Kohl, Candice - A Twist in Time.txt

by A Twist in Time. txt (lit)

  said, “a gently born lady,” but caught himself. “—Unwed,

  then I shall ask Sir Peter for your hand.”

  Judith’s eyes narrowed. “You’re saying you want to

  marry me?”

  It took him a moment to try to form his reply. He did

  want to marry her, he already knew that. But he’d asked

  a woman to marry him before, and though Chandra had

  agreed, she’d run off and wed another man. It was not

  so easy for Andrew to propose marriage again.

  “You take a lot for granted, pal,” Judith sneered, and

  he knew he’d fueled her ire by hesitating overlong. “Fact

  is, I don’t want to marry you,” she added before throwing

  herself back against her pillows and drawing the covers

  up to her chin.

  She had closed the conversation and dismissed him.

  But he didn’t leave. He stood, insisting, “Judith, you

  must come with me.”

  “No. I’m a little slow, but I finally figured it out. When

  you thought I was nobody, you wanted to jump my bones.

  But then you got to thinking maybe I was somebody,

  and it wouldn’t be right to have an affair with a

  noblewoman, especially one who could have a husband

  somewhere. Now you want to find out, one way or the

  other, because you’ve decided to marry me so your best

  friend can’t. This isn’t about me. It’s about your rivalry

  with Philip. But you can forget it, mister. Marry you—

  ha! Whether I’m related to one of those farmers in town

  or I’m King John’s niece, you’re never ever getting into

  bed with me.” She gave him a narrow, steely glare. “Get

  out, Andrew. I’m not going anywhere, most assuredly

  not with you!”

  He had tried to do the honorable thing, and now the

  wench turned on him. “You’re going,” he ground out,

  grabbing Judith’s wrist.

  “No.”

  “Aye!”

  “Why?” She wailed her short query plaintively. “We

  could have had a wonderful time together, no

  complications, no strings. Why did you have to go and

  ruin it, Andrew?”

  “Because we must both know your kin and your

  circumstances, Judith. Without a history, there can be

  no future. And I want a future—with you.”

  He finally brought her to silence. Judith stared at

  him with wide, green eyes shimmering with tears. When

  she blinked, one drop trickled from each eye, wetting

  her cheeks.

  He wanted to brush the dampness off her skin, but

  instead he strode to the door. “We shall leave on the

  morn,” he advised, his words clipped. “Pack what

  belongings you will, but be prepared to depart after

  sunrise.”

  ***

  As soon as he’d gone, Judy brought her hands to her

  face, pressing them against her eyes to thwart the

  deluge of tears. She had never been so humiliated in

  her life! Never before had she openly invited a man into

  her bed. Finally she’d risked making the overture,

  confident that Andrew desired her, and he had refused.

  Why? Because he wanted to marry her! Dear God,

  everything was so crazy in this world. Here, if a guy

  didn’t give a damn about a girl, he was hot to get her

  between the sheets. But if he cared for her, loved her,

  then he wouldn’t touch her...until she proved she was

  worthy of wife- and motherhood.

  Well, she wasn’t worthy, not by Philip and Andrew’s

  standards, so they could both just drop dead. She didn’t

  need either of them. Judy Lambini wasn’t going to York,

  not now, not tomorrow. She was going home—home!—to

  New York. And when she left, she wouldn’t be taking

  any irrational, impossible, medieval knight with her.

  No sireee.

  ***

  Judy didn’t know what to pack, but she had to pack.

  Andrew had left her no choice. Besides, she consoled

  herself, it would kill some time until the next Samhain.

  After wrapping one of Andrew’s sister’s gowns around

  her nylon tote, Judy tied her bundle with a length of

  cord. Then, making sure she was put together, from

  her sweater to her leggings to her boots, she stomped

  down the stairs carrying her belongings over her

  shoulder like Santa did his sack of toys.

  Andrew awaited her in the bailey. “Did you eat?” he

  asked solicitously, taking her bundle and securing it

  behind the saddle of a small horse that stood near his

  stallion, Zeus.

  “Yeah,” she replied, lying through her teeth. She’d

  had no appetite this morning. She didn’t think she’d

  ever feel like eating again.

  “Good. You need to keep up your strength.” Andrew

  gestured toward the smaller horse. “Are you going to

  mount your palfrey?”

  “My what?”

  “Your palfrey, milady. The little mare.”

  “Oh. Sure.” Taking her time and playing for more,

  Judy walked all the way around the spotted gray beast.

  Once. And once again. With her limited equestrian

  experience confined to pony rides as a youngster, she

  searched her brain for any knowledge that would help

  her now. Suddenly, she recalled a useful bit of

  information: A rider mounted from the left. She stopped

  beside the animal’s left flank and gazed at the beast. It

  didn’t matter that the mare looked a great deal smaller

  than Andrew’s stallion, the horse still seemed damned

  tall.

