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The Company Thou Keepest	By : MarianTheBlackadder Category: G through L > Hollow Crown, The Views: 2262 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to "The Hollow Crown Series" of the BBC, Nor the rights to Henry IV nor Henry V of Shakespeare. I make no profit from this story other then the enjoyment of my writing it and others reading it. I recieve no money from this st

Chapter List
- 6
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- 8
New Life
            Three months passed, and Hal and Rayne’s second child came. Another son named Nicolas Howard at James request if it were a boy before his death which of course Rayne honored without question. Finally, John Howard her intended arrived at the estate with his men.
            Needless to say, Rayne was nervous as watching from the window. He hardly seemed like a gentle soul. He stood about six foot tall, with dark hair, a slender frame, and blue eyes that were a bit wide apart. There was a stern look to him, but perhaps it was from his days traveling in such harsh weather. It would put anyone in a harsh mood.
            The wedding ceremony was short, and very small like her first wedding to James was, and the bishop had traveled to Norfolk to preside over the marriage. The king was far too ill to travel to give his blessing in person but it was given just the same for them to wed.
            Rooms were made ready and the wedding feast was prepared for the small party of guests in attendance. Rayne dressed for the occasion of her wedding, then changed for the feast, dawning her crimson gown, with a matching headpiece and of course her necklace that the prince had given her that she never removed and was always wrapped around her neck resting on her breast.
            Not a word was exchanged between them during before the wedding, after the wedding or during supper, but his eyes remained squarely on her the entire meal from the moment she came down the stairs. It felt as though he was starring through her and made her very uncomfortable.
            After supper, she found herself in James library alone with her new husband that hadn’t spoken to her except for their vows and felt an overwhelming sense of anxiety as he still had not said a word directly to her since, but his eyes rarely left her. John had a very deep almost booming voice that was hardly what you would expect to hear from such a slender man. He walked around the library as if taking stock of what was now his. Everything in the castle, all of the wealth, all of the estates, as soon as he and Rayne were married were now his.
            “I received a flurry of rather long and detailed letters from my uncle about you once he became ill. Such explicit details about your childhood, how you came to be his wife, how you have been educated, your studies, your hobbies,” He looked directly at her, “Your children. Thomas and Nicolas ‘Howard’ even though you and I both know that my family name is bestowed on them only through my uncle’s good nature and grace.”
            “My Lord, I’ve never . . . we never . . .” Rayne didn’t know how to respond to him, but she was cut short.
            “I don’t recall giving you permission to speak.” He said sternly looking directly at her. Rayne fell silent folding her hands in her lap, swallowing the lump in her throat. “My Uncle was a much different man in his youth. He suffered no fools; his mere presence commanded the respect and admiration of those he led. The King himself respected and prized him as a friend and solider. In his later years grief and loneliness changed him. He lost his family, his wife and children and it cut him deep to his soul. A sorrow and fate I wish on no man and do not fault him for finding happiness where he could in his final years of life.”
            Now, Rayne had to speak. “I loved James, very much so.” She said simply wanting him to know that she did. Even if it wasn’t a romantic love but that of a daughter for her father.
“You, dear lady, are an adulteress. It matters not to me that you never shared my uncle’s bed, you took his name and you lived under his house as his wife. You owed him your allegiance and your loyalty and instead you and the Prince took full advantage of his generosity and kindness.” Rayne could hardly breathe hearing his words shocked and unable to respond. “Now it falls to me to restore order and honor to our family name as I inherit his diseased marital affairs. To do that, I have taken you as my wife and I do not consider it an honor.” He said sharply.
She was dumbstruck and could barely form a thought, “He said . . . . James said you would understand.” Rayne was properly frightened now. “Why would you agree to marry me, if you hate me so?” The Howard family were a very ambitious lot, and wouldn’t risk losing all of James holdings. It had been there intention all along to put up a husband for Rayne to marry when James passed.
