Chapter Twenty-Five
The time it took to return to Nunney was more than it had taken to enter the woods. Afraid to come across the men searching for her and Terric, Jacqueline stopped every few minutes to listen for sounds of movement. A few times, she heard a snap of a twig coming from behind her or in front. The trees distorted the sounds, making it hard to judge the exact location.
By the time she reached the edge of the trees, the sun was high. Sweat ran down her back, making Jacqueline wish she could have a bath. Her breasts ached from a buildup of milk, reminding her that she had to get to Jordan very soon. It would not be at all well to have her milk dry up now.
From the corner of her eye, she spied a group of men exiting the woods about twelve feet from where she stood. Jacqueline quickly took a step back inside the tree line.
There were four of the earl’s men, and they had Terric with them. She did not think and only acted. She ran after them. They did not see her at first so she was able to reach the last man of the group and throw her full weight against his back. Unprepared, the man fell to his knees. Using the momentary confusion, Terric slammed his fist into the jaw of the man at his side. He dropped like a stone.
Unarmed, Jacqueline jumped onto the back of one of the two still standing and placed her hands over his eyes. Unable to see, he tried to shake her off. She tenaciously hung on until Terric finished taking care of the final man. She jumped off before Terric’s fist met the man’s face.
With three down and one still struggling to gain his feet against the weight of his armor, Terric grabbed Jacqueline’s hand and took off at a run. They ran straight into the earl. Her father was not alone. He had at least a handful of men with him. Terric valiantly tried to get them through, but sheer numbers won out. He was roughly subdued by the earl’s men, leaving Jacqueline by herself to confront her father. The earl stared at her, trying to intimidate her. She lifted her chin in defiance and boldly glared back.
The earl took her arm in a steely grip and led her toward the castle. “I admire your boldness, daughter, but on a woman, it is an unseemly trait. It seems I have misjudged you.”
Jacqueline did not respond. Instead, she looked behind her to see if Terric was still with her. He was being held by a man on either side of him with a third bringing up the rear. That one used his sword to jab into Terric’s back to urge him on.
Her father did not miss her show of concern. “You love him. I can see it. Shall we test your love for him? How far will you go to save the life of a mere landless tournament knight?”
“He is more than that. He is my husband,” Jacqueline said through gritted teeth.
The earl pulled her up short, almost jerking her off her feet. “Has the marriage been consummated?” Jacqueline defiantly refused to answer, and he gave her a hard shake. “Answer me, girl! Has it been consummated?”
She put a sweet smile on her lips. “Aye, well and truly.”
Her father pulled her once more into motion and marched her to the castle causeway. “You just signed your husband’s death warrant. Nunney is mine, and nothing will stand in my way of claiming it.”
In a load roar, the earl yelled up at the castle, making their presence known to those within. A minute later, Sir Guy appeared at the top of the wall. His face fell when he saw Jacqueline beside her father.
“Lower the drawbridge or I will be forced to take drastic measures.” His threat engendered no response from the man above. He hissed at Jacqueline. “Order that old fool to do as I say.”
She shook her head without meeting the earl’s gaze. “Nay.”
With a snarl, the earl ordered Terric brought to them. “I will ask you one more time. Give the order.”
Terric caught Jacqueline’s gaze. He gave an infinitesimal shake of his head. She knew what he was asking her to do, but she did not know if she could follow through.
“I see your decision is made. So be it.” Her father turned to his men. “Kill him.”
Jacqueline clenched her hands into fists. Her nails bit deeply into her palms. She felt ill. As her father raised one of his hands to give the signal, the feeling intensified. She closed her eyes, unable to watch what would happen next.
The blast of a horn reverberated throughout the encampment, causing all the participants in the grisly tableau to freeze and search for the source of the sound. Desperately, Jacqueline scanned the surrounding area, hoping their luck had changed.
At the sight of a large party of mounted riders, a renewed sense of hope surged through her. Their numbers were much larger than the men her father had under his command. There was something about one of the lead riders she found very familiar. Once the party grew nearer, it became easy to discern that a woman rode in front.
Squinting, Jacqueline peered closely at her. When she recognized her, she let out a loud whoop of joy. The earl flashed her a quelling look. She laughed. “It seems you have lost, after all, Father. If I am not mistaken, my mother leads that large party of soldiers approaching.”
