A Winter's Knight

by Fiona Neal

  Sometimes, silence and obedience could be very powerful wielders of power. Or maybe it was the fact that she had put the idea into his mind. Whatever the case, Edith would have a dowry any nobleman would consider a great asset.

  * * * *

  Christmas Day finally came, and the weather brought quite a heavy fall of snow. From her glazed window, high up in the structure of the castle, Alice viewed the peaceful landscape under its cover of white.

  Alice especially like the tall trees, their bare limbs frosted snow. Of course, the tall conifers appeared lovely too under their fluffy and sparkling covering of snow.

  The village snuggled under the frozen precipitation, the thatched roofs of the homes hidden under the thick layer of white. Nevertheless, smoke rose skyward from the chimneys, likely warming the interiors of the cottages, and preparing the Christmas feasts for the eager families.

  Edmund was probably still asleep in his bed, the door to his bedchamber slightly ajar.

  Guilt assailed Alice. How could she change their relationship? She knew her reticent husband would never make the first move. And because she outranked him in title, he would feel strange—even though he was her husband—because he was a true gentleman who took his vows to protect women seriously.

  But could she give her consent? Did she have the courage? Yes, much of her fear about the attack that drunken soldier engendered has disappeared. She had not lied about that. Still, she was a virgin—one who had spent most of her time in a convent. The nuns never discussed such things as physical intimacy.

  Nor had Alice heard any married women talking, for she had spent most of her time at the abbey.

  She suddenly heard Edmund stirring in his bedchamber. She suddenly hurried to the table where a washbowl and towels lay. Alice quickly washed with a lovely castile soap, which Edmund had given her, and she dressed with alacrity in a linen shift and a green woolen dress. She did not, however, put on her veil, keeping her De Winter red hair loose, as Edmund liked it, when they were alone.

  Dressed, and looking handsome, Edmund then came into her room. “Good morrow and Happy Christmas” He smiled, thoroughly charming her.

  “Good morrow and Happy Christmas,” she replied and returned his smile.

  “Do you wish to join the others for breakfast, or do you want to dine alone?” he asked.

  “I’ll let you make that decision because I have not thought about it,” she said.

  “I’d rather be alone with you for the moment, but not to eat,” he said. “Besides, we’ll be going to the great hall for the celebratory feast shortly, and there is something I wish to give you.”

  “A Christmas present?” she asked.

  “A Christmas present,” he replied.

  “All right,” she said and nodded, feeling pleased and surprised that he had bought her a gift.

  “Sit near the fire,” he suggested.

  Alice was cold. She was frequently cold, but it was winter. She took a chair near the fire after he put another log on the grate and enjoyed the heat.

  He put his hand under his tunic and took out a small wooden box, giving it to her.

  It looked like a jewelry box, but surely Edmund did not have the money to give her such an expensive gift.

  “Open it, Alice,” he urged as she stared at the object.

  She removed the lid and gasped. A lovely green stone winked up at her. It was huge and she couldn’t see any flaws. “Oh, Edmund, it is such a beautiful gem.” She wanted to add that it must have been so expensive, but she didn’t dare.

  “I didn’t give you a wedding ring or a betrothal ring. I wanted to give you something that would last. You can wear it on your right hand.”

  “Yes,” she said. “Please put it on me.”

  Edmund took her hand and gently slipped the ring on her right hand.

  “It’s a perfect fit.” Alice held up her hand and looked admiringly at the lovely piece of jewelry.

  “Yes, I consulted your grandfather because the wedding and betrothal rings fit you, and I needed to know the size. He gave me a ring to take to the goldsmith, so the man could size the peridot.”

  She took his face in his hands and kissed him. Alice thoroughly enjoyed the kiss, which turned quiet passionate, but she did not break away. She let him continue until he terminated the kiss.

  He held her. “Don’t worry about the cost,” he assured her. “It’s not an emerald. It is a peridot, and I have paid for it.”

  “Thank you, Edmund. You are a wonderful husband and the finest man I know.”

