I Left With The King’s Child のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 1 - チャプター 8

I was the only daughter of a wealthy merchant in Fairford. Unable to abide by the custom that allowed a man to keep mistresses, I remained unmarried under my father’s roof until he could no longer sit still.Desperate to see me wed, my father spent a small fortune arranging a grand public ceremony at which I was to cast a bridal bouquet and marry whichever gentleman caught it.To my surprise, fortune delivered me a tall and remarkably handsome young man.He appeared inclined to decline, but when his eyes fell on me, he fell silent as though struck dumb.My temper might have left something to be desired, but no one had ever found fault with my face.So, after meeting only once, the gentleman and I exchanged our vows and became husband and wife.To our mutual surprise, married life suited us exceedingly well. It was not long before I found myself with child.I was returning home in high spirits, eager to share the happy news with my husband, when I saw him escorting several ladies

When I heard that Lily was missing, my mind went utterly blank.Ethel was beside herself. She wrung her hands and blamed herself through her tears.I stopped her and ordered her to gather everyone in the household to begin searching for Lily at once.I went into the street to look for her myself.Most of the shopkeepers along that road knew me well. As soon as they heard that Lily was missing, they joined the search.We had gone some distance when, to my astonishment, Lily came running toward me and threw her arms around me.Tears welled up in my eyes. I held her close and looked her over again and again, unable to breathe easily until I was certain she was unharmed.“My darling, what happened? Where were you? You gave me such a fright!”Lily clung tightly to my neck. She was clearly shaken.After she had been soothed, she pointed a trembling little finger toward a distant spot. “Mama, that gentleman brought me back.”I followed Lily’s finger and froze.Was that not the co

I snatched up a dagger and pressed it to his throat.“Where are the old couple and the child your men took today? Answer me!”The bandit leader was so terrified that he wet himself. “Please don’t kill me! My men carried out the raid. I know nothing about the captives!”He did not appear to be lying. I was about to turn to Edmund when I saw that he had begun giving orders.The moment my attention shifted, the bandit drew a hidden blade and lunged at me.“You wretched woman! How dare you threaten me! Go to hell!”Before the dagger could reach me, his head was severed from his body.Edmund’s sword was suddenly slick with blood.The blade had grazed his arm when he moved to shield me, leaving a deep gash.After binding the wound as best I could, I resumed the search.We found no trace of them.The bandits who had taken part in the raid admitted that they had robbed and killed that day, but they could not say whom they had killed or whom they had carried off.The only comfort

Henry left.He was not, of course, driven away by me. He had left because the ministers at court had finally discovered that their king was missing.Before his departure, Henry came to my door once more.“Matilda, I hope you’ll give the matter some thought. I’ll return before long to take you and Lily with me.”By then, he had tried my patience thoroughly. Lily had been sleeping poorly ever since her fright, which had left me in a most ill humor.“I told you, Lily isn’t your daughter. Must you be so tiresome?”As soon as I said that, I regretted it at once.He was the king.Yet instead of taking offence, he looked absurdly pleased.“Whether Lily is my daughter or not matters little to me. So long as you remain my wife, I ask for nothing more.”Then, he leaned nearer.“Matilda, I can’t tell you how glad I am to hear you speak to me so freely again.”I felt my cheeks burn at his words.How had I never noticed before that he possessed such a silver tongue?After Henry left,