The hunger that he remembered so well—even from the first time in her father’s garden—was still there. He felt the pressure of her hips arching against him, begging for his love. He slid her gown down further and pulled back so that he could stare at her naked beauty. He knew now that he could indeed put his hands around her slender waist, and the tininess of it emphasized the alluring fullness of her hips, the hip bones jutting out slightly. She parted her legs as he touched the dark curls between them. There was soft fleshiness there in the soft V between her legs, an arrow pointing the way to even greater softness and delight.
Maelgwn braced his hands on her thighs and spread her legs even further apart, and then he glanced up at Aurora’s face. Aye, it was all there, the beguiling beauty and mystery he had first beheld in her father’s feasting hall. Aurora’s blue eyes were both misty and bright with desire, the exotic lines of her cheeks quivered with rapt intensity, and her full lips were ripe and swollen with passion. Aurora sighed with impatience, and Maelgwn turned again to the pleasures his mouth knew how to give a woman.
Salty, sour sweet—like tears or the sea—or did she remind him of the dark wet forest, a scent both musky and wild. His tongue dove into her, feeling the quiver of life inside of her, feeling her firm, slender thighs push hard against him, and pushing back with his strong hands, feeling the spasm of release shooting down her whole body. Her voice rose in harsh whispers of pleasure, and then primitive cries and finally wordless, sighing screams.
At last she collapsed against him, and he pulled himself over her. Had he already worn her out? No, her cheeks were fiery with passion, and she moaned intelligibly, as she pulled his body to her own. It had been so long—he had almost forgotten the luxurious snug embrace of her body tight around him. He coaxed her to accept more of him, more and more, until he was buried to the hilt, her long legs tight around him, her nails silencing her screams, in his skin. He had forgotten, too, the breathless powerful creature they made together—a seething monster that shook them both with agonies of pleasure, rocking and roaming over the oceans and mountains, the clouds and the heavens—over everything.
It was over too soon. He held her tight, reluctant to pull away even as he felt himself shriveling inside her. Finally, he adjusted his body slightly so that her lovely face was cradled in the space between his chest and shoulder. He could feel her heart still pounding, and he could not resist one last delicious tug on a rosy nipple. Now, he thought, now he should tell her that he loved her.
There was a knock on the door. Maelgwn swore and threw the blanket hastily over them.
“Come in.”
Gwenaseth and Torawc walked into the room together. At first, they both gaped with surprise, then Gwenaseth broke into a radiant smile while Torawc advanced to the bed with a scowl.
“Maelgwn! What are you thinking of? She needs her rest!”
Maelgwn could not help smiling mischievously. “I am a man going off to war—you would not deny me this. I might be dead on the morrow, and I need to make sure I beget an heir before I go.”
“Dead! ‘Tis more likely you will kill your poor wife with your coarse attentions—why her face is bright with fever!”
“That is hardly a fever that inflames her lovely face,” Maelgwn said smugly. He got out of bed with an abrupt movement, forcing Gwenaseth to turn away in embarrassment while he dressed. Then he turned back to Aurora. He did not want to say good-bye this way—there was so much left unsaid.
“I’d better make sure everything is ready to leave tomorrow.”
“Will you come up here to sleep tonight?”
Maelgwn looked at Torawc’s stern, disapproving face. Perhaps the bard was right—he should be careful not to tire her.
“It will be late, and I hate to risk disturbing you... but I will try,” he finally said before he kissed her lightly and left the room.
Aurora spent a miserable night. Torawc said that it was important that she begin to sleep without the sleeping potion, but her head still ached unbearably and her dreams were confused and frightening. She woke several times and reached out for Maelgwn, but he was not there. She finally slept peacefully near morning, and when she awoke, she could tell by the light that it was late. Maelgwn and his army were gone.
Gwenaseth came in to bring her breakfast and help her to the chamber pot. Aurora was surprised to see that her face was streaked with tears.
“What is wrong, Gwenaseth?”
Gwenaseth sniffed and wiped her nose. “I had my first fight with Elwyn.”
