The Conquest (19 page)

She glanced at the ring on his long-fingered hand. Should she tell him of the inscription inside the band? Let him know her heart would always belong to him and no other?

Or should she let him find it on his own one day. Perhaps by then, what they had might be nothing but a memory.

“Are you homesick?”

Rhiannon glanced up at Elspeth, who had just roused from a nap. The carriage in which they rode shifted, causing her to reach out and hold on to the window post. They had been traveling for three days now, the bumpy roads making her bones ache.

“A little, and ye?”

Elspeth brought her feet up to rest on the bench. She hugged her knees to her chest and smiled sadly. “I shall miss my grandparents, but they are happy for me, telling me I will have a better life in England.” She sighed. “I miss Antony’s company, though I was getting a bit tired of his possessive nature. He thought it fair for him to have relations with other women, and yet when I did the same, he called me all kinds of horrible names, so in that, I suppose I am glad to be leaving.”

“Ye deserve better than him anyway,” Rhiannon said, lifting the fabric from the window. Just as he’d been all morning, Adelstan rode alongside the wagon. His shoulders were straight as the horse galloped along.

As though sensing her presence, Adelstan turned, and Rhiannon let the fabric fall back into place.

“I think he was with Machara the last night at home.”

Frowning, Elspeth replied, “Why do ye think that?”

“Did ye see the way they carried on? How I yearned to throw the warm wine in her face when she kept finding reasons to return to the table. I cannot stand that woman.”

Elspeth grinned widely. “Ye no longer have to see her again.”

“Thank God for that.”

“Actually, I believe Adelstan behaved as he did for your father’s benefit, and to draw attention away from your relationship.”

“Do ye think so?”

Elspeth nodded. “Adelstan cares for ye, Rhiannon. I see it in his eyes when we are away from the others. He longs for ye, and ye for him.”

“He has not even looked at me since leaving.”

“Only because of his men.”

“Does Jorden know about us?”

Elspeth shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

A knock sounded near the window. “Lady Rhiannon.”

Rhiannon’s heart jolted. “Adelstan,” she whispered, and Elspeth’s eyes rounded.

Taking a deep breath, Rhiannon pulled the fabric away and her heart missed a beat as she looked up at him. Deep, dark under-eye circles made his green orbs even more intense.

“Lady Rhiannon, we will travel for an hour and then make camp. It has been a long day, and I’m certain you both are tired.”

“Aye, we certainly are. The carriage is beating us half to death.”

Concern knitted his brow. “Mayhap tomorrow you can ride, if you are up to it.”

“I would like that.” She glanced at Elspeth, who nodded. “And Elspeth, too.”

“Very well. I shall tell the men to find a safe place to make camp.” With a curt nod, he rode off.

“He is so tortured, Rhiannon.”

“Tortured?”

“Aye, he feels so deeply for ye, and yet he knows it cannot be. If I could, I would fix this for ye in order to save ye from the pain. I blame myself. I do.”

“Ye are not to blame. No one forced me.”

Elspeth sighed heavily. “But I encouraged ye.”

“If Baron de Cion would have come to Castle MacKay himself, then neither myself nor Adelstan would be in such a dilemma.”

“How do ye know ye would not feel the same for Adelstan once ye met him at Almeron? Attraction is attraction.”

Rhiannon frowned. “Because I would have never mistaken Adelstan for my betrothed, and, I would have gotten to know Lord Malgor by that time.”

“But what if ye did not like de Cion’s personality, and then ye met Adelstan and the attraction was instantaneous? Would ye still deny yourself the chance of having more with him?”

Rhiannon opened her mouth to respond, but clamped it closed. When she had met Adelstan, her heart had nearly leapt from her chest and the hair on her arms had stood on end. Never had she met anyone so beautiful, or wanted someone so badly. “I would be attracted to him, to be sure, but with de Cion courting me, I would not have the opportunity to spend any time with Adelstan. Therefore, I would not have gotten to meet him the way I have here. I would have had to accept my fate.”

Elspeth smiled slowly. “I envy ye in the way ye believe in fate and that there is one man for every woman.”

“Do ye not agree?”

She shook her head. “Nay, but I have not been fortunate enough to meet the man who I can envision spending the rest of my life with.”