He walked closer to her, “You misunderstand me, Lady. I do not hate you, but I will not tolerate anymore nonsense. You’ve been living in a fantasy you and the Prince. One that my Uncle indulged for want of children to fill his house, and as such treated you as yet another. It’s time for you to wake up and take your place as the Duchess of Norfolk, at your husband’s side, and fulfill all your duties. Stand.” John demanded. Immediately she did as he said, she was to afraid not to. He walked around her looking her over, “There’s no denying your beauty. It’s no wonder that the Prince has been so fond of you, and my uncle was old but still a man. He could see your extraordinary beauty as well. It seems even after birthing two children you are fresh and young as ever. This pleases me.” He came to a stop in front of her, “I’ve never married. As such I have no children of my own, and unlike many of the noble class, I’ve bred no bastards over the course of my life.” Rayne was pale, she felt lightheaded as panic and fear were filling her like she was in a small chamber quickly filling with water. “Once our vows are consummated, you will share my bed. No more of this nonsense of you sleeping in a separate wing of the castle.” He could see she was trying to speak, “You have something to say then speak it.” He said finally giving her permission.
“I can’t . . . I cannot do that.” She said barely able to form the words.
There was an uneasy silence that seemed to stretch on for an eternity. “Excuse me?” Rayne’s eyes went wide as every instinct in her entire body was telling her to run. Run from the room, run from the house, run from this man for the rest of her life. He stood in front of her his hands clasped behind his back, “And why, do you imagine that you ‘cannot’ do what I have said?” It seemed like he was giving her a chance to retract what he considered foolish words. He could see she was afraid and distressed, but he was laying down his law and there was no room for sugar coating.
“I made a promise . . . to Prince Henry.” She said with all the courage she could muster even though her body trembled. “A vow. I cannot break a vow to our future king.”
“Hmm.” He said unimpressed by her so called ‘confession’, “Yet something tells me that this vow was not made to the Prince or to the state. It was made to the man who bares the title, was it not?” Rayne quieted. “It is not a promise or vow that outweighs the ones you spoke to me before God today. I’m afraid that your marriage vows to me are the only ones that matter in the eyes of the church and the state. No childish whispers spoken in the heat of passion are going to save you from your responsibilities, Lady Rayne. I suggest you resolve yourself to your fate. Things will go much easier for you if you simply accept it.”
Out of Character
            The Prince sat in the corner of Mistress Quickly’s brooding. He was not his usual cheerful and carefree self. Tonight he was drinking enough sack to rival Falstaff’s weekly diet. Trying to drowned out the thoughts and feelings of anger that raged within him.
            As before, Rayne’s marriage was small and quick, of course he didn’t attend. Even if an invitation had been extended, it was doubtful he could have brought himself to attend. This man, he knew so little of him. It wasn’t enough to be certain that he would treat Rayne right, and he was younger and handsome. He would want her in his bed, and if he be warm blooded he would never want to stop making love to her sweet body over and over each night and day.
            He drained yet another bottle and threw coin on the table yelling for Frances to bring him more. Mistress Quickly and Doll watched in silence never having seen the Prince’s temper but not wanting to discover it turned on them. They simply gave him his ale and his wine without question and stood back waiting for what came next whatever it might have been.
            The door of the house opened and in walked a cheerful Jack Falstaff, “Hello all, what a pleasant and clear evening it is!” He greeted the tavern.
            “Oh Jeezu, the saints preserve us.” Mistress Quickly said knowing that the old knight was going to go straight for the Prince as always. “Doll, try to lead him away from the prince and keep him occupied. The fool won’t know that his Grace is better left alone and will no doubt bring down his wrath on all our heads with his foolishness. Go, go!” She said pushing Doll Tearsheet in Falstaffs direction.
            As suspected, Falstaff saw the Prince and greeted him in a loud boisterous tone, but Doll quickly grabbed his arm and nearly drug him up the stairs to his room and closed the door. Anything to keep him occupied and away from the Prince tonight. Even Poins had the good sense to stay away from him.
            The King was getting worse by the day, his fits were becoming more frequent and there seemed like nothing that the court physicians could do for him. He was in pain, some nights he couldn’t sleep and wondered the halls of the castle, and sometimes he would speak to himself. It was disheartening to see such a strong and powerful King as his father become mortal.