“I am sorry,” Aurora said sympathetically. “What was it about?”
“He wanted to go with Maelgwn, and I wouldn’t let him.”
Aurora nodded. If she could have stopped Maelgwn from going, she would have.
“I can’t believe the things he said to me,” Gwenaseth continued angrily. “He said I treat him like a little boy and not a man. He even brought up my father—saying that the two of us act like he is a pet dog whose purpose in life is to keep me content!”
Aurora could not help smiling weakly at Gwenaseth’s indignation. In her sweet way Gwenaseth was always ordering Elwyn around.
“So, Elwyn wanted to go and fight the Picts?”
“Aye, he said he is a soldier, and he ought to be going with Maelgwn.”
“Perhaps there is some truth to his words,” Aurora suggested gently.
“But we need him here! Our house is not even finished and winter is coming. Besides, who else will guard us while Maelgwn’s army is gone?”
“Please don’t be angry with Elwyn,” Aurora pleaded. “I don’t want to see the two of you fight. I want someone to be happy in their marriage.”
Gwenaseth looked surprised. “I thought when we found you and Maelgwn together yesterday... that you had... that everything was all right.”
Aurora looked uncomfortable. “Oh, Gwenaseth, it is just the same as it always was. In bed, aye, then everything is all right. But the minute he gets out of bed, he is a stranger again. You saw how he mocked my desire for him in front of Torawc. And now he has gone to Manau Gotodin—knowing how I feel about Cunedda, knowing that I am so afraid for him.”
Gwenaseth watched the queen carefully. She was sitting up in bed, and in her excitement, her face looked flushed and almost healthy. Perhaps it was time she knew the truth.
“Aurora, I think I know why Maelgwn may be acting so strangely,” she began.
“When you were first brought to the tower room after your injury, Maelgwn did not leave your side. I gave him some drugged wine to make him rest, and Balyn and I made him a bed on the floor. During the night you called out in your sleep. You were very frightened—you were calling out in terror. You woke Maelgwn.”
“I don’t understand. What does this have to do with anything?”
“Because in your fear, you kept calling out a name—you kept calling out for someone named Marcus.”
Aurora turned pale again. “I did that? I called for Marcus?”
“Aye, and not just once or twice, but over and over.”
Aurora’s eyes were wide with fear. “What did Maelgwn do?”
“He asked me who Marcus was, and I told him that I thought that it was someone you knew in Viroconium.”
Aurora sighed. “So he thinks...” She sighed again and raised her hands to her face.
“It is not so bad as that,” Gwenaseth said consolingly. “He was hurt that you called for someone besides him, but he must surely understand that you might have had feelings for another man before him.”
“But he is so jealous!” Aurora said wretchedly. “He has always been afraid I loved someone besides him. Now he is gone, and there is no way I can prove to him that there is no one else!”
Chapter 28
Maelgwn and Cunedda looked at each other wearily across the sputtering fire. It had rained almost constantly the last few days and now it was starting again.
“I wish they’d stand and fight like men instead of cowardly dogs,” Cunedda said
angrily. “But that is the way of the Picts—move in quickly and quietly to kill and burn and then sneak away into the shadows.”
Maelgwn shook his head. “My army has been here for almost a week, and we haven’t even seen the enemy. Are you sure they’re still within your lands?”
“Aye,” Cunedda answered in frustration. “How do you explain the cattle bodies we have found burned, the slaughtered people? Who else could it be besides the Picts.”
“I don’t like it,” Maelgwn muttered. “There is never enough damage done to leave a clear path for the enemy. How many are there? Where are they?”
“It is almost as though someone wanted to keep us here, but avoid fighting,” Balyn said thoughtfully.
Maelgwn and Cunedda both looked at him sharply. His words expressed their own thoughts, although they dared not say it. Were they being led into a trap?
“It would not be so bad if Ferdic did not have half my army on the northern border,” Cunedda mused. “This kind of warfare makes me nervous—to have my forces split and my people unprotected.”
