by Sherry Ewing
“Good Lord, here she comes,” Katherine stated while a feeling of doom hung over her like a terrible thunderstorm about to ravage the ground around them.
“Well...it was a pleasant day,” Brianna murmured.
“I just know it’s going to take everything in me not to want to pull her hair out by the roots!”
“She’ll be gone soon, sis,” Brianna replied. “Buck up now. Don’t let her get under your skin.”
Katherine leaned back on her elbow and portrayed a completely relaxed demeanor when Marguerite came to stand in front of them. She watched the woman’s eyes narrow to mere slits while she maintained her lounging position. Katherine supposed it was the ultimate insult that she didn’t stand to meet her rival on even ground.
“Did you need something, Marguerite?” Katherine asked with a slight smile on her face. She took one of the flowers and brought it up to her nose, inhaling the delicate fragrance, as if she didn’t have a care in the world. Outwardly, she hoped she appeared calm, but inside, her heart was rapidly beating in her chest, like a loud, big brass band. Raising her chin a notch, she would not give Marguerite the satisfaction of knowing how much she feared her past relationship with her husband.
“Do you have no sense about you woman that you would not rise when one of your betters stands afore you,” Marguerite sneered.
A strange garbled sound escaped Brianna, making it evident she was insulted by the remark. “Oh, you did not just speak to her like that!”
Brianna made to rise, but Katherine put a steady hand on her friend’s arm to restrain any further outbreak. “Brie, I’ve got this.”
They exchanged a silent look until Brianna resumed her relaxed position. Katherine returned her attention to the older woman, standing there with her fists clenched at her sides. She looked her up and down but stayed where she was. Marguerite’s face began to turn purple with rage.
“You will stand in my presence!” Marguerite shouted, pointing her finger in Katherine’s direction. “I am the Countess of Warkworth, and I demand your respect.”
“As am I...or have you forgotten something of such significance,” Katherine replied sarcastically, before she continued. “Have you never heard the saying that respect is earned, Marguerite? So far in our very short association, you haven’t bothered to show me much, so I really don’t feel the need or desire to extend the courtesy.”
“How dare you talk to me as if you are above me? Just you wait. You shall be leaving these grounds and going back to wherever you came from. You might as well begin your packing. You are not wanted here.”
“I beg to differ with you, Marguerite,” Katherine said and finally rose to stand toe to toe with the woman. “You had better get used to the idea that I am now the mistress of Warkworth, and I can assure you, I’m not going anywhere.”
“How dare you speak to me that way, you insignificant piece of fodder?”
“If you think to get a rise out of me by calling me names, you’re wasting your time. I have better things to do than listen to someone with no class,” Katherine said and sat back down, turning her attention back to Brianna. “Now, what were we talking about, Brie, before we were so rudely interrupted?”
“Just wait ’til I tell Riorden how you are treating me!” Marguerite huffed.
Katherine couldn’t hide the smirk that suddenly plastered itself onto her face. “Well, turn around, dearie, because here’s your chance.”
* * *
Riorden’s stride could only be described as determined as he quickly made his way across the baily to reach Katherine’s side. He could not believe the audacity that Marguerite would dare confront his wife at her own castle. Merde! He could not get rid of his father’s widow soon enough. She was trouble in the making, and the sooner she left the keep, the better everyone would be.
Whatever words Katherine had just said to Marguerite caused the woman to scream out in outrage. As he came up behind Marguerite, he reached out, grabbing the arm she had raised to slap his wife. He yanked hard until she spun around and all but threw herself into his arms then began sobbing...again. Was there no end to this woman’s ploys?
“Enough, Marguerite,” he snarled, pulling the suddenly distraught woman away from him.
“Oh, Riorden, thank goodness you are here!” she cried out. “You have no idea how insulting your wife is, and how she has treated me. Me! Your father’s widow. How much more agony am I supposed to endure?”
Taking Katherine’s hand, he pulled her up from the ground and brought it lovingly up to his lips. Smiling into her eyes, he wrapped his arm around her waist and held her close. He nodded briefly towards Brianna then he turned his steady gaze back to Marguerite.
“In case I did not make myself clear, or you misunderstood my words, this is my wife, Marguerite, and her lady friend,” he said through clenched teeth. “If you so much as ever raise a hand to either of them, I will dispatch you to Dunhaven Manor whether ’tis ready for your arrival or not. Do you have any doubt of my words?”
“But Riorden, she─”
“I have had enough of your tantrums this day and care not to suffer your presence any longer than necessary. I am sure you can find something to occupy your time inside the keep.”
He dared her to voice her objections with a raised brow, but, for once, the woman clamped her lips shut tight. Her skirts swirled in her haste to leave them, and Riorden finally felt as though he could draw a breath of fresh air.
“Goodness, how does anyone stand that obnoxious woman?” Brianna complained with a toss of her head. “I mean really, has she always acted in such a vile manner and been so callus?”
Riorden took a lock of Katherine’s hair that had fallen across her brow and pushed it behind her ear. Kissing her cheek, he looked behind him to ensure Marguerite did indeed return to the keep. “I personally cannot account for her behavior, ladies. I am most distressed to subject you both to her outbursts. I can only pray that your interaction with her will be at a minimum ’til she departs.”
