Dragon of the Island

by Mary Gillgannon

  “But other than that, I see no reason we shouldn’t enjoy one another. You are a beautiful woman, and I, despite my reputation, am not unappreciative of beauty.” His hand left her neck and moved up to lightly caress her cheek. Aurora suppressed a shiver. It was unnerving to have this man touch her so delicately. She could not forget the raw power, the ironlike strength she sensed in his lithe, graceful body She had never been so close to a man like this—a hard, taut-muscled warrior.

  His fingers moved to her hair, deftly unpinning one of the thick, coiled braids.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I prefer your hair long and loose—as it was yesterday.”

  Aurora pushed his hand away in exasperation. Her sisters had gone to a great deal of trouble to fix her hair as befitted a Roman British princess, and now he was ruining it. She paused when she looked at Maelgwn’s face. His eyes were rapt, his lips slightly parted. She could sense his desire, and it ignited something in her—some proud attempt to bedazzle him. She reached up with trembling fingers and undid her hair herself, smiling in gratification as his eyes grew dark with emotion.

  “There, is that better?”

  “Aye, much.”

  His lips came down on hers. His mouth was soft and moist and insistent. She was startled when Maelgwn licked her lips lightly and then pushed his tongue into her mouth. No one had ever kissed her like this before. It felt strange, but not unpleasant. A little shiver ran down her body, and Maelgwn used the movement to pull her closer to him. Now she could feel not only his mouth upon hers, but his strong arms around her. He gripped her tightly, possessively. He was much bigger than Marcus, but smelled faintly the same, the masculine odor of leather and horses.

  It was odd how she could feel his kisses through her whole body. She could not get close enough to him, and she was almost relieved when he pulled her awkwardly on his lap. She found herself kissing him back, opening her mouth and touching his probing tongue with her own.

  She was intensely aware of his hard thighs beneath her and his chest pressing against her shoulders. The world was swimming around and around. She could not seem to think of anything except the burning ache in her belly. It was spreading, gradually moving up to her breasts. Maelgwn seemed to know it was there, for he reached his hand down her dress to touch her tender, swollen nipples—first one and then the other.

  “That is enough!” Constantine’s furious voice finally penetrated Aurora’s dazed state, and she looked up to see her father’s face ablaze with fury.

  “I have agreed to give you my daughter for a wife, Maelgwn, not a concubine.”

  “We were just finding out how we pleased each other.”

  Maelgwn smiled his mocking smile and slowly helped

  Aurora up. She was near choked with humiliation, and indignant tears stung her eyes. What could she have been thinking of, to let Maelgwn touch her so intimately? Her father’s viselike grip on her arm as he led her from the garden reinforced her shame. During their first private moments together, Maelgwn had not treated her as a princess at all, but instead pawed her as if she were a harlot.

  Despite her shame, Aurora could not resist one backwards glance. Maelgwn was still standing there, watching her, and on his face was a look that sent another hot thrill down her body.

  Chapter 4

  It was late afternoon when Aurora and her father led the procession to the open meadow where the wedding was to be held. Maelgwn had insisted that all the soldiers and townspeople be allowed to attend the ceremony, and the unused battlefield had been converted into a makeshift chapel to accommodate the crowd. The marble altar from the town church was disassembled and transported to the field, along with a large bronze standing cross. Around the area where the ceremony was to take place, posts were driven into the ground and decorated with banners, and twined with summer flowers.

  A gay and festive-looking parade rode out from Viroconium. Constantine and his family were decked in all their wealth, with Lady Cordelia and Aurora’s sisters resplendent in bright summer gowns, their necks and wrists gleaming with gold and jewels. They rode in wagons drawn by Constantine’s best horses, whose harnesses were adorned with ribbons and flowers. Behind Constantine’s household followed the other noble families of Viroconium. At the end of the procession came the townspeople, farmers and other freeman. Only servants, slaves and those too old or infirm to make the journey to the wedding site remained behind in the town.

