A Warrior's Kiss
Autore
Margaret Moore
Letto da
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Capitoli
15
Chapter One
Pleased to have a moment’s respite from the noisy celebrations going on in the hall below, Sir Trystan DeLanyea strolled along the upper wall walk of his father’s castle.
The harvest had been a good one, and all who lived in or near the castle of Craig Fawr were feasting and playing and dancing in the great hall. By this time in the evening, the air was thick with the scents of smoke, tallow and sweating bodies mingling with expensive perfumes and spices.
Taking a deep breath of the cool, refreshing air, Trystan sighed and leaned against the inner curtain wall’s merlon. His father had spent years building this fortress after his return from the Crusade. Now it was as strong and comfortable as any lord could wish for, as well as an imposing tribute to his father’s determination and trading acumen.
As Trystan let his gaze rove over the inner ward, he spotted the place where, three years ago, he had finally hit a perfect bull’s-eye with his lance, something not even Griffydd, his elder brother, had ever been able to do. That had been a great day—until that impertinent wench Mair had happened by with a cartload of ale and ruined his delight by observing that the targets seemed to be getting larger every time she came to the castle.
Although he was the Baron DeLanyea’s son, she had never respected him, or even liked him. She had always teased him and made sport of him, from the days they were children.
He didn’t doubt it would have been different if he were the eldest, like Griffydd, or a baron in his own right, like his cousin and foster brother, Dylan.
But he wasn’t. To all and sundry around Craig Fawr, Trystan was still looked on as a “boy,” as Dylan persisted in addressing him, even though he had earned his knighthood.
Someday, though, that was going to change, Trystan silently vowed. He, Sir Trystan DeLanyea, was going to become the most famous, wealthy and respected DeLanyea of all, more so even than his father, who had lost an eye fighting with King Richard in the Holy Land.
Trystan permitted himself a small smile as he considered again the very pleasant way he had realized he could start his journey on the road to fame and success: he would marry the proper wife, and who better than the most beautiful and desirable Norman noblewoman he had ever met, Lady Rosamunde D’Heureux, who was visiting here with her father?
Although Sir Edward D’Heureux did not boast a great title, his family had far more power and influence within the court than many, including Trystan’s own. Any man allied with him would have tremendous opportunities for advancement. Indeed, the man who could win Lady Rosamunde’s hand could surely expect notice from the king himself. And a man who had the notice of the king could go very far indeed, certainly farther than an older brother already married to a woman from the north, or a cousin ensconced in his Welsh castle.
The chance of such a marriage didn’t seem at all impossible as Trystan recalled how Lady Rosamunde had smiled and danced with him in her demure, ladylike way before she had retired for the evening.
He should retire, too, he thought as he stifled a yawn. He should be waiting to escort Lady Rosamunde to the chapel for mass in the morning.
He turned and headed back toward the stairs leading to the inner courtyard. He passed the sentry on duty near the first watchtower and, barely noticing the guard’s brisk salute, continued around the tower and entered a more secluded part of the wall walk. The rays of moonlight did not penetrate this dim corner of the walk.
Suddenly, two hands reached out and grabbed his woolen tunic, yanking him backward into the darkest part of the shadow. Before he could call out, the person attacking him pressed her voluptuous body against his and kissed him passionately.
It was a kiss such as a man might dream of. The perfect kiss, firm and yet soft, lips moving with hot, fervent desire, taking his very breath away. Her mouth tasted of honey and spices, like mead, and wisps of hair tickled his cheek.
A man could well get drunk on such a kiss.
As his own ardor increased and his embrace tightened about her shapely form, Trystan wondered who it was.
Lady Rosamunde? She was too timid and delicate for this earthy passion, and she would taste of wine.
One of the serving wenches? Aye, perhaps, if there was one so bold.
Did it matter?
The heady scent of mead seemed to mingle with the night air and become a part of it, and him, as he gave himself up to the enjoyment of this unexpectedly passionate moment.
Then, as suddenly as the kiss began, the woman broke it and shoved him away. “You’re not Ivor!” she cried in an angry whisper and an all-too-familiar voice.
A curse flew from Trystan’s lips, in no small part because he should have known who would taste and smell of mead.
