Storm Trilogy

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Storm Trilogy Page 46

by Ria Cantrell

“T’is common with blows to the head. You will need to stay in bed for the next few days.” Rhianna saw a fat tear roll down Bronwyn’s cheek.

  “But I need to go to Drew. He thinks I dunna’ love him and I do. With all my heart!”

  Rhianna sat next to her and said, “I know. I think he knows, deep down, in his heart, too. When he has had time to move past his wounded pride, he will realize the truth. I think he will come back in a few days.”

  Bronwyn shook her head. “Nay. He was very angry at me. There was no love left when he last spoke to me.”

  “Drew has never been in love before. I think loving you scares him.”

  Bronwyn wept outright and Rhianna hugged her. “You must not cry. It will only make your head ache worsen.”

  “Ye’ have been so kind to me. Ye’ are with child and should not be worryin’ about me.”

  “I am quite hale this day. I only am sick in the mornings and then I am quickly fine. Now that Erik is with me once again, I am quite well.”

  “He was there…when those awful men tried to rape me. He helped Drew to save me. Why?”

  “He owed it to Drew to help. He has taken care of them. They will not be able to hurt a woman again, I imagine.”

  “I need to thank him.”

  “Later. He is sleeping now. And you need to rest, as well.” Then clearing her throat, Rhianna said, “Uhm, I am sure he did not mean to say those awful things to you.”

  “Aye, he did, but I understand why he did. Now, in knowing ye’, I can see how he couldna’ bear to be married to someone else. Not anyone else, much less someone like me. He thinks my people are barbarians.”

  Rhianna tried to protest mutely, but Bronwyn continued, “We hold the same thought for your people, but I think people are people first. Then clan and country. I dunna’ fault him.”

  Rhianna helped settle Bronwyn back against her pillows and she said, “I have many more duties today, but I will be back to check in on you. Erik and I are planning to re-speak our vows on the morrow. Perhaps if you are well enough by then, you can join us.”

  Bronwyn thanked Rhianna for her friendship. Wiping her tears she settled into the comfortable bed. She was tired and soon she was once again claimed by sleep, left to dream of Drew and the love they briefly shared.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Drew’s family was surprised to see him home. He had not been to his childhood home too often since being knighted. He was not forthcoming as to why he had returned but he said that sometimes even a man needed to feel his roots and be home. They were also surprised that their normally happy son seemed to have lost his sense of mirth. His mother, although happy to see him, knew that something or someone had broken his heart. She did not press him about it.

