De Warenne Dynasty 01 - The Conquerer (21 page)

She sat up. "What?"

"Go to your sister. Awaken her from her dream, see if she is in pain. Now."

Alice's features became pinched in a mask of anger, but she calmly stepped to the floor, pulling her robe closed around her.Rolfe followed her after lighting a lamp, but he paused on the threshold of the chamber, refusing to go any farther.Alice shook Ceidre as rudely as he had shaken her. "Gently,"Rolfe said. "She is hurt."

Alicebit her lip but eased her motions. "Ceidre, wake up. Wake up this instant."

Ceidre heardAlice , laughing, as she tensed for another lash. It hurt unbearably, she could not stand it, she was going to cry out, scream, be weak before theNorman -and she did. She knew she was weeping.

It hurt so much. She kept seeing him, proud and beautiful and golden, and her heart was a traitor, begging him to come to her, soothe her, take her away. No, someone in her dream shrieked. He is the enemy, he is the one hurting you! She refused to listen. In her bizarre nightmare, he was her savior. She knew the ending of the story already, which was strange, she knew he would come to her, hold her, take her away, stop the pain. And she needed him to hurry, to do it now. "Rolfe, please," she cried. "Rolfe, please."

"Wake up, Ceidre,"Alice snapped.

Rolfefroze after the first cry. He had never heard his name on her lips before. His body, already as taut as a coiled spring, became tauter. And then she cried his name again. He moved like a striking panther; one instant at the door, the next at her bed. He told himself it was the dark, the night, his own exhaustion, that was making him put his hands gently, so gently, on her shoulders. He ignoredAlice 's gasp. She leapt to her feet as he sank down on the bed at Ceidre's hip. "Wake up," he said huskily. "Ceidre."

His hand moved to the nape of her neck, into tendrils of hair that had escaped the coiled braid. She was whimpering and sobbing. He wasn't sure if she was asleep now or awake, but she shifted onto her side to curl against him as he slipped one strong arm beneath her to hold her close to his chest. "Wake up," he murmured, his breath touching her brow. The endearment "sweetheart" was on the tip of his tongue. The urge to brush his lips against her brow, and then to taste her tears with his tongue, was clamoring for fulfillment. Even so, he was acutely aware of his wife standing a few steps from him, livid. DamnAlice .

His chest was bare. Ceidre's small, warm palm slid across its contours and finally anchored on his shoulder. Her face pressed into the broad plane between his nipples, wetting his skin with her tears.Rolfe cupped the back of her head and held her closer. He felt he had reached a pleasure so profound he had never experienced it before.

He forgot aboutAlice . He nuzzled the top of her hair. He held her tighter. She clung harder. "Forgive me," he said hoarsely, while his inner mind was astounded that he,Rolfede Warenne , her lord and master, should ask her, or anyone, for forgiveness. He ignored this voice. In the darkness of this night, the rules did not matter: Anything was possible. And he felt the instant of her full awakening.

She became still in his embrace, her lashes fluttering against the flesh of his pectoral muscles like the teasing of butterfly wings.Rolfe , anticipating what was to come, tightened his hold, pressing her head farther against him. He had stopped breathing. So, he thought, had she.

With her awareness, he felt awkward, clumsy, and foolish, yet completely reluctant to let her go. And he felt a soaring thrill, like a victory, that she did not struggle, but now, in fact, snuggled closer with a sigh.

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He could not believe his good fortune. He rocked her slightly, realizing there was no need for words, for explanations. And then he felt her steady breathing and suddenly realized she was not awake, as he had thought-but asleep.

Vast disappointment claimed him. "This is obscene,"Alice hissed.

Had she been sleeping all along? he thought foolishly. What did it matter? Was he being reduced to a fool? But for a moment, the thought that she had been unresisting in his arms had been exhilarating, like a potent wine. He gently laid her down again. Then he turned to look atAlice .

Before she could speak, he said coldly, "If you had comforted her the way a sister should, I would not have had to do so myself."

Alice's eyes filled with angry tears. "You shame me before all my people!"

"I have not shamed you."

