Chapter Twenty-Three

Three months later

There was a new Countess of Axminster.

The church bells of St. Mary’s in the village of Axminster were pealing off their clear tones in celebration of the marriage of Douglas de Lohr, Earl of Axminster, to Lady Misery Isabelle Rosalie d’Avignon, now known as the Countess of Axminster.

The union, as rumor had it, was a love match.

Madly in love was more like it. As Douglas took his new wife, who was wearing the my choice pendant, from the church, he was positively radiant with joy. That was something his parents, who had both attended the wedding, noticed. Christopher and Dustin, the Earl and Countess of Hereford and Worcester, were thrilled to finally see Douglas’ life come to fruition.

It was a glorious thing to behold.

Three months ago, they had been notified, by Douglas no less, that he had married the heiress to the earldom of Axminster under special circumstances. When Douglas told them of those precise circumstances, he made sure to have Jonathan with him so the man could confirm everything. He told the tale of how Isabel de Kerrington hated having de Lohr troops at Axminster after the Tatworth skirmish. Curtis, of course, had left them behind to strengthen Axminster’s numbers, but Isabel had viewed it as an occupation. While grateful for the allies’ help, she didn’t want them taking over her castle.

Only Douglas could have softened that stance.

It was quite a tale Douglas gave his parents. Tales of chess, of broken necklaces, of unwanted visitors, of death, of threats from a former ally, and finally of the fall of Lady Isabel and her lover from the walls of Axminster. It had been a difficult and convoluted tale, one that left Christopher and Dustin quite shocked, but the most predominant thread in that tale was the fact that Douglas had fallen in love with a certain young woman. A ward of Lady Isabel who seemed to have been a tremendous influence on Douglas and his outlook on life. Upon finally meeting Mira, they could see why.

They loved her almost as quickly as Douglas had.

Now, three months after the death of Lady Isabel, Douglas had married Lady Mira. He’d wanted to marry her immediately after Isabel’s death, but Mira wouldn’t hear of it. She wanted to give Isabella a proper mourning period before she even considered taking the lady’s place. Therefore, the new earl had to bide his time, which had been very difficult considering how badly he wanted Mira. Their three-month courtship had been very proper, however. Mira had seen to that. Considering she was now in charge of Lady Isabel’s Axminster’s Angels, she wanted to set a good example of propriety.

It just about killed Douglas.

But now they were married, and Douglas could still hardly believe it. Dressed in a fine silk gown that Douglas’ mother had made, Mira had never looked more beautiful. In the great hall of Axminster, a wedding celebration was taking place, a celebration that included Grayson and Davyss de Winter, Antoninus de Shera, and most of Douglas’ brothers and sisters. Jonathan was also there along with his brother, Robert, the Earl of Wolverhampton, who had come down from the northern Welsh marches to celebrate an alliance with Axminster, something he was quite thrilled to have.

The bonds of de Lohr and de Wolfe grew deeper.

During his wait for Mira, Douglas had kept himself occupied by making quite a few changes to Axminster. He had heavily recruited for its army until it swelled to almost two thousand men. Since Eric was no longer around to train the royal troops, Douglas gave that task over to his youngest brother, Westley, who took to it like a duck to water.

But there was more.

Jonathan, who had been sworn to Norfolk, was released from his oath at Christopher’s request and swore his fealty to the House of de Lohr, and more specifically to Axminster. Douglas was thrilled to have a knight of such caliber as his army commander, and Jonathan also helped Westley train the royal troops. Since the king had been notified that Douglas was the new Earl of Axminster and was so confident in Douglas’ abilities, he sent more royal troops for training than ever before. Within a few months, Axminster had grown to a significant power in Southern England.

And Christopher could not have been prouder.