“By God’s holy heart, Mair!” he declared in a whisper just as angry as he grabbed her slender shoulders. “What in the name of the saints are you doing?”
He couldn’t see the young, unmarried woman who brewed ale and mead for her living very well, but he knew she had been at the feast. How could he miss her, in her best gown of scarlet silk trimmed with green and gold, as fine as any highborn lady’s garment? A well-fitted gown it was, too, no doubt designed to show off her shapely form and attract male attention. Round her head she wore a circlet of scarlet ribbon that streamed out behind her like a knight’s pennant as she danced.
Aye, Mair had been everywhere at the feast, it had seemed, dancing and smiling and laughing and tossing her rich, chestnut mane of hair about like some kind of demented, blithe spirit of festivity, flirting with all the men—except for him, because she knew better.
“As even you might guess, I am waiting for Ivor,” she retorted, as mocking and bold and shameless as always.
“The captain of the guard?” Trystan demanded, thinking of the dark-haired, muscular fellow his father had recently promoted to that position.
“Not that it’s any of your business,” Mair replied as, with a disdainful sniff, she went to push past him.
Hearing the sound of approaching footsteps, Trystan shoved her back into the corner and blockaded her there with his body.
“What do you—?” she protested.
“Be quiet! The last thing I want is for anybody to see us together,” he growled quietly.
She laughed softly, the mischievous sound so low, he knew only he would hear it. “Oh, we mustn’t have that, must we, or Angharad will be thinking her prediction is about to come true.”
The guard made his turn and started back toward his post, something Trystan only half-noted, just as he only partly paid attention to Mair’s reminder that Angharad, credited with the Sight, had ridiculously prophesied that one day he and this impertinent alewife would be married.
The greater part of his mind was desperately trying to ignore the sensation of his body against Mair’s, and the memory of that kiss. “You and I both know Angharad is dead wrong about that,” he muttered. “I would never marry you.”
“What’s the matter, Sir Trystan?” Mair inquired in a teasing whisper. “You sound all out of breath.”
“Nothing is the matter with me.” To prove that, he moved even closer. “Where’s Arthur?” he demanded, naming the illegitimate child she had borne ten years before. “He can’t be with his father, for Dylan is not here tonight.”
“No, nor Dylan’s wife, either. How sad for you.”
Instantly Trystan’s jaw clenched. “Whatever I once felt for Genevieve is gone. Can you say the same of Dylan?”
Mair quietly laughed, the sound a throaty bubble of mirth full of genuine good humor. It was the same reaction she always had when he tried to speak with her, as if serious matters were immaterial if he spoke of them. “Jealous, are you?”
“Never of you and him.”
“Ah, well, considering Dylan hasn’t been with me since before Arthur first saw the light of day, I suppose I should commend you on your wisdom.”
“I said, never of you and him,” he growled.
She bowed her head with mocking acceptance. “Very well, I believe you. And since you are kind enough to inquire, my son is with Trefor and Angharad tonight,” she replied, naming Dylan’s other bastard son, and his mother.
“At least Angharad knows how to behave.”
“Angharad won’t take another lover because she’s too arrogant. After having a baron’s child, she won’t love any man who isn’t noble.”
“Did she tell you that?”
“You know Angharad. Do you doubt it?”
“Perhaps she regrets bearing Dylan’s child.”
Mair laughed again. “Don’t be daft. She doesn’t, and neither do I. Or is that the Norman influence talking? You know the Welsh don’t care about that. We’re too sensible.”
“That is not the word I would use.”
“What word would you use? No, wait, let me guess,” she answered, putting her slender finger against his lips. “Sinful.” She slowly dragged her finger down his chin. “Lustful. Lascivious.”
Feeling aroused in spite of his determination not to be, he batted her hand away. “Aren’t you the least bit ashamed about having a child out of wedlock?”
“Anwyl, now I know you’ve been too long among the Normans! No, of course I’m not.”
“And it doesn’t bother you that Dylan married somebody else?”
“Why should it? We never spoke of marriage. Besides, we were finished long before he met Genevieve.”
“I will never, ever, understand you.”
“Maybe I don’t want you to.”
