Andres was taken aback at the accusations, true though they might be. He was incensed. “I have done no such thing,” he said hotly. “What gives you the right to accuse me of such things?”
Cortez sighed heavily. “Did you not just walk in here and size my wife up as if she was another one of your conquests?”
Andres blinked, unable to think of a swift reply. “I did not….”
“And have you not been constantly and lewdly winking at the woman every chance you get?”
Andres took a step back from his brother, fearful of what was going to happen. He knew the accusations were true and was wary of his brother’s legendary temper. He had no desire to come face to face with the physical repercussions.
“I mean no harm, brother, truly,” he insisted.
Cortez put up a hand to wave off Andres’ usual volume of excuses. “I grow weary of your denials,” he snapped. “One more wink, one more lascivious comment, and I will make it so that no woman finds you attractive ever again. Do I make myself clear? Lady Diamantha is my wife, Andres, and you will show her all due respect. She is not a trollop for you to toy with.”
Humiliated, and angry, Andres nodded his head once, sharply. He wouldn’t look at his brother. Cortez’s gaze lingered on him a moment, hoping he wouldn’t have to make good on his threat to maim him. Not that he would, but he would certainly give him a beating he would not soon forget. Wanting off the uncomfortable subject, Cortez turned in the direction of the adjoining room where Sophie was playing with her pets. He pointed at the little girl.
“You will remain with Lady Sophie while her mother and I go into town to purchase a few items,” he said. “Order a meal and feed her sup. We will return shortly.”
Andres was stricken. “Watch the little girl?” he repeated. “I know nothing of little girls!”
Diamantha wasn’t so sure she wanted to leave her daughter with Andres given the conversation Cortez had just had with the man. She put her hand on Cortez’s arm.
“We do not have to shop, truly,” she assured him. “I will be just as happy remaining here, eating sup, and going to bed early. I am quite weary.”
Cortez looked at her, appearing a bit crestfallen. “Are you certain?” he sounded as if he was pleading. “We will not be too long. Andres is perfectly trustworthy to watch over the child.”
Diamantha simply shook her head and went back into the room where her daughter was. Disappointed, Cortez’s gaze lingered on her for a moment, quite certain her response was because of Andres’ behavior. She didn’t trust the man and he didn’t blame her, not in the least. Knowing that there was probably no way to convince her otherwise, he snapped his finger at his brother and pointed to the chamber door. Andres gladly took the hint and quit the room. As the man fled down the narrow hall, Cortez turned to Diamantha.
“I will have food sent up to you,” he said. “I will post a guard outside should you need anything.”
Diamantha, sitting on the bed beside her daughter, looked up at him. “Where are you going?”
Cortez jerked his head in the direction of the street outside. “To hell, more than likely, but that is a discussion for another time,” he quipped, watching her smirk. “I will return, Lady de Bretagne.”
Before Diamantha could press him, he fled, leaving her in the two tiny rooms with her daughter’s pets running wild around the floor. When the meal was brought up a short while later, it was a feast of shredded pork, brown rye bread, beans and mushrooms stewed together, small green apples, pears, and figs with honey. Diamantha and the kittens ate the pork, the rabbit had a pear, the fox kit enjoyed both the pork and the apples, while Sophie exclusively ate the figs and honey until she was close to bursting.
There was a bath after supper as well. A big, burly man who wore a patch over one eye brought up a tub that was the bottom half of a barrel, lined with linen. There were three soldiers guarding the room and they helped the innkeeper and the burly man fill the tub with steaming water. Once the tub was filled and everyone had cleared the room, Diamantha went to her satchel and pulled out clean clothing and toiletries for her and her daughter.
Stripping Sophie of her little dress, her shift, her under clothing and hose, she plopped the girl into the warm bath, stripped down herself, and climbed in with her. Hair piled on top of her head to keep it out of the bathwater, Diamantha soaped her daughter’s skin and hair as the little girl played in the bath, rinsing everything clean in the soothing and warm water.
