Early the following morning, Matilda woke in her new bedchamber, very disoriented for a moment. Her entire life she had slept in one room, and suddenly she was in two new rooms in two days. It was very confusing.

After a moment, she sat up and swung her feet to the floor, surprised by how well she had slept in such a comfortable place. Her place to sleep was usually the floor of the one-room home she had shared with her parents. This chamber was filled with such luxury, it was hard to believe it was hers for the moment.

Just as she was sitting up, Mary quietly slipped into the room with her. “Are you ready to start your day?” her friend asked.

Matilda nodded, rubbing her eyes. “We have to finish the dress today.”

“And your underthings. You cannot go into a marriage with the heir of the castle without having proper underthings.”

“I have a feeling he cares very little for my underthings and instead cares a great deal about what is under the underthings.”

Mary giggled slightly. “it is probably true.” She moved to help Matilda dress for her day in a dress that Matilda had never seen. “I have seen the way he looks at you, and the man is most definitely smitten.”

Matilda did not believe Robert was smitten even a little bit. “Where did you find it?”

“Lady Lina said it once belonged to her daughter, and she was hoping you would not mind her presumption in sending it to you.”

Matilda looked down at the beautiful dress, which would have been worth everything she had ever worn put together. “I love it.” She could not help but think about the fact that Lady Lina had a daughter, and she herself never would. Mayhap she and Robert could also find an orphaned child and raise her as their own.

“It looks like it was made for you.” Mary stepped back and studied Matilda for a moment. “Sit, and I will fix your hair.”

Matilda found that Mary had become a great deal bossier since she was assigned as her maid, but there was no point in saying anything about it. A good maid was more of a partner than an inferior . . . at least that is what Lady Lina had told her.

When she walked down the stairs to break the fast, Matilda found Robert waiting for her. “You look beautiful this morning.” He offered his arm and escorted her to the great hall. “Your chamber was comfortable?”

“Very. I am afraid I am not used to such luxury. Are you not worried I will come to expect to be treated like a lady?”

He laughed. “I expect others to treat you as a lady, and I hope you will come to love it. Of course, you will be kept busy having children for the next ten years or so.”

She shook her head. “What if I am not able to have children? Some women are barren!” She could not help but worry about her own mother’s trouble having children who lived.

“You will not be. I promise. There is something about my family that means seven sons born quickly. You will be fine.” He walked her to the table and held her chair out for her. “Good morning, Mother. Good morning, Father.”

“Good morning,” his mother responded, looking at Matilda instead of Robert. “How are you this morning? Was the chamber to your liking?”

Matilda smiled. “The chamber was the most luxurious I have ever even imagined. Thank you for letting me stay there.”

“You will have our chamber after the wedding tomorrow. My husband and I have already begun moving our things into the house across the property. We will still be close enough to visit and enjoy our grandchildren but far enough that you will feel you have privacy.”

“You do not have to leave on my account. I would happily let you stay here forever.”

Lady Lina smiled and nodded. “I know you would, child, and I do appreciate it. I feel like I need to follow the family tradition of moving to the other home, just as Alex’s parents did many years ago.”

Matilda knew there was no point in protesting more. This family was very set in their traditions. “How are the preparations for the feast?”

“They are coming along wonderfully! I have asked Alex to have several of his men ride around to talk to the serfs today. They will all know that tomorrow has been declared a day of merrymaking, and they are invited to a wedding here at the castle that will include a feast.”

“It is most generous of you to invite all the serfs, Lady Lina.”

“I know you want your parents here to see you wed. They will be, and the other serfs will be here to make them feel comfortable.”

Matilda still worried that her parents would not come to the wedding, but she did not voice her thoughts. She was doing her best to remain positive and not overwhelmed by the entire situation—and most especially by the man beside her. “I thank you for your efforts.”

Robert reached over and grasped her hand in his under the table, squeezing it tightly. “All will work out for the best.”

She smiled slightly, forcing her attention to the food in front of her.