  “Is there a problem?” Andrew asked.

  Judy snapped her head toward him. “No,” she said,

  lying again. “I was just going to the proper side to climb

  up.”

  “There is no proper side, Judith. Left or right will

  do.”

  “Oh.” That was news, she thought as she considered

  the stirrup. The darned thing came only to the middle

  of her chest. How would she get her foot into it? She

  wasn’t a contortionist, after all.

  “Oh!” she yelped as Andrew solved her dilemma

  without discussion. Grabbing her from behind, he tossed

  her into the saddle. Judy thought he squeezed her rump

  a little harder than he needed to as well, but she didn’t

  comment. In truth, she felt relieved to have gotten onto

  the animal without incident.

  “You do know how to ride, do you not?” Andrew

  inquired, climbing up onto his own horse.

  “Do ladies know how to ride?” she shot back.

  “I’ve ne’er known one who doesn’t.”

  “Then I know how to ride.” Lie number three.

  “If you’re ready, let us be off.” Without waiting for

  her response, Andrew spurred his stallion so that the

  huge beast lunged toward the gate at a brisk canter.

  Judy was not ready. For a brief moment, she

  wondered how to steer her horse to make the animal go

  where she needed her to go. But the mare took off on

  her own, mimicking the bigger animal’s gait by lunging

  into a high-stepping canter. Judy squealed, wrapped the

  reins around one fist and grabbed the palfrey’s m
ane

  with the other.

  Andrew understood immediately that Judith did not

  know how to ride—her inexperience was obvious. But

  despite the tension between them born of bruised

  feelings and incipient anger, he could do naught but

  admire her. Amazingly, the wench managed, by

  perverse determination alone, to stay astride her

  palfrey—though she did bounce riotously, her delicious

  derriere jiggling tantalizingly in the saddle. Why, he

  wondered, had she chosen to wear chausses and not a

  lady’s gown? God’s teeth! He didn’t think he could endure

  the whole journey with Judith displaying herself in such

  an alluring fashion. His cock had been turgid since

  they’d ridden out of the bailey—he might injure himself

  if the swelling did not go down.

  To help quell his lust, he pushed well ahead of

  Judith. The road that meandered through the forest

  covering most all of England fairly disappeared beyond

  this point, and he needed to watch where he led her.

  Even more, he needed to keep Judith out of his direct

  line of sight.

  ***

  Andrew didn’t hear her. During many hours of

  pushing forward, riding hard miles, he had been

  absorbed in thought, worrying that he’d left Laycock Keep

  without a lord in residence. As well, he had fretted over

  what would happen when they reached their

  destination. Only belatedly did he realize that Judith’s

  palfrey’s footfalls no longer echoed his own steed’s.

  Turning quickly in his saddle, his heart stopped cold

  when he discovered Judith nowhere behind him.

  “Judith!” he shouted as he reined Zeus around and

  headed back along the narrow, trampled track that lay

  dark beneath the leafy canopy. “Judith!” he shouted

  again, kicking the stallion into a run.

  The trail wended among the trees. Ducking and

  dodging branches as he raced along, Andrew’s heart and

  the stallion’s hooves pounded in syncopation. Beyond

  every bend, he expected to see her; when he did not, he

  spurred Zeus harder. Finally, coming around still

  another turn, he spied her. Pulling hard on his reins,

  he halted his warhorse before the animal careened into

  the palfrey and sent Judith flying out of her saddle. As

  it was, she appeared almost boneless, slumped in her

  seat with her chin on her chest while the mare

  munched grass sprouting among the ferns.

  “Judith? Judith, you’re not falling ill again, are you?”

  he asked, fearing the worst. She looked quite pale.

  Andrew knew he should not have pushed her so hard.

  “No,” she replied curtly as her head came up. Her

  eyes met his, and she pursed her lips. “I just needed to

  rest. I asked you to stop, but you didn’t even slow down.”

  “Forgive me. I didn’t hear you.”

  “I’ll bet.”

  She remained angry with him, yet Andrew felt so

  relieved at finding her whole and well after fearing he’d

  lost her, he refused to return her disdain. Leaping down

  from his saddle, he reached a hand up to her and urged,

  “Come down, then. ’Tis almost midday. We can have a

  bite to eat.”

  “It’s not even noon?” Judith wailed plaintively. “My

  God, I thought we’d been riding for ten or twelve hours

  already.”

  “’Tis difficult to see the sun, but it remains directly

  overhead.”

  “I believe you.” She reached for him, but instead of

  merely using his hand to assist in her dismount, she

  collapsed, sagging toward him. Andrew caught her and

  hugged her to him.

  She slid down his length until her feet reached the

  ground. Gazing at her upturned face, he realized how

  very much her short hair suited her. Even the dual hues

  of those shaggy tendrils framing her features seemed

  natural and most becoming. And those eyes peeking up

  at him through that thick fan of lashes, sea green and

  sparkling, like sunlight glinting off the waves...

