Sorrows of Adoration (25 page)

Her obvious attempt to
infuriate me almost worked, but I took a deep breath and forced
myself to smile at her and speak sweetly. “I suppose it is a
natural friendship indeed, and I am glad of it.”

She looked at me
disdainfully, shaking her head in disgust. “It really is sad. Poor
Kurit. He has no idea how disappointed he soon shall be.”

“Disappointed?” I
repeated questioningly.

“How could he not be?
When he discovers that his new bride is a fat, bloated peasant
under her fancy dress and that she has no notion of how to please a
man, he will most certainly regret his foolish choice,” she said
coldly.

I forced myself again
to smile sweetly and said in a voice that positively dripped with
sugar and honey, “Indeed? Well, I cannot predict the future, but I
do know in his past he has been suitably revolted by skinny,
conniving naked women who attempt to seduce him in his sleep.
Revolted enough to even cast such a whore from his chambers, if you
can imagine such a scene. I should think that in the many times he
has kissed me, expressing his desires to me in poetic words of
love, that he might have had a notion that I am indeed what he
wants in a woman. But thank you for your dear concern, Sashken.
When we return and I am carrying his child as a result of our
passions, perhaps then you shall have greater faith in the wisdom
of your future King.”

Grinning as she stood,
mouth agape, in shock and jealous hatred, I swept away from her as
grandly as I knew how. Inside, my stomach quivered with nervousness
at having stood up to her, but my heart was full with pride and joy
that I had done it so successfully. I resisted the urge to skip as
I went to where Kurit stood, laughing in conversation with some
lord or other.

“There you are,” he
said as I took his arm and led him to the dance floor. “Why do you
look as though you’ve just won a great battle? Your smile threatens
to reach your ears, silly girl!”

As we began to dance I
quietly said, “Because I just told Sashken that I know what she
tried with you last week, and that you were revolted because I am
the woman that you truly desire.”

“You didn’t!” he
laughed.

“I did! She tried to
upset me with some nonsense about how disappointed you would be
tonight.” I reiterated word for word what had been said, watching
his eyes grow wide and his jaw drop in merry disbelief. When I
finished he spun me around the floor until he could see her.
Finally we located her, standing in the shadows with Kasha, weeping
pitifully.

Kurit turned his gaze
back to me in wonderment. I shrugged and put on an air of defiant
pride. He threw his head back and laughed uproariously, garnering
many a strange glance from those who danced nearby.

“Oh, my Aenna, you are
unbelievable! Just when I think I’ve seen the limit of your
boldness, you put that little harlot in her place!” He swung me
about in delight and then tipped me back to kiss me. It may have
been somewhat inappropriate, but we were married now and I didn’t
care who saw us. He pulled me back up quickly, laughing loudly
again. “By the Gods, I love you!” he exclaimed.

For the rest of the
evening, every time I smiled at him he burst into laughter, even if
it was from across the room. He must have told Jarik the story, for
soon the tired warrior was responding in kind, though not as
boisterously.

WHEN IT WAS time to go
after we had said our formal good-byes, Kurit escorted me out to
the courtyard where the royal coach waited for us. The night air
had grown colder than I had anticipated, and my bare arms turned
prickly in the wind.

“Kurit, it’s rather
chilly. I should fetch a wrap,” I said, turning to go back
inside.

“No need for that,” he
said. He removed his splendid green wedding cloak and wrapped it
around me. “There you are. I don’t need it with these
half-sleeves.”

“Thank you,” I said,
smiling. “Tell me,” I whispered to him, “are you being gallant or
just that eager to be on our way?”

He winked and
whispered, “A little bit of both, dearest.”

“Fair enough,” I said,
feigning innocence. “Let’s be off, then.”

Kurit scampered to the
coach and graciously helped me step up inside. He closed my door
and ran around to enter from the other side, telling the coachman
and six guards on horseback to start as he closed his door. Taking
his seat beside me, he swiftly put a finger beneath my chin, tipped
my face upwards and kissed me hard. Then he pulled me close to him
and wrapped his arms tightly around me. I just grinned a foolish,
happy grin.

