Chapter Eight
The village of Staines, a rather large berg, wasn’t far off.
Kevin took Annavieve along with him as he galloped over fields, across streams, and made a shortcut to the town which could be seen in the distance off to the southeast. It was a rather wild ride through the meadow, jumping short rock walls, and, at one point, charging through a farmer’s winter crop of onions.
His horse’s hooves uprooted several as it thundered across the field, kicking up clods of dirt and scaring off the birds that were trying to feed.
Annavieve held on for dear life, her arms wrapped around Kevin’s torso as they charged through the fields.
She had never really ridden like this on horseback and she was rightly terrified, but Kevin was in control of the beast and the animal seemed to have a sure footing, so she simply held on and prayed that they wouldn’t break their necks.
It was probably all very exciting for a young woman who had hardly been out of her controlled environment but, at the moment, she couldn’t see beyond her own fright to think of it as exciting.
Her thoughts, however, did linger on Kevin.
She was with him again, alone, and she was secretly thrilled.
She’d had the best sleep of her life the night before, wrapped in his enormous arms warm and safe, but she’d awoken to him leaping out of bed, throwing on his clothes, and then fleeing the chamber.
He’d not said a word to her the entire time, quitting the room in silence.
It had given her a rather hollow feeling, in all, because she had very much wanted to say something to him after the night they’d shared.
Strange thing was, she wasn’t sure what, exactly, she wanted to say to him.
What had started out as a duty, a task ordered by her husband, had turned into something else.
Having been raised around women, her exposure to men in general had been extremely rare, so last night when Kevin pulled her into his arms was the first time she’d ever known a man’s touch.
It had quickly grown overwhelming, frightening even, but Kevin had never intentionally hurt her, nor had he been rough with her.
Everything he’d done had given her great and unexpected pleasure, but it also made her quite embarrassed.
The man, the stranger who had been so kind to her, had touched her in places she rarely touched herself, so his attentions, at times, had been shocking.
She wouldn’t even admit that his mouth upon her woman’s core was perhaps the most thrilling thing she’d ever experienced.
Nay, she couldn’t admit that, even to herself, but when she thought of it, a smile flickered on her lips.
A smile flickered on her lips when she thought of him, too.
A night that she had dreaded had become one she would never forget.
She couldn’t even hope to think that Kevin felt the same way.
To him, it was a duty and she had to keep reminding herself of that.
So the minutes passed as she clung to Kevin, the landscape passing by with frightening speed as the horse practically flew.
Once they finally came through the fields, there was an oddly well-maintained road that led into the village.
Kevin didn’t slow his pace as he cantered down the road towards the cluster of worn-looking huts surrounding a box-shaped church with a tower.
The horse eventually slowed once they entered the village proper and Annavieve’s head came up from where she had tucked it protectively against Kevin’s broad back.
She looked around at the edges of the village where people were moving about; farmers driving their cart and oxen away from the city and back to the barns while children and dogs ran about, playing or chasing one another.
Women with baskets full of vegetables or great stacks of thatching on their backs moved to the side of the road as Kevin and Annavieve passed them by.
Entering the city itself, they plodded along the muddy, smelly streets, losing themselves in the collection of colorless homes.
“Where are we going?” Annavieve asked him as they passed by a man who was trying to sell a basketful of wriggly puppies.
Kevin’s visor was up, his eyes focused on the squat, boxy church several hundred yards in front of them. “There,” he said, pointing. “Priests know everything about their town. I will ask the priest if he knows of a seamstress.”
Annavieve was confused. “Why?” she asked. “You said that the duke had given you permission to spend money on me. What did you mean?”
Kevin’s gaze was on the town square that they were approaching, a vast space with a well and trough in the middle of it. “You are a duchess,” he said simply. “Your wardrobe does not reflect that. I have been given permission to commission some fine clothing for you.”
Annavieve looked down at her simple peasant dress and ugly wool cloak. “This clothing is serviceable,” she said, feeling rather ashamed now of what she was wearing. “I made it myself.”