  He fought a tremendous impulse to lean forward and

  kiss Judith’s suddenly yielding lips. He feared losing all

  restraint if he touched his mouth to hers. He did not

  wish to compromise her, not until he knew for certain

  he could call her his forever.

  Yet—oh, Jesu, what was this? She leaned closer to

  him, pressing her thighs against his legs, her breasts

  against his chest. They were so near in height, it

  seemed all their parts meshed perfectly. And no longer

  did she offer her lips to him. Instead, she had fastened

  them to the hollow of his neck as she rested her head

  on his shoulder. He felt their heat as Judith moved

  slightly, leaving a fiery trail across his throat, up the

  underside of his chin, and then farther, along the line

  of his jaw.

  “What...are you doing?” he managed gruffly, holding

  his limbs stiff and unresponsive though he knew his

  cock had gone stiff in a very spirited response to Judith’s

  ardent attentions.

  “What?” she mumbled, her reply muffled because

  she didn’t pull away. She’d become preoccupied thinking

  about how good it felt to be in Andrew’s arms again. His

  embrace was strong but gentle, not hard and painful, as

  everything about that crummy horse seemed to be.

  Besides, despite her justified anger, she had missed

  his arms around her. Now that they encircled her again,

  she felt as though she was where she belonged.

  “I thought we had agreed to restrain ourselves until

  we’ve met with your father,” Andrew recalled.

  “Oh. Oh!” With a gasp, she belatedly realized where

  she was, what she’d been doing. Embarrassed and irate,

  she stumbled backward into the mare standing behind

  her. She knew her cheeks flushed hotly, so she covered

  her face with one hand before turning aside. “I—I felt

  faint,” she said, deciding she wasn’t lying outright. “I’m

  not myself today. I’m hungry and tired, and a little light-

  headed.”

  She attempted to stride off, but her knees buckled.

  As she wondered if she’d ever walk straight again, she

  felt Andrew catch her and lift her into his arms. Then

  he carried her to a nearby tree. After putting her down

  beside it so that she could use the wide, sturdy trunk to

  rest her back, he said, “I’ll get us some food.”

  Judy felt just as relieved when Andrew busied

  himself elsewhere for a minute or two. She’d been so

  furious with him, so hurt! If he’d been a man of her own

  time, in her old life, she would never have returned his

  phone calls. Conversely, she’d have gladly returned any

  tokens of apology, whether candy, flowers or jewelry. But

  Andrew hadn’t apologized. He had dragged her off on this

  trip despite her protests and for the last several hours,

  he’d put her through the tortures of the damned. But

  did she have any pride? No way. The second he had her

  in his arms,
she kissed him!

  There had to be some reason Judy Lambini, modern

  day woman, couldn’t stay mad at Andrew Laycock. Once

  she was back in her Manhattan apartment, Judy

  intended to figure out why. Until then, she would just

  keep her distance.

  By the time Andrew returned to Judith with a small

  bundle of victuals, he had regained his composure. He

  doled out the food and then offered her a sip from his

  wine skin.

  “No.” She refused adamantly.

  “Nay? But you must drink as well as eat, especially

  when you’re traveling. Already, the morning’s ride has

  wearied you.”

  “No,” she insisted, turning her head aside and

  chewing her bread as though it were leather.

  Andrew sat back on his haunches and studied her.

  “Why not?”

  “Because I’m afraid I’ll—“ Judy broke off her

  explanation. After a moment’s hesitation, she decided

  honesty couldn’t wound her pride any more than her

  heart had already been mangled. She admitted, “I’m

  afraid I’ll fall asleep in the saddle. In case you didn’t

  notice, I really don’t ride all that well. I have enough

  trouble staying seated when I’m conscious. If I dozed

  off, I’d probably do a nose dive.”

  Another of her silly, incomprehensible phrases,

  Andrew realized. “A nose dive?” he repeated.

  “I’d fall off the palfrey head first.”

  “Ah.”

  Judith eyed him warily. “Go ahead,” she urged with

  a gesture. “Make a joke or something. A lady who can’t

  ride, imagine that. I really don’t care what you think

  anymore.”

  She did care, that was obvious. So Andrew decided

  to be gallant rather than truthful and said graciously, “I

  confess I didn’t notice that your riding skills were

  lacking.”

  “Really?” Judith sounded dubious as she watched

  him through narrowed eyes.

  “Aye. But if you wish, as we continue, I can instruct

  you. It may give you more confidence.”

  “Thanks, but there’s no point. I doubt I’ll be doing

  much riding in the future.”

  “Truly? Why not?”

  “Because...peasants don’t own horses.” She

  challenged him with her gaze.

  Andrew refused to pick up the gauntlet. He would

  not fight with her now. But he noticed that after she

  swallowed her bread, it seemed to stick in her throat.