Unarmed (Unarmed Trilogy)

by Nina Monroe

  “No, it wasn’t a noble girl. I, um, I have visited the brothels some with Garrett before you arrived.” Will’s voice was coarse and it sounded like he had a frog in his throat. Tamzin didn’t say anything, but she no longer looked at his face. Will knew almost immediately that it was a mistake to tell her this, but her voice was so hypnotizing and he was mesmerized by their topic of conversation. “Does that offend you?”

  “I didn’t expect you to be so forward with me. I know men frequent brothels, but I haven’t known any to actually admit it. I’m not sure if I should be impressed with your honesty or scoff at it,” Tamzin said as she continued to stare out at the nobles. “If I may ask, was it just one or more?”

  “Only one woman, I assure you,” Will continued to speak in hushed tones. He was surprised when Tamzin smiled meekly. “I suppose I am just shy. She didn’t make fun of me like many did before because of my inexperience, so I stayed.”

  “You’re not a pigheaded prince, are you? You are loyal, even to a prostitute,” Tamzin asked as she turned to look at him. Will responded with a quizzical brow. “I’ve met a lot of princes and kings in my life and they’ve all wanted to marry me. What I want is a husband who will view me as his equal and will love me and never break my trust or fidelity. You never act irrationally, do you?”

  “It serves no purpose to act irrationally, Tamzin. I do think you are smart and could teach me a few things, but I also know I can teach you a few things. What I said to you earlier, about the alliance, I meant it but I mean it more that I don’t expect you to love me. I know I am not the favorite prince of any princess.” Will watched Tamzin’s face as he spoke and she continued to frown more and more.

  “You’re known for being serious and I think I’ve heard rumors that you’ve never smiled before,” Tamzin said as Will grinned. The rumors about him made him sound like an ogre. “But I think you’re not nearly as bad as you make yourself out to be. For someone as accomplished as you are, you’re one of the saddest and least confident men I know. However, I do believe, if you allow me to, that I could fall in love with you. You are very much worthy of me.” Her words were soft and true. Tamzin’s eyes didn’t lie to him and he felt his stomach tighten in appreciation. “So tell me, Prince William, won’t you please dance with me?”

  Will hadn’t noticed that the music had started. With a small smile, Will removed her cloak and stood to offer her his hand. With a genuine smile, Tamzin took his hand and let him pull her up. They stumbled together as they tried to walk around the various people at their table. Will held her hand tightly in his own as he brought her out onto the floor. With one hand held together and his other placed at her waist, Will took the first step and stepped right onto Tamzin’s toes.

  “Ouch,” Tamzin whimpered but smiled good-naturedly. “Just relax, Will. Just listen to the music and relax,” she said as she took the first step and did not step on his feet.

  “I am abysmal at dancing. If I break your toes, you have no one to blame but yourself,” Will said as he took a deep breath and continued to dance. He looked over Tamzin’s shoulder to see Garrett sweet talking Kendall as he tried to persuade her to join the others on the dance floor. “Your lady seems to like Garrett,” he said as he turned Tamzin so they could watch them together. “There may be another wedding here soon.”

  “Maybe you’ll be able to dance more properly with me by then,” Tamzin teased lightly as she kissed his cheek. “You’re not as bad as you say you are.”

  “I think I just have a fine partner,” Will beamed at her as he moved them to the corner of the dance floor. “I agreed to dance with you, so please don’t make me humiliate myself in front of others.”

  “It doesn’t take much to satisfy me, so I will allow you this one contrition,” Tamzin smiled as she continued to teach Will to dance. “You can hold me closer. We are married.”

  “You wouldn’t feel scandalized by it, Tamzin?” Will asked as his arm tightened around her waist as he pulled her closer. “I never wish to scandalize my dear wife.”

  “Perhaps I want you to?” Tamzin replied as she pressed her hips closer to his. “If it is good for the alliance, of course.” She raised her eyebrows at him in a challenge. “Is that still your number one goal?”

  He didn’t answer her as the song ended and she parted from him. “If you’ll excuse me, dear husband, but I would like to have a moment with my family before they must part.” Tamzin curtsied to him properly and all the magic and chemistry they had suddenly disappeared. Will couldn’t be angry with her, as he had done this to himself.

  Tamzin walked like a proper lady to her parents, who were speaking with Jacque. Will noted that her family never attempted to interact with Rainer, and he couldn’t blame them. In fact, it only increased Will’s respect for Tamzin’s father. He apparently could see a leach for his own eyes easily. Will turned to walk to where Kendall and Garrett were standing, but his general, a severely lanky man named Hartman, disrupted his path.

  “Hartman,” Will nodded to the older gentleman. Hartman earned the respect of Will early on when he had no problem slicing the arm of the young prince to teach him to tolerate pain. He was a hard man, not very diplomatic, but a fine general.

  “Smitten with your bride already?” Hartman asked before he downed his whisky. “What will a soldier prince do with a beautiful bride?”