Douglas, in addition to being the wise one of Christopher’s sons, had also been the quiet one due to his slight speech impediment. The lisp was barely noticeable these days and Douglas had become a fine orator, so it was gratifying to see him rise to the opportunity that had been given to him. Christopher understood why the spinster heiress had asked to marry Douglas on her deathbed because he understood a little something about legacies. He had married his wife in his thirties and until then had not assumed he would ever even have a legacy. But he did, a great one, so he understood why the heiress had asked for Douglas’ hand. He wished he could have thanked her because in her death, Douglas had found a new life.

Christopher was grateful.

Now, he was watching his son and his son’s new wife as they toasted their new life together in the great hall of Axminster. Even though Christopher was quite elderly, nothing could have kept him away from this moment. Not even days of travel from the marches, jostling his old bones and exhausting him. Seeing Douglas happy was well worth it.

“How are you feeling, Papa?”

Jolted from his train of thought, Christopher looked up to see Douglas and Mira standing beside him. He smiled at his son and reached out to grasp his new daughter’s hand, bringing it to his lips for a gentle kiss.

“I am feeling quite well,” he said. “And how do you two feel? Like a married couple yet?”

Douglas grinned as Mira laughed. “We have felt like that for the past three months,” she said, looking at her husband. “I cannot remember when Douglas has not been by my side.”

Christopher smiled. “And he shall be there forevermore, God willing,” he said. “This will be a time of true happiness for you, as you come to know one another as husband and wife. Personally, I can well remember the time before I married Dustin. It was a time of peace and rest for me, without a woman screeching in my ear, and… Ah, look. Here is my wife sitting next to me. I did not see you, my dear.”

Dustin had been listening to the entire thing and rolled her eyes at her husband’s sense of humor. “The truth is that he had no life before me,” she said. “There has only, and always, been me. Though there were times when we first met that I would have gladly thrown him to the wolves. I still might.”

Mira chuckled. “Like father, like son, mayhap?” she said. “I have had the same urge once or twice.”

Dustin laughed and reached out to take Mira’s hand from her husband. “This is why I love you, Mira,” she said. “You understand these de Lohr men already. Now, come with me—we shall have them play a woman’s dance and we can dance with my daughters.”

“Wait, Mama,” Douglas said. “It is growing late and Mira and I were hoping to retire. I need you and Papa to hold off anyone who tries to follow us to our chamber.”

Dustin glanced at Christopher and they exchanged knowing expressions. It wasn’t particularly late. Douglas was simply eager to be alone with his new wife, whom they knew had held him off for the entire courting period. That information had come courtesy of Myles and Westley, who had listened to Douglas speak of his frustration that Mira would not let him go beyond passionate kisses and some fondling. It had resulted in some very uncomfortable nights, and days, for Douglas, whose engorged manhood was never allowed to do what it was designed by nature to do.

Mira had made him wait until they were properly married.

Dustin had cheered her. Christopher had only laughed.

“Everyone seems to be having a good time,” Dustin finally said, looking over the hall. “No one seems to be paying much attention to the two of you, so if you are to leave, do it now. Your father and I will ensure that your guests are properly taken care of.”

With a grin, Douglas grasped his wife’s hand and pulled her away from the dais. He thought he heard someone calling his name, but he didn’t stop. He didn’t want to. He pulled Mira out of the hall through the servants’ entrance so they were less likely to be seen, dashing with her across the central bailey and to the keep. He had taken over Lady Isabel’s enormous chamber at the very top of the keep and, this morning, Mira’s wards had swept and dusted and put fresh linens on the bed. By the time they reached it, the fire was inviting and the chamber was warm and intimate. Douglas let go of Mira long enough to open up the shutters facing the central bailey, looking out to see if anyone had followed them.

“Good,” he said. “It seems quiet out there. I do not think we are missed.”

Mira grinned as she sat down at a dressing table that had been prepared for her and carefully removed the repaired necklace that Douglas had given her. After laying it down on the table next to her, she began to carefully remove the pins from her elaborate hairstyle, courtesy of Helen.

