After the meal, while the court remained seated at table, the play began. Valentina was caught up with the novelty of it all, when suddenly the gnarled Argyll, resplendent in his black bearskin, confused the actors with reality and joined the argument and the swordfighting. The king and the more sophisticated of his courtiers were helpless with laughter until it became apparent that Argyll was going to dispatch the actors with his mighty swordarm.
The Earl of Angus directed his son, young Archibald Douglas, to get Argyll under control and explain matters to him, a formidable task that the faint at heart would not attempt. Douglas did a creditable job of controlling Argyll, and the assembly applauded him with many a ribald comment about Lord Bleary.
Janet said, “There is something splendid about Douglas men.” She was not looking at the young Master of Angus, however, but at his powerful father, the highest earl in the land. Valentina could see she was still half in love with him.
Janet sighed and arose. “It is time for me to withdraw, I think. I shall look forward to seeing you tomorrow. Perhaps we could ride together.”
As the tables were cleared away for dancing, Patrick Hamilton presented Tina to the queen. Though her face and figure were heavy and plain, her gown was not. It was black velvet, embroidered all over with white silken Tudor roses whose centers were diamonds, pearls, and rubies. As Tina went down before her, Queen Margaret looked her over, saw no array of jewels, and decided she was no rival. She chose to overlook the fact that the girl’s face and hair were adornment more radiant than any jewels.
“Lady Valentina, how sweet of you to honor me by wearing my green and white Tudor colors.”
Tina had not been aware of it until the queen pointed it out The queen continued, “Your dear mother is English, of course. That is why you have such pretty manners and a cultured voice. This is Nan Howard,” said the queen, introducing her lady-in-waiting. Beside the queen’s sallowness, the Howard girl looked like a flower from an English rose garden. She was all lovely round curves with golden hair and blue eyes, yet the look she cast Tina was most unlovely. It was sullen, in fact, which was puzzling until Valentina saw her glance at Patrick Hamilton with accusation in her eyes.
Tina was almost amused. She negligently shrugged one pretty shoulder before she turned away from the girl to be introduced to her father Lord Howard, Earl of Surrey, was acting as ambassador to Scotland at the moment. He was a close confidant of the queen and acted as secret liaison between Margaret Tudor and her brother Henry, the new all-powerful king of England. Howard’s daughters had inherited his blond hair and fine English skin, which gave him a youthful appearance, belying his almost fifty years.
Howard raised Valentina’s fingers to his lips and made her an elegant leg. Though dressed in the height of fashion, his clothes were in impeccable taste. The contrast between Howard and the Scots nobles clearly showed he was from a more civilized culture. He was no fop, however. He had a military bearing and had commanded forces for the old Tudor king when he was alive. “Lady Valentina, may I tell you that you are more breathtaking than your mother? In my youth I spent time in Carlisle, and I admit freely that Elizabeth broke my heart when she married Robert Kennedy.”
Tina rewarded him with a smile, thinking how nice it would be to have a father with such polished manners.
“Will you save me a dance, my lady? I intend to give these younger men a run for their money.”
Farther down the hall, Ramsay Douglas praised his cousin Archibald in front of his father, the Earl of Angus, in hope of raising his uncle’s opinion of his own son. “That took both courage and diplomacy,” Ram said.
The rash Master of Douglas replied, “It felt good tae ha’ control of Argyll, even if only fer a few minutes.”
Ram made no comment but thought it showed a lack of self-control to display his lust for power quite so openly. Still, his father was so dominant, it was hard to get out from under his shadow. Though aging, Angus still ruled the whole Douglas clan, not just his son, with an iron fist. Ram smiled wryly. At least a dozen women had their eyes upon them as they stood talking, and he knew that if he spurned their offers, they would gladly settle for the powerful Earl of Angus, despite his age.
As the music started for the dancing, Ram said low to his cousin, “Here comes the queen. I would rather avoid her advances.”
“What do ye mean, man?” asked young Archie.
Ram cast him a cynically amused glance. “She seems tae have developed a craving for Douglas flesh.” Ram saw raw speculation come into his cousin’s eyes.