  “Make beautiful heirs, naturally,” Will smirked at the general. Hartman did not carry the same high regard for women that Gregory did, but he was a good sport. He was still married to the same woman after a large number of years and they seemed happy. “What is your opinion of her?”

  “She seems to keep you in line and knock you down a peg, Your Grace. I am welcoming to any woman who does that,” Hartman smiled before he requested a refill of his whisky. “Be kind to your wife, William. The only thing more difficult than a life on the battlefield is a life with an unhappy wife.”

  “I will take your words to heart, Hartman, even if you are as drunk as can be,” Will smiled before he heard the chants of his men. They yelled “bed, bed, bed,” at the top of their lungs and Will felt himself be grabbed roughly by his men. They threw Will on top of them and carried him out of the grand dining area to the main hallway. Will could hear Tamzin’s squeals as the women of the party pushed her up the stairs, while the men took Will to the other staircase for the servants. “A maiden no longer when she has the blood between her thighs,” the men called out and Will scrunched his face is disgust. They plopped him down directly in front of his door, which was slightly ajar.

  Will could hardly brace himself as they pushed him through the door and on the bed was Tamzin, wearing only a thin chemise. She instantly covered herself when she saw the men behind her, and Will swore he saw fear in her eyes. The doors slammed shut, and Will realized that his clothes had been torn and were in tatters on him.

  Tamzin crossed her legs and kept her arms around her tightly. She shivered slightly as the fire had just been started and had not yet warmed the room. Will walked to his large bureau where he pulled out a large blanket made of fur and wrapped it around her shoulders. Tamzin peered up at him from beneath long lashes; her eyes conveyed a thank you she didn’t say with words. Will smiled to her as he went to the fire and poked it, watching as the flames became larger and fiercer before his eyes.

  “It should warm up soon. I don’t know why they didn’t have the fire going for longer before they forced us in here?” Will pondered as he took a seat in front of it. He noticed that someone hadn’t brought an extra seat for Tamzin to sit in.

  “No doubt they think me stripping down to have you cuddle me warm in bed is the best foreplay imaginable,” Tamzin smiled as she kept the blanket around her tighter. “Taking a warm seat for yourself? Not very husbandly of you,” Tamzin said as she walked over to him, her small feet freezing on the wooden floor. “They ruined your clothes.”

  “You are more than welcome to sit with me,” Will said as he uncrossed his arms and reveale
d his warm lap. “If my torn tunic doesn’t offend you, Tamzin.” He smiled as she crawled into his lap with the practice like she had a million times before. She shared the warm blanket as he perched his chin on her head. “I do not expect you to lie with me tonight.” His words were reassuring but Tamzin needed none of it.

  “I’m sorry to inform you, Will, but I have no plans to lay with you tonight. My mother assures me that I shouldn’t lie with you until I love you,” Tamzin batted her eyes deviously as she snuggled into his chest. Will didn’t think much of her words; she said no and this would be as far as they went. He kept his honor, like his father intended.

  “Then shall we play chess?” Will asked as he eyed the chess table not far from where they sat. “If your thighs won’t keep me warm, might it just be your company then?”

  “You aren’t angry?” Tamzin asked as she stood from his lap and walked to the chess table. “I told you I am not very good, but I expect I am still better than you, Your Grace,” she teased with a broad smile.

  “That’s all I ask for, Tamzin. Just your companionship.” His words were honest and true. The physical aspect would develop when she desired it, but first he had to make her want him.

  CHAPTER TEN

  No one said anything the next morning when they found Will asleep in his chair, and Tamzin asleep on clean sheets. No one said anything as Tamzin cried the next morning when her family left. It was then Will realized how hard this must be for her. A husband who said this marriage was only for an alliance and no one in court besides her ladies and a dog. Though she did have some people in her corner, Tamzin was now largely alone.

  Will watched her from the castle gates as she stood at the bottom of the steps as her family’s carriage rushed out of the compound. She wore a ruby red dress, her family’s color, and nothing else. She shivered when a brutal blast of air caressed her skin and forced it as red as her dress. Will untied his cloak and walked down the steps alone. Carefully, he wrapped it around her shoulders. Tamzin turned to look at him, her eyes bloodshot and nose runny but she smiled bitterly. It was as if she couldn’t show her true emotions around him. Despite their fun the night before with nearly endless chess games and conversation, she felt like a stranger to him now.

  “I’m sorry, Your Grace, but I’m feeling a bit under the weather. Could you excuse me from my duties for the day?” Tamzin asked before she curtsied. She had returned to the proper princess now that she felt cornered and alone.

  “You are excused, and you may retire for the day, Princess,” Will said sympathetically as he bowed to her. Tamzin looked up at him briefly before she picked up her skirts and rushed back into the warmth of the castle. Will watched sadly as she hurried past the other nobles and up the stairs towards their rooms. Will walked up the stairs outside the castle to Gregory, who said nothing. “We have work today?” Will asked his father as everyone entered the castle and shut the grand doors behind them.

