:59The scent on you, it's calming
03:01It makes me feel safe
03:02Of course it does
03:03Years of kneeling in chapel have soaked frankincense into my very skin
03:06The rest is parchment and iron gull ink from copying scripture
03:09Naturally calming
03:10But 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?
03:22Me? Blessed virgin, how long has this man been starved?
03:25Let go of me
03:27My walking stick clatters onto the stone floor
03:30But what chance does a woman pushing 50 have against a young man built like a warhorse?
03:34He scoops me up with one arm and sets me on the oak table
03:40A heartbeat later, my flaying hands are bind
03:43With my own rosary
03:44Be 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
03:54How 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
04:15That can be arranged
04:16He rips the lacing clean off my kirtle
04:19Strips of linen chemise fly everywhere and I
04:21I lose my mind
04:22That'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
04:32To Zanz, Hippocras, regular walks up the hill to the abbey for Massachusetts decades of discipline
04:38Otherwise, he truly would have killed me
04:42Somewhere around midnight, a knock sounds at the door
04:44Your 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
04:55Doesn't even slow down
04:57Just turns his head and snars
04:58Get out!
04:59Ah, your grace already has company
05:03I'll return the young lady at once
05:08Save me!
05:09Roland clamps a hand over my mouth
05:11Don't scream
05:12I'll have you begging soon enough
05:15He is formidable
05:17More formidable than Henry was on our wedding night 34 years ago
05:20And Henry had been a young man then
05:23We married at 16
05:24By 25, Henry was already flagging
05:28By 30, he left me all together
05:30Went to meet his mager
05:31This kind of vigor?
05:33I've only ever read about it in those courtly romances
05:35Lancelot, Tristan, none of them hold a candle
05:39The pleasure is like nothing
05:40How is this even possible?
05:43You're enjoying it too
05:46Aren't you?
05:47That night, we are utterly shameless
05:49The 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
06:02At first, I can't fight him
06:05Later, I don't want to
06:07It is magnificent
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
06:15A cold thread of worry coils in my chest
06:18This man controls the kingdom
06:20The Everwoods are respectable
06:22Yes
06:22But we are no great house
06:24If Roland decides to destroy us
06:26It 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
06:37Considerable
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
06:52And each time I nearly pitch forward into empty air
06:57Somehow, somehow I make it to the bottom
06:59Agnes, my lady's maid, waits by the carriage
07:02Milady, Lady Eleanor was returned safely
07:05I've been waiting ages
07:06You look dreadful
07:07Did something happen?
07:08Eleanor is safe
07:09I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding
07:11Agnes 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
07:19Eleanor's safe
07:21That's what matters
07:22Take me home
07:23In the carriage, I clench my hands together
07:25Close my eyes and pray
07:28Holy 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
07:41His 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
07:5920 years
08:01I kept that vow
08:02I thought Henry would be the only man I'd ever have
08:05And now, practically in my grave
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, 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
08:46That night, I dream of Henry
08:49Margaret, you swore on my coffin
08:51You said there'd be no other man
08:53You said we'd be buried together in the family crypt
08:57I'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
09:02I'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
09:28Ignore 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
09:50I wake drenched in sweat
09:52Burning up
09:53It's barely spring
09:54There's no reason for this heat
09:57Agonists, 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
10:05Waiting for them to fade
10:06The official story
10:08I am well
10:08I caught a chill climbing to the abbey
10:10And 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 at first light
10:23Shall I still turn her away?
10:26I glance at the window
10:27Pale light
10:28Quiet grounds
10:30No 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
10:38Agnes beams
10:39Right away
10:40A moment later
10:42Eleanor bursts through the door
10:43And throws herself around my legs
10:47Grandmother
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
10:55I'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
11:08Heir 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, Everwoods are nothing
12:02Our influence has withered
12:04Our halls stand empty
12:05And not a single soul bothers to pay a courtesy call
12:08Eleanor has no protector
12:10She can't fight a man riding the crest of military glory
12:13She endures it in silence
12:15Then she collapses
12:16No one visits
12:18No one sends for a physician
12:19She lies alone in an empty room and closes her eyes for the last time
12:24And 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
12:31When 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
12:43She doesn't know her betrothed is a devil wearing a saint's mask
12:47I can't tell her
12:48Not yet
12:50So I take her hands and smile
12:54Ellie, 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, can you do that?
