The servants rushed out of their path as he marched Claire to their chambers. She had caused a scene in the great hall, and she had also taken advantage of Desmona’s sweet, giving nature, and now the poor girl would be sitting as uncomfortably as Claire the next day. All because of a little jealousy. Galien intended to give Claire a most thorough spanking, and then he intended to spend the rest of the night proving he desired no other woman but her.
“Please, Galien, can we slow down?” Tears wavered on Claire’s eyelashes, and her lip trembled. She shook in his arms.
He slowed his pace but maintained his hold on her, not giving her the opportunity to escape. “You have erred much this evening, Claire, and I am very disappointed in your behavior.”
“Please, my lord, I am so sorry. Please don’t be angry.” She tried to twist from his grasp as the door to their chambers came into sight. “Galien, no! I don’t wish to go in there with you!”
Galien had no choice but to lift Claire up and half carry, half drag her to the door. A footman at the end of the hall ducked his head, tactfully ignoring their quarrel.
“You are making this worse for yourself, Claire. The more you fight me, the harder I shall thrash your bare little arse.” After a great deal of effort, he managed to get his protesting lady into their chambers with the door bolted behind them. “Cease, now!” His booming shout echoed off the stone walls.
Claire covered her ears and stilled within his arms, or at least made theattempt. She was shaking so hard her teeth chattered intermittently. “Please don’t yell at me,” she whispered through an especially hard shudder. “I know I was foolish, and I am so very sorry, my lord.”
Holding her out by her shoulders, he studied her frightful reaction to his yell. She’d been scared and shaking before he raised his voice, but not as violently as now. He pondered this for but a moment before realization dawned, and his throat burned as guilt filled him. “Did Diterich yell at you?” he asked in a gentle tone.
She gave a short nod and the tears welling in her eyes overflowed, trickling down her face as she sniffled. “All the time.” Her hands still cupped her ears, and he gently pried them away.
“I promise I will not yell at you again, sweet Claire, even when I am especially angry with you. I am sorry I frightened you so. Come here,” he said, drawing her against his chest. He rested his chin atop her head and stroked the back of her neck, tangling his fingers in the short soft hairs that had resisted her coif.
Her arms remained at her sides at first, but she gradually brought them up around his waist, accepting the comfort he wished to give her. He cursed himself for raising his voice so. He had never yelled at a lady before, and the guilt of losing his temper nagged at his heart. Regret flowed through him, because in a few moments he had to punish her. After all the trouble she’d caused, he couldn’t go easy on her either. His sweet Claire saved him the guilt though when she surprised him with a sudden pronouncement.
“I am ready now, my lord,” she said, pulling back but keeping her gaze on his chest. “F-for my spanking, that is.”
Chapter Six
“Let us talk first,” Galien said, guiding her to the bed. He sank down atop the covers and drew her into his lap, cradling her in his arms with a tenderness that made her want to cry all over again.
She wiped the last of her tears away and wished he’d just spank her. Married men weren’t required to be chaste as wives were, and if he wished to tumble a whore now and then what right did she have to stop him? Making a scene in the great hall had been unwise, and she felt doubly guilty for getting Desmona into trouble. Even worse, his father was to be buried tomorrow, and she belittled herself for not keeping her grievances to herself during this time of mourning. Oh, how she had made a mess of things.
“I realize most men stray from their wives,” she said, peering into his dark eyes. “It is quite common, and I confess I did not become so upset when Lord Diterich invited a whore into his chambers. I do not know what came over me, my lord, and I beg your forgiveness. You, of course, are free to do as you wish. I hold no dominion over you.” How foolish she’d been to think her second marriage would be different than her first.
“Claire, you do hold dominion over me, because I desire no other woman but you.”
“Have you been with that woman before? The one with the golden hair?” Pain squeezed her heart, because she already knew the truth.
“Aye, Claire, I have lain with Agnete many times, and other women as well. But not since we’ve been wed, and I have no plans to seek fulfillment outside of our marriage bed. I give you my word.”
“How do I know you speak the truth?”
“Because I gave you my word, sweet Claire.” He spoke with conviction, but doubt still waged a battled against hope in her heart.
Many a man had broken promises to Claire over the course of her lifetime, starting with her father. He’d promised she would not wed Diterich once, after the elderly lord first expressed interested in her, and she still felt a jab of betrayal each time she remembered the day her father reneged on hispromise. “If you break your promise, I wish for permission to go live with my brother, Duke Leuthold.”
Galien sighed and toyed with the blue veil that cascaded down her back from her elaborate headdress. Hesitation overtook his features, and she suspected he intended to refuse her request. It was unheard of for a lady to leave her husband, though to the world it could simply appear as if she were spending a lengthy visit with her brother. At first, anyway. She imagined Galien breaking his promise and bedding Agnete and all the other village whores, and she imagined journeying to Leuthold to spend the rest of her days with a broken heart. Hot tears gathered in her eyes as she envisioned a future without Galien, even if was because he betrayed her with another woman. The moment dragged on, and she wondered if he meant to ignore her ultimatum.
“Very well, Claire. If I break my promise, I will send you to live with your brother.”
“Thank you, my lord.”
“Know that it will never come to pass, my sweet Claire. When I give my word, I always keep it, and I mean to keep you. You aremy wife.” A possessive edge hardened his words, and his gaze grew intense as he stared down at her, still stroking her veil and her hair.
She sent up a silent prayer that he spoke the truth, for if he broke his promise her pride wouldn’t allow her to remain at Minrova, even if she forgave him his transgressions and wished to remain at his side.
“Henceforth when something upsets you, Claire, I expect you to speak with me about it in a civil manner. You imagined that I meant to betray you just because you saw me speaking with Agnete for all of a moment, and you made a scene in the great hall in front of my cousins, my uncle, my aunt, and many of my men.”
She shrank under his admonishment, her shame over her behavior making her cheeks flush and her heart ache. The strangest part of all was her desire to be over his lap already. She longed to put the punishment behind them, and in the very core of her being she ached for his forgiveness. But she also feared the impending pain and embarrassment, and she sat still as he continued scolding her.
“I am your husband, Claire, and I expect you to obey me even when we are not in agreement. If you had come straight back to our chambers as I had instructed you to do, your punishment would not have been so severe. But you intentionally hid from me and enlisted the help of Desmona, bringing another into our marriage. That kind of behavior is unacceptable, and I intend to make sure this sort of thing doesn’t happen again. Do you understand?”
