by Audrey Storm
Rowena’s mind began to wander as she thought about her future and she smiled, imagining what it would be like not to have to worry about where her next meal would come from. Something inside of her suddenly made her feel as if she did not deserve the life that this man was willing to give her and instead of independence she felt humbled. She knew her mother was right when she told her to give Narien another chance. She decided that she would put away all of her preconceived ideas about the Earl and really take the time to get to know him.
As the carriage came to a stop, Rowena’s heartbeat began to quicken. She stepped out of the carriage and was greeted immediately by Narien. “My Lord,” she said, bowing her head.
“My Lady,” the Earl replied gently. “I hope it has not inconvenienced you to join me.”
Rowena was surprised at the way he spoke to her it was as if he were a different man than the one she had seen in the village.
“It has not,” she replied, trying to be as kind as she could to him.
“I believe it is time for us to sit down and discuss the terms of our arrangement,” he said, putting his arm out for her to take. Rowena looked down at the ground. That was the Earl she had seen in the village, one that did not want to get to know her but wanted to discuss their agreement.
“As you wish,” Rowena replied, taking his arm and allowing him to lead her into his home.
Rowena looked around amazed at what was before her. Unlike the shack that she had grown up in, this house had stone walls. There was a roof that was made of stone and it almost reminded her of a castle. The shack her parents had raised her in had dirt floors, wooden walls that contained huge gaps in them and a straw roof. When it was cold outside, the bugs would crawl into the roof and fall on the children as they slept. Her father had created a canopy with a large piece of material he had found along side of the road to ensure his children were protected from the bugs and at night Rowena would hear them falling onto the canopy.
Narien lead Rowena to a large room where several chairs sat in front of a fireplace.
“Sit,” he commanded her. Rowena did not like being told what to do and instead stood by one of the chairs, looking at Narien in defiance. “I request that you sit down,” he said, his voice lower than before.
Rowena tilted her head to the side, then sighed before she sat down. Once she was seated, Narien sat in a chair that was opposite of hers. He leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands. Narien took a deep breath as he looked at the woman he was supposed to marry.
“There are certain things that will be expected of you once our marriage is final,” he began. “You have a few days to get used to the way things will be, but after that, there will be no warnings. You will be punished for disobedience.”
Rowena wrinkled her brow. “I am to be your wife, not your servant,” she snapped at him.
“And my wife you shall be,” he continued. “There will be no disrespect of me or of what I say at any time.”
Rowena leaned back in her chair, not saying anything but simply listening to what was being said to her.
“You will perform your wifely duties whenever I desire and there will be no questions asked,” he continued talking to her as if he were hiring her and not marrying her. “If there is a problem with one of the servants, you need to come to me before any punishment is set forth until you understand how things work. And you will be required to attend all operas, plays and balls while behaving like a civilized person. I will have someone teach you how a Countess should behave, but if you are caught behaving like a peasant, you will be treated as one.”
Rowena’s eyes were wide. She could not believe the way that he spoke to her. “If you wanted to marry someone of noble birth, why did you not? I cannot change who I am, and behave as if I am a Countess if you are going to treat me as if I am a servant.”
Rowena saw the muscles in Narien’s jaw tighten as he clenched his teeth. “Woman, is there anything that I could do that would actually make you happy?” he growled at her.
Rowena looked at the ceiling of the room, she was in awe of how tall it was and wondered how it had been built.
“Treat me as if I am your wife,” she began, looking back at Narien. “Pretend if you have to that you want to marry me and not that you have made a mistake.”
Narien could see tears welling up in her eyes as she spoke and he felt the pain she was feeling in his own heart. He stood up and walked over to her chair, bending down he sat on his knees in front of her.
“Beautiful Rowena,” he said, in a gentle voice. “Do you think that I have picked you randomly out of all of the women in the village?”
Rowena looked up at him, unsure of what he was saying. “The first time I saw you, I wanted nothing more than to talk to you, to get to know you. And that is why I approached your father. I had one of my servant’s follow you home, simply so I would know where you lived.”
Rowena wrinkled her brow, but this time it was because she was thinking about what he was saying. A tear trickled down her cheek as he continued to speak. “You are unlike any other woman. You showed no interest in me and did not throw yourself at me. You refuse to give yourself to me like the others do. You remind me of a warrior who has been through many battles, tough on the outside, but inside as soft as the softest cotton.”
Rowena sat in amazement as he continued to speak. She had never imagined that this man had this gentleness inside of him. “If I had wanted you to be my servant,” Narien continued. “I would have simply approached your father with an offer. Instead, I requested that you be my bride. Even though you are not of noble blood, I know that deep inside of you is a Lady that is more noble than any other Lady that has been or ever will be.”
Rowena looked down at her hands in her lap. She felt nothing but guilt for the way that she had treated him and judged him. Her parents had always taught her to follow God, and judging others was a sin she did not want to commit. She knew all too well what it felt like to be judged, but didn’t think it would hurt someone like Narien, since he did not lack for anything.
