“I will see you at the evening meal.” She kissed him again briefly.
His hand caught her before she walked away. “Why don’t you bring Abigail here for the noon-time meal, and I will make sure Ethan and Matthew join you. I’m sure they would love to see their sister.” Since becoming pages, both boys had been brought to live in the castle to be trained by their master and his men. Dominick and Eleanor also thought it best to ease the burden of raising three children for Ruth.
“I’m sure they would.” She kissed his cheek. “I will see you at midday,” she promised, then bolted out the door.
Once outside the castle she was met with the sweet smell of herbs from her kitchen garden. She discovered to her delight that the cabbages were growing round and fat, and the carrot stalks were growing taller and heartier. Rosemary and thyme thickened. Soon fresh vegetables would grace their tables.
After her inspection, she headed toward Ruth’s cottage. Eleanor found her and Abigail pulling weeds out of their own kitchen garden. Eleanor had been vigilant about taking care of her friend.
“Good morning,” she said.
“Good morning, my lady. She looked over at her daughter. “Abigail, don’t pull that out, it’s a carrot.
Ruth looked especially radiant that day. Despite her growing girth, she was extremely agile.
Eleanor bent down to help. “Should you be doing this?”
“Of course. It’s good for me and the baby to get some exercise.”
“Well don’t overdo it,” Eleanor warned. “Where is your hat?”
“I left it inside. I hadn’t planned on working out here today, but the weather was so beautiful I just found myself on the ground pulling weeds.”
After an hour the three had restored the garden to only vegetables and herbs, with a few marigolds to keep the insects away. They had tea and then Eleanor insisted on cleaning up the cottage while Ruth rested.
Later the three of them headed toward the castle. Peals of laughter and squealing rang out as the three children reunited. Each boy received a tight hug from their mother that nearly turned them blue.
Dominick came in to the great hall holding a piece of parchment. His expression was grim.
Worry settled on Eleanor’s heart. She stepped forward. “What is it?”
He pulled her away from the others. “It’s from our western neighboring village, Conwyn. Apparently they have been raided by bandits.”
“McPhearson?”
“It doesn’t seem so. The priest who sent the message said it is a band of thieves terrorizing villagers and farmers.”
“What do you mean to do?”
“I’m leaving tomorrow with twenty of my men.”
Eleanor’s heart sank. Since their marriage they had never been apart. “How long do you think you will be gone?”
He shrugged. “I’m not sure. I don’t know how long it will take me to find the bandits’ lair.”
“What will you do when you find them?”
He gave her a look that said he knew what she was thinking. “They will be dealt with.”
Eleanor sighed heavily. As lord of Godwin, it was his duty to protect his people and the neighboring villages, but she couldn’t bear the image of him in acts of violence. She wanted to see him only as a landowner, not the warrior legends had claimed him to be. And yet, it was the warrior that kept Godwin and its villagers safe. She too felt safe because of Dominick.
“I will miss you terribly.”
He wrapped an arm around her. “I will miss you too, my little dove, but there is nothing I can do.”
“I understand.” The uncertainty of how long he would be gone weighed on her. If the thieves should be difficult to locate, then his absence might be extensive. She’d never thought of him leaving before.
She hugged him tightly once more, then took his hand and led him back to the table. “We must spend the rest of the day together to make up for time that will be lost.”
They had been together for such a short time, due partly to her stubbornness. Now that she’d let him into her heart, letting him go was a monumental task. Their separation would be a real test of her strength.
Dominick watched his wife as they ate their noon meal. She picked at her stew and nibbled on her bread. He could see the sadness lying underneath a mask of joviality.
Ethan and Matthew spent the rest of the day with their mother and sister. The great hall became heavy with the silence. Eleanor looked to be near tears. His chest felt as though it carried a large stone.
An idea occurred to him. Taking Eleanor’s hand he led her out to the stables and saddled both horses. The two of them rode to the beach, racing their horses in the surf, soaking them with the salty spray.
Eleanor threw her head back and laughed with joy. She resembled a woman who didn’t have a care in the world. He wanted to remember her like this. He pushed the pain of their separation aside. The day belonged to them.
Dismounting, he pulled Eleanor into his arms, kissing her passionately. Mischievousness crossed his mind as he picked her up, threatening to toss her in the water. She squealed shouts and laughter, clinging tightly to his neck.
Lowering her down the length of his body, he kissed her mouth hard, burning the memory of it in his mind.
Finally, the two broke free. He found a soft place for them to sit and watch the white, foamy waves roll upon the shore. Burying his hands in the sand, he felt the warmth cover them like a soft blanket. He watched her delicate fingers sift through the sand. Fine granules on the back of her hand sparkled like tiny jewels in the sunlight.
Neither said a word, just basked in the overwhelming beauty of it all. Something warm trickled down his back. He looked over to see a mischievous smile on Eleanor’s face.
“You little wench. I’ll teach you to pour sand down my back.”
She bolted into action when he threatened to do the same. He chased her down the beach. Playfully, Eleanor tried warding him off by splashing water back at him. Her laughter threatened to topple her over. Just inside the opening, Dominick captured her in his arms. Dim light seeped through the vines of the cavern.