“Why did Ferdic go north when the problems seemed to be here in the south?” Maelgwn asked.
Cunedda shrugged. “He thought he could head off the Pictish armies there. He’s such a headstrong boy, that one. There’s no arguing with him when he makes up his mind.”
Both men were thoughtful for a time. Maelgwn could not help wondering if Ferdic was unwilling to fight beside him after the incident with Aurora and the trophy head. It seemed unwise of Cunedda to give his son half his army. It made Cunedda entirely too dependent on Maelgwn’s help.
Maelgwn stood up impatiently and flexed his legs. “I’m sorry, Cunedda, but I cannot stay and help you indefinitely.” He pulled up the hood of his cloak. “I have my own lands to look after, my own worries.”
Cunedda nodded. “Give me a week, Maelgwn. We’ll cover one end of my lands to the other. We’ll find those cowardly bastards and wipe them out once and for all.”
Aurora put down her sewing and fidgeted. Forced inactivity was wearing on her nerves. Torawc did not think it wise for her to go riding or even walk much yet, and she was compelled to spend her time in the womanly crafts of sewing and spinning. Out of boredom and loneliness she had finally joined the other women in the great hall. They seemed to be growing used to her presence.
They carried on with their gossip as though she were one of them.
“Ohhhh!” Leian cried. Her baby was due in a fortnight, and it appeared to be a ferocious kicker.
“I’ll bet it’s a boy,” said Wydian, Evrawc’s wife. “Only a boy would make his mother so miserable.”
“Actually, my daughters were harder,” said Sewan. “I was so sick with them I wished I could die the whole time I was pregnant.”
“If men had to have babies, they’d not be so anxious to get us in bed,” observed Marna.
“Aye, it seems to be all they think of when they are home,” said Sewan. “I am almost glad when they go off on campaign, and I can finally get some rest!”
“I don’t put up with it anymore,” retorted Wydian. “I told my husband to go see the village harlot if that was all he wanted.”
The woman glanced uneasily at Aurora, and a few suppressed a giggle. The rumor that Maelgwn had shared Morganna’s bed this summer was still going around.
“How can you say such a thing to your husband?” Gwenaseth protested. “It’s your wifely duty to fulfill your husband’s needs.”
“Why should I?” asked Wydian coldly. “I have all the children I want, and Evrawc never pleased me all that much anyway.”
“Now, Wydian,” Sewan scolded gently. “You should not be saying these things to a newlywed like Gwenaseth. I imagine she is still very much in love with her husband.”
“Perhaps it is easy to desire your husband when he is handsome and sweet like Elwyn,” Wydian said sourly. “But he may not always seem so agreeable.”
“Aye, Elwyn is nice-looking,” Mama said with a smile at Gwenaseth. “Next to the king, I think he is the handsomest man at Caer Eryri.”
At the mention of the king, old Browdan roused herself out of her doze to join the conversation. “Few men are as fair as the king,” she said with a nostalgic smile. “Maelgwn has his mother’s looks, you know. His father, Cadwallon, was as plain as an old ox—a big nose and not much hair. Maelgwn and Esylt both take after Rhiannon. What a beauty she was—raven black hair, deep blue eyes and skin like pure cream. But she was as evil as she was beautiful.”
Aurora stopped her fidgeting and listened intently. She had never heard anyone at Caer Eryri speak of Maelgwn’s mother before.
“Setting her sons at each other’s throats like that...” Browdan continued with a frown. “Anyone could see that it would turn out as it did—with the strongest one winning and the rest dead.”
“Why would a mother do that?” asked Gwenaseth.
The old woman shrugged and her cloudy eyes looked unseeingly at the younger woman. “I said she was evil. She wanted things it’s not fitting for a woman to want-power and a say in men’s affairs. I guess she thought that if she found the strongest of her sons, he would give her that.”