"To take my sister as your leman is not to shame me?"

"She is not my mistress,Alice ,"Rolfe warned her. He took her arm and led her out of the chamber and into their own. He did not release her. "But it is time I made something very clear. You are my wife. You will be treated as such. But if ever you question my associations with a woman again, I will lock you away. I am a man and I have my rights. You do not question them. I will take any woman who is mine for the taking if she pleases my eye. And when I tell you Ceidre is not my mistress, you do not call me a liar. Ever. Is that clear?"

"Yes,"Alice said, chin lifted. "May I speak?"

Rolfereleased her and nodded, his thoughts fleeing back to the room across the hall.

"I do not begrudge you your mistresses,"Alice said. "It pleases me, you know that-I am a lady and I prefer being spared your attentions. I did not mean to call you a liar. I just know how she flaunts herself-"

"Enough! The topic wearies me. I am going to bed. You may do as you wish."

He turned his back on her and strode back to their bed. Many moments intervened beforeAlice followed.

Chapter 28

"Where are you going, my lord?"

"York."

Alicewas surprised, and she did not try to hide it. It was first thing that morning; they were still in their
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chamber. She watchedRolfe as he gave careful instructions toGuy , who was remaining behind, in charge of his men and the manor.Guy nodded and left.Rolfe quickly packed an extra change of clothes tunic, undertunic, chausses, and hose. He added a velvet mantle in the richest rust color, the underside aubergine. The mantle he now wore, over his hauberk, was the familiar black over red, both sinister and utilitarian. The brooch boasted a huge, glaring yellow citrine. It was still chill out in the first hour after dawn.

"How long will you be gone?"Alice asked, anticipating his absence with great relish. She would not have to worry about the "mood" to consummate their marriage overtaking him; nor would she have to deal with his impossible arrogance and manners. Freedom.

She wanted to sing with her joy.

"No longer than necessary," he said. "A fortnight at most. If something arises to detain me, I will send word."

Alicenodded. She knew better than to ask why he

was going. If he wanted her to know, he would tell her.

She watched him stride to the door, his mantle swinging out around him, his spurs clinking, his hand resting casually on the hilt of his sword. He reminded her, she thought, of her father and her brothers worldly, lordly, proud, a warrior. She was not sure if this pleased her or displeased her. She supposed it did both. The latter because it put her in a position of continued impotence; she would never have power because he would usurp it all for himself, as the men of her family had. And the former because, as a powerful lord, he ensured her position as the lady of Aelfgar by ensuring his own position. One day, at least, their sons would come into their inheritance. This remindedAlice that truly she must bear him a legitimate heir-if only to keep her own place at Aelfgar.

He paused in the doorway, looking across the hall.Alice felt hatred for both him and her sister well up.

She was brutalized by the image of her husband holding her sister last night, so gently it was unbelievable.

And with this reminder, her instincts began shrieking renewed warnings. Ceidre was a grave threat to her no matter whatRolfe said. She sensed it. She knew it.

Rolfegrimly gave a lingering look at Ceidre's chamber.Alice could see that Ceidre slept still-and she could also see that her lord was waging an internal battle-which he won. He strode aggressively down the hall, and for a momentAlice remained, listening to the sound of his hard footsteps on the stairs. She seared her sleeping sister with a look, then hurried after her husband to see him off.

A dozen of his men were already mounted in the courtyard. They were all fully armed with sword, lance, mace, and shield. Pennants waved in the breeze from their lances. Their steeds stomped restlessly, blowing. All the soldiers wore leather-padded mail hauberks and chausses andhelmuts .Alice shuddered.

They were a frightening lot, and Ceidre and her brothers were fools for thinking the Saxons could even hope to win against these mounted soldiers.

Rolfe's horse waited, held by one of his men, kicking out at anyone whose shadow came too close. His ears were laid back, and his massive head bobbed in temper. The man holding him had to dodge his lethal hooves on more than one occasion.Rolfe paused on the steps, his black cape swinging about him.

Its red underside remindedAlice of blood.

"My lord, there is something I would like to ask,"Alice said softly.