“And I don’t care what you do, or who you do it with,” he retorted, nearly overwhelmed with the desire to taste her sweet, spicy lips again, to hold her vibrant, womanly body against his.
“Good, is that.”
“Stay here, then, and meet your lover.”
“I think I had better go find him, for he is late. Now let me pass.”
“I am not stopping you.”
“You’re in my way.”
The sound of his heartbeat throbbed in his ears. “Am I?”
“Yes.”
He didn’t move away. Instead he gave in to the temptation he could no longer fight and pulled her into his arms.
Then he kissed her with all the fierce, unbridled passion unleashed by the first touch of her lips upon his.
She seemed to yield—but only for a moment, before she pushed him away.
“I don’t even like you!” Mair protested, meaning it, believing it, in spite of the incredible feelings of desire and longing Trystan DeLanyea’s kiss aroused.
No, she didn’t like Trystan, with his cool gray eyes that always seemed to find fault with her, as if condemning her for enjoying all that life had to offer, and all that men did, too. To be sure, he was handsome, like all the DeLanyeas, with his cousin’s dark, curling hair and sensual lips. He dressed well, too, his black tunic and breeches showing off the muscles that only hours of training and riding could produce.
But there were other men as handsome as he, and plenty with more of a sense of humor. Indeed, if he had Dylan’s best features, he also had the grave, gray eyes of his elder brother, the stern and forbidding Griffydd DeLanyea, who wore his honor like armor.
“I don’t like you, either,” he replied.
“Then get out of my way.”
He half turned, making a grand gesture of invitation to walk past him. She took a step.
No, he was not Ivor. He was not Dylan or Ianto or any one of a dozen men to whom she had made love in her life.
But his kisses were the best and she wanted more.
So she impetuously yanked him to her and boldly kissed him again, enjoying his surprise and the passion she knew she roused within him.
She would show Trystan why most men liked her.
He broke away, panting. “You should behave like a decent woman and go home to bed.”
She put her hands on his broad chest, feeling the taut muscles and the thudding of his heart through his tunic. “I can do what I wish. I am a grown woman.”
She reached for the lacing at the neck of his soft woolen tunic, pulled the knot loose and slipped her hand inside the shirt beneath to stroke his naked flesh.
“I can tell,” he replied huskily, his hand boldly caressing her breast through the silk of her garment and her thin shift.
She pulled her hand away, but only to slip it up and under his tunic and shirt. She wanted to feel even more of his body.
His breathing grew raw as he pressed another heated kiss upon her willing lips. She parted them, allowing his tongue to slip inside the waiting warmth.
He moved her back against the wall and then she realized he was undoing the lacing at the back of her gown as he continued to kiss her.
No, he was not like any other man. She had always guessed it would be so.
Why not find out everything?
As she continued to stroke his chest, the lacing of her bodice gave way. With impassioned impatience, he tugged it lower, and eagerly she thrust her breasts toward him. When he took her nipple between his lips, she nearly cried out with delight at the sensations he aroused. Only the vague realization that the guard might hear kept her silent.
Needing more, desperate for more, she ground her hips against him.
Giving him permission. Asking him. Wanting him.
She reached beneath his tunic to find the draw-string of his breeches.
Panting, he positioned her against the wall and shoved her skirt up, then lifted her, his strong hands on her naked buttocks.
“Yes, oh yes,” she whispered as she gripped his shoulders and wrapped her legs around his waist.
Then, with frantic, fervent urgency, he took her.
Biting her lip to keep from crying out in ecstasy, she welcomed every powerful thrust. The tension built in delicious anticipation, seeming to stretch like the string of a lute being tuned.
And he was like a master minstrel who knew precisely how to play upon her body as if it were an instrument with which he was intimately familiar, until finally the tension snapped and wave after wave of release swept through her.
His breath hot upon her, he made almost no sound at all, even when he finally stiffened, then slumped against her, spent.
She laid her head against his shoulder, exhausted and complete, too, as her breathing slowly returned to normal.
As everything slowly returned to normal.
She had just made love with Trystan DeLanyea, who didn’t even like her.
Sickening remorse took the place where passion had ruled moments ago.
He had never liked her, not since they were children and he would come to her father’s brewery with the baron, his father. He would simply stand and look at her with his studious eyes as if there was something terribly wrong with her. In desperation she had teased and jeered at him until she got a response, even if what he said had never been pleasing to hear.