“By God, I’ll ha’ at her!” he said aggressively, and Ram suppressed a shudder, thinking it would take a great deal of either fortitude or ambition to ride that gray mare. He was cynical enough to wonder if his cousin acted on orders from his father; then his cynicism went one step further, and he wondered if Angus had pushed Janet into the king’s bed for his own devious purpose.
Patrick Hamilton led Valentina Kennedy onto the floor for the slow and sensual pavane. She concentrated on the gliding steps, carefully keeping pace with Patrick, who had obviously danced at court before. There were many elegantly gowned ladies dancing, and Tina did not wish to appear unsophisticated before that polished assembly.
As the slow measure advanced, she gained confidence and began to enjoy the music. Everyone changed partners as the men circled one way and the ladies the other. Valentina was shocked to find herself face to face with Black Ram Douglas. His pewter eyes went insolently up and down her person, as if he were measuring her with his own personal yardstick and found her lacking in every way.
Here was a very different Ramsay Douglas from the uncouth wretch in thigh boots and leathers. He wore a jeweled codpiece, begod! It drew her eyes, then she could have died when she felt herself blushing. Suddenly all her fine confidence dissolved. She felt young and awkward and very countrified. He was so damned elegant, so arrogant and utterly sure of himself. She remembered with deep humiliation how he had straddled her in the grass, and suddenly she could not bear the thought of his hands touching her again. She gathered all her courage, lifted first an elegant bare shoulder, then her chin, then deliberately walked off the dance floor.
Hotspur’s jaw clenched like a lump of iron at the insult. All Douglas males were blood-proud, but this particular Douglas was nine-tenths pride. He knew a murderous urge to pursue her, to put his hands about that slender neck below the pretty ruff and snap it. His rage blinded him to the open invitation of other women, and he left the hall and went alone to his bed that night.
Patrick Hamilton saw Valentina depart and hurried after her. He caught up with her outside in the chilly night air. “Tina, are ye feeling unwell?”
“I needed fresh air,” she temporized.
“The smoke from the candles is enough tae choke a strong man, but there’s a cold wind off the North Sea tonight.” He moved close to slip a warming arm about her shoulders.
“Patrick, I walked off the dance floor because my next partner was to be Ramsay Douglas.”
She felt his hands tighten into fists, and he demanded, “He hasn’t made advances toward ye, has he?”
“No, no. We cannot tolerate each other.” She shivered. He drew her against his body. “Let me warm ye,” he said thickly. Her scent stole to him, and the wind blew a tress of her hair against his cheek, arousing him instantly. His lips sought hers, and as their mouths fused, he lengthened and hardened with a dizzying need. “Tina, Tina, come tae my chamber. We can be snug up there.”
She pulled away from him. “Patrick, you know I cannot”
His raging desire made him ignore her refusal. He pressed her urgently. “We’ll soon be betrothed—let me love ye, Tina?” His insistent lips came down upon hers again, and his hands pulled her hips against his hard sex.
Valentina knew she must leave him before he lost control. She was not ready for this yet. The court might be amoral, but she was not “Patrick, let me go! We both know what would happen if I came to your chamber.”
Christ, he could see her in his bed, feel her beneath his hard body. Talking about what would happen sent the blood beating in his temples and his cock. She pried his hands from her hips and said, “In the morning I would hate myself, and I would hate you too. I must find Meggie Campbell and go up now.”
Patrick groaned. Donal Kennedy was likely fucking Meggie Campbell’s brains out at this moment, but of course he couldn’t say such a thing to Lady Valentina. He had to let her go back inside alone because it would be a few minutes before he could even walk.
Nan Howard saw Valentina Kennedy return to the hall without Patrick Hamilton. She took hold of her sister Kat’s hand and went outside to look for him. She didn’t have to go far before she saw his tall, slim figure in the shadows. She went forward to him, while Kat hovered behind her. She was shorter, plumper than Tina, but oh so much more willing. “Patrick,” she said in her little girl voice, “have you been avoiding me?”
“Of course not,” he said huskily. “Dancing bores me.”
