Candace C. Bowen - Knight Series 03

by A Knight of Valour

  “I know you love me.” Covering his hands with her own, she smiled. “And I love you.”

  “Then you know why I wish to wed you first.”

  “That I do not understand.”

  Dropping his hands, Talan sat back. “I will not bring dishonor upon you, Mylla.”

  “I do not believe there is dishonor in showing someone how much you love them. This time last night, I believed I would never see you again. If we are discovered, I would like it to be with no regrets for what could have been.”

  Lightly kissing her brow, Talan closed his eyes. “Then I shall find a priest to marry us the moment we arrive in Reading.”

  “You know we are bound by honor to inform the priest who we are and what we have done,” Mylla said. “Do you think it likely we will find one who will be willing to risk King Henry’s wrath were he to marry us?”

  “Priests are first beholden to Pope Honorius II in Rome,” Talan said. “After I explain our plight, I am sure to find one who will marry us.”

  “Whilst I find it unlikely, I shall pray that we find such a man,” Mylla said.

  “King Henry is not above God and bound by the laws of the church. And lest you forgot, my liege publicly defied the king and lived to tell the tale.”

  “Aside from Baron Erlegh, I have yet to hear of a man who would risk the king’s displeasure.” Mylla stubbornly refused to give up. “What if we are discovered prior to being wed?”

  “Do you not have faith in me?”

  “I believe in you, and you know it. Your turnabout on the subject is unfair, yet you know that as well.”

  Talan surprised her by laughing.

  “What do you find so amusing, might I ask?”

  “This is the first time I have ever been seduced,” Talan said. “I find I quite like it.”

  “Tease me all you will.” Turning her back to him, Mylla resumed her study of the night sky. “I know a rejection when I hear one.”

  “Mon coeur, I was only jesting.” Talan shifted to draw her into his arms. “The last thing I would ever do is reject you.”

  “Everything comes down to honor with you, does it not?”

  “It is who I am,” he said simply.

  “I know it is.” Mylla swept a stray lock of dark hair from his brow. “I also know that if our union were to be consummated a priest is unlikely to refuse our request. Surely you can see the advantage in that?”

  “When did you get so resolute?”

  “The moment I realized my time with you could end at any moment.”

  “When may I ask did this moment occur?”

  “Whilst I lay hidden behind the tree near frantic that the knights we encountered on the road would slay you.”

  Talan briefly closed his eyes. “I promised Leofrick I would make you my wife first.”

  “Of all my brothers, Leofrick would understand.”

  “I believe he would.”

  “So now will you kiss me like you did earlier this day?”

  “Aye,” he said softly before capturing lips. “I can refuse you nothing.” Talan kissed her and was lost. His good intentions forgotten, he followed her down on the coverlets. His hands slid from her throat to her breast where he caressed her through the cumbersome layers of clothing she wore. Raising his head, he took in her flushed cheeks in the firelight. “I need to feel your skin against mine.”

  Mylla’s response was to grab the hem of his bliaud to assist in freeing him of it.

  “We must take it slow, or I fear I will hurt you.” Rising on his knees, Talan pulled the bliaud over his head to toss it aside. Left in only a thin linen chainse, he worked the ties at his throat. Removing the garment, he drank in the adoration he glimpsed in her eyes.

  Mylla unclasped her cloak to let it fall behind her. Her breath came in short bursts when her fumbling fingers ended up knotting the lacings. “My fingers are not cooperating.”

  “Then mine shall lend assist.” Talan traced a fingertip along the line of her throat to where the lacings started beneath her arm. Deftly untying the knot her haste had created, he loosened the lacings. “Come, mon coeur.” He stood and held out his hand to assist her up. Slowly gathering the hem of her skirt, his hands skimmed along her shapely legs, and trim waist. Grazing her full breasts, he lifted the kirtle over her head. Standing before the fire, he caught his breath to see the silhouette of her naked body through the thin chemise she wore beneath. “You are so very beautiful.” Giving himself time to cool his ardor, he knelt to remove her boots.