“Maelgwn is not much like her, is he?” Wydian observed acidly. “He is far from ruthless. I’ve heard even Evrawc say that Maelgwn was too weak and conciliatory with Constantine. He demanded only modest tribute—grain, wine, foodstuffs and craftsmen—he left behind the gold and jewels we could all be enjoying.”
The women in the large room held their breath, glancing at Aurora nervously. Wydian was clearly baiting the queen, challenging her to take sides against either Maelgwn or her own people.
Aurora concentrated on the needlework in her lap, trying to ignore Wydian’s provoking words. But it was too much for Gwenaseth.
“How dare you say such things about Maelgwn!” Gwenaseth said in an enraged voice, standing up abruptly. “In making the agreement that he did, Maelgwn sought a lasting peace that would benefit all the people of Gwynedd.” She fixed the other women in the room with a scornful gaze. “Or would you rather have piles of jewels to wear around your necks and wrists and then lose your husbands in war when Constantine seeks revenge?”
Wydian’s eyes narrowed, and she swept Gwenaseth’s small frame with a cold, withering glance. “I’ve heard that Constantine plans to seek revenge anyway. When he joins forces with Gwyrtheyrn and invades Gwynedd, we will all suffer because of Maelgwn’s weakness. He should have crushed Constantine while he had the chance!”
The room was silent as the women looked at each other uneasily. This had gone beyond gossip or mere cattiness toward the queen. They were talking of things in the men’s domain—the problems of alliances, warfare and treachery. None of them really understood it, nor did they want to.
Sewan rose from her seat by the fire. “I must go and call the boys for supper. I have had enough of sewing for today.”
One by one, the women followed after Sewan. At last there was no one left in the hall except Gwenaseth and Aurora.
“They’re not all like her,” Gwenaseth said softly, coming to stand beside the queen. “The women have begun to respect you, and I know many of them were very concerned when you were so ill. It is only Wydian who is so hateful. Now you know why Evrawc always looks so sour-faced and miserable,” she added with an uncomfortable laugh.
Aurora looked up; her eyes were distant and troubled. “Where did Wydian get her information regarding my father’s plans? Why would she think Constantine was going to betray Maelgwn?”
“She must have overheard something,” Gwenaseth answered with a shrug. “She might even have started the rumor herself just to make trouble for you.”
“No, I don’t think so,” Aurora answered. “Wydian isn’t clever enough to think of something like that. She must have heard one of the soldiers talking—but who? Evrawc does not seem like the kind of man who would share his doubts about an ally with his wife. There is something wrong here, Gwenaseth, and it scares me
. I think I should speak to Elwyn.”
“All right,” Gwenaseth said quietly. “I’ll find him for you. Maybe you should talk to him. Revenge and betrayal...” She shuddered. “These are things for men to worry about.”
Elwyn met Aurora in the tower room. “My lady,” he said simply. “I’m at your service.”
“Sit down,” Aurora remained standing, pacing slightly. Elwyn thought she had never looked more beautiful, more queenly.
“I have something to tell you that may be nothing more than idle gossip, or it may mean grave danger for all of us.”
“Aye, my lady,” Elwyn answered, sitting up stiffly.
“Have you heard that my father has joined forces with Gwyrtheyrn and plans to betray Maelgwn?”
“Who told you that?”
“Wydian—she told not just me, but the whole hall of women.”
“Wydian? How would she know Constantine’s plans?”
“How indeed?” asked Aurora in agitation. “It makes no sense. Wydian is no different than most of the other women; she normally pays little mind to politics and war—unless it is to make sure she gets her share of the booty and plunder. She could not come up with this by herself. She had to have overheard it.”
“It is possible that Evrawc said something to her? He was always convinced that Maelgwn was too soft on your father. Perhaps in a mood of frustration, he accused Constantine of disloyalty.”
“Perhaps,” Aurora said slowly. “But I don’t think so. Evrawc might have criticized Maelgwn to the other men, but not to his wife. Did you know that she no longer allows him to share her bed? Aye, she told a whole group of women that. I don’t think that Evrawc would trust a woman who brags so openly of her rejection of him.”
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