Seduced Page 14

  "Why do ye glare at them so, Raik?"

  "You did not see the way they made sport of me?"

  "Made sport? Nay. They nudged each other and tittered. Lasses always do that when you appear."

  "'Twas the way they tittered. They have heard."

  "Heard what, cousin? Ranald's brows met in the middle of his forehead.

  "My cock has deserted me!"

  Ranald's gaze dropped to the obvious bulge in Raik's breeches.

  "Looks to me 'tis still there. Not hidden, either," he teased with a bark of laughter.

  Raik's teeth snapped together behind white-lined lips. Finally, he slowly forced words past them. "Ye wouldna laugh so if ye were heavy with need and mounted yer wife only to find yerself go soft as last year's carrots!"

  Ranald's grin faded, replaced by a worried frown.

  "One time not pleasuring a woman the way ye would expect does not mean ye have lost the use of yer rod. Mayhap the lass failed to spike yer lust?"

  "Nay, she did. They did. 'Twas five different lasses. Two beauties at court and three lasses of our own. Would ye not worry if after yer cock sniffed betwixt their legs, it couldna enter? Even though the lass fondles ye and whispers she wants to lick yer stones?" The last words exploded from his mouth.

  Ranald's sparkling, dark eyes deepened to the color of a ripe Damson plum. "Aye, ye have a problem all right. When did yer tarse begin to lose its, uh, will to thrust?"

  Raik frowned, deep in thought. The frown turned to a scowl.

  "Ever since I was held at de Burgh's keep. I have lusty dreams about the woman who came to my bed there. Have ye had dreams where ye can smell?" He waited until Raik nodded. "The scent of lilies on her bare skin hardens me near to bursting. She kisses and tantalizes my tarse with her lips, licking and teasing all the while she's squeezing it. Shite!"

  Raik stared down at his breeches where his cock strained against the cloth like an animal hidden inside fought its way past the drawstring.

  Searching. Rock-hard. And upright.

  "Ye swell like that and it fades?" Ranald looked pointedly at Raik's groin.

  "Aye. 'Tis willing and eager to nudge and sniff at that slick, honeyed cave. Then of a sudden, it shrivels like a bladder of wine pierced with a blade."

  "Do ye find release when deep in yer dreams?"

  "The dreams fade just as I start to spurt my seed. I wake with a bucking tarse spraying seed near to the ceiling!" Raik raked his fingers through his hair. His fist knotted and he tugged at a hank in frustration. "Chamber maids wink at me when they change my sheets. They giggle." He said the last like it was an obscenity.

  "Lasses tittering isna bad."

  "It is when they make motions with their hands. They think I satisfy myself. I have had no need to pump my cock since I was twelve years of age!"

  "Mayhap 'tis because of the women ye swive? Ye may want more than just any woman beneath ye. Ye need a woman of beauty with experience at bewitching a lusty male."

  "There lies the problem. The woman at Seton has bewitched me. She has ruined my life."

  His face hardened. His lids narrowed till they nearly closed.

  Once he found her, she would pay for it…

  CHAPTER 19

  As time passed, Letia was no longer ill of a morn or evening. She swelled big with child, and by Maud's reckoning, she would give birth the first sennight in June. Standing on the southern side of the parapet enclosing the Middle Bailey with Freki waiting patiently beside her, she studied the herb and vegetable gardens planted below. Everything seemed to thrive this year.

  A soft breeze molded her bright green kirtle over her expanding belly while bunching her skirts between her legs. Looking toward the sun, she noted it had already advanced to hover over the woods to their left. Her stomach growled. The babe responded, squirming and turning, then giving her a swift kick. She cupped her belly with her hands, supporting the weight.

  "All right, little gobbler. Let me guess. What will please you the most, hmm?"

  "Aruuu?" Freki looked up at her, his mouth smacking together.

  "The black beastie thinks ye ask him," Maud said. "Come, lovey. From the smells drifting from the cookhouse, 'tis time for the evening meal." She motioned to Giles who had been talking with one of the guards at the corner tower.