The coach rocked as the
horses began to tug it, and I sat up to not slip off the seat. In
doing so, I caught a glimpse out of my window. There, silhouetted
against the light from the palace doors, stood a figure of such
bulk that it could only have been Jarik. My guess was confirmed as
he leaned back against the open door and the light spilled over his
face. His eyes were closed, and he looked upset.

“Kurit,” I said
quickly, “Jarik is there, and he looks upset. Should we stop?” I
turned in the seat as the coach changed its angle to head for the
gate.

Kurit looked out behind
us to see Jarik. “No,” he decided. “He’d be running after us if he
wanted us to stop.”

“He’s been like that
all evening,” I said, worried. “Do you think he was hurt in the
tournament and didn’t want us to know?”

“I doubt that,” he
said. “Well, if he was, he’d certainly hide it, especially from
you, but I watched him most of the afternoon and never saw him take
a sound strike. Perhaps he’s just tired.”

We were out of the gate
by then, and I could no longer see him. I sighed and sat back,
wondering if perhaps he was one of those men who outwardly seemed
uninterested in marriage but secretly wished for it, and was thus
depressed at witnessing his younger cousin wed.

“Aenna, he’s fine.
Please don’t brood over him. It’s bad enough that he frets over
your every frown.” Kurit took my hand and pointed out the window
with his other. “Look, the people are waving to us. Many of them
have probably waited in the street for at least an hour now for us
to pass.”

Sure enough, on either
side of the streets there were lined all manner of folk, many
waving coloured lanterns of celebration as we passed.

“They all wish to
welcome their beautiful new Princess,” he said, kissing my hand.
His voice took on a deeper, softer tone as he said, “You are so
radiant today, my Aenna. The colour of that beautiful dress brings
out the best in that marvellous hair of yours. And your sweet eyes,
oh Aenna, your eyes dance and sparkle happily, and that fills me
with indescribable joy.” He caressed my cheeks as he raved for me.
Though I felt silly being described so poetically, I admit I loved
hearing it. “My greatest desire is for your life to be a happy one,
and a close second to that is my desire to be a part of it.” He
leaned to me and nuzzled his forehead softly against mine, then
kissed me with sweet tenderness.

As usual, the kisses
became increasingly erotic, and since we had just been wed there
was nothing to hold him back. But to my complete amazement, he
stopped himself and said, “I can’t go on doing this. I promised
myself I would behave until we reach the cottage.”

“Really?” I asked,
unable to hide my bafflement. “Why the sudden change?”

“Because I know you, my
pretty wife,” he said teasingly, tapping the end of my nose lightly
with his index finger. “You’ll want your bath after our busy day,
and it’s very important to me that everything be right and
comfortable and pleasant for you tonight. So I shall behave until
you’ve had your bath.”

“And then?” I asked,
knowing full well that I was prompting him to salacious speech.

He leaned close to me
and spoke in a low voice, “And then I’m going to give you such
pleasures that you won’t know your own name when I am done.” He
kissed me softly, a promise for later, and said coyly, “If that’s
what Your Highness desires.”

I was so aroused and
enchanted that I thought I might melt away in his arms. I nodded,
unable to speak. He embraced me, and his warmth and scent made me
want him all the more. But he was right; I also dearly wanted a hot
bath.

“I hope you’re not
disappointed,” he whispered.

“No,” I said. “As much
as I want you, I am indeed tired and in need of a bath. And it’s a
long ride, four hours you said, without even any scenery to view in
this darkness.”

“Why don’t you sleep,
then?” I could that tell he wanted to add that I’d be better rested
for later, but he was trying so hard to be a gentleman.

“I’d love to, but I’ll
end up with a sore neck from my head lolling about.”

“Let me fix that, my
dear,” he said. He took his cloak from me and rolled one corner
loosely into a ball. Then he wrapped what remained around my upper
body and balanced the roll on his shoulder. “There,” he said
proudly. “Now you can lean comfortably against me and sleep.”

He lifted his arm and
put it gently around me as I snuggled into the pillow on his
shoulder. “You care so kindly for me,” I said in gratitude.

“That, Aenna, is my
duty above all others. And don’t you dare argue me on it.” He
kissed my forehead sweetly.