“We’ll be fine, Riorden. Don’t worry about us,” Katherine replied softly.
He observed her for a few moments, and he could tell she was forcing a smile for his benefit. She was troubled. Of that he had no doubt, and he could hardly blame her. ’Twas not the best situation in which he would have wanted to introduce his wife to her new home, but they would need to make the best of it.
He took both her checks in the palms of his hand. Leaning down, he kissed her gently, not caring if anyone saw their display of affection. “I love you, Katherine,” he whispered, “just in case you forgot.”
This time her smile lit her eyes. “Sweetheart, how could I ever forget something as wonderful as that?” she said laughingly. “I love you, too.”
Giving them a bow, he left them to return to his duties although his gaze returned to her numerous times as he watched her from afar. She was a beautiful distraction, and he was thankful she belonged to him.
Chapter 10
Her lungs burned in her chest as she continued her frantic race from her worst fears. How was she to outrun the turmoil going on inside her own head? Her mind screamed at her to hurry with her quest. She must find him before all she had gained was lost to her forever. Time would not be so cruel as to take him from her now that they were to at last start their life together, or would it?
She fled head first into a dense white and obscuring fog. Coming to a sudden halt, she became disoriented and confused with her surroundings. She knew not which direction to turn, nor where to further her search. Which path would lead her to him, and how on earth was she to find it if she couldn’t see what was right before her eyes. Had she, in truth, already lost him when he espied the woman from his past?
“Riorden!” she screeched out his name, but the sound only resonated all around her, as if she were standing captured in the middle of a tunnel with the walls closing in all about her. Her voice sounded sharp and harsh, even to her own ears. It certainly did not have the lilting
quality of the one he used to love. She knew within one heartbeat that she hated the woman for what she had meant to her husband.
The vision of his ex-lover skimmed the recesses in her mind, but it was enough to blind her to everything they had been through just so they could be together. Jealousy began to course through her, taking physical shape in the form of a towering, green scaled, hideous monster. A scream of startling proportions was ripped from her very soul, even as the demon’s claws came to take hold of her. Once within its deathly grip, she knew for certain all hope was lost. For jealousy, the root of all evil when it came to the game of love, began to greedily consume her. Her trust in him gone, she surrendered the battle to fight for him, along with her will to allow love to conquer all...
* * *
Katherine awoke after she did a head bob. Trying to get her bearings, her fuzzy brain scanned the room, attempting to determine where she was only to realize she had dozed off in a chair. She couldn’t have rested long, but it was more than enough to give her a kink in her neck, which she began to rub. Given the troubled dream threatening to disrupt her resolve to remain strong, she was relieved her nap had been a short one.
Going to the window, she opened the shutter and took a deep breath of air, hoping to calm her frayed nerves. It was only a dream, she reminded herself. Just because her past visions were almost a premonition of what was to come, didn’t mean this one, in particular, would be true.
Her memories of her conversation with Amiria of Berwyck flashed quickly across her mind. She had understood the situation would be dire, at best, but how could she have known how much it would hurt to see Marguerite thrown into his arms. Seeing it for a second time was almost her undoing. Although it certainly wasn’t as if Riorden had welcomed her attention.
However, it didn’t lessen her sense of foreboding that currently plagued her. Trouble was on the horizon. She could feel it, and there was nothing she could do about it other than have faith that everything would work out as it should. She would not let that menacing woman get the best of her. She had only just arrived on the castle grounds for heaven’s sake!
With a new sense of purpose, she leaned out the window to observe the goings on of castle living and practically drank her fill of every miniscule detail swimming before her vision. She gave a happy laugh with the thought that she had actually done it! She was living in twelfth century England with the man of her dreams. Life was going to be so very good for them.
As if she conjured him from her very thoughts, Riordan came from the smithy. He pointed to several areas of the castle defenses until the knight by his side ran off to follow whatever orders he’d just been given. Although she wanted to call out her husband’s name, she didn’t want to embarrass him in front of his men just so she could gain his notice. She shouldn’t have been surprised when he spotted her.
A small thrill went through her as his gaze fell upon her, even at such a distance. From his grin, she had the distinct impression he was undressing her with his eyes. A devilish twinkle lit her own with the thought of how she would welcome Riordan to their chamber. She crooked her finger toward him to join her in their room. He held up one of his own with an indication he’d be there shortly. She smiled, blowing him a kiss. He in turn pretended to catch it and laid his hand over his heart.
It was a loving gesture that sent Katherine’s heart to skip a beat or two in excitement of how they would spend the remainder of the afternoon together. She began taking her clothes off, leaving a trail of them behind her like bread crumbs for him to follow as she scampered to the bed. Grabbing one of the long stemmed wild flowers, she placed it on his pillow before crawling over to her own side.
She closed the bed hangings, plunging herself into darkness until he found her. The thought of his reaction of seeing her lying naked on his bed made her giggle. With thoughts of how she would tempt her husband, she smiled, wondering how he would react to what she had planned. It wasn’t as if this would be something a normal twelfth century woman would ask of her partner, but Katherine figured what did she have to lose anyway? It was time to give Karma a helping hand.
