Neither Corbett nor Sir Rick said anything. Hope knew she had to do something, but wasn’t sure what. So, she did the only thing she could think of. She accidentally, on purpose, spilled her wine on Lord Irwin.
“You stupid wench! Look what you’ve done.” Irwin jumped up, trying to brush away the spot of wine on his white tunic.
“Lord Irwin, calling ladies names will not be tolerated at my table,” Corbett warned him.
“Good, then I’ll leave.” Lord Irwin stormed away and, for that, Hope was glad.
Without Irwin next to her, Hope now would share a trencher of food with Sir Rick.
“Would you like some venison, my lady?” asked Sir Rick, being ever so polite.
“Oh, thank you,” she said as he sliced a piece off of the platter and gently dropped it on the trencher, an old stale crust of bread, that they used for a plate. “And some root vegetables with a little brown sauce atop it all?”
“Of course,” she said, answering with a smile, thinking how handsome he was in his younger self. It made her want to kiss him again. He turned his head and winked at her, making her heart jump into her throat. And when he placed the root vegetables on the trencher, his hand gently grazed hers, making a shudder of desire shoot through her.
She supposed it was because she was mortal and now the Keeper of the Flame that she was feeling such intense emotions and desires. Still, she was very attracted to Sir Rick. But when she thought of Orrick – the way he looked as an old man – it made her wonder if he would someday look that way. He would be old and she wouldn’t age at all now that she was immortal. Hope had so many questions that were unanswered and no one to ask them to. If she started questioning Orrick about these things, he was going to figure out what she had done.
Taking a bite of food, she thought of Lord Irwin and wondered what to tell him. If she gave him the flame, he’d be happy and hopefully keep his promise of breaking the betrothal. Then again, if the flame brought out the dark side of mortals, it might make him into a very dangerous man. He, she was sure, had a lot of darkness within him. She wasn’t in a hurry to see it come out.
After the meal finished, the trestle tables were cleared away and the minstrels started up a lively tune. Sir Rick turned to her and held out his hand.
“May I have this dance, my lady?”
“Well, I . . .” She looked back at the door of the great hall, wondering what would happen if Lord Irwin saw her dancing with him. Then, she realized she didn’t care. She was no longer afraid of Lord Irwin or what he might do. She was invincible so it wouldn’t matter even if he tried to hurt her. “Yes, I think I would like that, Orrick,” she said with confidence, placing her hand atop his.
He cleared his throat and motioned with his eyes to the rest of the occupants of the great hall.
“Oh, I mean, Sir Rick,” she corrected herself with a giggle, realizing that no one else, except mayhap Corbett, her sister, and perhaps Noah knew his true identity. She didn’t want to ruin it for him.
Sir Rick held her loosely as they danced, almost as if he were afraid that she’d be hurt.
“You are not going to break me,” she told him with a smile.
“I’m sorry, my lady. It’s just been so long since I danced with a beautiful woman that I feel at a disadvantage.”
“You’ve had some hard times, but now you can forget about them since they are behind you.” They continued to dance.
“I’ll never forget about my wife. She meant the world to me.” He suddenly seemed very sad, and she hadn’t meant to bring up those memories.
“I’m sorry. I’m sure it must have been awful.”
“You have no idea,” he told her, spinning her around to the music.
“Oh, I’m afraid I’m dizzy. The wine must have gone to my head,” she said, holding on to his arm.
“Perhaps we should step outside for a breath of fresh air,” he suggested.
“I would like that,” she said, letting him lead her from the hall.
When they walked out into the courtyard, the warm breeze hit her in the face. She closed her eyes and turned her face upward, drinking in the warmth of the sun, taking a deep breath of the fresh air.
“That feels so good,” she told him. “I love the outdoors.”
“You do?” he asked. “Then I have a suggestion. Let me take you for a ride.”
“A ride? To where?” she asked.
“It’s a surprise.”