13:05Two more years, just 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
13:17He's free to ride north and chase glory
13:19If I delay the marriage by two years
13:21The Montforts won't last six months
13:23Their rot will show through for the whole world to see
13:26Let's see them come knocking on our door then
13:29Eleanor blushes and nods
13:31Sweet 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
13:40Dear Grandmother
13:41You saved my life
13:42I'll do whatever you say
13:44I'll write to Geoffrey right now and tell him the wedding is postponed
13:50My dear girl
13:52I haven't loved you for nothing
13:54As long as Eleanor never sets foot in that den of wolves
13:57She'll never suffer what she suffered before
13:59And if that nest of vipers goes bankrupt in the meantime
14:03That'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
14:30And 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
14:42We'll find her a family that actually deserves her
14:44She can stay right here by your side
14:46Wouldn't that be better?
14:47Seeing them both on my side warms my old bones more than any fire
14:53Good
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
15:06A merchant's daughter, yes
15:08But from a wealthy house
15:09In the previous life
15:10Catherine and I nearly bankrupted ourselves for Eleanor
15:13My dower
15:14Catherine's remaining dowry funds
15:16We poured everything we had into keeping that girl afloat in the Montfort household
15:19That's the real reason the Everwoods fell so fast
15:22This 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 Lods
15:31I also ordered the servants to intercept every piece of correspondence between Eleanor and Jeffrey
15:36Every letter
15:37No exceptions
15:38My Eleanor is a proper nobleman's daughter
15:41Raised with impeccable manners
15:43She would never sneak around behind my back to meet a man
15:46And without anyone to carry his honeyed words for him
15:49How exactly does Jeffrey plan to manipulate my granddaughter?
15:52What I don't expect is for Jeffrey to show up in person
15:55Not even a fortnight later
15:59Milade
16:02Sir Jeffrey of Montfield is at the gate
16:05He 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
16:18Not alone, Milady
16:20The Lord Protector is with him
16:23Roland of Leon Hart
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
16:45And they say he's merciless with those who cross him
16:47Not a man anyone can afford to offend
16:49As if I don't already know
16:51I 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
17:07Show the Lord Protector and Sir Jeffrey 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
17:25My late husband Henry was the Earl of Everwood
17:27A man who fought beside the late king and earned his honors on the battlefield
17:30No one can expect a dowager countess past 50
17:33Still recovering from illness
17:35To drag herself out in curtsy before a man young enough to be her son
17:39No need to apologize
17:42Sir Jeffrey and I arrived uninvited
17:47I frown behind the screen
17:49Forgive my bluntness, your grace
17:51To what do we owe this visit?
17:54Jeffrey opens his mouth
17:55But before a word comes out
17:57Eleanor's voice rings from the doorway
18:00Jeffrey
18:02What are you doing here?
18:06Eleanor
18:07Thank God you're all right
18:08I've written to you every day
18:10You never replied
18:11I was worried something had happened
18:12Letters
18:13What letters?
18:15Grandmother hasn't been well
18:17She 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 Jeffrey
18:25And 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
18:41But my hands are clenched so tight around the rosary
18:43That the beads bite into my palms
18:44In the last life
18:45It was Roland who ruined Eleanor
18:46Eleanor's eyes
18:47She looks like me
18:48Please, God
18:50Please don't let him see the resemblance
18:51My mind is spiraling
18:53When Roland's voice cuts through
18:54Where was this young lady?
18:56Did she by any chance visit
18:57Airpist St. Andrew's Abbey
18:58Outside the city?
19:00That single question
19:01Squeezes my chest like a fist
19:04Eleanor is innocent
19:05But she's not stupid
19:06She knows what happened that night
19:08The ambush
19:09The men who knocked her unconscious
19:10How close she came to being dragged away
19:12Know your grace
19:14Two weeks ago I was here at home
19:16Keeping grandmother company
19:19I didn't go anywhere
19:21That's right
19:22Eleanor is a devoted girl
19:24She knows this old woman gets lonely
19:26So she stays close
19:27Now, Sir Jeffrey
19:28While you're here
19:30There's a matter I'd like to discuss
19:32Eleanor is not in good health
19:34I've had a physician examine her
19:35And he says she needs at least
19:37Two or three more years of rest
19:38Before she should even think about marriage
19:40The wedding will be postponed
19:41No!
