Mavis flicked back a lock of hair from her shoulder and regarded him with a pert expression. “I like adventure, too. I used to climb trees when I was a girl, to see how far I could get, until I gave it up.”
“I thank God you didn’t fall. I suppose you grew too old for such larks.”
She shook her head. “It wasn’t that. Tamsin has a fear of being up high and she would get too upset.”
“Tamsin...that’s an odd name.”
“It’s short for Thomasina.”
“You miss her, I suppose.”
“Not as much as I thought I would,” she honestly replied. “That reminds me, Roland. Arnhelm and the others are going back tomorrow. I want them to take the invitation for our wedding feast to Tamsin and Rheged. I’ll tell Arnhelm and Verdan now, and then I believe I shall retire.”
Roland nodded, regarding her with a seductive little smile that made her blood rush. “I’ll join you shortly, after I give the watch the password for the night. It seems Gerrard has not deigned to come back to the castle.”
Although she longed to say something about this lapse and Gerrard’s lax manner in general, Mavis only nodded and left the table to join Arnhelm, his brother and the soldiers of DeLac. They rose at once when they realized she was coming to speak to them until she motioned for them to remain seated.
“I wanted to make sure you won’t leave without seeing me in the morning,” she said, addressing them all. “I want to thank you for coming with me, and for helping to fight the fire at Sir Melvin’s. I was proud of all of you.”
The men grinned and smiled.
“I also have a commission for you, Arnhelm, and your brother, too. I’d like you to take the invitation to my wedding feast to Lady Tamsin and her husband.”
“And your father, too,” Verdan added, clearly thinking she’d forgotten to mention him.
In truth, however, Mavis hadn’t yet decided to ask her father to make the journey. Given his propensity to be drunk before the noon meal, that might not be wise. Nor had he seemed particularly sad to see her go. “I shall see you in the morning,” she said instead of answering directly.
“Aye, my lady,” Arnhelm replied, and she was somewhat surprised to see that he looked almost...relieved. Because she was going to say goodbye?
He could simply be glad to be returning, she thought as she left the hall and went to the chamber she shared with Roland, now a much cozier room. The servants had found some old tapestries in a chest in a storeroom, beaten the dust from them and hung them on the walls. They were so old, the pictures were hard to see, but they appeared to depict some kind of garden. Whatever they showed, they helped keep the room warmer, along with two bronze braziers that had been cleaned and polished.
Lizabet had also found some candles and rush mats. Peg had discovered another table somewhere, and a stool, so she had a dressing table.
Best of all, though, was the bigger bed that had arrived that afternoon. It stood large and solid against the wall opposite the window, with curtains around it to keep them safe from drafts.
All in all, it was a pleasant chamber, and with the bigger bed, she was sure it would be even more comfortable.
She removed the gown she was growing to hate and, clad in her shift, drew one of the blankets from the bed around her shoulders, then went to the window and opened the shutters to look out at the moon. She and Tamsin had often defied her nurse’s admonition to avoid the night air, lest they fall ill, to gaze at the moon and the stars. The heavenly bodies seemed so miraculous, hanging in the sky and twinkling.
She wondered if Tamsin was looking at the moon from her bedchamber window. Maybe Rheged was with her, holding her in his arms and whispering gentle words of love in her ear. Roland never whispered sweet nonsense in her ears, but if the way he made love to her were any indication, she should be just as content.
If only they didn’t have to deal with Gerrard. If only Roland would send him away as she had dismissed Eua.
A noise behind her made her turn, to see her husband closing the door to their chamber. “You’ll catch a chill if you stay there,” he said, his deep voice low and soft.
She closed the shutter.
“I don’t want you to fall ill,” he said, wrapping his arms loosely around her waist. He looked around the room, then nodded at the new piece of furniture. “I see the servants have been busy and Dalfrid has found a bigger bed.”
“Yes,” she whispered as she slid her arms around his waist.
“I was proud of you today. I’ve never seen any woman hold her own so well with Audrey.”
“She’s a very beautiful woman. I’m not surprised people thought you’d want to marry her.”
“I never did, so you can put that thought out of your head.”
He spoke firmly, and as if she were being completely ridiculous. Yet surely it was only natural to wonder if there had been anything serious between them when he was so handsome and commanding, and she was so lovely and nearby. “Did you never once—”
“No, as I have already said.”
“But you have been with other women,” she persisted. Even though she feared it was a mistake, she simply had to know.
“Of course. I’m a man, with a man’s needs, but there was never any affection. It was a business transaction and no more. Whatever I shared with those others, it was nothing to what I feel when I’m with you.”
She wanted to believe him. She needed to believe that she alone could give him the love he sought, and that he would love her—and her alone—in return. She searched his dark, seeking eyes, and once more saw the need that was not only physical. That spoke not of lust, but heartache and loneliness, of a longing for love that had so long been denied.
The blanket slipped from her shoulders and fell unheeded to the ground as her lips captured his.
“Shall we see how soft the bed is?” she whispered.