  He hurried over to offer his arm to Letia. He had near reached her when shouts coming from the end of the bailey halted him in his tracks. The sound drew her eyes. Her heart thumped in her chest at seeing Edulf, Warin's squire, running and waving his arms up at her.

  She knew. Fear struck her chest. Vomit surged to her mouth.

  Warin.

  "Hurry, Giles."

  Those next moments seemed to take forever, yet she could not remember descending the long stairs to the ground. Nor was she aware of Edulf taking her other elbow to hurry her across the bailey. By the time she entered the great hall and climbed the stairwell up to their sleeping chamber, she was out of breath.

  From Edulf's frightened recount, she understood that he had removed Warin's hauberk and was unlacing his padded gambeson when the baron clutched his chest and near fell. Had Leofwan not been at his side, Edulf doubted he would have been able to support him back to his chair.

  Letia burst into the solar to find Warin conscious but in agony. She took a deep breath and sent Maud for the whicker basket Letia kept near their bedside. It contained all the potions and herbal mixtures that eased his suffering.

  "My love, rest for a bit. Once you have taken your potion, the pain will ease and we can make you more comfortable in our chambers."

  Freki nuzzled the limp hand on the chair arm, then whined and eased his head against it. His great, yellow eyes gazed up at Letia. The huge, black beast knew what was to come.

  She looked up into Warin's blue eyes and tried not to flinch. Seeing the torment there was like looking into the eyes of a magnificent steed felled by a crossbow.

  "Beloved...take care…not harm..." He tried to speak but could not catch his breath.

  "I know, love, I know. I will be most careful of the babe." She forced a bright smile to her lips. As Maud rushed back through the doorway, Letia pressed his hand against her stomach. "Your son moves when he hears your voice. Can you feel him kick your hand? 'Tis like he tries to reach out to you."

  His weak smile made her thankful she had reminded him of his heir. She patted his hand then placed it in his lap so she could give him the prepared dose of hawthorn and monks-hood that eased the pains in his heart. Once he swallowed it, she watched to see if he gained the relief that usually came quickly.

  His teeth clamped together and his lips pressed so tightly they were near white. Dread squeezed her breath as she prayed for some sign that his agony eased.

  He motioned to Leofwan. When he bent close, Warin whispered.

  "Now."

  His faithful friend straightened. "Our baron is fine. He has overtaxed himself and must rest."

  The men sighed with relief, and when Leofwan made motions with his hands toward the door, they started leaving the room. Quietly so as not to attract attention, he kept the slinger Piers and two hefty knights within, then eased the door closed.

  "Leofwan?" Letia realized a planned move when she saw it.

  He nodded at her. "'Tis the baron's wish, my lady. Do not worry. We will help him to his bed."

  Letia gulped. Her heart screamed that it was not time for Warin to go. He had not yet seen his son. She bit her tongue, knowing he had planned his last moments for the safety of Seton. She nodded and hurried to pull wide the connecting door to their bedchamber then flipped back the bed covers.

  The men carried Warin into the room in his chair, eased off his clothing and placed him between the sheets.

  Letia measured the proper amount of a tincture made from the white poppy and stirred it into a small cup of wine. She nodded for Maud to hold his head up. Carefully, she placed the cup to his lips for him to sip. Once he had drunk it all, his body began to lose the terrible
tension gripping it.

  Leofwan motioned for Maud and the three men to leave then stood to stare out the window opening. Unseeing.

  Freki made a low, keening sound and stretched out at her feet.

  Warin attempted to smile. His beautiful eyes begged her as his trembling hand patted the bed. Letia fisted her own so tightly her nails tore into the flesh of her palms. Her knees would no longer hold her upright. Clasping his right hand to her breast and careful not to rock the bedding, she eased herself to sit beside him.

  "Love, rest and let the potion ease your pain."

  She stroked the shining silver streak there amongst the black hair at his temples.

  "Promise...Beloved," he whispered.

  "Promise? What is it you wish from me, husband?"

  She lowered her head close to his lips to hear his labored words.

  "Do not...fight..." He held his breath a moment, then gasped and continued, "he...comes."