19:43Eleanor blinks
19:44She's never heard him use that tone
19:46Not once
19:47He's always played the gentle knight
19:49In her presence
19:49Soft voice
19:50Kind eyes
19:51Courtly bows
19:52Jeffrey
19:53Why not?
19:54Grandmother is looking out for us
19:56Why would you speak to her like that?
19:58Forgive me, Eleanor
19:59I love you so much
20:01I just want to stand with you
20:02At the altar as soon as possible
20:03Two or three more years
20:06I don't know if I can bear the weight
20:08Eleanor's health comes before everything
20:11If Sir Jeffrey finds the weight unaborable
20:13Perhaps it would be best to dissolve the betrothal altogether
20:16And seek a more suitable match
20:18My lady, you misunderstand
20:19That's not what I meant at all
20:21It's just
20:22It's
20:25It's
20:25Just what?
20:27Just that the Montfeiards are hemorrhaging money
20:31And you need my granddaughter's dowry
20:33To 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
20:48But she obeys
20:50Steps back
20:51Stays quiet
20:52Good girl
20:53My Ellie
20:53Every ounce of effort I've poured into protecting you
20:56Worth it
20:57Jeffrey stares at me through the screen
20:59Jaw 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 Jeffrey, I believe I've made myself clear
21:15You know the state of the Montfield house better than anyone
21:18I 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 she'll suffer
21:27If you truly love her, I'll give you three years
21:31Restore the Montfield name
21:32Prove you can provide for her
21:34Fail
21:35And this betrothal is finished
21:37Do you have the nerve to take that wager?
21:40I 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
21:50Jeffrey sways on his feet like I've struck him across the face
21:58My 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, they'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
22:25We 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
22:34He even rode north to the border wars, trying to rebuild our family's honor with his own sword arm
22:38And that wretch Jeffrey stole it from him
22:41Jeffrey was William's second in command
22:43In the decisive battle, when everything hung in the balance, Jeffrey abandoned his commander
22:48Gathered the survivors and retreated
22:50When word came that William had fallen, Jeffrey 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, with 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
23:08A feat worthy of the chronicles
23:10But 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 Jeffrey try to steal my grandson's glory now
23:24The longer I look at Jeffrey, the more my stomach turns
23:28And with Roland sitting right there, I have no patience for drawn-out games
23:31Enough
23:33I've said what I came to say
23:36The Everwood family's position should be perfectly clear to you now, Sir Jeffrey
23:40If you refuse these terms, I'll petition the king myself
23:43My late husband was a knight banneret, sworn and belted by the late king's own hand
23:47I trust his majesty will grant me the courtesy of dissolving this betrothal
23:52Jeffrey's genteel facade shatters
23:55Eleanor 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
24:03Jeffrey Montfeld, what did you just call my grandmother?
24:09Eleanor, can't you see?
24:11Your grandmother is deliberately sabotaging us!
24:13She doesn't want you to marry me!
24:15Eleanor's voice shakes
24:17Angry tears spill over
24:20She's thinking about our future, she's pushing you to be better, why can't you just, why won't you listen?
24:25So you look down on us too, because the Montfields have fallen on hard times!
24:30This betrothal was sealed by your grandfather and mine while they still lived, and now the Everwoods break their word
24:36like it means nothing?
24:37Is this the honor of your house?!
24:39I'm trembling with rage behind the screen. If he hadn't schemed against us first, the Everwoods would never have needed
24:45to break anything.
24:46Then, from the far side of the hall, where Roland has been leaning back in his chair, drinking hippocrats as
24:51if watching a mildly entertaining tournament.
24:54Enough!
24:56Lady Everfield is the widow of a war hero. She holds the late king's personal writ of protection. She is
25:02your grandfather's peer, and you dare speak to her this way.
25:06I'd like to know how old Duke Montford raised his eiths. If he couldn't manage the job, I'm happy to
25:11finish it for him.
25:12The 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. Offend us, and the consequences are manageable.
25:29But Roland, the late king's youngest brother, uncle to the boy on the throne, the man whose frown makes the
25:35entire king's council hold its breath.
