by Kari Miller
Once she finished everything on her plate, Henry ordered her a bath. He assured her that he would be just outside of her door “just in case she needed something”, and then left her to soak in the tub.
A tear slid down her cheek as she recalled the last time she had taken a hot bath, it was the night before her Father died. Since then, she had either bathed in the creek or sponge bathed herself in the cottage. Slowly seeping into the steaming water, she held her head under until she could not stand another second. Leaning her head back on the edge, she let the hot water soak into her muscles. This to her was pure luxury. No diamonds, emeralds, dresses or bobbles could have meant more to her than the simplicity of a hot bath. When the water started to cool, she quickly washed her hair and lathered her body with the lavender scented soap the Inn had provided to her, and then quickly rinsed off.
When she was dried off and had the towel wrapped around her, she walked back into the room to retrieve the dress that she had left on the chair, only to find it missing. She cursed as she tore apart the room looking for her clothing and then cursed some more when she realized that all of her dresses, including her petticoats and under garments was missing.
“Henry!” She bellowed out with rage as she approached the door.
“Yes My Lady?” he responded back reluctantly through the closed door.
Katherine ripped open the door and directed her wrath at the only person who she could see at the time.
“Where are my clothes?” She snapped out as he stared at her barely concealed person.
“Lady Katherine! You must return to your room!” He screeched out as he tried to herd her back behind a closed door.
“First tell me where my clothes are!” She yelled at him, not caring that she was half nude with only a towel to conceal her, or that she was attracting a crowd.
Henry continued to try and push her back into the room, but she merely stomped her foot and stood her ground.
A maid burst through the small crowd of onlookers and headed right towards Katherine.
“Excuse me My Lady, but it was I who removed your clothing while you bathed.” She confessed with a nervous tone.
“And where are my clothes now?”
“Lord Salvador requested that I remove your wardrobe and burn it. I beg your pardon, but he being your husband, I could hardly refuse.”
Katherine stood there stunned. The maid bowed her head and stared straight at the floor. Henry took advantage of the fact that Katherine was distracted and gave her one good shove into her room and then closed and locked the door.
When Katherine returned to her senses, she rushed to the door. When she realized it was locked, she punched it so hard that her knuckles burst into a throbbing flame, causing her to cry out and cradle it to her chest.
“Damn you Salvador!” She cursed out as she walked over to his bag and donned his night shirt.
What purpose did it suit him to rid her of all her clothes? Did he think that would keep her from running? If she had a place to go that she was sure she could not be found, then she would run, baring nothing but a sheet if she had to! And how did he expect her to leave the room? She wasn’t stupid enough to believe that he would allow her to run around half dressed in his shirts. Even now she knew he wouldn’t take kindly to her scandalous behaviour in the hallway, screeching at the top of her lungs while wearing nothing but a towel. She didn’t care, he brought that on himself. He most likely figured out that her clothing no longer fit her and were not only out of fashion but falling apart at the seams. She had two outfits that she wore to the balls but opted to leave those behind at the cabin because they would have taken up too much space in her bag. She had always looked at practicality and was not much for material possessions. She was certain that he would return with something for her to wear, but in the meantime, it did not make it any easier. He could have simply stated that he would bring her more appropriate attire to wear and avoided that whole hallway scene. Mind you, she knew she would have been stubborn and refuse his offerings, he probably knew that too. She had been with this man for close to 24 hours and in that time she had figured out that he certainly was no push over and did whatever he wanted, regardless if it was her or himself that his actions were affecting. This is what she had been afraid of when she thought about marriage, losing herself. Now she was tied to an over baring arrogant ass who would settle for nothing less than obedience.
“Great” She huffed out to the empty room.
For the remainder of the day, Henry opted to remain stationed outside of her door, which suited Katherine just fine. She was used to being alone and was uncomfortable having people around her. Even the noises from the streets and below in the tavern drove her to distraction. She had spent 2 years sheltered inside a small cabin by herself, with only her voice and the soft sounds of the forest to keep her company. The few times she would venture out to a ball to gather food, she would get in and get out as quickly as she could. The few times she stuck around to humour an admirer, she would quickly leave after that. She had tried to open the window for some fresh air, but the window was stuck and she quickly gave up. In the end, she pulled a book from her sack and read until her heavy eyelids could no longer stay open.
~
When Salvador returned to the Inn, he found Henry sitting outside of his door. After reassuring himself that the door was locked, he brought Henry down to the tavern for a drink and to get an update on his bride to be. The last time he had seen Katherine it was not on the best of terms. Just hearing her mention the idea of her taking on a lover had set his blood boiling. He didn’t regret his rough treatment of her and was actually pretty proud of himself for remaining as calm as he had. What he really wanted to do was throw things around the room, throw her over his knee or possibly even back hand her for even thinking about touching another man. Even now as he reflected on their previous argument, he felt his blood starting to boil. He had never in his life felt possessive or jealous over any of the women he had slept with. Women were meant to please men, whether it was him or another he didn’t care. Something about Katherine brought out the beast in him. She was an innocent, not a whore and she was his. No man had ever touched her before and other than he alone, no man would ever touch her from this day forward.
