Lady Thief (26 page)

William felt the tension in Marianne’s body
relax itself away.
He thought her trembling was due to the cold and
wished to bring her near to a fire as quickly as possible, but he
looked down, and there were tears in her eyes.

***

When inside and out of the cold, Marianne
felt herself being handed over to James while William addressed the
servants and men of the house.
He ordered all the men and women to
obey the new master.
Any men-at-arms who did not wish to have a new
master were to leave now that their old one was dead.

Each man looked towards the other and stayed
where they were.
No one would leave with the wind picking up and
air thickening with snow.

No one seemed particularly displeased that
Ferdinand was dead either.
The men he had hired would not even
defend him when attacked, which led Marianne to believe they were
either poorly paid, poorly treated, or possibly both since the
thought of Sir Ferdinand surrounding himself with cowards did not
ring true to her.

Her mind was in a haze and she could barely
give her attention to any one person before it was lost on
something else.

William came to her again and she was
reminded of her father’s promise of the best chamber.
Ferdinand’s
chamber, the one she had escaped from earlier.

All became clear and she stopped.
“Nay,
please, I cannot spend the night in there.”

It had seemed so horrible when she was locked
inside, the scent of Ferdinand in the air, surrounding her,
suffocating her.
Not even William could drive that away.

Without speaking, William looked at her and
understood.
“Perhaps we could take the second best chamber for our
use.”

Holton agreed whole heartedly and gleefully
led them in another direction.
Marianne knew where the good rooms
were, but allowed herself to be led quietly since her father was
far too pleased to be in control of himself and his home again.

The room certainly was large, but bare of
most furnishings save for the bed, a worn stool and small table
with an empty basin.
The fire had been quickly lit by a maid and a
pitcher of water brought in before Holton left them to themselves,
promising a hot meal to be delivered promptly.

Marianne went to the pitcher and basin and
washed the blood from her hands and neck, scrubbing furiously until
satisfied she had no traces of dead men on her.

Her flesh heated when William slid his arms
around her from behind and pulled her to his chest.
She lifted her
cold hands to hold his colder ones.
“You smell like the snow
outside.”

She felt him drop a kiss in her hair.
“I was
unaware snow had a scent.”

“Any other day you smell like the autumn
leaves.
Did you know that?”

She smiled.
“Nay, I hope ‘tis a pleasant
scent.”

He pushed her hair away from her neck and
placed his lips there, his voice dropping.
“I worried I would not
be in time.”

The confession in her ear brought a
shiver.

“Are ye cold?”

He made to move to the fireplace but she held
tightly to him.

“Nay, ‘tis not that.”

He looked at her, waiting for an
explanation.

How would she explain that his fear for her
was a comfort?
Perhaps he could not love her like he did Alice, but
he cared enough for her to fear for her and send a small army of
men to her rescue.

She looked into his eyes and spoke the truth.
“I knew you would come for me.
I had absolute faith in you.”

A laugh caught in his throat as he covered
her mouth with his.

Marianne clutched his shoulders.
His large
fingers slid across her cheek and into her hair while the other
slipped beneath the tight bodice of her gown and cupped her breast.
He squeezed, and Marianne gasped sharply.
He used the act to his
advantage and slid his tongue into her mouth.

Abruptly she pulled away and began fumbling
with his breastplate and then his under tunic while he struggled
with the strings of her gown and bodice.

“I wish you could rip the retched thing off.”
She complained.

“Aye, but ‘tis impossibly strong.”

Finally, he untied it and pulled it from her
body.
She was left standing in her chemise and Marianne took a
breath and relished in the freedom.

She touched him.
Stroked his face, his chest,
kissed his lips while his hands remained on her breasts and
pressing between her legs through the fabric of her chemise.
His
hands were everywhere yet they touched not enough of her.

She wished to touch more of him but what she
was doing was not enough either and this slow building pace
frustrated her.
She wanted him inside of her, his bare chest on top
of hers, heating her in a way the fire behind her never could while
she wrapped her legs around his lower back.

She could stand his teasing caresses no
longer.
“Take me to bed, this instant.”