With the small, flickering hearth as a backdrop, Diamantha used the hard rose-scented soap to wash away two days of travel, her thoughts lingering on everything that had happened since they had started their great questing to find Robert’s body. It was odd how her existence at Corfe seemed like a lifetime ago. She found herself wondering how George was faring. She thought on the servants she’d left behind, women who had been with her for years. She missed them and their gossipy ways.
It was beginning to occur to her that this trip was going to take a very long time, much longer than she had conceived of in her own mind. Truth, she had traveled a great way once, those years ago when she left Northumberland and traveled to Dorset for her wedding. It had been a very long journey, but this time, things were different. She had such trepidation in her heart, trepidation that they wouldn’t find Robert… and even more that they would. She was coming to wonder what she had gotten herself into, but there was no turning back. She had to push on.
The water eventually cooled and she pulled Sophie out of the tub, drying the now-sleeping little girl. Sophie whined as her mother dried her hair vigorously next to the fire, combing it out and braiding it tightly for sleep. She put the child in a heavy woolen sleeping shift and by the time she put the girl in bed, Sophie was nearly asleep. But not quite, her animals were on the bed, sleeping in a pile, and she wanted them to sleep with her, so Diamantha moved the pile of baby animals next to Sophie and covered everyone up. Soon enough, Sophie was fast asleep with her menagerie snuggled up against her.
Diamantha moved back into the other room to prepare for her own sleep. She had donned a heavy linen sleeping shift with great belled sleeves and a hood and put a pair of soft doeskin slippers on her feet. She opened the door and asked the soldiers to remove the now-cold bath, standing aside as they moved in to collect it. When they had left, she shut the door but didn’t bolt it, knowing Cortez would soon return. She found that she was anticipating it as nervously as a virgin bride.
Seated on the floor in front of the hearth, she unbraided her hair and began to brush it, all the while staring dreamily into the flames. Visions of Corfe passed before her eyes, of Robert, and of the last day she ever saw him alive. It had been so hard to let him go. It was still hard to let him go, but let him go she must. It was time for her to move on because lingering on Robert’s memory was damaging her somehow, weakening her, and she could not do that to herself. Cortez was her husband now and he was offering her a new life, a good life, if she would only accept it and stop acting foolishly.
Now, she knew she had to accept it. She could no longer dwell in the sad halls of grief. When Cortez returned tonight, she would give herself over to him as a wife should, and she would allow Cortez to wipe away Robert’s memory from her body and replace it with his own. The scent of Robert would be washed away by Cortez, the feel of his flesh upon hers, the feel of his body within hers. It had been so long since she’d felt a man between her legs that the mere thought made her shudder. Robert had been capable of bringing a scream to her lips. She wondered if Cortez could do the same.
As she sat there on the floor, gazing into the mesmerizing flames, the hairbrush came to a halt as she thought of Robert’s great manhood as it plunged into the folds of her body. The man had been very fond of her breasts, suckling her nipples hungrily when they made love, and her free hand came up to touch her breast, toying with a nipple as Robert used to do. But somehow, as she touched herself, Robert’s face became Cortez. She pinched her nipple, closing her eye
s in lust and ecstasy as she imagined what it would be like for Cortez to suckle her nipples. She wondered what it would be like for him to gently push her legs apart and impale her with his big, powerful body. She was so caught up in her fantasy that she nearly jumped out of her skin when someone knocked softly on the chamber door.
Diamantha jerked her hand away from her breast as Cortez quietly opened the chamber door, shutting it gently behind him and bolting it. Standing up to face him, she hoped he wouldn’t see how breathless she was.
“Greetings,” he said as his face came into the light. “Have you eaten?”
Diamantha nodded, struggling to calm her racing heart. “I have,” she answered. “I ate with Sophie. She is sleeping now.”
Cortez nodded, sticking his head into the smaller chamber to see that Sophie was, indeed, sleeping the sleep of the dead. He also noticed the empty cage.
“Where are her pets?” he asked.
“In bed, with her.”
Satisfied that the girl was safe and warm, and the pets were also, he turned back to Diamantha.