Stepping away, she untied the drawstring at the neck of her shift and, turning her back to him, pulled it down. When it was low on her hips, he put his hand between her shoulder blades, warm and strong, moving close enough that she could feel the heat of his body as he slid his hand lower, followed by his mouth, the sensation making her shiver.
“Are you cold?” he whispered as his arms went around her, one hand rising to her breast, the other moving lower, then in small, slow circles in a way that made her legs weak.
“No,” she gasped as her shift puddled at her feet. He pressed her back against him, so that she could feel that he was as aroused as she.
Although he was still dressed.
Turning, she worked to undo the knots at the neck of his tunic and shirt while he cupped her face and pressed light kisses on her forehead and cheeks. She lifted off both his tunic and shirt, then laid her hands on his bare chest, feeling for a moment the heartbeat of the powerful man she’d married before she bent down to pull off his boots. He lifted her hand away to remove them himself, and when he straightened, he tugged at the drawstring of his breeches, trying to undo the knot, until she lifted his hand away and did it herself. That done, she insinuated her hand inside to grasp the evidence of his need. He grabbed her shoulders while she stroked, his head thrown back as a groan issued from deep in his throat before he pulled her close for another long, deep kiss.
Surely, oh surely, those other women didn’t matter now, she thought as, still kissing her, he kicked off his breeches and maneuvered her toward the bed while she continued to caress him. Her legs met the bed and she broke the kiss to get beneath the covers.
“It is a very soft bed,” Mavis noted as he joined her.
“A bed of rock would be comfortable if you’re beside me,” he replied with a seductive look in his brown eyes.
He slid backward, brushing his hands down her thighs as he moved.
“What are you—�
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She gasped as he pressed his lips where she had never thought a man’s lips would go, and his tongue began to tease a part of her she didn’t know existed until that moment. That incredible, unforeseen moment. “Oh, Roland!”
She could say no more. All she could do was grasp his long, dark hair and pant as the excitement built.
Just when she could stand the growing tension no longer, he moved forward and slid inside her.
Moaning, she arched and wrapped her legs around him while he, with a low, rough groan, began to thrust. She lost all awareness of anything except their bodies and their need, as if they were the only people in the castle. In Dunborough. In England.
Until all too soon—or so it seemed to her—the delicious tension snapped. She cried out as her body throbbed and gripped his shoulders so hard she left marks, while he growled like a wild creature. Then, panting, he laid his head upon her breasts.
She stroked his back until he rolled away and looked up at the canopy of the bed. “I must thank Dalfrid in the morning,” he murmured. “This is a wonderful bed.”
“A very wonderful bed,” she agreed. “I’m happy to be your wife, Roland. I believe we can have a happy life if...”
She fell silent. Perhaps it would be best to say no more tonight.
But it seemed she’d already said too much, for Roland raised himself on his elbow and regarded her gravely. “If?”
She felt she had to answer. “I fear that as long as Gerrard is...as he is...and you allow him to stay your garrison commander, we’ll never have peace in the household.”
“Ah,” he breathed. He sat up and regarded her intently. “You wish me to send him away?”
She was sorry she had started this, but answered truthfully. “I want a peaceful household, Roland, where you’re honored and respected as you deserve.”
“It’s Gerrard’s household, as well,” he replied. “He, too, is my father’s son and his childhood was as full of suffering as mine. For that, and because he is my brother, I will never cast him out. Indeed, it has been my plan that should Gerrard prove, in time, to be worthy of his own estate, I will give him a portion of this one.”
“You would give away your inheritance?”
“A part of it, as he should have had from my father. There is enough for us both.”
He spoke as if he expected her to disagree, but his inheritance was his alone. “Your estate is yours to do with as you will.”
“I would rather have your approval as well as your acceptance, Mavis.”
Again she saw that need, that yearning, and realized that he truly did want her to agree that it was the right thing to do. And so it was, if it would help keep the peace. “I do agree, Roland, and I have never heard of anything so generous. I wish everyone who thinks badly of you could know you as I do. But if you’ve made that offer to Gerrard, why does he still treat you so badly?”
“Because I haven’t made it yet, nor have I told him, or anyone else, what I plan to do, until now. I must be certain he’s worthy without knowing a reward awaits. In that way I can be sure he truly is deserving.”
She was glad that he was confiding in her about such an important matter. That had to mean he trusted her, and cared about her opinions, too. “How long before you decide if you’ll make the offer?”
“A year.”
That seemed a long time, but he was wise to take his time, and at least she could foresee a day when Gerrard would have less cause to complain. However, there was another problem to consider. “What about those friends of his? I suspect they encourage the worst of his behavior. Can you not make them leave Dunborough?”
Roland drew her down beside him. “That I can, and I will,” he said as he stroked her cheek and pressed another kiss upon her brow. “I already know exactly how.”
Nestling against her husband, Mavis told herself she’d been worried about Gerrard and jealous of Audrey for nothing. She was indeed a most fortunately married woman, with a kind, generous and passionate husband.
Whose hand began another exploration.
