“One more thing,” the king said.
Alexander held his breath and waited.
“Regarding Lady Marion. Do I need to offer any apologies to her family on your behalf?”
The meaning was quite clear and thankfully, the encounter had not advanced to that level. “Nay, Your Majesty. She is intact.”
The king looked surprised for a moment before masking his expression. “Very well, I bid you a safe journey and I will send word of our anticipated arrival date.
Alexander bowed and left the library. He was careful there were no servants or anyone else in the hallway before heading to his chamber. Alain was packing his belongings when he entered.
“Did you speak with the king?”
“Aye, he has agreed to release us this eve in a carriage with the assistance of his footmen. He’s offered his own guard to ride my horse, but I would rather you rode him. We shall have to stop somewhere tomorrow eve, but we can make that decision then. How long before we are ready?”
“We can leave here as soon as the footmen come to collect your chest. The steward will have the kitchens wrap up some food and libations for us to take with us.”
Minutes later, the footmen arrived, and Alain directed them to the trunks. He waited for them to leave before asking, “Do you need assistance with the stairs, my lord?”
Alexander shook his head and left the chamber, not looking back and not really looking around until he entered the courtyard and entered the awaiting carriage. He took only notice of the lavishness and comfort he would have on this ride, but was less pleased with the additional time the trip would take. Nevertheless, the sooner he was away, the better.
He closed the curtains to the windows and leaned his head back. God’s teeth, what a mess he’d made of things. On the seat oppositehim was a wineskin and a basket. Not that he was hungry, but he did appreciate the drink and hoped it was ale. He opened it and took a swig just as the carriage was pulled forward. Maybe between the gentle rocking of the carriage and the beverage, he would find a way to settle down.
But every time he closed his eyes, her face came into view and every time he took another swig of ale, ’twas she he tasted. He was certain he would go stark raving mad stuck in the carriage on his own for the next several hours, and so he knocked on the roof for the driver to stop. Be damned, he would not sit in this box alone. When the carriage stopped, he stepped out and spoke to one of the extra guards who had accompanied them but had no current role. Minutes later, the guard rode his horse, and Alain was sitting on the seat across from him, grinning from ear to ear.
“If I have to endure this unnecessary luxury, then you will too,” Alexander said.
“I am not complaining, my lord. For I have always wanted to be cavorted about the country like a lady. I believe the only thing I’m missing is a low-cut gown and plump breasts.”
“I have enough visions in my mind’s eye I wish to forget at the moment. I do not need to have one more, particularly one that is quite disturbing.”
“I am pleased at least that you did not insist on riding your horse,” Alain said. “I know you are troubled, and I know how private you are with your affairs, but if you wish to talk about what happened this evening, I am here to listen. I was in the solar so I do have a sense of it, but we all moved as far away as we could, and I made sure the staff were farther away than me.”
“Do you think the maids will talk?” He hadn’t thought about that. Damn, but he was a daft fool for he had likely put her reputation at risk.
“I do not think anyone will say a word. And I know this because Idid hear the queen speaking to them ahead of the dinner that their discretion was expected.”
At least it appeared the queen had hand-picked the maids. Alexander, while grateful for the company, was not much in the mood for chatter and so resealed the wine skin and tossed it to Alain then let his head fall back, praying for the chaos in his mind to release.
Chapter Eight
Still wrapped inthe quilt she’d pulled from the bed, Marion woke in the chair she’d pulled over by the fire hours ago. She stared into it before finally dozing. His mind and body and heart warred with the other throughout the night. And at the end of it all, she came to the same conclusion she’d had from the beginning; she would return to her home this morning, but she would wait until she could at least thank the queen for her hospitality and move on with her remaining time here.
Her family had planned to stay at Linlithgow for a fortnight; however, maybe she could convince them to return to Posso Tower where she could become lost in her dreams once again among the rolling hills and fall asleep under the ancient oak trees.
But that was not likely now she had been noticed by all. The queen had assured her of discretion among the staff so she was not concerned the intimacy would have been viewed by anyone else. Even now, hours later, her skin burned where he’d touched her, and her body tightened and pulsed at the memory of being so possessed and then rising to that possession with her own demands.
Marion shook off the quilt and moved to look out the window over the loch. Dawn had broken a while ago and the early morning dew had not yet burned off the grass nor the light fog hanging just above the water. This was the time when the night and morning metfor a few moments before the one gave way to the other, as if the dew and fog hung on long enough to tell the sun of the events of the night before.
How long she stood there, she did not know. Finally, a knock at her chamber door roused her from her musings.
She turned as two maids entered with steaming buckets and, seeing her state of undress and out of bed, called to the doorway, “Wait!”
One placed her bucket down and attended the fire while the other wrapped Marion in a quilt and urged her toward the fire before ushering in two men with a copper tub who placed it in the center of the chamber then retreated.
What followed was a flurry of maids with buckets of water until the bath was full and the scent of roses and lavender which now reminded her of the woman she was the day before versus the one she was today.
Marion lay in the bath as long as she dared. Two in a row was a luxury indeed, for she was not accustomed to such frequency but grinned, thinking she could certainly get used to the way the heat and scent tantalized and relaxed her.