  He did not seem to want to talk about it just yet. So, she just enjoyed having her son home. She rarely got to spend time with him since he was fostered for knighthood in his twelfth year. She looked at her handsome son and saw how he had grown into a strong and honorable man. She took his arm and led him into the manor. Having Drew home made her realize how much she had truly missed him.

  ~~~~~~

  Drew had been home for about three days and still his heart ached. He did not expect to feel the lingering pain leaving Bronwyn had brought about. He thought it would have been like all the others, in the past, where a little time and distance cured all the ill feelings. He did not understand why he hurt so badly. It was not like he knew Bronwyn for a long time. Yet, every time he even thought about her, he felt like his heart would rip open and he just could not stop thinking about her.

  His mind played those words she said to him over and over so that he would never forget the lilting sound of them. His dreams were filled with images of her. His days were filled with endless minutes thinking about her; missing her. Memories of her lovely voice filled his ears and he would remember the tawny gold flecks in her smoldering sensual eyes. He tried as hard as he could to block out the memory of the perfect way her body felt when he made love with her or the honeyed sweetness of her lips when he kissed her. He failed miserably on all accounts.

  He brooded like a beardless pageboy and when he would think of her betrayal and her rejection, or the way she had put herself in danger just to get away from him, his heart would break again. In place of the love he had professed for her, his heart would be filled with anger, which fueled his resolve to forget about her. He would purge Bronwyn from his heart. It was time to stop this agony and he thought the best way to numb himself doubly would be by drinking some good ale and slaking his fire with another girl; any girl.

  He visited the local tavern and ordered ale after ale. Yes, that was just what he needed to numb his bruised heart. The buxom girl serving him was happy to play and flirt with him. After he had had quite a few drinks, he pulled the girl onto his lap. The more he drank, the more playful Drew got. He tickled her and asked her to tell him her name. She told him to call her Bess.

  “Well, pretty Bess, I am called Drew and I think I shall need another one of these,” he motioned to his tankard. Bess kept the drink coming. She knew who he was. She knew he was the son of the Lord of the Manor and she also knew that when a man had enough to drink, he would be willing to spend a little extra coin on other pleasures. He was a fine looking man and Bess knew that a tumble with him would be a very pleasurable way to make some additional earnings that night.

  She played and teased him with practiced tricks that never failed her. Bess watched him put his money down and she squirmed out of his grasp, leaving him wanting more as she filled his mug once more. Drew pouted, drunkenly, “You aren’t going to leave me so soon, Pretty Bess? Come sit on my lap.”

  She giggled and thought it better to not anger him; after all, sometimes men could get mean if they were in their cups. She wiggled her backside onto his lap and whispered that if he wanted to have some fun, she would not disappoint. She kept rubbing against him and she said, “You should let me find you a room here for the night. You have had quite a bit to drink.”

  Drew said, “Would you be keeping me company tonight sweet Bess?”

  “Well, I certainly would not want you to stumble or something. Perhaps I can see you to a room.”

  “I have had a bit too much to drink, haven’t I?”

  Bess wriggled out of his grasp and said, “Come with me. There is a room available in the back.”

  “Right behind you, Sweet Bess.”

  Bess ignored the slur in his words. He had more than a good deal to drink but she was happy to use that to her advantage. She took his arm and led him to the back room in the tavern. She swayed her hips and tried to entice him, but as he stumbled inside the room, Bess was quite certain that the coin she would earn this night would be easily won. As much as he would be fun to tumble, she was certain that he would not last. She brought him over to the bed and she said, “There is a slight fee, you know…for the room.”

  She then kissed him and he was immediately assailed with the overly perfumed scent of this woman who made her living upon drunken men. Drew had an image of the woman who had won and broken his heart who smelled of sweet heather in the springtime. He put her out of his mind because after all, she was the reason why he was here with this heavily scented doxy.

  This one had used tricks to enhance her looks but the girl who still held his heart was naturally beautiful. While the kiss with this one was not unpleasant, Drew’s drunken fog lifted as he realized that it was the result of a practiced seduction. It surely did not fire him the way Bronwyn’s kiss did. He shook the thought from his head as he pulled the girl into his lap. Her chemise fell forward as she loosened it when he was not looking so that her ample breasts spilled over the top of her bodice.

