Chapter Ten #3
It was as he feared. Dustin, seeking revenge, picked up an apple confection full of nuts and dates and charged Marcus, smashing the whole thing right into his face, even shoving nuts up his nose. He sputtered, alternately licking and wiping his face as Dustin laughed herself weak.
“If you were not my liege’s wife, I would make you lick it off,” he growled, although he was not angry in the least.
Edward shook his head. “I shall go find something to clean you two up with,” he muttered, disappearing back into the kitchen.
Dustin was still giggling as Marcus sat down, wiping his face. There was one more pastry left and, unable to resist the temptation, she picked it up and pretended to eat it. Instead, she came around behind him and smashed the whole thing into his face.
Marcus’ hands flew up and snatched her arms, yanking her so hard that she and the remainder of the pastry flew into his lap. They were both laughing and struggling with each other, not realizing that Dustin had landed in a very compromising position until it was too late.
Dustin was clutched to Marcus’ chest, her face not an inch from his own goo-smeared one.
His cobalt-blue eyes bore into her, as much from shock as from the excitement.
Dustin’s face grew very warm as she stared back into his eyes.
She didn’t know why she didn’t pull away; it was as if he had somehow hypnotized her.
She could not quite seem to tear her eyes away from him and the whole time her mind screamed of the impropriety of it.
Christopher was her husband, this man was his vassal – she cared for Chris, not this man she had only known a matter of days.
But it was more than that. Dustin thought she was going insane, for she had known dozens of suitors and not one of them ever appealed to her.
Then she married a man and grew to find him extremely attractive, and then on his heels comes another man she finds attractive, too.
But it was of no matter; she knew right from wrong.
Sitting on Marcus’ lap was wrong and, awkwardly, she tried to climb off.
Unfortunately, Marcus had her tightly. She was too close, too beautiful, too tempting.
Against his better judgment and all that he stood for, his lips descended on Dustin’s, hard and forceful and firm.
There was pastry everywhere on his face, now on hers, and Dustin yanked away from him, twisting free of his grip and stumbling several feet away.
Somehow, she ended up on her feet, glaring at him.
Marcus could only look at her, his eyes as wide as her own. He could still scarcely believe what he had done.
Dustin stopped glaring and her eyes welled up with confused, frightened tears. “Marcus…,” she breathed, tears spilling over. “How could you do that?”
Before he could find his tongue and apologize, she dashed up the stairs and he heard the door to her chamber slam. Edward reappeared out of the kitchen, holding a wet cloth.
“Where is Dustin?” he asked innocently, handing the linen to Marcus.
Marcus was still in shock. He accepted the cloth and wiped his face clean of the sticky mess. He was struggling to cover up his blunder.
“Up in her room, I suppose, gathering her things,” he said, unable to look Edward in the eye.
But Edward was unaware of Marcus’ manner. “Good,” he said. “The sooner we get to London, the better. Chris must feel fairly exposed without his full complement of men.”
Marcus didn’t reply. He was anxious to get out of there. He set down the cloth and took the stairs to his own room to collect his belongings, leaving Edward to follow him in blissful ignorance.
*
Later on the road, Dustin was determined to ignore Marcus.
She blamed him for what happened, yet in the same breath she blamed herself and her guilt was terrible.
As they rode side by side along the road, she was pleased that he seemed to ignore her, too, and that allowed her to collect her thoughts.
Dustin was naive, but she wasn’t scatterbrained.
She accepted the fact that she found Marcus attractive, and she accepted the fact that she had grown to consider him a friend over the past few days.
He had been kind and gentle and attentive to her needs, and she had inadvertently fallen victim to his charms.
But she missed Christopher terribly. She thought of him constantly and looked forward to the moment when they would be alone together again.
When she thought of his hands on her, his hot mouth and scratchy beard, she went warm and liquid inside.
The more she thought of Marcus and their kiss, the more she missed her husband.
She knew everything would right itself once they were together again. She wondered if he had missed her, too.
She had been so caught up in her train of thought that she hadn’t seen Marcus steer his destrier over to her until it was too late. She caught a glimpse of the dark-brown animal from the corner of her eye.
“My lady is quiet,” Marcus said softly.
