1606011324-Lady-Knight-Chenery Read online

  Ariel quickly pressed her body against the side of the tub, shielding her body from Broc’s line of sight. “What are you doing here? I thought you wouldn’t need me until later.”

  Broc turned at the sound of her voice. “I came to see your father.”

  “He’s not here. So if you do not mind, I would like to finish my bath.” Ariel hoped Broc would leave without too much preamble. The water had started to cool and she would soon be forced to get out of the tub.

  “Continue your bathing. When you’re finished we’ll both go and look for your father. What I want to talk to him about concerns you as well.”

  Now what was she going to do? She could not very well tell him to leave. She was supposed to be a man. “If you go look for him I’ll meet you later.”

  “Nay, that won’t be necessary.”

  She was in trouble now. There had to be something she could say to make him leave her alone, but nothing readily came to mind. Stuck, she found herself unable to do anything except stare up at him.

  “Well? Continue with your bath. You have only just recently recovered from wound fever. It won’t do you any good to sit in a cold bath.” When Ariel made no move to comply, Broc stepped closer to the tub. “Must I remove you myself?”

  Broc was just about to reach for her when something stopped him. He seemed to take in her wet hair, which she had slicked back off of her face. His gaze then moved to her cheekbones and chin He seemed to hover over her lips before his gaze moved onto her eyes. Ariel felt her breath catch. Surely Broc saw her for the woman she was now.

  He continued to stare at her with what Ariel slowly recognized as longing. He bent closer to her. His eyes became focused on her lips. His breathing grew quicker. Transfixed, Ariel watched him lower his head until his lips came within mere inches of hers. Her involuntary sharp intake of breath effectively broke the spell. Broc jerked himself upright and took a quick step back.

  Ariel could not believe what Broc had almost done. It only made her body ache for his. When he quickly moved away, Ariel felt the loss. Even though she knew very little of men, she could tell he had not been unaffected by the encounter. His breath still came in shallow, rapid puffs, same as hers did. Her body throbbed with desire.

  They stared into each other’s eyes, the silence hanging between them. Neither one moved. Broc finally broke the mounting tension surrounding them. He mumbled something about maybe it would be best if he went in search of her father after all. Turning from her he practically ran out of the hall.

  Now alone, Ariel stepped out of the tub and quickly dried her body. She bound her chest and donned a fresh tunic and trews. It wasn’t hard to figure out Broc had thought he had almost kissed a man. He couldn’t get away from her fast enough. His mind may have perceived her as male, but his body knew she was all female. Lily had been right, Broc could not be very observant.

  As it turned out Broc was not with her father and couldn’t be found anywhere around Elmstead. Ariel guessed he needed to be alone to recover from their brief encounter. She had to admit she didn’t feel quite herself either. The mere thought of that almost kiss made her heart beat faster.

  * * * *

  The evening meal came and went and still Broc did not return.

  Since Ariel was not going to have to act the part of a servant this night, she sat with her father before the hearth drinking ale. Even though she told herself there was no need to worry, Ariel’s eyes kept drifting to the door. Where could he be? It had been hours since he had last been seen.

  Swein seemed to pick up on Ariel’s anxiousness. He raised a brow in her direction when he caught her looking at the door for the tenth time in as many minutes. “All right, what happened?”

  Ariel jumped at the sound of her father’s voice. “Nothing.”

  “Come on now. Your Norman has been gone most of the day and you look like you lost your best friend.”

  “He’s not my Norman. Why should I care where he goes?”

  The look Swein gave her said he did not believe her. “Maybe you do because you still have feelings for him. He must feel something for you. Lily told me he asked if I had a daughter. She said he looked like he didn’t want to believe her when she told him I had only one child. So what happened between you two?”

  Reluctantly, Ariel answered her father’s question. “He walked in on me while I bathed.” Seeing Swein’s face light up, Ariel narrowed her eyes at him. She could not believe it. Did he want Broc to find out her secret? “Stop looking so happy, he didn’t see anything. I thought you had agreed with me that I would stay being Wulf around Broc.”

