by Nina Monroe
“And there is more. My Father thinks that if you conceive a child soon, then we will be invincible. If I were to die in battle,” his words made Tamzin gasp but he pressed forward. “If I were to die and you were with child, you would be Queen Regent until our child is of age. If you are childless and I die, my Uncle may marry you himself to make sure your father doesn’t attempt to use his army against him. If Turner crushed my Uncle after my death, your brother would become King. I don’t wish to lose my kingdom to your brother, but I would rather a Roth rule this kingdom than have an illegitimate fool take it instead.”
“Whom will you marry off to a Johansson?” Tamzin asked as she played with the sleeve of her dress. “You don’t have an illegitimate brother yourself, do you?”
“My Mother had a sister, my aunt Isabelle, who is Queen of a territory on the outskirts of the North. I have a cousin around the same age as the oldest Johansson girl. I am to write my aunt tonight and ask her to agree. If she does, as I suspect she will, you and I will travel with our group and kinsmen to my aunt’s kingdom. We will then all travel to Johansson Territory to witness the wedding.”
“Are you sure you should trust the Johanssons? It seems like their loyalty is buyable,” Tamzin pointed out as she locked eyes with Will. “It may be better not to engage them at all. You’ve said it yourself that their army is pathetic.”
“Douglas Johansson has young boys, teenagers, and criminals as his soldiers. His realm isn’t nearly as strong as it could be. His people fight over food and crime is rampant, but he and his nobles live in luxury. I’ve heard he holds fights with his townspeople in order to secure a place in the castle as a servant.” Will felt a disgusting taste in his mouth as he described the state of the Johansson people.
“That’s barbaric,” Tamzin spat like venom from a snake. “A marriage to a Thurston cousin may not be enough to stop Johansson from trying to gain more power. What if your Uncle promises Johansson a large territory if he wins? I’m sorry but that’s a much better offer than a cousin married to his daughter.”
“A marriage to a Thurston cousin nearly guarantees that I won’t sever his head from his shoulders,” Will growled in response. Tamzin smiled weakly at him as she curled up in the chair.
“I just think you need to consider that your terms may be viewed as an insult to a man who thinks so highly of himself. I think the only marriage terms Johansson would deem acceptable is his daughter marrying you or marrying your father. Obviously neither of those can or will happen,” Tamzin explained, though she never once let her voice become timid. “If it came to it, would you be able to kill a child soldier? What if this happens after I bear your child? You may feel differently.”
“As a future King, I cannot always afford to be merciful. No, I’m not sure I would be able to kill a child soldier, but if I need to in order to ensure the survival of my Queen and my child, there is very little I won’t do,” Will spoke strongly and with conviction. “Being a King is not easy.”
“You aren’t a King, not yet. I may not have known your father as long as you have, but I am willing to believe that Gregory wants a diplomatic solution long before it comes to stabbing children to make a point,” Tamzin nearly yelled as she stood angrily from her seat. “Are you asking my advice?”
“I am,” Will responded as he ran a hand through his hair. “My father has advisers, so why shouldn’t I?”
“I think you shouldn’t bring any type of agreement to Johansson. You doing that will make him assume that the Thurstons believe he is a threat. Child soldiers, and untrained child soldiers at that, won’t survive the cold climate here, let alone your soldiers. Inflated egos make bad choices, Will. Douglas Johansson will squander his good fortune and when it is time, you can take his kingdom and put a worthy ruler on its throne,” Tamzin explained thoroughly and confidently. “You wish for me to become with child?”
“I wish we had more time; more time to enjoy our marriage and to have you become more used to living here. Have you enjoy a few more balls,” Will laughed softly as he remembered how he was an awful dancer. “I was hoping you would teach me to properly dance and I would teach you how to ride a horse.”
“And would you like a boy or a girl?” Tamzin returned his smile as she placed a hand to her flat stomach. “I know it’s customary to want a boy as your first child, but I’ve always been partial to have a little girl.”
“I wouldn’t mind having a little girl,” Will replied genuinely as he looked to the empty corner of their bedroom, where a bassinet would go when Tamzin would give birth. Will knew how women gave birth; it was something Gregory made sure Will understood, as it was how the North recognized that women were equal to men. No one could deny the strength of a woman if they understood what she endured during her months with child and subsequent birth of the child. Once Tamzin went into labor, she would be moved to the birthing chamber, but it was yet to be seen if Will would be in the chamber with her. It left a bitter taste in his mouth at the thought of Tamzin giving birth to their child without him there, either in death or that he would be away in war. “I need to write that letter.”
“You do plan on going through with it?” Tamzin asked as she watched him cross the room to the desk in the corner.
“I will write the letter but won’t send it. I want you to present your ideas to my father. He may listen to you,” Will said as he pulled a fresh quill from his desk. “Do your ladies know how to make fertility drinks?”
“Yes, Lucy does,” Tamzin replied. “Do you think that will be necessary?”
