Chapter Thirteen #2
He sighed heavily. He wasn’t about to remind her that he had warned her of such a thing. Now was not the time. He stroked her head again and kissed her forehead.
“Aye, you will,” he assured her. “They will not stay angry with us for long, especially when their grandchildren come along. That will make them forget everything.”
Ellowyn wasn’t entirely convinced but she nodded anyway, wiping at her nose. “Mayhap,” she said. “But I miss them just the same. And… and I had a dream.”
He bent over her so that he was nearly laying on her, stroking her silken hair and kissing her cheek.
“What dream, sweet?”
She gazed up at him, shadows on her face as her tears glistened in the weak firelight. “I do not exactly know,” she murmured, her tears lessening. “I have had the same dream for a while now. Sometimes I have dreams that come true and this one scares me.”
He smiled faintly. “Are you a prophetess, then?”
She nodded seriously even though he had meant it in jest. “Since I was young, I have had dreams that sometimes come true,” she said.
“I dreamt that my brother would no longer be a knight but no one believed me, and then he left for the cloister. I also dreamt my grandfather was ill well before he told anyone. I have dreamt of other things, as well, that have come to pass.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “You did not tell me you were an oracle. Perhaps I can use you to my advantage.”
She grinned weakly because he was, wiping away the last of her tears.
“I cannot divine your warring future,” she told him.
“But… but this dream. It is about war. There is a castle with a big keep and it is raining heavily. The castle is on fire and there are bodies strewn everywhere. I am walking through the mud and rain searching for my love but I do not know who he is nor can I find him. I am so terribly frightened and it is then I realize I am with child. I walk through this mud and blood, my hands on my swollen belly, looking for… someone. It is a horrible dream.”
Brandt took absolutely no stock in prophetic dreams. He was a logical man and knew there was an explanation for everything. Moreover, the mind could do strange things when weary or frightened. He had experienced it for himself. He stroked her head again and kissed her cheek.
“Now I am here and I will chase these evil dreams from your mind,” he said softly. “I will bring you comfort where you have had none before. Once you feel safe and cherished, this dream will stop. Do you feel like eating something now? Perhaps some food will help chase your nightmares away.”
Ellowyn sighed wearily. “I am not hungry,” she told him. “I simply want to sleep.”
He didn’t push her. “As you wish,” he kissed her cheek again. “As your husband, may I join you?”
She smiled, a genuine gesture. “I was hoping you would.”
Brandt didn’t need any further prompting or conversation.
He stood up from the bed and began pulling off pieces of armor and his mail.
When he had it all gathered up, he sent a servant for his squires, who came on the run.
There were two of them, big strapping lads, and they carried away the duke’s expensive protection to clean it and have it ready for him in the morning.
When the young men fled, Brandt pulled off his tunic and sat down on the bed to remove his boots.
He found that he was very eager to get into bed with his new wife, reminding himself that he had to take it slowly with her.
She was sweet, sensuous and delicious, but she was also very virginal.
He didn’t want to frighten or hurt her, although he knew the latter was inevitable as an untouched bride.
He found that he was actually shaking with anticipation as he slipped his leather breeches off and, in the darkness of the room, climbed into the narrow bed next to her.
But the moment he went to pull her into his arms, she snored and sighed.
It was so dark in the room that he had to get right up to her face to see that she had fallen back asleep.
He sighed, feeling a good deal of disappointment.
Then, he chuckled at the irony of the situation.
He lay down quietly next to her, folding a big arm under his head and just watching her.
The firelight was very faint but he could still see her features in the glow.
She was such an exquisite creature. He was still having difficulty believing that she belonged to him now because the events of the past day, not to mention the past week, had been overwhelmingly swift.
He felt like he was still trying to catch up with all that had happened.
Reaching out with his free hand, he gently touched her hair, her forehead. Then he touched her neck and shoulder and wound back up to her head again. She had such lovely hair. She stirred a bit but didn’t waken.
