Velvet felt her heart accelerate. It was very exciting to be held in such a close embrace, but there was something about Master Marlowe that made her nervous. He was far too bold for a respectable girl to tolerate. That thought gave her courage. “My thanks for your timely rescue, sir,” she said sternly, “but had you not startled me ’twould not have been necessary. You may release me now.”
The actor-playwright laughed softly. “What a prim little puss you play at being, mistress, but I know all about the queen’s Maids of Honor. You’re a merry bunch of jades, and eager for loving, cooped up as you are with such a strict mistress. Do you think you’re the first of the queen’s ladies I’ve ever approached?” His mouth dipped toward hers, but Velvet managed to avoid his intent, turning her head so that his lips wetly brushed the side of her neck.
She had wanted to be kissed, but not in this manner, and certainly not by this man. She shuddered with revulsion, but he mistook her emotion for budding passion and urged his suit onward over her very vocal protests.
“Sir, unhand me this instant! I shall inform my brother of your outrageous behavior!” She pressed her palms against his chest and pushed at him.
Marlowe laughed, delighted by what he considered her feigned resistance. “Damn me, you adorable wench, if you don’t make me hotter to possess you with all your protesting!”
His knowledgeable fingers were undoing the laces of her bodice.
Velvet gasped with surprise, never realizing that a man would be so very bold with a maid. She could feel the night air on her bared breasts, and in that moment Marlowe, seeing her shock, took complete advantage of the girl, burying his face in her cleavage, inhaling the intoxicating fragrance of her perfume. Velvet shrieked, extremely frightened and equally outraged as she struggled unsuccessfully against her attacker. She felt tears of frustration beginning to slip helplessly down her cheeks. Maddened by his lust, he attempted to force her down to the mossy bank, but just as maddened with her fear and the realization of what could happen to her, Velvet fought him wildly, trying to fend him off with flailing fists and sharp nails. Drawing in a breath, she tried to scream, but, seeing it coming, Marlowe put his hand over her mouth. Infuriated, Velvet bit him as hard as she could, and was rewarded with his yelp of pain as he pulled his bleeding hand away.
“You bit me, you little bitch!” he exclaimed, outraged. “ ’Tis my writing hand, too!” He held the injured digit away from him, looking at it dramatically, as if he had been mortally wounded, yet his other hand still firmly held her captive.
“Release me this instant!” Velvet sobbed indignantly. “The queen shall hear of this, Master Marlowe. Release me!”
“I think not, mistress, for you now owe me, having injured me so grievously.” His grip tightened again. “I shall have a sweet forfeit from you!”
“Damn me, Marlowe,” drawled the amused voice of Alex Gordon as he stepped into view. “I had heard you were a ladies’ man, but I did not think you would stoop to rape, and especially the sister of your host. Loose the lass, or I’ll be forced to really injure your precious writing hand, perhaps even remove it entirely.” Outwardly, Lord Gordon appeared calm, but inwardly he raged at this low, roguish fellow who dared to lay his hands upon BrocCairn property. Still, he had interrupted Marlowe in time, and instigating a brawl, even in defense of Velvet’s honor, would not aid his case with the English queen.
“The jade lured me down here and then turned coy,” the playwright proclaimed, but his arm dropped from around Velvet’s waist.
Angrily, she pulled away from him. “ ’Tis not so!” she cried. “I left the gathering for a moment’s peace, and he followed me.”
Alexander Gordon’s amber eyes narrowed dangerously as he looked at Christopher Marlowe. “Your reputation for debauchery and dueling is well known, sir, but I doubt your career could stand another scandal, particularly as the queen is present. I suggest you leave quietly.Now!”
Marlowe digested Lord Gordon’s words, and then laughed. “You’re wiser than I, m’lord. Ah, well, no wench is really worth all that trouble.” His black eyes snapped boldly as he took a final look at Velvet’s half-bared bosom. Then, with a mocking bow, he turned and walked away.
There was a long silence, then as Alex moved before her, Velvet cried out in a frightened voice, “What are you doing?” His hands were on her bodice.
“Relacing you, my dear. I think that is the first order of business, lest someone stumble upon us and your reputation be compromised.” His fingers skillfully redid her gown as she watched him with big eyes. When he had finished, he quietly gathered her into his arms and said, “Now you may cry, Velvet,” and she did so, sobbing softly into the fabric of his doublet.
“I d-didn’t lure h-him,” she said, weeping. “I didn’t.”
“I know that, lass,” he said. “He’s a brilliant writer, but basically a low fellow. He has a terrible temper that will one day be the undoing of him, and a worse reputation where women are concerned. I have not a doubt that, seeing you slip away, he followed to take advantage of your innocence.”
“I’ve never even been kissed,” Velvet whispered.
“He wanted more than a kiss, lass. You knowthat, don’t you?”
“Aye.” She looked up at him for a moment, and then, lowering her eyes, blushed, embarrassed by his meaning.
“Surely you’ve run into this problem before, Velvet. At court, perhaps? What did you do then?”
“I have never been accosted so boldly, and certainly not at court. The queen does not appreciate gentlemen who tamper with her ladies, though I know there are those, both men and women, who brave her wrath for a tryst, a kiss, and a cuddle. I am not, however, one of them, and, besides, none would dare approach me in such a manner knowing my parents’ fierce reputation.” She had begun to feel better now, snuggled as she was in this big man’s arms. “I am better protected than the Spanish infanta herself, my two stern duennas being Sir Walter Ralegh and the Earl of Essex.” She chuckled, a small, merry sound that delighted him. “They have warned off all who would approach me in any less than a respectful manner.”
Now Alex understood, and he shook his head in admiration. Velvet had a way about her that appealed to the gallant knight hidden in most men whose paths she crossed. They wanted to protect her even as he was now protecting her, as she had been protected all her life by her family. She was much too innocent to be at court. Tonight she had been lucky. He had been out walking to escape the crush for a moment when he had heard her cry for help, then Marlowe’s yelp of pain, followed by a smothered oath. He had known instantly what was afoot. What he had not known was that the lady in distress was Velvet. What if he was not there the next time to rescue her?
Before he could seriously digest this thought, however, she, now fully recovered from her fright, said woefully, “I’m fifteen years old, and no one has ever kissed me.No one.”
“You are betrothed, or so your brother tells me,” Alex said cautiously.
“Aye, I am betrothed!” Velvet said fiercely. “Betrothed at five years of age to a man who didn’t bother to acknowledge my presence until just a few weeks ago. For ten years he has ignored me, but now he suddenly finds himself the only male in his line, and he has written to say he is coming to marry me so that he may immediately beget sons!”
“He obviously finds himself in a difficult position, Velvet,” began Alex.
“He finds himself in a difficult position?”Her voice dripped scorn. “What of me? My parents promised me that I should never have to marry without love. But they are away! Will a man who has never had the delicacy to even remember my birthday consider that I do not want to marry a perfect stranger, and particularly not without my mother and father by my side? I strongly doubt it!”