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His impatience showed, but he nodded.

"'Tis time, I think, that Ceidre be wed. Mayhap to one of the villagers, or the reeve."

Other than the tensing of his jaw and the flashing of his eyes,Rolfe 's face remained expressionless.Alice hurried on, laying a hand on his sleeve, her voice sympathetic and earnest. "'Twould truly be better, my lord, for all of us."

"I will think on it," he said shortly.

"God speed you, my lord,"Alice said politely.

"And you,"Rolfe said. He turned abruptly and mounted the stallion, which even tried to kick out at its master.Rolfe hit the beast's neck hard with his open palm, and the animal quieted. The column moved out,Rolfe 's own pennants, in black and red and royal blue, streaming behind him.

Alicelifted her gown and literally ran upstairs. As she had hoped, no maid had yet come to their chamber. She found her eating dagger and did not think twice, but cut her little finger. She dripped the blood onto the sheets. And smiled.

As an afterthought, she smeared blood between her thighs, then called for a bath.

The sheets could not be missed, but better yet, the maid who helped her to bathe would spread the news like a wildfire. The marriage had just been consummated.

Ceidre awoke with a strange feeling of remorse. She remembered the dream as if it were real-she could almost feel, still, his warm, hard body as he held her so tenderly, soothing her in her anguish. She did not want to awaken. She wanted to sleep-and continue to dream.

But she was not asleep in the heavy, velvet embrace of a magical night. She was awake. The sunlight was pouring through her window, and with it came ugly reality. Ceidre shifted onto her side, wincing as she tested newly forming scabs, evidence of that reality. You are a fool, she told herself. He would never be like that. He is an ogre and the enemy and he had you whipped. To dream of him is insane. And, she thought helplessly, unfair.

Because there was something so compelling about the dream.

She was hot. She realized she was sweating slightly and knew she had taken a low fever. You have him to thank for that, she reminded herself. Anything to escape the dream's clutches.

A maid was singing a wicked ditty in the great chamber as she did her duties there. Ceidre sighed and sat up, reaching for the urn of water. It was empty. She was so thirsty, so sore, so hot, and so tired. She fell back onto her stomach, head on her arms, trying to douse the remaining ashes of the dream. It had been so real.

She heard someone coming up the stairs but did not pay close attention. She drifted close to sleep again, wondering when her grandmother would come, wondering, foolishly, if he would come again. How dare he show his face here, she thought, as the two maids chattered, giggling, across the hall. One of them mentioned theNorman , giggling again, and Ceidre found herself listening despite herself.

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"'Tis a lusty one, he is, I've heard all the stories,"Mary said.

"If he's so lusty, how come he hasn't touched none of us, not since he's come?" complainedBeth .

"Sweet Mary, that day at Kesop, I'll never forget-he was so strong . . ."

Ceidre had a graphic memory assault her, theNorman thrusting intoBeth , his face dark and strained, his member red and slick and full.

"'Twould insultLadyAlice ,"Mary said. "That's why he doesn't touch any of us now. But he will, in time."

"'Twas a bigger insult, if you ask me, that he did not take her on their wedding night,"Beth said. "If it were me, he would not have slept till dawn!"

Ceidre sat up. She shouldn't be eavesdropping. But she was. She could not believe what she was hearing it could not be true. And if it were-why was her heart beating so rapidly? Why did she feel lighter? "Beth,Mary , come here," she called.

The two maids entered sheepishly,Mary holding a pile of linens in her arms.

"What are you talking about?"

They looked at the floor. "Nothing,"Beth lied, blushing.

"Tell me the truth, 'tis most important-for Aelfgar. He did not bedAlice ?"

Bethlooked up. "He did not bed her until last night," she said, looking at the pile of linens.

Ceidre didn't really hear. She felt dismay and something else, worse, something sickening, and she stared at the sheets. While she had been in that foolish, soothing dream, he had been withAlice .Mary interpreted the look as a question and held them up, to show the bloodstain. Ceidre looked away. Why did it hurt now, when she didn't care? When she had thought it done with days ago, on their wedding night? She had no right to be hurting! None!