“Eager.” His pleased smirk spoke many
promises to her.
William bent at the knees, wrapped his arms under
her bottom and lifted her in the air.
He took two steps and dropped
her on the bed before he settled between her legs.

She did not mind and sighed throatily as he
lifted her chemise, adjusted his hose and slipped inside her
without removing them or his boots.

Marianne wrapped her legs about his hips
eagerly, like she had wanted.
Her sighs turned into moans as he
moved in a repetitive motion in and out of her, holding her tightly
to him as he did and speeding his movements as she tightened her
thighs around him.

He kissed her shoulder, her neck and her lips
while she threaded her fingers into his hair, and she felt truly
loved.
She wished it would never end but the building sensation in
her belly came too quickly and she threw her head back, closed her
eyes, opened her mouth, and released the wail that had built itself
within her, letting his silky voice take her the rest of the
way.

He breathed hard against her shoulder and she
smiled.
Stroking his hair and kissing him again.

He tried to roll away from her but her legs
held firm.

“Stay.”

She knew she could spend years admiring his
lazy smile.
“As you wish, my dear.
But this position will not be
comfortable for long.”

She barely heard his words.
Her eyes were
closing with sleep.
“I doubt that very much.”

He chuckled, trailing his lips down her
cheek, across her jaw, and resting on her lips as he slowly felt
her legs release their grip on him with her oncoming rest.

When he pulled away to lie beside her, her
eyes came open again.

“I’m cold.” She said.

He must have been as unwilling to move as
she, so William pulled the half of the blanket they were not laying
on and covered them with it.
She snuggled into his heat and he
wished they would never have to leave.

“William?”

He looked down, her voice thick and her eyes
half open.
He brushed the curls of red from her face.
“Aye?”

“Ye should know, today, before something else
happens.” She searched for his hand under the blankets and brought
it to her belly, still bare as he had not lowered her chemise.

William’s voice became unexpectedly thick,
Marianne could hear the wild thumping in his chest.
“You are with
child.”

She smiled and nodded, her eyes slipping
shut.
“Aye.
‘Tis yours.”

A bark of laughter erupted from his throat,
and he kissed her again and again.
“You need not tell me ‘tis mine
for me to know it, you imp.
I love you.”

She smiled dreamily at his words before her
breathing lightened and she succumbed to sleep.

***

William could not sleep at all.
He lay awake
for hours holding his wife with visions of the coming child in his
mind.

Chapter Sixteen

The snow ceased
its assault on the
land that night and was replaced with extreme cold.
Holton, still
prancing with happiness, insisted William and his entire party stay
until the roads were safe for travel.

Marianne knew William would not speak with
Holton regarding the theft of his property.
She knew because he
told her so.
He also told her that ‘twas only because of the amount
of food it took to feed the army he brought with him would
compensate for his losses, though William did insist on taking back
the stolen horses.

Though three days was hardly anything to
worry over, long they became, and Marianne found herself suffering
from the same illness that took hold of her when she arrived at
Graystone for the first time.

Her body chilled, food did not taste as she
knew it should, and only while lying in her husband’s arms could
she sleep peacefully.

Even in sleep he held her near to him, and
when the moonlight disappeared she allowed herself to rest her head
on his naked chest and wish she were as at ease as he.

She dreamed that he loved her, told her so
with his own words.
Despite the number of times they made love and
slept in each other’s arms in those three days, she had yet to have
that dream again.

Relief came in the form of finally taking
leave of Holton House and riding towards Graystone, watching its
looming towers appear in the distance a second time had been
wonderful and exhilarating compared to the first.
With these
emotions running rampant, Marianne could not deny that Graystone
was her home.

Though, Marianne had trouble consenting to
call it her true home as she was still not loved as she would like
to be by the lord.

As promised Lord John and Lady Anne came to
visit immediately after.
Marianne was delighted to have a
conversation partner whom she could speak with freely and who could
gossip with her.

Marianne hoped Anne’s presence could take her
thoughts away from the one last piece of unhappiness she still
carried with her.
And upon discovering that Marianne never had a
nurse, Lady Anne took it upon herself to teach her the fine arts of
embroidery, drawing, and music.

“I told you the day I first met you we would
become friends.” Anne giggled over Marianne’s shoulders as she
pointed out the flaw in her stitching.