“With the rest of Lady Isabel’s fine Burgundy being passed around?” she said. “We’ll be lucky if we see our guests three days from now. As long as that Burgundy holds out, they’ll remain as drunk as pigs.”

Douglas chuckled, turning away from the window to see how nicely the bed was made up. But something caught his eye and he peered closely at it.

“God’s Bones,” he finally muttered. “Someone has put weeds in our bed.”

Pulling out the last of the pins, Mira came over to the bed to see what he was talking about. When she saw him point, she snorted.

“That is lavender, my dearest,” she said. “It keeps the linens fresh. It is also supposed to aid in conception. Someone wants us to conceive a daughter this night.”

He frowned and looked at her. “Daughter?” he said. “Why not a son?”

She turned back to her dressing table as she unwound the braid around her head. “If there is lavender on the bed, it will mean a daughter,” she said. “Rosemary on the bed means a son.”

He suddenly grabbed the linens and shook them violently. Lavender bits flew out all over the floor.

“Remove that rubbish from my bed immediately,” he said. “I’ll not have those weeds touching any part of me.”

Mira started laughing as he finished shaking the lines and charged toward the chamber door. “Wait,” she said. “Where are you going?”

He yanked the door open. “To find rosemary!”

Her laughter grew. “Stop,” she said. “Douglas, shut the door and bolt it. Surely you know that lavender or rosemary will not determine the sex of the child. It is just a silly superstition people have. It means nothing.”

He wasn’t so sure, but he came away from the door and bolted it as she’d asked. Stomping vindictively on the little bits of lavender as he came back into the chamber, he began to remove his clothing.

“I hope it means nothing,” he said. “If our first child is a girl, then I know you have lied to me.”

Combing out her blonde hair, Mira laughed at him. “I have never lied to you and I never will,” she said. “But I cannot control the sex of our child any more than you can. It is in God’s hands.”

Douglas didn’t like the fact that he wasn’t in control of something, but he knew she was right. He pulled off his tunic, his boots, and finally his breeches, climbing between the linens and making sure there were no remnants of the lavender. He lay back on the pillows, an enormous arm folded behind his head, and watched Mira as she finished brushing her glorious hair. When she stood up and saw him in bed, a seductive expression on his face, she fought off a grin.

“You are so eager that you did not realize I need help out of this dress,” she said. “Get up and help me get this off or your wedding night will not go as planned.”

He flew out of the bed, stark naked, and Mira caught a glimpse of his semi-erect manhood. She’d truthfully never seen a naked man before, and in the months they’d been courting, he’d never revealed his organ to her because she’d never asked to see it. He’d been very careful about not exposing her to something she was unsure about, or didn’t ask about, but now she had no reason not to be curious about it. When she got over the surprise of seeing it, intrigue took hold.

“The ties in the back,” she said, moving her hair aside so he could get at them. “Douglas, may I ask you something?”

He was so eager to loosen the ties that he accidentally broke one and didn’t want to tell her. “Anything, my love,” he said, wincing with guilt as he held up the broken tie. “What is it?”

“You know I have never… done this before,” she said. “We’ve only talked about it in theory, of course, but you’ve never told me—have you done this before?”

He froze, eyes wide. “Why do you ask?”

“Because if neither one of us has done this, it may be a bit awkward,” she said. “I’ve seen dogs mate, of course, and Lady Isabel was very factual in the way she told us about the joining of a man and a woman, but she had never done it before, either, to my knowledge.”

He resumed loosening the last of the ties. “What makes you think that?”

“Because she was unmarried, of course.”

With the ties completely loosened, he began to help her off with the dress. “Sweetheart, surely you know that a woman does not have to be married in order to copulate with a man,” he said. “Isabel and Eric loved one another very much. I am certain Eric bedded her from time to time.”

Mira turned around to face him so he could help her pull off the sleeves, her eyes wide with the thought of Isabel and Eric banging it out in bed. “Do you really think so?”