  Heavenly Father. She would not cause him further pain by refusing him. She nodded her head.

  "Say...it."

  She shuddered. And did as he begged.

  "I promise, husband."

  His breathing labored. Rasped from his throat.

  Leofwan turned and she looked up. He answered the question in her eyes with a grim nod. His shoulders straightened and he went to stand at the foot of the bed. His lone hand rested on Warin's foot. He cleared his throat.

  "Rest easy, my dear friend. Have no fear for your beloved. I will protect her with my life."

  Warin's eyes flashed understanding. His gaze returned to Letia's face. He seemed to need something from her. She forced away her grief and fears in the need to comfort him.

  With his hand still clutched to her breast, she leaned down and feathered kisses over his face, then on his lips. His other hand came to rest against the side of her face.

  "My love, you have seen that our babe and I will be well taken care of. All at Seton will be protected because of you." She swallowed back a sob and kissed his lips. "You will always be in my heart. You need suffer no longer. Go in peace."

  She lifted her face only enough to see his eyes. Peace settled there. She caressed his cheek and lightly kissed his lips again. As her lips lifted from his, he drew in a breath. His face softened. Her gaze never left his. His beautiful blue eyes sent his love to her.

  Then softened. Faded.

  His breath sighed softly as it left him.

  "Arwhoooo! Freki's keening howls were like living things bouncing against the stone walls, the floor, the ceiling and finally flying out the window opening and over the castle walls to the forest beyond.

  CHAPTER 20

  Seton Castle, Northumbria, May 1145.

  They laid Warin to rest in the crypt beneath the church.

  The guards allowed no one to enter the gates of Seton or leave. Warin's death would be kept secret from the world until the messenger to Ranald returned from Hunter Castle.

  Letia remained stalwart, as she had needed to be many times in the past. She wished she could lament as Freki did, for he howled all through the darkness as he had the night Warin died. In the big, empty bed, she hugged her taut belly as tears streamed from her eyes and dampened her pillows. 'Twas the only time she allowed their release. Before the sun rose, she forced her heavy body up afore Maud even had time to come to aid her. Often during the day, she watched from the wall walks for any sight of Ranald's men though it was far too soon for them to come.

  "My lady, since you have lodged that devil's beast in the barn when darkness comes, we are all tottering around near asleep," the young laundress Goda grumbled to Letia.

  After the storms of the past four nights, they picked their way around debris littering the lower bailey. Goda bent down to brush away a small branch entangled in Letia's cloak.

  "Aye, Lady. He howls loudest on nights he has disappeared over the walls to kill some witless lout. He returns to drink from his bowl and leaves blood from his mouth staining the water." Giles winked at Letia and tried to coax a smile from her lips.

  "Giles, for shame!" Letia scolded.

  "'Tis the truth, Lady."

  "He frees himself from the stable?" Goda darted glances around the apple orchard, her eyes huge with fright.

  "Aye. He is Freki, Woden's own beast. He frees himself with one bound of his long legs."

  Giles leaped into the air demonstrating with amazing skill. When his feet hit a mud puddle, his arms flapped around like a bird taking flight. After he caught his balance, he flashed a sheepish smile.

  "Lady!" Goda's hand grabbed Letia's shoulder and clung tight.

  "Giles, behave!" Letia wrapped her arms around the large mound of her stomach and laughed. "For one thing, this Freki is a black dog. Woden's Freki was a brown wolf." Letia stroked her stomach to comfort the restless babe and made shushing noises to soothe the young woman who had ever been afraid of large dogs. "Nay. The dog cannot escape his stall. Giles is as most men, always wanting to frighten women into believing the impossible."

  "Huh! Impossible?" Giles stared at the barn, surprise in his eyes. "Is it?"

  Disappearing around the rear corner was the hind end of a very large, black beast. Even if they'd had another hound of equal size and color, only he would walk with a stiff rear leg.

  "Yikes!" Goda turned and fled toward the stairway leading into the keep, her heavy cloak flapping like a giant wing, sending leaves flying through the air.

  "Rats and pesky fleas!" Letia walked purposely toward the limping dog, scolding as she went. "Freki!" The dog halted. "Come here, foolish one."

