It was signed quite clearly,
James R.
Kier Douglas was astounded. What had brought him such a royal command?
In her chamber Cicely read with equal astonishment a brief message from her best friend. Her eyes filled with tears as she scanned the parchment.
To Cicely, lady of Glengorm, from Joan, Scotland’s annointed queen,
You will wed with Sir William’s son and do what is expected of you, Ce-ce. Do not try the king’s patience with this childish petulance. You are widowed; you must remarry for your own sake as well as that of my namesake, who is better off in her own home. Your dower is being returned in full. That I have convinced James to do for you without further ado. Pray that we both have sons soon. I send you my most tender affections, and hope to one day receive you again at court.
Joan, Queen of Scotland
Cicely laid the parchment aside. Her last hope of escaping this marriage was gone. She could hardly run away. There was Johanna to consider first and foremost. And to where could she run? Her father, if indeed he still lived, was frail, with a mad wife. And the queen would not have her back. Yet one good thing had come of it all. Her dower was being returned. Not just a portion of it, but all of it!
Kier Douglas took that moment to step into her bedchamber. “What did you do?” he asked her in a hard voice. “What did you do that has brought us each a message from the king? I want the truth, Cicely, and I want it now!” He stood towering over her, his blue eyes blazing. “What have you done, madam?”
Chapter 14
“Ibut wrote to the queen,” Cicely told him. “We are friends of long standing. She wrote me back. Why are you angry, my lord? I understand from Orva, who brought me my letter, that you also received a message from the king. What did he want?” she asked innocently. “Are you being called to war, my lord?”
“I have been ordered to wed you without further ado, and to remain on my lands until you have given me an heir,” he said through gritted teeth. “And what did the queen say to you, Cicely?” Kier was furious. Of course he intended wedding the woman before him. He knew what was involved, but he had hoped to make some sort of peace between them first. Now he didn’t know how he could manage that.
It was all her doting father’s fault. Putting silly ideas in the girl’s head. Telling Cicely that she would be able to choose her own husband. It was ridiculous. Fathers or guardians were supposed to make the right matches for their female kin. And the women were supposed to obey. Of course, Cicely didn’t really get to choose with Ian. And now again she was being directed into a marriage not of her own choosing. And he was being forced to deal with it. “Well, madam, what did the queen say?” he repeated himself.
“I am directed to wed you,” Cicely replied slowly, debating how much to tell him.
“And?”The blue eyes bored into her.
“Jo . . . the queen has convinced the king to restore my entire dower,” Cicely said. “Ian and I were going to split it, for he said he didn’t need it all.”
“Ian loved you unconditionally,” Kier replied. “I do not even know if I like you. Your dower is mine as your husband.”
“The house needs to be enlarged,” Cicely said. “I meant to use my half to do so. The bedchambers are small. We need a large master’s apartment, and below it a library.”
“The house is big enough,” he responded stubbornly.
“If we are to have these heirs that are expected of us, we need a larger bedchamber to share. Neither your chamber nor mine is big enough to contain a bed suitable for two people,” Cicely told him. “Of course, we could just couple in the stable!”
“An intriguing idea, madam,” he said as he reached out and pulled her close. “I should enjoy putting you on your back in a darkened stall.” A single finger moved slowly across her lips. “Would you enjoy being taken on a pile of sweet-smelling hay, Cicely?” The blue eyes locked onto her own blue-green eyes. “Tell me what you want, for I am said to be proficient in the amatory arts.”
For the life of her Cicely could not break his gaze or look away. Ian had never spoken to her like this. Nor had she felt such an intense aura of masculinity from him as she did from Kier. Ian had simply loved her. Now, faced with this cold, fierce man, Cicely was not quite certain what to do. He made the decision for them.
One hand reached up to cup her head. Then his mouth came down on hers hard. His lips demanded everything from her, forcing her lips to part, his tongue driving between those soft lips to do battle with her tongue. At first Cicely attempted to elude that ravaging tongue, but at last, unable to, she let him stroke her tongue with his. Heat suffused her whole body, and she actually felt dizzy. Finally she managed to pull her head away from his.“Please,”she managed to grind out.“Please!”
He nibbled at her lip and her face. “Please what?” He groaned.Christ’s wounds!His cock was hard and his balls hurt with his need for a woman. He either had to let her go now, or put her on her back. “We’re going to be wed June first,” he said, “and if you are carrying my bairn then, so much the better, Cicely.” He began to unlace her gown.
Shocked by his words, she didn’t actually divine his intent until a moment later, when he yanked her gown down.“No!”she said as he lifted her from the pile of green fabric that now lay on the floor about her ankles. “We are not yet wed, my lord!”Blessed Mother!The bulge in his breeks was . . . was formidable. Ian’s cock had been large, but this was certainly larger. Did manhoods come in different sizes?
“Aye!”he growled at her, and, turning, twisted the key in the lock of the chamber door. “The king says we must wed. The queen says we must wed. Yet you demur and consider the ways you may escape this obligation. I intend to be in your bed every night from now on, Cicely. And on the first day of the new month we will marry.”
“Why now?” she demanded of him, trying to edge away, but to where?
“Because kissing you has filled me with lustful thoughts,” he said wickedly. “And I mean to act on those thoughts. I might seek out one of our pretty serving girls, or some willing lass in the village, but I will not. You are to be my wife, and you shall be the only woman I couple with from this moment on. Now take off your chemise or I will rip it from you. Have you so many that you can afford to have one destroyed?” He began pulling his own garments off of his tall, lean body, and when he was naked he turned to face her once again.
“You have not removed your chemise,” he said in a low, dark tone.
“Get out of my chamber!” Cicely cried, her eyes going everywhere in the room but to him.“Get out!”She attempted to edge away from him.
