Medieval 01 - Untamed

didn’t mean that he could be taken lightly.
    â€œDo you have any kin?” Dominic asked, his tone polite.
    â€œAt Blackthorne Keep?”
    â€œYes.”
    Eadith shook her head.
    â€œDo you feel a calling to the Church?” he asked.
    â€œNay,” she said, surprised.
    â€œThen I suppose I must continue to pay for your keep as an act of Christian charity. Henceforth, wench, you will oversee the scullery and the kitchen.”
    Shock showed on Eadith’s face. “Is that what Meg said I should do?”
    â€œHow would I know?” Dominic asked silkily. “I keep losing her, as you so kindly pointed out. But then, it doesn’t matter what my wife said or didn’t say. When it comes to the keep, I am absolute ruler.”
    Eadith’s cheeks became as white as salt. Tears appeared in her eyes.
    â€œI overstepped, m’lord. Forgive me. The past few days have been upsetting,” she said in a rush, “what with Lord John’s death and the wedding and Sir Duncan being banished and seeing Normans walk unhindered where…”
    Eadith’s voice died as she heard what she was saying.
    â€œHaving a Norman lord is difficult for you,” Dominic said evenly, “for your father was killed by Normans.”
    â€œAye, lord,” she whispered. “My brothers and husband, too.”
    Eadith’s fingers played with the gold brooch Dominic had given her.
    â€œThat war is over,” Dominic said flatly. “If you wish to continue fighting it, you will have to go to another keep.”
    With a stricken cry, Eadith went to her knees and grabbed his hand.
    â€œNay, I beg you. Let me but stay until—” Her voice broke off.
    â€œUntil?” Dominic inquired.
    â€œI know no other home. I want no other home. Please, lord. Let me stay. I will prove my worth to you in any way you ask.”
    Dominic’s first impulse was to free his hand from the kisses Eadith was bestowing, for their intent was seductive rather than conciliatory. Even so, Dominic didn’t withdraw, because he had learned that impulse was a poor way to order his life.
    â€œIn any way?” he repeated softly.
    â€œAye,” she said without looking at him.
    â€œThen stand and tell me where my wife’s favorite places are.”
    Eadith remained kneeling, pressing Dominic’s hand against her full breasts.
    â€œThe garden,” she said, “the mews, the—”
    â€œ Inside the keep,” Dominic interrupted, freeing his hand with barely concealed distaste.
    â€œThe herbal, the chapel, and the bath,” Eadith said. Then she added, “Duncan and she used to enjoy the bath most particularly. ’Tis a very private place, and the lady’s soap is as soft as swansdown.”
    Then Eadith saw the look on Dominic’s face and knew she wasn’t endearing herself to her new lord.
    â€œSorry, lord,” she said hurriedly. “It was all quite innocent, I’m sure.”
    â€œGo to the chapel,” Dominic said through his teeth to Simon. “Take Eadith with you.”
    Before either one of them could argue, Dominic spun on his heel and left the garrison. The stairs to the herbal were dark and cold, for it lay at the back of the keep, where the building itself merged with the stony hilltop. He snatched up a torch and held it to the candle that always was kept burning at the entrance to the lower reaches of the keep. The torch caught and burned with a sullen, orange glow that spoke of slovenly construction.
    The air was cold, damp, and rich with smells of larder and herbal. Dominic walked quickly down the aisle, trying to control his rage at the thought of Meg and Duncan playing sensual games in the bath. He told himself it didn’t matter what she had done before she became his wife.
    He didn’t believe it.
    The realization shocked Dominic out of his anger. Meg had been betrothed to Duncan. The king had refused the marriage and all others that John had proposed. Given that, it was only natural she would seek what pleasure she could find with the man for whom she had “affection.”
    Dominic was not such a saint that he could fault his wife for following her sensual nature. Yet the thought of Meg lying abandoned across Duncan’slap while he plundered the feminine riches that lay open to him made a killing rage leap in Dominic.
    To control it, he forced himself to note the state of the rooms that opened on