“Rain isn’t good for armor or weapons. I had to dry them all off and re-oil the metal. One of the stable boys is getting an extra coin tonight. He sleeps in the loft above the stalls, and he’ll see that no one steals the armor from where he’s keeping it.” The weapons were clearly another matter. Rafe wouldn’t part with them for anything. He put the weapons down near one side of the bed, then moved to the wash bowl.
“What are you doing?” she asked, watching avidly as he stripped off his shirt.
Rafe held up a razor. “Shaving.”
Angelet stood up, wearing the blanket like a cloak. “You’re doing that for me?”
“Self interest,” he said. “I’ll get more kisses if my skin doesn’t scratch like sand.”
“Isn’t it curious how your self-interest always benefits me as well?” she asked, walking over to the bed, choosing the side opposite all the weapons. She didn’t want to trip over those things in the night. She sat and watched him as he shaved.
After he’d taken care of that, he peeled off the rest of his clothing and hung everything up to dry. Then he crawled into the bed, reaching for her with a smile. “What’s your first order, my lady?”
Angelet looked away, feeling shy. “That’s not a game we have to play. You were kind to indulge me once, but I never expected you to remain…subservient.”
He took one of her hands and kissed the palm. “I liked it.”
She sighed at the kiss, and he caught her shoulder in his other hand, lowering her back onto the bed.
“Why does it appeal to you?” she asked.
“Normally, it wouldn’t,” Rafe said. “Not at all. I offered myself that way because I didn’t think you’d accept any other way.”
“I wouldn’t have,” she said.
“Lucky for me, then. But the truth, Angelet, is that I’ll want you any way you care to have me. I’ll order, I’ll obey. I’ll be gentle, I’ll be rough. Whatever you like…just tell me.”
“Rafe, I hardly know what I like.”
“Then use me to find out.”
“For the time we’re together? Then what do I do with my newfound knowledge?” She didn’t mean to get contemplative, and Rafe must have heard the unwanted sadness in her voice.
“The only thing I know, Angelet, is that the future is hidden. There’s no point at all in worrying about what will happen. Just live for now. Tonight.”
She reacted by clutching at him with both hands, pulling him down to her.
“You’re right,” she whispered, her voice now husky with need. “Tonight we’re together. So my first order is for you to kiss my breasts. Show no favoritism. Lavish both with attention.”
He looked pleased with her request. “Yes, my lady.”
* * * *
The next morning dawned grey and misty. Rafe took one look outside and declared that the horses needed another day of rest. “And so do you,” he added, with a wink.
“As you think best,” she replied, imitating the tone of her mother-in-law, Lady Katherine. She’d heard the woman say that so many times to Otto, and all it meant was that Katherine knew Otto would do whatever he wanted, whether it was best or not.
Rafe, though, gave her a skeptical look. “Don’t start trusting me, my lady.”
They spent the day quietly, using the morning to discuss a more detailed plan to get Henry safely back with Angelet from where he was living in his foster family’s home. After that, Rafe checked on his armor and horses. He talked with the innkeeper and a few guests in the common room, inquiring about the roads to the south and west, and any news from London.
Angelet spent a large part of the day in their room, partly because Rafe worried her distinctive appearance would be noticeable in the day, unlike the night before, when the driving rain had observers scarce.
They spent the evening together again, and Angelet discovered a few more things she liked, especially when Rafe was the one to teach her about them. He confessed that his past contained more scandalous incidents than the one he wouldn’t talk about.
“And some of those encounters taught me a lot,” he explained with mock seriousness. “And now I can pass that knowledge on to you, my lady. Or a sliver of it, anyway. I know too much to teach you everything in the short time we’ve got.”
She laughed. “Rafe. I order you to shut up.”