            While the Kings family was grieving for how sick he was, the kingdom was already preparing for his death. The political state was more important than the man and most were ready for the change. Looking for the changes in their own fortunes, looking for how his death would affect them instead of how it would affect the King or his family. Such was the life of a royal.
            More than anything in this world he wanted and needed Rayne here with him. His grief was only made worse by having to hide all from the world. And made worse still that Rayne had been married to another whose interest in her was not like James, a man who wanted a wife not a daughter. He drained another bottle and called for more his mood getting worse with each drink.
Conflictions
            Rayne stood on the battlements looking out over the countryside. It was a cold yet clear night and you could see for miles with the moonlight. It was freezing but she couldn’t make herself go back inside. She was scared, she was confused, and she was extremely conflicted in her heart.
            “Considering throwing yourself over the side in a foolish and dramatic grand gesture of your forbidden love?” John mockingly said watching her leaning against the doorway.
            “I’ve committed enough sins against God I wouldn’t add to the lists now.” Rayne said not looking at him. “And I wouldn’t abandon my children to be raised by a stranger who scorns them so.”
            He pushed off the wall and crossed his arms walking closer to her, “I never said that, I do not scorn them. There has never in the history of the world been a child born who asked to be born. Nor did they have the choice to who their parents to be.” John stood next to her looking at the view, it was quite breathtaking. There were several long moments of silence before he turned facing her, “The Prince will be king soon, his father’s health fails by the day. Then he will choose his queen and be married himself. Do you think he will hesitate for a moment to take her into his bed as a husband should? You can’t imagine for a single second that you are the only woman he’s had these past years he’s spent in this fanciful romance with you. You have spent months apart at a time and he is the Prince of Wales, a young hot blooded young man who could have the companionship of any woman he desired.” He stepped closer, “Never has he been your husband, never could he have been. Yet still you hold such determined loyalty and devotion to him as a wife would to her husband.”
            Rayne closed her eyes as a few tears escaped slid down her cheeks. “Have you never loved someone so deeply, My Lord, that you feel them even when you aren’t together? To be so much a part of someone, you don’t know where their soul ends and yours begins?” She asked. “You ask me to betray the one person I never had a chance, never had a choice but to owe my loyalty, devotion and heart to.”
            “Rayne,” John began. “Love him if you must. Perhaps your heart does long since belong to him and cannot belong to another man as you believe, and I am too late to have that part of you. But fulfill your vows and promises you have made to me like the honorable woman you are believed to be. For your sake and the sake of your children. Love the prince if you truly must, but be the noble woman that my uncle truly believed you were.” It was his last word on the matter before he turned and left her to think on his words.
Night Terrors
            Rayne sat at her vanity dressed in her nightgown which had been a wedding present brushing out her long raven black hair over her shoulders looking at herself in the large mirror. Putting down her brush she reached up putting her fingers over the jeweled pendant she always wore since the day Hal had given it to her. She closed her eyes bowing her head, “Oh my love.” She whispered, “What I do, I do for the sake of our sons, but my heart belongs to you and you alone.” Opening her eyes she looked at the woman who attended her and gave a nod. She bowed and left the room to tell the duke she was ready.
            She felt sick, she felt scared, but she knew she had to go through with this. She had no choice, no way to avoid it. Her eyes turned towards the dagger on the dresser a moment, another gift that Hal had given to her when he stopped her from disappearing into the country and took her back to London. Foolish thoughts filled her head and she had to push them from her mind.
            The door opened and then closed, and the latch was bolted shut for privacy. She took a breath and stood stepping away from her vanity and facing him. John smiled seeing how beautiful she looked in the candlelight, in the white and gold taffeta gown. He walked closer towards her seeing the way she held herself, how full of pride and courage she was as she squarely stood her ground. “I wonder if all brides prepare and dress themselves as if walking to their own sacrifice upon a pagan alter.”
            “You made it quite clear that you demand my sacrifice, do you not?” She said starring straight into his eyes. Hal had told her never to turn her eyes away from any man it was a sign of weakness.
