Seduced (36 page)

She would not beg and plead with him. And she
would not tell him. Likely, he would think she lied to escape
punishment.

If he though to beat her or abandon her in a
convent, she would stop him.

She would tell him then.

Raik sprawled in his chair, legs
outstretched, fingers alternating between tapping impatiently on
the chair's arms or clenching into fists and repeatedly thumping on
them while his gaze looked hard enough at the door into his
bedchamber to burn a hole in it.

"You've been sitting there staring at that
door half the night," Cormac said.

Raik jerked his head and turned an icy blue
gaze on Cormac. His brows drew together.

"Would ye rather I go in there? I doubt I
could keep my anger controlled." He leaned forward, his elbows on
his thighs as he rubbed his hands over his face. "I dinna want
word, or even a hint of what has happened, to get out. How do ye
think Seton's people will feel if they learn their new baron had
cuckolded the man they respected even more than the king?"

"Aye." Cormac nodded at him. "Let them
believe it is a spat between husband and wife. They know how
independent Letia is. 'Twill appear normal that you confined her to
the bedchamber." He sat back and watched Raik from the corner of
his eyes.

"Stop staring."

"Wasn't. Can't a man glance at someone?"
Cormac's lips split in a grin.

"Lucifer's horns! What's so funny?"

"Remembering when we came up to the
drawbridge. You were too busy collecting arrows to see who shot at
you." He tried to hold his chuckle, but it turned into a soft
snort. "Her eyes spat fire, hmm, much like Ranald when he's angry.
Never have I seen anyone nock an arrow and loose a bow with such
speed."

"Yer admiration of her skill is supposed to
make me proud?" Raik turned, his left brow arched. "The woman was
intent on killing me."

"Huh! If she had meant to kill you, the first
arrow would have struck your throat. She aimed where you could
easily protect yourself." Cormac stood and stretched. "She was
easing her tension, naught else."

"Ease mine." Raik bounded out of the chair.
"Come. Sunrise is near. Mayhap a few thwacks with a broadsword will
take that smug smile off yer face."

Outside the solar door, he stopped to talk to
Giles and Edulf. "Your mistress is not to leave the bedchamber.
Lady Joneta and Maud may bring young Aubrey to her. No one
else."

He waited long enough to see their nod before
he clattered down the stairwell with Cormac following on his heels.
They stepped quietly through the sleeping men on the floor of the
great hall. Some snores hesitated on hearing the sounds of their
boots. They resumed when they saw their master and his first in
command.

"Um, Raik?" Cormac said as they descended the
steps to the bailey.

"What?" Raik's long strides carried them
across the bailey toward the practice field. His eyesight was near
as keen as a hawk's as he looked around the deserted grounds.

"Are ye not afeared I will have a
mishap?"

"Why? Ye are always careful."

"Aye. In daylight." Cormac laughed and waved
his arms around. "I dinna even hear the cock's first crow."

"We'll stop by the cooking hut. Cook is
there. I can see the light." Raik swerved to the left and headed
for it. "By the time we get milk, bread and cheese, that throaty
cock will be crowing his beak off."

o0o

Letia made out two men in the darkness below.
She knew Raik by the white, billowing shirt and recognized the
other as Cormac by his confident swagger. Her gaze followed them
out of sight. She assumed they were going to break their fast afore
daylight. Keeping her eyes focused on where they had disappeared
from view, she found herself nibbling on the edges of her
fingers.

How long she waited, she didn't know, but it
seemed like ages. Why was it so important that she know what he was
doing. ..? Nay, she knew why. Watching his walk and seeing what he
did helped her judge whether he was still furious, or if talking
with Cormac had eased his temper.

When the sun began to rise, she wasn't happy
with the answer. They headed toward the practice field, broadswords
in hand. Raik and his Scotsmen often practiced in naught else but
cloth tied around their loins. She didn't fear that Cormac would be
careless, since he also took off all but his shirt and threw his
breeches and plaid on the fence separating the practice area from
the fields beyond.

