By Right of Arms (8 page)

Hyatt shook his head and leaned away from her slightly. “Had I known your circumstances, I might have proceeded with you in other wise. But it is done. Perhaps one day I will understand what you felt for your Giles and can offer proper sympathy for your loss. For now, I would have you know that I was not temperate in my plans, for I thought you were a woman of experience, a widow true.”

“Do you seek my forgiveness, Sir Hyatt?” she asked sarcastically.

He did not respond to the insult, but seemed to take it in stride. “The marriage is necessary to combine our houses and perhaps unite opposing forces … unless you think it better, more honorable, to execute those who cannot abide a change in rule. But never mind that decision, Aurélie. You will find me willing enough to offer apologies when I am wrong. This once, at least, you were wrong to withhold the truth. I am afraid you will have to bear the burden of it.

“Now, let us forget Giles and think of the troubles we should sort out. First, soldiers of the Sire de Pourvre are still held, some of them bound. You may be of some help in deciding which of those might, in time, swear fealty to me and which must be banished. If you seek to house traitors, there will be more bloodshed, and that is useless to us all. I have brought a mighty army, and they do not relax. There is no chance you or any of your remaining forces can overthrow me. I expect you to look to those who are held prisoner and make a judgment of their worth.

“Second, I have a son and he is here in your hall with his mother. That will be difficult for you, I imagine, but he must remain, and the woman tends him to my satisfaction.”

“Your whore resides in your wife’s house?” she asked, appalled.

He sighed heavily and returned to his chair. “It is unusual, I admit. But the child is valuable to me. He is my only one. He
is
my firstborn son regardless of what your womb may yield us. But I assure you, I shall be fair with our children. If it is easier for you, you might imagine that I am likewise widowed and the child is the product of an earlier union.”

“Do you share your whore’s bed in my house? Will there be many bastards running about?”

Hyatt smiled leisurely. He propped his foot on the bed again. “Do you ask me not to, Aurélie, my beloved?” he questioned with humor. She turned her face sharply away, her cheeks burning again at the sound of his amused laughter. “ ’Tis good that you want me, but I realize I have not earned such devotion yet. You shall have your pleasures in time,
chérie.
I shall prove a decent mate.”

“My God,” she moaned, keeping her face turned away.

She felt his hand on her hair, gently squeezing the full softness of it. His voice was soft and seductive. “I did not expect to marry a virgin. I did not intend it. But I will admit to only you that I find great pride in this. You served my pleasure well and I rest easier knowing that if a child is forthcoming, I need not question the sire.”

She turned her head sharply, the action causing him to tug her hair inadvertently. Her eyes blazed beneath the tears. “My God, Hyatt, does Satan himself feed you the tender words you speak? I am to live with your whore and you are pleased that I, a married woman, served your pleasure with my virginity. Will you shout it from the highest citadel, that Giles failed with me? Surely even your cruelty has an end.”

Hyatt sat back in his chair and looked at her, a frown wrinkling his brow. “You are a very difficult woman to please, lady. Most women like to be told that they are much appreciated for their chastity.”

“Not I. Why would such please me? I do not wish to be your wife, nor do I find much solace in being a pleasing bedmate.”

Hyatt put down his cup and raised a foot again to the bed, casually unlacing the straps around his boot. He drew it off and repeated the action with the other foot, speaking without looking at her. “You lie to yourself, Aurélie. ’Tis a pity. You delay any good settlement of our lot with your foolishness.”

“You are not a man,” she said angrily. “A beast from the forest, rutting aimlessly, keeping whore and wife and finding base pleasures where they lie.”

“Aurélie,” he sighed. “You are such a challenge.” He stood and pulled his linen shirt over his head, tossing it aside. His chausses soon followed and he stood before her in only his loincloth.

“Hyatt, no,” she murmured. “I beseech your kindness, do not hurt me.”

He laughed and his knee was on the bed. “You hurl your insults, then beg me not to bring you pain.” His hand touched her cheek tenderly. “I have not hurt you yet. Nay, your deflowering would have been painful with any man, for it is the way of such things. But with you I have been gentle and kind, giving far more than I have asked in return.” He lazily pulled the fur covers down to expose her nakedness. His hand made a soft sweep over her bosom, resting on her flat belly. She trembled in spite of herself. “Ah, Aurélie, you may cry out your hate for me, but when I touch you as your lover, your body rises to meet mine. It is a good place to begin.”

