Timestruck

by Speer, Flora

  “You’ve been arranging my life behind my back!” Gina cried.

  “I have been doing what any loving foster parent would do,” Lady Adalhaid replied, unruffled by the accusation. “I perceive that you are frightened about the future. It’s natural, you know. Any bride who’s not a half-wit is worried on her wedding day, and to learn on the same day that you are to have a child must be somewhat disturbing.”

  “That’s putting it mildly,” Gina said, horrified by the possibility that she might be returned to the twentieth century while pregnant, leaving Dominick to wonder forever about the gender and the well-being of their child, and leaving her far from his love and tender support.

  “You do want to marry Dominick, don’t you?” Lady Adalhaid began to look worried. “I’m sure I am not mistaken in thinking you love him.”

  “I love him with all my heart and soul.” It was a simple statement of truth that put the uncertain future into perspective. “I want to marry Dominick and live with him for the rest of my life.”

  “Well, then, we ought to start for the palace before he begins to think you’ve run away and deserted him,” Lady Adalhaid said, teasing. “He would come after you, you know.”

  “I know,” Gina said, love and hope and fear all mingling together in her heart. “If it were possible to follow me to the end of time, Dominick would.”

  * * *

  Gina did like the simplicity of a Frankish wedding. In the presence of Charles and his courtiers, but with Fastrada absent, Alcuin read out the terms of their marriage contract. Gina’s dowry of Vincona in Lombardy was given to Dominick to administer for her. Since he held only Feldbruck, having no lesser properties to bestow on her as a marriage gift, the contract stated that, in the event of Dominick’s death without heirs of his body, Vincona would become Gina’s property, to do with as she wished, so she would not be destitute when Feldbruck was returned to Charles to give to a new count.

  After they both agreed to the terms, Dominick slid onto Gina’s finger a simple gold band into which a green stone was deeply set. The top of the stone was rounded, and it shone with a soft glow. Gina couldn’t tell whether it was an emerald or some other kind of gem. It didn’t matter. She touched the ring and looked into Dominick’s eyes and blinked away tears of happiness.

  As soon as all the copies of the contract were signed and witnessed, the entire court went to morning prayers at St. Peter’s. Gina was pleased to see Deacon Fardulf, Brother Anselm, and his two assistants among the attending clergymen. All four of them congratulated Dominick and Gina after the service and after Father Theodulf had formally blessed the union.

  “All that’s left is to say good-bye!” exclaimed Lady Adalhaid, laughing and crying at the same time as she embraced Dominick. “I will see you again in January,” she whispered into Gina’s ear.

  “I hope so, dear friend,” Gina responded.

  “Dominick,” Charles said as they all stood on the church steps, waiting for the king to depart so they could leave without being disrespectful, “my wedding gift to you is temporary remission of your military service to me. You will require time to recover from your recent wounds and also to put the estate at Vincona into order. Nor would I deprive a new bride of her husband’s company. I will see you at the Mayfield next spring. You will receive the usual notice of when and where it’s to be held and how many fighting men you are to bring with you. Lady Gina, you are always welcome to join the other ladies who attend the Mayfield assembly with their husbands.”

  Charles clasped Dominick’s hand and kissed Gina on both cheeks. Then he was gone, mounted on his favorite steed and riding out of Regensburg surrounded by his loyal nobles and their ladies. He was so tall that Gina could easily distinguish him in the crowd.

  * * *

  Dominick latched the bedchamber door and turned toward his new wife, noting the nervousness she could not conceal. Gina was behaving like a skittish virgin. He couldn’t understand it; he was sure he had banished the last of her qualms about the act of love some time ago, and they had settled the final differences between them on the previous day. Perhaps there was another reason.

  “I am completely restored to health,” he said.

  “I know.” She backed away from him. “The room looks nice.”

  “It’s lovely.” He made a quick assessment of the clean sheets, neatly turned down and awaiting them, and of the large pitcher crammed full of flowers that sat atop his clothing chest.

