Chapter 33

Birdsong awoke Marcus, followed by the tickle of morning air against his bare skin. He stirred on his soft bed of moss. Next to him, he was aware of Selina's warm body pressed against him. She was murmuring in her sleep, her lips moving against his shoulder, one arm and one leg draped over him. A glorious lethargy held his body in rapture. He didn't want to move, didn't want to disturb Selina, or end the union their two bodies enjoyed. His eyes opened and he saw sunlight dappling the ground around them where it filtered through the drooping willow branches. Sleep had been a long time coming for both of them and the willow had seemed the most private place on earth. He ran his hand over her shoulders and across her back.

She responded by squirming closer, tightening her embrace. Selina lifted her head and opened her eyes. For a long moment, they looked into each other's eyes, needing no words. He could see the same thoughts in her mind as was in his. Selina smiled languidly and lifted her head to kiss him. For a long time, Marcus savored the slow, gentle movement of her lips against his. Then Selina pushed herself up onto her elbow, shaking her hair from her face. They were both completely naked but Marcus felt no embarrassment and Selina showed none.

"I feel like a swim," Selina said suddenly.

She leaped to her feet and dashed for the water's edge. Marcus pursued and they both crashed through the willow branches together, leaping into the deeper water at the heart of the pool. The water was cold, not yet warmed by the sun. Marcus dove beneath the surface, seeing Selina arrowing down ahead of him. Opening his eyes wide, he watched her slim naked body writhe and cavort in the clear sun-dappled water like a nymph. He kicked towards her, reaching for her but she darted away as though this was her natural habitat. Turning, he found her once more and with powerful strokes, cut through the water to reach her. At the last moment, she darted away and broke the surface. Marcus followed, drawing in a lungful of air.

Selina was laughing, wiping water from her face, and breathing hard. She allowed him to reach out and snare her, drawing her body back to his. She wrapped her long, agile legs about his hips and allowed his powerful kicks to keep both of them afloat. They slowly turned in the water, kissing and enjoying the intense heat of their bodies in contrast to the icy chill of the water. Marcus' back was cold and his front consumed with fire.

"I don't want this to end," Selina whispered, kissing Marcus' neck.

"It needn't," Marcus said.

"It will. At some point, we have to return to the world and face it."

"Together. There is nothing they can do to us now," Marcus assured her.

"You have been exposed as an impostor," Selina pointed out, "what if there is another branch of your family that hears about it and makes a claim for your title."

Marcus took her face between his hands and kissed her, silencing her for a long time. When the kiss ended she fell back against the uplift of the water, arms lying indolently to either side. Marcus laughed, supporting her about her waist. He relished the sight of her perfect bosoms where they rose from the pool, pink nipples forced to stand proud by the chill of the water. His eyes followed the contours of her body down to her stomach and the hint of her womanhood, concealed by the rippling water. He could not see it but he could feel it against his own body. She turned her head from side to side as he pushed with his hips, forcing his body against hers and then into her. She bit her lip, hands waving back and forth in the water as their bodies joined once more.

It had happened more than once the night before and Marcus did not feel satiated. He could not envision a time when the sight of his wife's body would not cause his passions to become inflamed. Selina lifted herself up until she could wrap her arms about Marcus' shoulders. Her weight pushed her body down against his and drew a moan of pleasure from between tight lips. They exchanged soft, butterfly kisses but, in between, looked into each other's eyes. Marcus felt the urge to close his, to savor the pleasure she was giving him. But at the same time, he wanted to share every moment with her, wanted to see her desire in the light of her eyes, the flush in her cheeks. Selina was moving her hips against his with urgency, crying out with the pleasure he was bringing to her, moaning his name. As it had the previous night, the climax left them both shuddering and clinging to each other. They sank beneath the water slowly where they disengaged.

Selina took his hand and kicked for the shore, Marcus followed. After a few yards, the water became shallow enough to wade. Selina walked through the water and then lay down where it was shallow enough to only reach her chin. Beneath her was a bed of small, round pebbles. Marcus beached himself next to her.

"If anyone was able to see us now, it would be the scandal of the year," he said.

"It is well that no one knows of this place then," Selina replied.

