"Ha!" her grandfather snorted. "I fear you will not, lass. Your heart is not on the game."

"My heart has nothing to do with it," Elizabeth snapped as she watched Elslow take another of her pawns.

"Have you told your husband that you love him?" Elslow suddenly asked, barking his question out with the speed of a hawk attacking his innocent prey.

"I have no wish to discuss my husband," Elizabeth replied with anger, staring at the board in an effort to dismiss the subject.

Elslow would have none of it. His fist landed on the tabletop, jarring both Elizabeth and the pieces of the chess set. "I would have your attention when I speak to you," he demanded. "I am your elder and you would do well to remember that. I have a wish to discuss the matter and you will comply," he added in a booming voice.

"Very well," Elizabeth replied, stung by his anger. "I do not know how you have come to the conclusion that I love my husband, but," she added when she saw her grandfather was about to interrupt, "it is true. I do love him."

"And did you share this information with your husband?"

"Aye, I told him that I love him." Elizabeth moved the pieces back into position on the board and said, "It is your move, Grandfather."

"When I am ready," Elslow replied. His voice was calmer now, and Elizabeth looked up to read his motive. "Was Geoffrey pleased to hear your declaration?"

The question opened the cap on Elizabeth 's hurt and anger. "He was not!" She rushed out the denial, keeping nothing from him with her pained expression. "He cares nothing for love or affection. Those were his very words," she stated when Elslow showed his disbelief. "I am to save my love and affection for our children. Love weakens the spirit and the cause," she explained. "I tell you this, Grandfather, my husband is most unfeeling." As an afterthought, she muttered, "Except when he is angry."

"Ha!" Elslow fairly bellowed with glee. "There, methinks, is the key."

"I do not understand," Elizabeth answered, frowning. "You laugh at my misery and speak in riddles.

Geoffrey is always angry, and I am good and sick of it. He is unbending, unreasonable, and uncaring. I will tell you what I am thinking to do, Grandfather. I will try to abandon my love for him. Yes! I will, I tell you. It is a futile endeavor. I am like a knight, surrounded by an enemy army, and I know when I am defeated."

"Nonsense, child. Put your misery aside. I am about to share a secret with you. Your husband loves you." Elslow laughed at his granddaughter's reaction to his statement. Disbelief was there, and anger too. "Before this game is ended, I will prove my point to you," he promised. "But I must have your full cooperation in the matter." He waited for Elizabeth to nod, and when she finally did, he continued, his tone most factual. "Now, tell me what happened when you saved the vassal from drowning. I would hear all of it, so leave nothing out."

Elizabeth knew when her grandfather was in one of his stubborn moods. It was the set of his jaw and his tone of voice that now told her she had best do as he requested, else she would sit at the table long into the night. As quickly as possible she recited the happening, including the information about killing the enemy with her arrows-a fact that drew a wide smile from her grandfather, she noticed-and ending the tale with her husband's most unsatisfactory reaction to her deed. "I thought he would be pleased with my help, but he was not."

"Tell me what he did," Elslow persisted. Now he was the one drumming his fingers on the tabletop, his impatience with his granddaughter obvious.

"I do not know what you seek," Elizabeth protested. "He was angry and yelled, of course-he always yells at me-and he would not let me explain my motives."

"You miss my question, child," Elslow stated, his tone gentle. He could see that the conversation upset her, but he felt he must continue. Picking his words carefully, he said, "Did he pull you from the water by your hair? Did he throw you to the ground and kick you?"

Elizabeth gasped at his outrageous questions. "He would never hurt me. You know that, Grandfather, you know he is honorable and-"

Elslow's slow smile stopped her tirade. "Paint what happened in your mind again and tell me each detail, from the time you were in the water."

"You insist?" Elizabeth asked, not wishing to comply.

"I do!"

"Very well. He pulled me from the water, but not by my hair," she said, shaking her head, "at least I think he pulled me from the water, and then, in front of his men, he began to shake me, so hard I thought my teeth would come loose. It was so embarrassing in front of his men, the way he shook me," she said with renewed irritation.

"Continue," Elslow encouraged.

"And then he…" Elizabeth 's eyes widened with astonishment as memory took over. Ever so slowly the frown left her face, and a sparkle of hope entered her gaze.

Elslow witnessed it and sighed. His granddaughter was coming to her senses. "He what?" Elslow asked, trying hard not to laugh.

"Why, he pulled me to him and embraced me. It is true. I was crying so that I could not hear what he was saying." Elizabeth grabbed Elslow's hand and began to smile. "God's truth, he treated me like a rag doll, Grandfather. First he would shake me, and then he would hug me, and then he would repeat the ordeal again and again. It was as if he could not make up his mind over the matter."

"Aye, that is how Roger recounted it," Elslow confirmed, grinning. "Now," he added, his voice firm, "I just heard you call him unbending, unreasonable, and uncaring."

"I have," Elizabeth admitted. "I would be honest," she explained.

"With everyone but yourself," Elslow amended. "I will not question you further, Elizabeth. You will begin to use your head now and find your own solutions."

"Tell me your thoughts," Elizabeth begged.

"My thoughts are insignificant," Elslow hedged. The look of disappointment softened his resolve. "Very well. To me, it is all quite simple. The man loves you, whether he wishes to or not."

"If what you say is true," Elizabeth answered, "then there is still one problem."

"Aye?"

"He does not know it… yet."

"Then it will be your duty to instruct him," Elslow stated with a sparkle in his eyes.

The game of chess continued, but Elizabeth could not concentrate on what she was doing. Her mind was busy trying to think of a plan of action in dealing with her husband, and it took her full effort.

"Grandfather?" she interrupted at one point. "Geoffrey thinks I have been disloyal to him, and I do not know how to change his way of thinking," she admitted.

"In time his attitude will soften. Your motives were pure, child, and he will surely realize that soon enough," her grandfather answered as he studied the board.

Elizabeth considered her grandfather's words and then interrupted his concentration again. "You have always taught me to form a plan before making a change. I have considered that I could-"

"Do not tell me your intentions," Elslow stated. "I would remain innocent of your deceptions."

"Deceptions! You shame me, Grandfather. I will deal with my husband with honor. Always," she stated with emphasis. "If Geoffrey truly loves me, then what I plan will be most honorable."

"Checkmate!"

"I beg your pardon?"

"The game, Elizabeth. I have won."

"Nay, Grandfather," Elizabeth denied with a smile. "It is I who has won."

"What say you? I have your queen, and your king cannot move. The game is mine."

"Aye, that is true," Elizabeth conceded with a nod. "The game is yours… but the knight is mine."

While Geoffrey was gone from Montwright, Elizabeth prepared her belongings for transfer to her husband's home. It was a most difficult task. Each morning, upon awakening, Elizabeth would fight waves of nausea. Bile would push for release, and more often than not, her contrary stomach would have its way. Elizabeth found herself eating less and less, thinking to purge the poison that had mysteriously found its way into her stomach, and rested several times during the day in an effort to gain new strength.