  “We do,” Gregory nodded as he directed him to the War Room for battle strategy and to discuss the state of the territory. “We always have work to do.”

  Days went by, and Tamzin was still in a state of tears. Will returned to their chambers late at night, after she missed dinner and court to see her sitting in front of the fire alone. Most nights, he brought her food from the kitchens and roused her enough to play at least one game of chess. Tamzin smiled and spoke of home when they played chess, and it warmed Will’s heart as much as the fire warmed his skin.

  “I would like you to join me in the war room in the morning,” Will said as he moved his knight. “I could use your counsel.”

  “I’ve never been to war,” Tamzin said as she stared at the board and pondered her next move. He watched her carefully, dressed in her Thurston robe and covered her thin chemise. Her pug, Rupes, sat comfortably at her feet and warmed them. Will had taken considerably to Rupes, as he seemed to be one of the few things in this territory that made her smile. “I’m afraid I won’t be much help.”

  “I am always searching for a diplomatic solution to war. I don’t enjoy leading my men into battle and death,” Will said as he watched Tamzin move her own knight before she looked at him.

  “Who is it that you are looking to avoid war with?” Tamzin said as she leaned against the seat, no longer interested in their game. “Who makes you shake in your boots?” Her teasing words made him smile; Tamzin may have been returning to normal.

  “The Johanssons,” Will said softly as he placed his hands in his lap. “I despise their way of life, but I am not interested in starting a war. Their King, Douglas Johansson, treats his daughters and noble women like cattle. I am physically ill when I am in his company.”

  “I have met him. He stared at my chest like I was a piece of meat,” Tamzin scrunched her nose like she smelt something foul. “But I agree. It is better to have Johansson bonded to you than for him to be your enemy. You would beat him, with my father’s combined army, but it wouldn’t be a simple battle. His people reproduce like rabbits.”

  Will smiled, “I think you’re much more adept in battle than you think.” His words made Tamzin blush and attempt to return to the game. “He is a foul little snake.”

  Tamzin laughed heartily at his description of Johansson. She leaned in and moved her King. “Checkmate,” Tamzin smiled as she knocked his Queen over and sat back in her seat. “I thought it would never warm up in here.”

  “Are you starting to feel better?” Will asked as he cleaned off his chess table and placed the pieces in the drawer of the table. “I know this is difficult for you.”

  “No, you don’t,” Tamzin nearly sneered. “You don’t know what it’s like to leave your family and come to a new place, married to a man you barely know, and to be nearly alone.” She seemed almost shocked by the words that flooded her mouth. The air thickened with tension and Will set his jaw.

  “You’re right, I don’t, but I gave you time to grieve for your separation so please do not speak to me that way. These hardships that you speak of exist only in your head,” Will said in a controlled tone as he stared her down. Tamzin kept his eyes in their intense stare off, but she gave up shortly after and looked to the ground. Will thought he had won the battle, until he saw her shoulders shake lightly.

  “You don’t know how hard it is,” Tamzin voice shook as much as her shoulders. She looked back up at him, her brown eyes red from tears. “I am sorry for how I spoke to you; it was immature and unbecoming but I just miss my family so much.”

  “I know what it’s like to miss someone, but you will see your family again. Do you think I am such a cruel man that I would never let you see your mother or father again? Your brother? I am not that way,” Will said as he was almost offended.

  “Who do you miss?” Tamzin asked as she wiped her tears from her face. Rupes had had enough of their fighting and crawled away from her feet to under their bed.

  “My mother. The mother who gave birth to me, but I never met,” Will said truthfully, a hurt festered inside him like an old wound. He never told anyone this. “My father never got over her, and I think most times that he could hate me because she died giving birth to me. You’ve grown up with a mother that you will see again. I will never know that type of love, ever.”

  His words moved her further to tears. She had known that his mother was dead and how she had died, but never that he thought of her as much. He was so honest with her and it made her tongue stick to the roof of her mouth. Tamzin gazed at him before she took a deep breath.

  “Gemma isn’t my mother,” Tamzin said softly, as she was revealing the biggest secret of her life. “She’s my aunt, technically.” Her words sent a shockwave through Will, as this was something Gregory had never told him. Will’s eyes pleaded with Tamzin to continue her story. “My birth mother died giving birth to me as well, and Gemma is her sister. My father entered a terrible depression and couldn’t go on. Gemma came to visit a week after I was born and she took care of me. Her own child had died very recently before
I was born, so she nursed me. She brought my father back to life and they married about a year after my mother died. They took time and waited before Thom was born. Gemma is my mother and she always will be, despite the fact that I am the fruit of her sister’s loins.”

  This was something they could bond over and Will did feel closer to her at that moment. He held out his hand to her and whispered, “I want you to come here.”