Dominick kissed her briefly. “I have a surprise for you.” He found the flint he had stored inside the cave. Striking it, he lit a torch then used it to light the other torches he had placed along the cave walls, sending the cavern into warm light.
“Oh Dominick, this is beautiful. When did you do all this?”
The limestone walls glistened in the torches’ glow. “Not too long ago. I wanted this to be a place of fond memories again, to dull the sadness of the past.”
Her face beamed with delight. She walked into his arms. “Dominick, I have never known anyone to be so thoughtful.”
He gazed intently into hers. “You inspire me.”
His heart hammered in his chest. He knew the words without her having to speak them. The story of her love for him was written in her eyes. It engulfed his soul and solidified. With her in his arms he was whole.
“Do you know how beautiful you are in this light?” he whispered.
She pulled away from him, looking down at her gown wet from the knees down and covered in sand. Her hair had come undone and was damp from the wild ride in the surf. “How can you say that?”
“You are more beautiful than any woman I’ve seen in a life time.” Her beauty went beyond the physical. She was his salvation. Silently he ran the back of his hand across her cheek then traced her jaw with the tip of his fingers. “There is only beauty I see before me.”
Her arms came around his waist. “You’re the one who’s beautiful, Dominick. You have a good heart and a strong soul, and for this I’m grateful.”
He was amazed that she was grateful, when she, in fact, she was the one who had saved his heart from the purgatory of isolation.
He looked down into her jewel-green eyes. They shined with passion. They drew him down to a kiss. A tender kiss became fervent. Her tongue slipping into his mouth sent waves of desire throu
gh his body. He snuggled her inside the circle of his arms. Her body was warm, but it trembled. .
She pulled away. “Make love to me.”
Her words inflamed him. Passion fired in his veins, making his hands shake as he unlaced her gown. Her hands shook as well, unbuckling his girdle, letting his sword and sheath fall to the sandy floor.
Trembling fingers ran up his rib cage inside his tunic, and then pulled it over his head. Her hands looked small across the broad expanse of his chest. Her fingers grazed his nipples, sending shards of excitement through him.
He peeled the gown off her shoulders. Her skin was bathed in golden light. He buried his head in the nap of her neck and kissed her shoulder. “I love you,” he said as he pressed her close to himself. He felt overwhelmed with passion ignited with her newfound sexuality.
“I love you too, with all my heart,” she said.
He broke from the bond only for a moment to lay his tunic on the ground and place her on it. Standing beside her he finished undressing, all the while admiring her fine form as she lay across the dark fabric. She came to him freely and lovingly. Knowing that she belonged to him was an aphrodisiac.
Sucking in his breath, he held on to his control when she held out her arms to him. As he lay beside her he watched the firelight flicker across her face. Her eyes were a deeper shade of emerald and filled with passion so deep he could drown in them.
Dominick wanted to honor this woman with his body. Slowly he elevated her desire. Each stroke of his hand and kiss on her skin sent him adrift on the waves of ecstasy. He drew in deep breaths and blew gently on her nipples, tightening them into small hard peaks.
He stroked her body. When he knew she was close to her climax, he gently drew her in another direction. Soon Eleanor’s breath became raspy and shallow. She moaned and pleaded for him to complete his task, but he wouldn’t release her from his delectable torment.
“Dominick, please,” she whispered. Her breath hitched, but he continued to strum.”
“Hold on, my sweet, we’ll get there.”
Her head thrashed back and forth. Her back arched, and she writhed with a need for fulfillment. Finally, he let her cross the abyss, and in her moment of ecstasy, he entered her with a hard thrust completing her climax with his own. They were one.
As he drifted back to reality the cold presence of Isolde swept over him. Tell her the secret.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Eleanor floated slowly down to earth like a leaf in a gentle wind. Dominick drove her to near insanity with his lovemaking.
Looking up into his ebony eyes, she saw hesitation. He was about to tell her something that she didn’t want to hear. Her heart pulsed with dread.
She sat up. “What is it?”
“Eleanor, there is something I have to tell you. It’s a message from your mother.”
Sensing the worst, she felt her blood turn cold. He took a deep breath and plunged forward. “Your mother said ‘He is not your father.’”
“I don’t understand,” A distant voice in her head told her she did.
“I think she is telling me that the man you believed to be your father, is in fact not your father.”
It was like a blow to the chest. She could barely breathe. Her lungs constricted in shock. Dominick tried to put his arms around her, but she pushed them away for fear they would suffocate her.
“Try to calm down.” He rubbed her back while she took deep breaths.
She held on to the sound of his voice as it pulled her out of the well of emotion she had plunged into. Sitting still, she fought for calm. Her breathing became deeper. He is not my father. More deception and more lies.
Anger launched her in to action. Quickly, she dressed and drew her boots on. Dominick called out to her as she ran out of the cave, but she couldn’t hear him over the pounding of the waves. Running waist deep into the water, she let the waves wash over her.
“Ahhhh!”
Her mind filled with blood-red rage. She fought Dominick as he pulled her out of the water, feeling inept when she couldn’t hold him back.
“Let me go!”