  “With the exception of your grandfather,” he added.

  “My grandfather is wonderful, but I do not think he is better than you, Edmund. I don't think anyone is better than you.”

  He kissed her again, but they were interrupted by a knock.

  “Quick, Edmund. Help me with my veil.” He did so, and then he answered the door.

  Edith and Lord De Winter entered, smiling.

  “I love the cloak, Lady Alice.” Edith said “I’ve always wanted one like this.” She turned and the yards of sky blue wool flared. “And the golden cloak pin is perfect.” The young girl went to Edmund and kissed his cheek. “It matched the golden trim on the hem and cuffs of the cloak.”

  “So it does,” Edmund said. “But it also matches the gold of your hair.”

  “Yes, it does,” Alice said when Edith blushed.

  Alice had made Edmund a tunic and of fine silk and a shirt of linen. She gave her grandfather a tunic of the same blue cloth, along with the table cloth, which she had presented to them last night after the midnight mass.

  “Oh, I just love staying here,” Edith said. “I wish I could remain, but I suppose I must go home,” Edith said.

  “Don’t you miss Moreton Hall?” Edmund asked. “It’s a beautiful place in the Cotswolds.”

  “Yes, but I like it here. De Winter Castle is a merrier place. Our brother is a good man, Edmund, but there are not many people my age there.”

  “That’s true,” Edmund conceded.

  “Perhaps you will soon marry, Edith. Then you will have your own home,” Alice said.

  Edith smiled. “Perhaps, I shall. Sir Alec is quite attentive, and he was quite overjoyed that I now have such a large dowry. Thank you both.”

  “A large dowry is quite an asset,” Lord De Winter remarked and chuckled.

  “Yes, it is.” Alice smiled. She would pray with all her strength that Sir Alec would soon ask Edith to marry.

  Godwin knocked and came in. He bowed.

  “What brings you here, Godwin?” Alice asked.

  “I should like to thank you and Sir Edmund for the fine pair of shoes, and I should also like to thank Lord De Winter for the opportunity to stay here.”

  “I have another gift for you,” Lord De Winter said, his green eyes twinkling. “I was going to announce it at the banquet, but I suppose now is a good time to let you know.

  “I have been watching you, Godwin.” Lord De Winter continued. “ I have seen you wielding that heavy wooden sword after you finished working. I also saw you put on a mail shirt the armorer was making and run a long way in it.”

  “I meant no harm, my lord,” the handsome young man said. “I just love the things that the knights do. I heard that a knight should run a mile a day in his mail shirt.”

  “Yes, I suspected it,” Lord De Winter said. “You have the built and the talent of a warrior. So...I shall foster you to become a knight. You have a great deal of hard work ahead of you, but I think you will make a good knight.”

  “Oh, thank you, my lord.” Godwin knelt and tears filled his startling blue eyes. “I'm so grateful and happy.”

  “Yes, I know you are,” Lord De Winter replied. “Show me your gratitude by being a good knight.”

  “I shall, my lord. This is the best Christmas gift I could ever receive.” Godwin turned to Alice. “My lady, I am so grateful to you, too. I could have frozen to death if you had not rescued me.”

  “It was m
y pleasure,” Alice said. “Get to your feet, Godwin.”

  The boy rose.

  “Now, though, I think we should go to the great hall and enjoy the festivities,” Edmund suggested with a smile.

  * * * *

  “I shall say goodnight,” Edmund said later that night after the festivities had ended. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and turned, striding to his room.

  As usual, he was following her lead, she assumed. He did not feel she was ready for marital intimacy.

  Alice desperately wanted him to stay, but she did not tell him to stop. She wanted to give him the gift of herself, but she was too embarrassed to offer it. She wished with all her heart that she was a worldlier and a more experienced woman, but she did not know about the game of courting. Nor did she know much about the intimate part of marriage.

  Alice had just enjoyed the most perfect Christmas, and she wanted to give her husband the one thing that he had wanted most, but she just didn’t have the boldness to make the offer.