“Perhaps one day ye shall.”

“Perhaps,” Elspeth said, sounding like she hoped the day would not come too soon. “Meanwhile, I’m having a wonderful time with a certain dark-haired Norman knight.”

“Whatever became of his young lover, do ye think?”

“Have ye noticed the light-haired knight in our entourage?”

Rhiannon’s eyes widened. “The one with the sandy blond hair? Aye, he’s lovely. Why do ye ask?”

“That is the knight Antony mentioned.”

“Are ye certain?”

“I saw him watching Jorden last night when we ate, but dismissed it since Jorden didn’t pay him much mind.” She shrugged. “I can certainly see the appeal.”

Rhiannon laughed under her breath. “I envy ye in your ability not to be jealous, and to look at making love in such a candid way. When it comes to Adelstan, I am jealous of every woman I see talking to him, touching him, even in an innocent way.”

Elspeth smiled. “Ye really care for him?”

“Aye, I do. In fact, I do not think I will ever feel about another man the way I feel for Adelstan. There could be no man more beautiful or perfect to me. I would not change one thing about him.”

“Dearest Rhiannon, ye amuse me.”

“Ye think me a fool?” Rhiannon asked.

Shaking her head, Elspeth replied, “Nay, I think ye are in love.”

* * *

Adelstan spent the first two hours after making camp chopping wood for the fire. It had been a difficult journey already, but the days ahead would be even more so.

Whenever they stopped to rest, eat, or camp, he could feel Rhiannon watching him, and always he ignored the stare, not wanting anyone to guess at the true nature of their relationship. He also tried to ignore the fire burning within his veins.

God help him but he wanted her. He saw her face in his dreams, and she was the first thing he thought of when he opened his eyes in the morning and the last thing when he closed them each night.

“Sir, the women have asked if I could take them to the river.”

“For what purpose?”

Jorden smirked. “I would think to bathe, sir. After all, it has been three days.”

“Of course,” Adelstan said, feeling foolish. He knew Jorden had started a romantic relationship with Elspeth, and yet he also heard from Jorden’s own mouth that he fancied Rhiannon, and thought her beautiful.

“Do I have your permission, sir?”

Adelstan nearly handed him the axe and told him to continue chopping while he took the women to swim, but decided against it. “Aye, you may escort the women, but not too far since supper will be ready soon.”

“Very well, sir,” Jorden said with a grin. “Are you certain you do not wish to join us? I believe Lady Rhiannon would enjoy your company.”

“What makes you say that?” he asked, his voice coarser than intended.

Jorden shrugged. “No reason, besides the fact she is always happiest whenever you are around.”

If Jorden had seen as much, did the other men, too? “It stands to reason she feels a kinship with me since she originally mistook me for her betrothed.”

Jorden nodded. “She will be most surprised when she meets de Cion in the flesh, and I must say, I do not think it will be a pleasant surprise.”

“He is not so old.”

“To us, perhaps, but to a young woman of her age, he might appear ancient.” He ran a hand through his long, dark hair, his expression turning serious. “My sister’s marriage was arranged. She was but five and ten, and her betrothed two and forty. We all knew she loved another, but the boy was of lower station than she, and therefore their love could never be. I was only one year older than she when she came to me asking for my help. I was so fearful of my parents’ wrath that I refused. On the eve of her wedding, she escaped into the night, never to be heard from again.”

“And her lover?”

“Disappeared as well.” Jorden raked his top teeth over his bottom lip. “I think of her every day. I respect her for having the temerity to change her future, even if that future would be harder than being the wife of a wealthy count.”

“Indeed, she was very brave.” Adelstan shifted on his feet. “If given the chance again, would you help her instead of refuse her?”

“Aye.” He snapped his fingers. “That fast.”

Not at all surprised by the answer, Adelstan grinned. “Perhaps one day your paths will cross again.”

“Perhaps,” he said, as though he did not believe it would happen. “Well, I have kept you from your chores for long enough.”

“You may help if you’d like.”

“Nay, I think not.”

“Remember, be back shortly.”

“We shall.”

Adelstan watched from the corner of his eye as Jorden and the women left camp and made for the river. Everything within him yearned to follow, to spend a few quiet moments with Rhiannon. But to do so would make the final parting all that more difficult.

