Timestruck (18 page)

“Adalhaid’s daughter,” said Dominick, “is
Hiltrude.”

“Merciful heaven!” Gina gasped. “Do you mean
to say I just spent an entire evening with your mother-in-law?”

“Former mother-in-law,” Dominick corrected
her.

“Right there at court, where every person but
me knows who she is – oh, I’ll bet the gossips are having a fine
time with that story! Why didn’t you warn me?”

“I did try,” he said. “But you were so eager
to hurry off with her and begin spying on the ladies of the court
that you weren’t willing to listen.”

“Well, there’s an opportunity wasted. After I
made such a fool of myself, I won’t get a second chance to learn
anything. The ladies will all be laughing at me. So will their
husbands and fiances when they hear about it. Not to mention their
lovers. I understand from Lady Adalhaid that noblewomen frequently
take lovers. I guess that means their husbands have mistresses.
Nice society you have here.”

“In fact, I believe you did learn something
valuable,” Dominick said.

“If you’re trying to make me feel better,
forget it.”

“Why do you suppose Lady Adalhaid spoke so
freely to you?”

“Oh, I don’t know. It could be that she
realizes I don’t know what I’m doing here, so she can say anything
and it won’t matter.”

“It’s far more likely that she was trying to
send a message to me, while taking care to be seen speaking to me
for no more than a few moments and with someone else present.”

“What message? That she doesn’t like the
queen? I’m not sure we ought to believe that. After all, the queen
and Hiltrude were apparently close friends. That’s why Fastrada
urged Charles to arrange your marriage, isn’t it? So she and
Hiltrude together could ruin you? By the way, why does Fastrada
hate you enough to want to destroy you?”

“When Charles led the Frankish army to war, I
advised him not to make Fastrada regent in his absence. She was,
and still is, much too young to wield power wisely, and she is
stubbornly certain that she is always right. Fastrada refused to
listen to the advisors Charles left in Francia to guide her.
Several of those men are no longer welcome at court. Some of them
are dead.”

“So,” Gina said after a moment to absorb
those unsettling facts, “Fastrada is trying to ruin anyone who
spoke out against her? Can’t you talk to Charles about this? He
seems like a reasonable man.”

“Not where his wife is concerned. Fastrada
holds him in the palm of her hand. She is young and beautiful—”

“Beautiful is as beautiful does,” Gina
interrupted. “That’s a saying one of my foster mothers often used.
Judging by what I’ve seen and heard so far, Fastrada is an ugly
witch.”

“Don’t let Charles hear you say so. Or
Fastrada, either.”

“I’m beginning to understand why you prefer
Feldbruck to court,” Gina said with a sigh. “Life at Feldbruck is
much simpler, isn’t it?”

“Seldom have I been able to speak openly to
anyone at court.” Dominick pulled her into his arms. “Your honest
presence is a joy and a delight to me.”

“Gee, I was afraid I was more trouble than
I’m worth,” she murmured, cuddling against his chest. She was so
comfortable there, safe and secure. That was not the kind of
thought that usually came to her when she was close to a man, but
Dominick was different from all other men. She could trust him,
relax with him.

“I’m sorry I’ve been such an amateurish spy.
I’ll try to do better next time,” she said, relishing the touch of
his lips on her forehead and then on her nose and eyelids. “Were
you able to learn anything about the plot?” she added just before
Dominick’s mouth came down on hers.

“Hmm.”

She wasn’t sure whether he was saying yes or
no or simply expressing masculine pleasure at her eager response to
what he was doing. When she felt the pressure of his tongue against
her lips and the hot surge of him into her mouth, she forgot all
about traitors’ schemes and the childish, spoiled queen and her
overindulgent husband. All that mattered to Gina was Dominick’s
strength and vitality and his fiery passion. Without removing his
mouth from hers, he swept her off her feet and carried her to his
bed. He lay down beside her and gathered her close, showering her
face and throat with kisses.

Dominick smiled when Gina reached up to
stroke his face and push back the blond hair that had fallen into
his eyes. With growing anticipation he opened the folds of her robe
and gazed in delight at her small, nicely rounded breasts. He bent
his head to take one nipple into his mouth.

