by Tamara Gill
“Stop doing that.”
“What?” he asked with mock innocence.
“Looking at my breasts.”
He smirked. He had to admit, though her temperament was not to his liking, she certainly had other qualities he found appealing.
“I will respect your wishes, in regards to Lady Veronica and grant you a guard, Madeline. But do not cross me and leave Kingston. ’Twould be an error to do so. Have I made myself clear?”
“Perfectly,” she said.
Without another word, he turned on his heel and left the room.
***
Maddie sat down and massaged her temples. What a mess. Looking down at her hand, she ran a finger over the spot the wedding band should be. If only she could find that ring again, it would surely return her home. But such a thing would be more than likely impossible. It was probably lying in the mud somewhere between Aimecourt and the church, thanks to the anything but solid carriage floor. It may have, for all she knew, disappeared into space as she flew through time.
She adjusted the cushion behind her back and sighed. What was it she didn’t know about these two families she was now a part of? Since it looked like she wasn’t going anywhere, no doubt she had plenty of time to find out.
CHAPTER FOUR
As the days turned into weeks, Maddie kept mostly to herself. She strolled around the battlements of the keep and inner defensive wall; both locations gave ample views over the surrounding area. She walked daily in the magnificent forest that lay before the castle walls and welcomed the dense woodland to hide her from scrutiny for a time.
With the warnings still ringing in her ears over rogue Scottish raiders in the area, Maddie thought it best not to venture too far away. The sentries had ceased looking at her with distrust and hate. She could only surmise it was due to the fact she now had a guard, who would keep a close eye on the woman from Aimecourt. And, in a time fraught with danger and uncertainty, she had slowly started to feel safe.
Helped by the fact Maddie liked her guard, Sir Alex Bourke. It had taken her some weeks, but with a little coaxing, the knight had opened up enough to be a friend and confidant. Her designated shadow hailed from the southern areas of England. Her husband’s first knight since the day William had claimed the title of baron. A quiet man, he seemed to take his duties as protector very seriously. She often wondered what would happen to him if something did befall her. Would he really risk his own life to save hers? Something inside told her he would. Although, the way her husband continued to treat her, it was obvious should harm befall her, Lord William would probably award the knight some sort of medal for his lapse in protection.
Maddie’s urge to return to Aimecourt increased with every passing day. Mostly, due to the sheer need to look for the missing ring. As no rings were exchanged through the wedding ceremony, her hope of getting it back that way was lost. It only left the road that lay between Aimecourt and the church. Perhaps it was there. Unfortunately, her husband had decided to be an arse and not allow her freedom to leave. However, a small measure of hope had sparked since that first denial. Apparently, “her people” held an annual festival celebrating the winter solstice. Or so Mistress Rhode had informed her. This year the festival would include the celebration of her marriage and a welcome to Lord William.
The letters from her steward told her of her people’s excitement over the daylong celebration. All the details were planned with the utmost care and proceeding in a timely manner. He had explained in an almost sycophantic detail her people’s eagerness to see Lady Madeline again, and her esteemed husband, the baron.
Maddie rolled her eyes, irked that they thought her husband noble and worthy. The Baron of Kingston was neither of those things. For all she knew, her husband and his mistress could be lying along a road somewhere, dead.
Six weeks he’d been gone and without a word of goodbye. Who left an estate without a single word? Obviously his “greatness” did. The castle staff had begun to silence their conversations whenever she entered a room. She loathed the pity she saw in their eyes, although the condescension of others was worse. Maddie was not oblivious to what they whispered behind her back. That the baron had taken flight with his lover, escape his only course. The marriage bed with the Lady Madeline too abhorrent for any man to stomach.
Maddie again wished she knew more about the real Lady Madeline. From what she could gather, the woman was the opposite to her own character in every way. Was this why William would not offer her the hand of friendship? Because he still thought her the same as the old Madeline? Or what he had heard of the old Madeline, since he had never met the girl prior to their wedding.
