AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“My lord,” she said, forcing herself into a curtsy…wanting never to rise again. Because she greatly feared what would happen when she did.
But surely…surely…she was mistaken. Surely it was a misunderstanding.
Henry walked over to her and, taking her hand, lifted her to her feet with a firm grip. He was standing very close—so close she could smell the wine on his breath, the smokiness from the fire, the expensive scent wafting from his clothing. His beard and mustache were neatly trimmed and his thick hair curled around his forehead and ears.
“Your hurts have begun to heal,” he said, reaching, as he had done only two nights earlier, to touch her cheek. This time, after trailing over the scrape, his fingers continued along her jaw and down over her neck where they settled at the clasp of her cloak. “’Tis glad I am of that. ”
With a short, neat movement, he unpinned the brooch at her throat and flung the cloak aside.
“My lord, your majesty,” she stammered, stepping back slightly. “What may I—what is your—why have you called me here?”
Henry smiled at her. He was a handsome man, one with an energy many people of both genders found attractive. In truth, Judith had always considered the man magnetic in his personality and appearance. Even now, a part of her acknowledged this: she was in the presence of greatness, of her liege lord, her king, and he was a virile, alluring, muscular man.
But the rest of her…the greatest part of her…wasn’t thinking of him in that way.
“Judith, will you have some wine?” he asked. Still holding the hand he’d taken when he raised her from the curtsy, he drew her across the room with him.
She must follow, though her knees shook and surely he could feel how icy her fingers were. “My lord,” she managed to say. “To what do I owe this…h-honor?”
The king poured wine for both of them, then handed her a goblet. “A toast, my lady,” he said, lifting his own drink. “To the fair Judith, Lady of Kentworth, Lady of Lilyfare, Lady Falconer…a most elegant, graceful lily in her own right. ”
He brought the wine to his lips and sipped, and Judith followed suit. She didn’t know if she’d be able to swallow for her throat was so dry and constricted. The wine was rich and heavy, filled with the essence of berries, and it flushed warmth through her. She set the goblet on the table.
“You have the most beautiful hair I have e’er seen,” said Henry, reaching to touch it. He filtered one of her finger-thick braids between the pad of thumb and forefinger, then at the end, removed the metal case that confined the plait. “’Tis like fire. I’ve naught seen any like it on any other head—man or woman—in all my travels. ”
Judith could do nothing but stand there as he pulled his fingers through the braid, loosening it into fiery waves over her shoulder and down over her breasts.
“My lord,” she spoke again. “What do you do? Your wife—”
“We shall not speak of my queen this night,” he interrupted sharply. His eyes flashed for a moment.
Judith swallowed hard and nodded miserably. “My lord…please…I am honored that you should…find my hair so beautiful. But I…. ” She swallowed, desperate for the words to let him know her feelings, yet not to insult. For he was her lord, her king. He held infinite power over her. He could order her banished, imprisoned—even her death. She was at his mercy in all things. “I am weary. I beg of you, allow me to return to my chamber and seek my bed. ”
Henry gave a short, low chuckle. “But there is a bed anon. Here in this very chamber. And, I promise it, ’tis more comfortable than any other in the whole of Clarendon. ”
“My lord,” she tried again. “I do not believe I would…sleep overmuch in this chamber. ”
His eyes cooled a trifle. “Lady Judith, methinks you are thirsty. Drink you more of this very fine wine. ” He thrust the goblet back into her hand. She accepted it with trembling fingers and took another drink. When she would have taken the cup away, he reached up and tipped it toward her mouth once again. “There now, my lady. Mayhap you are warmer…and more pliable now?”
She set the empty goblet on the table and tried to keep her quivering knees from buckling.
“Now tell me, Lady Judith,” said the king as he took her hand once more. He drew her across the chamber, over the fine, smooth rug, toward the bed. “Are you still in possession of your maidenhead?”
Her heart nearly choking her, Judith scrambled for a response. If he believed she was still a virgin, mayhap he would allow her to leave. A lady’s maidenhead was very valuable, and not to be given lightly. But if Henry had no intention of allowing her to leave and he learned she was not a virgin, would he punish her for lying to him?
“Judith?” he pressed, unfastening a second braid. “I wish to know if you are a virgin. ”
“Nay,” she whispered at last as he tugged his fingers through her hair. “I am no virgin. ”
Henry smiled, a warm, genuine smile that, under any other circumstance might have eased her. “I am very glad to hear that. For that will make this much more pleasurable…for both of us. ”
With that, he reached up and began to unlace her gown.
SEVEN
A hand on his shoulder brought Malcolm immediately out of the depths of sleep and into wakefulness. He simultaneously opened his eyes and sat up, fully awake and aware in the instant. Such was the necessary skill of a leader, of a man trained to be a warrior, of one who slept oft on the ground and was responsible for the safety and well-being of an entire village and keep.
But Mal didn’t immediately recognize the man who’d waked him. “Aye?” he said in a low growl, aware of the rows of other snoring, grunting, farting men who joined him in the chamber wherein he was relegated to sleeping. If he meant to stay at court much longer, he must needs find his own chamber.