Once their meal was over, Robert led her to the bottom of the stairs. “I am forced to run around doing whatever I am told like a common lackey as Mother gets everything just so for the wedding tomorrow.”

“At least we know it will not rain,” she said softly.

He frowned. “How do we know that? We live in England, the land of rain.”

She smiled at him with mischief in her eyes. “Your mother will not let it. She does control the weather after all.”

He laughed. “She does. All right. I will take your word for the fact that there will be no rain on the morrow.” He leaned down and brushed his lips across hers. “I hope you have a good morning, and I will see you at lunch. Now to go be a lackey . . .”

As he wandered off, she giggled a little. It was nice to see him humbled enough to do the errands his mother bid him to do.

Her morning passed pleasantly, chatting with Mary while they both sewed as quickly as their fingers allowed. She was pleased with the decision to have Mary as her personal maid. She knew it would make things easier for her, while she helped Mary. Both were good things in her opinion.

* * *

Robert spent his entire morning riding all over his father’s land, inviting different people to his wedding. He made sure he personally went to Matilda’s parents, not wanting them to be afraid to attend the wedding. When he reached her father, the man’s face was hard. It was astonishing to him how much older her parents looked than his, but they had lived much harder lives.

He swung down from his horse’s back and walked over to her father. “It is good to see you again,” he said, hoping the polite conversation would get the man talking.

Her father stopped working and stood looking at Robert. “I would have thought we would said everything there was to say yesterday.”

Robert took a deep breath, realizing this discussion would be more difficult than he had realized. “I came to invite you to your daughter’s wedding. Every serf on my father’s land is invited and given a day away from work. It would mean a great deal to Matilda and myself if you came.”

The man sighed. “She will not be pleased if we come. We are just a reminder that she did not start out life as privileged as she will end it.”

“On the contrary, it means a great deal to her that you and your wife are both there. My mother has arranged a home where the both of you may live after the wedding as well. There will be no more work required of you. Her station will lift yours as well.” Robert hoped the man would take his words the way they were meant. He badly wanted Matilda’s wishes for her parents to come true.

Her father frowned. “I will discuss both with her mother.”

“I beg you to come because you attending the wedding and living close to us would make my bride very happy. I do hope you will agree.” Robert felt he must do all he could to get them to be a part of Matilda’s life. Begging a serf had not ever been something he thought he would do, yet he found himself doing it with ease.

“I will think on it.”

Robert knew there was nothing else he could say that would sway the man if his words had not already done so. “I will be off. The wedding is in the morn, just before the noon meal. There will be food for all.” He assumed there would also be games and dancing, but there was no way to know. His mother had not given him a great deal of details about the party that would follow the ceremony. He trusted her to make it something he would be proud of.

He rode onto the next field and talked to the peasant who worked there, explaining about his wedding and the festivities that would follow. The only person he had spoken to so far who had not given a resounding aye was his future father-in-law. He hoped that was not a glimpse of what was to come for him and his sweet Matilda.

* * *

Matilda was surprised about her disappointment at the noon meal. Robert was still out riding around inviting people to their nuptials, and he had taken a meal with him to eat along the way. He was not going to be there to eat with her, and she felt very out of place sitting down with only her future mother and father-in-law. She had a great deal of respect for both, but she felt as if she was out of her league without Robert there. She actually missed him, which was rather astonishing.

Taking the spot where Robert usually had her sit, she tried to keep her head down, so she would not be noticed. She did not know why she was so certain his parents would be upset with her for being there, but there was no doubt in her mind they would.

“How comes the dress, Matilda?” Lady Lina asked with a smile.

Matilda looked over at her and shrugged. “I think we will be finished when we need to be. Mary is sewing as quickly as she can, and she has said she will work through the night if that is what it takes to finish.”

Lady Lina nodded at the news. “I have the servants starting to roast meat for the party tomorrow. it will be a day-long event with dancing, games, and much merriment. You and Robert are only required to stay until after the evening meal, and then others will feel they can leave as you do.”

“So no one can leave until Robert and I do?”

