A Lily on the Heath (Medieval Herb Garden 4)

Very good,” Maris sighed.

He smiled against her lips. “I know. ”

She smiled back and arched a little as he shifted to take a nipple into his mouth. “That is not what I meant. ”

“Is that so?” His words were muffled, but she felt the heat of them against her sensitive skin.

“Oh…aye…. ” she murmured, choosing the double meaning apurpose. But then she refocused her mind and shifted away a little. “And now how will they finalize this match if she has declined him? We must help them. ”

“Nay. I do not know why one should meddle in such a thing,” Dirick said. He pulled away, his eyes warm but irritated and his mouth full and sensual. “Busy-body. ”

“But if we did not have the grace of the king—and the meddling of the queen—we would not be here together at this moment,” she reminded him. Then bit his shoulder to let him know she was not wholly distracted from the real matter at hand.

He groaned softly, combing his hands up into her heavy hair. “That is not like to happen for them,” he said with a half-laugh, half-groan as she reached to cup his stones.

“Aye, ’tis the truth,” Maris said, fondling him gently. “And that is why mayhap a bit of plotting on their behalf would be a good turn. ”

“I do not know why we are talking about them when there are other things at hand. ” As if to emphasize his words, he gathered up her breasts and gave them a little jiggle. And then he bent to give them all of his attention.

Maris lost her trail of thought for a moment, and the next thing she knew, the bed was behind her and Dirick was hiking up her skirt. She looked up at him and saw the fierce, desirous expression on his face as he slid his hands up along her thighs, easing them open. A pang of lust shot through her, adding to the heat that rolled through her body at his familiar, comforting touch…and that was why.

This. Love.

“We are talking about them…because…. ” she murmured, helping her husband into position. They both sighed as he fit into place and slid deep. His fingers curved over her hips and pulled her close as she wrapped her legs around his firm arse.

“Who?” he asked. But it was more of a gruff laugh than a real question. Maris couldn’t answer, for by now he was moving in that familiar, hot rhythm. She had no thought for anything but pleasure.

Judith was indeed offered a reprieve from the king; however, the queen did not do the same. So it was late in the evening when Judith was released from a long day of writing and rewriting and allowed to return to her chamber.

Her fingers were crabbed tightly from the tedious work, and she flexed them open and closed as she walked back through the dim corridors. While she was grateful to at last have a night alone in her own chamber, she couldn’t help but feel the strain of knowing there was no longer an avenue of escape from her fate of being trapped between Henry and Eleanor.

She’d sent word to Lord Warwick yesterday, immediately after Maris left the chamber. There had been no response from him. Not that she’d expected one, but mayhap in the deepest part of her soul, she had hoped for one. Instead, she could only come to the conclusion that he was relieved to be released from their agreement.

Nevertheless, she had been thinking of other ways to free herself from her predicament. The king had given her jewels and other baubles that were worth a small fortune. Mayhap she could find a way to leave Clarendon and take them with her to Paris. King Louis might allow her to join his court—for there was no love lost betwixt him, his former wife Eleanor, and the man for whom she’d divorced Louis. Of course, if she managed somehow to do that—for a woman traveling alone was a problem in and of itself—she would never see Lilyfare or Kentworth again. She would never be welcomed back in the English court. And—

A large, shadowy figure detached itself from a small alcove as she walked past, and Judith gasped in surprise.

“’Tis I,” said a familiar voice immediately.

“Mal—Warwick,” she managed to say, her heart pounding. “You startled me. ” Walking through the twisty, dim corridors late in the evening was nearly as dangerous as walking through dark streets or alleys in town.

“’Twas only my intent to speak with you privately and unseen,” he said. But he remained in the shadows, his face partly obliterated.

“Very well,” she replied. “Now that I have swallowed my heart back to its place, speak. ”

“Your message—I received it. You claim there is no longer a need for us to…continue on our previous path. ”

“Aye,” she said, her voice low and unsteady. “I am not with child. And I have the means to prevent it for the future. ”

“And therefore you are pleased and willing to remain the king’s concubine and the queen’s slave?” His tones were odd; she couldn’t read them. Nor his face, for he had not moved into the light.

Judith drew in a deep breath. Nay, oh nay! “’Tis not the urgent matter it was when we met three days ago. ”

“You agreed to wed me. I would hold you to that promise. ”

She gnawed on her lip as her insides warred with her brain: cautious hope battling guilt and fear. “I tricked you into offering for me,” she replied flatly.

“Do you wish to remain the king’s concubine?”