  Genevieve, the lady’s maid just hired, came in. They removed her outer clothes, and the maid brushed Alice’s hair.

  “You may retire, Genevieve, and I wish you a fine Christmastide.” Alice said, wanting to be alone.

  “And I wish the same for you, my lady.” The small, dark-haired woman bowed and left.

  Alice glanced at Edmund’s door. He always kept it ajar, but she saw that the room was very dark. The sun went down so early these days, and her husband was probably fast asleep.

  Thoroughly dejected now, she blew out the candle on the table, got into the big bed, and stared up at the dark ceiling. Alice felt so guilty about denying Edmund his marital rights, but he had said nothing, complying with all her needs, in spite of his own. Even after giving her the beautiful peridot ring, which was still on her finger, her husband made no demands on her.

  Her tears flowed again. What was wrong with her? The answer came swiftly. She was not fulfilling her wifely duty to Edmund as she should. She was doing nothing to obey the Bible’s command to increase and multiply. She certainly was not trying to produce an heir—an obligation of prime importance.

  Alice felt like such a failure and a fraud. She had never experienced emotions like that before, even when she knew that her father was disappointed that she was a female. She cried for a long time and prayed for courage to become a wife to Edmund in every sense of the word.

  Oh, God, give me courage and strength to do the right and proper thing.

  Would she have felt this way if that soldier had not assaulted her?

  Perhaps she would not. Besides, she felt better about that. She was traumatized for a long while, but telling Edmund about it, having him come with her, returning to the scene of the incident, had helped her banish a great deal of the fear she had about that vile attack.

  She became so cold. Even though she wore a heavy linen shift and lay under warm quilts, she was shivering. She was also thirsty.

  Alice sat up, her feet feeling for her leather slippers. She found them and slipped then on. She stood, but her heart felt so heavy with sorrow, as if the organ were made of iron.

  She went to the table and poured some apple juice from the jug into a goblet. She drank it down and waited to feel better, but the ease she sought never came. She felt worse and so cold that she was trembling violently.

  As she moved away from the table, her hand knocked over the bowl of apples. The metal container clanged in the darkened room—lit now only by the dying embers in the fireplace—and the apples rolled on the flags of the floor.

  She should throw another log on the fire, but Alice cried harder, trying to stifle the sound her sobs.

  “Alice, is something wrong?”

  She gasped and turned, startle by the sound of Edmund’s voice. He stood with a candle in his hand. The light of the flame illuminated his handsome face.

  “Oh, Edmund,” she said, trying to hide her sorrow.

  He walked toward her, set the candle on the table. “Why are you awake at this hour?” He took her hand. “You look pale, and you’ve been crying. I heard you.” He then put his arms around her. “Why are so sad? We had a nice Christmas, and we have eleven more days to celebrate the season.”

  “I feel sad, like such a failure,” Alice confessed.

  “Why, dear girl?” he asked, a puzzled frown creasing his handsome brow.

  “Oh, Edmund, I have not been a good wife to you.” She blurted out. “I have not attended to you as I should.”

  “But I thought we were making progress, Alice. We’ve become friends, confidants. As I said before, we have more than most.”

  “I should be expecting your heir, but I’m not. You have needs, and I have not satisfied them. I have not even tried. I have not been the kind of wife you need.”

  “Alice, I have no wished to ask for what you cannot give at this time.”

  “You haven’t, Edmund, but…”

  “But what?” he asked. “What would you have me do?”

  “Would you hold me, Edmund?”

  “Yes, of course. I’ve wanted to hold you many times, but I wait for you to ask me.”

  “And I’ve wanted you to caress me many times.”

  He gently drew her close and held her.

  Alice loved his strong arms around her and the sensation of the gentle heat emanating from his body. Oh, how she loved to be close to him.

  “Are you all right?” he asked. “You are still shivering.”

  “I am better,” she answered. “I think we should kiss. We have not done that in a while.”