  Her hands trembled on his shoulders as she balanced herself. When she stood barefoot, she shyly ran her fingers through Talan’s thick sun-streaked hair.

  Doffing his own boots, he stood to discard his chainse. When he stood bare-chested before her, he met her passion-filled gaze with his own. “Touch me, Mylla.”

  Slowly running her fingers along his broad shoulders, she let them trail through the dark hair covering his chest, and down along the ridges of muscle leading to his abdomen. Pausing on each scar marring his flesh she traced its outline. “You have endured so much pain.”

  “Seen or unseen, scars become our life story,” Talan said. “I would not be the man standing afore you without them.”

  “And I would not have you any other way.” Slipping her arms around his waist, she slid her hands along the curve of his muscular backside. Breathless, she stood on tiptoe to mold herself against him. “Make me yours, Talan.”

  Seizing her lips in a demanding kiss, he pulled back only long enough to free her of the chemise. His eyes darkened as he memorized every inch of her supple body. More beautiful than he had ever envisioned, he was stunned that it was he she wanted. Untying his breeches, he hastily removed them. He stilled in the process of removing his braies. “I do not want to frighten you.”

  “Nothing you do will ever frighten me.” Mylla stepped closer to finish what he had started. Untying his braies, she slid them down over his hips. “Let me see you, Talan. All of you.” Her eyes flared with desire when his fully erect manhood sprung free. Lightly stroking the length of him, she moistened her lips in anticipation of what was to come.

  In response, Talan shoved his braies the rest of the way down in order to step out of them. Her intense gaze upon him had his inflamed manhood jerking upwards seeking relief. “If this is not what you want tell me now.”

  “I have never wanted anything more.” Mylla lay down on the coverlet and opened her arms in invitation.

  Gently nudging her knees apart, he knelt down. Supporting his weight on his elbows, he lowered himself to nestle between her legs. Nearly driven to the brink by the warm wetness of her womanhood pressing against his inflamed manhood, he inhaled a deep breath to cool his ardor. “There will be pain the first time, mon coeur. I would endure it for you if I could.”

  “Just love me, Talan.” Stroking his taught biceps with her fingertips, she raised her knees off the coverlet to accommodate him better.

  “I fully intend to,” he said cradling her beloved face with his hands. “I will not take you until you tell me you are ready.”

  Fear at the unknown suddenly had her tensing. “How will I know when I am ready?”

  “If I do my part correctly, you will know.” Seizing her lips in a bruising kiss, he slipped his tongue inside her mouth the moment she opened to him.

  Lost to the pleasurable sensations he elicited, her hands wound in his hair to bring him even closer. She moaned against his lips when he broke contact to trail hot kisses along her throat. Caressing the pert bud of one of her full breasts with his fingertips, he captured the other between his lips. Flicking his tongue, he drew it into his mouth until Mylla strained against him. She stiffened only slightly when his roaming hand made contact with the most intimate part of her.

  “Trust me.” He looked up long enough to whisper.

  Wanting more, she could only sigh in response. His fingers worked magic, carrying her to a place she never knew existed. It was at that moment she knew what he m
eant. “I am ready, my heart.”

  Sweat glistened on Talan’s body from the effort required to proceed slowly. He entered her moist heat until he encountered her maidenhead. Fighting the urge to thrust fully into her, he said, “The pain I cause you now is inevitable. Forgive me.” Seating his manhood to the hilt, he absorbed Mylla’s soft cry with his lips. The strain was evident in his face when he raised his head to look at her. “The discomfort will pass after you have grown more accustomed to me.”

  Mylla wrapped her arms around his neck to kiss him with every ounce of love she felt for him. Slowly the banked embers of her passion were once again reignited into a fierce flame. The moment she slid her hands down to cup his buttocks, Talan began to slowly thrust himself within her. Straining against him, she never wanted him to stop loving her.

  “Look at me, Mylla.” Stilling his movements Talan waited for her to comply.

  Mylla’s eyes snapped open. Panting heavily, she slid her hands along his perspiring back.