The utter fury that crossed the earl’s features was terrible to behold. Spinning around, he grabbed the sword aimed at Terric’s chest from his man. With a growl, he drew it back to thrust it through her husband’s heart.
“Nay!” she yelled. She threw herself at her father and barreled into him, pushing him away from Terric. The instant the touch of a cold steel blade rested against the base of her throat, breaking into her awareness, Jacqueline froze.
“You have made my life very burdensome of late, daughter. Once I am through dealing with your husband, I will make you regret ever crossing me.”
“I think not, William.” Jacqueline’s heart thrilled at the sound of her mother’s voice. Her mother swung a leg over her horse’s back, dismounted, and went to her husband. “Lower the sword, William. It is over.” He did not quickly comply with her order, and she stepped closer. “I suggest you take a good look at the soldiers I have brought. They are the king’s men and wear his colors.”
The earl’s face blanched quite white. She had brought a large force of the king’s men with her. He slowly let the sword fall from Jacqueline’s throat.
The knight who had come to stand next to her mother took the earl by his arm, and said, “By order of the king, you are to quit Nunney and return to London, my lord. The king commands your presence there.”
Defeated, the earl allowed himself to be led to the encampment. His men were escorted with him. Jacqueline, unable to stay away any longer, threw herself into Terric’s outstretched arms. She desperately clung to him. He held her equally tight.
“Tell me. Do I have a new son-in-law?” her mother asked.
After releasing Terric, Jacqueline embraced her mother. She stepped back and reached for her husband’s hand. “Aye, Mother, you do.” Looking at the now overflowing encampment, she asked, “How…how did you manage all this?”
Lady Elizabeth chuckled. “I am not completely useless, though your father thinks I am. During the grand tournament, I decided to make some connections of my own. While you were off playing knight, I gained the queen’s favor. Let us just say, I pulled some strings and was able to speak with the king and queen. The earl is going to have to do some quick talking to explain his actions here. The king is displeased with him at the moment.”
The frightening episode at an end, all three relieved the tension by laughing at what the earl would have to endure to gain the king’s favor once more.
The sound of a baby’s wails drifted over the castle walls. Jacqueline cringed. “I think I had better get myself to the hall. Beth must be ready to pull her hair out.” As if on cue, the drawbridge lowered and there stood her friend with a very distressed Jordan in her arms.
“Do you think, Jacqueline, now that you are no longer busy, you could please feed your son? He has made his displeasure known about having to take the cow’s milk we gave him.”
Jacqueline took pity on her and laughingly shook her head. She went to retrieve her son. “Of course, Beth.”
* * * *
With Jordan happily fed, Lady Elizabeth claimed her grandmotherly rights and spirited him to the hall, leaving Terric and Jacqueline alone in the lord’s chamber. Both had bathed, changed into fresh clothing, and now sat on the bed feeding each other from the tray of food Alice had brought to them.
Jacqueline could not get the smug smile to leave her face. Everything was now as it should be. Terric was her husband, and the earl had been put in his place. On the morrow, the king’s men would take him to London.
Having had her fill, she sighed and lay back. Terric removed the tray and then fell into her outstretched arms. His lips greedily covered hers. After making her completely breathless, he pulled away and worked on unbuckling the belt that circled her hips. Impatiently, Jacqueline shoved his hands away to remove it herself. He smiled.
“I hope you never tire of me, wife.”
Jacqueline tossed her belt to the floor and then worked on Terric’s tunic. “Never. You will not be rid of me so easily. I do not give up on things I have to fight so hard to keep.”
Terric reached for the hem of her tunic and eased it up her body. “I am pleased. No more talk. I have waited long enough to make love to you properly. There will be time later. Much later.” He claimed her lips once more.
Jacqueline groaned with pleasure. There would be more than enough time for talk. A lifetime of it. Her tournament knight was now hers. Nothing could break them apart. The last coherent thought she had before pleasurable sensations took her over was to send up a prayer of thanks.
She pushed Terric onto his back, then slowly stripped away each piece of clothing he wore. When he tried to help, she only slapped his hands away. “You will lie there and behave yourself. I want to have my way with you.”
Terric groaned. “Do you not think I have had enough torture? Do you really want to send me to an early grave?”