After their little tête-à-tête within the solar that one morning, he had disappeared off the face of the earth. The reprieve had not dampened her temper. She wasn’t finished with him quite yet. His dismissal of her and his disappearing act burrowed into her skin like a thistle. It festered, made her temper worse with every day that passed.
It was silly really, because as soon as she had the chance, she’d be out of here, gone. However, as a woman, she could not help but be slighted, hurt, by his callous manner toward her. It made her feel sorry for other women in this time who suffered the same fate.
She stood next to a boulder and watched the waters of a local river flow away. The dormant landscape, under the sprinkling of snow, glittered in the soft sunshine and she couldn’t help but admit that being stuck in this time did have some positives. The air was fresh and the seasons more pronounced. Animal meat tasted more delicious and the butter their cook made was to die for. If only she had fresh water or a beautiful aged wine, her stomach at least would have been content. She picked up a flat stone, threw it, and skimmed it across the water. She watched as a startled bird flew out of the reeds on the opposite bank.
“A strange ability for a lady born to privilege,” Sir Alex said, his face passive.
Maddie smiled. At least with her knight she had one friend in medieval England. “I learnt as a child, Sir Alex. My dad taught me.”
Sir Alex frowned. “Did you always address your father as dad?” the word sounded foreign and awkward on his tongue. “It seems most strange, Lady Madeline.”
“Would it make you feel better if I said father instead of dad?” She laughed at his perplexed gaze. “Is it so strange for you? What did you call your father?” He looked at her with a small smile on his lips.
“I used to call him Papa.”
“And you mock me, Sir Alex, shame on you. For if anyone deserves to be teased, it is not I.” She grinned. “You were obviously very close to your papa.”
He nodded. “Yes, I was.”
Maddie dusted down her dress as she walked up the river’s bank and stopped at the edge of the forest. “Shall we return, Sir Alex? The day grows late and chilly, and Mistress Rhode said she had a surprise for me when I returned.”
“Of course, Lady Madeline. Whatever you wish.”
They walked for a time in silence before Maddie asked, “Are your parents still alive, Sir Alex?”
Pain crossed his visage before he masked his emotions. “I lost both my parents some years ago. Mother at my birth, my father not long before my tenth year to a winter chill.”
Maddie touched the knight’s arm in support. “I’m sorry for your loss.” They walked on. “It’s not easy being alone.”
“The Baron of Aimecourt was a hard man, and yet his daughter loved him still.”
Maddie looked about the forest and wondered over Sir Alex’s words that were neither a question nor statement. “What do you know of my father?”
Sir Alex adjusted his scabbard and Maddie’s throat closed at the size of the knife held in the leather sheath.
“I never met the baron.”
Maddie started over Sir Alex’s curt reply. Had her medieval father been a tyrant and she the only one who didn’t know it? They walked into the shadow of the castle and Maddie pulled her shawl closer to her body as a shiver ran over her skin. She lo
oked up at the looming edifice and her steps faltered at the sight of the man who stood there.
The Lord William watched like a falcon over the surrounding land; a bird of prey out for its next meal. She steeled her resolve to be unpleasant. What did he expect? For her to be home, meek and mild awaiting his grand arrival? She thought not.
Why he’d even look for her made no sense. If he thought to worry about her now, it was a bit late. Weeks without a word proved how much he cared for the Lady Madeline’s welfare and his home. If he tried to act the caring husband now, she’d probably feel more inclined to slap his face.
***
William paced the battlements like a caged animal, only to stop every now and then to look out to the forest beyond. What was wrong with him? Kicking his heels atop the mammoth walls for the past hour was not what he would deem normal behaviour. It was damn time his wife returned. He did not want to have to send for her. In his current state of mind, he would not wish that upon his worst enemy.
Having arrived back at Kingston Castle in the early morn, he had proceeded to his apartments without notifying his wife of his return. Later, when he looked out over the inner bailey and watched Lady Veronica practice archery in the ward, he’d summoned Lady Madeline. Why he had done so he couldn’t fathom. Perhaps to see her again, if only to push her away.
