The King's Artist

Ch 55: A Cold Night

"I hear your mother was able to persuade the Duke of Buckingham to support you," Marcus asked Henry as they rode side-by-side on their mounts. The winter air was harsh against their faces and Adelaide had long since lost feeling in her lips and nose and fingers. She wrapped her cloak even tighter around her body, her entire being shaking uncontrollably. She caught Henry and Jasper shooting her worried looks, but she merely glared in discomfort, annoyed they were so concerned for her.

"Yes, that's correct," Henry said in answer to Marcus, turning back to face the soldier. "Word arrived late due to the weather, but it seemed she'd convinced him sometime back in autumn."

"Wonderful," Marcus beamed, leaning over to clap Henry on the shoulder. The other man's voice was loud and boisterous, and Adelaide had to wonder how he seemed to have so much energy in the cold. 

They were currently riding towards Reims Cathedral. Normally, the trip would take a little more than a week, but the weather had slowed them down some. They were still making good time, but the lack of rest and warmth had made most of their party stiff and grouchy. Except for Marcus Abney. 

To everyone else's relief, though, they made a brief stop in Le Mans. They hoped that with a night's rest their horses would be good to go again in the morning, and the stablehands were paid extra to make them all as comfortable as possible. Their packs were filled and their supplies restocked before going to bed to ensure a hasty departure by dawn.

The majority of Henry's court road with them, while the bulk of their remaining forces were a day or two rides behind. The plan was to get to Reims Cathedral as soon as possible and that objective was easier to achieve with smaller numbers. Kayden had remained with the larger party along with Theodore, Lewis, and Charity. That left the task of guarding Henry and Jasper up to Adelaide, Lance, Harry, Anthony, and Marcus. 

Though Lance and Harry were fresh out of their training days, they had displayed remarkable growth and were some of the most proficient soldiers that Adelaide had trained. She had always liked the baby-faced Harry, but the handsome brute Lance had grown on her. Except when he was asking her how her 'sister' was doing and if she'd remarried yet. 

The strangest addition to their ranks was Roland. He was a liability, but he had insisted on coming with Adelaide rather than staying with Charity. Jasper had not fought the request, but his nervousness at having a child with them was evident. 

The first watch of the night was given to Lance and Anthony, and the rest of them climbed quickly into bed without complaint. They all were in close proximity to one another but still resided in separate chambers. The room at the end of the hallway had been given to Adelaide and Roland, and though it was small, the warmth of the fireplace was so welcome that both audibly sighed. 

"Make sure you hang your socks next to the fire to dry," Adelaide instructed, hanging up her cloak and stripping off her shoes. Roland nodded in understanding and proceeded to go through the motions of preparing for bed. 

The sheets of the bed were thick and heavy to Adelaide's relief. After shifting into a more comfortable position, she held open the bedding and waited for Roland to crawl in with her. He yawned widely before flopping down onto the mattress. 

They snuggled together for warmth, the only sound of their breathing and the crackle of the fire. 

"Addie," Roland's voice brought Adeliade back from the slumber that had been encroaching. He only ever called her that when they were alone. 

Roland had learned the truth about Adelaide a little over a year ago. After deceiving so many people for so long, Adelaide hadn't been able to muster the strength to continue lying to him any longer. At first, she and Charity had been nervous trusting him with such a heavy secret, but Roland was mature for his age and incredibly smart. There was little doubt in either of their minds that he didn't understand the severity of the matter and the importance of keeping it quiet. 

"What is it, Roland?" Adelaide mumbled back, her voice heavy with sleep and her eyes drooping from exhaustion. 

"Why are we traveling to Reims Cathedral?" He asked. 

"We're going there so that Lord Henry can make a public declaration." The topic choice had surprised Adelaide only momentarily. Roland was standardly curious and before they had left they hadn't told him much about the nature of their trip. 

"What kind of declaration?"

"Well," the words stuck in her throat painfully before she forced them out. "He's going to swear an oath to marry Elizabeth of York."

Roland was quiet for a moment. 

"Is that so he can gain support? To become King?"

"That's correct," Adelaide yawned in response. As much as she adored talking to her son, she was gradually losing her fight against sleep and could no longer keep her eyes open. Roland, however, seemed to have an abundance of questions. 

"Are you ever going to get married?" He continued. 

"I don't know," she whispered back honestly. Maybe if she wasn't so tired she would be feeling the standard pang of heartache when it came to topics like this. But for the moment, drossiness spared her the hurt. "I don't know who I would marry."

"You could have married my mom." The comment made Adelaide smile a little, but sadness tugged at her. 

Unlike Adelaide, who Roland referred to as Addie or Sir Arthur or father depending on the audience, Charity had always been a mom to him. When she had first realized the difference in their roles in Roland's life, Adelaide had been consumed by such an overwhelming sense of envy of Charity that it threatened to consume her. At first, she hadn't understood why. It wasn't until Roland had turned three that Adeliade came to realize all too late that a part of her wanted to be a mother and now never could. And again she was struck with the agony of wanting something from two different lives that she couldn't live simultaneously. 

 "Your mom deserved to be with someone who loved her," said Adelaide.

"And you don't love my mom?" The offense in Roland's voice made her snicker. 

"Not in the same way that Lewis loves her," she said in return. 

The eight-year-old was silent as he considered her words. Adelaide was just about to stumble into sleep again when his voice interceded once more and shook her back awake. 

"Have you ever been in love, Addie?" 

Even though Adelaide and Charity had trusted Roland with the truth about Arthur being a girl, they had not told him anything about Henry. Adelaide already felt her relationship with Henry was complicated enough. The nature of their dynamic was difficult to describe and even harder to understand, and she hadn't felt it necessary to burden her son with that piece of information on top of everything else.

"I have," was all she said in response. Roland tried to push the conversation, but Adelaide pretended to be asleep and eventually, the boy drifted off when he didn't receive a response after some time. The darkness that greeted Adelaide came later and she was grateful that a dreamless night awaited her.