Lifting a rather devious eyebrow, Brandt shook the bed a bit.
She didn’t stir. He wriggled harder, enough to move her fairly significantly, and she stirred again but she didn’t awaken.
Then, he bounced around like a fool two or three times, enough to jolt her out of a deep sleep.
As big a man as he was, he nearly flipped her right out of bed.
He lay there innocently as she sat up and rubbed her eyes.
“Did I wake you?” he asked, feigning concern. “I am sorry, sweetheart. Go back to sleep.”
Ellowyn yawned, still rubbing her eyes before looking at him. “You did not wake me,” she muttered, lying down because he was pulling her down next to him. “I was already awake.”
She yawned again as he tucked her in next to his heated, naked body. “You should be asleep,” he said, kissing the top of her head, “even if it is our wedding night.”
Ellowyn didn’t say anything. She simply snuggled against him, trying to find her comfort zone.
But then, her eyes opened and she realized she was staring at his chest. His naked chest. More than that, she was in his arms, lying with him for the very first time.
The contentment was unimaginable. His words began to sink in and her first instinct was to pull away from him, uncertain and a little frightened.
But with those same emotions came feelings of excitement and joy such as she had never known.
Peering down under the covers without really moving her head, she could see he was completely nude.
She could see his bare thighs and belly, but the shadows and darkness prevented her from seeing anything more.
She knew what he meant by it being their wedding night.
He meant doing what all married couples do. He had come prepared. She had not.
Lifting her head, she looked into his handsome face. “I will stay awake,” she said. “I am your wife, after all. It seems so strange to say that, does it not?”
She was giggling and he smiled. “I have never heard a more beautiful thing in my life,” he said softly, stroking her cheek. “I never thought I would have a wife again and particularly not one I was fond of, so this is quite a miraculous event.”
Ellowyn reached up, stroking his cheeks that were rough with stubble. “I have married the Duke of Exeter,” she whispered. “It is only a title to me. I married Brandt de Russe, someone who has come to mean so very much to me. I would have married you had you been the lowliest pauper.”
He kissed her fingers as they came near his lips.
“Fortunately, I am not,” he murmured. “I am the Duke of Exeter, Lord of the Western Gates, Baron Guildford and Waverley. You are now the Duchess of Exeter and Lady Guildford. If we have a son, then the hereditary title of Earl of Weston will pass to him. There are a dozen other titles that go with my dukedom so our children will be well titled and propertied. Most of Devon and parts of Surrey belongs to me, my lady. We shall build quite a legacy.”
Ellowyn smiled faintly. “I only care that I belong to you.”
He smiled in return, pulling her close against his warm, nude chest. She felt unbelievably delicious in his arms. His mind was screaming at him to take it slowly with her but his body wasn’t particularly listening.
He wanted her now, and he wanted all of her.
He was a man who always got what he wanted.
“You belong to me,” he whispered, kissing her forehead, her eyelids. “You, and everything about you, belong to me.”
“I am so glad.”
“As am I.”
His seeking lips found her warm mouth, kissing her gently at first, but with increasing passion.
Ellowyn was quickly becoming adept at returning his kisses but little more beyond that.
She had no idea what “more” there really was.
Yet she was responsive and mimicked him when he snaked his tongue into her mouth to taste her deeply.
However, when he rolled on top of her, trapping her, she felt a little overwhelmed.
All of this was so new and wonderful, but it was also frightening.
He was such a big and powerful man. Brandt was taking charge and she had little choice but to let him.
Ellowyn was still wearing the surcoat she had fled Erith in, a durable broadcloth of deep blue. It was also complicated and she was fastened and tied into it, and Brandt didn’t have a lot of patience for it. He snapped a strap on her waist but Ellowyn stopped him before he could rip it to shreds.
“This is all I have,” she whispered, pulling away from his seeking mouth and putting a hand over his to top it. “If you ruin it, I shall have nothing to wear.”