Chapter Twenty
Close to dawn, Diamantha was awakened from a deep sleep by powerful arms pulling her close.
She smiled, half-asleep, as Cortez pulled her against his naked body and rubbed his full erection against her buttocks.
His hands began to rove, snaking up her sleeping shift and finding her soft, warm flesh beneath.
As she groaned softly with pleasure, his fingers moved to her breasts, fondling them gently before moving to the fluff of dark curls between her legs.
He stroked her and inserted his big fingers into her, preparing her body for his rigid manhood.
Lifting up her right leg, he wedged his body between her legs and thrust into her.
Diamantha was all wrapped up in his big arms as he made love to her, her nose and mouth against the flesh of his muscular bicep, inhaling his sensual musk with every breath.
She could feel his face against the back of her head, the heat from his body enveloping her as he whispered words of lust and passion into her ear.
He told her how wonderful she felt against him and how delicious her body was, in every way.
His hot breath on her ear was driving her mad with desire as he repeatedly drove into her quivering flesh.
Diamantha was so highly aroused that she climaxed quickly, biting off her gasps against his arm as Cortez released himself deep into her body.
The opportunities to make love on this journey, to bond as only a man and wife can, had been extremely limited, but at this moment, they were relatively alone except for Sophie sleeping on a small bed next to them.
The opportunity had been so rare that Cortez rolled Diamantha onto her back, lifted up her shift, and thrust into her again, repeatedly, before his stiff manhood died down completely. He didn’t want it to end.
He simply loved the feel of her, nuzzling her neck and acquainting himself with her delicate female scent.
Perhaps he should have felt strange about making love to her with Robert Edlington’s remains nearby, but he didn’t.
Robert was dead and had no need for the woman who had become Cortez’s wife.
Cortez, however, needed her a great deal. Every day saw him need her more.
When he was finished touching and tasting her, Cortez lay back down beside Diamantha, arms wrapped around her slender body, and closed his eyes in the hope that he could doze a few more minutes before he was finally forced to rise.
Diamantha, too, had closed her eyes in the hopes of a few more peaceful moments, but no sooner had they relaxed than Sophie began to weep.
Diamantha was instantly up, straightening her shift as she hopped across the cold floor to her daughter’s bed.
It was very dark in the room since the fire was reduced to a few glowing embers, and Cortez was dozing to the sounds of the soft whispers of a mother to her daughter when Diamantha was suddenly in his face.
“Cortez,” she hissed. “Sophie is ill. I need your help.”
The man sat bolt upright, nearly smashing Diamantha in the jaw with his sudden movement. “What do you mean she is ill?” he demanded softly, tossing off the covers and revealing his naked body to the room. “What is wrong?”
Diamantha whispered at him. “She has soiled her entire bed,” she said. “Not only has she vomited, but the bed is soiled with waste. I think she may have a fever. I need warm water so I can bathe her.”
Cortez was already putting on his breeches, banging around in the dark room until he lit a taper, which cast some light across the small room. Concerned, he went over to Sophie’s bed as he pulled on a heavy tunic.
The little girl was sitting up as her mother gently tried to pull her soiled sleeping shift off, and he could see a big dark stain on the bed where she had soiled herself. He sighed sadly, putting a gentle hand on the child’s head.
“I will have them bring hot water at once,” he said. “Do you need anything else?”
Diamantha was trying not to get the mess on herself as she stripped off Sophie’s clothes.
“Mayhap something to help settle her belly,” she said, tossing the soiled shift to the floor.
“Bread would be good. And watered wine if they have it. My mother used to give us watered wine when we had stomach troubles and it seemed to help.”
Cortez yanked his boots on and quit the room.
The common room of the tavern was filled with his soldiers who had slept all over the room, on tables and in chairs, and they were starting to stir at this early hour.
Men were snoring, farting, coughing, and mumbling as they began to wake.
Cortez found MacInnis already back in the kitchen, lighting the fires to start the day, and he told the man what had happened.
The tavern keeper quickly left the kitchen, crossing the muddy yard outside to a small house where he lived with his wife and their servants.