“Not until you stop.”
“I don’t want to stop. She struggled against him. Don’t you see? My entire, miserable life has been built on lies. All lies.” She dragged in another deep breath and started shouting again, expelling her anger and disillusionment. “My mother lied about my father, and my father lied about my mother’s death.” Her arms flayed the air. “Now it all makes sense that he hated me. I wasn’t his child.” Her legs gave out, and she crumpled to the ground. “Did she tell you who my father was?”
He lowered his head, “No, she didn’t.”
“Then who am I, Dominick?” she sobbed into her hands “Who am I?”
He pulled her hands away from her face. “First and foremost you are my wife. Secondly you are the Lady of Godwin who is loyal to her people without fault. And most of all you are my heart that beats inside. It would be dead without you.”
“I want that to be enough, but I’m not certain it can be.”
He wrapped her in his arms. “Who you are to me is everything.”
His sincerity touched her. This strong giant, general to the King and ruthless warrior had dedicated his life to her. But her life had been plagued with uncertainty. Was happiness something she could trust?
Eleanor brooded while Dominick was gone. Everywhere she looked there were signs of him. Every corner she turned, she expected to see him, only at the last minute realizing he wasn’t there.
She hadn’t expected their separation to be so difficult. Hoping his trip would only take a few days, she kept herself busy inside the castle or out in the gardens or helping Ruth with her cottage and Abigail. But after the tenth day, she lost hope that this was going to be a short separation. The bandits must have been more clever than she thought.
Her mind filled with thoughts of her father, or the man she thought to be her father. She interrogated Martha and Zenon, but the woman had no idea what she was talking about, and she couldn’t elaborate without explaining that Dominick could communicate with the dead.
The fatigue added to her despair. It weighed her down. The day prior she’d given in to an afternoon nap. That morning when she broke her fast, the gruel Martha presented to her turned her stomach and it threatened to lurch back up right there in the great hall. She ran to the sanctuary of her gardens and fresh air and within a few moments had recovered enough to continue with her daily routine.
Ruth’s cottage became as familiar as her own home. She no longer knocked on the door before entering. Stepping into the cheery kitchen she was met with the wonderful smell of bread baking. Her stomach rumbled loudly as Ruth placed the warm bread and a bowl full of honey on the table.
“How are you feeling today?” Eleanor asked. A question she’d asked every day she saw her. She wanted to make sure that Ruth had everything she needed for the upcoming birth.
Ruth busily waddled around the kitchen. “I’m doing very well today, my lady, and you?”
Rising from the bench, Eleanor retrieved a cup from the shelf near the window and poured herself some tea. “I really don’t know. I have been so tired lately I can barely keep my eyes open. And this morning my stomach would not allow me to put anything in it. But now smelling that bread I feel as though I could eat the whole loaf.”
Ruth stared at her for a long moment.
“Where is Abigail?” Eleanor continued.
“She discovered another girl her age in the village, a merchant’s daughter, named Margaret. The mother asked if Abigail could play with her today. Apparently the girl is as much of a handful as Abigail. Together they should keep each other occupied.” Ruth poured her own cup of tea. “When did you start feeling like this?” she said over the rim of her cup.
Eleanor sat for a few moments thinking about it. “It started just before Dominick left.” The tea settled her stomach.
Ruth cut her a piece of bread and drizzled honey on it.
Eleanor gobbled it in three bites as Ruth silently watched.
She surprised herself by the speed with which she devoured the slice of bread.
“How does your stomach feel now?” Ruth asked, refilling her cup of tea.
“Surprisingly, I feel fine. It was just this morning and only for a little while.”
“My lady, may I ask you something personal?”
“Of course, you’re one of my dearest friends,” she responded somewhat surprised.
“When was the last time you had your courses?”
Shocked, Eleanor dropped her mug loudly onto the table. “I guess that would be personal.”
“I don’t mean to offend you.”
“I’m not offended, just surprised.”
Ruth pressed her. “Think, my lady.”
She tried to remember. It was definitely before the stable fire. Suddenly, she felt as though the blood had drained out of her body. “It isn’t possible.”
Ruth’s raised her eyebrows. “You mean you and his lordship have never . . . ?”
Eleanor felt her cheeks burn with memories of her and Dominick’s lovemaking. “Of course we have. It’s just that I have not thought of that possibility.”
“You do know where babies come from?” Ruth said in all sincerity.
“Of course,” she said with exasperation. “It’s just that with all the things that have happened lately, it didn’t enter my mind.”
The more she thought about it, the more she knew it was true. She was going to have a baby. Eleanor sat in wonder. Involuntarily she put her hand on her stomach.
Ruth smiled and patted her own belly. “I know the joy you’re feeling.
Anxiety struck her. “Oh Ruth, he is not here to share this.”
“He will be soon, Eleanor.”
“That feels as though it could be a lifetime.”
Ruth grasped Eleanor’s hand. “It will be fine, my lady. He will be home soon enough, and you can tell him then.”
The conversation felt surreal. Almost disconnected as though they were talking about someone else. Then it occurred to her the only other person who should tell next was Dominick.
Immortal Love Page 21