  “The servants were considerate to leave us alone,” Gina said.

  “I suggested it.” He took another step forward.

  “I didn’t know.” Gina took another step backward.

  “Enough, Gina.” He caught her by the shoulders. “I did not come to my own bedchamber to stalk quarry. What’s wrong?”

  “Can’t a girl be nervous on her wedding night?”

  “It’s midday, and we have done this before, several times. Though, I grant you, there is a special solemnity to this occasion.” He wished he were capable of understanding a woman’s mind. He knew of no man who could. Gina was a greater mystery than most women. From the first moment he’d seen her, she had baffled and intrigued him. He was sure she was hiding something from him now, though he couldn’t think what it might be. She had told him everything about her past, and he knew she was completely honest.

  “We have the rest of our lives to learn to know each other,” he murmured, as if to convince himself.

  “If we’re lucky,” she said. Then she rephrased the thought. “If heaven wills it.”

  “Surely heaven will not take you from me now.” Dominick knew he couldn’t wait much longer to possess her. More than a month of abstinence was too long for any man to endure, especially a man who knew what joys awaited him in Gina’s embrace. Fire surged through his veins.

  “Wife,” he said, “my beloved wife,” and he bent to taste her lips.

  “There is something I ought to tell you,” she said, sounding uncertain.

  “I want to know, but later. Let it wait.” He silenced her attempt to speak again by claiming her mouth, and by moving closer, so she could feel his arousal. To his surprise, she actually resisted for a moment. But then she surrendered, melting against him, and his heart beat harder in triumph. Her mouth opened to his pressure, and Dominick let his tongue surge into her, establishing a rhythm he would very soon continue with another eager part of himself that was already throbbing insistently.

  For him, it had been this way since the day Gina fell into his bed at Feldbruck. He remembered waking, sure that he was being attacked, and tossing her onto her back to hold her down. Even then, his body had instantaneously reacted to her. Even then, when he’d thought she was an enemy, a spy for the queen, he couldn’t resist her. Now that he knew her better, Gina’s allure was increased tenfold.

  She was clinging to him, sighing softly, her green eyes shining with moisture.

  “Gina? Why are you crying?”

  “Because it hurts to love this much,” she whispered. “Whatever happens, wherever I am, I will always love you. But, Dominick—”

  “Hush. You are going to stay with me.” He couldn’t bear to think she wouldn’t.

  “I wish I could be so certain,” she said.

  Dominick kissed her again, to reassure her and himself.

  Slowly they undressed each other. When she stood naked before him, Dominick smiled in appreciation of her womanly beauty. She had gained weight since coming to Francia. No one could call her sickly or ill-nourished now. Her arms and legs were gracefully rounded, and her breasts were fuller than when he had first known her. She was everything a man could desire in a woman. But most of all he loved her independent spirit that was bold enough to challenge a king, and her unique way of looking at life.

  While he was gazing at her in rapt enjoyment, Gina had been assessing him. She ran her hands along his shoulders, feeling the newly hard muscles of his upper arms.

  “You do appear to be almost completely recovered
,” she said, her fingertips skimming lightly over the scar on his side.

  “There is still one place that aches,” he said.

  “I’m sorry.” She took her hands away. “I shouldn’t have touched your wound.”

  “Not there.” She was becoming nervous again, and he could tell he was going to have to act quickly to calm her. “Here.” He caught her hand and guided it to his rigid manhood.

  “Oh.” She touched him with gentle, trembling fingers, and Dominick almost went to his knees as a wave of desire surged through him.

  Fortunately, they were standing right next to the bed, so he wasn’t going to have to pick her up. He didn’t think he could, not when he was shaking and half-mad with longing. He put his arms around her and exerted a slight downward pressure. They fell onto the bed together. He was on top of her, and it was pure bliss to be pressed against her soft skin and sweet curves, from knee to shoulder.

  Gina appeared startled by his sudden action, and he could see she was still oddly nervous.

