His gaze was warm on her. “I agreed to you. It was worth the risk.”
Penelope was surprised. “But… but why? You had never met me before the night the creature attacked. That was the first time we ever saw one another and even then, you did not know I was your intended bride. Why would you risk your life and the lives of your vassals for me?”
He smiled faintly. “Because once I discovered you were the prize, nothing else mattered,” he said. “You asked me once before why I had agreed to this marriage, knowing what I do about Edward’s intentions for Wales, and I told you that I made decisions that were always best for me. Know this now; there is something to be said in having the daughter of The Wolfe as my wife. Who do you think your father will fight for? Edward or his daughter’s husband?”
Her surprise turned to shock. “You think by marrying me that my father will turn against his king?”
Bhrodi shrugged. “I knew this day was coming,” he said. “I knew that someday, somehow, Edward would be knocking on my door. When he proposed a marriage for peace, I knew it was a lie. All of it was a lie. But when I found out he had proposed the daughter of his most powerful warlord to me, I thought to accept the marriage because it would mean that England’s most respected knight, William de Wolfe, is now my father-in-law. That makes me family. Do you truly think your father will let Edward destroy my world and you along with it? Of course he will not. Your father will come and fight for me. Together, The Wolfe and The Serpent will destroy Edward once and for all.”
Penelope sat there with her mouth hanging open. “But… but my father is sworn to Edward.”
Bhrodi was too confident; that arrogance he displayed so easily was readily apparent. “Your father loves you more than he loves Edward,” he said. “He will not let the man destroy you, and me along with you.”
Penelope stared at him a very long time. She was thinking many things at that moment and not all of them good or complementary where Bhrodi was concerned. Yanking her hand out of his grip, she stood up from the bed.
“So that was what this was all about?” she asked somewhat heatedly. “You married me because you wanted William de Wolfe as your ally?”
He could see that she was growing increasingly upset and hastened to ease her. “That was true, at first,” he said. “But the moment I saw you, I knew I had to have you no matter if your father became my ally or not.”
She crossed her arms stubbornly. “And if my father does not side with you?”
Bhrodi lifted his big shoulders. “Then Edward will bring his army down around me and I will be executed,” he said. “You, however, will be a very rich widow and the Countess of Coventry, which should make you an excellent prospect for a future husband.”
He sounded so callous and matter of fact about it. Penelope stood there for several long moments, trying not to let his words hurt her, but somehow they did. It was all so easy for him to say these things; you will be a very rich widow and an excellent prospect for a future husband. Damn the man; he had hurt her feelings with such words. She didn’t want to be a wealthy widow. But he had made it very clear that the entire marriage had been a calculated move on his part; he had wanted her, that was true, but his reasons were all his own. There had been no emotion involved, not true interest or feeling. She didn’t know why she had expected differently. De Shera had only wanted her father and used her to get him.
She lost her stubborn stance and sat heavily on the bed, facing away from him. She was starting to feel very hollow and sad.
“Of course,” she finally muttered. “I will be well taken care of in any case.”
Bhrodi heard the sorrow in her tone and it made his heart beat a little faster; there was emotion in her tone, something he hadn’t expected. Penelope had, since he’d known her, displayed an attitude that she truly didn’t care about him one way or the other. There had been times when he thought she had warmed to him, that was true, but she had spent more time being distant and disinterested. Now he heard something from her that suggested she was, in fact, interested. He could only hope.
“Does the thought of my death distress you, then?” he asked, praying he didn’t sound too hopeful.
She was still facing away from him but she nodded her head, unsteadily, as if she wasn’t entirely sure. Or if she was sure but had no idea how to convey it.
“I have only just married you,” she said. “I have heard that it is rare in any marriage for two people who have just met to actually… tolerate one another. But I am coming to tolerate you more and more every day.”
He was so very glad to hear that. It made his heart sing. Reaching out, he pulled her to him again, embracing her against his broad, naked chest. She was stiff at first but quickly relaxed as their heat and flesh began to meld together. When their eyes met, he smiled sweetly at her.
“You have done something that I did not believe possible,” he murmured. “You have made me feel something again, Penny. When Sian died… I was positive I had lost the ability to feel anything at all, but you have awoken things in me that I thought were long dead. When I first saw you, I wanted you because you were beautiful, but now that I have come to know you, I want you because you are intelligent and sweet, and you are trying very hard to be the kind of wife you think I want. You have no idea how much that touches me. Your efforts have nicked my heart and all of that emotion I thought to have died with Sian has come pouring through.”
Because he was smiling, Penelope smiled. She was timid at first but as she began to realize what he meant, the smile turned genuine.
“You are arrogant and you are frustrating at times,” she said, watching him laugh, “but you are also kind and generous and gentle. I think… I think my heart has been nicked, too. It has never been nicked before.”
Of all of the words he had ever heard in his lifetime, those were about the sweetest. Leaning forward, he kissed her tenderly on her freckled nose.
“You have made me very happy,” he whispered.
Penelope closed her eyes as his lips drifted across her cheek. “I am glad,” she murmured. “But as happy as we are, there is still the trouble with Edward. What are you planning on doing?”