Narien sat down on the floor with his legs crossed and placed his hands on her knees. She looked at him through the tears that filled her eyes.
“The first time you met me,” he said, in a calm and quiet voice. “You spoke of the pain and death that I had caused. Rowena, I am not pardoned from the battlefield. The people that I have had to fight in the name of the King and in the name of England, I watched them fall to the ground and breathe their last breath. Their faces haunt me at night, but I have never taken what did not belong to me according to the King and I have never knowingly caused the innocent to die.”
Rowena gently nodded her head as she thought about what he had said to her. “I’m sorry,” was all she could say.
Narien stood up and walked back to his chair. He sat down and Rowena could suddenly see the sadness in his eyes. She saw how the battles had aged him, suddenly she saw a frail man sitting in front of her.
“I will have someone show you to the room that you will stay in for the night. Your bath should be ready by now.
Rowena nodded her head as Narien stood. Her eyes followed him as he walked out of the room. Within a few seconds, one of his servants walked into the room. She did not say a word but simply nodded to Rowena. Rowena stood and followed the young woman to a room that was off to the back of the house.
The room was very large. A bed sat on one side of the room along with a wardrobe. On the other side of the room was a large bathtub that had recently been filled with hot water. Rowena could see that there was still steam rising from the water and imagined that it had taken a long time for all of the water to be heated and brought to the tub.
As Rowena looked around the room she suddenly became more aware of herself. She looked down at her dress covered in dust and stains. Her feet were covered in dirt and under her nails was as black as night.
Rowena had no idea what Narien saw in her. She was nothing more
than a peasant and it was becoming more and more obvious to her by the second. Rowena was afraid to touch anything in the room for fear of soiling it and she began to understand why even Narien’s servants would not look at her. They were dressed better than she and looked like the nobles compared to her.
Rowena lowered her head, feeling humbled by her surroundings. She wished that her mother, father and siblings could be there to experience it all as well, as to remind her that she did have some value.
The sound of approaching steps pulled her out of her thoughts and she turned to see who was behind her. Narien stood looking at her with a gentle expression.
“You will have to undress if you are going to get cleaned up. I have the wardrobe full of new dresses for you to wear,” he said, as gently as he could. He knew how she must have been feeling and unlike many other nobles he did not want her to feel as if she did not belong.
“I will not undress,” she replied, astonished that he would even request such a thing.
“I will leave you to it,” he said. “But will return soon. Nell will help you into your bath.”
Rowena looked across the room at the servant. She had never undressed in front of anyone other than her sisters before and that had only been so that she could bathe in the river.
Narien turned and walked back out of the room, leaving the two women alone. Rowena took a deep breath and walked to the large tub that had been prepared for her. She had never actually bathed in a tub before and was excited to feel the hot water on her skin, but she was afraid of the way Nell would react to her or what she would do to her. Rowena did not feel as if Nell was happy about her being there with Narien, but knew that she must do as her future husband told her to.
As fast as she could, Rowena removed her clothing and dropped them on the floor, then she quickly climbed into the large tub that awaited her. Nell picked up Rowena’s clothing and headed out the door.
“Wait,” Rowena called after her. “What are you doing?”
“I have been ordered to burn them,” Nell replied, not stopping to look back.
Rowena blinked in bewilderment. She did not understand why Narien would want her clothing burned. They were not what a Countess would wear, but her mother had made them and they were special to her.
Nell had just walked out of the room when Narien reentered. Rowena pulled her legs to her chest in an attempt to cover her body as Narien walked over to the tub. Rowena watched each move that Narien made, never taking her eyes off of him as he sat down next to the tub and picked up a small cloth. He rubbed soap on it and began washing Rowena’s back.
She rested her head on her knees trying to remain calm, but could feel every muscle in her body tightening.
“Rowena,” Narien said in a soothing voice. “You will be my bride. Relax and let me take care of you.”
“I can wash myself,” Rowena snapped, sounding harsher than she had meant to.
“I have no doubt,” Narien replied, as he continued to wash her. She could feel the water, he was pouring on her back, getting into her hair and watched as it changed to light brown as it slid down her chest.
Narien was gentle and ensured that no part of her was left unwashed apart from her breasts and mound. As she looked up at him, unsure what he was expecting of her, he handed her the cloth. “Now finish up and I will return,” Narien whispered.
Rowena watched at Narien left the room and quickly began washing the rest of her body. She had never felt so clean in her life and wanted to make sure that she removed all of the dirt that had been left behind.
Narien was only gone for a few moments before he returned carrying a large piece of material. He held it out and told Rowena to carefully step out of the tub. Rowena felt as small as a child as she stared up at the man towering over her. He could have used his size to intimidate her, but instead he chose to be kind.
Rowena felt guilt prick at her heart once again when she thought about how she had previously treated him. Doing as she was told Rowena lifted her body out of the tub and moved into the cloth that Narien was holding. She was not surprised when she saw his eyes move up the length of her body as she stepped out of the tub, but when he wrapped her body in the cloth and held her gently against his own body, she realized she had been wrong about him.
