Chapter Thirty-Five
Niki looked up in surprise at the forceful knock on the door. He had told his men not to bother him until he was done. Francis looked equally irritated by the interruption. They had only just finished with the countess and were discussing the legitimacy of her claims.
The door opened before he could speak, and Roberta stood there, one of his guards with an anguished expression behind her.
“Sorry, Your Highness, but I could not…”
Niki waved the man away and rose to his feet. “Roberta? Has something happened?”
“No, nothing more has happened,” she said. “I was waiting for you to come and explain, but then I decided I could not wait any longer.”
He considered her. Roberta’s eyes were bright with emotion, and her soft mouth looked hard.
“I beg your pardon, Lady Roberta, but the prince is busy with serious matters. It is not a woman’s place—”
“I beg your pardon,” Roberta interrupted in the sort of voice he had never heard from her before. There was steel in it. “I wish to speak to my husband. Alone.”
Francis looked incensed and seemed about to argue, but Niki waved a hand at him. “Please, leave us,” he said, a polite request.
“Sir, I do not think—”
“Leave us,” Niki said, and this time, it was an order.
Francis shot Roberta a black look and, snatching up some papers from the desk, left the room. Niki knew he would have work to do to soothe his old friend, but right now, he was more concerned with his wife.
“He is old-fashioned,” he said in explanation.
“I gathered that.” She didn’t sound pacified.
“What did you wish to speak to me about?”
Roberta folded her hands on his desk and leaned over it. “I want to know why you have not told me what is happening. That woman…” She swallowed. “You knew why she was there, and so did the chamberlain. I would bet that Freddie knows too. Everyone knows but me.”
Niki tried to organize his disordered thoughts. “I did not want to worry you. Besides, you cannot know everything that happens in—”
“You kept it from me. I don’t want you to do that. It creates a distance between us, Niki, can’t you see that?”
She was appealing to him now, but suddenly Niki was angry.
She was overstepping her boundaries. The matters he discussed with his council, with Freddie, were not for her ears.
Couldn’t she see she was being unreasonable?
Perhaps Francis was right when he said womenfolk should be kept to their own realm; his father and grandfather would never have allowed their wives to interfere in state matters.
He snatched up one of the documents on his desk and held it in front of her.
“Do you want to read this?” He held up another one.
“Or this? Do you want to know what is in all of them?” He swept his hand across his desk, and some of the documents fell to the floor.
“You are not a child, Roberta, you know there are some things I cannot—”
She didn’t wait for him to finish. “How would you feel if I kept things from you? Important things. Things that concerned you?”
“This does not concern you.”
“Of course it does! Anything that is a threat to your life concerns me.”
Reluctantly, he could understand her point of view, but his aim had always been to protect her, not draw her deeper into his troubles.
He still remembered how she had thrown herself in front of a pistol to save him.
In hindsight, that may be part of the reason he had not shared this with her.
And yet how could he deny her when he knew in his heart she was right?
“You make things very hard for me,” he muttered and put his head in his hands.
There was silence, and then he felt the warmth of her touch on his shoulder, and when he looked up, she was beside him. She looked worried but unrepentant, and suddenly he loved her so much. He pulled her down onto his lap, wrapping his arms about her, breathing in the scent of her skin.
“Don’t let’s fight,” he said. “I only want to save you from worry. But if you wish, I will tell you about Countess Becker.”
“Thank you.” She rested her cheek against his.
“Niki, I know I am your wife, but I want more than that. I want to be your equal in the life we make together. I don’t mean I think I can help make the laws or whatever it is you and Francis do in here, but I want to understand the things that are important to you.
I want to help you, I want to be there for you when you need to talk about what is worrying you. ”
“I want that too,” he said. “I was trying to protect you. I should have known you do not need me to do that. You can protect yourself.”
“No, I am not a child.”
She felt his mouth crease in a smile.
“Was this our first argument?” she asked, leaning back to look at him.
“I think it was.” His smile broadened. “Should we kiss to make up?”
“Yes, please.”
The kiss only reminded him how much he missed the physical part of their relationship. He deepened it, and somehow his hand found the curve of her breast through the silky cloth of her bodice, where her taut nipple was an obvious sign of her arousal.
She began feverishly undoing the buttons, and with a groan, he placed his mouth over her, laving the hard bud with his tongue. She arched against him, wriggling on his lap, which didn’t help him to calm himself.
“Niki,” she gasped, reaching down to stroke him through his breeches. In a moment, he would spill, but she didn’t seem aware of that. She worked at the fastenings, sliding her hand inside and grasping him.
He said something, probably in the Holtswigger language.
She had lifted up her skirts now and straddled his lap. His fingers stroked between her thighs. Her warm, moist entrance was so close, and all he had to do was thrust and he would be enclosed in her sweetness. It was irresistible.
The head of his cock pressed past the slight resistance, and they both groaned.
She ran her hands through his hair, holding his face and devouring his mouth.
She was as starving for him as he was for her, and the argument had only made it even more urgent.
He was fully inside now, and she rocked against him as he tried not to lose control.
“You are so—so marvelous,” he said, hardly aware of what he said. “So perfect.”
“I want you all the time,” she admitted breathlessly, and then she threw her head back and her body clutched at him, pleasure causing her to grip him tightly, pushing him past his flimsy restraint.
For a time, they held each other, panting, enjoying the lingering satisfaction.
He didn’t want to spoil it, but he knew he would have to very soon. Francis would be seething and wanting to voice his complaints. Niki needed to deal with that. But first, he must let Roberta into the secret he had kept from her.
Quietly, breathing in the scent of her hair and their lovemaking, Niki told her what he had been keeping from her.
Matilda had informed Roberta of the order of the ceremony for the wedding day.
She looked tired but pleased with her efforts.
The ceremony in the church—Everyone will be there!
—was to be followed by an open carriage ride through the town—So that everyone can cheer and throw flowers!
—and then speeches on the steps on the town hall—Holtswiggers love speeches!
A state dinner would then be held at the town hall—Mr. Hart thinks it is easier to keep a watch on everyone there, where they are in the one room—and afterward, Niki and Roberta would return to the castle and finally be allowed to retire. Together.
“It is rather a lot,” Matilda offered sympathetically.
Roberta was reading the list of speakers and guests and trying not to shudder. She would have to smile and be on her best behavior when all she really wanted to do was jump upon Arrow and ride far, far away.
“Holtswig has not seen a wedding like this for years and years. I think we have all become a little gloomy. I am hoping this will cheer everybody up. Especially when they see how much in love you and Niki are.” She beamed at Roberta.
“So many of the marriages I remember attending were arranged by the council. Not a smile in sight.” She grimaced.
“At least I chose my own husband, and Brooks and I were very happy.”
Roberta suspected that recently, Matilda’s flushed and smiling face was due to another gentleman. “You are still young,” she reminded the countess. “You can marry again. Is there a Holtswigger you have your eye on?”
The other woman laughed. “Definitely not. And I will be returning to England just in case Chamberlain Francis begins to get ideas.”
Roberta wanted to say something about Freddie, but she hesitated. She and Matilda got on well, but would she take offense?
As if she had read Roberta’s mind, Matilda said, “There is someone I like. I don’t know if…When one is a widow with children, then it can be awkward, especially if the child…children are not best pleased.”
“Your children will grow up and leave home, and you will be alone. I think you should think of your own happiness, Matilda. And you don’t want to break the gentleman’s heart, do you? Especially when he has such an important position in the government?”
Matilda’s mouth dropped open, and instead of being insulted, she began to giggle. “No, I would not want to do that!”