  Although Constantine would no doubt have given him permission to attend, Marcus was one of those who did not join the procession. Aurora had one last glimpse of her friend, watching her as they left the villa, and the look Marcus gave her showed such pain, it seemed to enter her heart like a sword. She turned away, sick with longing, and her father reached over and pulled on her horse’s bridle to urge her along.

  The journey to the field seemed to take no time at all, and with frightening swiftness they were beyond the town’s gates and heading for open country. Aurora caught sight of the deep green of the forest at the edge of the field and repressed the urge to spur her horse and bolt into the nearby woods. She was leaving behind forever the innocence and freedom of her childhood, and something inside her rebelled at her new and uncertain life. The sight of Maelgwn’s soldiers spread out over the field, waiting for them, unnerved her further. For the last few paces to the wedding site, Aurora closed her eyes, set her jaw and allowed her horse to follow her father’s gray stallion.

  In moments, the pony halted and Aurora’s father called her name. She opened her eyes to see Maelgwn standing a few feet away. He looked magnificent. He wore a dark blue tunic that matched his dramatic eyes and turned them a cold lovely blue—like sapphires. Around his neck was a glittering gold torque, and his wrists shone with the ceremonial jewelry of a high king of one of the ancient tribes of Britain. He smiled at her warmly.

  Aurora’s father helped her off her horse and presented her to her bridegroom. Maelgwn’s strong, hard fingers closed over Aurora’s, and he led her to where the priest stood. The ceremony was a blur, but somehow she responded at the appropriate moments. Soon it was over, and Maelgwn was looking at her with a triumphant, self-satisfied grin. She allowed him a kiss, but could not find it in herself to respond. Now that it was over and she belonged to him, her thoughts were even more mutinous. It was bad enough that her father had given her away like a possession, but that Maelgwn had chosen to have the whole town and all his men present to witness her humiliation rankled sorely.

  They rode back to town for the wedding feast. Maelgwn’s black stallion set a brisk, impatient pace, but Aurora had little difficulty keeping up with him, for instead of her brown pony, she rode a graceful mare of smoky gray. Pathui, as the horse was called, was a wedding gift from Maelgwn. The mare had a lovely, silky gait and seemed trained to please.

  The wedding feast was lavish. Whole roast oxen were carved, as well as several pigs, accompanied by tender fowl, wheat and barley bread dripping with honey, summer vegetables in sauces, spiced cakes and colorful pastries. The wine flowed freely, and despite a few tense confrontations between the soldiers of Viroconium and the Cymru the atmosphere was mainly festive and cheerful.

  Aurora sat beside Maelgwn, too angry to look at her husband. She had learned soon after arriving at the great hall that Maelgwn was not going to allow her to bring even a maid with her to Gwynedd. Her father told her that he had begged Maelgwn to reconsider, but he had refused. Aurora was furious. It was going to be hard enough for her to adjust to her new country. To deny her the companionship and assistance of a servant from her homeland seemed pointlessly cruel.

  Fortunately, Aurora was able to hide her anger from Maelgwn with little difficulty. The constant procession of people to their table—friends of her parents coming to say good-bye and soldiers begging kisses—made it almost impossible for the newly married couple to do more than exchange the most banal pleasantries. Maelgwn glanced curiously at her from time to time, but Aurora kept her eyes averted, hoping h
e would assume her silence was the result of shyness rather than hostility.

  Aurora was so careful to ignore Maelgwn that she was never really sure when he left the feast. Sometime late in the evening she turned to ask her husband when they would be leaving in the morning and realized he was no longer at her side. Looking around the room, she was startled to find that there was not a Cymru soldier left in the place. Her first reaction was fear—had Maelgwn changed his mind about wanting her as his wife? Did he mean to leave her behind when he returned to homeland? The thought panicked her. Where only a few hours ago she would have been relieved to be left behind, now the idea mortified her. It was bad enough to be forced into marriage with her father’s enemy, worse yet to be rejected afterwards.

  Aurora’s mother saw her confusion and was beside her daughter immediately.

  “Come dear, we must finish packing your things.”

  “But Maelgwn...”

  “He has gone to prepare to leave tomorrow. You will be taken to his tent when all your things are ready.”