Lady Lina shook her head. “No, it is considered rude to leave before the bride and groom. No one would dare.”

Matilda felt a bit more pressure laid on her shoulders with those words. She not only needed to learn all the rules of aristocratic etiquette, but she needed to worry about those rules. She was not looking forward to being the center of attention the following day. “How will I know what I am supposed to do?” she asked softly.

Lina looked at her for a moment, and then her eyes widened. “You will be fine, child. I will be there, and if you are slow to do something, I will come and whisper to you. Do not worry about that. You have the Lain family behind you now, and you have our love.”

“Love?” Matilda asked, surprised by the word. Even Robert had not proclaimed love for her. She had no idea if that is what he felt or if it was just overwhelming lust, but either way, she was about to marry him.

“Aye, love. You will be one of our daughters.” Lina smiled at her as she took a sip of her water. “Hurry and eat so you can get back to sewing. We do not want you going to your own wedding tomorrow in a dress that was once our eldest’s.”

Matilda looked down at her dress, the most luxurious she had ever worn. “It would not be a hardship to wear this dress for anything, milady.”

“No, it would not be. I hope after tomorrow, you will feel comfortable calling me Mother. We will have our things out before nightfall tonight and will only spend one last night here, and we will be in our new home tomorrow eve.”

“I wish you did not feel the need to go.” Truthfully, married or not, Matilda did not feel like she knew Robert well enough to live alone with him. She wished his parents would stay at least for a while.

“But we do, Matilda. You do not want your husband’s parents living with you as you get used to married life. Trust me on this.”

As soon as lunch was over, Matilda hurried up the stairs, feeling like she should stay and help with the dishes but knowing that it would be frowned upon. When she got into the room with Mary, she hurried to her bed and sat down, her eyes wild.

Mary stood up, dropping the gown she would been sewing. “Are you all right, Matilda? What is wrong?”

“I feel like I am swimming in a vast ocean with no help . . . and no ability to swim!”

“I am sure it all feels overwhelming,” Mary said, sitting beside Matilda on the bed. “I would feel very lost in your shoes.”

Matilda felt a tear course down her cheek. “I am not sure I am ready to be married to a nobleman . . . or any other man. I have known Robert for three days, and I am marrying him on the morrow! That is madness!”

Mary smiled, wrapping her arm around her friend’s shoulders. “I think you will find it is the smartest thing you have ever done. Rumor has it that Lady Lina has arranged a cottage here on the castle grounds for your family. Does that please you?”

“It pleases me, and it would please me more if I knew my parents would agree to this thing. All I have heard from them is that I should move on with my life and forget them!” Matilda shook her head. “How could I ever forget the people who have meant the most to me in my life?”

Mary smiled. “I know how you are feeling. Truly I do. My parents will be coming to the wedding tomorrow, and I have not seen them since I came to work in the castle a few years back. I hope that it is not awkward between us.”

Matilda nodded, not thinking of things from her friend’s point of view. She had given up her family, too, but simply for the servant’s position she held with this family, not for a place in it. She took a deep breath. “I am acting like a small child, crying with fear of the unknown. I am a strong, capable woman. I can do this.”

“I understand being afraid. You have known one thing your entire life, and now you are living in a new place, and you are about to be married to a strong nobleman. Robert is a very handsome man, but he is also very intimidating. I do not think I could be married to him.”

“I did not think so either, but then he kissed me, and all the world changed. I can imagine being kissed by him every day for the rest of my life, however long it shall be.”

Mary smiled. “So, he is a good kisser, is he?”

Matilda blushed, realizing just then that she would been running away at the mouth, saying things that should not have been said. “I think we should get back to our sewing.”

“I think so as well.” Mary could not keep the grin off her face as she moved across the chamber to a chair and resumed her sewing. “How are your nightgowns coming?”

For the rest of the afternoon, they talked about unimportant things, like sewing and Mary’s work in the castle, but Matilda knew she had a confidante in her maid that she would have beside her for a long time to come. “I am glad it is you who will be my maid, Mary,” Matilda said at the very end of the day, right before she tried on her wedding gown for the last time. It was almost perfect.

