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The instant he was on firm ground, Severin grabbed Hastings, pulled her against him, squeezing her so tightly she knew she heard her ribs groaning. “Never again will I let you out of my sight,” he said, then, “Never again. I love you but you will fight no more of my battles. Never again. I have decided that if I do not control you, I will die of the strain of it. Aye, you will remain in our bedchamber. You may mix your herbs but nothing more. Perhaps soon I will allow you to come into the great hall, but only after I have ensured that it is safe for you, only after you have sworn to me that you will never stick a knife in another man’s chest. Well, mayhap that would be acceptable, but you will do no knife sticking next to the edge of a damned cliff.
“Aye, and then you will only leave the great hall if I give you permission and then you will always have me with you. Do you understand me, Hastings? I will not let you out of my sight again. I love you and I will now strangle you. Come, we will go home now and I will strangle you and then the Healer will make certain that our babe is all right.”
She kissed his chin and tried to squeeze him as hard as he was squeezing her. “Just a moment, Severin. Marjorie and Eloise saved me. I must thank them.”
He released her although he didn’t want to. He watched her walk slowly to where Marjorie stood, alone, with Sir Alan some feet away from her, looking at her as if he wanted to consume her. Eloise was clutched against her side, crying. Marjorie was comforting her and doing a fine job of it, Hastings had to admit, though she didn’t particularly want to.
“You saved me,” Hastings said. “You didn’t have to, yet you did. You grabbed my ankle. You let me know I could fall over and land on the ledge with you. You grabbed me when I fell with de Luci. You didn’t let go. You also saved yourself and Eloise. That was excellent, Marjorie, though it pains me to have to say it. Aye, it was excellent.”
“Thank you, Hastings. I am very tired of all this furor. My heart is still pounding with fright. Come, little sweeting, let me dry your tears. We are all safe and your father is finally dead.” Then Marjorie raised her beautiful eyes to Hastings’s face. She threw back her glorious silvery hair. “I had to save you, I had no choice.”
“When you and Eloise disappeared over the cliff edge, I believed you were killing yourselves.”
“Oh no, I saw the ledge. I prayed, Hastings. I prayed more in those seconds than I have ever prayed in my life. I nearly lost Eloise, but I managed to get her onto the ledge. When I grabbed your ankle, I wanted you to know that we were there and you would be all right. I am glad we managed to hold on to you until Severin came. Since I had my feet beneath that overhang, I was in no danger of being pulled over with you.”
“I hate this,” Hastings said, scuffing the toe of her shoe. “I really do hate this, but I will say it again. Thank you, Marjorie, for saving me. I really didn’t make your nose swell or turn red.”
“I know. It was Lady Moraine. She was trying to protect you. Her punishment gained my respect.”
“What think you of marrying Sir Alan and remaining at Sedgewick? Severin must ask the king, but he will probably agree. Perhaps you could visit Oxborough once every five years.”
Marjorie laughed. “Aye, that is an acceptable idea. Sir Alan pleases me sufficiently.”
“You will never have to worry again that you will starve.”
“No, I daresay that I won’t. And I will have my Eloise forever.”
Severin couldn’t stand it anymore. He was upon them in an instant. He picked Hastings up in his arms and strode away with her, calling over his shoulder, “I will send a messenger to the king on the morrow. Sir Alan, see to Lady Marjorie and Eloise. I believe we would like you to return immediately to Sedgewick. All your men as well. Ah, before you leave, bury de Luci’s men. Leave him on the beach below, I care not.”
Hastings said, as she nibbled his earlobe, “At least I won’t have to see her silvery hair for five years.”
It was very late. The castle was quiet save for the snores of the men sleeping in the great hall, and Belle, who could make noises louder than any man-at-arms at Oxborough. Beside her the armorer was sleeping blissfully. He was sprawled out on his back and he looked dead.
In their bedchamber, Severin was over his wife, deep inside her, staring down at her face in the dim light of the single candle.
“No, Hastings, don’t move. I just want to remain here for a while, just feel you and know that I am feeling you without lust rampaging through my body. I want you to feel my love for you, which at this moment is greater than my lust, but I cannot promise that it will last much longer.” He leaned down and kissed her. He said into her mouth, “You are mine now, damn you. No more strife between us, no more believing it is another woman I want. I want only you. Will you strive to believe me?”
“You mean that I cannot y
ell at you when you vex me with your orders, or you trample my daisies?”
“Aye, you can yell so loudly that the gulls will come in from the sea to see what is happening. That has nothing to do with the core of us. What is between us will grow, Hastings, and become more powerful as time passes. Do you believe that?”
“Aye, I must for I love you more than I love life. When Marjorie visits Oxborough in five years, you swear you will not stare at her and whisper about her silvery hair?”
“I will spit at her feet.”
She laughed, lifting her hips just a bit. He bit her chin. “Obey me, Hastings, and hold yourself still, else it won’t go well for you.”
She laughed. “Even if I were to enrage you in the future,” she said, giving him that siren’s sloe-eyed look, “I now know exactly what to do to make you forget every shred of your anger. Aye, I know exactly how to make you as blissfully happy as Gilbert the goat with a new boot to chew.”
“I know that you do.”
She stared up at him, forgetting for a moment that he was beginning to move slowly within her. “What do you know?”
“My mother loves me. Her loyalty is to me. Dame Agnes and Alice are very fond of my mother. They also believe she has sound advice. They don’t believe my advice is so bad either. Indeed, there was a good deal of laughter.”
“What does that mean?”