“I am sorry it took so long to return,” he said. “Were you waiting up for me?”
Diamantha grinned. “Who else would I be waiting for?”
Cortez returned her grin, rather flattered by her teasing answer. “Me, I had hoped,” he confirmed. Then, he pointed at the bed. “Please, be seated. I have a story to tell you.”
Obediently, Diamantha sat on the small bed, hardly big enough for the two people who were going to soon be sleeping on it. She looked up expectantly at Cortez, who seemed strangely nervous. He was dressed for travel, in his mail coat, tunic and breeches, with his big broadsword strapped to his side. He began to fidget with his broadsword, unfastening it from his waist.
“As you know, I wanted to purchase a wedding ring for you,” he said as he pulled at the sword. “When I went back into the town tonight, most of the merchants were closing down as Matins approached. However, I found one merchant who seemed willing to do business, even in the face of sin. Of course, it helped when I put a gold crown into his hand simply as an incentive to let me look his wares over.”
Diamantha giggled. “You bribed the man to risk his immortal soul?”
Cortez nodded. “It was either bribe him or beat him,” he said, a twinkle in the dark eyes. “He took the bribe.”
Diamantha couldn’t fault the man his determination. “I see,” she said. “Continue with your story. I am growing intrigued.”
He could see the mirth in her eyes as he went on. “The man had any and all manner of goods,” he said. “I looked at his cookware and jars, but thought that would not be a good wedding gift. Nothing says ‘thank you for becoming my wife’ better than an iron pot and, by the way, go cook my supper, you silly wench.”
Diamantha’s giggles increased. He was a very animated and humorous story teller. “You didn’t get one for me, did you?”
Cortez was starting to chuckle, laughing because she was. She had such charming laughter.
“Nay, I did not, but I will admit I was tempted,” he pretended to warn her as he continued. “I looked at fabric, wooden dogs, and small houses for birds. Then, I finally told him why I was there and he pulled out a vast array of jewelry. It would seem the man has family in Rome, and they send him valuable things to sell. He had a great array of Roman jewelry, things I had never seen before. When I told him I wanted to purchase a wedding ring, he presented me with what the Romans used to call a Posey Ring. It was odd, truly. The moment he showed the ring to me, I knew it was meant for you. It looked like something you should wear. In fact, I told him I would take it before I looked at anything else, so strongly did I feel about it. But then he showed me the inscription on the inside of the band. And that is when I knew… it was divine providence, my lady. That ring spoke to me and told me that it belonged to you. To us. So I bought it.”
By now, Diamantha’s giggles had faded because he seemed so serious. He seemed almost philosophical and mystical about the ring and she was growing increasingly eager to see it. Before she could ask, he dug into his scabbard and pulled forth a tiny silk pouch. Opening the pouch, he pulled out a band of dark gold. Then he sat on the bed beside her, holding the ring up in the dim light.
“You see this?” he asked, pointing to the exterior of the rather wide band. “There are flowers worked all around the band. That is why it is called a Posey Ring; it was an engagement ring of sorts, when young Roman men would purchase these rings for the women they loved in the hopes that the women would marry them. Posey Rings were meant for young women who loved flowers, considered a very feminine and fertile symbol. But this ring has something more, it has an inscription on the inside. The young man who had this ring made for his ladylove was a determined young man, indeed.”
Diamantha was fascinated by the wide gold band with its array of intricate flowers all around it. It was truly a lovely piece. “Why?” she asked, gazing at the band. “What does the inscription say?”
Cortez turned it sideways, pointing at the Latin writing on the inside of the band. “It says quaerenti tibi est.”
“What does that mean?”
He took her left hand and sliding the ring down over her third finger. It was a snug fit, but not too snug. In fact, it was rather perfect. Then he looked up, gazing into her miraculous dual-colored eyes.
“It means my quest is you,” he said softly. “The young man who had this ring made must have been pursuing his young lady rather strongly, much as I have been pursing you. My quest is you. But more than that, you and I are on a quest to find Robert. It could also mean that your quest is Robert. But I like to look at it from my perspective. My quest is you, Lady Diamantha. Now do you see why I had to have it?”
