Rose by Traci E. Hall

nodded at Fay. “We were but doing our duty.”
    Eleanor said, “Let me introduce you. Prince Raymond and Princess Constance, this is Lady Mamille of Rou and Lady Fay of Toulouse.”
    The women curtsied, Mamie careful to keep her stocking hidden. Not as easy as it should be, standing partially on tiptoe.
    Princess Constance, blonde with blue eyes, seemed to be in her early twenties. Her slim figure held a slight thickening around the waist. She was pretty but nowhere near Eleanor’s beauty. She smiled and welcomed them to the palace.
    â€œTo Antioch.” Raymond hugged his niece, an arm around her shoulders. “Now that the formalities are over, we can finally talk as we used to do, so freely, in Aquitaine.”
    â€œYour palace here is as cultured as anything we have there. You have created a wonder. Your father, my grandfather, would be proud.” She blinked, but Mamie saw the trace of moisture on a lower lid.
    â€œWilliam IX, Duke of Aquitaine and Gascony, and Count of Poitou. The Troubadour.” A pleased expression crossed Raymond’s face. “What a scoundrel! I rarely saw him without a woman.”
    â€œJust one?” Eleanor asked, her eyes bright.
    â€œTwo or three,” Raymond amended. “And how he laughed. I have a fair singing voice, Eleanor, but do not ask me to recite poetry.”
    â€œI know a few of Grandfather’s poems.” The queen held up a hand. “I would share them, but they are inappropriate. Do you remember Eremesse, Agnes, and the cat?”
    â€œAh, yes,” Raymond chuckled. “Wasn’t the title ‘How the Count of Poitiers Pretended to be Mute’?”
    â€œAbout the two pious women bringing a poor man home and keeping him there for days for their own nefarious purposes.” She tilted her head and laughed.
    Mamie looked to King Louis, whose mouth seemed strained around the edges.
    â€œDid you know the old man spent time in Antioch? It is right that you are here. It is becoming a family tradition to fight for Christianity far from Poitiers.” Raymond hugged his wife to him, kissing her rosy cheek. “Constance, we must make sure our guests are well taken care of.” Returning to Eleanor on his other arm, he said, “I have a banquet planned this evening in your honor and the king’s.”
    Mamie watched Louis’s gaze narrow before the king nodded. “We are honored.” He too wore a fresh robe of blue velvet with a gold surcoat that swept the floor. His fair hair seemed dull next to Raymond’s dark locks, his cheeks thin due to the rough voyage while Raymond was in the peak of health.
    Raymond clasped one of Fay’s hands and one of Mamie’s. “My good wife has new gowns laid out for you, small gifts. Whatever you need. If it is not there, tell me and I will get it for you.”
    Mamie believed he would, which was probably part of his appeal.
    He kissed Eleanor’s cheeks. “A private female bodyguard?” Mamie heard the whisper because she was meant to. He winked, as if sharing a naughty secret. “Oh, Eleanor, I’d heard rumors.” He laughed. “Your audacity knows no bounds.”
    â€œShould it?” She tapped his arm, coquettish as a girl.
    â€œNo, you are a duchess and a queen. I say you should do as you please. Devil take it.”
    â€œAnother family trait?” Mamie asked. “Singing, poetry, and tossing things to the devil?”
    Raymond gave Mamie an appraising look, his voice deepening. “Are you always so witty?”
    Mamie read the challenge in his gaze and responded, lowering her eyelids half-mast. He embodied raw masculinity.
    â€œNon,” Eleanor mouthed.
    Mamie blushed and averted her eyes.
    â€œRest before our meal,” Raymond instructed them all. “We will have dancing,”
    â€œDancing!” Eleanor clapped her hands together.
    Mamie heard Louis groan.
    â€œWine and as much food as you