Rowena had assumed that Narien was the type of man that used women and disposed of them, but what she realized was that the entire time he was looking for someone to fill a hole within him.
Rowena looked up at Narien gently pulling her head away from his chest. “I know that you do not want to be told what to do,” Narien began. “But there are things you must do. I won’t force you to do anything, but you will be happier if you listen to me.”
Rowena was unsure where the submissiveness was coming from. Maybe it was deep within her, something she had buried and forgotten about, but instead of arguing with him she simply nodded her head.
Narien placed one of his hands on the back of her head and bent down to kiss her. When his lips touched hers, her first reaction was to push him away, slap him and scream at him, but the warmth of his lips made her pause. When he slipped his tongue into her mouth, she completely froze. She had never felt anything so pleasant in her life and instead of fighting him off, she felt as if she were melting into him.
Rowena freed her arms from the cloth, leaving her shoulders and part of her chest exposed and wrapped her hands around Narien. Suddenly, she did not think marrying him would be so terrible.
Narien pulled her body close to his so that not even air could get between the two of them. He held her head with one hand and wrapped his other arm around her waist so that the only thing holding the cloth on her body was the pressure between the two of them.
Rowena felt the bulge between Narien’s legs growing and pressing into her, which caused her breath to catch. Narien pulled his head back and looked deep into her eyes when he began feeling her shake.
“You do not have to do anything,” he said quietly. It was almost as if her fear had hurt him in some way. Rowena knew that she was beginning to care about Narien and did not want to hurt him ever. She knew that he was right and that any woman would love to be where she was.
“You will be my husband,” she said softly. “I want to make you happy.”
Narien was not sure what to think and as he looked at her, she could see the confusion in his eyes.
“I was wrong about you,” she began. “I know that now. I should not have been so quick to judge. It was not right.”
Narien smiled down at Rowena before slamming his lips back down on hers, this time kissing her hard. Something began tingling deep inside Rowena’s stomach and down between her legs.
Narien pulled at the material that covered her body wanting to touch every inch of her and as Rowena took a step back, the material fell to the floor. Narien’s hands began to roam over Rowena’s body sliding down to her rear and gripping it tightly as he gently nudged her toward the bed that sat on the other side of the room.
Rowena followed Narien’s lead, wanting nothing more than to please the man she would marry and become the woman that he wanted her to be. She felt strangely comfortable standing in front of him naked and could tell by the way he grabbed her that he loved her curves more than she had thought possible.
Rowena felt the edge of the bed hit the backs of her knees but Narien continued to push her. She sat on the bed, kissing him as she moved. Rowena carefully climbed up the bed, ensuring that their lips did not part as Narien’s hands moved to her breasts. He took both of her nipples in his hands and began gently caressing them, causing them to quickly harden before he began tugging at them.
Rowena let out a small moan as Narien joined her on the bed, pressing her legs far apart and placing his body in between them. Narien pulled his lips from hers as he quickly removed his shirt.
Rowena marveled at the muscles on his body. He was not thin and frail like the men she was used to seeing. Instead, he looked strong and healthy. As he bent ba
ck down, hovering his lips just above hers, she could see the muscles in his arms flex. Rowena slid her hands up his arms gently squeezing his muscles as she went.
Narien pressed his bulge hard against her mound and began to move his hips. Rowena wanted to rip his pants off of him right then, but she was afraid of what would ensue. Narien began kissing Rowena on the neck and used his hips to press her legs even further apart. He held himself up with one hand and the other began moving down her body exploring each inch.
Rowena could feel the callouses on his hands as he touched her and she knew that he had not had the easy life that she had imagined. She realized that he too had to answer to someone and that the two of them really were not that different.
Narien’s hand slid down between Rowena’s legs and covered her mound, his fingers entangling themselves in her hair.
Rowena gripped Narien’s arms tightly as he slipped one finger into her slit and moved it down to her entrance gathering just enough of her juices to dampen his finger. He moved his finger back up her slit and began gently rubbing her clit in small circles.
Rowena’s eyelids began to flutter and her heart felt like it would beat out of her chest. It suddenly became hard to breath and she felt as if she were losing all control of her own body.
Rowena let out a loud moan as Narien moved his mouth down her neck and chest until he gently sucked one of her nipples into his mouth. He began flicking it with his tongue and even though the room was very cool Rowena felt as if her entire body were on fire.
Rowena threw her head back, gasping for air and flung her arms out to her sides searching for anything to hold on to. All she found was a thin blanket that covered the bed and as her body began to tremble in pleasure Rowena twisted the material up in her fists trying her best to control herself.
Narien looked up at Rowena as she refused to let herself go, not allowing herself to enjoy the pleasure he was trying to give her. He quickly moved his body, placing his face just above her mound. Rowena was unaware having her eyes closed, she assumed he was removing his pants, but when she suddenly felt the wet heat of his tongue hit her clit she knew she could not control herself any longer.