“You shame me,” she whispered. “You torment; you hope to find this fleshly weakness in me.”

“Nay,” he said huskily, softly caressing her waist, her breast. He pulled her hand and placed it atop his, forcing her to follow his movements as his fingers became more bold. “When I do this, lady, I am loving you. You will learn to know the touch, the pleasure, and you will find that it eases the hurt. You may despise me in the courtyard, the common room, the corridors of our castle, but in my bed your venom will cease. Here, if you cannot answer my kindness with equal weight, you will at least be silent when I touch you.” A half smile played on his lips. “Just let your body speak to mine. That will be enough for now.”

“You …”

“Hush,”
he demanded. His fingers touched the soft mound of hair between her legs and she snatched her hand from his, the color burning on her cheeks. Her eyes closed as she gritted her teeth both in embarrassment and rousing pleasure. “There is ever accusation in your tone. In every word from your lips I hear pain, doubt, fear, hate. Yet in no action since my arrival can you claim I have been cruel to you.”

His hands again brought to life the yearning. She moaned in misery, for the longing from deep within her womb had cried out for fulfillment. How did this devil know so much? She had craved to be in a lover’s arms, to be touched, caressed. She had desired to take the seed of a strong man, to bring to life a child. For as many as seven years she had been ready for love, life, joy.

He played casually with her body and she opened her eyes to look at the hardened features of his face. He quickly stripped away his loincloth and his eyes smoldered with passion’s fire. She could feel his probing manhood against the inside of her closed thighs. Her heart beat wildly, her breathing came in labored gasps, for his fingers brought the response from her body. Tears clouded her vision as she studied his handsome features. Why could he not be a knight of John’s France, come to console her in her loss? Why could he not have been brought by her father when she was a girl, before she had committed so many years of loyalty to France and Giles? Hyatt was her lover now, and her body had taken him if her mind had not. Yet she was the vanquished, the prisoner, the captive. Why? Why?

“Let me in, Aurélie.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but he would not have her oaths, denials, or insults. He covered her parted lips with his in a searing, hungry kiss that devoured her. He pulled her hips to meet his and with a deep, humiliating moan of resignation, she parted her legs to take him in. Within moments she clung to him, answering his thrusts with her own. Like a rising river, she felt the tide of rapture building and a glimmer of what lay ahead was relayed in this man’s arms. A glow flushed her skin; a deep quivering forced her to answer his kisses and meet his thrusting hips.

He clasped her tightly to him and that which had escaped her on the night before filled her with astonishment now. The molten heat of his pleasure filled her. He moaned weakly, his muscles taut and trembling.

His lips touched her cheek, his glowing eyes looking deeply into hers. “It will come in time, Aurélie. In a little while you will share my joy. When you let yourself.”

He left her to dress himself and she turned over and sobbed into the pillow. Her tears were wrenching and painful and she was thankful that he did not mock her. Finally, his hand was on her shoulder. “Rise, Aurélie. Enough of that.”

She turned to look at him. He was fully dressed and just strapping a knife to his belt. Tears ran unheeded down her cheeks and her hair was a tangled mass that fell in a torrent over her shoulders and around her face.

“I’m afraid that I cannot allow you to indulge your self-pity any longer. This hall has been too long without the consolation of the lady. Your people, your soldiers yet in their bonds, need you now. You will have to endure better than this, if not for yourself, then for them, my lady.” He held out a hand to help her from the bed.

She shook her head. Her whisper was soft and strained. “How am I to rise and go about my duties? As simply as that?”

“They have had losses as well, madame. We all have.”

“You?” she questioned, giving a short laugh.

The anger glittered in his dark eyes. “Yea!” he snapped like the crack of a whip. “I do not bemoan my losses, nor weep as you are wont to do. I lost good men in the battle. I am set to the task of informing my son’s mother that I am wed and bound by my own honor to act the husband to you. She has undoubtedly hoped that my conscience, if nothing else, would move me to marry her and give the boy a legitimate name. And, above all that, you seem to expect me to coddle you, when you should rise to ease the plight of the vanquished here.”

