by Tamara Gill
William sighed and leaned forward in his chair, his gazed fixed on the revellers eating in the great hall before them. “Madeline, look at me.”
The request said in a soothing tone, had no such effect. Maddie shut her eyes and wondered how to explain to William she’d argued with Lady Veronica like a jealous child.
William clasped her jaw and turned her face to look at the wound more closely. Her chin tingled and heat pooled in her stomach by his touch. Maddie pulled her chin from his fingers and sat back. “It’s nothing really.”
“Who did this?” William asked his voice so cold it sent goose bumps across her skin.
Maddie let out a deep breath. “Lady Veronica and I had a disagreement.” Maddie looked away from his gaze, not liking the deadly gleam that she saw there.
“Lady Veronica did this to you, ma chère?”
“Yes, my lord.”
William flashed a look at Lady Veronica. Maddie looked between her husband and his mistress, unable to decipher their silent communication.
“Lady Veronica and yourself have quarreled.” William rubbed a hand across his jaw.
Maddie sipped her wine. Quarreled was a nice way to phrase it she supposed. She looked up and noted for the first time the quietness of the hall. Placing her mug on the table, she faced him. William’s jaw worked and his eyes blazed with an emotion she could not place as he stared at her injury. Was he angry with her or Veronica?
“My face is only a little swollen, my lord, it will heal in a day or two.” Maddie paused and took a fortifying breath. “There is one request I would make. I want Lady Veronica to leave. It is time she returned to her family and started a life of her own instead of living in ours.”
*
William tried to calm the rage that coursed through him over the state of his wife’s face. How dare Veronica lay a hand on Madeline? To mark her like some lowly serf. He unclenched his fist from around his goblet of wine.
“I want to know what happened, Madeline.” He adjusted his tone when her eyes widened in fear.
“We argued, my lord. We both said things that hurt the other. It will not happen again.”
“Did you hit her?” William regretted the question as soon as he’d asked it. The accusation in her eyes was like a punch to his gut.
“No, I did not. But if she does it again, she’ll feel my foot in her backside as she flies out the gate, instead of my hand against her face.”
William stifled a laugh. “So I gather you are still enemies.”
“Of course we’re enemies,” Madeline replied a disgusted look on her face.
Wanting to her touch her, he ran a finger down her cheek. She flushed and his mind turned to what she’d look like flushed and hot in his bed. His body reacted as it always did around her and he drank in every delightful feature that made up his wife before turning back to his meal.
“It was a jest, my lady. I will have words with Lady Veronica. It will not happen again.” His skin heated as her hand clasped his arm.
“I don’t want you to have words with her. I want her gone, my lord.”
He remembered to breathe as her touch made him burn. “’Tis impossible, Madeline. Lady Veronica is a relative of mine. I will not send her away when Scots are threatening the surrounding lands.”
His wife slumped back in her chair, disappointment etched on her lovely features. “So, you’ll let her stay here after what she did to me?”
“’Tis not a battle over life and death, ma chère. I will speak to Lady Veronica and she will not touch you again.” Madeline’s disappointment sliced at him like a sword in battle. William leaned over and kissed the cut on her cheek. She stilled and their eyes locked. Never had he bestowed such a sympathetic gesture to anyone least of all a wife he cared naught for.
But…did he? Did he care naught for her? Or had he started to feel a connection to this woman beside him? He wasn’t in love with Madeline. So, what was this new emotion that clutched at his chest and pumped his blood to pounding? Made him ache with need.
The kiss brought him in close proximity to her skin; jasmine wafted to his senses and he forgot where they were. He skimmed the sensitive coil of flesh on her ear with his lips and his body roared to have her, to show her the pleasures a man and woman could have.
“Ma chère, I…”
*
Maddie stiffened and pulled away from William. A sensual shiver raked her body by his endearment that sounded awfully heartfelt. Forgetting her ire over his refusal to send Lady Veronica away, Maddie said the first thing that popped into her head.
“I thought I might take some riding lessons.” She looked up at him and hoped he couldn’t hear the unease in her voice. “Would you teach me?” Maddie dipped a piece of bread into her soup and tried to calm her beating heart. If he dared touch her again with those soft lips, she may not have enough wits to change the course of the conversation. She took a sip of mead and still her stomach wouldn’t settle. Just his presence made her nervous.
“You already ride, Lady Madeline. In fact, from what I’ve been told, you’re a very good rider. I wouldn’t have thought my tuition was required.”
Maddie blanched, having completely forgotten William would think that. Damn it!
“Oh…well, maybe we could just ride out one day, you know, together.” What was she doing, trying to break her neck as well as her face? She couldn’t ride if her life depended on it. She would be lucky to stay on the horse at a walking pace, nevertheless a speed he would assume she could handle.
Maddie held his gaze as William studied her. The puzzled frown of a moment ago now replaced with an all-together different assessment. She peeked down at her gown to ensure all was proper, before she looked back at him. His eyes burned with a heat that smouldered in their depths. William grinned and her heart turned over in her chest from the roguish smirk. Why did she not like this man again? At this point in time, it was very hard to remember such facts.