  “I had, but now I’ve come to know him better. Maybe you should tell him.”

  That was all Ariel needed to hear from her father. Now she had to worry where his loyalties would be. “Are you telling me if I don’t tell him, you will?”

  “Nay. You are and always will be my daughter. I would never betray you. I only feel if he finds out on his own he could make it go badly for you. What if he decides since you lied to him he can’t trust you? He could very well try to take Colwyn from you. It is within his rights.”

  “All the more reason to keep Colwyn away from Broc. I will not take that chance.”

  “Fine, it’s your decision. Now tell me what made him run off?”

  After a couple of deep breaths and a sip of ale, Ariel told her father the rest of the tale. “As I said before, he didn’t see anything. I tried to make him leave at first, but for some reason he decided he would wait until I finished. All I could do was stare at him like a fool. Then something came over him, something that caused him to almost do something else. Let’s just say he left in a very great hurry.”

  Swein let out a roar of laughter. “So he wanted to kiss you. No wonder the poor man ran. He thought he almost kissed another man. That would be enough to have any male question his masculinity, and that also explains where he went.”

  “Then where is he?”

  “If that happened to me at Broc’s age, I would go in search of a willing woman to prove I was still a man.”

  Ariel’s reaction to her father’s words had her reaching for her tankard of ale. She finished what remained in two large gulps and got up to get more. She couldn’t stand the thought of Broc with another. No matter what she said, she had started to care for him. And she didn’t like it one bit

  * * * *

  She tried to ignore the sounds coming from the hall. All Ariel wanted to do was sleep. After talking with her father, she had had a little too much ale. So far she had only managed to sleep a few hours, which hadn’t done much to stop her head from spinning.

  The noises from the hall came closer. Ariel had already figured out who had finally come back when the chamber door slammed open. Broc practically fell into the room. It looked as if he had downed too much ale as well, and he was not alone. Two women clung to his arms. Trying not to be noticed, Ariel lay completely still and hoped they would assume she slept. But that was not to be, Broc had other plans for her it seemed. Seeing the slight form curled up on the pallet in the corner of the chamber, he made his way over to Ariel. Realizing she had been spotted, Ariel tightly closed her eyes.

  “You were right, my lord. He is a fine looking lad.” Ariel opened her eyes to find one of the women bending over her. The woman reached out and brushed her knuckles across her cheek. “His cheeks are as soft as a babe’s bottom.”

  Pushing herself up and out of the woman’s reach, Ariel glared up at Broc. “What are they doing here?”

  Broc stepped closer. The other woman continued to cling to him. “As you are my squire, I figured I would further your education. I thought it was time you became better acquainted with the opposite sex. This nice lady has agreed to initiate you.”

  Ariel felt all the blood drain out of her face. “And why is the other one here?”

  “I decided to sample some of this fine lady’s charms.” Broc lowered his head and gave the woman on his arm a kiss. To Ariel the kiss seemed never to
end. Seeing the woman’s hand run up and down Broc’s thigh, Ariel felt the bile rise up to the back of her throat.

  She had to leave. Getting to her feet she tried to move past the woman who had been meant for her. She reached out and pulled Ariel to a stop. “Where are you going? There’s no reason to be shy. I will be gentle with you.” The woman’s hand snaked out and grabbed Ariel’s bottom.

  Ariel shoved the woman off of her and took a step back. “I’m not interested.” Noticing Broc had finally ended the kiss, she directed her next words at him. “Since you’ll be entertaining tonight I will leave you alone. I have no intention of taking part in any of this.”

  Roughly brushing past the woman, Ariel almost made it to the chamber door. Broc stopped her before she could cross the threshold. “I didn’t give you permission to leave.”

  Ariel swung around to face Broc. “You cannot make me stay.”

  “Oh, but I can.”

  “Why? Why is it so important I stay?”