“I don’t think it could hurt us,” Will said as he dipped the quill into the inkwell. “As of right now, I don’t want you to worry. Right now, you and I are only married and that’s how it will stay. Come here, love,” Will said as he held out his arms to her. Tamzin smiled as she slowly crossed the room. In his warm arms, she sat in his lap and watched as he wrote the letter to his aunt. When it was finished, Will slowly unlaced the laces on her bodice. “I love you,” he whispered as Tamzin rolled her eyes.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Will was never able to present Tamzin’s ideas to his father; Rainer made sure he never had the opportunity, and now, he watched as his wife packed her trunk. It had been a few weeks since Will wrote and Aunt Isabelle didn’t outright agree to the marriage agreement, but she invited Will and Tamzin to her kingdom in order to meet Tamzin. They would be leaving in the morning, and now, right before dinner, Will watched Tamzin pack.
The day after her bedding, her monthly bleed disrupted their attempts at creating a child. This morning, Tamzin had informed him that her blood was gone and it would be time for them to try again. With his father’s orders, Tamzin had been ordered to start consuming daily fertility drinks, prepared by Lucy. Will had wanted Jacque to be the one to make the potions, but Lucy assured him that she was an expert.
Slowly and stealthily, Will stood from his chair and walked to stand behind Tamzin. He wrapped his arms around her middle and kissed the spot just below her ear; her laugh rung out in the quiet room.
“You’ll love my aunt,” Will whispered in her ear as he watched her splay her fingers across the top of her trunk. “She is very excited to meet you.”
“She was your mother’s sister?” Tamzin asked as she turned in his arms and kissed his cheek. “Does it bother you to visit her?”
“I used to visit her every summer before my responsibilities here grew. It’s the first time in almost three years I’ve visited her. I’ve missed Aunt Isabelle a great deal,” Will said as he pressed a light kiss to her chapped lips.
“I cannot wait to meet her.” Tamzin returned his kiss passionately and felt him push her towards the bed. “I wish dresses were less complicated,” Tamzin laughed as Will struggled to pull at her bodice. “It’s impossible for us to have a quick moment.”
“Has this prim and proper princess said that she wants a quickie?” Will teased lightly as he kissed her chest and swiped his tongue across her pulse point. “Have
you been chatting with Lucy?”
Since she experienced her monthly bleed, Tamzin spent more time with her ladies. Will hadn’t realized how much he had been monopolizing her time until he saw her laughing with Kendall and Lucy. He liked Kendall a great deal, but Lucy was a bit excessive for his taste. When he spoke to his father about Tamzin’s allowance, he discovered that Lucy spent more money on dresses and entertainment than Tamzin did. It rubbed him the wrong way, but Tamzin asked him not to say anything and said she would handle it. Will didn’t see a change, but he kept his mouth shut.
“She told me about something else as well,” Tamzin said as she pulled at his breeches, her tiny hand dipped into the space and grasped his hard manhood. “She said you’d like it if I put this,” Tamzin said in gesture to his manhood, “in my mouth. Would you like that?”
Will shuddered as he felt her pull him out of his breeches. Tamzin smiled deviously at him as she delicately pumped him with her hand. After their discussion about what should be done about the Johansson family, Will had taken her to bed. In the hours between their discussion and dinner, Will brought her to orgasm three times from his mouth and fingers and taught her how to touch him. Tamzin was an apt student, always curious and wanting to learn.
“I never thought I would like this,” Tamzin murmured against his lips as she felt Will grip her waist as if he was ready to collapse. She removed her hand and dropped to her knees before him. Will felt her fingers touch him again and her hot mouth slide over him like a wet cocoon. Her warm and slick mouth sucked on him and he felt her tongue run across his slit. Lucy was clearly a fantastic teacher.
Will gripped her long hair gently and used it to guide her. She bobbed her head up and down and took him in as deeply as she could before he hit the back of her throat. Will cried out as her hand came to cup him and he felt the pit of his stomach tense almost painfully. With a final suck and lick, Will felt himself come in her mouth. He peered down and watched as Tamzin swallowed. With a pop, she pulled away from him and wiped her ruby lips.
“I’m sorry,” Will said breathlessly as he slid down to the floor next to her. His legs felt like jelly. Tamzin smiled as she reached over and slid her hand across his leather pants. She tucked him back inside his breeches before she placed her head in the juncture between his neck and shoulder. “Did it taste awful?”
“Not as bad as I thought,” Tamzin whispered as he felt him wrap an arm around her shoulders. “My mother told me that southern girls only have ‘relations’ with their husbands to have babies. I couldn’t imagine that life. Your only purpose is to be a breeding mare.”
“That is how the Johansson girls are raised. They don’t dance because it is considered improper; they don’t speak out in meetings or they will be beaten; and their bedding is what I would consider rape,” Will said as he kissed Tamzin’s hair. “You won’t ever be married to a Johansson or their bannermen. The Roths have always been north in heart.”
