AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“They... they bring out the worst in my desires, you foolish girl. Now, quickly, do as I say instead of gaping at me.” Her anger was back, something she had kept under control since arriving at Baliol Castle. Sara, accustomed to such tantrums, huffed and removed the offending item from her sight. Where she hid it, Matilda cared not to know.
Sara extinguished nearly all of the tapers and stoked the fire one last time before retiring to her spot by the hearth. Matilda lay on the bed with her eyes shut, wrapped in a cocoon of bedcovers, and cupped her poor sex. It ached and pulsated, as if she had come a million times, but she hadn’t, and the discomfort was due to the lack of climax. Dare she force one out, knowing that he might visit her at any time of the night? It was worth the risk, for surely, he would be drunk with the men, and incapable. With Sara snoring on the floor, Matilda circled her tender clitoris, gently soothing it at first, before briskly agitating it.
She moaned, savouring the tingling sensations, keeping herself on the edge, then feeling the inevitable was close, she opened her eyes and...
Gervais was there, by the bed, his arms folded, his gaze stern and despairing.
Matilda jerked upright and screamed. Sara leapt to her feet and shrieked, and outside the room, Gervais’s loyal dog barked.
He flung back the blankets and planted his hands on his hips. “Where is my harness, lady?”
Her teeth chattered. “I don’t know.” It was the truth.
“You removed it. I expressly said you should keep it on.”
The marks of the straps had nearly faded into nothing. Her breasts, although firm, had lost their sheen, and the nipples were flatter. Time had passed, but how much she wasn’t sure. She smelt some hint of wine, but otherwise, her lord was sober and bolt upright without a sway or stagger of drunkenness.
“It... hurt me,” she said eventually.
“Hurt you?” His eyes narrowed into slits. “Really? Did you not walk carefully, so that the bells hardly sounded? No, they chimed like church bells, did they not?”
“I ran...” She bit her lip.
“And the chafing was too much? I think that you abandoned the harness in a fit of pique and gave up on the challenge. Did it not cross your mind that I might dismantle it myself? Could you not imagine how I might do that, and what pleasure it might bring both of us?”
She lowered her head. “No, sir.”
“Where is it?”
“I don’t know.” She clasped her hands together. “I wanted it gone, so...” She glanced to Sara.
Gervais walked toward the diminutive servant. “Sara,” he said pleasantly. “Where is my harness?”
“It’s...” The maid’s eyes brimmed with tears. “She asked me not to say.”
Gervais turned to face Matilda. “You put this poor girl in a difficult situation. Does she betray you, her beloved mistress, or anger me, the master of this castle and your future husband?”
“Future? At this moment, there is no future for us. She is loyal to me, yes, and that is her prerogative.”
“Very well, I shall not come between an honourable servant and her mistress. This is most unfortunate, because now I must punish you for wilful disobedience twice over. Once for removing the harness, and the second time for placing your maid in an impossible situation. Normally, I would thrash a servant who disobeys me, and do so with a birch or whip, so perhaps that will be your punishment.”
“My lord... I thought that you would lie with me and... I could offer up my contrition.” She halted, seeing the rigid pose of his shoulders and the furrowing of his forehead.
“You are a contrary creature. You imply we have no future together, yet crave my attention in bed. Do you think that will impress me, appeasing me with cheap sex, when I was willing to come to your bed and show you my gratitude for your excellent behaviour in the Great Hall? You held out, resisted Lord Caspian’s lecherous baiting, and presented yourself as a worthy bride.”
Tears pricked her eyes. “I had not thought myself to be so. I felt only the need to come and feared I might ruin myself in their presence. Your dismissal was all that I desired. I had no means to extradite myself, and the burden was almost too great for me to bear.”
His severe stance relaxed. “You feared to fail me?”
She nodded. “Most sincerely. I have never heard men talk of such things, not just of violent combat, but the debauched nature of their conquests, and how they treat captive women. It both appalled and... aroused me. I felt disgusted and thought that you would be too by my failure.”
Gervais pursed his lips. “It seems I have hastened to condemn you. Is this why you removed the ha
rness and hid it?”
She nodded.
“I shan’t beat you with the whip or birch, although I will have to reprimand you for not waiting for my advice. As for Sara, ask her kindly to return my harness, and we shall discuss its future use for our mutual benefit.” He raised two expectant eyebrows.