  “I don’t have to give you a reason. You are my squire. You must do what I say without question. If you leave, I won’t knight you.”

  She had no choice, she needed that knighthood. With England under Norman rule it was essential. “Fine, I’ll stay.” The other woman assumed it meant Ariel would accept her advances, but she soon backed off when Ariel scowled at her. “I’ll stay, but I will sleep alone. And you, Broc St. Ceneri, can go to hell as far as I am concerned.”

  Chapter 15

  Hell, utter and absolute hell, was where Ariel found herself in and she didn’t think she could make it through the night. After making her point very clear to Broc, she returned to her pallet. To make her rejection even more complete, Ariel curled up on her side so she faced the wall.

  One of the women laughed. “Maybe this one is still a little boy. What do you say, my lord, are you man enough for the two of us?”

  “Now I can’t leave one of you ladies wanting. It would not be polite.” The women’s breathy laughter filled the room.

  With her back to the bed, Ariel couldn’t see what was taking place. If only she could have blocked out the sounds emanating from the bed. She tried pulling the blanket over her head, even stuck her fingers in her ears, but nothing helped.

  When the women began to moan in pleasure, sleep became impossible. Having to hear the women was bad enough, but the moans they elicited from Broc affected Ariel far more. They reminded her of her first time with a man, with that very man on the bed. She wanted to rage at Broc. Yell at him, How could you do this to me? How could he betray her like this? She had not wanted another man in that way, much less two at the same time.

  But then her body turned traitor. She had been able to ignore the sounds the women made, but Broc’s moans were something else entirely. She remembered when he had made those sounds at her touch, when their two bodies had joined as one. Remembered the feel of the hot, hard length of him moving inside her. Wetness pooled between her legs.

  Finally the sounds of passion gave way to silence. All became quiet once more. Ariel prayed they would sleep. But once again fate did not go her way. The noises started up again after a short interval. The only option she had left to her was to lay there and wait for it to end.

  Before the night ended, Ariel vowed to make Broc pay for his behavior. As for her being his squire, a few changes had to take place. She would accept his lessons of warfare, but being his servant was now out of the question.

  * * * *

  Pain shot through his head the moment he opened his eyes. Groaning, he shut them once more. Broc usually didn’t drink heavily, but last night had been an exception. He had tried to forget the memory of Wulf’s face, how it looked when he had wanted to kiss the boy. It hadn’t helped. It only left him with a pounding head.

  Opening his eyes, Broc realized it was still very early. Something had brought him out of the deep sleep he had been in. As he turned his head to look about the room, he saw he didn’t sleep alone. Two women lay on either side of him. Lifting the blankets slightly, he found them both to be naked.

  He couldn’t remember much from the night before, but what he did remember sickened him. Bad enough he had tried to force Wulf into taking one of the women, but what made it even worse he had taken both of them to his bed. That was something he had thought he was not capable of doing. A sound came from the far corner of the chamber. Broc looked across the room. Wulf lay curled into a ball on his pallet. He was dreaming. The small sounds coming from him had awakened Broc.

  Gently as he possibly could, Broc climbed out of the bed. Looking over his shoulder, he checked to make sure the women had not been disturbed. He saw they hadn’t awakened. He pulled on one of his longer tunics and moved to where the boy slept.

  Broc grew more disgusted with himself the longer he looked at Wulf. He not only lay curled up into a tight ball, but one of his hands still covered his ear. He had been in the chamber the whole time. Flashes of himself telling the boy he couldn’t leave almost made Broc ill. How could I have done that to Wulf? But Broc already knew why. His damn pride demanded he prove he was still a man. Wulf whimpered in his sleep once more. Hoping to comfort the boy, Broc reached out and brushed the hair away from Wulf’s eyes. That turned out to be a mistake.