  Exerting severe self-control, he rolled off her, lifted her legs onto the bed, and lay down beside her. Then he began to kiss her, starting at her forehead and slowly working his way down toward her toes. By the time he reached her breasts, her nervousness was gone, and when he finally, after a long, delicious interval, arrived at her knees, she was whimpering and begging for more.

  He made her wait. There was one area he had deliberately omitted from his attentions. Not until he was working his way back up her lovely body did he pause and separate her creamy thighs and touch the liquid center of her.

  “Dominick!” She reared upward, clutching at his shoulder with one hand and grabbing his hair with the other. “Please, come to me. Now!”

  As he had known it would be, it was worth the wait, worth taking the time to gentle her, though he had feared more than once during the last half hour that he’d shatter into a thousand pieces.

  He settled over her, and she lifted her hips to meet him. The ecstasy on her face was all the reward he needed for his patience. But even greater rewards awaited him. He thrust hard into Gina’s tight warmth, offering her his manhood, his heart, all that he was or ever would be. And in return she gave him a rapture beyond anything he had previously experienced, and a fulfillment that bound them together forever.

  * * *

  Hours later, in the blue twilight, with the stars just beginning to shine, Gina revealed to him her last secret.

  “A child?” he said, laying a tender hand on her abdomen.

  “An heir for Feldbruck.”

  “Not only an heir. A child born of love.” In reverent homage to a mystery as old as humankind, Dominick bent his head and kissed the place beneath which their child grew.

  “I hope this doesn’t mean you’ll neglect me until after January,” she said with a wistful smile.

  “Oh, no. I am not meant to be a monk.” He wasn’t quite sure whether she was teasing him or not, so he chose the only course open to a joyfully overwhelmed husband. He proved he had no intention of neglecting her. With infinite care, he made love to her all over again.

  Chapter 24

  By the time they reached Feldbruck, it was harvest season. Grain lay gold in the fields, where Dominick’s tenants were cutting it, and there was early snow on the lower mountains, the ones that lost their icy cover only during the warmest summer weeks.

  Gina noticed the happiness on Dominick’s face and understood his emotions, for she shared them. She put out a hand, reaching across the space between their horses to touch him.

  “I am home, too,” she said as his fingers laced with hers. “So long as you are with me, this is where I belong.”

  Arno, the steward, was at the door of the reception room to meet them, with Hedwiga by his side.

  “Welcome. I wish both of you happiness in your marriage!” Hedwiga cried. It took less than ten seconds after Dominick lifted the cloak from Gina’s shoulders for the chatelaine to notice her new mistress s rounded shape. “Ah, what a joy! What good news for Feldbruck! I must begin at once to sew little clothes. But you are still too thin, Gina. I can see I’ll have to fatten you up a bit.”

  “I’m fine just as I am,” Gina said, laughing. “I have never felt healthier or happier.”

  Nothing would deter Hedwiga. In spite of Gina’s repeated assurances, to which Dominick added his confident remarks, the chatelaine began to list all the herbal potions she was planning to mix for Gina to drink regularly.

  “For now, all Gina requires is a nap,” Dominick said firmly.

  “I understand.” Hedwiga’s manner suggested that she thought something more romantic than a nap was on Dominick’s mind. “The moment Arno read your message to me, I ordered the maidservants to clean your room and make up your bed. They will be taking your baggage there and unpacking it for you. It won’t take long, I’m sure, and then you may lie down and rest.”

  “No!” Gina cried in alarm. “Not Dominick’s room. I want my old room back.”

  “A new wife always moves to her husband’s bedchamber,” Hedwiga proclaimed.

  “Actually,” Dominick said, putting a protective arm around Gina, “we have decided not to use my room any longer. I think it’s time to move into the largest bedchamber, the one the former owner of Feldbruck used.”

  “That does make good sense.” Hedwiga nodded her approval. “Now that you’re married, you will need more space, and with a baby coming, you’ll probably want a cradle in there and a chest to hold the little shirts and all those small towels to keep him dry. I will order the room cleaned and furniture moved in there at once. In the meantime, Gina, you may nap in Dominick’s old room. It will be quiet there. Nothing will disturb you.”