Diamantha was astonished. She held the ring up, looking so lovely on her slender finger, her wide-eyed gaze moving between the ring and Cortez. “It truly says that?”
“Truly.”
She looked at the ring again, admiring the craftsmanship. “That is truly one of the most remarkable stories I have ever heard,” she said, duly impressed. “What a story it will be to tell our children.”
He just sat there, watching her as she looked at the ring. Then, he scratched his neck rather awkwardly. “As things stand, the event of children would be something of a miracle.”
She looked up at him curiously. “What do you mean?”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Children are not born when two people merely sit on a bed as we are,” he said, somewhat ironically. “There has to be a little more to it.”
Diamantha should have been embarrassed by his inference of the lack of intimacy between them but she wasn’t. He was correct. With a grin, she looked back at her ring.
“Ah, yes,” she said, nodding knowingly. “We may have to actually make more of an effort.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
“It is also true that this is not a legitimate marriage until we consummate it.”
“That is my feeling as well.”
“Then mayhap we should get on with it.”
Cortez was careful in his reply. “I do not want to force you to do something you are not ready to do,” he said quietly. “We have only been married for two days, and we have only been re-acquainted with each other for three.”
She looked at him as if scrutinizing him. “Is this the same Cortez de Bretagne who charged into George’s solar to inform me that I was to be his bride?”
“The same.”
“Yet your forcefulness has significantly diminished,” she noted, feigning suspicion. “Why?”
He sighed faintly and looked away. “You are my wife now,” he said, trying to explain something he didn’t quite understand himself. “I suppose in my own way I am trying to be considerate of you. It is not easy for me, I assure you. It is my desire to have my way in all things. I have already forced you into a marriage you did not want. I do not want to push you into other things to the point that you would hate me for it. That is not how I wish
for our marriage to be.”
Diamantha studied his masculine profile, his comely good looks. She was starting to see much more to the man than just his handsome features. She was coming to see that beneath that selfish exterior lay a man of feeling and of compassion. A truly selfish man would not have backed away from his pursuit, leading her to understand that perhaps Cortez was not as selfish as he believed himself to be. He had the capacity to put others first, which was a rare commodity.
“How do you wish it to be?” she asked softly.
He shrugged, looking at his hands as he leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. “My parents were quite fond of each other,” he said. “Helene and I were quite fond of each other. I was hoping you and I would be the same.”
Diamantha watched the man for a moment before reaching out and grasping his hand gently. Startled by the gesture, Cortez immediately clasped her hand, sitting up to look at the woman, wondering why she had impulsively touched him. He had hope that it was because she wanted to and when he saw her expression, gentle and kind, optimism burst in his chest. Could it be possible that she had finally accepted him, that he had finally overcome some sort of barrier between them? Had his patience come to fruition? God’s Bones, he hoped so. He fervently hoped so. Then, he did the only thing he could think to do. He leaned forward and slanted his warm lips hungrily over hers.
My quest is you.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Diamantha could only feel unadulterated lust and passion as Cortez kissed her deeply. Being that she was not a maiden, his attentions did not frighten her. In fact, they seemed to kindle something deep within her, something hot and liquid that seemed to be begging to be unleashed. For the first few moments of Cortez’s kiss, she didn’t respond. She simply sat there and let him take the lead, allowing herself to become accustomed to his taste and scent. But once she’d experienced the first few moments of the man, she knew she had to have more.
Her hands came up, timidly touching his face, and that seemed to further ignite her. When she realized that Cortez had a wildly intoxicating taste, she began to take the offensive, snaking her tongue into the man’s mouth and listening to him groan with pleasure. They were losing themselves in each other, one becoming bonded to the other as they had never experienced with anyone else. It was lust beyond lust, and hunger beyond hunger. Just as Diamantha began to immerse herself in all that was Cortez, he suddenly leapt to his feet.
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