“If I attempt to mend their bodies and hearts on your behalf, they will call me traitor.”

“You are strong enough to take a blade to my back,” he protested loudly. “You are brave enough to insult your captor, to bury your dead, to stand witness to the harsh blade of my justice. Where is your courage now? Can you not counsel these castlefolk on wisdom to save their hides because of what they may
call
you? They are conquered. If they do not bend, they will die.”

He walked toward the door, turning back to her. “I have no more time for your selfish whims. Lavergne promised you were worthy of the task; he said you were both strong and wise. I tire of pleading my case to you.”

“Oh Hyatt, why?” she questioned with a sob. “Why could we not be of at least the same army?”

He stood silent for a long moment, staring at her. “All in good time, my lady,” he said quietly.

Aurélie sniffed back her tears and sat upright in the bed, clutching the pelts over her bosom. “Milord, will you send Perrine and my maid, Baptiste, to me? I should like to present a better appearance to my people.”

“Baptiste? Is she the young, golden-haired one?”

“Aye. She is but three and ten. But she serves …” Aurélie stopped as she saw a flicker of emotion cross Hyatt’s features.

“Your woman did not tell you? She is ill; I gave her leave to stay apart from chores.”

“Ill? But …”

“She was raped, madame,” Hyatt said impatiently, as if the words soured in his mouth.

Aurélie groaned, her mouth tightening. Her eyes took on a violent gleam. “One of yours, milord?” she questioned brittlely.

“Aye. They were told to respect the womenfolk who did not fight them, and I saw for myself that the child was frightened into submission and did not deserve what she got.”

“They obey you ill. Will he pay? Who did this to the child?”

“ ’Tis odd that you ask for justice from me, the enemy, on behalf of your people, yet you have spent this week lolling about in self-pity. Is that what you ask of me, Aurélie? A lord’s justice, quickly levied?”

“Tell me which of your heathens hurt the girl and I will avenge her,” she returned hotly.

His eyes held hers for a long spell across the room.

“You saw,” he said in a low voice. “It was Thormond, in the courtyard.”

Her eyes rounded along with her mouth. “For Baptiste?” she asked weakly.

“That was not his only crime, but had it been, he would have paid. You are slow to learn, Aurélie. De la Noye is
mine;
her walls, her farms, her stock, her people. My word is the law here. Yea, Thormond paid for abusing what is mine. I could have forced him to wed the lass, but it did not seem prudent to give Thormond someone to abuse. He showed much violence toward the girl and would not have made a decent mate. I know that I am harsh, but I am not a fool.”

Aurélie dropped her chin and looked down into her lap. She was suddenly ashamed of her self-indulgent grief, and sorry for even her criticism of his ruling. Her insides trembled in a quivering spasm. She had missed Baptiste, but had not asked after her. And there were others she had ignored. Guillaume. Sir Verel. Father Algernon.

“I am sorry, Hyatt. Should anyone ask, say I am resigned to my duty. I will come.”

She heard the sound of the door as he left her.

* * *

Aurélie found the best of her working clothes. She was cautious with her appearance, for she had learned that her dress signaled her people of her mood or motive. She would not wear her best clothing, but neither could she look threadbare and deprived. Her tunic was of a rough, durable cloth of dark purple wool over which she wore a heavy gray apron of sturdy linen. She chose a wimple to cover her hair and donned her leather girdle to carry her beads, pouch, paring knife, and keys.

Her mood was serious as she bathed and dressed. Once finished, she turned to Perrine. “Should this suffice? I do not wish to speak of either drudgery or elegance.”

“Lady, they will be much relieved to have you about your duties again.”

“Perrine, I am sorry. I should not have ignored the needs of this hall. This has been so hard for me to accept.”

“Many fear you will fight the knight, lady.”

“Fight him?” she echoed weakly. “I was afraid they would hate me for submitting to him. Now, I am afraid they will hate me for ignoring them.”

“Lady Aurélie, they are too frightened for hate. They do not know what to do and most still move blindly through the hall, flinching every time one of these English knights orders them. They need your guidance badly. This Hyatt demands much of our people.”