Page 67 of The Sword and the Damsel

The carriage and knights halted as she approached. Carenza came bursting out of the carriage and running toward her. Alais dismounted just in time for a crushing hug from her sister. “I was so worried about you,” Carenza gushed. “First, we got Victor’s note saying you’d been kidnapped by Robert. Then wegot Lady Helisende’s message that you were with her. We didn’t know what to think. And look at you. You’re hurt!” She brushed Alais’s hair away from the bruise and cut on her forehead.

“I’ll be fine. Let me join you in the carriage. Victor is still in Hastings with his aunt. They are awaiting your arrival.”

A glare of mutual distaste passed between Sir Thomas and Carenza. Alais had forgotten that they’d become acquainted during last year’s hostilities.

Alais climbed into the carriage with Carenza to find Daniel looking like a thundercloud. “Alais, I’m glad to see you safe. Mostly safe. You’re injured,” he said, clenching his fists. “Did that harpy dare hurt you?”

Alais recounted her tale of misadventures to Carenza and Daniel, who listened in horror as she spoke.

“I’m sorry for ever suspecting you would willingly let that snake of a man touch you,” Carenza said when she finished. “I’m so glad you married Victor.”

It wasn’t enough to undo all of the hurt from that terrible night when Carenza turned against her, but it was a start. Apologies from Carenza were as rare as unicorns. “I’m glad I married Victor too. He was injured trying to rescue me. He calls it a flesh wound, but it looks like it bled a lot. I’m anxious to get back to him and see that he’s properly cared for.”

“And what should I expect from Lady Helisende?” Daniel asked.

Alais explained what she and Victor had negotiated. “She seeks an alliance to fend off the long hand of Canterbury. Before you dismiss it, I ask you to consider. It would be beneficial to Winchelsea as well if Hastings joined with you and your cousins to resist Archbishop Richard’s designs. I know you don’t like her, but there is something to be gained from negotiating.”

Daniel and Carenza both stared at her as if she’d sprouted wings. “Since when do you know anything about politics?” Carenza demanded.

“I’ve always taken an interest, but no one cares what a second daughter thinks so I never said anything.”

New respect spread across Carenza’s face. She narrowed her eyes. “I won’t underestimate you again anytime soon.”

A compliment from Carenza! Alais could hardly believe it. That was even rarer than a unicorn.

“The countess was right about one thing,” Carenza continued. “Your marriage to Victor forms a political alliance, even if it was unplanned. We may not have paid proper heed to a second daughter, but you are now at the center of a vital and fraught political relationship. You’ll need all that knowledge you were hiding as you navigate the years ahead.”

The carriage ground to a halt, and a servant opened the door. They were back in Lady Helisende’s domain. Squaring her shoulders, Alais stepped down, summoning all the dignity and hauteur she possessed. She walked with Daniel and Carenza into the castle and back to the large hall where she’d left her husband and the countess.

Victor was there, thank God. He wore a fresh change of clothes, and his shoulder wound was hidden beneath his cotte. She wanted to run to him and pounce on him, showing him just how grateful she was to have such a husband. Instead, she forced herself to walk to him and demurely take his hand.

“Greetings, Lord Daniel and Lady Carenza. I’m so glad you’ve come,” said Lady Helisende, standing.

“I do not care for the manner in which I was summoned,” said Daniel. “I tire of your attempts to use hostages to gain my attention. If you ever try such a thing again, you will find the soldiers of Winchelsea, Hawkhurst, and Pevensey on your doorstep. Fortunately for you, my sister-in-law has convincedme that there are matters of mutual interest that we should discuss. Shall we get down to business?”

“With pleasure,” Lady Helisende responded. “The rest of you are dismissed.” Thomas bowed and left. Alais and Victor looked at each other and then back at Lady Helisende. “Yes, too. Surely newlyweds can find some way to while away the hours while we negotiate.”

Victor grinned and led Alais out, guiding her through long, winding corridors until he opened a door to a bedroom. “My lady?” he said, pulling her inside.

Chapter Twenty-Six

“Bed. Now,” shemurmured in his ear.

He clutched her hard and moaned softly so that only she could hear. “I am at your command, my lady.”

Folding her into his embrace, he kissed her hungrily, and she responded with desperation to his touch. She needed him like she needed air to breathe. He picked her up, and she wrapped her legs around him as he carried her to the bed.

As he tugged the laces of her dress loose, she fumbled at the fastenings of his cotte, tearing it free. She pulled his shirt over his head, careful to be gentle with his bound shoulder, and feasted on his neck and shoulders as he pushed her dress down to reveal her breasts.

With a desperate moan, he pulled her against him and kissed her. She dug her nails into his back. No matter how close he was, he wasn’t close enough. She needed more of him, all of him. Her fingers found their way to the ties of his breeches and yanked them loose. She shoved his breeches down and grasped the hard, hot flesh below.

“Oh God, Alais. I’ve never needed anyone like I need you right now.”

“I need you too. Take me now. Please.”

He pulled off her dress and slid off his boots and breeches in a fluid movement. Reaching to touch her between the legs, he dipped a finger between her folds and brushed the bundleof nerves there, sending lightening all through her body. With a guttural groan, he sank into the molten core of her, heat and sensation exploding all through her body as he filled her. It was too much and not enough. Frantic beneath him, she was desperate for something she couldn’t name. A craving for connection and love overpowered her. She needed to feel, not just hear, his absolution for what Robert claimed to have done.

As he moved within her, all conscious thought disappeared. There was only light and sensation. It felt as if she had burst through the physical boundaries of her body. She was radiant as she shattered into a thousand pieces. The force of the ecstasy pouring through her left her transcendent, broken, and raw.

---