  Aurora’s fury returned with a vengeance. Maelgwn had not taken leave of her or said good-bye. Instead, he had left instructions for her to be brought to him, as if she were a servant or one of his possessions!

  Aurora’s mother led her to a waiting wagon, and Constantine and the rest of her family rode back with her to the villa. While servants gathered Aurora’s possessions for the journey to Gwynedd, she said her tearful good-byes. Her sisters were weeping openly, and when her father pulled her aside, his face was a rigid mask.

  “Aurora, my little one,” he whispered. Aurora looked at her father, trying to be brave. Constantine was not a handsome man, and with his thinning hair and hawkish Roman nose he looked every one of his forty years. Still, his regal dignity made Aurora’s heart soar with pride. Her father was a king, as great a man as Maelgwn.

  Constantine smoothed a lock of unruly hair back from her forehead and spoke. “This is not the marriage that I would have wished for you, Aurora, but it cannot be helped. I know that you will remember who you are—a princess of the Cornovii and a descendant of the great emperor Theodosius. I expect you to conduct yourself as a noble lady and bring honor to your people.” He paused and the formality left his face. His eyes glittered with tears.

  “I have asked Maelgwn to take care of you, and he has promised me he will. But I want you to know—should he mistreat you in any way, send me a word, and I will avenge you—even if I must sacrifice my own life and the lives of my people to do it!”

  Aurora nodded and blinked back her tears. Her father had done what he had to do, but he still loved her. He was asking her to do her part, to honor her husband and do nothing to endanger the treaty. She must forget her anger at Maelgwn and attempt to be a good wife.

  Maelgwn’s men had arrived at the villa gate, and Aurora gave her father a quick kiss and mounted her new mare. As she rode out the villa gate for the second time that day, Aurora realized what a beautiful summer night it was, full of the soft sounds of insects and the bright shimmer of moonlight. They traveled past the town and then out into the open field. Before them lay Maelgwn’s army camp. The many campfires and torches seemed to reflect the multitude of stars in the sky above, and the thought of so many soldiers out there on the plain filled Aurora with awe.

  Aurora’s resolution to be a dutiful, obedient wife took on new meaning. She had married a king, with hundreds of men at his command. Who was she to demand anything of him? Instead of concerning herself with how he treated her, she should be devoting her efforts to pleasing him. It was not just a matter of honor, but of self-preservation. Her father’s bold words notwithstanding, once they were out of sight of her homeland, Maelgwn could ignore her or abuse her as he wished, and no one would care. She was at her husband’s mercy.

  Perhaps the soldier who helped her off her horse when they reached the king’s tent sensed her foreboding, for he spoke as if to reassure her. “The king is still making preparations for tomorrow, but I’m sure he will be here shortly. In the meantime, is there anything I may get for you, my lady?”

  The man’s accent was strange, but that was not all that intrigued Aurora. From his sparse facial hair and soft hazel eyes she guessed him to be much younger than the hardened soldiers who made up the rest of Maelgwn’s personal bodyguard.

  “Nothing, thank you,” she answered, trying not to stare at him. There was something about his sweetly handsome face and deferential manner that reminded her of Marcus.

  The young soldier moved ahead of her and lifted the tent flap for her to enter. She saw with relief that there had been some attempt to prepare for her arrival. There was no bed in the tent, but a mattress of sheepskins on the ground was comfortably spread with blankets. There was also a low table with a lamp, and an urn of water and a chamber pot had been placed discreetly in the corner. Maelgwn’s men unloaded the baskets and chests that contained her clothes and personal items and stacked them neatly in the corner of the tent. Then they left her, bowing quickly as they took their leave.

  Aurora sank down on the blankets, tired to the bone. As she fumbled awkwardly with the tie of her wedding dress, she thought again how unfair it was that Maelgwn had not let her bring a maid to help her with her clothes and hair. She forced the thought away, realizing that she must not dwell on her resentments. Having made up her mind to try and please her husband, she dared not think about the things he had done so far to anger her.