She giggled prettily. “Kat and I are bored too. Why don’t we join you? I’m sure you can think of something to amuse us, Patrick.” She took both his hands in hers, and he raised first one and then the other to his lips and suggestively traced his tongue across her palms. He heard the quick intake of her breath that told him he had aroused her. He was most familiar with Nan Howard’s sensuality and imagined her naked, her soft pink flesh and blond curls spread invitingly for him.
He cleared his throat and wondered how they could rid themselves of Kat. He said low, “The game I have in mind is best played by two”
“Patrick, any game that two can play can be even more fun with three players, unless of course you are monkish by nature.”
Hamilton’s eyes widened in surprise. Christ, he knew the Howard daughters were exceeding sportive, but if he wasn’t mistaken, they were both asking for a taste of his prick, and in the state Tina Kennedy had left him, he was ready for them. “I just happen tae have a small cask of aqua vitae in my chamber that cries out to be tasted,” he invited with a wink.
The rooms in Edinburgh Castle were cheerless to say the least, but this night, in Patrick Hamilton’s bed, the trio couldn’t have been more cozy. The three of them rolled about as the girls playfully disrobed their willing victim. Patrick’s lust was such that he took Nan almost immediately, without preliminaries. When Kat saw how willing and able he was to perform, she pressed her nakedness to his humping back, crying, “Don’t be greedy, Nan! Save some for me.”
As Patrick lay sprawled between them to catch his breath, they plied him with drink. He assessed Kat with heavy-lidded eyes. Her hair was a darker gold than her sister’s, and her belly wasn’t nearly so rounded. He decided he hadn’t had such a fine piece in months.
Kat dipped her finger into the alcohol flavored with caraway and painted the head of Patrick’s cock. As it started to rise again, she dipped her head between his legs and licked him, giggling, “Now I know why they call it liquor.”
He groaned. Christ, was he dreaming, or had he died and gone to Heaven? “My angels.” He sighed softly, closing his eyes.
The two sisters exchanged meaningful looks across the bared body of the Earl of Arran’s heir.
The moment Tina returned to the hall she was claimed by Lord Howard. She gave a little sigh of relief knowing she would be perfectly safe in his hands and allowed him to lead her off for a dance. At first she thought she was imagining it, but as his hands became more and more playful, she knew it was not her imagination.
He held her much too close as his hand caressed her bottom. Tina was loath to make another scene, so she said pointedly, “There is Lady Howard. You must have the next dance with your wife.”
He chuckled. “My wife gives all her attention to the younger men, hoping to lure husbands for our six daughters. Younger men, however, do not have the skill and experience of a mature man.” He bent toward her ear. “We make much better lovers.”
Howard was hot for the beautiful young redhead. He thought to follow the king and take a Kennedy lass for his mistress.
Tina’s steps faltered. “My Lord Howard, I promised to look after Meggie Campbell. I really must go.”
He looked down at her with a most understanding and indulgent smile. “What a fool I am. You are reluctant because you are still a little virgin, aren’t you?”
Tina was shocked enough to blurt, “Yes, I am!”
He gave her a quick kiss upon the lips and whispered, “I’ll let you go this time. But when you have lost your little cherry, come back to your uncle Howard and let him teach you all the refinements.”
This time Tina ran from the hall. There wasn’t a man who lived and breathed who wasn’t ruled by his prick! Apparently Englishmen were as lecherous as Scots.
* * *
The next morning, Valentina, thinking there was safety in numbers, joined a merry group who decided to ride abroad. They wouldn’t have much of a gallop in the grounds atop Castle Rock, but fresh air and exercise would be welcome after the dark chambers inside the ancient fortalice.
The king joined Tina and Janet Kennedy inside the long stables and insisted upon saddling the ladies’ horses himself. He ran an appreciative hand over Tina’s damson-colored Barbary. “She’s a rare beauty,” he enthused. James had as keen an eye for a filly as he had for a woman.
“Thank you, sire.” Tina beamed.
