Danburgh Castle (5 page)

Chapter 15

Emma and Lord Robert trekked out of the forest and onto a heath familiar to Emma.  Here sheep grazed and Emma knew of a covered building used as a sheepfold in wintertime.  The shelter was too exposed to be inhabited by rebels and Emma believed Lord Robert could be safely stowed there.

Once at the shelter (which they found to be free of livestock) they dismounted and Lord Robert led his horse inside with them to rest.

The shelter contained a haystack and Emma, tired from her journey, lay down in it.  Lord Robert set Harry down and covered the slumbering child with his tunic.  He then lay beside Emma.

Lord Robert’s face was close to Emma’s.  She stroked his cold cheek with her forefinger as they stared intently into one another’s eyes.

“I need you,” said Robert.  “I cannot do without you.”

Emma placed her finger on Lord Robert’s lips and shushed him.

Lord Robert placed his own cold fingers on Emma’s lips.  She kissed them.

“Emma, you
cannot
leave me,” Lord Robert announced feverishly, stirring himself.  “You denied me once.  Would you deny me again?”

His look was so vulnerable that Emma found her only response was to pull him to her, allowing, at last, his lips to meet her own.

Lord Robert closed his eyes.  Aware of their isolation, Emma allowed herself to express her pleasure in cries and moans and she found that, with this expression, Lord Robert’s ardent passion only intensified.  Inside their rough shelter, amid the bleak, wintry surroundings, Emma denied her lord, and her own desires, no more.

Chapter 16

As darkness fell, Lord Robert, Emma and baby Harry set off on horseback for Emma’s home.  Upon reaching the farm cottage, Emma saw the glow of lights within and felt a surge of impatience to see her son.  She and Lord Robert had agreed to part before entering the house but as they stood saying goodbye, they were apprehended by Emma’s mother.  “Emma,
my
Emma, is that really you?” the older woman called out, distrusting her eyes in the darkness.  She perceived the child in Emma’s arms and the tall, dark man standing beside her daughter.  She was about to enquire who he was but his stature and his noble mien stopped her in her tracks.

“I will go,” Robert said to Emma.  “But once my home is made safe I will return for Harry – and for you.”  He turned and bowed to the older woman and then could not resist but kiss Emma once more.  “Farewell,” he said before mounting his horse and cantering away.

“Whatever can this mean, Emma?” the older woman asked, bemused.

Chapter 17

Barely a month later, Emma walked slowly along the woodland path.  Once again, the track was covered in snow but today Emma felt warm, her feet well shod and her heart beating fast in anticipation of her future.  She looked up at the skeletal tree canopy arching way above her head.  The snow-laden branches shimmered jewel-like in the winter sun.  Emma felt as though she was walking down the aisle of nature’s cathedral.

Emma was not alone.  In her arms she carried a small child and inside her –she now knew for certain– she carried another.

“Where are we going, Mammy?” the child asked.

Emma beamed at him.  It had been a blessing and –she believed– a sign, that speech had been gifted to the child only upon her return to the farmstead.  “To our new home, Oswald,” she said.

“Is it far?” he asked.

“Not so far,” she assured him, kissing his brow.

Emma’s pride dictated that she walked from the village to Danburgh Castle, to take residence with Lord Robert.

Since Emma had last set foot in the castle, much had changed.  The Lady Fiona had been banished.

Upon hearing of the matter, and fearing that Lord Robert’s power over the land would be weakened by the severance of his alliance with the Scottish thane, the King had suggested that Lord Robert marry a Norman noblewoman.  Lord Robert, however, proposed a less obvious match.  He shocked the King by declaring his preference for an English commoner.

When Emma arrived at Danburgh Castle she was greeted by the woman-servant, so familiar to her from earlier times.  The woman was surprised by the manner of the new lady’s transport.  “You came on foot?” she asked incredulously.

“Yes,” Emma replied.

“But, my lady, it is not safe–”

“I hope, good woman, that my union with Lord Robert will unite our people and I intend to show that I have trust in this belief by living without fear.”

Leaving Oswald in the care of the woman, Emma made her way to the great hall of the castle to be greeted by her lord.  She found him, sitting in a throne-like chair on a dais at the head of the long banqueting table.  His elbow rested on the arm of the chair and his chin rested in his hand.  He sat in his tunic and hose, with his legs apart.  He watched Emma intently as she walked the length of the table to stand before him.

Emma could see, as she approached Lord Robert, proof of his pleasure in seeing her, outlined distinctly in his tight hose.

“Where are my boys?” Lord Robert called to her.

“The good woman has taken Oswald to meet his younger brother, Harry,” she replied.

Lord Robert nodded approval.  “Now, will you take your place beside me, Lady Emma, as my future wife and the mother of my sons?” he asked, gesturing with his hand to the empty seat.

“No, my lord,” Emma replied calmly, shaking her head.

Lord Robert looked at her quizzically.

“There’s somewhere I would rather sit,” Emma explained, mounting the platform, hitching up her skirts and diving eagerly upon him.

***

Thank you for reading this story.  If you have enjoyed
Danburgh Castle
, please consider writing a positive review / recommendation for the book or giving it a star rating.

Also by the author:

Elizabeth Clansham
- a contemporary novella set in the Scottish Highlands – available on Kindle:

http://www.amazon.com/Elizabeth-Clansham-ebook/dp/B005LFNWDG

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Elizabeth-Clansham-ebook/dp/B005LFNWDG

The Beacon Singer
- a contemporary novel set in the English Lake District – available on Kindle:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Beacon-Singer-ebook/dp/B006BYDHQS

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Beacon-Singer-ebook/dp/B006BYDHQS

For information on the author and her other publications, please visit Catherine E. Chapman’s profile page on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Catherine-E.-Chapman/e/B005LG8HVM

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Catherine-E.-Chapman/e/B005LG8HVM

For current news, see Catherine’s blog:

http://www.romanceornotromance.wordpress.com

Catherine is also on Twitter:

http://twitter.com/CathEChapman