“I would bet money on it.”

Her expression was full of contemplation as Douglas pulled off one sleeve and then the other. “They did love each other a great deal,” she agreed. “Have you ever loved anyone enough to do what we’re going to do?”

He stopped undressing her and looked her in the eye. “You know I will not lie to you,” he said. “Surely you must know that you do not have to love someone in order to mate with them.”

“I know,” she said. “Well? Have you?”

He sighed heavily. “Aye, I have, but not with anyone I loved,” he said. “That, my darling, has been reserved only for you. What we do tonight is out of love, not physical need or just because we want to. There is far more to it.”

Mira had known that’s what his answer would be, but it was difficult not to feel jealousy for the woman, or women, who touched Douglas before she did. She finished removing the sleeves that he had started.

“I do not like the idea of another woman touching you,” she said, sounding unhappy. “I have saved myself for you, after all.”

He fought off a grin. “And you wanted me to save myself for you?”

She knew that sounded silly. It simply wasn’t the way things were done, a man saving his virginity, so she made a face and turned away to finish taking the gown off.

“That would have been the polite thing to do,” she said. “Is it too much to ask?”

He chuckled as he came up behind her, wrapping her up in his big arms. “Probably,” he said, squeezing her. “Young men are like rutting stallions. They have needs that women do not. If it makes you feel any better, I paid well to learn something of the art of love. How else am I to teach you? If I know nothing, and you know nothing, we’ll make fools of ourselves.”

She let him hug her a moment longer before pulling away and removing the dress completely. As it fell to the ground at her feet, she stepped out of it and Douglas picked it up.

“Then you had better be very good at this if I have had to sacrifice you to another woman so you could learn,” she said, feigning seriousness. “If she has not taught you properly, then I will find her and demand your money returned.”

He laughed as he put the dress carefully over a chair. “You probably would,” he said. “You know, you act like Lady Isabel sometimes. I think her demanding ways have rubbed off on you.”

Mira fought off a smile, pointing to the bed. “Show me what you have learned.”

“You’ll need to take your shift off first.”

He was naked, so she forced herself not to feel embarrassed as she rolled off her hose and pulled her shift over her head. He watched her intently, biting his lip with anticipation as she removed the pale garment, the last line of defense between her modesty and his eager eyes. He’d long dreamt of the moment. She was short, petite, and oh so curvy in the right places. More than a handful for his eager touch.

He was ready.

“God, you’re beautiful,” he breathed as he looked at her. “Get into that bed. Let me show you what I’ve learned.”

Fighting down flaming cheeks, Mira crawled beneath the linens. Douglas followed. The moment he lay down next to her, he knew he couldn’t wait. He pulled Mira to him and his mouth came down on hers, so firmly that he drove her teeth into her lip. He kissed her deeply, tasting the blood, tasting her sweetness. There was passion and lust and love in that kiss, feelings that made him gather her more tightly against him. Her arms went around his neck, and her breasts, soft and warm, were pressed against his chest. Their naked flesh touching for the first time spurred him to another level of desire.

Rolling onto his back, he pulled her on top of him.

Douglas loved the feel of her squirming on him, her wet heat against him, and it drove him mad. His mouth moved down her neck to the exposed cleavage, but it was difficult to go much further the way they were, so he quickly rolled her back over so that she was beneath him. He lifted her arms, snaring them above her head, as his free hand began to move. His mouth trailed away from her lips, down her neck, and to her breasts. Using his knees, he pushed her legs apart and wedged himself in between them. With one hand holding her arms above her head, the other hand moved to the delicate heat between her legs and he stroked her gently before inserting a big finger into her.

Mira shuddered.

He’d done that before, during times of passion when she had thrown propriety to the wind, but this time it was different. She wasn’t going to stop him from going any further, as she always had in the past.