* * *
Riorden climbed the stairs of the Garrison Hall after ensuring John and his family were settled in their new living quarters. Since there was nothing he could do to change the fact that he and Katherine would not be sleeping this night in the keep, he had made it perfectly clear that come the morrow the Great Hall would be scrubbed ’til it shined. He had been informed their temporary chambers in the Garrison Hall would be adequate for their needs ’til the keep had been cleaned. He supposed occupying his father’s chambers was the least of his worries.
Opening the door, he closed it behind him with a soft click and slid the bolt into place, ensuring their privacy. His eyes widened, seeing his wife’s garments on the floor, and a roguish grin plastered itself on his face. His only thought throughout the day as he went about conducting his duties was when he would be able to at last hold his wife in his arms. Merde, but that woman knew him better than he knew himself sometimes.
The lit candles cast soft shadows about the room as dusk began to overtake the land. But there was enough light for him to clearly see his way to the bed. Pulling back the drapery, he thought to espy his lovely wife fast asleep and under the covers, since he had taken longer than anticipated to join her. He was pleasantly surprised to see her seductively lounging there and wide awake.
“Hi ya, handsome,” she whispered with a sly catlike grin.
“Good eve to you, my lady.”
“Business all taken care of for the day?” she inquired sweetly whilst twirling a lock of her glorious tawny colored hair between her fingers.
He watched her intently, even as he felt a part of him rise to the temptation afore him. “Aye,” he replied, unbuckling his belt and propping his sword up against the wall near the head of the bed.
“Then you’re all mine for the rest of the night?”
“’Til the morn, if you so wish it, my lovely wife.”
She gave him a smile that radiated clear to those beautiful aquamarine eyes he so loved. Reaching over to the small table next to the bed, she pulled at a length of dark silk then grabbed the flower from his pillow. His gaze traveled the length of her body as she crawled her way across the coverlet, much like a lioness on the prowl. He swallowed hard, intently watching her luscious and firm round bottom come closer to his side. He stretched forward to touch her perfectly shaped backside only to have her playfully slap his hand away. She laughed at the expression he must have given her and proceeded to wag her finger at him, as if he were naught but a child caught stealing a sweet afore supper.
“No touching, dear heart.” Her words lingered in the air. Reaching out, her fingertips grazed along his tunic, causing desire to rush through him like a river overflowing its banks, as she all but devoured him with her eyes. “Would you like to play a game, babe?”
His laughter rumbled in his chest. “Most assuredly, Kat.”
She rose up on her knees to face him. “And do you trust me?”
“But of course, my love.”
She gave him a quick kiss. “Then sit down, and close your eyes.” His brow rose in question at her ploy, but she only laughed again. “Go on, now. I won’t bite...at least...not much.”
Curious as to what this modern woman had in store for him, he sat at the edge of the bed. His breath left him when she all but molded herself against his back, and he peeked at her from the corner of his eye to see what she was about. She must have anticipated him cheating, since she attempted a look of stern disapproval at his glance over his shoulder. The laughter shining in her eyes gave her away.
“Tsk, tsk, Riorden. We haven’t even begun yet, and already you’re not playing fair,” she said in a feigned show of being put out. “Now, be good, and let me have my wicked way with you.”
“Is this that Karma you spoke of, my sweet?”
Her tinkling laughter rang out in the room, sending chills of pleasu
re skimming down his spine. “Most assuredly, my lord,” she declared brightly, echoing his words but moments afore. “Close your eyes.”
He obeyed her and felt her wrap the silken cloth around his eyes. She quietly asked him to raise his arms. He lifted them obediently and his tunic was removed from his torso. Her hands lightly skimmed across the breadth of his shoulders, sending goose bumps racing along his flesh. The bed dipped, and he knew she left his side to come stand between his legs. Her hair tickled as she leaned up against him to whisper in his ear.
“I’ve heard it said that your senses are heightened when you can’t see what’s going on.”
He wondered what she would do next, but did not have long to wait afore he felt her brush the petals of the flower up and down his chest. She soon replaced it with her hair, and the tresses were like the touch of the softest butterfly’s wings as they kissed their way lower on his body.
“Is it true?” she asked in a hushed tone.
“You do not know?”
“No.” ’Twas a simple statement.
“Then you have never done this to another?” he asked quietly, hoping she had never had such an intimate experience with someone else, like they were about to share.
Her lips brushed against his, and he felt as if his soul took flight. “Only for you...”
Far into the night she made love to him until she at last allowed him to regain his sense of sight. He returned the favor by punishing her just as sweetly ’til they were both exhausted. Never in his wildest imagination would he have thought a woman, let alone his wife, would instigate such a dramatic and sensitive game in the bed chamber. He looked forward to whatever she would come up with next, since she continued to be full of wonderful surprises. His last conscious thought afore he fell fast asleep was to thank the stars above for sending him such a miracle as his Katherine. He could not have asked for a better wife to share his life.
