Chapter 19
“If you cannot bear to see me like this, then go.”
The nanny clenched her teeth and wiped at her streaming tears with the back of her hand—whether tears or snot, she no longer knew.
“No, Miss. I will go with you. I will protect you.”
Godiva was no Eve of Eden. She herself felt this state to be miserably shameful. But there was no other choice.
‘If your love for the serfs is truly that desperate.’
That night, Leofric’s cold voice had pierced her heart.
‘Prove it to me.’
She had asked him what he meant.
‘Godiva, the heart is not easily seen.’
Her eyes burned, and she lowered her head.
‘The only way to prove it is with the body.’
A single tear fell onto the cloak lying at her feet.
‘Reveal yourself beneath the sun.’
A light breeze stirred. Through the cascade of her hair, the gentle curve of her b****t glimmered faintly.
‘At noon. In Coventry’s streets. Mounted. Unclothed.’
To Leofric, they had been a sentence. To Godiva, they broke apart into cruel fragments.
‘Lady Godiva, if you cannot—then remain silent forever.’
A strange wind chilled her, and the tender buds of her body tightened.
‘The choice is yours.’
As he had said, she chose.
‘Whatever you decide, I will respect it.’
If she endured the humiliation of her own shame, he would reduce the heavy taxes burdening the serfs. That had been Leofric’s proposal.
‘Leofric, why did you look at me like that…?’
It had been too dark to see his eyes, yet she knew what they must have held. Even now, her chest ached.
Is the heart truly invisible?
Leofric possessed everything—power, renown, valor, wisdom, wealth, land… Why, then, had his eyes reddened like a wounded child’s? Godiva closed her eyes. Tears flowed down her cheeks and along her neck.
I already belong to you….
She lifted her head. The Coventry marketplace was drawing near.
“Why would my lord ever say such a thing…?”
It was the first time the nanny had spoken ill of Leofric.
“How could he make such a dreadful proposal to someone as tender-hearted as you?”
Godiva knew. Leofric had not wanted blind obedience, nor had he sought to push her beyond her limits in cruelty. He had wanted her safe—within the walls of his world, sheltered from the harshness outside. But her conscience would not allow her to remain silent.
“Nanny… he…”
Her voice was very soft. The nanny fell quiet and looked at her.
“He is too precious to me.”
The nanny’s mouth fell open in shock. She had never heard such words from her mistress, who had once seemed timid before her husband.
“And yet he treats you so—”
Godiva shook her head.
“He still gave me a choice.”
The nanny could scarcely believe it.
“A choice? What kind of choice is that? To walk naked through the streets in broad daylight—do you call that a choice?”
It was incomprehensible. She stared at Godiva with reddened eyes.
“I cannot claim to understand everything. But I will remain by his side.”
Leofric was not a sadist. The more she replayed his words, the more she realized what she had not seen that night. His tone, his voice, even his breath—he had been in pain.
“Miss, but—”
The nanny broke off. They had reached the entrance to the marketplace. She pulled sharply on the reins.
“Miss….”
The wide streets of Coventry lay open before them.
The nanny blinked in disbelief.
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