"Or so you hope," Marcus said.

"I choose not to think of the consequences, that is true," Selina laughed, "I think on my first day as a married woman, I can be given that indulgence."

"And many others," Marcus replied, casually draping an arm across her back.

The sun felt warm on his skin, where the water did not cover it. He felt like he could fall asleep here.

"We must go back eventually," he said.

"I know. But not just yet. I should like to enjoy the magic for a little longer."

"It is not going anywhere. But, what I desire most now is a hearty breakfast. Unless you can magic one up for me."

"Hello down there! Are you decent yet?" came Arthur's voice from the distance.

Marcus looked around but there was no sign of the man in among the trees, for which he was very grateful. Selina looked startled, pressing herself deeper into the water as though to hide her nakedness.

"I'll not set foot into the wood until you tell me I may. But I bear fresh bread, milk, honey, and apples if you'd care to partake."

Marcus grinned, lifting himself from the water and reaching out a hand to help Selina. She rose reluctantly and for a moment, as he stood beside his naked, radiant wife, skin slick with water, he wanted to tell Arthur to go away. But his stomach growled, reminding him of the night's and morning's exertions on an empty stomach. They dressed hurriedly in the protective shade of the willow.

"We're under the big willow, come on in!" Marcus called.

Presently, Arthur appeared. It seemed odd that he still wore the clothes of Dai, the poacher, but had the same physical demeanor as Marcus. In the light of day, Marcus could see that the lines on his face that had made him look so old, were premature, and the white hair had largely been colored. The eyes behind those wrinkles were those of a younger man. He sat on the ground and unwrapped a cloth bundle he had tied and carried on his shoulder like a sack. It contained loaves of bread, cheese, meat, fruit, and stoppered clay jugs of milk.

"Your house is in something of an uproar," Arthur said.

"Our house, surely," Marcus replied.

Arthur shook his head, tearing the end of a loaf with his teeth. "Yours, my boy. I renounced it. I'm quite happy with my kingdom," he lifted his eyes to the willow, "you can keep your castle and your dukedom."

"What is the uproar?" Selina asked.

"Visit from Maximilien Voss," Arthur said, looking from Marcus to Selina with a keen eye, "he's up to something. Arrived demanding to see the impostor and claiming to speak for the rightful heir to Valebridge."

Marcus smiled grimly, "I thought as much. I worried as much. Your father did not intervene on the spur of the moment. I doubt it was news to him when you wrote to him. This smells like a plan that goes back further."

"To when I arrived? How would he have known where I was?" Selina asked.

"There were some strange folk in these hills that night. "You weren't the first I came across, though you were the first that I allowed myself to be seen by," Arthur replied, attacking a piece of cheese with a belt knife.

Selina shivered. Her hair was wet, as was Marcus'. There hadn't been time for either of them to dry themselves properly. The morning was warm but the fresh air felt chilly against wet skin. Now, there was the added chill of the threat from an enemy. She shifted to sit next to Marcus, pressing herself against him and he put an arm about her shoulders. Arthur nodded in approval.

"You look after her. This man Voss is a snake. I doubt he's been challenged before. He has the look of a man rarely told no."

"Remind you of anyone?" Marcus said wryly.

That could have been a description of their own father. Arthur nodded grimly.

"Beveridge is keeping Voss at bay for now, refusing him entry into the house. But, if there is any legal means to his claim, a butler won't be able to keep him out forever. We need to legitimize you, Marcus."

"How do we do that? Father didn't acknowledge me. The letter he wrote summoning me home did not mention me as his son, merely that I should come to Valebridge to learn something to my advantage. My solicitor believes me to be you and when he finds out that I am not, he may well switch his allegiance to the rightful claimant."

"Which is you," Arthur pointed out, "whoever Voss has found won't have the Roy Mark."

He pulled at his own shirt, revealing the tell-tale mark against his nut-brown skin.

"The first thing to do is go back to Valebridge and search it from top to bottom for some documented evidence of your identity. Voss can wait," Arthur said.

"You'll come back with us?" Selina said, hopefully.

Arthur shuddered. "I've spent my time in that place. I'll help in any way I can but I won't set foot in there again."