“You cared well for me
from the start.” I laughed softly and said, “Do you remember those
makeshift boots on our way to Endren?”

He laughed as well.
“Mm-hmm. I was already falling in love with you, though it was
still all too new and unexpected for me to know it by those words.
Regardless, I wasn’t about to let you catch your death of
cold.”

“Kurit, may I confess
something to you?”

“Of course.”

“When we shared the
blankets on those cold nights, I desperately wanted to lean against
you, to put my head on your shoulder.”

He tightened his
embrace momentarily. “You should have. I wanted to put my arm
around you, but I had promised to be a gentleman, and I was so
afraid that I would do so in my sleep that I kept it firm to my
chest and the other under my head. I thought for sure you would
despise me if I dared to touch you so boldly.”

“I longed for it, to be
truthful. But to also be fair, I might have been offended.”

“You were when you
found out who I was. I can’t believe I behaved so well only to be
accused of trying to seduce you.”

“I’m sorry, Kurit,
I—”

“Hush, now, don’t start
that,” he said with a smile. “I know, you were embarrassed and
shocked, and understandably so. But think back on it now. You know
what a beast I am. Can you imagine how I was withholding myself
then? Having been attracted to you that first night and falling in
love with you by the third?”

“It must have nearly
killed you,” I teased.

“Indeed!” he exclaimed.
We laughed, after which I covered my mouth in a great yawn. “Sleep
now, Aenna. It will make the distance fly past without notice.”

“Are you going to sleep
as well?”

“No. I have you in my
arms. I’m too delighted to sleep. I have a thousand poetic words
racing around in my mind for you.”

Dreamily and drifting,
I suggested, “Why don’t you write me a love poem, then?”

“Because it would sound
silly when I was done, and the words would never be right. Now I
shall stop speaking, for I see that your eyes are closing.”

* * *

My next recollection is
of being thrown against the wall of the coach with Kurit almost
landing upon me. My head crashed against the door, and only the
great mass of ringlets gathered up in back saved me from a sound
bump. I screamed as the coach was dragged to a stop, tilting to one
side, with Kurit bracing himself between the seats to avoid
crushing me.

The door behind me
rattled as someone tried to open it. I called out to Kurit in
panic, thinking that we were being robbed.

“It’s the guard,
Aenna,” he said quickly, able to see out the window from his
awkward position. He stumbled forward to release the door’s bolt.
The guard opened it, allowing me to fall out. The guard caught me
and helped me slide out of the tipped coach, asking if I was
hurt.

“No,” I managed to say,
though I was fully panicked and unsure what was going on, my head
still thick with the fog of sleep. As the guard helped me to stand,
Kurit jumped out behind me and embraced me.

“Are you sure you’re
not hurt? You hit your head, twice at least.” He looked me over,
touching my head, face, arms, and waist in great worry.

“I think my hair
cushioned my head,” I stammered. My arms were bare, as I had fallen
out of Kurit’s cloak in the chaos. I shivered, cold with half-sleep
and the night air on my skin. My gaze darted about as I wondered
what had happened.

Kurit saw me shivering
and reached inside the coach to fetch his cloak. He bundled it
around me and held me to him protectively. Then he shouted over my
head, “What in the Temple’s sight is going on?” He rubbed his hands
up and down my arms to warm me up.

“It’s the front wheel,
Your Highness,” said the coachman. I couldn’t see him, since my
face was buried in Kurit’s shoulder, but I heard great anxiety in
his voice. “I can’t understand it. The axle has broken! I inspected
everything carefully just this afternoon, and there was no weak
spot, I swear, Your Highness!”

All but one of the
guards had dismounted and were hurriedly lighting lanterns. They
stood them on the ground near where the axle had broken.

Kurit stood back from
me and said, “Are you sure you’re not hurt?”

“I’m sure. I was just
startled to be woken so. Go and see what has gone wrong. I shall be
fine, really.”

He nodded, kissed my
cheek, and went to join the other men who were squatting to peer
under the carriage. The guard on horseback rode a short distance,
dismounted, and returned with the wheel that had broken off. I
stepped out of his way as he passed.