“All right. Let’s go.”
“Meet me in the stables,” he said. “I just need to get something first.”
“I will.” She headed to the stable, stopping inside the door when she saw Lord Irwin leaning against the stable door with his arms crossed over his chest.
“Where are you going, Lady Hope?” he asked her snidely.
“It doesn’t concern you,” she spat.
“Oh, but it does. You see, I am your escort while you’re here so I am responsible for you.”
“That’s a lie. You are only here because you want my help in finding the Eternal Flame. I am Lord Corbett’s ward, not yours.”
“I have a feeling you know where the flame is, but you’re not telling me.”
“I – I don’t know what you mean,” she said as he came forward.
“I heard Sir Rick and Lord Corbett talking. That boy, Noah, has stolen the flame. So if we find him, we find the flame.”
“Oh,” she said, feeling her heart beating heavily in her chest. For a moment, she had thought he knew that she was the new Keeper. “You stay away from Noah,” she warned him. “He is just a boy.”
“An immortal boy, by the sound of it.”
“Lady Hope?” Orrick entered the stable in his young form of Sir Rick. “I thought I heard you two arguing. Is anything the matter?” He strolled into the stable with a travel bag slung over his shoulder.
“Nay, everything is fine. Isn’t is, Lord Irwin?” she asked the man.
“Just fine,” he growled, pushing past Orrick on his way out, purposely knocking into him.
“What the hell,” growled Orrick, looking like he was going to fight the man.
“Orrick, let’s go,” she begged him.
“Orrick?” Lord Irwin turned to face him. “You’re somehow that old sorcerer, aren’t you?”
“Well, if I am, mayhap you’d better be warned. I might just turn you into a frog or perhaps a pillar of salt.”
“Let’s go,” said Hope, grabbing on to Orrick’s arm and pulling him toward the horse while Lord Irwin left the stable.
They rode together on the horse, Hope sitting in front of Orrick. His arms were wrapped around her, holding her securely atop the steed. She liked the feel of his body pressed up close to his. She also liked the fact he’d admitted to having feelings for her.
“Here’s where we stop,” he told her, reining in the horse next to a creek. The area in front of the water was covered with beautiful wildflowers on both banks. Just in front of the water were flat stones that were used for sitting on.
“This is lovely,” she said, settling on the rock and removing her shoes.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“I’m hot and want to dip my toes in the water.”
He chuckled when she placed her feet in the water, still clad in hose.
“What’s so funny?” she asked, leaning back and soaking up the sun.
“You are,” he said, pulling a bottle of wine from the travel bag along with some fruit tarts the size of her palm. He brought them over to the rocks, placing them down and settled himself next to her. “I’ve never seen anyone soak their feet with their hose still on.”
“Well, it wouldn’t be proper if I removed them,” she told him, feeling a flush rise to her face. “After all, I am a lady.”
“Of course,” he said. “And you are a very beautiful one at that.” He reached out and caressed the side of her cheek lightly. His touch sent a spiral of ecstasy through her. Being far away from the flame now, she knew the fe
eling wasn’t coming from magic or any dark lust hidden inside her depths. This was real. She was truly attracted to Orrick and she’d never felt this way about any man before.
Her eyes were closed when his lips settled against her mouth in a soft but sensuous kiss. She drank in the warm, exciting feeling. And when she opened her eyes, he was staring at her intensely, as if he could see into her very soul.
“What is it?” she asked him with a smile.
“I was just wondering.” He dropped his hand from her face and uncorked the bottle. “I told you I had feelings for you but I’m not sure if you have any for me.”
“I assure you I do, and they are real.”
“I like that,” he said, taking a swig of wine and handing her the bottle. “Have a drink.”
“I would enjoy it.” She drank right from the bottle. When she put it down, he was holding a peach tart up to her mouth.
“Take a bite, my lady. These are made from some of the finest peaches in all of Devonshire.”
