She pushed away from him, and this time he let her go. Isabel stood up, and started walking back toward the Castle gate.
He rose, and picked up her mantle. Of course, he had made polite conversation to put her at ease, so she would drink the wine. He knew that would make it easier to take her virginity. Robert had told them he only liked lewd tarts. So if she had been after the child, she probably would have tried to be seductive. Which brought him right back to, what was she doing in his jail cell?
When Isabel arrived back in the hall, Eric was crying, loudly. She took the babe from Rosamund, and carried him up to the Solar, to nurse. Later, Rosamund came up with her mantle, and told her that William had returned. He was waiting in the hall, to speak to her and the Lord.
Isabel descended to the hall, and lay the infant in the cradle near the hearth, before approaching the Lord’s table, where Brant and William sat waiting.
“Did your travels go well?” Isabel asked, as she sat down next to her husband.
“Aye, My Lady. I arrived just in time. You, and His Lordship, are to be in London for a private meeting, early on the 31st of May, with the lads,” William said.
Brant stated, “Isabel, and our sons, are not going to London. I will not allow it.”
William replied, “I have orders for you, to be at Court. You really have no choice, My Lord.”
Brant said angrily, “You said in December, that all the King’s involvement, his investigation, was done.”
Isabel interjected, “We are going to London, and Esme, will be going with us. We both know my mother has made plans for me to meet her there, on the first of June, as she made clear, when she was here in March.”
“Alright,” Brant gritted out, as he stood up, to walk to the stairs.
“He is really angry. I hope he is not going to be totally unreasonable,” Isabel said, with a sigh. “He actually thinks, if he tells my mother I am staying with him, that is that.”
“Aye,” William said. “When I arrived, one of Ann’s knights was also there. He was trying, to get you ordered to appear at Court, with your mother. So, now Ann thinks her request has been granted, on the first of June.”
As William was finishing his account, Brant descended from the Solar with a duffle. He walked through the hall, without a word. Isabel started to rise, but William stopped her. He rose, and went after Brant. The knight returned a short while later.
“He says he will be back in a few days,” William said. “The Lord would not say where he was going. I told him when we would have to leave. Are you sure about this? He has a bad temper, you know.”
“I do not have a lot of choices,” Isabel said. “He has never been violent with me. We have two little children. They have not done anything wrong. I was hoping to explain everything to him, to try, and avoid, having him get angry. As you saw, he walked out again.”
William smiled, and said, “So you are not sure.”
“I am sure, I am going to stay with my sons,” Isabel replied. “I am also sure, my mother needs to figure that out, once, and for all.”
Chapter 21
Brant returned two days before they were to leave for London, with no explanations. The only indication of where he had gone, was a change in their travel plans. They would stop briefly, at Robert and Kate’s. Sir Richard would be accompanying them, on the last leg of the trip.
It was late afternoon, on the 30th of May, when the group rode into London. Isabel rode beside her husband, in the position that proclaimed her the Lord's Lady. Robert rode on Brant's other side, with a combination of all their men-at-arms, riding behind them. In the center of the procession, Rosamund and Greta were in a carriage, with the Lord's two young sons, with Esme, and Hannah, riding nearby the carriage.
Sir Robert, and his men, left them when they passed where he would be lodging. The rest of the group, continued on the short distant, to where their suites were located, very near the palace. By the time they settled into their lodgings, they had only a short time to clean up, before the evening meal arrived.
Isabel asked that a bath be prepared for her, after they had eaten. Rosamund helped her wash, and rinse, her hair. While she was finishing her bath, Brant came in, and ordered the maid out.
Still, it was surprising, when he stepped into the tub with her, saying, "You do not mind sharing, do you?"
"Actually, I believe I am done," Isabel said, and she attempt to rise.
"No you are not," he replied, moving a leg to hold her in place. "I have not washed your back, yet. And you certainly, have not washed mine. Just think about all the work, we are saving the serfs."
"Aye. And that is, how I plan my activities," Isabel said, smiling in response to his words, and the accompanying grin. "By whatever will spare the serfs work. Are you going to turn around, so I can reach your back, My Lord?"
Brant moved the leg that had restrained her, and pulled her toward him so she was straddling both his legs, causing her to blush. Brant had barely touched her, since about a month before Eric was born. Now, with both of them naked in the bath tub, Isabel was feeling very nervous.
"Can you reach my back, now?" he asked, taking the soap she was holding, and putting his arms around her, to lather her back. He continued, "I do not think I want to smell like this flowery soap."
When he was done, he leaned forward to pick up a second bar of soap, from a stool beside the tub. He handed it to Isabel, then pressed her against his chest. She was left with little choice, but to slip her arms around him, to soap his back, while she wondered how far he intended to take this.
When she was done rinsing his back, he said, "Thank-you, My Lady."
Then, Brant moved her away from him far enough to lower his head, and place a kiss on each of her breasts. He raised his head to give her a wicked grin, and a quick peck on her lips.
"I believe I can manage from here, if you would like to get out," he said.
He let her go, and she rose to get a bath sheet, to dry with. Brant watched as Isabel dried off, and donned a kirtle. She was always so jumpy around him, and it bothered him.
He lathered his hair, then asked, “Is there any clean water left to rinse, Alisa?”
She walked over to the tub, and picked up the bucket of clean water, as she said, “Aye, but it is not very warm. Is that alright?”
Brant nodded in the affirmative, so she poured it to rinse his hair. When that was done, he stood to step out of the tub. Isabel turned to get towels for him to dry with. Just then, there was a knock on the door and Brant responded come in, even though he was standing there naked. Greta opened the door, and stopped, looking uncomfortable for a moment.
“William needs to speak with ye, Me Lady,” the serf said. “When ye have a moment. Would ye like me to find your robe?”
“Nay, tell him I will be out shortly,” Isabel answered. Once the woman exited, and closed the door, she asked Brant, “Was that necessary?”
He took the towel she was holding, and replied, “It is not like she has not seen it before. Cora was not always available, you know.”
“Really?” Isabel asked. “I wonder why no one mentioned her, to me? They told me about Cora, Ruth, and a couple of others.”
She turned to her trunk to find her robe, so she could cover the thin kirtle, while he was left wondering what else she had been told.
The next morning, the couple had a meeting at the palace. Or, Isabel and her sons, had a meeting. Brant was left to amuse himself with a group of knights, most of whom he did not know. However, the ones he was acquainted with, were aware of his newly acquired title, which made him someone all of the others wanted to get to know. He, on the other hand, just wanted to know what was going on with his wife, so Brant had some trouble keeping up with the conversation. It was over an hour, before he was escorted in, to where Isabel was.