Once he had cooled down a bit, he had instructed a maid to quietly rid Katherine of her wardrobe while she was bathing, with the full intentions of bringing back a couple of outfits to last her till they got home. He had also met with the town priest and got him to agree to meet him at the Inn later that evening to perform their wedding vows and then to join them for dinner afterwards.
They would leave for Oxford first thing in the morning and would only have to stop for shelter two, maybe three times at the most. By the end of the week they would be home and he couldn’t wait.
“Two pints please” he called out to his server as she rushed by, trying to fill out the orders of the table beside them.
“Right away love” She responded as she disappeared into the kitchen.
“So how was my kitten this morning?” Salvador asked lazily, while inside he felt twisted up at how she may have reacted to the removal of her wardrobe.
“Funny you should ask” Henry murmured as he took the pint of beer from the tavern wench and gulped down as much as he could at once.
Salvador gave him a speculative look but allowed him to take his time.
Henry cleared his throat and wrung his hands in his lap.
“You see My Lord, Lady Katherine did not take too kindly to losing her wardrobe and may have over-reacted, a slight”
At that point he nervously looked away and took another long drag of his beer.
“Go on” Salvador prompted, knowing this could not be leading to anything good.
“I may have made the mistake of not locking the door when mayhap I should have. You see, I greatly under estimated the...uh...temper, that is” Henry stuttered for the correct wording.
“Out with it Henry” Sa
lvador stated coolly while inside his blood was heating up.
“I never would have suspected that she would burst out into the hallway like a raging storm! She was magnificent as she thundered her temper upon us and demanded to know where her clothing had gotten to. She may have drawn a wee tad of attention to herself, but that maid you had bestowed upon quickly clarified the situation for us and temporarily sheltered us from her anger.”
If a storm hadn’t been building inside of Salvador, he probably would have smiled at the almost poetic explanation his steward had referred to as Katherine’s temper. But Salvador had visions that stirred up his own raging storm and was trying to keep a cool appearance.
“And what pray tell was my Katherine robed in as she showered her storm unto her fellow men?” He ground out between clenched teeth.
“The whole thing lasted no more than three minutes at the most My Lord, I assure you! Once the maid spoke up, I was able to get Lady Katherine back into your room behind a locked door and I assure you, she has remained there for the remainder of the day!”
Henry downed the remainder of his beer and hoped to god Salvador didn’t note the blush that must be clearly marked on his cheeks.
“Henry” Salvador stated his name with impatience.
Henry closed his eyes and cursed to the Gods who made him the messenger.
“A towel, My Lord.” He winced and then quickly squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the explosion he was sure was about to happen.
Salvador’s jaw ticked as he envisioned his Katherine in all of her passionate fury, mesmerizing her would be suitors, donning nothing but a towel and enough bare skin to beckon the King himself on his hands and knees.
He closed his eyes and tried to temper the storm within him. Admitting to himself that had when he was in a fit of rage he didn’t care about anything but the topic of his anger, why would she be any different? It’s not as though he left her any clothing to wear so she could seek out her missing wardrobe. How could he possibly be angry at her? It was his own rash thinking that forced the situation and he should have known better. But instead, he quickly barked out orders to the nearest maid and stormed off to find her a new wardrobe, and a priest to seal their fate.
“Has Katherine’s new wardrobe arrived yet?” Salvador managed to say; with out adding the roar and growl that he felt would follow.
“I believe it has My Lord, I will have it delivered to her room immediately. Truth be told, I greatly feared disrupting her after she settled down and felt it best to wait for you.” Henry admitted.
Salvador threw two coins on the table and stood up.
“After you have delivered her wardrobe to our quarters, you will wait down here for the priest to arrive. When he does, you will bring him up.” Salvador instructed before heading off to see what awaited him in his room.
He was almost looking forward to battling it out with his spitfire bride. He headed up the stairs taking two steps at a time, his anger had already vanished at the thought of seeing her again.
When he entered the room, he had expected to have an object flung at his head and winced as he stepped in to the darkened room. Instead, he found her sprawled across the bed, with a book on the pillow beside her head and his night shirt ridden up to reveal a tempting thigh. The sun had started to descend from the sky, leaving a slight glow in the room. The remainder of the sun rays gently kissed at her skin and seemed to wrap themselves around her in a warm cocoon to assure a peaceful sleep.
Salvador quietly took off his boots and strolled over to the bed to sit beside his sleeping beauty. She really was a prize to behold - his prize. Raking his eyes across her bare thigh, his cock stiffened in response. She lay there innocent, untouched and a blank canvass that beckoned for him to master. He had never taken an innocent before. Since he was a young boy, he had a vision of his wife being pure and untainted. As he grew into a man, he had deliberately taken women who were well experienced and who had no hint of innocence running through their blood. He craved innocence and yet denied it, wanting to save it for his marriage bed. He wanted a woman who he could thoroughly call his own, inside and out. He wanted a blank canvas. He would mould his woman into the perfect wife and would teach her how to please only him in bed. Katherine was the woman to fill that role and by God he would condition her to want only him.
