The Marriage Prize (54 page)

favorite sport of hunting, with total disregard for the time that

had been set for the baptism.

The priest began by admonishing the courtiers crowded into

the chapel that they should attend services regularly, not just

on the festive occasions of weddings and christenings. He

then launched into a Latin prayer, but switched to the vulgar

tongue of English when he heard the congregation shuffle its

feet restlessly. When Edward Plantagenet pointedly cleared

his throat, the priest skipped to the heart of the matter.

"Sanctify this water to the mystical washing away of sin; and

grant that this child may receive the ful ness of Thy grace, and

ever remain in the number of Thy faithful and elect children;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

Rosamond tenderly removed the white knitted shawl and held

out her naked child. The priest took him from his mother and

held him suspended over the font of holy water. "Name this

child."

"Rodger de Leyburn." Rosamond's clear voice carried to the

farthest recesses of the chapel, and al could hear the pride in

it.

The priest dipped the male child into the water. "Rodger de

Ley-burn, I baptize thee—"

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Sir Rodger stepped forward to amend the name of his son.

"He shal be cal ed Rodger Jason de Leyburn."

Rosamond gave her husband a radiant smile, and her violet

eyes became liquid with unshed tears at the thought that her

beloved had remembered her favorite name was Jason.

Seeing the love on their faces, Princess Eleanora began to

cry softly.

The priest dipped the child into the water a second time.

"Rodger Jason de Leyburn, I baptize thee—"

This time it was the prince who stepped forward with great

authority. "He shal be cal ed Rodger Jason Edward de

Leyburn."

With a forbidding scowl, the priest defied anyone else to step

forward, then he dipped the child into the water a third time.

"Rodger Jason Edward de Leyburn, I baptize thee—"

At this point, Rodger Jason Edward had had enough of

dipping. Turning red, he protested at the top of his lungs and,

at the same time, directed an arc of pee into the priests eye.

The holy man uttered a blasphemous oath and covered it with,

"In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy

Ghost. Amen." He made a cross on the baby's forehead,

raced through the prayer of Saint Chrysostom, exhorted the

godparents on their duties, and thrust the offending child back

into its mother's arms.

At the christening breakfast that fol owed, Rodger laid his son

in the middle of the table, where he became the center of

attention. Eleanora looked at the baby longingly and wiped

away a tear. "There wasn't a dry eye in the chapel," she said innocently, which sent the entire court into convulsions of

laughter.

"Splendor of God," Edward said, raising his goblet, "your son has coined a new toast: Here's piss in your eye!"

******************

Windsor Castle. Its objective was twofold—it would establish

that Edward Plan-tagenet now ruled the country, King of

England in al but name; and introduce beauteous Princess

Eleanora to the royal court of Windsor. King Henry and Queen

Eleanor had been persuaded to retire to their castle of

Winchester, almost seventy miles from London. Henry was al-

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ready being referred to as the "Old King" by the people of the court. Al the nobles and barons who had supported Edward in

the civil conflict were invited to the celebration along with their

ladies. Al knew that rewards for loyal service were in the

offing, and ambitious lords were busy taking note of the lands

and castles that had been confiscated from the barons and

nobles who had set themselves against the royal House of

Plantagenet.

The de Leyburns again occupied the spacious suite of rooms

in the tower that had been especial y built for Prince Edward

and Princess Eleanora. It now comprised three luxurious

chambers, smal er rooms for their servants, as wel as a

nursery for the baby, for Rosamond had refused to leave him

behind. She had brought one of the young maids from

Pershore to be his ful -time nurse, so that Nan could resume

her duties as Rosamond's tiring-woman in charge of her

fashionable new wardrobe, for clothes were of paramount

importance at the court of Windsor.

Nan brought the new ruby velvet gown from the wardrobe and

held it while Rosamond slipped her arms into the fashionable

wide sleeves, which ended in points decorated by golden silk

tassels. The neckline was cut extremely low to show off jewels,

and Rosamond stepped before her dressing table mirror,

trying to decide on a necklace, while Nan fastened the back of

her gown.

Rodger emerged from the dressing room with a towel slung

about his narrow hips. Nan, quite used to seeing him in

various stages of undress, paid no heed until she saw his

signal for her to leave. He picked up a smal , flat case from his

bedside table and approached his wife. She saw him in the

mirror and knew he would not be able to resist touching her.

The corners of her mouth rose in a secret smile. His touch

made her feel extremely beautiful, and his love made her feel

special.

Rosamond caught her breath as her husband's hands slipped

about her throat, then moved to her nape to fasten the

necklace he had had made for her. Her eyes widened with

pleasure at the magnificent jewels that sparkled against her

throat and fel in a glittering cascade over the curve of her

breasts. The precious gems had been fashioned into roses,

with ruby petals and diamond centers; the leaves were

wrought from jade. "Rodger, it's exquisite, but it must have

cost the earth!"

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"I thought it a fitting bauble for a countess."

"A countess?"

"I have reason to believe Edward wil make me Earl of

Tewkesbury." He flashed her a wicked grin and unfastened the

back of her gown.

"Rodger! What the devil are you doing?"

"Exactly what you think I'm doing ... what you hope I'm doing. I

warrant a female with your passionate nature cannot wait for

her first sexual encounter with an earl of the realm, chérie."

She cast him a provocative glance from beneath her lashes.

"Whatever makes you think it wil be my first?"

His arms tightened possessively; his green eyes glittered

dangerously. "By God, madam, it had better be!"