Minutes passed before a servant, game enough for the task, had informed him of her walk with Sir Alex.
His jaw clenched. Why should that bother him? Too angry to dwell on that thought now, he set the question aside for later evaluation. What were they up to all that time in woodland? He would string them both up if he even heard a whisper of infidelity.
He studied them as they walked back; their mutual ease with each other almost palpable. Her laughter rang out, echoed off the wall and his temper notched. Over the many weeks away, had his wife and trusted knight become passionate toward one another?
His eyes met hers and held. He glared at the unfaithful wench until she passed beneath the gatehouse. Her gaze, short as it was, mocked him, spoke of a woman who cared naught for him and his rule. He gritted his teeth, rankled by the realization.
William strode down the steps and fought an inner conflict. It was beside the point that he could not stand the woman. Or the name she once harboured. She was his wife now and never would be another’s. ’Twould be unwise for her to attempt to sleep with any man other than himself. And if she did, she would pay for her disloyalty with her life.
Had he been wrong in assigning Sir Alex to her side? Known to act the scoundrel at times, surely his vassal would not dare lay a finger upon his delicate skinned wife. He frowned. Thoughts such as these had plagued him for weeks. Since the day he’d argued with her in the solar, he had thought of little else. Her eyes sparkled bright in anger. The colour upon her cheeks had made her more beautiful than he cared to know. She haunted and pleased him at the same time. There were not many who would stand up to such a man as he. Except for his wife...Madeline.
In the hopes that distance may lessen the pleasant thoughts of Lady Madeline writhing under him, he had taken Lady Veronica to her brother’s home in Cheshire. Days of hunting and nights filled with hearty meals and talk of King Henry’s exploits had not helped. Madeline had haunted his dreams even there. It was no secret that Lady Veronica, for many months, no longer held the allure she once did. In fact, his distant cousin had become a nuisance more than anything else, and she would soon need to leave Kingston. Her time as his guest had come to an end.
Before his departure, Madeline seemed to be everywhere. If not checking the welfare of his serfs, she was sitting at the dais taking a meal, talking amicably with other guests, or in her room...only a door away. He had started to feel desperate and in need of seeing her. To be near her presence, like a fish in need of water. A man consumed with noting every little act and gesture his wife performed.
His fists clenched. Damn the woman. It had become an absurd situation he could not allow to continue. So he had done the only thing he could. He had fled.
Like a coward.
William climbed down the last of the steps and awaited them within the courtyard. His fisted his hands as his wife walked alongside Sir Alex, comfortable and, if her smile was any indication, happy. What was she about looking at another man such?
“Sir Alex, thank you for your escort. You may go,” he said, glaring at his wife. Her eyes flashed at his harsh words. William welcomed her fear. She ought to be scared of his temper, especially if he found any wrongdoing on her behalf. His nose flared, his teeth ached from his clenched jaw. How dare she mock his command and ogle his head knight, adoringly, still.
He mentally swore. If Madeline thought to act the common whore, she would pay dearly for it, with her life. Or perhaps under him in his bed. Either option would not be pleasant. Well, on reflection, maybe one would be, for him at least.
“Yes, my lord,” Sir Alex replied, a calm indifference to his words, before he walked away.
***
Maddie looked over to her husband and raised her brow. So she had infuriated him. Well, good, he deserved it. With him regularly looking at Lady Veronica as if she was the only women on the planet, he deserved a little pay back. Not that her revenge would involve sleeping with his men, she was no whore. Nor was she stupid enough to lose her head in this time.
She took a calming breath as he stood before her, brooding and still. Nerves skittered across her skin. What was going through his mind? Whatever it was it did not bode well for her. She lifted her chin, told herself that the man before her, for all his muscles and temper, was still only human. Not some super power who could wipe her out. Or, perhaps he could, but not without a bloody good fight beforehand.