“Oh, all of Devonshire,” she said with a giggle. “Not all of Christendom or all of England or perhaps the world?”
“Nay, just of Devonshire. Or mayhap I should say all of Steepleton since the peaches came from Lord Corbett’s orchard.”
They took turns feeding each other by hand which, to her, was a very erotic thing to do. And together they sipped at the wine, laughing and enjoying each other’s company. Then, when he got up and she thought he was ready to go, he held out his hand and surprised her.
“Let’s go back to my chamber,” he said.
“What?” she asked, taken aback, not sure what he meant.
“You said you wanted to make love to me and I was afraid to do it again. I was afraid that I might fall in love and, because of it, be hurt like I was so many years ago.”
“So, you want to make love to me, Orrick? Is that what you’re saying?”
“I do. If you want to make love to me. But I have to warn you that when I find the boy and collect the Eternal Flame again, I’m going to be immortal once again.”
“And what does that mean?” she asked him.
“It means I might end up with a broken heart again, but it is a chance I am willing to take. Because right now, I can’t think of never having made love to you again, when I knew you wanted me to.”
“I see,” she said, thinking that he’d never get the flame back from Noah, because the boy didn’t have it. She’d be the one who was immortal this time around. Instead of him falling in love and having his heart broken when he lived forever and she died, it would be her in that position. Could she handle it? She didn’t know. But one thing she did know was that if she turned Orrick down, he was never going to ask to couple with her again.
“Let’s go,” she said playfully, running for the horse. This was something she wanted more than anything in life, and she wasn’t afraid to do it. She wasn’t afraid because she had a feeling that she and Orrick would end up married before too long and that is exactly how she wanted it to be.
Chapter 17
Orrick carried Hope into his tower room, kissing her as he walked, not able to wait until they even got into the room. Something about the woman brought him to life. He loved the way she smiled and the way her eyes twinkled like stars when she became playful.
Kicking the door shut with his foot, he made his way over to the bed and deposited her atop it. After removing his weapon belt and boots, he ripped off his tunic and threw it to the floor.
“You look like a queen spread out across my bed,” he told her, drinking in her beauty.
“I feel like a queen in this elaborate bed.” She laughed and rolled around atop the bed that was big enough for two.
“I don’t usually let a lady lie on my bed with her shoes on, not to mention wet hose.”
“Then take them off for me,” she said, challenging him with a lusty smile.
“I think I will.” He removed each shoe and then reached under her gown, slowly sliding his hands up her legs. He rounded her thighs and untied the string at her waist, peeling back her wet hose, taking her braies with him at the same time. He purposely let his fingers graze over her womanly mound, rubbing against her silken curls along the way.
“You are taunting me, Orrick,” she whispered, her breathing becoming heavy. He felt a slickness between her thighs.
“I do this so seldom, that I don’t want to rush it,” he explained. “I want to enjoy every minute of it.” He tossed her undergarments to the floor and let his hands slide up her bare legs now.
“Oooh, I like that,” she said, spreading her legs for him as he got closer to the juncture of her thighs. With his hand cupping her most intimate spot, he leaned over her and kissed her neck, letting the kisses trail down to her cleavage.
“You smell like wildflowers,” he told her, sniffing her lightly and letting his tongue flick out to taste her skin. Ever so slowly, he untied the laces at her bodice and let his hand slip inside. “Does this please you, my lady?” he asked, rubbing his thumb over one nipple, making it go erect.
“My body speaks for itself,” she said, throwing back her head, but leaning back on her elbows.
Hope felt him flick his tongue across her taut nipple at the same time he slipped one finger between her womanly folds, being guided by her own liquid passion. It was intense in a good sort of way. She felt as if she were in ecstasy and he had yet to enter her with anything but his finger.
She cried out in passion when he used his fingers to arouse her in just the right way. “For not having done this in so long, it doesn’t seem as if you have forgotten how to please a lady,” she told him in a husky whisper.