            He sighed having had just about enough of this, “Oh Rayne. You ask for something that is not within me.” He reached out and seized her arm walking her towards their wedding bed. “Endless patience.” He threw her down onto the mattress forcefully, taking off his tunic and undershirt. Most husbands would expect their wedding night to be different, but it seemed his was not going to go the way he would have liked, “Years of damage in that head and unapproachable pride of yours, now it falls to me to undo.”
            Instantly Rayne rolled over and stood back up from the bed stepping back. She clinched her jaw starring at him, “If this must happen, then it must happen. But I will not be forced.” Her voice was stern and the look in her eye was of pure stubbornness.
            “Then stop acting like a child and submit to me as a wife should!” He yelled.
            She was breathing hard, and there were tears in her eyes. This was a nightmare, a worse nightmare then any she had ever had. Reaching up she pulled the ribbons that laced the night gown at the shoulders. John just watched as she closed her eyes and let the cloth slide down over her shoulders and off her arms to the floor baring herself to him before walking over and laying down obediently on the bed. She never opened her eyes and just waited.
            John watched arching a brow at her complete submission, he hadn’t been expecting it. He also saw as she walked to the bed the numerous scars she bore down her back and across her legs. They must have been from the flogging that his Uncle had mentioned in one of his letters. They were absolutely ghastly and very unbecoming, but as long as she was facing him he didn’t have to look at them.
            Walking over to the bed, he looked at her once more her eyes tight closed laying naked except for one piece of jewelry she wore around her neck, a pendant resting over her heart that she was never without. He smirked slightly before blowing out the candle.
Summoned
            Once the King died word of his death spread quickly. The nobles were summoned and all made their way to London for the funeral including the Duke and Duchess of Norfolk. Once they arrived in London, John was not like James. He kept Rayne on an extremely tight leash, insisting that she did not leave their rooms without an escort, and she was to be at his side when they did venture out at all times.
            The prince and his brothers were busy preparing for the funeral, the guests came to London in droves, and the clergy seemed to fill the halls of the castle. The colors that Rayne had loved so much about the festivals and banquets were gone. Everything and everyone were drenched in black in mourning for their deceased sovereign.
            Two days after they arrived, a messenger came from the Prince asking for Rayne to come to him. John was unwilling to let her go alone, or even with just an escort so he went with her. When they arrived, the Prince saw Rayne and a small smile started to form, but instantly disappeared when he found John at her side.
            “I didn’t send for you.” Hal said sternly.
            “I assumed your majesty requested the presence of the Duchess and Duke of Norfolk.” John said in an almost challenging tone. “”It’s not safe for my wife to wonder the halls of the castle alone in a city like London.”
            “Get out.” The prince said in a loud voice. John hesitated a moment then bowed slightly before turning and reluctantly leaving the room. The large doors closed leaving Rayne and the Prince alone. John was already intensely disliked by Hal bordering on hatred. Not long after his marriage to Rayne, he put a stop to her letters to the Prince. Even when Hal sent an official royal messenger who was instructed to wait for a response, John only allowed a brief message written under his supervision. Hal knew that Rayne was unhappy as she still found a way to get one or two letters to him. Even though she tried to sound happy to put his mind at rest, it was clear she was miserable as was he. Both of their hearts aching missing each other so much.
            There was a long silent moment before they ran into each other’s arms clinging to one another desperately. Hal held her to him so tight her feet came off the floor. He never wanted to let her go again. The cold emptiness inside, the rawness in his heart, the soul crushing sorrow was almost too much to bear all alone. Standing there with Rayne in his arms was the first and only relief he found. They didn’t speak, Hal turned slowly as they just embraced.
            He carefully set her back to her feet, his hands on her waist tears in his eyes. Rayne rested her hand to his face seeing the excruciating pain he was in. “Stay with me.” Hal said finally looking into her eyes, “Don’t leave me tonight, Rayne. Please.” His voice broke slightly when he said it. He would let her go if she wished he would never force her, or command her to stay. Rayne knew that she should go, that John would be furious if she didn’t leave now. But how could she?
            “Of course.” She whispered. Beyond thankful, Hal kissed her fingers and cupped her face in his hands and kissed her deeply before they embraced again.
To Be Continued . . . .
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The Company Thou Keepest