The majority of the men either rested in their tents or sat around the fire, drinking ale and telling tales, or talking about recent battles. All save Dante, who stood, stretched, and glanced toward the path the three had taken. He walked toward it a moment later.

Jorden wouldn’t have asked the young man to follow, would he? To what end?

With a hundred different scenarios running through his mind, Adelstan returned to chopping wood for the fire. Physical exercise always took his mind off his troubles…especially when that trouble wore a gown and had violet eyes that haunted him all hours of the day and night.

With a muttered curse, he buried the axe in the stump and followed in the direction the four had gone, all the while telling himself he was a fool.

He heard the sound of water rushing on the rocks, and expected to find them the moment he walked out of the trees. However, they weren’t there.

As he continued to walk along the river’s edge, he became more and more irritated. Short of calling out their names, he kept walking and it was a good deal later when finally he heard splashing and laughing.

Elspeth’s high-pitched laughter made him smile, even though his irritation with Jorden had soured his already bad mood. A loud splash sounded seconds later, and both women laughed.

He saw the four of them long before they saw him. Jorden’s clothes had been thrown haphazardly on the large, flat stones at the water’s edge, while the women had neatly laid their gowns on tree branches.

Why had he thought for an instant Jorden would stand by and guard the ladies while they bathed?

Rather, Jorden and Elspeth stood in the water, their arms around each other, while Rhiannon appeared busy scrubbing her long hair, uninterested in what was happening around her.

Dante had just finished stripping, and he grabbed on to a rope fashioned from a tree and dropped into the river, much to the joy of the others. Even Rhiannon smiled before she turned away, rinsed her hair, and proceeded to float on her back, looking up at the sky above her. Adelstan could see she wore her chemise, for all that the transparent material covered. At least she was not naked.

Her arms were out to her sides, her legs splayed a little, and heat rushed straight to his cock, making him hard as marble.

Elspeth and Dante were now splashing each other, and the closer the maid came to the young soldier, the more aggressive she became.

Dante finally held his hands up in mock surrender as she stood within arm’s reach. When Elspeth next splashed him, he laughed and pulled her abruptly to him. His lips claimed hers a second later, and to Adelstan’s surprise, the servant did not pull away. Indeed, she seemed intrigued, her mouth opening wide as the younger man kissed her first tentatively, then ravenously.

Jorden stood back watching, his head tilted to the side as though he could not quite believe what he was seeing.

And he was not the only one. Rhiannon, who had just finished rinsing her hair, now watched the two with lifted brows. She dipped her head back in the water, and then standing, brushed her palms over her forehead and scalp, to the back of her head.

If Dante had kissed Rhiannon like that, he would have killed the other man, not stood back and watched with fascination. But Jorden had always had a different way of looking at everything.

Rhiannon looked over at the three a few times, and finally stepped from the water. She might as well have been naked. The chemise clung to her slender form, outlining her perfection. Her small, rose-colored nipples poked against the thin material.

His cock bucked in response.

She took her hair in her hands, pulled the length over one shoulder, and began to squeeze the water from it.

She turned a little toward him, and he could clearly see the triangle of hair between her thighs. He didn’t remember taking the steps, but soon he stood at the loch’s edge, and she looked up at him, her violet eyes wide with shock. Then she smiled and he was lost.

If not for the trio in the water, Adelstan would have taken Rhiannon in his arms, tossed her on the loch’s bank, and fucked her until the fire in his veins was quenched.

But would the fire ever be quenched?

He feared the answer was no as she swallowed hard and followed his gaze to the trio. Jorden had approached the duo, and though the blond and Elspeth kissed, it didn’t last. With a smile, Elspeth turned and began kissing Jorden, but she still had an arm around Dante’s shoulders, her fingers weaving through the young man’s hair.

Adelstan lifted Rhiannon’s kirtle from the branches and motioned for her to go dress, keeping his back to the lovers behind him. She tossed the wet chemise at him and his mouth went dry. He moved a little to his right so he could see her, and almost wished he hadn’t. Her back was to him, her heart-shaped buttocks completely bare to his gaze. He did his best to ignore the deep ache in his cock.