25:37That's a different calculation entirely.
25:40Your Grace, forgive me. I spoke in haste. I forgot myself.
25:45I accept Lady Everwood's terms. I'll ride to the Northern Marges.
25:50In three years, I'll prove my worth on the battlefield, and return to seek Lady Eleanor's hand.
25:55Before you leave, report to my marshal.
25:58Twenty straptures.
25:59The air leaves the room. Everyone knows what that means for a knight.
26:03Twenty lashes is not pain. Twenty lashes is humiliation.
26:07Then Roland's gaze lifts, and even through the embroidered screen, I feel it land directly on my face.
26:13Does that satisfy you, my lady?
26:15Satisfying me? I could weep with joy. If he could simply whip the cur to death, I'd save myself years
26:21of trouble.
26:22Your Grace, I defer entirely to your judgment.
26:25The screen still stands between us. Roland can't see my face clearly. That's my only comfort. I plead fatigue and
26:32rise to leave.
26:33Your Grace, I am old, and only recently recovered from illness. I cannot sit much longer. I'll retire to my
26:39chambers.
26:40Eleanor, see our guests out. Yes, Grandmother.
26:44But Roland turns to Jeffrey first.
26:46You, leave.
26:48Jeffrey's jaw tightens. He wants to argue anyone can see it, but he doesn't dare defy the Lord Protector to
26:53his face.
26:54He forces a stiff bow.
26:56I take my leave.
26:57And storms out. Eleanor watches him go, then turns back to Roland with wide.
27:02Your Grace, it's getting late. Aren't you heading back as well?
27:06Well, Roland's entire demeanor shifts. Where Jeffrey received cold steel, Eleanor gets warmth. He even winks at her.
27:13My lady, it is getting late. I'm rather tired. I was hoping to stay the night at Everwood Manor, if
27:19you'd be willing to take me in.
27:21My blood goes cold.
27:22In the last life, Roland was the one who violated Eleanor. This time it was me instead.
27:27But Eleanor is sweet, lovely, young. What'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. An unmarried man
27:36staying the night would be improper.
27:38And if I insist?
27:40What can I say to that? I'm a powerless widow. Am I supposed to throw the Lord Protector of the
27:45Realm out onto the road?
27:46Your Grace, please don't be offended. Grandmother has lived quietly for many years. She's simply not accustomed to visitors.
27:53There's an old soli on the west side of the manor. It was my grandfather's study when he was alive,
27:58where he read and handled estate business. If your Grace wouldn't mind, you're welcome to stay there for the night.
28:04Eleanor. Clever girl.
28:06Color floods Eleanor's cheeks. She ducks her head.
28:09Your Grace flatters me.
28:11My stomach drops. Is he flirting with my granddaughter?
28:14I'm not worried about Jeffrey anymore. After today, Eleanor has seen through his mask. She won't cling to that sinking
28:20ship. But if she turns around and falls for the Lord Protector, I can't exactly tell her. The man you're
28:26blushing at has already bedded your grandmother.
28:28God would rain fire and brimstone on this house. No. Absolutely not. I just pulled Eleanor out of one wolf's
28:36jaws. I will not push her into another's arms.
28:38Eleanor. Come here. Come stand beside me. Agnes, escort His Grace to the west solar.
28:45Come in, Grandmother.
28:47Eleanor turns and hurries toward me and catches her foot on something. She stumbles, crashes into the screen, and knocks
28:54it several inches to the side. For one horrible, frozen moment, there is nothing between Roland and me but open
29:00air.
29:01Our eyes lock. My heart slams against my ribs. His gaze is sharp, searching. It pins me in place.
29:09I don't breathe. I can't breathe. Don't recognize me. Don't recognize me.
29:14Roland's brow creases. And then he says the one thing that makes me want the floor to open up and
29:19swallow me whole.
29:20My lady, have we met before?
29:23Ha! Your Grace, a man as busy as yourself can hardly be expected to remember every face.
29:29But 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
29:38arms.
29:38You were still a nursing babe. The moment I picked you up, you wet yourself all over my gown.
29:44My, how the years fly. Look at you now, all grown up.
29:49That's right, boy. You want to match wits with this old woman? You're twenty years too green.
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