Lady of the English - By Elizabeth Chadwick Page 0,53
said. “I would not have thought to say so, but I do, and whether you like or not, you feel the same way.” He pushed himself against her and made very 131
LadyofEnglish.indd 131
6/9/11 5:35 PM
Elizabeth Chadwick
sure she could feel how aroused he was. Between kisses, he drew her to the freshly made bed and there took her with leisurely thoroughness, drawing off her garters, kissing her legs all the way up from instep to inner thigh, trailing his hand over her pubic mound until she moaned. He covered her with his body and entered her, fitting his hipbones inside hers, thrusting slowly, thrusting harder, taking his time until she was thrashing with need. And then he forced her over the edge and watched her shudder in climax before he surrendered to his own.
Matilda closed her eyes as the flickers of pleasure died to twinges. She ought to have felt deliciously relaxed but she was on edge. She had not had time to insert the moss, but it was near the time of her flux and he probably would not get her with child. Pushing out from beneath him, she left the bed and began to dress.
Geoffrey watched her with heavy eyes. He had dined but he was unsatisfied because she still eluded him. He studied her body as she sat down on a stool to tidy and rebraid her hair.
“Do you have anything else to ‘discuss’ before I summon the servants back in?” she asked.
He sat up, his gaze sharpening. “No, because your father made all very clear in his letter, as I did in mine to him. As you can see, I have complied.”
Matilda vigorously wove her hair under and over. “So far yes, but the rest remains to be seen.”
“On both sides, wife,” he said. “I will have obedience from you.”
“What of Aelis? What have you done with her?” she demanded.
There was silence from the bed. Matilda looked round and caught a look of pain on Geoffrey’s face. Then it was gone as he schooled his expression to neutrality and began fastening his 132
LadyofEnglish.indd 132
6/9/11 5:35 PM
Lady of the English
braies to his hose. “You need not trouble yourself about Aelis,” he said curtly. “She is dead.”
Matilda’s stomach jolted. She wanted to say she was glad, but it was not the emotion that flowed through her. What arrived beyond the initial spark of shock, was alarm. She wondered just what this husband of hers was capable of. “How?” She made an effort to keep her voice level.
“Of the milk fever a week after giving birth to my son. She at least had an easy womb to fill. I have a daughter of her too and both shall be reared in this household. As I recall your father said nothing on that score, and the matter is not open to negotiation.”
Matilda crossed herself. “God rest her soul,” she muttered, thinking that Geoffrey had killed her indirectly after all.
He stood up. “I think it fair to say I have learned from my mistakes, but have you learned from yours, wife? Will you show me respect in public?”
“As you do so to me—and as you have promised to my father.”
“So be it, and may our marriage be blessed and fruitful,” he said grimly and left the room.
Matilda shuddered and breathed a deep sigh of relief as he closed the door. After a moment, she went to her devotional and, prostrating herself, prayed for the strength to endure and the grace to accept her lot, and, at least in public, play the role that was her duty.
When she had finished praying, she composed herself before summoning her servants back into the room, to finish their tasks. In silence the maids changed the sheet and remade the rumpled bed. Matilda took her cloak, beckoned to Uli, and climbed to the battlements to look out over the town and the wooded countryside. In the distance she could see people on the road, including a peasant leading a laden donkey. The last 133
LadyofEnglish.indd 133
6/9/11 5:35 PM
Elizabeth Chadwick
time she had stood on a wall walk had been at Northampton with Brian FitzCount. She felt a welling of sadness for what might have been if the road had been different, but immediately shook herself. What was the point in thinking upon roads not taken and pathways that had never existed in the first place?
She had to concentrate on the one she was travelling now.
The sky was darkening towards dusk and small drops of rain spattered her face as