“I too, milady. We shall be lady and maid, but also friends. Should be a good situation for us both.”

Matilda smiled as Mary helped her try on the dress and proclaimed it perfect. “I will be here right after the morning meal to help you dress and fix your hair. Would you prefer I brought your food on a tray?”

Matilda nodded. “That would be very nice. I do not know if I will be up to going to eat with his family in the morning because I am certain there will be an entire hive of hornets living in my belly.”

“Most people just have butterflies . . .”

“I promise you, I will be the one who has hornets plaguing her!”

* * *

Her after-supper stroll with Robert that evening was very uncomfortable for Matilda. She knew that the next time she saw him, she would be his in the eyes of God and England. His property to do with as he would. Of course as his serf she was already that, but being a wife was so much more.

“Did you talk to my parents today, milord?”

Robert wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to his side as they walked. He could think of little else but that on the morrow she would be his forever, and he could finally stop restraining himself and touch her as he wanted. “I did. Your father has said they will consider your offer to come to the wedding and to come and live on the castle grounds.”

“I am glad,” she said simply. “I worry they will shut me out of their lives when there is truly no need to do so.”

“No, there is not a need, and I was very clear with your father when I told him exactly that. I told him it would make you happy to have the two of them at our wedding and living so close.”

“Thank you for doing that for me, Robert.”

They reached the bench where he had kissed her for the first time, and he did not hesitate. He pulled her down onto his lap and kissed her passionately, his mouth opening hers and his tongue stroking inside insistently. “I cannot wait until you are mine!”

Matilda took a deep breath. “I am very nervous about becoming yours, milord. I came to the castle to be a maid just two days ago, and here I am, sitting atop you, planning to marry you in the morning. How did this happen?”

He smiled. “Mother used to call me a hurricane. She said it was the only type of storm that was even close to the damage I could cause!”

“Damage?” His words made no sense to her.

“Just like my mother’s emotions are tied to her powers, so are mine. If she becomes angry a wild storm blows up. If I become angry, objects begin to swirl around me, and sometimes those objects hit people.”

Matilda tilted her head to one side. “You will not be getting angry with me, will you, milord?”

“I certainly hope not. I care about you and plan to cherish you for all of my days. If I could wrap you in fine cotton to keep you safe, I would do just that.”

Matilda rested her head on his shoulder, pleased with his words. “I will try hard not to be nervous about being wed to you then.”

“Are you nervous of being the center of attention or of the wedding night?” he asked.

“More the wedding night, I am afraid. I have never even been alone with a man before you. How will I handle being so intimate with you?”

Robert looked into her eyes for a moment, and then he looked around to be certain no one was watching them. “I will do my best to calm your fears.” With those words, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers once again. His hand came up and rested on the side of her breast, while the other kept her in his lap by keeping a firm pressure at the back of her waist.

Matilda wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back for all she was worth. Never had she felt such sensations. When his hand moved around to cup her breast through her clothes, she moaned softly, her hands tangling in his hair.

Robert broke his mouth from hers, panting heavily. “How do you feel now, Matilda?”

“There is an ache inside me . . .”

“That ache will only feel better once we have had our wedding night. I promise you that ache will be fulfilled as quickly as I possibly can.” He rested his forehead against hers. “Our wedding night will make us both happy. I promise you this.”

She sighed. “I will endeavor to stop worrying then, milord.” She sat where she was for a moment, and then she got to her feet. “We should go back to the castle. We have a very busy day ahead of us tomorrow, and I think we both need as much sleep as possible.”

“I do not know about you, but I will spend my night lying awake, staring at the ceiling, reliving that kiss, and remembering what it felt like to hold you in my arms and hear you moan with pleasure from what I was doing to you.”

Matilda gasped at his words, happy no one was around to hear them. “You will look tired on our wedding day, then.”

He laughed. “I will. But it does not matter. You will be mine whether I am tired or not.”