Gina yawned.

Dominick stared at her and laughed softly at
himself. He should have known what would happen the moment she was
lying down.

“I am sorry,” she whispered.

“Don’t be. You’ve been awake since dawn, and
it’s now past midnight. You rode for half the day, then spent long
hours at an unfamiliar royal court. It’s no wonder you’re ready for
sleep.”

“You aren’t,” she said. “I can stay awake for
a while longer.”

“I am no animal to force you into compliance
with my desires. We have tomorrow and the next day.”

“Have we? How can we be sure?” she murmured,
already half asleep.

“I am sure,” he told her, shifting his
position so her head was supported on his shoulder. She muttered
something, then lay still.

After a full week of abstinence Dominick
ached to possess her, yet he wouldn’t, not unless she was wide
awake and as hot and eager for him as he was for her. He was old
enough and experienced enough to know he’d not perish from the
hardness in his groin. It would pass, and the next time he took
Gina into his arms, she’d remember his restraint. He would see to
it that she was writhing in ecstasy and begging him to take her.
And when he did, the bliss she’d confer on both of them would prove
worth the wait.

Once he was certain that Gina was sound
asleep, Dominick picked her up and carried her to her own room. He
tucked her into bed, then paused to look down at her, struggling
against the unaccustomed tenderness that suddenly filled his heart.
Gina was nearly as tall as he and physically quite strong, yet when
she slept she appeared fragile and defenseless. The hand that lay
folded against her cheek was small and delicate. Her rosy lips were
slightly parted as if inviting his kiss. Soft violet shadowed her
eyelids. What Dominick wanted most at that moment was to lie beside
her through the night and watch her wake when morning came, to see
her emerald eyes open and a smile of greeting meant just for him
light her face.

He sternly warned himself that this was no
time for soft emotions. If he intended to serve his king as he was
duty-bound to do, then unflinching resolve was what he needed.

He picked up the oil lamp that burned on the
chest beside Gina’s bed and walked out of the room, not allowing
himself to look back. He stood in the corridor for a moment,
listening. His house was quiet, as it ought to be at that late
hour. Only one completely trustworthy man-at-arms stood guard at
the door.

Ah, but on the docks along the riverfront and
in the drinking houses of Regensburg, men were awake who would sell
their own souls for a cup of wine or a few coins, men aware of the
most surprising twists and turns of conspiracies supposedly unknown
except by those involved in them.

Dominick caught up his dark cloak, wrapped it
around himself, and pulled up the hood before he slipped out the
door. He made a silent gesture to the well-trained guard, who
nodded and said nothing. Then Dominick vanished into the
darkness.

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Ella
said for the fourth time. She was following Gina, both of them
picking their way among the ruts and mud puddles of the unpaved
street that led to the palace. “We ought to wait for Dominick to
return.”

“It’s midday, and no one has seen Dominick,”
Gina responded. She lifted her blue silk skirts a little higher to
avoid the mud being splashed in their direction by a horse whose
rider wasn’t paying attention to lowly pedestrians. “If he’s not at
home and not at the palace, then something has happened to him. And
to Harulf, since he is missing, too. Aren’t you concerned about
him?”

“They may have gone hunting,” Ella said with
placid assurance. “Men often do, you know.”

“If Dominick planned to go hunting, he’d
leave a message for me.”

They reached the palace gate. Gina gave her
name to the guard and told him she was to meet Count Dominick.

“I haven’t seen him this morning,” the guard
said, “but it’s possible he entered by one of the other gates.
You’ll most likely find him in the great hall.”

Dominick wasn’t in the hall. Few people were,
and none of them had a face Gina recognized.

“Ella, I want you to stay here,” Gina said.
“If Dominick arrives, tell him I’ll return shortly and I’d like him
to wait for me.”

“I shouldn’t leave you alone. Dominick won’t
approve. Where will you be?” Ella asked.