Jacqueline smiled saucily. “No, I do not. I just want to give you pleasure.”
He spread his arms wide. “Then I give my lady wife permission to pleasure me any way she sees fit.”
She straddled Terric’s thighs and ran her hands across his hard chest and then trailed her fingers to his engorged shaft. She grabbed it and gently squeezed, then pulled down before sliding back up to the tip. He lifted his hips as she worked his cock.
Becoming just as aroused as Terric by what she did, Jacqueline released him and inched forward so the tip of his shaft nudged her slick opening. She shifted her hips at the right angle and pushed down, fully sheathing him inside her body. They moaned.
Terric grabbed Jacqueline by the hips, lifted her slightly, then pushed her back down onto him, showing her how to ride him. She moaned at the feel of having him so deep inside her. Doing as he had shown her, she slid up and down on his cock. As her climax inched ever closer, she increased the pace. Once it hit, her head fell back and she groaned with her release. He pushed up, hard, once more, then emptied himself into her, filling her with his cum.
* * * *
It was some hours before Terric and Jacqueline joined the others in the hall. The need to reaffirm their bond had not been something they could easily ignore. With that desperate need fulfilled, at least for the moment, they emerged from their chamber.
Lady Elizabeth, who held Jordan in her arms, was the first to notice their arrival. “So you have finally come up for a breath of air I see.”
Jacqueline felt the heat as she flushed to the very roots of her hair. “Mother!”
Her mother laughed. “My marriage to your father might not be made from the stuff of dreams, but I do recognize true love. I see it in the love you and Terric have for each other. It is nothing to be ashamed of.”
Jacqueline kissed her mother on her cheek, then noticed Jordan was fast asleep in his grandmother’s arms. “Let me take Jordan to his cradle. Alice will not mind watching him until he wakes up.”
“You will do nothing of the sort. He is perfectly fine here. He is content, and so am I.”
“Very well, have it your way, Mother. I want to hear exactly how you managed to acquire some of the king’s men.”
Lady Elizabeth smiled slyly. “I used my time in London to my advantage, as I said before. Your father assumed I was properly cowed.” She paused as Jacqueline burst out laughing. Once she brought herself back under control, her mother continued. “Hmm, as I was saying, the earl thought I was firmly put in my place. As all men of his ilk forget, we women can be very resourceful when pressed. So when your father allowed me to join the queen and her ladies, I took advantage of the situation.”
Jacqueline shook her head. The earl was a fool. He knew not what his wife could do. If he had taken the time to know her better at the start of their marriage, he would have realized her mother was an asset to him. She would have been able to help in furthering his status.
“However you did it, Mother, I applaud you. If not for your propitious arrival, I would now be a widow once more.”
Terric came and wrapped his arm around Jacqueline’s waist, pulling her close. “I agree with Jacqueline, my lady. You could not have picked a better time.”
Sir Guy broke into the conversation. “Aye, you put the earl in his place quite nicely, my lady. There appears to be one loose end in all this.”
Lady Elizabeth arched a brow at him. “What loose end?”
“I had a little chat with one of the earl’s men. As we predicted, Nicholas was the one who informed the earl of Forwin’s double dealing. He also joined the earl when he marched on Nunney.”
“Are you saying Nicholas is right now down in the camp?” Jacqueline asked.
“Nay, lass, but he was. Apparently, the earl had decided to end his association with Nicholas, permanently. Somehow the minstrel caught wind of that and beat a hasty retreat.”
“I knew Nicholas was in the earl’s camp. He came to see me, but I did not know about his leave-taking,” Terric added.
Jacqueline looked at her husband. “What did Nicholas want with you?”
Terric shrugged. “I think mostly to lord it over me that I was the captive and he was in the earl’s good graces, or so he thought.”
The conversation switched to the earl’s departure on the following morning. Jacqueline, lost in her own thoughts, did not pay very close attention to what was being said. One part of her felt safe and secure now that her father could no longer hurt her or her family, but another small part of her felt uneasy. The others might assume Nicholas was no longer a threat, but she did not. The one thing she had learned about the minstrel during the months of his living under the same roof was that he did not give up easily. Though the chances that he would attempt something on his own were slim, she could not dismiss the persistent feeling that he would.