He roused the entire house and soon, people were quickly moving in order to help the sick little girl.
As MacInnis and his servants put water on to boil and began to prepare bread dough, Cortez crossed back through the common room and noticed that Oliver was already up and dressed for the day.
The tall, young knight was walking among the soldiers, making sure they were waking up and when he noticed Cortez, he headed in the man’s direction.
“Good news,” Oliver said. “The rain seems to have vanished. It is a clear and cold morning.”
Cortez grunted, running his hand through his dark hair. “Cold enough to freeze the ground?”
Oliver shook his head. “Nay,” he replied. “None of the mud puddles outside the door are frozen. I doubt the field south of Callendar Wood will be frozen, either.”
Cortez wriggled his eyebrows in a hopeful gesture. “We shall see,” he said. “Make sure the men eat as soon as they awaken. Where are the rest of the knights?”
Oliver pointed in the direction of the livery. “James and Drake have gone to check on the horses,” he said. “I’ve not yet seen Keir or Michael.”
Cortez digested the information. “We may have a small issue this morning,” he said.
“It would seem that little Sophie had taken ill. Let the others know. I know my wife will not leave her and I am not entirely sure about leaving my wife if that is the case. Tell the knights I will wish to speak with them in a few minutes. Meet me back here in the common room.”
Oliver appeared concerned. “I hope her illness is not too serious.”
Cortez shrugged. “As do I,” he said as he turned for the traveler rooms. “I will return in a few moments.”
Oliver went to hunt down the rest of the knights while Cortez returned to the room he shared with Diamantha and Sophie.
He was deeply concerned about the child and struggling not to let it show.
He didn’t want to upset Diamantha more than she already was, but a sick child scared him.
Knocking on the door lightly, he let himself in.
Sophie was standing next to her bed, naked, as Diamantha mopped up more excrement on the floor around her from Sophie’s most recent accident.
Sophie was shivering and crying, as pale as the linens on the bed.
It was evident that she was a very sick little girl.
When Diamantha heard Cortez enter, her head popped up.
“Where is the hot water?” she asked.
Cortez could see that the situation was worse than when he had left it. He threw the door open and headed out.
“I will find out,” he said. “I will hurry back.”
He slammed the door behind him and moved quickly out to the kitchens, where he began demanding things like chamber pots and any rags they could spare.
The tavern keeper thrust a wooden bucket at him to use as a chamber pot and sent a servant girl scurrying for cloth of any kind.
She returned with linens for the bed, which Cortez took gratefully.
He also took a second bucket filled with very warm water while the tavern keeper followed him with some food.
Returning to the room, Diamantha had the floor cleaned up but she was very anxious to clean Sophie up, who was crying steadily.
Seeing the state of the room, and that of the child, the tavern keeper went back and summoned his wife, who came to help.
As Cortez stood by nervously, MacInnis’ wife stripped and cleaned Sophie’s bed, cleaned up the floor with a combination of water, ashes and mashed pine needles, which cleaned thoroughly and left behind the fragrance of the pine to help combat the odor of the vomit and feces.
She was very helpful to Diamantha, helping her bathe the girl and get her into swaddling, wrapped around her waist and between her legs, to prevent her from soiling herself again.
Diamantha finally put Sophie into a clean shift and wrapped her up in a soft wool blanket she had brought with them from Corfe.
It had been quite a production and Sophie had wept steadily through it.
She was miserable and unhappy, unusual for the little girl who had traveled so well for hundreds of miles.
Cortez felt as badly as he possibly could as Diamantha sat on the bed and tried to coax her daughter into eating a bit of soft, warm bread.
“Is there anything more I can do?” he asked comfortingly, sitting on the bed beside Diamantha and putting his big hand on Sophie’s head. “Anything at all?”
Diamantha put a tiny piece of bread in her daughter’s mouth, watching the child chew miserably.
“Aye, there is,” she said, looking up at him.
“It is evident that I cannot go with you today to the battlefield. I must remain with Sophie. When you go, will you at least send me word about what you find and of your progress?”
He kissed her on the temple. “Of course I will,” he said. “Is that all? Should I send for a physic?”