She responded eagerly, and it was some time yet before they were asleep.
Chapter Nine
Roland watched Gerrard’s supposed friends stumble into the solar the next morning, all obviously the worse for a night’s carousing.
“Here y’are, m’lord,” the fair-haired young soldier who’d been sent to find them said. “They were just where you’d thought.”
“And my brother?”
“Not there, m’lord,” Hedley replied, his voice betraying nothing. The man was young, but could keep his own counsel, which was why Roland had chosen him for that task.
“Thank you. You can go.”
Hedley nodded and marched away, leaving Roland alone with Gerrard’s supposed friends.
“Sit down,” Roland said to the bleary-eyed Walter, the son of a well-to-do merchant from York. The other two, James and Frederick, had poorer beginnings, but might have made something of themselves had they not run afoul of Walter and, yes, Gerrard, too—rich young men with too much time on their hands and chips on their shoulders.
James and Frederick slumped into two of the chairs. Walter stayed on his feet, although he swayed slightly and squinted in the early morning sunlight.
“Do you know where Gerrard is, Walter?” Roland asked.
“I’m not his keeper,” the young man muttered, tugging his disheveled tunic into place and running a hand through his greasy, light brown hair. “If you want him, what are we doing here?”
Roland lowered himself into his father’s chair. It had taken him some time to use it, even if the chair itself didn’t have anything to do with his father’s behavior. Three bags of silver coins were before him on the table. “I want to make you an offer.”
He shoved one of the bags of coins toward Walter. “There are twenty marks of silver in each purse, one for each of you. You are welcome to them, on one condition—that you leave Dunborough at once and never return.”
James and Frederick sat up a little straighter and eyed the purses, then one another, while Walter’s lips twisted with a skeptical scowl. “Twenty marks—just like that?”
“Just like that,” Roland confirmed, “provided you leave Dunborough and don’t come back.”
“There has to be more to it than that,” Walter muttered even as James and Frederick were reaching for the purses.
“No, there isn’t. I want you gone from here, and I’m willing to pay.”
“And Gerrard? Are you paying him to leave, too?”
“No. Gerrard can stay.”
By now, James and Frederick had their coins in their hands. Apparently the weight of silver in their palms was enough to awaken them, in more ways than one. “Come on,” James said, rising with an alacrity he had not displayed even before today. “Let’s take it and go before he changes his mind.”
“Come, Walter,” Frederick said, likewise getting to his feet. “Gerrard can find us after, if he’s a mind to.”
Roland realized Frederick was, unfortunately, right, but it was more likely Gerrard would stay as long as he still believed Dunborough should be his.
Roland started to reach for Walter’s purse. “If you don’t want it, then—”
Walter snatched it up. “Yes, I do—and it’s less than I deserve for acting as nursemaid to your brother.”
“If you were truly acting in that capacity,” Roland grimly replied, “you would know where he is.”
“The stable,” Walter retorted. “You’ll probably find him in the stable.”
The same place they’d both sought refuge as children.
“Now good riddance to you and this godforsaken place!” Walter snapped as he started for the door, his two comrades following like dogs after their master.
When they were gone, Roland went to the window that overlooked the courtyard.
He kept watching and after a moment, he saw the three young men walking swiftly toward the gate, past the escort from DeLac that had already assembled in preparation for departing.
“Good riddance to you, too,” he said softly before his gaze went to the stable.
As he closed the shutter, he decided he would let Gerrard sleep.
* * *
As Mavis crossed the yard toward the soldiers from DeLac, she saw Gerrard’s three friends hurrying out the gate as if they were being chased by hornets.
Roland had said he had a way to make them go and obviously he’d been successful.
“My lady,” Arnhelm said, bowing his head in greeting when she reached him.
“Good morning, Arnhelm.” She nodded at the rest of the men, then held out three letters written on parchment and sealed with wax. “This is for Sir Melvin and his lady,” she said, handing him the first message. She pointed to the little drawing of a pine tree that she had made in the corner since she was sure Arnhelm couldn’t read. She gave him the second letter that had a little rendering of Castle DeLac on it. “This one is for my father. And this is for Lady Tamsin and Sir Rheged,” she finished, showing him the picture of the sword and shield on the third.
“Right you are, my lady,” Arnhelm replied. “We’ll deliver ’em safe and sound.”
“I’m sure you will.” She looked up at the clear sky. “It appears to be a fine day for traveling. I hope they all are.”
“As do we, my lady,” Arnhelm said before he frowned. “But there’s other sorts of clouds and bad weather to watch out for.”
Mavis had no idea what he was talking about, and her confusion must have shown, for he handed the letters to his brother and came closer. “A word o’ warnin’, my lady, that I hope you won’t take amiss,” he whispered. “That brother-in-law o’ yours bears watchin’ and I wouldn’t trust him far as the next tavern. We been keepin’ an eye on him while we was here, and he’s a bad ’un. Bitter and angry and he drinks too much. Dangerous, that sort.”
Bride for a Knight (9781460344804) Page 14
