thoughts.
But being with Hugh did not simply put sinful thoughts into Aude’s head, other thoughts were also taking shape. Strange half-formed longings for a world in which there were men who formed genuine friendships with women. What an extraordinary idea—of course it was possible for men to form friendships with women! Ladies might be considered chattels by their menfolk, but that did not prevent friendships from developing between men and women, as she herself knew. Her betrothal to Martin might have been made for political reasons; none the less Martin had adored her. Even though at times—here, a shockingly disloyal thought startled a frown out of her—Martin had seemed somewhat distant…
Was Hugh fond of her? In the past Aude had had her hopes. And then, without warning, the past rushed back at her and the tumultuous events of 1066 were sharp in her mind. Painfully sharp. Aude nibbled her finger. She did not understand it, but in some way Hugh Duclair’s impending banishment made the events of 1066 seem even more poignant…
It had been a fateful year. It was not only the year that Duke William took the English crown, it was also the year that Aude’s father, Sir Hamon, had died.
With her grandfather in exile and the family lands confiscated, her father had been a landless knight like Sir Olivier. Sir Hamon had longed to inherit Crèvecoeur and Corbeil, but with his father’s lands held under stewardship for the King, he had never lived to see that hope fulfilled.
Poor Father. Tears pricked at the back of Aude’s eyes.
In 1066, the Duchy had been buzzing like a hornet’s nest; talk of war had been on everyone’s lips. Her father had resolved to go to the seaport of Dives where he would enlist with the invasion force. He had been full of optimism concerning his future.
‘Mark my words, Aude,’ Sir Hamon had said as she had ridden up with him to a bustling inn near the Dives shipyard where Duke William’s fleet was being built. ‘This venture of the Duke’s will be the making of our family.’
Blinking firmly, Aude dismissed the memory. It only made her sad. That night near the Dives shipyard had been the night her father had died, killed not while fighting gloriously for his Duke, but in a squalid tavern brawl.
She had been thirteen years old.
Aude shot Hugh a sidelong glance. Sweet Mother, let Hugh forget me as I was at the time. The shame of it! For in 1066, Aude had been serving her impoverished father as his squire, and when Hugh and Edouard had arrived to join the mustering troops they had found her clad in boy’s clothing—a short tunic and cross-gartered hose. Her cheeks warmed as she remembered. She had only been thirteen, of course, but…
‘Aude?’ Gently Hugh removed her finger from her mouth.
‘Mmm?’
‘Is something wrong?’
‘No. No, not at all.’
In truth, far from appearing shocked at the sight of her, Hugh had been kindness itself in Dives. He had taken the trouble to endorse her childish wish to become Countess of Beaumont, even going so far as to encourage Edouard to arrange for her betrothal to Count Martin. Hugh had not mentioned her clothing, but she had sensed his disapproval.
Had what happened that year affected the way Hugh thought of her?
Aude’s pulse jumped. It could be her imagination, but it seemed to her that the liking she and Hugh had always felt for each other might be changing. Another surreptitious glance revealed him to be studying her, running his gaze up and down her body.
Her pulse began to do more than jump, it began to race.
Did Hugh like her looks now she had grown into a woman? Another brief glance confirmed that he did. Hugh Duclair was drawn to her. Some of the worry had left his expression, his eyes were watching her warmly. The careful way that he had handed her into this barge told her that he respected her, while his gaze told her that he liked her looks. For her part, Aude liked him, far better than Sir Olivier, for example. And as for Hugh’s form…She sighed. The image of that lithe, half-naked body tossing her belongings about the docks was only too easy to recall.
It was a pity Hugh was leaving under such a cloud, she could do with a friend who liked her for herself, and even though her brother had forbidden her to speak to him, she yearned for his friendship. This man attracted her in many ways. She stole another look at him. Wide shoulders, strong limbs, upright posture…
Hugh was noble by birth and noble in his bearing and nothing, not even banishment, would take that away from him. Perhaps it would not take him long to prove he was innocent of the charges against him.
She felt adrift. She must be realistic. There were many reasons why Hugh was out of bounds to her and, given his banishment, it was impossible that their childish friendship would survive, never mind grow. From midnight tonight he should not even be in the Duchy. Anyone caught helping him after then would be in serious trouble.
After midnight, anyone associating with Hugh Duclair could be brought to court to answer charges of aiding and abetting a traitor. At best they risked disgrace, at worst, execution. Aude’s relationship with Hugh might have been a bright thread running through her life, but she must resign herself to the loss of it. Much as she might wish otherwise, their childish friendship was over.
She would never kiss him.
Holding down a sigh, she moved to the ship’s handrail. ‘You will stay out of Normandy?’ Knowing Hugh, he would fight like a demon for his reinstatement. ‘I don’t want you to get yourself killed; if you come back to the Duchy, your fate will be uncertain.’
‘I will do what I must. As well as clearing my name, there is a matter of some family silver which has gone missing. And in order to regain my lands I will have to take the kiss of peace from King William in person.’ His mouth twisted. ‘Given that our Duke has been neglecting his Norman territories in favour of his English kingdom, I may have to travel to England for that.’
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