“I have nothing to say, my lord,” she replied evenly. “I am trying to conserve my strength for the remainder of our journey.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment. “Dustin, I am sorry. I never meant….”
She jerked her head around, looking to see who might be around them. Edward and Dud were several yards back, talking between themselves, and the men-at-arms were behind them still. She and Marcus were quite alone where they rode.
“I do not wish to discuss this, Marcus,” she hissed. “It happened. Leave it at that and we shall get along fine.”
He sighed. “Aye, it happened, but I wanted you to know I was sorry. I never meant to do it. It just happened somehow.”
She nodded curtly, her only reply. He watched her as the horses plodded along, her stiff back and taut features.
“Are you going to treat me like dirt for the rest of my life?” he asked, half in jest.
She turned to him in irritation, her gray eyes dark. “What is it you want from me, Marcus? Why can’t you simply leave well enough alone?”
He flipped up his visor, his dark blue eyes riveted to her.
“I am going to be serving your husband for a long time, my lady, and it would make both our lives considerably easier if we could move past this incident. I do not want your hostility every time I come near you, for sooner or later Christopher is going to deduce that something is going on and he will demand truths. I, for one, do not wish to divulge this particular moment of weakness. He would be most unforgiving.”
Dustin’s anger faded and she swallowed hard, looking away. Then she sighed. “I am sorry it happened, too. ’Twas no one’s fault alone.”
Marcus was greatly relieved. They rode together for a few moments in silence, each feeling the tension draining away between them. But Dustin found the need to clarify something.
“I…I care for my husband, Marcus,” she said softly, looking at him. “Had I met you first, things might be different, but I did not meet you first and I am married to Christopher. You must understand that.”
He nodded. “I understand completely,” he said. “Since you are being truthful, I shall be with you. I am intrigued by you, Lady de Lohr, yet it will go no further than that. You have my oath as a knight of the realm.
She still wouldn’t look at him. She wished he would simply drop the subject. “I believe you.”
That was the end of their conversation. There were two more days of minor conversation and Dustin avoided Marcus as much as she possibly could. Essentially, they rode together in silence the rest of the way to London with Dustin struggling to forget what had happened.
Marcus, however, was not. He did not want to forget.
*
Windsor Castle
Built of blond stone with the biggest walls she had ever seen, the sight was enough to fill Dustin with awe and dread. She almost fell off Hercules gazing up at the massive, turreted structure as the party rode in from the northwest and she heard Marcus laugh at her.
“It’s so big,” she gasped.
“Aye, it is,” Edward said, riding behind them. “The seat of the great Christian Empire.”
Dustin shook her head, overwhelmed with the all of it.
As they rode under the portcullis of the western gatehouse, soldiers yelled of their arrival and Dustin swore she had never seen so much activity in all her life.
There were hundreds, even thousands, of men everywhere and it suddenly dawned on her that her husband was in charge of all of them.
It was nearly too much to comprehend. She very much wanted to see her husband at that moment.
“Do you see Chris, Marcus?” she asked excitedly.
“He will not be out here on the walls, my lady,” Marcus replied. “More than likely, he is over in the practice arena or in the knight’s quarters. We’ll find him.”
Even more than her excitement of arriving at Windsor, she found she was shaking with excitement to see her husband.
She had felt so lost without him, and the whole incident with Marcus had frightened her.
The past three days of travel had been hellish and she was anxious to find comfort in his arms.
As they approached the massive round keep of the castle, several stewards in silk tunics and hose came rushing out to greet them.
Dud and Edward took charge of the men-at-arms as Marcus helped Dustin dismount.
There were servants dashing about everywhere, stripping her belongings off her horse and unloading the wagon.
A thin man as tall as she was approached her and bowed deeply. “We were told that you would be arriving, Lady de Lohr. Your husband has requested that you take to your rooms and he will seek you later,” the man said.
Dustin eyed him. “How did you know it was me? We sent no word ahead announcing our arrival.”
The man bowed quickly again. “If it pleases my lady, your husband instructed us to watch for the most beautiful woman in the realm with hair like spun gold. When we saw you passing through the portcullis, we assumed he meant you. Were we wrong?”