  “I want you to know that whatever happens to me. Whatever happens, I will always love you.”

  “And I will always love you.” Pulling his face down for a kiss, she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Always.”

  Thrusting into her once again, Talan closed his eyes and threw his head back in order to maintain control.

  Mylla gasped when she felt herself reaching a precipice. She reached down to once again clasp his thrusting buttocks. “Talan,” she breathed. “What is happening to me?”

  “Reach for it, Mylla. Feel what I feel when I am within you.”

  Her body shaking, Mylla’s toes curled with the explosive force of her climax. Catching her completely unaware, she cried out to the night sky.

  After a few more powerful thrusts, Talan let out a low throaty moan of pleasure. Catching his breath, he rolled onto his side taking Mylla with him. For a time their breathing drowned out all other sound. Caressing her back, Talan shifted to see her better. “Would it be wrong of me to thank you for seducing me?”

  Mylla gazed up at him. “Had I known what to expect, I would have attempted it some time ago.”

  “And no doubt you would have succeeded.” Talan covered her exposed back with his cloak.

  “Does this mean you will no longer put me off your horse?” she teased.

  “The odds of staying put are now in your favor.” Kissing the tip of her pert nose, he laughed.

  They lay content listening to the sounds of the night for some time.

  The moon was high overhead when Mylla traced a finger along Talan’s chest. “Are you awake?”

  He lightly kissed the top of her head. “Can you not sleep either?”

  “Nay, for fear you are vexed with me.”

  “Vexed with you?” Talan rose up on an elbow. “Why in heaven’s name would I be vexed with you?”

  “Because I forced you to do something you did not want to do, and now you have had time to dwell upon it.”

  “My little innocent,” Talan said with a chuckle. “I have wanted to do that with you more than you will ever know.” Rising above her, he nudged her legs apart. “Shall I prove it to you?”

  Drawing his head down for a kiss, she smiled. “I shall expect you to prove it to me again and again.”

  Completely sated, Mylla later lay in the crook of Talan’s arm. Trailing her fingertips along his chest, she peered up at him. “May I ask you something?”

  “Anything.” He waited with a slight smile.

  “I know we spoke of unchaste women,” she hesitated, “what I would like to ask is how you knew what to do with a chaste one.”

  Knowing she was merely curious and did not seek to reproach him for his past, he propped himself up. “Are you sure tis something you wish to hear?”

  “I may not like it,” she admitted, “yet I would still like to know.”

  “Very well,” he said. “I told you about my uncle, Sir Hewett. When I became a knight, I met the daughter of a crofter. When she expressed an interest in me, I made it a habit of being in the village at the end of the day to greet her on her way home from the fields.”

  “What was her name?”

  “Ingrith,” he replied.

  “Did you love her?”

  “You are the only woman I have ever, or will ever love,” Talan said. “To be perfectly honest, I was curious about sexual relations like any untried lad. To lessen the degree of our sin, I convinced myself that I would one day wed Ingrith. Afore that happened, my eyes were opened to the truth.”

  “She no doubt loved you,” Mylla said with a twinge of jealousy.

  “For a time I believed she did,” Talan said. “Albin bluntly stated that love had nothing to do with my relationship with Ingrith. He said she saw me as an opportunity to better her lot in life.”

  “Sir Albin said that?” Mylla looked surprised. “Is that also part of the reason you did not get along with him in your earlier days together?”

  “One of very many,” Talan said with a laugh. “In that particular instance, Albin had assumed rightly. Ingrith wanted out of the fields. When I did not immediately pledge my troth after we lay together, she all too soon turned to another. The last I heard she was a scullery, wed to one of Sir Hewett’s stable-hands. She at least succeeded in making it out of the fields.”

  “I do not believe it,” Mylla said softly.

  “Mon coeur?” Talan appeared taken aback.

  Mylla cupped his stubbled jaw. “I cannot believe Ingrith would be foolish enough to let you go.”

  “I love you.” Capturing Mylla’s lips, Talan proceeded to prove it.