Kevin grunted. “When we reach Ilchester, I will make sure you have fine ladies serving you,” he said. “They can sew your clothing and do tasks at your bidding.
“I can sew my own clothes.”
He glanced over his shoulder at her. “You do not seem to understand,” he said.
“You are now the Duchess of Dorset. You do not sew your own clothing, nor draw your own water, nor do any number of menial tasks that you did back at the convent. The only thing you will do for yourself is chew your own food and breathe your own air. Everything else will be done by others.”
Annavieve’s brow furrowed. “I understand that fine ladies have others to tend their needs,” she said. “But… but what if I want to do some things for myself? Must I have someone else do it for me?”
“What do you want to do for yourself?”
She shrugged, glancing up as the shadow of the church fell over them. “I am not for certain yet,” she said, trying to think of something other than sewing that she might do for herself. “But I will let you know.”
Kevin pulled the horse to a halt. “Be sure that you do,” he said as he dismounted. Reaching up, he pulled her off by the waist. “More than likely, I will deny you, but do not be afraid to tell me what your wishes are.”
It was a contradictory statement, one with a hint of humor, but Annavieve didn’t see the fun in it. She stood there a moment, frowning up at him, not realizing that he was still holding on to her waist. His hands, big things, covered most of her torso on either side of her body.
“’Tis a foolish answer you give me, my lord,” she said, scowling at him without force. “Did you not hear the king say that you were submissive to me? Therefore, you must obey my orders.”
Kevin couldn’t help it; he grinned at her then, letting go of her torso and removing his saddlebags from the horse.
A lad came around to take the animal and Kevin paid the boy well to carefully tend the horse.
Once the horse was being led away to the livery across the street, Kevin took Annavieve by the arm.
“Come along, Lady de Ferrers,” he said. “Let us find a priest who can help us find someone to make you more presentable.”
Annavieve gathered her skirts as he escorted her up the steps. “Did you hear me?” she said. “You must listen to me.”
“I am listening to you.”
“Will you not obey me in all cases, Sir Knight?”
He looked at her just as the dark, cool entryway loomed before them. “I will obey you unto the death and beyond, my lady,” he said quietly. “I am yours to command, always.”
There was something serious in his statement where moments before, he had been grinning at her.
Something quite serious lingered behind those green eyes, something that caused enough bewilderment in Annavieve’s mind that she lost her train of thought.
Her heart thumped against her ribs, hard enough that she put a hand to her chest as if to still it.
It was a sensation she was coming to associate with Kevin.
The man made her heart do strange things.
But she couldn’t speak. All she could do was stare into his lovely eyes, wondering why his voice had softened so when he had replied to her, but she was distracted from her thoughts as he led her into the church.
It was another old, dank church that smelled of dirt and burnt tallow candles.
Kevin had firm hold of Annavieve as he pulled her into the bowels of the church on the hunt for a priest. There were a few people inside, lighting candles or speaking in hushed tones, and Kevin spied an acolyte as the boy went about very carefully collecting the melted tallow from the prayer candles in order to recycle it.
A few short words from him to the boy sent the lad running into the darkness, seeking out the priest that Kevin had requested.
Annavieve had heard Kevin ask for the priest and she watched the boy scamper off.
They were standing by the prayer candles now, a great bank of candles that people paid a pence to light in prayer.
Her gaze moved across the glowing candles, smelling the acrid scent of the tallow, before moving away from Kevin and heading towards the altar.
It was a rather poorly built altar with a large wooden cross behind it and she made the sign of the cross over her body, folding her hands in prayer as she began the Rosary.
It would seem that she had a lot to pray over, a desire she’d never felt more strongly than at this moment.
So much had happened in her life, especially over the past two days, and she felt very strongly that she needed to ask for God’s help with things.
A husband who didn’t want her and a knight who had been forced into bedding her…
aye, there was much to pray over. There was much confusion in her heart that she hoped God could settle.