His Mother had been unfaithful to his Father and had spread her legs for just about any man who would look her way. His Father turned a blind eye, which only disgusted Salvador as he grew old enough to know what was going on. His Father was weak minded and his Mother was a whore! At social parties they were the perfect Aristocratic couple of the ton, but behind closed doors they were nothing but a family of lies and deception. Salvador grew into a man who despised liars, had no tolerance for weakness amongst his male peers and mistrusted all women. He would marry Katherine this very night and then keep her on a short leash. Once he taught her pleasure, he would need to keep a close eye on her to assure that her pleasure remained his alone, and if she ever deceived him she would pay greatly. He was most certainly not his Father. He would never turn a blind eye to infidelity and God help her if she ever crossed that line.
Salvador traced his finger along the satin skin of her bare thigh. He wanted to lift his night shirt and see more of her skin, but given that the priest was due to arrive soon; he stuffed down his lust for her and decided to wait until she was truly his. Stifling the urge to lean over and taste her skin, if he wasn’t careful he would be exchanging his vows with a hard on of steel. In a few short hours she would be his, not only on paper but in the eyes of God. Then he would take her and claim her as no man had ever claimed her before. He was determined to have the family that he always wanted. She would bare his children and would be the wife that his Mother should have been to his Father. He would make her love and crave him and he would cherish her for it. But he knew he had a long way to go before that would happen and refused to compromise in the meantime. He was the man of the house, the head of his family and her protector and provider. He would not allow her to endanger herself just to spare her feelings like some other husbands that he knew. He would be strict with her when it mattered, but at the same time, he refused to crush her spirit. She would know when she crossed the line and he would discipline her when needed. It was his responsibility to see to her every need and assure her happiness - he looked forward to playing that role. He needed this so badly. He didn’t realize just how badly until he laid down last night with her cradled safely in his arms. But as badly as he needed her, he needed her to need him too.
Chapter 4 - Sealed Fate
“Katherine” he whispered out to her while stroking his fingers through her hair.
“Katherine honey, it’s time to wake up.” He cooed to her.
She gently stirred and then stretched out like the sexy kitten she was. She was driving him mad!
“Kat, I need you to wake up and rest yourself behind the screen. We’re about to expect company.” He gently informed her.
Her eyes shot open and then narrowed into slits as she focused them on him. He internally chuckled to himself and mustered up all his willpower not to smirk, which he knew would only provoke her.
“You!” she grumbled out as she rolled away from him and managed to maneuver herself off the bed to stand, her feet slightly apart and her hands on her hips. With the window behind her illuminating her shapely body, he felt himself harden once again and involuntarily gave out a groan.
In all her innocence, she mistook that groan as him accepting that he was indeed in trouble, rather than holding back the incredible lust that almost drove him to take her right there and then.
“That’s right! I’m mad at you!” She spat out in a rage that didn’t quite match her tone, due to her grogginess. He supposed it was the thought that counts.
“How dare you discard my entire wardrobe without my consent!”
At that, the knock on the door provided him with a safe response.
“
Speaking of, your new wardrobe has arrived.” He stated with only a bit of a smirk. “Now get behind the screen Katherine.”
She opened her mouth to no doubt argue with him, when her face suddenly paled and her body went ridged. She shut her mouth, scratched her head and scowled as she disappeared behind the screen, remembering her scene from that morning no doubt.
He walked over to the door and allowed the servants to bring in the few outfits that he had purchased for her. She could fuss all she wanted about not wanting to dress up for him, but in truth, he had personally hand picked every item and knew he would be pleasantly pleased with whatever she chose to wear.
“You have thirty minutes to freshen up and be dressed before I come back.” He threw over his shoulder as he left the room.
He had decided hastily that morning, while she was trying to talk him out of marriage, that it was in his best interest to tie her to him as quickly as possible. He really had her to thank for that speech of hers. Did she really think that he was like most men? He knew a good thing when he had it and knew when to let go and when to hold on for dear life. He had also decided that he would only tell her at the last minute that they were to be married that night. He was already on the defensive and didn’t want to give her more time than he absolutely had to, lest she devise a way to complicate things. No, a surprise attack was in his best interest.
Again he was chuckling to himself as he headed back downstairs.
~
Katherine knew when to pick her battles; this was one she would clearly not win. She needed clothing, thanks to her future husband, so therefore it would not serve her best interests to take the shears to the exquisite pieces she had strewn across the bed. She had never owned any dress so fine than what was laid before her. Even her under garments were beautiful. She had spent the majority of her time over the past two years wearing nothing but old tattered petticoats, now her over-bearing husband to be wanted to wrap her in a world of silk and lace.