He lifted her into the sidesaddle with his own hands, and Tina was quite breathless to be shown such gallantry by the king himself. He brought Janet’s mare from its box-stall, and Tina, eyeing her cousin’s fashionable riding clothes with envy, said, “My habit is sadly out of style.”
Janet lifted the hem of Tina’s cream riding skirt and tore open the small slit all the way up the seam so that Tina’s lacy black stockings and garters showed daringly. “Voilà! Now you are up-to-the-minute.”
Tina laughed down at her, knowing they were sisters under the skin. She raised her eyes as a tall figure approached. “There you are, Patrick. I feared you would stay abed all morning. His Highness had to saddle my mare for me.”
Patrick flushed and murmured a profuse apology. Tina walked her Barbary out into the pale sunshine of the castle courtyard to give the men space to saddle up the other horses. She had not ridden thirty yards when she came face to face with Ramsay Douglas.
He stared in disbelief when he saw the mare upon which he had set his heart being ridden by the spoiled Kennedy bitch. A red mist of rage almost blinded him. He knew exactly how she had come to be in possession of his property. The fucking Gypsy had gone directly from the knife contest with him to steal his prize mare and bestow it upon his fancy piece. He snatched the bridle with a firm hand and ordered, “Dismount!”
The exotic filly’s tail stood straight up, and she danced nervously sideways. Tina looked down into the murderous pewter eyes and raised her riding crop.
Ram’s lips curved downward as he saw her intent, and he wrenched the crop from her fingers—but not before it had reopened the gash upon his cheekbone.
“Take your filthy hands off my Indigo, Hotspur!” she ordered icily.
“Your Indigo?” he repeated incredulously, his eyes raking her shamefully displayed legs and garters. “This horse is mine, stolen from me by your Gypsy lover!” He flung the riding crop from his hand and reached up to drag her from the saddle.
The riding crop hit Archibald Kennedy, Earl of Cassillis, across the chest, and he confronted Douglas with exploding rage. “Ye reiving borderer! I knew it was ye lifted ma horses, ye thievin’ whoreson! I suspected ye from the first, and now here’s the proof the king needed.”
James Stewart, Janet Kennedy, and Patrick Hamilton emerged from the stables to overhear the quarrel. Valentina stood between the two men, who were ready to murder each other. When Ram Douglas pushed her aside, Patrick Hamilton sprang forward, drawing his rapier. Douglas swung around, instantly unsheathing his sword before he saw the king.
The Ear
l of Cassillis snatched up the bridle of the excited filly, which was now rolling her large eyes in a frenzied panic. “Yer Grace, here is the very special mare I intended as a gift before the thieving Douglas lifted her from under my nose.”
James Stewart was furious at his brawling, uncivilized nobles. He glared at the savage Douglas and Hamilton until they sheathed their weapons. He refused to bandy words with them before the ladies—in fact, he did not trust himself to even speak with them at the moment. But deal with them he would. He took the lovely animal and gentled it with a firm hand and a soft voice. Then he stepped forward and placed the reins into Tina’s hand. “Lady Valentina, please accept my gift to you. None other could grace the lovely creature as well as you, my dear.” He turned to Janet. “Ladies, please take your ride. I have some pressing business.”
The ladies hastily departed, and the king turned upon his heel and walked briskly back to the castle. The three remaining males stood in the courtyard, their blood high, screaming for release, yet impotent to do anything about it.
Within the hour Douglas and Hamilton were curtly told to gather their moss-troopers and depart for the Border Wardens’ Court. Both knew they had earned their monarch’s wrath and would need to do a creditable job when they met up with their English counterparts. They had not yet been punished for their raiding and knew it would hang over their heads until they returned from the Wardens’ Court in a week or two.
That night Rob Kennedy sat up in bed enjoying the view. Ada removed the modest gray gown of a tiring woman to reveal her daring scarlet petticoat and corset. Rob’s eyes kindled. “Come here, lass,” he begged thickly. Ada came to the bedside, allowing him to unfasten her laces so that her voluptuous breasts spilled into his big hands. He groaned with pleasure as her dark brown hair fell across his barrel-chest, and she bent forward to give him a generous kiss.
Tempted Page 15