He stopped kissing her and looked at her. “You truly want to discuss that now?”
She was fairly naïve in lovemaking and had no real idea what he meant, so she nodded her head unsteadily. “Aye,” she said, wondering why he suddenly looked perturbed. “Did you not wish to resolve this? You have a serious problem, Bhrodi. What do you intend to do about it?”
He sighed sharply. “If I tell you, can I continue to kiss you without discussing the damn English king?”
She bit her lip to keep from grinning. “Aye.”
“Will you support my decision no matter what it is?”
He was serious; therefore, she grew serious. “I will,” she said. “I am your wife and that is my duty.”
“Swear it?”
“I do.”
He could see she meant it. Penelope understood what it meant to give one’s word of honor. A knight’s daughter, she was a knight herself. She understood a vow given. Taking a deep breath as he shifted his thoughts from her sweet flesh and back to Edward, he reached out and cupped her face with one hand, his thumb stroking her soft cheek.
“No matter what I do, Edward will come for me,” he muttered. “He has come for Dafydd and he will come for me. Therefore, I must defend myself. I will not lay down and let the man destroy me.”
Penelope had known his answer even before he said it and she was, in fact, in full support. Somehow, it didn’t seem right to see Bhrodi paying homage to Edward, becoming the puppet of a greedy king. Bhrodi was a Welsh king himself, strong and proud, and it hurt her heart to think of him being subjected to English laws, governed by men who thought themselves better than him, and caged by an English monarch because of covetousness. Nay, it wasn’t right at all.
“What will you do?” she asked.
Bhrodi continued to stroke her cheek. “M
y chieftains will be here on the morrow,” he said. “I will discuss Dafydd’s situation with them and ask for their support. Since I will be leading them into battle, they can no longer question my loyalty to Wales or my marriage to you. I will be risking my life on behalf of my country.”
Penelope was thoughtful. “When do you suppose you will leave?”
“Immediately.”
That struck her with disappointment but she didn’t question him further. It seemed to her that all of her questions were answered but she truthfully didn’t like the thought of him going into battle, not now when they were just coming to know each other. She knew that bad things happened in battle and there was every possibility that he would not return to her. Still, she understood, perhaps more than any other woman would have. Penelope understood a warrior’s heart. But she also understood something else.
“Let me go with you,” she begged softly. “I can fight as well as any man. Let me fight with you.”
Bhrodi wasn’t surprised by the request; he thought it would have come sooner than it had. He cupped her face with both big hands, looking into her eyes.
“As flattered as I am that you would risk your life for me, I must deny you,” he said softly. “Were you to go to battle with me, my thoughts would be only of you and not on my duties. It would distract me so grievously that I would make an excellent target for the enemy. Distracted knights do not live very long.”
She knew it would be his answer but she was disappointed just the same. “My father has taken me into battle with him before,” she insisted. “I am….”
He cut her off, though it was gently. “You will remain here in command of Rhydilian,” he told her. “I will leave you with a skeleton guard and it will be up to you to keep my castle safe. Will you do this for me?”
It was a compromise like the ones they had discussed earlier. She wanted to go to war with him, but he would not allow it. He didn’t particularly want her in command of his fortress because, in his mind, she should be bottled up safely in the keep and not worrying over such things, but he suspected her military instincts were impeccable given her training and would therefore let her do something she was trained to do. He would let her command.
Penelope saw the request as the least desirable of all options but agreed to it anyway. “If you wish it,” she said, resigned. “But I very much want a broadsword. I would feel naked in command without one.”
He smiled faintly. “I will give you my father’s broadsword until we can have one commissioned for you,” he said. “I do not carry it because he had a special broadsword commissioned for me when I received my spurs. It is that broadsword I carry into battle, but I am sure my father would be very happy to permit you to use his.”
That brightened Penelope up considerably. “Then I will be happy to remain in command of Rhydilian while you go to help Dafydd.”
His smile broadened as he stroked her cheeks with both thumbs. “Good,” he said. “Now that everything is settled, can we stop taking about Edward?”
She giggled and nodded. It was enough of a prompt for Bhrodi to lean forward and kiss her very sweetly. His lips suckled hers, gently at first, but with increasing ardor. His tongue licked at her lips, carefully pushing its way into her mouth as his hands left her face and his arms went tightly about her. Penelope gave herself over to him in every way.
Her shift came off swiftly and he tossed it to the floor, his naked flesh coming into contact with hers as he lay on top of her. His hands gently fondled her breasts, pinching the nipples and listening to her groan with excitement. His lust overwhelmed him as he pushed her legs apart, settling between them, and wasting no time in rubbing the tip of his phallus against her unfurled lips. She was wet, he could feel it, and he carefully thrust into her.
Penelope lay on her back, experiencing this second coupling with more excitement than she had the first. Each successive second seemed to bring more excitement, causing her body to arch against him as she met him thrust for thrust. Bhrodi held her tightly at first but released her, sitting back on his heels and holding her knees aloft as he thrust into her heated and slick body. Penelope opened her eyes to watch him, curious and aroused, and the sight of his powerful body as it joined with hers was enough to send her heart racing. Everything about the man sent her heart racing.