  * * * *

  The feel of someone touching her brought Ariel instantly awake. She had thought the woman had taken the hint to leave her alone. When her eyes focused on the face before her, her body clenched. She then did what she had wanted to do all night long. Pulling back her arm with her hand fisted, Ariel punched Broc square on the jaw. Not suspecting the blow, it knocked Broc onto his backside. Ariel watched those gold eyes of his widen in surprise. Ariel rubbed her bruised knuckles.

  “I deserved that.”

  Ariel surged to her feet and looked down at Broc. “Aye, you did. How could you?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve never done anything like that before, I apologize.”

  “You can’t actually expect an apology will help. If this is how you Normans act, you can keep your knighthood. I’ll have none of it.” Ariel had to get away from Broc. Her body started to do terrible things to her just at the mere sight of him. Anger waged war with desire. His moans of pleasure still echoed in her head. Stepping around Broc who sat on the floor, Ariel moved past him to leave. Once again he held her back. This time Broc had a hold on one of her ankles.

  “Wait, don’t go.”

  “I refuse to stay and you can’t make me. I’m not your squire anymore, so release me.”

  In one graceful move Broc surged to his feet. Before Ariel could move away, her arm became held in what felt like a band of steel. As he started to pull her out of the chamber, Ariel fought Broc every step he took. It didn’t do any good. He just dragged her behind him. He didn’t stop until they stood in front of the hearth in the hall. Seeing no one was about yet, Broc pulled her until Ariel stood facing him.

  “I did not release you. As far as I am concerned, you still are my squire.”

  “And I told you I don’t want the knighthood. I will not serve a man I can’t respect.”

  Broc closed his eyes as if Ariel’s words had brought him pain. “I can understand your feelings. But I want to continue your training.”

  Ariel shook her head. “Why is it so important you knight me?”

  Broc could only shrug. “I don’t honestly know. It’s something I feel I must do.”

  Silently Ariel thought over her next words. “If I decide I want to continue I want some changes made.”

  “Such as?”

  “I will not serve you at the hall nor will I sleep in your chamber. All I want is the training in arms. The king’s house carls has to mean something.”

  Broc paused then answered. “Agreed.”

  “I’m not finished yet. My father told me you are going to court for Christ mass. When you come back, I want you to knight me.”

  “That depends if I deem you ready.”

  “Oh, I will be ready. I’m a fast learn
er. Do you agree?” Ariel held her breath, hoping she had not gone too far.

  Broc once more took the time to think over what she had said before answering. “Aye, I agree. We’ll start your training when your shoulder is healed.”

  Ariel shook her head. “I want to start tomorrow. It’s better.”

  “Fine. If I see you in pain, I will stop the training session.”

  “Agreed. Now if I have your permission, I would like to get some sleep.” Before she could move, Broc held her back.

  “I agreed to you not sleeping in my chamber, but not to you leaving the hall. Go to your old chamber. I’ll have your belongings put back later.”

  Ariel wanted to scream at Broc. She did not want to be even that close to him. But it seemed she would not have much of a choice, especially if she wanted to become a knight. Nodding her head in acceptance, Ariel spun on her heel and left Broc alone to watch her retreating back.

  * * * *

  Returning to his chamber Broc started to rid it of any evidence of last night’s activities. He still could not believe what he had done. It sickened him. The sooner he put this behind him the better.

  The two women still slept stretched out across the bed. Broc had no idea who they were. He didn’t even remember meeting them. All he wanted to do now was get them, as quickly as possible, out of his bed and the hall.

  From what Broc could remember about last night, he knew they had not been virgins. If anything they were the opposite. Their clothes could by no means be mistaken for the silks and fine linens of a lady. They were also strewn all over the chamber floor.

  Without further ado, Broc walked over to the bed and shook each woman awake. “Get dressed. It’s time for you both to leave.”

  They both grumbled at being awakened so early, but at Broc’s commanding tone did as he ordered. The women must have also realized any advances made in his direction would be rebuffed. Neither one of them made a move to touch him. Once they had donned their clothing Broc ushered them out of the hall. He closed the door behind the two leaving the women to find their own way home.