“Everyone? You know where Princess Susanna is. You are aware of the fate of the other women of the castle. You shared that fate. Who else were you concerned about? So concerned you would almost lose your own life for them?”
She is silent, appears to be considering my words. I wait, but nothing further is forthcoming.
“Natalia? You are already in enough trouble. Do not compound your punishment by lying to me now.”
This has her attention. “Punishment? What punishment?”
“You disobeyed me. I have yet to hear any reasonable excuse for that. Unless you can come up with some persuasive reason why you found it impossible to remain in the safety of my tent, as instructed, I intend to punish you for your behaviour.”
She is gazing up at me, her beautiful eyes widening, darkening to a deep, stormy grey. “What do you intend to do?”
“I will spank you. Hard. This will hurt, Natalia, but I hope it will prove to be the deterrent you so badly need. You are my wife, and I expect your obedience, and your honesty. Do you understand?”
“Yes, my lord. But you have no need to beat me. I am sorry. Truly I am. I will never do anything like that again.”
“I hope not, for your sake. And I said I would spank you, not beat you.”
“What is the difference?”
“Ah, my lady, there is a difference. In time you will come to appreciate that. For now though, we have business to settle, you and I.”
“You intend to spank me now?”
Her voice is breaking. She is afraid. A little fear is healthy, but this is too much. I stroke her back, my palm circling between her shoulder blades as I seek to soothe her.
“No, not now. Now you need to rest. You need to regain your strength, and stay warm. I want you to go to bed, sleep, and perhaps think about what has happened today. Try to reconcile yourself to your new situation if you can. In the morning you will accept your punishment, then we will move on and not speak of this again.”
“How will I sleep, knowing… knowing this? If you are going to punish me, please do it now. I want this to be over with.”
Ah, my sweet, too easy.
“No. I will decide when you are to receive your punishment. The events of this day have taken their toll, and I will not lay a hand on you tonight.”
“But you cannot expect me to…”
I place my finger across her lips. “Hush. I expect you to obey me, and not to argue. So now, if you are quite dry, I would like you to get into bed and wait for me there.”
Her expression is shocked. I manage to conceal my grin.
“You intend to sleep with me? In this bed? Tonight?”
“I do. Having gone to all this trouble to combat the effects of your foolhardiness, I intend to make sure you remain warm.”
“But, you cannot. It would not be decent.”
“It is decent enough. You are my wife, after a fashion. I grant you the ceremony at the castle gates was not entirely satisfactory, not the way I would have chosen to make you my duchess, but it will certainly suffice until I can make a more robust arrangement. We will seek the benefit of a more orthodox ceremony as soon as the opportunity presents itself. For now though, we will both get some sleep. In the morning I will spank you, then we leave for Richtenholst.”
I do not wait for her further response. The time has come for acquiescence, not debate. I stand, lifting her to her feet. I deposit her with care, mindful of her injuries. I peel the damp blanket from her, and I am pleased to note that she offers no resistance. Despite the angry bruising to her body and face she is still a lovely woman. I take a moment to admire her nude beauty as she stands before me. Then I draw back the blankets. I pick her up and lay her in the warm cocoon, pulling the covers up to her chin.
I offer her a smile, I hope one offering sufficient reassurance to enable her to at least contemplate slumber. I walk across the tent and lift the flap. Karl is stationed outside.
“Karl, I need you to take a report to Gerhard. Natalia encounteredEberhard in the tunnels. He attacked her. She believes him to be making his escape through the forest.”
“Can we trust her account, my lord?”
A fair question. Until this day Natalia and I were on opposite sides of this conflict.
“You saw her injuries. I am inclined to believe her. And she has already made it plain she harbours no loyalty to Eberhard.”