“’Twould be a pleasure. Shall we say after breaking our fasts, come morn?”
Maddie nodded. Despite her impulsive request that would put her at risk, she now oddly looked forward to a ride with him, away from the castle and its many eyes. Even if it was on horseback.
“Sounds good, my lord,” she answered, and chuckled when his own laugh sounded at her odd reply.
The remainder of the dinner progressed pleasantly. Her husband was attentive and full of banter. Had she not know him, she would have thought he was trying to court her in some way. She sporadically peeked at him. He really was very good-looking, hard and yet yielding when he wanted to be. She had certainly never met anyone like him before. William somehow made all the modern men seem weak of character and body. And this man beside her had a body she found herself gazing at, almost slobbering over quite often.
Six foot four of muscle and brawn; a man who trained daily for battles. Not with guns or bombs, but with swords and axes. Well, he was hard to resist. She watched his lower arm flex as he ate his meal. She licked her lips knowing both arms were capable of wielding a sword with deadly precision.
Heat pooled in her belly when she remembered his sweat-soaked body during one of his training missions with Sir Alex. His body marked with scars of battles past. The sweat had run down his chiselled back, the muscles taut from the ebb and flow of their practice. Her skin heated as the vision flashed before her. Then the way he had treated her at dinner tonight, made her yearn for a man she had no right to want. The thought of that body atop hers, within her, sent her blood to pounding.
Maddie should face facts. She wanted him, no longer wanted to share him with any others. Never did, if she were honest. Somewhere in her female soul, it cried ownership of such a medieval warlord. She was married to him, after all.
And even though all the days and nights which passed in this time were new to her, something about Lord William was awfully familiar. When he turned on the charm like tonight, it was very hard to stay angry with him, to hate him no matter what. Even
with his mistress, who continued to live under the same roof.
But could Maddie have him? Win him only to leave? Was she willing to risk her heart, at least for a time, and share it with this man? She already knew without looking at him, the answer to that question.
She looked down to the vexing woman who stood between them. A woman who flirted with an archer from William’s army, the lady’s hand well occupied under the table. It was not hard to guess what Veronica was doing to the man, considering his flushed visage.
Maddie shook her head in wonder. Did William know his mistress shared her favors with all and sundry? She was not fool enough to think everything that came out of that woman’s mouth was truth…
Lady Veronica raised her mug in toast over her newest conquest to her. Maddie stole a look at William, deep in conversation with his steward, and knew he was oblivious to Veronica’s conduct.
No. The Lady Veronica de Walter was not a woman to be trusted.
Not ever.
Chapter Nine
This was not a good idea. Maddie gawked up at the horse. It seemed twice her height and ten times her body weight. It snorted and stomped its mammoth feet—no doubt to declare its dislike for the person who stood before it. She pulled back her hand as the monster tried to bite, wondered what it would do when she sat in its saddle. That was, if she even made it that far. It took all her courage not to run away screaming.
Even to her untrained eye, she could tell the horse was a thoroughbred, its bloodlines as strong as any aristocratic family in this time. The beautiful dark brown coat shone in the morning light. Brushed and well fed, the animal was probably looked after better than some of her people. Still, the beast had the audacity to snicker his dissatisfaction. She made eye contact with the horse as she prepared to step toward it. It stared at her, dared her to come closer. Maddie changed her mind and remained still. She had no death wish and what had she been thinking? Horses were just not her thing. Period.
The stable master stepped forward and held the reins. With no alternative, Maddie clasped the saddle as William prepared to give her a leg up. She smiled her thanks, and placed her foot in to his linked hands. The horse sidestepped out of her reach and left her hopping on one foot. A shiver stole through her as one of William’s arms clasped her waist in support. Her eyes met his for a moment before she stepped away and prepared to mount again. She pushed away the desire that rose within her at William’s touch. She needed to concentrate. Keep her mind focused on the animal before her. She needed no distractions today.
“Are you ready, Lady Madeline?”
She nodded while her mind screamed “No!” She silently thanked Mistress Rhode who had the common sense to fit her with hose this morning, now hidden under the woolen gown. It was only a matter of time before she landed on her behind. The extra padding would come in handy.
“When I lift you, throw your leg over the pommel then put your feet in the stirrups. Eurus is a good steed and James has the reins. Naught will happen to you, my lady. Lord’s honor,” William said, a hand over his heart.
This was unsafe. Maddie clasped the saddle with hands that shook, managed to turn and sit in the soft leather seat without tumbling over the other side. The horse stomped and snorted under her and she stilled, sure, the horse would bolt.
“William, I don’t know if I can do this.”
“Aye. You can, my lady. ’Tis a while since you rode, that is all. We will keep the pace slow if you like. I chose Eurus this morn because he is your usual mount. I can summon another if you prefer,” William said, his features perplexed.
Maddie swallowed the lump of fear now lodged firmly in her throat. A fear the horse instinctively recognized. The Lady Madeline of old may have been a great rider, but Maddie was not. What was she going to do? Why didn’t she keep her big mouth shut? She cursed her stupidity under her breath.