“Well, it is the second time now in the last hundred years,” he said, pulling back, only to remove his trews and settling himself between her legs. He replaced his finger with his manhood and, before she knew it, they were making love again. But this time was different. Now they were in the comfort of his chamber atop a soft bed with the fire burning brightly in the hearth.
She felt evil when they finished and it wasn’t because she had acted like a harlot. It was the guilt of not telling him beforehand that she was the thief that stole his flame.
“That was unbelievable, Hope,” he said, laying next to her and kissing her once again. “I want you to know that without being tied to that blasted flame, I am starting to think I like it. Perhaps when I collect the flame from the boy, I can find another sorcerer who would be willing to take it. Or mayhap I can use my gazing crystal to find out the name of the person who is supposed to be Keeper right now. If I do, and if I can give away the flame, I want to marry you and have a family with you, Hope.”
“What?” she asked, sitting up on the bed, thinking she had heard him wrong. “You want to marry me?”
“I know you are betrothed to someone else, but I’m going to talk to your father and tell him how I feel about you. Perhaps he’ll let me marry you instead of giving you to Lord Irwin.”
“I – I would like that,” she admitted, feeing a warmth growing in her chest. “I want more than anything to be your wife and bear you many children.” But then her happiness was suddenly doused by a blanket of dread when she realized it wasn’t going to happen. “Orrick, I’m afraid I can’t.”
“You . . . can’t?” Orrick sat upright on the bed as well. “You mean you don’t want to?”
“Oh, nay, that’s not it at all. I do want it. Honest, I do.”
“Then why can’t you marry me and raise a family with me? Is it because you are afraid I won’t be able to give away the flame and that I’ll be immortal and you won’t? I’ll understand if it is, Hope. And I don’t expect you to agree to this crazy idea until I know for sure I can find the next Keeper of the Flame. But I cannot leave the flame in the hands of the boy. I won’t let him be hurt by the flame. He will not be able to handle the power and it will destroy him.”
Hope slid off the side of the bed, standing up and straightening her gown. Orrick got off the bed and donned
his trews as they spoke.
“I understand that, Orrick, and I don’t disagree with you at all. Noah shouldn’t have the flame. I’ve read the book and I understand that no one under the age of ten should ever possess it.”
“You what? How can you have read the book?” he asked.
“I admit, I got it from Noah. He wanted me to read it to him and I started to, but we never had the chance to finish.”
“How can you have read the book?” he asked again. “I had a spell on it. Only one with magic who reads the title aloud can break the spell so the words make sense. Hope, are you telling me that you have magic?”
“I – I don’t think so,” she said, knowing that as long as she was Keeper of the Flame, she had more magic than anyone. “Orrick, I want to be able to have babies with you.”
“Are you telling me you are barren?”
“Nay. Not that I know of. I’m just saying . . . I don’t want anything to stop me from having children.”
“Hope, you are not making any sense.” Frustration showed on his face.
She could see his aggravation as he donned his tunic with more force than was needed. If she didn’t explain herself soon, this magical moment was going to end up ruined. Hope wasn’t sure how angry with her he’d be when she told him the news, but she could no longer keep it from him. Not when he thought Noah stole the flame and the poor boy was going to take the brunt of her action.
“What I’m trying to tell you is that Noah didn’t steal the flame.”
“How would you know that?” He looked at her, furrowing his brow.
“I know because I was right here in the room when it was taken from the hearth.”
“You know where I hid it?”
“I do. I know because I accidentally took it when I lit the candle from the fire at the hearth.”
“God’s eyes, Hope! Are you telling me that you are the Keeper of the Flame?”
She bit her lip and nodded slightly, waiting for him to explode. But instead of being angry, he smiled.
“Orrick?” she asked, not sure what he was doing when he came toward her like a lion stalking its prey. “Orrick, are you angry with me?”
Keeper of the Flame: Second in Command Series - Orrick Page 16