Dear Readers-
Sorry for the delayβ I spent a week in Maine eating, kayaking, climbing, and totally avoiding intellectual pursuits! I still plan on posting a new chapter every 2 weeks, though, unless editing is especially bumpy.
Thanks again for your supportβ I'm completely addicted to comments! - Stefanie
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REMINDER:
The Long Betrothal is a four-part series. While it's possible to read the sections out of order and not get lost, there's an actual story to back up all the naughty bits, and it's more fun if you start at the beginning.
- o -
His most trusted men kept their ears open and asked a few quiet questions as they waited for Maxen's messenger to return from Ruthin Abbey with the cleric he'd been sent to fetch.
In the interim, one of his vassals came to him with a story he was clearly not eager to share.
"My lord... the Queen... I mean your... um, Lady Kerin- " he stopped, his mouth moving without sound.
"Spit it out, man. I am not besotted."
Madoc shook his head slowly. "The young queen is... close approaching wicked, m'lord."
Maxen hesitated, surprised at Madoc's choice of descriptors. "In what way, exactly?"
The half-dozen soldiers around him quieted, eager to hear what tale their brother-in-arms was so loathe to relate.
"Her brother was fostered south to Marchia Wallia and accidentally killed a baron's bastard son after the bigger boy attacked him. The brother- Selyf was his name- fled here to his family for shelter, of course." Madoc shifted uneasily as he continued. "When the baron sent his men to fetch the lad back for redress to his crime, Lady Kerin- barely sixteen at the time- met them in the courtyard and sent for the boy. The old king was nearing death by then, hardly knew his own name, they say. When her brother was brought before the baron's men, he refused to answer his sister's questions. She borrowed her man's sword and beheaded the boy. He was thirteen, m'lord."
Maxen's men were silent and shocked. Violence was nothing new to any of them, but women were different. Women- especially ladies- were meant to nurture, not murder.
After a silence, Maxen mused, " 'Tis but a rumor."
Madoc cleared his throat, shaking his head slowly. "Nay, my lord. Many saw it happen. A few families left in the days that followed, with m'lady's permission. Aloud 'tis said she feared the Norman king's wrath, but 'tis whispered that Penrhyn Tywyll couldn't afford the baron's fee for satisfaction, which sure the court would grant. Lady Kerin hoped the grand gesture would suffice, and it did. But..." With a glance around the room that would do justice to the machinations of any courtier, Madoc hesitated. " 'Tis breathed by a few brave souls that Lady Kerin's true desire was for her father's lands and dominion over the people."
Edon and Maxen exchanged a look.
Edon shook his head, disbelieving. "Having witnessed that, why would any of her freemen remain loyal?" The
taeogion
- serfs- he could understand- they had no choice- but Kerin's c
eorl
surely would have revolted after such a brutal act.
Madoc shrugged. "They say Lady Kerin attends the sick and wounded and keeps the old and infirm fed. Mayhap it's penance for the boy's death, but those vassals who remain have forgiven her."
- -o- -
Despite the tale of her murderous history, Maxen and his men had been in residence at Tywyll Keep for barely four days when Edon began to question his own dismal opinion of Kerin, and then to question his reasons for doubting.
Daily, he'd become more reluctant to discuss the matter with Maxen. His friend remained aloof, and nominally his reasons for wedding Lady Kerin remained the same: should the Normans finally seize control of Wales, as they'd been threatening for decades, Maxen planned to keep the title he'd claimed and the lands which went with it. Kerin's bloodline gave him hereditary claim to the lands, which he'd enforce with the might of his
uchelwr
- the lesser lords who'd sworn fealty to him and who would bring their own forces to Maxen's aid.
In Penrhyn Tywyll, they had a jewel- a place to house and train an army that could mayhap stay secret until Maxen called, as well as a potential stronghold to block the mountain passes below.
Despite those eloquently spoken reasons, Edon no more believed Maxen completely free of Kerin than he believed the dozens of tales he'd heard about the woman's wondrous good deeds. The generous, soft-hearted mistress her serfs described would not have beheaded a younger brother who reportedly loved her before all others, nor would she have treated Maxen so ill. For some reason her people were protecting her, and Edon was determined to discover that reason. He could only hope to succeed before Kerin planted her claws too close to Maxen's vital organs.
- -o- -
On Maxen's part, he was disgusted to discover he still harbored a weakness for the woman, despite what she'd done to him, and despite whatever treachery she was hiding. Other than her duties as mistress of the keep- making sure he was well fed and his physical comforts attended to- Kerin didn't often speak to Maxen, but he couldn't avoid hearing her interactions with others. She was still as clever and amusing as the girl she'd been when first they met, gracious and patient with serfs and servants, and inventive when untangling any quandary. As far as he could tell, she rested little and did exactly as her people had reported, selflessly tending to those that needed her care. It irritated Maxen greatly because her behavior conflicted so harshly with the woman he knew her to be.
He stayed away from her as much as possible during the day, but at night, he tortured himself by sleeping in the same room. He'd shocked Kerin by offering to share the big bed, but didn't object when she opted to make herself a pallet on the floor by the fire. It was probably best. He wasn't sure he could make it through an entire night lying at her side without sliding his cock into the warmth he'd felt between her legs when she rode his thigh so eagerly.
He was listening to Edon discuss the upcoming day's work when Kerin crossed the hall with a villein's child on her hip. In a sudden silence, Maxen glanced over to find Edon watching Kerin, too.