Marianne grumbled and adjusted her shawl,
wishing she had not seemed so eager to learn in the beginning as
she now wished to send her needle to the devil.
Lady Anne would
accept nothing less than perfection and would allow Marianne no
room to play.
If there was an error in her stitching and Anne found
it, she would have Marianne go back and do it again.

Lady Anne laughed and took the embroidery
from her hands, setting it on the nearby table.
“I see ‘tis not
working.
We shall try again on the morrow.”

Marianne scowled and flicked her crooked
work.
“
You
may try again.
If my son is to have a blanket
then I shall hire someone to make it for him as nothing fine will
come from me.”

Anne sat next to her, paying no mind to
Marianne’s insistence that she was carrying a boy when her body
gave hardly a hint to her condition.
“Oh, I shall have to convince
John to let me visit every week if I am to be satisfied with your
education until the child is born.
I have never seen William so
happy.”

“Aye,” Marianne had to agree.
William looked
at her differently since her confession of her condition, and when
confirmed by a midwife his cheer doubled.
Hers did not.

“What saddens you?”

Marianne blinked.
She had not meant to show
her worries on her face.
“Hmm?”

Anne took her hand, another small thing
Marianne had to get used to with the lady so near to her.
Lady Anne
insisted on holding her hand, hugging, and planting kisses upon her
cheeks.
Since Marianne only recently began to receive these things
from her husband and had only once been hugged by her father in
years, Marianne hardly knew what to do with it all.

Anne turned away, as though deciding not to
say anything at all, but Marianne squeezed her hand.
“Go on.”

Anne sighed.
“My lady, I hope you will not be
insulted with my blunt nature, but since coming here I have seen
that you are not quite as happy as my cousin.”

Marianne paled.
Anne clasped both her
hands.

“Have I said something upsetting?
Forgive me,
you should rest.”

Marianne shook her head and gripped Anne’s
hands tightly before she could rise to bustle about and fluff her
pillows.

“Nay, I am well.
Your question did startle
me, however.”

Anne looked pained.
“Forgive me, ‘twas not my
concern.”

And it was not.
Marianne knew this, but
keeping the secret only caused her to suffer more as the days
passed.
William only stared at her with those adoring blue eyes
because she was carrying his child, completely oblivious to the
misery she suffered.

Even Blaise ceased his bantering and began
treating her with respect, though whether ‘twas because he spent
most of his time training with Bryce, or due to his happiness at
still being William’s heir, Marianne did not know.

Regardless, having no one to speak to about
her concerns had drained her.

Marianne straightened herself.
“May I tell
you something, and have your word that you will say nothing of it
to William?”

Anne looked into her friend’s eyes.
“Of
course.”

With a deep breath Marianne told Anne of her
forceful abduction and wedding to William, how he rescued Molly and
Hawisa and how she had slowly fallen in love with her caring
husband.
Wishing to spare her father’s dignity, she left out the
details of his theft, though she did divulge Robert’s abduction of
her and his plan to sell her to sir Ferdinand.

Lady Anne’s mouth was agape when she
finished.
She sputtered, still clutching Marianne’s hand, only much
tighter.
“To think, you could have been killed by that awful
man!”

“Aye,” Marianne nodded, the reminder of
Robert’s gruesome murder bringing a shiver to her.

“I have heard rumors of how horrible he could
have been, but never suspected him capable of such things.”

“Aye,” Marianne agreed again.
How sheltered
could Lady Anne be to not have believed Ferdinand to be capable of
such evils?
Granted, she had also been unaware of them until
William told her, but she knew enough about Ferdinand to know she
would rather stage a kidnapping than marry him.

Anne leaned closer, and Marianne could see
her interest heightening with each question she eagerly asked.
“And
you are quite certain the grooms here are not dangerous?”

Marianne eagerly shook her head.
“No, nay,
Archer is the kindest of men, and he will see to it that the
stables only have good men in them from now on.”

Though Lady Anne knew ‘twas not proper to be
asking so many questions, she could hardly contain herself.
“Is
that what has your spirits so low?
Those experiences would
certainly ruin any of my happiness.”