“No, Eurus is fine, my lord. But I would prefer to take it slowly. You are right, it has been some weeks since I rode.” Years, if he wanted the truth. He placed her foot into the stirrup. The touch, in no way sensual, brought forth a longing in her she should not feel. She watched entranced as he walked toward his own mount, his stride purposeful. William mounted his own horse with ease and Maddie noted the muscles in his legs flexed as he settled the animal beneath him in total submission.
She remembered to breathe and looked away, knew if he caught her eye at that moment, all her desires would be bared before him. Gosh, her infatuation was bad. Maddie looked down at the stableman and asked him to release the reins. She lifted herself in the saddle and adjusted her seat then clicked her tongue and jerked her body forward to encourage the horse to move on. It did not. Instead, she found herself going around in circles.
“Sit down in the saddle, and tighten your reins a little,” William said, his voice amused. Maddie looked up and caught the roguish grin on his lips and it settled her nerves a little. He wouldn’t let anything happen to her.
Maddie did as he suggested and tried to relax. Eventually her horse settled beneath her and relented to its rider. In the distance, she heard the slow rumble of the drawbridge being lowered. The stableman walked her mount over to Lord William and handed him the lead rope. Maddie could only imagine what they were thinking. For a woman who was supposed to know horseflesh and how to control such animals it was humiliating to be seen led out like a child. She blushed and shrank into her saddle a little further.
“Are you ready, ma chère?” William asked.
“Yes,” Maddie nodded. “Let’s go.”
He walked, thank God, out to the road that led to Kingston castle, before he veered them away to walk parallel to the sea. The waves ebbed and flowed against the beach and an outcrop of black rocks could be seen further along the shore, the only marring of a stretch of beautiful golden sand.
They sat in silence, both enjoying the freshened sea air and beautiful views. Maddie soon forgot her fear as she looked about. From this vantage, she could see the steep jagged crags that circled the castle. Her home looked dominating and grand, not in the least penetrable.
“This view is magnificent, William.” Maddie looked at him, and her breath hitched in her lungs. His smile lit up an already handsome visage and a longing to see him so and often assailed her. Their gazes locked and for a time Maddie couldn’t look away. God almighty, could a man be any more delicious?
*
William smiled liking the sound of his name spoken from Madeline’s delectable, red lips; lips that he longed to touch again, to taste as he had all those weeks ago.
’Twas strange she did not know how to ride. Earlier this morn he had sought out the stable master to ask about her seat. The man confirmed Lady Madeline had as good a seat as any on a horse. Yet, to him she looked like a woman petrified of not only horses, but of heights.
“All this land before you, as far as your eyes can see, belongs to Aimecourt, Madeline. But of course, you know this already.”
He watched as her eyes looked with renewed fervor. Surely, she would know what she owned. Something about her fascination made him wonder it that was in fact the case.
“It’s wonderful, isn’t it?” she said. Her small backside bobbed up and down in the saddle in her haste to view everything.
William looked away from the delectable sight and gestured for them to continue. He veered their mounts down to the shore, headed for the water to submerge the horses’ legs in salt water. The coast stretched for miles, arcing toward the craggy headland. The dense forest, running adjacent to the shore, he would take her to another day. William looked over at Madeline; her hair billowed about her shoulders and accentuated her fair complexion and something in his gut tightened.
“My Lady Madeline looks lost in thought,” William said.
“Do I?” Her carefree, warm laugh sent blood pounding to his groin. “I didn’t know the Solway coast was so beautiful,” Madeline said, her tone wistful.
William pulled up his mount. “That, my lady, is impossible. You h
ave resided here your whole life. And what is this name you call the coast? Solway? I have never heard of this name before.”
William frowned as all color in Madeline’s cheeks dissolved. She worked her bottom lip and looked out over the ocean. William thought over his words and could not understand her unease by them.
“Madeline?” he prompted.
“I’m sorry to confuse you, my lord. Solway is a name I made up years ago for the coastline. And I suppose until today I hadn’t really stopped and looked at it.” She shrugged. “To admire its beauty.”
Something inside William’s chest thumped hard. He rubbed the chainmail that sat over his heart and smiled. “I believe one should always stop and take a second look. First appearances can often be misleading, my lady.”
The silence stretched as the horses made their way along the edge of the surf. A tension, not at all ominous, filled the air between them.
“Lady Madeline, would you allow me to speak freely? I have been meaning to talk with you for some time, but…”
“Of course, if you wish it,” she said.
William shifted in his saddle. “I wanted you to know that I have ended my association with Lady Veronica. After what happened between you and further consideration, ’tis only right she leave our home. I have sent word to her family in the hopes they will assist her with her travels. She should depart Aimecourt within a month or so.”
He watched the surprise blossom on her face. He supposed his words would come as a shock. Had he not told her only hours ago such a thing was out of the question?
“I hope, my lord, that you do not come to regret your decision. You know I petitioned the king for support to annul our marriage. Perhaps in time, you’ll be free to marry whomever you please.”
William clenched his jaw at her refusal to admit to what was between them. This tension that went beyond sexual need. He liked her. Had grown to respect her. William would not believe Madeline wanted him to leave. He stared at her profile, her own gaze lost on the waves.