She slipped her legs to the ground and pulled away, her skirt falling back into place, covering her nakedness and the evidence of her hasty act.
At nearly the same time, Trystan turned away and retied his breeches, then smoothed down his tunic.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “I didn’t want to do that.”
“Yes, you did,” she retorted, her pride pricked by his shamed attitude as she reached back and briskly tied the lacing of her bodice. “If you didn’t, you wouldn’t have, so don’t try to deny it.”
He faced her and when he spoke, his tone was grimly determined. “I regret this, and I would rather we both forgot what just happened.”
Although she told herself she should not be surprised, hot tears stung Mair’s eyes.
But she would die a thousand deaths before she would show any hurt to him.
“What?” she demanded. “What just happened? Nothing at all!”
“I am glad you agree.”
“Oh, I agree, all right. Dylan was something, and this was not,” she sneered.
Then, before he could wound her more with his words, she marched past him and disappeared down the stairs.
As Trystan remained on the wall walk, he sighed and ran his hand through his disheveled, shoulder-length hair. God’s wounds, what had come over him? How could he have been so lustful and so stupid?
And with Mair, of all women!
Mair, who always seemed to be laughing at him, as if everything he did was some kind of jest for her amusement and who apparently slept with any man who asked her.
Who had borne his own cousin a son out of wedlock.
God save him, he needed to marry the sweet, innocent Lady Rosamunde, who would surely react with just horror if she heard of his disgraceful, lustful behavior.
He should have controlled himself better, but what man could have resisted Mair’s fiery kiss? What other mortal could have walked away when a voluptuous, passionate woman leaned into him with such unabashed desire?
No man he knew, not even Griffydd.
At least he felt remorse for his lascivious act, unlike Mair. If it had been any other woman, she would have fled the moment she realized her mistake after kissing him.
But Mair had not, and so he had naturally given in to the temptation she offered.
Yes, it was her fault for kissing him again, and for being the sort of woman who would wait for a man in such a place, for such a reason. Therefore, he would not berate himself. It had been all Mair’s fault.
Nevertheless, it would still create a difficulty if Lady Rosamunde learned about tonight. He must ensure she did not, even if that meant speaking privately to Mair. Considering Mair’s anger, he suspected she might be as anxious as he to keep their assignation a secret.
He would go to Mair tomorrow. He would not rush to her first thing, for if he left the castle too early, it might cause comment, and then he would have to make explanations.
He didn’t want to have to lie.
Mair’s pace quickened as she crossed the wide courtyard. She wanted nothing more than to get home, away from Trystan and the rest of the DeLanyeas, too.
She must have been deranged to make love to him!
And him—he had some gall, that one, trying to make her feel ashamed for what was only natural. She was proud to be the mother of Dylan’s son, and everybody knew how Trystan had mooned about over Dylan’s wife, Genevieve.
A sardonic smile lifted the corners of her lips. It seemed Trystan was over that particular infatuation.
“Mair!”
A male shape appeared near the gate moving toward her, armed and wearing chain mail. Thick, dark hair brushed brawny shoulders, and the man stood a whole head taller than she.
Ivor.
“Where were you?” she demanded coolly, regarding his angular face in the moonlight. “Giving the watch the password for the night, I was,” he said apologetically as he reached out to take her hands. “Lovely you look in this dress, Mair.”
She moved away. “Did you think I would wait forever?”
“Mair,” he wheedled in his deep, velvety voice which was really the most attractive thing about him. “Duty it was, and nothing else. Only that would keep me away from you, that and your women’s… It’s finished, is it?”
“Yes.”
“You’re not angry because I am a little late, surely? Other women might be, but not you. You are too good to be upset about such a little thing.”
She sighed. She had done what she had done, and she would not blame another. “No, I am not angry with you,” she replied.
“Glad I am to hear it,” Ivor said, dropping his voice to a whisper as she let him take her hand. He started to lead her toward the storerooms. “My barracks are too crowded with celebrating soldiers tonight.”
She tugged her hand from his. “I’m tired, Ivor. I am going to go home to bed.”