  “I’m not so sure of that,” Gina muttered.

  “Wait, Hedwiga.” Dominick’s arm around Gina tightened. “The new room is to be Gina’s personal project, and you are to obey her orders about the painting and the furniture. For now, have the maids open the windows to air it out, and tell them to sweep the floor. Later, after Gina has slept for a while, you may show her the furniture in the storerooms and allow her to choose what she wants. Send Wulfric to her, too, so she can tell him what color she prefers on the walls.”

  “Of course.” Hedwiga submitted to Dominick’s instructions with good grace.

  “For now,” Dominick continued, “have fresh sheets put on the bed in Gina’s old room, so she can rest there.”

  “I’ll see to it at once.” Hedwiga left in the direction of the great hall and the kitchen, where most of the maidservants were to be found.

  Watching her go, Gina reflected ruefully that Lady Adalhaid was right about Hedwiga. The chatelaine was a managing kind of woman. In her first weeks at Feldbruck, Gina had been so confused that she welcomed Hedwiga’s bossiness, for it had often saved her from making stupid mistakes out of ignorance. But now Gina was more acclimated to the time in which she was living, and she wanted to make her own decisions on domestic matters. She had no intention of swallowing Hedwiga’s herbal medicines unless she decided for herself that she would benefit from them and that they wouldn’t harm her baby. She wasn’t going to eat mountains of food, either.

  Gina knew Dominick would always back her up in a dispute with Hedwiga, but he couldn’t be at her side every moment of each day. His duties as count of Feldbruck kept him busy. Already Arno was describing a problem with one of the tenant farmers and telling Dominick about a broken drain in the barracks where the men-at-arms lived. It was clear to Gina that she was going to have to find a diplomatic way to deal with Hedwiga on her own.

  At present, though, all she wanted was a nap, so when Ella came to inform her that her old bedroom was ready, Gina made her excuses to Dominick and Arno and hurried to the second level of the house. There she let Ella help her off with her clothes and accepted a clean linen shift. Then Gina climbed into bed with a contented sigh.

  She was asleep almost before the door shut behind Ella, and she slept until late afternoon. So
meone had been in recently to check on her, for there was warm water in the pitcher on the table, a clean linen towel, and a bowl of soap.

  Gina washed and then looked around for her comb. Her hair had grown several inches since she’d been in Francia, so she could no longer arrange it by just running her fingers through it. She needed her wooden comb, and she wanted a fresh dress to replace the dusty, travel-strained gown Ella had taken away to clean. She also wanted her light house shoes instead of boots. The only garment left to her was the shift she was wearing. Her comb and all her clothes were in Dominick’s room, taken there at Hedwiga’s order.

  She opened the bedroom door and peered into the corridor. The house was so quiet that Gina recognized the late-afternoon lull, when everyone was finishing up chores before the evening meal.

  She laid a hand on her rounded abdomen while she tried to decide whether to make a dash to Dominick’s room to grab a dress and her comb. She didn’t want to wait for Dominick to appear so she could ask him to run the errand for her. She couldn’t go below wearing only her shift to locate a maid who would do for her what she was perfectly capable of doing for herself. If she yelled down the stairs for someone to come to her, Hedwiga would probably assume the worst and arrive with half a dozen maidservants and a few men to pick her up and carry her back to bed. And then Hedwiga would start issuing orders, and she’d force Gina to swallow some noxious herbal brew, and she would probably never thereafter believe that Gina was able to take care of herself.

  By far the best way to deal with Hedwiga would be for Gina to appear downstairs freshly washed and dressed and in command of her position as the new mistress of Feldbruck.

  Viewed from that perspective, Gina really didn’t have a choice. She was going to have to enter Dominick’s room.

  “I’ll be quick,” she told herself. “I’ll only stay for a minute or two, and if anything strange happens, I can leave at once.”