  "Er, Lady? Should I draw my blade?" Giles' hand crept to the dagger strapped on his thigh.

  "Nay."

  The beast turned, walked to within ten paces of her. He swung his head to look at Giles. The young man backed up a step. Freki turned his yellow eyes back to gaze into Letia's with a defiant stare.

  Did the beast challenge her to see who blinked first?

  He sat tall. Looked up at her, a slight crease between his eyes. And barked. One sharp, demanding bark. Had he been a man, he would have shouted, "Woman!"

  She put her hands on her hips and widened her stance the better to steady her clumsy body.

  "Quiet!"

  She waited a slight while, then nodded her head and patted her thigh.

  "Come, Freki."

  Like 'twas him she summoned, Giles stepped to her side.

  She turned her back on the dog and headed toward the cookhouse. Prickles crept over her spine. He had not been acting normal since Warin died. Was she a fool to turn her back to him? What if he was drooling, anticipating her as a hearty meal?

  The beast's cold wet nose took that moment to toss her cloak back from her left arm and sniff her skin from wrist to elbow. She forced herself to remain calm. Whether it was the strain of the past sennights or the baby sapping her strength, she hoped he would not guess she wasn't as brave as he thought her. Always she had heard you did not show fear to man or beast. They both thrived on it. She would as soon jump off the parapet as to let either know of her fears.

  She marched up to the cookhouse door and bellowed, "Ada?"

  The cook came to the open door on hearing her mistress' voice. Seeing Freki standing there, his lips drawn back in a snarl, she blinked and backed up.

  "Be so good as to hand me enough bone and scraps to keep this beast content."

  "Huh." Ada tilted her head and studied the dog. "This'un needs food enough for two beasties."

  She scurried back inside and returned with a large wooden kitchen bucket near brimming with scraps she saved for him and the pigs. Atop the shriveled vegetables and peelings was a bone sporting enough gristle to make Freki's mouth water.

  The cook stepped down from the doorway, her gaze never straying from the dog, and handed the food to Giles.

  "Here ye be. Best be careful of that black beast now."

  Freki hummed low in his throat, a strange sound.

  "Ack! Mistress. Mayhap
ye best shout for a guard?"

  "Nay, Ada. Giles is adequate. It would make Freki all the more uneasy if we shouted." She noted from the corner of her eye that no one would welcome coming closer.

  Servants carrying dirty laundry scurried back from whence they came. One man, pushing an overflowing barrow of peat meant for the cook fires, came around the corner of the cookhouse. Seeing the black beast, he stopped so quickly he near toppled the cart. Never had Letia seen anyone walk backwards with such speed.

  Glancing at Freki, she could hardly blame him. The big beast salivated and growled as he stalked toward her with slow, measured steps. His great, yellow eyes stared at the bucket. Letia swallowed, straightened her back and headed toward the grove of apple trees not far distant.

  Though the day was cool, sweat dampened her forehead. She made her voice as stern as if she were atop the wall walk commanding the slingers.

  "Come, Freki. If you wish to eat, you will behave and stop growling at me."

  Watching him from the corner of her eye, for he was near abreast of her now, she noted his ears moving as she spoke.

  "Huh!" Letia scowled down at him for good measure and marched to the nearest tree. Without speaking, she took the bucket from Giles and plopped it down beneath the branches.

  She shook her head at the way the beast had been acting. By the saints! Warin's death had affected Freki as much as it had her. She took a deep breath of the damp air and stepped back.

  "He does not stand on ceremony, does he?" She forced a smile to her lips and raised a brow at Giles.

  "Nay. He gobbles his food faster than the hungriest warriors."

  o0o

  Everywhere she went that day, Freki followed. He seemed as lost and lonely as she felt. Mayhap she should not have banished him from the bedchamber. He kept to the edges of her space. If she was alone, he ventured to stand close at her side. Any time someone approached her, a disapproving grumble hummed low in his throat. Her fingertips on his head quieted him. By nightfall, he acted as if he had finished his mourning and was back to being Letia's shadow.