“I can come with you. My duties are finished for tonight. Your son is with Angharad, isn’t he?”
“I said I was tired, Ivor. Good night.”
Leaving her eager lover dumbfounded and standing alone in the moonlight, Mair continued on her way.
The next morning, Baron Emryss DeLanyea gave a prodigious sigh as he limped onto the dais in the great hall of Craig Fawr to join his youngest son in breaking their fast. Other trestle tables had been set up for the feeding of the servants and guests, and a bevy of maidservants hastened to put out the first meal of the day.
“God save me!” the baron said with a grunt as he sat heavily. “The wind must be from the east, my leg is aching so!”
He turned toward Trystan and ran a scrutinizing gaze over him. “No sleep last night, is it? Was it too much wine, or a woman?”
“Da!” Trystan chided quietly, glancing around at the guests.
Fortunately, the pious Lady Rosamunde had not returned from the chapel, where Trystan had feasted his eyes on her. She had looked like an angel in her gown of pale blue, her bounteous blonde hair only partly hidden by the thinnest of white silk veils. He would have lingered and waited to escort her back to the hall, yet he dreaded appearing too like an eager puppy. As much as he desired her, he wanted to maintain some dignity.
He also thought he would be better able to converse with her after he had spoken with Mair.
“Very well,” Baron DeLanyea replied lightly. “Do not tell me. But I would rather it was a woman than wine. I have no patience for drunkards.”
“Aye, I know,” his son replied, glancing at his father’s grinning face.
Then he noticed the shrewd scrutiny lurking in the baron’s eye. Half-blind his father may be, but he always saw everything. And if he happened to miss something, his wife did not.
Between his parents, it was almost impossible to keep a secret, Trystan thought, trying not to scowl.
“A woman, then. Well, and you are a young man, so I suppose it is to be expected. Even Griffydd had his—”
“Lovers,” Trystan finished impatiently. “And Dylan, of course, and as long as I treat the women well and as a chivalrous man should, no shame to them or me.”
When he saw his father’s face, Trystan wished he had kept quiet.
“Aye, that’s right. And whatever happens is between you and the woman.”
This time, Trystan kept his mouth shut.
“I only hope you are dallying with a Welshwoman and not a Norman one,” his father remarked quietly as he leaned forward to rip a piece of warm bread from the loaf in front of him.
Mott, his father’s favorite hunting hound, and a huge black beast of a dog, sniffed and lumbered forward, obviously expecting some scraps to fall to him.
“Gwen likes you,” the baron continued, nodding at the serving wench who was slightly younger than Trystan.
Gwen was pretty, too, and her plump, rounded curves suited her. She was genial and kind, and a man could do worse. Trystan had, in fact, stolen a kiss or two from Gwen in the kitchen, but that was as far as that had gone. “Isn’t she going to marry Ianto?”
“Oh, yes, I forgot.”
“I didn’t, and I am not dallying with anybody.”
“No?” His father almost made that sound a sin.
“No!” Trystan frowned. “What’s wrong with Norman women? You married one.”
His father’s response was a low chuckle. “Your mother is exceptional.”
Trystan tried to look as if he had not heard this a thousand times. It was no secret his father loved his exceptional mother exceptionally well.
His father grew serious. “Normans are a stern and ambitious lot, most of them,” he said, “and they hold their honor dear. It wouldn’t be wise to promise more to a Norman woman than you are willing to give.”
Trystan grabbed the loaf and tore off a piece, then proceeded to rip it into little bits that fell on the floor to be gobbled up by Mott. “I have made no promises to any woman.”
“A word of warning is all, my son,” his father said placatingly. “I would not care to have such trouble as Dylan’s wedding caused again.”
No longer hungry, Trystan shoved back his chair and stood. “Neither do I. I assure you, Da, I will try to conduct myself with wisdom and honor, in all things.”
The baron looked shocked. “Of course you will, Trystan. I never thought otherwise.”
Trystan didn’t answer as he turned on his heel and strode away.
The baron absently scratched Mott’s head. “Thinking I should have a little chat with his mother, me,” he muttered.
His opinion did not alter as he watched his son halt near the door and flush with apparent pleasure as Lady Rosamunde D’Heureux and her father arrived to break the fast.