  He nudged her chin up and his lips met hers.

  Alice had never enjoyed it more. She wished the feelings of love could go on forever. When the pressure of his kiss grew more intense, she held him tighter. He then broke the kiss and just stood with her in his arms.

  “That was quite wonderful,” she said softly. “May we try it again? “

  He then held her at arm’s length and smiled. “Yes, of course.”

  Edmund kissed her again, and she returned the passion with fervor. He had never kissed her with such strength, and she loved the sensation.

  “Did I do it right?” she asked, when they parted. “I hope to please you, Edmund.”

  “Oh, yes,” he said, “and you do please me.” They shared another long, passionate kiss.

  He broke the kiss and said, “Do you want more lovemaking or have you had enough?”

  “I want more, and I think we should build on our success. I want to become your wife in deed as well as in name.” she replied.

  Edmund said nothing for some moments, but he peered at her. Finally, he asked. “Are you quite sure, Alice?”

  “Yes, I’m very sure. I want to be your wife. What comes next?”

  “Well, we should get in bed,” he suggested. “We'll be warmer and more comfortable.

  “All right,” she said and nodded.

  “And it would be easier for us if we took off our clothes,” he suggested. “But you really don’t like that idea, do you?” His gaze held hers.

  “It does not bother me. We are following the dictates of the Bible. We are trying to increase and multiple.”

  “And a husband and wife should be familiar with each other’s bodies,” he said. “And the statement about the Bible is true.”

  “Will you help me to doff my clothes,” she said.

  “Oh, with pleasure,” he said and chuckled. “I’ve wanted to do that since the day I first saw you at the abbey.”

  “You wanted me that soon?”

  “Yes, I wanted you that soon.” He helped her remove the loose shift, and he took off all of his nightshirt.

  He gazed at her, his vision traveling over her body. “You're beautiful, Alice, so incredibly beautiful. Everything about you is so lovely.”

  “Thank you, Edmund. You’re an extremely handsome man.” Her gaze traveled over his wide shoulders, long powerful limbs, and flat stomach. She also couldn’t miss his large male member.


  “But you’re cold, Alice. You are shivering hard.”

  “I’ll be all right,” she said and smiled.

  Edmund helped her into bed, and he got in next to her. “You’ll be warmer if we embrace.”

  “Yes,” she agreed and moved into his warm arms. “Oh, yes, this is cozier.

  He kissed her gently several times, but their kisses became more passionate, and he put his hand over her full breast.

  “Oh, that feels so good,” she gasped out.

  He then gently tugged on her nipple with his fingers.

  “That feels even better,” she said. “Would you please do that again?”

  Edmund granted her request and said, “You may do that to me, too, if you wish.”

  When she did, he said, “That feels very stimulating.”

  He then slipped his hand over her body and she gasped. “That’s very… I’m not sure what word to use.”

  “But you liked it, I hope,” he said, a question and a hope in his voice.

  “Yes,” she replied. “I liked it very much.”

  “And you feel like heaven in my arms, Alice.”

  He then turned her back to him and kissed her neck.

  “Oh,” she said, suddenly feeling immensely aroused “I never knew the back of my neck was so sensitive. He kissed it again, and she felt moisture spring between her thighs, making her genital area wet.

  “The more you touch me, Edmund, the more I want you to touch me.”

  “That is good, Alice. It is how it should be.”

  He continued to stroke her warm flesh and then his hands approached her genitals.

  “Do you want to continue, Alice?”

  “Yes, please,” she said. “It is so pleasurable.”

  “Good,” he said. His deft fingers reached her wet folds, and she gasped again.

  Edmund began a gentle massage and her breathing became fast and deep. She pressed her pelvis against his hand and moaned and writhed until she closed her eyes and saw stars exploding. She also felt the muscles in her lower abdomen contracting in the most pleasant way.

  “Edmund,” she cried. A lovely sensation of warmth spread out to her whole body. “That was quite wonderful. No, it was beyond wonderful. It was indescribably glorious.”