  Drew saw how immodest and unabashed she was and he reached up and tweaked a dusky nipple. She did not even feign shock, but laughed and thrust her breast further into the palm of his hand. Drew tried not to think of the perfect rosebuds that drew his mouth and hands. The girl pushed him back onto the co
t and began unfastening his trews.

  He was so slowed by the alcohol he had consumed that his reflexes could not thwart her. She climbed on top of him, straddling him. She rucked up her skirts and guided him inside of her, working fast to make him climax. It was then that Drew sobered enough to realize this was not what he wanted after all. There was no emotion in it and suddenly the effects of the alcohol seemed dulled and he was acutely aware of how distasteful this entire encounter was. He was bludgeoned by the fact that he no longer liked the sexual couplings with practiced little doxies. What used to be fine for Drew suddenly filled him with disgust. With his disgust, any arousal he may have mustered ended abruptly.

  The girl pouted prettily and said, “Aww, t’is alright. It is because of the drink. Once you have had some rest, you will be virile and hale again.”

  Drew felt increasing disgust and he answered, “Yes, too much drink. I--I am sorry.”

  “It’s alright, Love. I should be getting back to serving.”

  Bess quickly tucked herself back into her bodice and got off the bed and off of Drew.

  “Uhm…the fee for the room, you know…still needs to be paid.”

  Drew was again assailed with aversion and disgust. He paid the girl her expected coin and he got himself dressed. He had no desire to stay in this place for even one more minute.

  Drew thought he had suffered enough humiliation for the evening, but upon arriving home it would seem he was destined to suffer it further as he met his mother in the hall on his way to his chambers. She noted the unsteady way he walked and she knew he had been drinking. She knew this type of behavior was out of character for her son, because he always prided himself on being a disciplined knight and warrior. He was not prone to overindulging in the drink. She took his arm and said, “Come have a warm mug of cider, Drew. It does a mother good to have her son home, sometimes.”

  “Mother, I should really be abed.” Then he added sheepishly, “I’ve had a bit too much to drink.”

  “Aye, I can see that. Come, humor an old woman. Share a mug and then you can be off to bed.”

  He smiled and said, “Alright, but you are far from an old woman.”

  He just did not have the heart to deny her. They made their way to the kitchens. The fire was newly banked in the hearth, so warmth still pervaded the room. Drew watched the graceful movements of his mother, Elizabeth Brandham, Lady of the Manor. She was still beautiful and so dignified. Age had been kind to her. Looking at her, he was reminded how much he loved her. How she had always been someone he could turn to.

  Suddenly he felt time vanish away and he was reminded how whenever he had gotten into scrapes and hurts as a boy, she was always there to ease them. She poured two mugs of warm cider for them both from a pot that had been kept warm over the coals. He took a sip and felt the spicy warmth of it seep into him and it chased the chill away somewhat.

  “Well, are you going to tell me her name, Son?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The girl, Drew. The one who broke your heart. A mother can tell when her son’s heart is broken. What is her name?”

  “Bronwyn,” he said, allowing the sound of her name to fill his heart at the mere mention of it.

  “Hmm…Bronwyn. Scottish, is she?”

  Drew nodded, ready to defend her for her heritage, but his mother kindly prodded, “Tell me about her. She must be quite special for I never thought I would see the day that my son’s heart would be bound to another’s, and certainly not to see that precious heart broken.”

  Drew shrugged and said, “It is rather complicated.”

  “Love often is. Is she beautiful?”

  “Oh, aye. She is very beautiful. Mayhap she is the most beautiful woman I have ever dared to lay my eyes on. She is tiny and seems delicate, but she has the strength of the Highlands inbred in her.”

  “And how did my son find himself in the company of a beautiful, Highland lass?”

  “That is the complicated thing. She was supposed to marry Erik. It is really a long story, I am afraid.”

  “I have time to hear it. That is unless you do not wish to speak of her.”

  Drew shook his head and said sadly, “Nay. Mayhap if I tell you, I can finally forget about her.”

  “Does she know that you love her?”

  “Aye.”

  “And does she love you?”

  Drew noticed that his mother did not ask if she loved him, but rather if she loves him. He sighed. His tightly held control was quickly breaking. He almost was afraid to continue or he would be bawling like a young lad who had scraped his knee. Despite his efforts to control his emotions, he began to tell his mother everything. It was if a dam had burst. The last remains of resolve were weakened from the over indulgence of drink and it all came burbling out.

  Drew told his mother how Erik was supposed to marry Bronwyn, how he had fallen in love with her instead, how she had made him feel differently about trifling in casual trysts; how she had almost gotten raped because she did not trust him enough to stay with him; how he had to save her life; how he left her at Ragnorsen.