Marianne shook her head.
“‘Tis not that.”

Anne waited silently.

Marianne had to explain further, she could
not bottle the rest in now that she was nearly finished with her
tale.
She wet her lips and trudged forward.
“While I have been
blessed to wed the most noble and generous of men, he still does
not love me.”

***

“Of course I love her!
What sort of question
is this?” William was more shocked than angered, and John could
only shrug his shoulders and turn to his wife helplessly.

Lady Anne blew air from her mouth and
whispered into John’s ear again.
Nicholas watched the spectacle
eagerly, lifting his goblet to his lips and enjoying the
entertainment.

William felt a pounding begin in his head
with the odd behavior she insisted on carrying out.
He sighed and
rubbed his temple, working to contain his building apprehension.
“Cousin you may speak with me without putting your poor husband
through all of this.”

John listened to Anne’s whispers some more,
and then sighed in a manner equal to William’s.
“‘Twould seem she
cannot.
She gave Marianne her word not to speak of this to
you.”

“She is speaking it to me now.”

“Nay, cousin.
My
husband
is speaking
of it to you.
Marianne had me promise not to speak to you about her
troubles, but she mentioned nothing of telling John.” Anne grinned
proudly, and William knew she was congratulating herself for the
wit of her scheme.

Nicholas chuckled and drained his drink.
“Women enjoy devious play but I never would have suspected your
innocent cousin.”

“Keep silent, Nicholas.” William could hardly
believe it himself, and he rubbed his temples to will away the
headache.
“Pray, tell me why my wife believes I hold no love for
her.”

Anne whispered into her husband’s ear again,
and when John’s face colored William prayed she was not divulging
anything inappropriate.

When she finished her whispering, John stared
down at his wife curiously before facing William, a helpless air
about him.
“‘Twould seem the lady believes this is so because you
have yet to tell her.”

Nicholas’s face dropped, he clutched his
chest dramatically.
“You have not told your wife of your love?”

“Yet to tell her?
I have told her!
I have
told her with my actions when I rode after her when she was taken,
and have said so with my words when—” He had to stop himself before
he was the one to mention something inappropriate.
“I have told
her.” He grumbled, folding his arms.

Remembering Nicholas, he growled at him.
“And
just because you spout out love to every maiden who will have ye
does not mean every man can say it so lightly!”

Anne brows came together thoughtfully.
“‘Tis
not what she has told me.
She believes you have never mentioned
this love for her.
Are you quite sure you have told her?”

John took his wife’s hand and squeezed
imploringly.
“Do not pester him.
Even if he does hold no love for
her ‘twould be no business of yours.”

It bothered William because he
did
,
and she should know that he did.
She smiled at him when he told her
before drifting off to sleep.

He stopped at the thought.
That was right.
He
did tell her, and she did not say anything to him in return.
Was
feminine protocol not clear in allowing
him
the right to
anger and not her?
Surely even Nicholas would agree with him.

Lady Anne would not be silenced by her
husband.
“How many times have you told her?”

William blinked out of his thoughts.
“I beg
your pardon?”

Despite John’s shushing, Anne continued to
speak.
“How many times have you mentioned your love for her?”

Nicholas grinned, lazily trailing the rim of
his glass.
“Aye, friend, how many times?”

“Once is not enough?”

“Nay, of course not!” Anne glowered
disapprovingly at him.
William could see how mad she believed him
to be with the way her face twisted in near disgust at his
claim.

William looked at John, who had given up on
trying to silence his wife and shook his head apologetically.
“Women enjoy hearing these things over and over.”

William sputtered.
“And do they always forget
them if the words are not spoken enough?”

John shrugged dejectedly, gesturing to his
wife.
“‘Twould seem so, Aye.”

Nicholas nodded his head as well.
“At least
every day.”

William threw his hands up and swore a blue
streak, circling his entire solar twice before remembering that his
little cousin was still in the room.
He looked at her and found her
eyes open comically wide.
John shook his head, muttering: “Should
not have allowed myself to become involved.”

William decided that if he wanted to rage
around like he was he had best do it to his wife and not in front
of his friends and relatives.
He left to find his red haired imp
and do just that.