Gripping their broadswords with both hands,
sparks flew when they struck together, proving the fierceness with
which they fought. She nibbled her fingers even more, fearing
Raik's temper would cause him to be careless with his friend's
safety.

Hearing someone on the other side of her door
made her thankful for the interruption. When it opened, Giles
flashed a smile then waited for Lady Joneta carrying Aubrey to
enter. Maud followed close behind.

"Aubrey says he wants something of more
substance than his favorite thumb." Lady Joneta grinned at Letia,
making the appearance that life was more normal than it truly
was.

Letia jumped up, her arms outstretched. Until
this moment, she hadn't been sure Raik would allow her to have the
baby.

"I hope you haven't been sitting in front of
that window all night." Maud's gaze roved over the old green
kirtle. With lips pressed together, she studied her face.

Lady Joneta, unaware of the worry in Maud's
frown, put Aubrey in Letia's arms. "Saints, child! How did you not
freeze?"

She nodded approval when Maud took Letia's
cape from the wall peg and waited until Aubrey started suckling.
She snuggled the heavy wool over him and Letia to ward off the
early morning dampness.

"I can't get over how much he's grown." Lady
Joneta went on to talk about how much joy she received from being
able to hold him and watch as he discovered new things. After
birthing Raik, 'twas something she had been denied.

"I fear my milk is dwindling, else it is not
rich enough. He doesn't seem as satisfied lately. Thin gruel with
mayhap baked pears mashed fine would be a good start, do you
think?"

The women nodded, and for all the forced
cheer in their conversations, there was an undercut of worry. Lady
Joneta paced the room then sat for a while before she jumped up, a
slight wrinkle between her brows, and started walking again. Maud
fidgeted with the bed, smoothing blankets, sheets and plumping
pillows that were already perfect. Letia, with Aubrey in her arms,
remained still.

Before long, the continued clanging of sword
against sword brought their attention back to the window. The sun
fought its way through murky clouds, now and again lighting up the
steel of the swords. It seemed like the men had been at it forever.
The other knights, Sir William in the forefront, leaned against the
fence watching. Finally, Cormac called something to Raik, then
stuck his sword in the ground and leaned on it.

Sweat dripped off both men. Raik's shirt was
so wet it clung to his taut body, even wrapping itself against his
sex. In impatient movements, he grabbed the shirt's hem and peeled
it off to toss to Edulf. Squires stood nearby with buckets of
water, waiting only for the two men to nod at them. Both Raik and
Cormac stood still while the squires emptied the water over them.
They shook themselves like dogs coming from a stream, then wrapped
a plaid around their waist and belted it there.

"My son looks to have worked off some of his
anger," Joneta said.

"I fear it will not be enough. Likely he will
have to go through every weapon in the hall below, from pikes down
to flails, bow and arrow, crossbow and daggers," Letia
murmured.

Her heart jumped to her throat when Raik
glanced up at her window. The look was
not
one of a man
wondering whether his wife was still abed, naked beneath the
sheets. She dared to breathe again when he signaled the other
warriors onto the field. Ever so often, they would switch
opponents, testing each others skills.

Throughout the day, Joneta and Maud came
often to keep her company, but Raik allowed no one else through the
doorway, not even cook's helpers. Giles cheerfully brought the food
into the room.

When the last rays of the sun deserted the
sky, Edulf came to the door connecting the solar and scratched to
let her know he was coming into the room. His face flushed when he
quietly told her he must move Raik's clothing trunk into the solar.
For a graceful man, he became awkward when he carried out his
duty.

Her hopes sank. She heard Raik enter the
solar, heard the normal sounds of a man removing weapons and taking
off chain mail he had worn while testing Seton's warriors. Still,
he did not come to her door. She heard him talking to Edulf, heard
him splashing in the tub then sounds of his dressing and putting on
his boots. He left and didn't return until late in the night.

Letia sat on the edge of the bed and waited.
Edulf and Raik's low voices sounded normal enough. It wasn't until
servants brought something into the solar that she knew she waited
in vain. Raik would rather sleep on a floor pallet than share her
bed.