“What is it you wish to speak to me about, Lord William?” she asked, watched as a perplexed frown marked his brow. She wondered if he did in fact have anything to discuss, or if he had now forgotten it. She raised her brows questioningly, annoyed to be confronted by him and in such a public place.
Lord William’s gaze stole to her lips and she just stopped herself from taking a step back. She would not fear him. His eyes darkened with an unknown emotion as if he fought some inner battle she neither understood nor wanted to.
“We leave two days hence for Aimecourt. Only a day’s ride from here, we should make the journey safely in daylight. I’ve taken the liberty of informing your maid to pack. We shall be gone some weeks.”
Maddie’s annoyance instantly disappeared. They were going home. Well, her apparent home in medieval England, in any case. Would the ring be there, by any chance? She could only look and hope for the best. The thought of removing herself from this time, sent a burst of energised happiness throughout her body. She smiled up at him with the thought that the twenty-first century may be only days away. It was enough to extinguish all irritation at her husband.
William grunted. “I see this pleases the Lady Madeline.”
If possible, Maddie felt her smile widen. “It does, my lord, very much so.” As silence ensued, Maddie looked at William only to see his gaze taking in her form. She cleared her throat to gain his attention and inwardly laughed as he masked his features to one of cool indifference.
“It is only fair your people have the opportunity to see you and your new husband. I will, of course, be bringing Lady Veronica. She will act as your companion.”
Maddie lost all enthusiasm for the trip. She narrowed her eyes and bit back a horde of curses she longed to fling at him. How dare he.
“I do not think so, my lord.” Her voice was hard, unmovable. “I will not allow that woman to enter my house. Unless you want to sleep with her outside the castle walls? She’d be more comfortable left here.”
“Do not presume to tell me what to do, Lady Madeline. I am your husband and what I say is law.”
Maddie held her ground and refused to give in. As the silence stretched, William shifted his stance and placed a hand upon his sword belt.
“She is not welco
me in my home, nor will you be, shall you think to bring her,” Maddie said unsympathetically. “You may be baron and lord of the manor here, but Aimecourt is my home. You may get away with such activities under this roof, but I will die before I lower myself to allow such under my own.”
Her words snapped his temper. Grabbing her arm, William dragged her toward a woodshed beside the gatehouse. He ignored her shocked gasp and attempts to dislodge his grip as he led her inside, away from inquisitive eyes. Away from help.
“I could have you whipped for speaking to me in such a way. Cease this jealousy over Lady Veronica and accept the situation.”
Maddie puffed out a breath of temper. How dare he think her envious of him and that slut? She couldn’t hate him more than she did at this moment. “I accept it here, my lord. But do not think to bring her with us. Don’t—” she squeaked as his mouth came down, demanding and intent against her own. It quelled her outburst and she stilled. What the hell was he doing? As reality asserted itself, she bit his lip—hard.
He wrenched away, his hand against his mouth, his eyes astonished. A tiny spot of blood marked his lip. Maddie flicked her hair behind her shoulder and turned to leave. At the door, she paused to look back at him. Still and watchful, his eyes burned with fury at her rebuff. She took in all his form, and then allowed her distaste of him to settle on her features.
“Don’t think to control me, Lord William. I may be your wife and I may be a woman, but I’d die before I would allow my people to see your degrading treatment of me. They will never see their Lady allow her husband’s whore to sleep with him under her own roof. Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to pack. And if I see you at the carriage in two days, then that is fine. But if you think you cannot spend a month at least without Lady Veronica, I suggest you stay exactly where you are.”
She walked out and hurried to the security of the castle. She looked toward the smithy and noticed Sir Alex watching her. She ignored his worried countenance and proceeded into the Great Hall. It seemed to take forever to make her way to her room. With shaking fingers, Maddie shut her door and turned the massive key in the lock. Slumping against the wood, she sighed in relief before she touched her lips.