Her laugh was sultry. "You'l ruin my gown."

"I'l buy you another!"

"Indeed you wil , my insatiable devil, and another, and another!

You wil find a countess far more expensive than a mere lady."

"And you wil find an earl far more demanding than a mere

royal steward. Remove your gown and your shift... it has been

a long time since I've seen a naked countess."

Rosamond knew he was teasing her, but she also had no

doubts that he had seen more than his fair share of naked

noblewomen. But how could she blame them? His devastating

charm, his dark, dangerous looks, and his virile, warrior's

body made him utterly irresistible. The amazing thing was that

she didn't care about the others he had known before her. His

love had given her supreme confidence in herself, and her

self-confidence in turn attracted him like a lodestone.

Rosamond stood before him stark naked, save for the

magnificent jewels. She tossed her long hair back, felt it brush

against her buttocks, and lifted her chin proudly. "If you wil

dispense with your towel, my lord earl, we can begin our

mating dance."

Rod reached out a finger to trace her delicate col arbone

adorned with the ruby roses, then his hands roamed over her

curves until Rosamond thought she would go up in smoke.

Only when he had caressed every inch of her naked skin, and

her hands had explored his magnificent muscles, did he take

possession of her mouth. He threaded his fingers into her hair

and held her captive while his lips and his tongue

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commanded her to open for him. His other hand pressed her

bottom cheeks, so that his arousal slid between her legs. With

a matching rhythm of tongue and cock, he thrust slowly,

sensual y, teasing her in the male-female game of domination

and submission.

Rosamond decided she could tease too. "If you want

something, Rod, al you have to do is ask!"

"Permission to enter," he whispered, and Rosamond lifted

herself so that he could slide up inside her sleek heat. When

he remained motionless, she bit his shoulder. "You devil, wil

you make me ask for what I want?"

His green eyes dared her to put it into words.

"Rod, I think I'l scream if you don't take me!"

"You'l scream if I do," he promised wickedly. He thrust into her hard, his lovemaking suddenly savage and demanding, but

Rosamond made demands of her own, and with ferocity Rod

satisfied those demands. She cried out her release and

col apsed against him, clinging to his powerful body, her legs

suddenly too weak to support her.

Rod swept her up in his arms and carried her to their bed. He

had not spent and was stil rampant with sexual energy.

Rosamond knew his needs, knew the extent of his lusty

passion, and gloried in that knowledge. Rod watched,

mesmerized, as she stretched out before him, arms above

her head, arching her back enticingly. Savage desire rose up

in him, hot and wild, and he knew she would match his

passionate mood and yield herself completely. This coupling

would be dark, primitive, rapacious, slaking their sexual

hunger for each other. The next would be slow, sensual, and

fil ed with tenderness, al owing them to express their deep,

abiding love.

Between matings, they rol ed together until Rosamond was

above him. She sat straddling his hips, her hair wildly

disheveled from their uninhibited sex play. The corners of her

mouth lifted in a smile. "Countess," she said tasting the word on her tongue. "You know, I rather like this new elevated

position."

He knew her words were deliberately provocative. "I'l show

you a position," he threatened, setting possessive hands to

her waist.

"Let me stay up here a little while longer, it makes me feel

"Let me stay up here a little while longer, it makes me feel

splendidly erotic." She felt him harden and lengthen, and

raised herself up

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high enough to plunge down and hold him captive within her.

"Gal op as hard as you like, I'l hold on tightly." She bent forward to grip his shoulders and al ow her golden tresses to

trail temptingly, teasingly across his chest.

"It seems you've acquired a taste for stal ion riding. You wil

al ow me on top once in a while, won't you, chérie? "

"That depends upon whether you measure up to your name or

not."

"Tewkesbury?"

"The name I have in mind isn't Tewkesbury, it's Rod!"

With a ferocious growl, Rod rol ed with her until he was in the

male-dominant position. Then the night exploded as he

mastered her with a rough, elemental mating. When

Rosamond surrendered, and yielded in sweet submission, his

lovemaking gentled, and she melted against him with a soft

moan. Rod covered her mouth, tasting his name on her lips,

knowing he would never have enough of her.

After the loving, when they were both replete, Rosamond lay

enfolded in her lover's arms, with her cheek against his heart.

Dreamily she thought back over the long, eventful year that

had brought her to this safe, happy haven. She smiled secretly

as she thought of her girlish infatuation with Rickard de Burgh.

A pale emotion indeed, when compared with the consuming

love she now felt for Rodger de Leyburn. The Irish warrior, with

his amazing gift of second sight, had been right after al . His

prophetic words floated to her from the past.

Rodger de Leyburn is best for you, Rosamond. His strength

and position wil give you the protection you need in the great

conflict that lies ahead. It wil be a rough road for al , butin the

end you wil not just survive, you wil flourish.

At the time, she had paid little heed to his words. In the end,

she had only agreed to marry Rodger to bond him to the de

Montforts, and for his strength. It had been his physical

strength for which she had lusted, never dreaming that he

possessed an inner strength that was worth far more than any

other quality. Like his love, it was priceless. She touched her

beloved's face with awe. "My darling." Her voice was as soft as velvet. His love, unconditional and absolute, surrounded

and protected her with its precious magic. Like a circle, it was

never-ending, infinite, like their names within her wedding ring.

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* * *

advantages. Al eyes were on Rosamond as she made a

grand entrance wearing the ruby gown and magnificent

jewels. She joined Eleanora, who wore white and gold as