  The only parts he left out was that he had been flogged for her honor and that loving her was the most perfect experience he had ever encountered. When he was through with his tale, he had not realized that the tough exterior of his warrior’s hardened shell had crumbled and tears leaked from the corners of his eyes. He felt drained and tired, and more than a little embarrassed. He was not a child, after all. He was a man fully grown; a Knight of the Realm who was battle scarred and toughened in the service as an Elite Guard. After his mother had listened to the entire tale, she smiled and patted her son’s hand.

  “Well, son, I am going to tell you what I think. I don’t know if it is what you will want to hear, but I will speak it just the same. I think your beautiful Bronwyn loves you. Mayhap, even more than you want to believe. I don’t think she meant to betray you. It seems to me she wished to spare you.”

  “Sparing me almost resulted in her rape and murder because of her rash and unwise decision.”

  “And I suspect that scared you did it not?”

  “It terrified me. I don’t think I have ever known such fear.”

  “And why do you think that is?”

  Drew did not want to think about why it terrified him so. He did not like to think about that bestial animal pawing Bronwyn, defiling her. He certainly could not think about what would have happened if he had been moments too late. Those were thoughts he would not allow himself to have. His mother’s voice broke his thoughts and she said, “Drew, it terrified you because you could not bear to lose her. She made a mistake, Son. I don’t think she wanted to hurt or betray you.”

  “Perhaps, but it made me realize that I cannot have that happen ever. I am not good at this sort of thing.”

  “Love is not something one is good or bad at. It just happens.”

  “Yes, well, it was a mistake to happen for me. I am a warrior first. I am not a man to dabble in such fancy.”

  Drew’s mother laughed softly, thinking of her own husband, trained and hardened in battles past. Their own love affair had been tempestuous to say the least.

  “Stronger men than you have succumbed to love, I’m afraid. I think you need to go back to her and talk to her.”

  Drew waved that off. “Nay, mother. I just need a little time away from her and this will slip into a memory, nothing more.”

  “And bring about another battle scar, no doubt” she mumbled. She hugged her son and when she did not feel him pull away, she said, “Stay as long as you wish. A mother likes having her son home, sometimes.”

  She did not want to push the issue of Bronwyn anymore this night. “Get some rest now. Tomorrow, I fear, you will pay the price for this night’s pleasures. Perhaps the cider will ward off the worst of it.”

  Drew looked at the kindly expression on his beloved mother’s face. He smiled crookedly and said, “Oh, anything I get, I suppose, I rightly deserve. I will be alright
, Mother.”

  He kissed his mother goodnight and staggered off to bed. Elizabeth Brandham’s heart hurt for her beloved son. She knew that this Scottish girl loved her son. Drew just could not see it. She had watched him grow into the lethal warrior he had become and she saw time and again how he avoided the emotional trappings of love, but he could not escape it this time. No, she thought. This time love had found him and she would do everything in her power to help him realize it.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Daria Falkes knew that people loved to gossip. She had certainly been the brunt of many a story in the days she was involved with Andrew Brandham. While she knew that many of the stories spread were over exaggerated, many indeed had seeds of truth. When Drew had put her aside as his mistress, the stories flew about town. She still bristled at the thought of those old harpies pointing a sanctimonious finger at her. She still felt the bitter ire rise inside her when she thought of the humiliation she had suffered as a result of him ending that relationship. They were good together.

  Any of her other lovers had never gotten her to the heights that she had found when she warmed Andrew’s bed. She still could not believe that he would forget that. She ignored the voice that scolded in her head; the one that told her that out of bed, there was nothing else. No! Those were Drew’s words. He was wrong. Dead wrong!

  Now those chattering magpies were on about a young woman at Ragnorsen who they said Drew had brought home. They said she was a disgusting Scot and that Drew was betrothed to her. Daria wanted to think that they had exaggerated the truth again. She would have to see for herself.

  A Scot! Drew must have completely lost his mind to bring one of those creatures home. Well, she was not going to let go without a fight. She would make him see that he had made the worst mistake of his life when he put her aside. She would make him see what a loathsome creature a Scottish savage could be. It was high time she was welcomed back to Ragnorsen Keep, or at the very least, keep herself lost amid the throngs of locals that streamed in and out of the place.

 

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