“Looking for Dominick, of course.” Following
Dominick’s order, Gina hadn’t said a word to Ella about the plot
they were investigating, so she couldn’t say anything more, and she
didn’t dare admit just how worried she was. She didn’t like not
knowing where Dominick was. She only felt safe when he was near. He
was the one dependable person in her strange new life, the only
other soul who knew what she really was. Gina wasn’t going to let
the size of the palace deter her. If Dominick was anywhere within
its walls – anywhere from the throne room to the dungeon – she was
going to find him.

Leaving Ella muttering and shaking her head
at the idea of a young noblewoman wandering about unattended, Gina
hurried out a side door of the great hall and into a courtyard. A
few noblemen and some clerics in dark robes were there, but not
Dominick. Across the courtyard and through another door leading to
a large reception room she went. There she paused to greet Ansa,
one of the young ladies she’d met the previous night, and to be
introduced to Lady Ansa’s newly chosen betrothed. After offering
her best wishes, Gina asked if either of them knew where Dominick
was.

“I haven’t seen him, though I haven’t been
looking,” said the young nobleman, gazing fondly at his lady while
he spoke to Gina. “He could be in one of the king’s private
chambers, perhaps with Charles himself.” He tore his attention from
the girl at his side long enough to indicate the direction Gina
should take.

When the happy couple turned to speak to a
friend, Gina slipped away toward the private wing of the palace. A
short time later she found herself in yet another courtyard. This
one boasted a cloistered walk around all sides, with thick stone
columns supporting a series of the rounded arches routinely used in
Frankish architecture. Stone paths crisscrossed the sunny
courtyard, with colorful flower beds set into the open spaces. Gina
paused to admire the pretty sight.

She was immediately glad of the impulse that
had made her stop before venturing out of the shady cloister and
into the sunlight. Fastrada and Father Guntram stood in the exact
center of the garden, where all the paths converged. Seeing them
with their heads together, Gina quickly ducked behind one of the
wide columns. They were so deep in private conversation that they
hadn’t noticed her, and her soft shoes made no sound on the stones
of the cloister floor to alert them.

Not a word of the low conversation between
the priest and the queen reached Gina’s ears. Still, she trembled
with fear. If she was discovered, Fastrada would have good reason
to accuse her of spying. Given Gina’s association with Dominick,
the queen would have a perfect excuse to call him a spy, too. Gina
harbored no doubts about the queen’s eagerness to cause trouble for
Dominick.

“I have to get out of here, fast.” She was so
unnerved that she didn’t realize she had whispered the words aloud
until someone responded.

“An excellent idea, Lady Gina,” said a soft
voice next to her ear.

Before she could make any sound a long,
ink-stained finger was laid across her lips, enjoining silence. She
looked up into a face that was seamed with lines of humor around
the mouth and calm blue eyes. The man was very tall. His shoulders
were stooped, as if he made a habit of bending to the height of
shorter folk, and he wore a plain, dark cleric’s robe. His thinning
gray hair was cut short all the way around in the bowl-shaped style
Gina had seen on other palace clerics. The man allowed her a moment
to look at him and take in the fact that he was unarmed except for
the bunch of stiff feathers he held in one hand, a collection that
only added to his harmless appearance.

“Come,” he whispered, beckoning. “Follow
me.”

Gina had no choice but to do as he asked. If
she protested or made any sound, Fastrada would know she had
intruded on a private conversation, and the queen wasn’t likely to
believe it was an accident.

With his inky finger now at his own lips, the
cleric moved to a door at the side of the cloister. Gina glanced
backward to ensure that she and her companion were hidden by the
thick stone column. She couldn’t see Fastrada at all, and Father
Guntram was facing away from the side of the cloister where Gina
stood. A moment later Gina was through the doorway, and the cleric
quietly shut and bolted the wooden door behind them. Then he
beckoned again.

All was done in silence until they were two
rooms away from the courtyard, safe behind a closed door in a
small, untidy office where books and scrolls lay scattered across a
large table, with more books piled on several stools. Shelves along
one wall held rolled-up scrolls, a tag dangling from each. A hasty
look at the tags revealed that they identified the contents of the
scrolls. Gina turned to the man who stood observing her with an air
of amused friendliness that told her she had nothing to fear from
him.