“Do you feel me inside of you?” he whispered, his mouth against her right breast. “This is where you will know pleasure. This is where our loves comes to fruition, wife. My wife.”

He thrust two fingers into her, moving them in and out, mimicking what he would soon be doing with his engorged member. At the same time, his mouth found a nipple and he suckled firmly. Mira groaned with pleasure every time he thrust his fingers into her tight, wet heat, preparing her for his entry. It wasn’t long before he could feel her body start to quiver, the beginnings of her first release, so he quickly removed his fingers and thrust his manhood firmly into her as she began to throb with pleasurable convulsions.

Douglas could feel her body pulsing around him as he carefully but firmly thrust into her. She was so hot and wet, so prepared for him, that she hardly felt the sting of losing her innocence. So many sensations were overwhelming her that all Mira could feel was Douglas’ manhood inside of her, driving her to a new plane of awareness. Her gasps of pleasure filled the air until he slanted his mouth over hers, kissing her with the power of the love he felt for her. Douglas was so highly aroused that he released himself sooner than he had anticipated, spilling deep into her waiting body.

It was heaven.

The sounds of heavy breathing filled the air as Douglas slowed his thrusts, finally stopping completely as he struggled to catch his breath. Beneath him, Mira lay with her eyes closed, arms over her head where he’d let them go, her bare breasts reflecting the firelight. Douglas watched her, thinking he’d never seen anything more beautiful. She was finally his—his wife, his life, his all—and when she lowered one of her arms, her breasts quivered and the sight was enough to arouse him again. In little time, he was sensually thrusting in and out of her as his manhood began to pulse back to life. They were on their sides now as he held her against him. The pace was slower but no less passionate. Douglas buried his face in her hair, inhaling her scent, as his hips moved in the ancient, primal rhythm.

“Douglas,” Mira gasped as he hit a particularly sensitive spot. “God… Douglas…”

She had one leg over his hips as her hands found his taut buttocks to pull him deep inside of her. Douglas responded by covering her mouth with his, his kisses hot but tender, sweet but powerful. He held her leg behind the knee, rubbing himself against her as he thrust, and when he felt her tremors began again, he thrust into her, hard, before releasing himself in another burst of glory.

The fire in the hearth snapped softly as heavy breathing filled the room. Douglas lay beside his wife, his body still joined to hers, thinking that this moment had been well worth the wait. He began to kiss her softly—her head, her face, her shoulders—while his hand came away from her knee and went to her breasts, tenderly fondling her. At some point, her soft snores rose up and he smiled, thinking that she was quite adorable when she snored. But he continued to kiss her, and fondle her, until he, too, drifted off to sleep for a time, only to awaken sometime later with another erection that demanded satisfaction.

Mira was more than happy to provide it.

It went on all night.

When morning finally came, they welcomed the sunrise with yet another lovemaking session. Douglas had counted five times in total, but still, he wanted more. Mira didn’t seem to mind, though he had asked her repeatedly, so he was quite happy to make love to his wife yet again. When they were finally finished and contemplating rising for the day, Douglas ultimately wasn’t sure he wanted to. He rather liked it in bed with her, and they probably would have gone again had Mira not reached down in the bed and pulled off a sprig of lavender that had been stuck to her foot.

It had been there the whole time.

As Douglas climbed out of bed and cursed whoever had put the lavender in the chamber to begin with, Mira laughed so hard she cried. Tears of laughter streamed down her temples as Douglas was now convinced their first child would be a girl.

Little did he know that he was right.

Almost a year later, the moment his mother put his new daughter in his arms after a swift and rather easy labor for Mira, Douglas looked at that little face and didn’t care one bit that his firstborn was a girl. He was in love with her as only a father could be, grateful for a healthy birth and a healthy wife, already planning the great things his new daughter would accomplish.

Little Isabel de Lohr had quite a life ahead of her.

A great legacy for the woman she’d been named for, indeed.