“When you beat him, beat Douglas Johansson, will you marry his girls off to one of our bannermen?” Tamzin asked as she felt him thread their fingers together. “They deserve a nice husband after everything they’ve been through.”
“And the child soldiers? Would you have me take them in?” Will asked as he gazed at her lovingly. “I could easily marry off the girls, but I can’t fix everything. The people here need tending to.”
“I know you will be able to figure it out,” Tamzin said as she kissed him. She dipped her tongue into his mouth and he tasted himself. Will had just begun to palm her breast when they heard an ‘ahem’ at the top of their stairs. Will turned quickly to see Rainer standing there, a perverted gleam in his eyes.
“There is nothing better than seeing a couple truly enjoy each other,” Rainer began but Will stood up quickly and blocked Rainer’s view of Tamzin.
“What do you want?” Will snarled as he used his height to intimidate the advisor. “I know it wasn’t to gawk at my wife.”
“I was sent by your father to request your presence at dinner. Your father plans to announce the marriage agreement between your cousin and a Johansson girl,” Rainer said and Will watched Rainer’s hands curl into a fist. “Princess, if you don’t mind me saying, I think you should change your attire. It’s not…appropriate.”
Tamzin looked down at her dress with uncertain eyes. Will didn’t respond to Rainer’s comment to Tamzin as he left quickly afterwards. “Is there something wrong with my dress?” Tamzin asked as she pulled lightly on the thick fabric. “One of the seamstresses’ from the town made it. I thought it was lovely. It is certainly warm.”
“It is lovely; Rainer is trying to make you nervous. My father is going to ask you what you think about the Johansson match,” Will replied as he fixed his jumbled appearance. He ran a hand through his hair to soft his curls as he felt stress begin to weigh on his shoulders. Tamzin, his ever-astute Tamzin, came and ran her hands across his leather jerkin. She wrapped an arm around his shoulder and perched her head on his shoulder, her hair dangling and tickling his chest.
“What would you like me to say?” she asked as she felt Will take a deep breath and kiss her knuckles.
“I want you to say how you feel. If you agree with the decision, which I know you don’t, then say so. If you don’t, then explain that. The more I think about it, the more unsure I am about the marriage agreement.”
“What has made you change your mind?” Tamzin asked as she felt Will bring her around to stand by his side as he wrapped an arm around her waist. “You seemed on board with it before.”
“Douglas Johansson doesn’t give a damn about his daughters, so why would he honor a marriage agreement? He cares more about whom his sons marry, as they will have more control. It would be a more solid deal if I had a sister or female cousin,” Will explained as he stared at the burning cinders in the fireplace. “I couldn’t, in good conscience, hand over a sister or female cousin to a Johansson boy.”
“Will, I don’t think you should go through with this marriage agreement. Douglas Johansson thinks he is the best to run the world but his arrogance blinds him. If you send your cousin to marry his daughter, he will think that you believe he is a threat. Yes, we don’t want to kill child soldiers but no one believes that his child soldiers will kill any of your soldiers,” Tamzin said as she leaned into his body. Will leaned in and kissed her forehead. “I care for you and no matter what you and your father decide, I will stand behind you.”
Hands laced together, Will stood first and led Tamzin out of their room and to the stairwell. Will felt the tension in their intertwined hands as her thumbnail absentmindedly scraped his index finger. He didn’t say anything as they came across the nobles standing right outside the Throne Room or when Garrett joined them outside. Garrett’s neck was covered in hickeys and bites, which told Will where he had been in the days he hadn’t seen him.
“I’m sorry, Tamzin, but can I borrow your husband for a brief chat?” Garrett asked Tamzin, who looked alarmed at the idea of being left alone. “Kendall should be making an appearance soon. I couldn’t tell you where Lucy is.”
“Taking advantage of my lady?” Tamzin smiled as she peered around the corner in search of Kendall. “I hope you plan on making a proper woman of her.”
“Her maidenhood is still intact, Your Grace, but I promise I’ve made it very difficult to resist me,” Garrett grinned and Will rolled his eyes as he wrapped an arm around Tamzin’s waist.
“Being married isn’t as bad as you think,” Will said as he kissed Tamzin’s neck as she giggled.
“Only if you’re married to a beautiful Roth girl,” Garrett flattered her and Tamzin flushed from the compliment.
“Trying to steal my wife? Get your own,” Will replied playfully as he leaned in and kissed Tamzin’s cheek. “I won’t be gone long.” Will continued as he unwrapped his arm from her waist and walked off to the side with Garrett. Garrett’s calm demeanor changed rapidly the further they walked from Tamzin and by the time they made it
to a private corner, Garrett’s happy face was contorted to one of concern. “What’s the problem?”
“I believe we have a spy,” Garrett whispered furiously. “But possibly more of an assassin.”
“An assassin?” Will asked with surprise. “Do you know who they are targeting?”