  Aurora crawled into bed wearing the thin, linen shift she had worn under her wedding gown. She shivered slightly, remembering the possessive, demanding way Maelgwn had kissed her in the garden. She did not like to remember the way he had made her feel, so weak and out-of-control. Tonight she would have to submit to him, but that was all she would do. This time she had no intention of letting his kisses turn her into a gasping idiot.

  Aurora listened intently to the night sounds of the camp, expecting to hear Maelgwn’s footsteps or deep voice at any moment. When he did not come, she sighed and shifted restlessly. It had been a long day, and it was bliss to lie down and relax. Her last thought was that if Maelgwn did not come soon, she would be asleep.

  As Maelgwn made his way to his tent, he met Balyn and Evrawc, another of his officers.

  “She’s here, settling in by now I imagine,” said Balyn, motioning toward the torches which burned near the king’s tent.

  “All went well—she is comfortable?”

  Balyn shrugged. “As comfortable as we could make her. I really think you should have let her bring a maid, Maelgwn. It’s not right that a lady of her background have no female servant to attend her.”

  Maelgwn’s mouth set in a hard line. “Aurora must adapt to her new life as a Cymraes. I thought that a companion from her homeland would make it harder for her to set aside the past and accept her lot as my wife.”

  “You expect a great deal from someone so young, especially a woman who has obviously been sheltered and protected all her life,” Balyn said with a shake of his head. “She is bound to be homesick, perhaps miserably so.”

  “I disagree,” put in Evrawc. “You are right to make Lady Aurora accept the terms of her new life right away. Too many women get the idea that they rule the household instead of their husband.”

  Maelgwn and Balyn looked at each other and shared a faint smile. It was no secret that Evrawc’s wife was an acid-tongued shrew who made him miserable. Perhaps that accounted for Evrawc’s dour outlook on life. Like Balyn, Evrawc had been with Maelgwn almost from the beginning of his struggle for kingship, but there could hardly be two men more unlike than his two chief officers. Balyn was big, powerful, good-natured and always joking. Evrawc was small and wiry, with a disposition that was as gloomy as Balyn’s was sunny. Maelgwn felt they made a nice balance in his life—one cheering him up and the other advising him with shrewd pessimism.

  “I’ll consider your advice, both of you,” Maelgwn answered. “Good night. I’ll see you both on the morrow.”

  Maelg
wn walked briskly to his tent. Balyn’s words troubled him. He did not mean to be cruel to his wife, but he was uneasy with the idea of coddling her. From Constantine’s obvious affection for his daughter, it seemed likely the girl had been pampered, spoiled by her easy life and doting family. If she was to be his queen, she must be toughen up and learn to think of others as well as of herself.

  Still, he did not want to hurt her or make her hate him. He was looking forward to their lovemaking, and he wanted more than her acquiescence in bed. Maelgwn recalled Aurora’s ardent response in the garden. Aye, he might well be willing to spoil her a little himself if she were to display some of that passionate enthusiasm again.

  Maelgwn pulled aside the flap and entered his tent. The lamp still burned, but it appeared Aurora was asleep. She was curled up on the bedplace, her face turned away from him. Maelgwn dropped his heavy sword and scabbard on the ground. Aurora did not stir.

  He climbed over the clutter of boxes and baskets at the foot of the bed to get a better look at her. Asleep, his wife looked exquisitely enticing. Her soft, rosy mouth was slightly open, and her hair tumbled in wild curls around her face. Maelgwn leaned over and took a lock of it in his hand, feeling the silky weight of it, thinking how good it would feel against his naked body.

  Then he sighed deeply. He could not take her now. It would be near rape to wake her out of this peaceful sleep to have his way with her. His body ached with unfulfilled desire as Maelgwn blew out the lamp and lay down beside his new wife. There would be time enough, he told himself. He would possess this beautiful young woman yet. She was his wife, and she would soon know that Maelgwn the Great commanded her.

  Chapter 5

  Aurora woke and looked around. Although there was evidence that Maelgwn had come to the tent during the night, he was gone now. Aurora felt a strange disappointment. Last night had been her wedding night, and nothing had happened, nothing at all. Was it possible that Maelgwn did not really want her, that he had married her only to humiliate her father?