  Chapter Nine

  Justice de Glanville used a piece of linen to wipe the blade of his bloodied dagger. Resuming his seat, he flicked his hand in the direction of Chaucey’s body. “Sheriff, take care of that.”

  “My lord justice, your clerk was a breathing soul,” the sheriff said, “not a piece of refuse to be discarded.”

  “To all intents, constructions, and purposes, I am the law.” Sheathing his dagger, the justice appeared bored. “There is only one man more powerful than me in the realm, and he is not present. Now do as I command.”

  Heeding the unspoken warning, Richard faced his sons. “One of you needs to summon Father Bartolomeo.”

  “The priest is unnecessary,” the justice said. “Strip the lad of my insignia. If your sons are not up to digging a hole out back, summon my personal guard to do it. You will find them outside waiting with the horses.”

  Leofrick was about to speak when a look from his father kept him silent.

  “My lord justice,” the sheriff said, “surely your devoted clerk deserves a proper Christian burial?”

  “I gave you instruction, sheriff. If you had a plan of your own, you should have held your tongue and got on with it.”

  “I shall see it done.” The sheriff deliberately misconstrued the justice’s words. “Caine,” he said, “you and Edmund carry Chaucey into the shed. Leofrick, go to the carpentry and have a coffin made. Frederick, inform Father Bartholomeo he is needed for a private burial afore vespers in lieu of the wedding ceremony. There will be no wake. I will have John prepare him. If anyone asks, he had a fit and collapsed.” Once his sons left to do his bidding, Richard turned back to the justice. “Will that suit you, lord justice?”

  “Do what you must, sheriff. We ride for Castell Maen at sunrise. If Erlegh’s man was indeed foolish enough to flee with my intended, he is bound to feel protected there.” The justice’s eyes narrowed. “How quickly he will learn otherwise.”

  “Very well,” the sheriff said. “If you will excuse me now, I will instruct my man on what needs to be done, and see to my wife’s needs.”

  “Have a servant bring me more wine afore you do.” Examining his blood encrusted fingernails, the justice pulled out the bloodied square of pocket linen he had cleaned his dagger with.

  “It shall be done.”

  “One moment, sheriff,” the justice called. “What were the last word
s my clerk spoke to you?”

  Sheriff Richard stopped in the doorway. “I beg your pardon?”

  “My clerk,” the justice reiterated. “What were his dying words?”

  “He merely asked for God’s forgiveness,” the sheriff said. “I did not think it important enough to tell you.”

  “Why do you think he needed to be forgiven?”

  “Every man is born of sin, is he not? I do not find it remarkable that your clerk expressed repentance with his final breath.”

  “If that is indeed what he did,” the justice uttered low.

  “Will there be anything else, lord justice?”

  “There is one more thing.” The justice held up his hand. “If I were you, I would convince your family to forget what happened here this day lest you all come to regret it.”

  †

  A nightmare woke Mylla. Her breathing rapid, she lightly touched Talan’s cheek in the dark to reassure herself he was safe.

  He instantly awoke at her touch. Capturing her cold fingers, he brought them to his lips. “You caught a chill.”

  “Nay, I am fine.” She blinked away the tears of relief blurring her vision. “You need your rest. I apologize for having woken you.”

  “Knights are trained to subsist on very little sleep.” Sitting up, Talan leaned over her. “Did you have a troubling dream?”

  “I dreamt that you were being tortured, and I was forced to watch,” Mylla said softly.

  “You can see for yourself that I am well,” Talan soothed. “The mind has a way of playing tricks on us when we are troubled.”

  “Will you love me again?”

  “I will never cease to love you,” he whispered against her lips. Nudging her legs apart with his knee, he rose above her when she opened herself to him. He inhaled sharply when his questing fingers found her ready for him. In a single fluid movement, he entered her. Slowly flexing his hips, he thrust into her. “How you make me feel… I did not believe such things to be possible.”

  “Is it always like this?” Her hands touching him everywhere she could reach, Mylla attempted to pull him even closer.