Cold and lonely, she crawled between the
sheets. He kept even Freki from her. She missed the big dog's raspy
snores. Any sound, even animal sounds, would have been a
comfort.

o0o

The following days were like the first.
During the night, she slept in small snatches, awakening to listen
for sounds from the solar. Before the sun rose, she was at the
window to stare at the darkness, willing the sky to lighten. Taking
deep breaths, she swallowed back water that surged to her throat
and willed her queasy stomach to calm.

Throughout the day, she paced the room
feeling more and more like a prisoner in her own keep, her only
freedom was watching the comings and goings of everyone below. This
must have been what Raik had felt, though at that time, he was
injured and needed tending.

At the end of the first sennight, she no
longer expected him to come through the doorway when darkness fell.
One night, she dozed off only to startle when the solar door
opened. Raik stood in the doorway, a ghostly image that disappeared
when he pulled the door shut behind him.

She held her breath. Waiting. No light came
from the window, for the moon was at its darkest. He padded over to
the far side of the bed, slid beneath the sheet and pressed his
naked body against her side. She near whimpered, feeling his
warmth. He did not say a word. Would not let her speak, for when
she drew breath, he pressed a finger to her lips, stilling
them.

Slowly, he made passionate love to her until
she near screamed with frustration if he didn't soon allow her
release. When he finally did, he ravaged her mouth, not allowing
any sound to spill out. Once his own spasms were over, he pulled
her hands from around his neck and her legs from where they clamped
his hips.

Raik slid from the bed and left the room as
quietly as he had entered.

As Raik locked the solar door, his shoulders
slumped. His bare feet made no sound as he went over to sprawl in
the armed chair beside the solar window. A cup of wine awaited him.
Taking a sip, he thought 'twas Letia who should have had wine afore
he went to her, wine laced with as strong a potion as what she had
given him.

He took another swallow and huffed at the
irony of it, a tight smile barely lifting his lips. He would have
given her the same aphrodisiac as she had prepared for him but for
the fact that Sybilla or Maud would have refused him.

It was close to morning afore he stretched
out on his hard pallet and slept.

For the next six days, he followed the same
pattern. Rising early, he broke his fast with his commanders like
before. He left the keep as daylight broke to join the men awaiting
that day's practice. Each day, he pushed himself until not only was
he exhausted, but so were Cormac and the warriors.

Sir William's constant scrutiny began to wear
on Raik's nerves. Every time Raik looked in his direction, the man
studied him. Daily, William's gaze became sharper, prying deeper
into his eyes as if he would read his thoughts. No doubt, Sir
William knew of Raik's nightly seduction of Letia. He snorted.
Seduction? He was giving like for like. Except he had to exhaust
himself afore he took her, fearing his anger would make him
violent.

On the eighth night after leaving Letia,
though he could barely hear her, she cried into her pillow as in
the previous nights. Tomorrow, he would leave. Rumors of trouble at
nearby castles had filtered in to them and Raik didn't know if it
was Queen Matilda's forces or King Stephen's, depending on the
castle holder's allegiance.

After daybreak, he and twenty warriors would
ride out and make a circle of the nearby castles important to
Seton. They would go as far north as Raptor, southwest to Hunter
then further to Kelso Abbey before returning to Seton. They would
be away at least a fortnight, maybe a month if they ran into bands
of lawless knights.

By the time he returned, he should have
worked through his turmoil. Mayhap on his visit to Hunter, he could
confide in Ranald and ask his advice on what he should do with
Letia. If he kept her here at Seton, it would be like placing
tempting food in front of a hungry man. If he sent her to a
convent, mayhap with Muriele, the temptation would be gone.

When Edulf entered to prepare the room for
Raik's meeting with his commanders, he found Raik already dressed
and waiting. The men arrived shortly after, and they began to eat
their morning meal.

"Cormac and Edmund, ye will be responsible
for the castle's defenses. Vary yer times for sending out patrols.
Anyone seeking a pattern will not find one. Respond to any and all
attempts for more than three men at a time seeking entrance."