The bloom of heat in her loins, kindled by the friction of his manhood, grew into a fireball and exploded quite soon this time. As Penelope gasped with the thrill of her release, Bhrodi answered her with a powerful release of his own, spilling his seed deep. It was pleasure and passion and emotion all blended into one, and he hoped that a son with his strength and her sensibilities had been planted this night. He was going to war and it was quite possible he would not return. If God was merciful, he had left something of himself behind. The Serpent would have a legacy.
Gathering Penelope into his arms, Bhrodi lay down beside her in silence. In truth, he didn’t want to speak; words seemed so trivial at this point. Moreover, he wasn’t sure he could verbalize what he was feeling.
Something had happened to him in the past several days, ever since he literally ran into the girl who had fought the great beast of the marsh. It was as if he couldn’t remember his life before Penelope came, that dark and dreadful abyss where the days and nights seemed to run into one another in a great, horrible block of endless hours. Then Penelope entered that world and brought joy and light with her.
He never knew his heart could be so full but he was terrified to tell her, terrified he would overwhelm her with his happiness. So he kept his mouth shut and kept his feelings to himself. Perhaps someday, when he was a little braver, he might just tell her what he was thinking. Perhaps she would even respond. It was a little dream he had.
They slept.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The mist disguised the number of Welsh who had come to Rhydilian in the early morning hours the following day.
Bhrodi had sent Ianto and Yestin out into the crowd gathering at the base of Rhydilian’s gatehouse so he could get a feel for who, and how many, had come to his cyfarfod. Before the sun had even risen, there were hordes of men and by the time the sun began to peak over the eastern horizon, there were gangs of Welshmen far down the hill, on the road that led up to the castle.
Ianto and Yestin returned to inform him that men as far as the Holy Isle on the extreme western end of Anglesey had come, all gathering to hear The Serpent speak, and they estimated there was somewhere between three and five thousand. It was a massive group.
They were also a very vocal group. They had been shouting up to the battlements well before sunrise, calling for de Shera, and Bhrodi showed himself just after sunrise. Bron had come with his men also, all one hundred and fourteen of them, and they crowded up by the enormous front gates. When Bhrodi saw them, he had his men admit them into the bailey. He knew Bron supported him unconditionally and should the group become unruly, he didn’t want the man caught in the crossfire.
“Yn dod yn agosach a byddwch yn clywed mi!” he called. Come closer and you shall hear me. The group began to surge forward, crowding up around the gatehouse and walls as close as they could get. Surrounded by his teulu commanders upon the black-stoned battlements, Bhrodi surveyed his vassals with the aura of Caesar surveying all of Rome. There was an air of power about him that was inherent. He continued in Welsh.
“You have all heard by now that I have taken a wife,” he bellowed to the crowd below. “You have also heard that my wife is Saesneg. Know now that it is true.”
The crowd rumbled angrily and some began shouting insults. “Traitor!” Someone screamed at him. “You have betrayed us!”
“I have not betrayed you,” Bhrodi replied steadily. “You know me well and you know I would never betray any of you.”
That was true for the most part and the shouts of treachery died down somewhat, but not entirely. There was still dissention.
“Why did you not marry Welsh?” another man cried. “You could have s
trengthened ties with other Houses!”
Bhrodi wasn’t going to get into a shouting match with one man in particular; what he had to say was directed at the entire group. “I had my reasons,” he shouted “You must listen to them!”
The crowd was unwilling to give entirely. “Tudur and Lon resisted your reasons,” someone else shouted. “You fed them to the beast!”
They were getting worked up again, shouting their anger and rejection of Bhrodi’s actions. Bhrodi knew he had to gain control quickly or all would be lost. He needed something from them; he needed for these men, his vassals, to understand his reasons behind everything. It was imperative. He lifted hands to gain their attention.
“Tudur and Lon betrayed my friendship, my hospitality, and my trust,” he told them. “Never did they come to me with their concerns. They tried to kill my wife’s family at our wedding and this I would not tolerate. Tudur and Lon were punished for their actions against me and for no other reason!”
That gave the crowd something to think about. Betrayal, of course, was the ultimate sin and de Shera had never lied to them before. The man was supremely truthful in all things so they had no reason to believe he was lying about Tudur and Lon. Therefore, the agitation died down somewhat as the Welshmen began to rethink their anger. The grumbling lessened and Bhrodi took advantage of their confusion.
“As you love and respect me, then you must also trust me,” he yelled. It took some time for them to die down enough for him to continue. “Edward himself proposed this marriage for the sake of peace and I accepted. But we all know that there is no peace with Edward. My wife is the daughter of the renowned English knight known as The Wolfe. You have all heard of this man. I married his daughter in order to ally myself with him in the face of Edward’s conquest of Wales. When we fight Edward, and we will, it will now be with one of his own knights by my side!”
That seemed to throw the group into greater confusion. At least they weren’t hurling insults. They seemed to be looking at each other, one man to another, looking for a consensus that what Bhrodi had done was an acceptable thing. Now, The Serpent’s marriage was starting to make a little more sense but there were many who were still doubtful. It was to those men that Bhrodi’s next word held impact for.
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