“Ahem. Ahem.”
Eirik groaned aloud at ‘ the slight coughing sound and he knew his opportunity was lost, even before he looked up and saw Britta and Bertha and several of his knights near the kitchen door.
Eadyth instantly overcame her passionate response and chastised him in a mortified voice, “Oh, you are the world’s worst husband. To think of consummating our marriage afore an audience. In the mud. In daylight.”
“Is that what we were doing?” he asked with amusement. “Well, I must admit this is a first for me. You must be a bad influence on me. What other deviant paths will you lead me on, wife?”
“Me? Me?” she shrieked and tried to buck him off.
He laughed and would not move.
She bit his shoulder.
“Ouch!”
He bit her shoulder.
She shrieked even louder.
Meanwhile, their audience continued to stare open-mouthed at the spectacle they made. Eirik figured it was time to move indoors before they really did consummate their wedding in public. The rain had stopped, and already bright sunlight peeped through the clouds, causing steam to rise from the damp earth. Thinking quickly, Eirik looked up and ordered, “Britta, get me some soap, a comb and several drying cloths. And some clean garments for me and my lady wife. Take them to the spring.”
“What?” Eadyth croaked out.
“We are going to bathe… in the pond.”
“We?”
Eirik recognized the panic in Eadyth’s voice, but he did not care. She had pushed him too far. He had waited too long to bed his wife, and he would wait no longer. In truth, he could not wait any longer.
“Is this a private game, or can anyone join in?” a deep voice inquired above him.
Eirik peered over his shoulder to see Sigurd sitting astride his destrier. He had ridden the animal right into the kitchen courtyard. Eadyth would go into a rage if he trampled her precious herbs.
But then Eirik realized the significance of Sigurd’s appearance, and he stood, releasing Eadyth from his body’s pressure. He allowed her to rise but held onto her wrist, refusing to let her pull away.
“What did you find?” he demanded anxiously as Sigurd alighted and handed the reins of his horse to a stable boy. “Does she spy or not?”
Amazed, Sigurd glanced from him to Eadyth and back again, then looked pointedly at the still-raging arousal at the juncture of Eirik’s thighs. With a laugh, Sigurd shook his head in exaggerated despair. “Methinks the waiting has been sore hard on you, my lord.”
“Methinks you had best spit out the news or join us in a mud bath.”
Sigurd grinned widely, prolonging the suspense. Finally, he disclosed, “She is innocent as a newborn babe.”
It was Eirik then who grinned from. ear to ear. “Are you certain? Where did you check?”
“Hawks’ Lair. Jorvik. Even two of Gravely’s estates. Yea, I am sure. She hates the man. Those closest to her know of it. And there had been no contact betwixt them ’til he came seeking his son this past year.”
“You set spies on me?” Eadyth asked incredulously, pulling out of Eirik’s grasp. Her face turned stormy with rage. “How dare you? Oh, how dare you?” Winding her arm back, she swung in a wide circle and punched him in the stomach.
“Oomph!” Taken off guard, Eirik slipped and fell back into the mud, taking Eadyth with him.
She flailed and fought furiously against his restraint as they slopped about in the mud, covering themselves from head to toe once again.
“You arrogant ass!” She slapped his face and tried to crawl away.
“You willful wench!” He grabbed her ankle and pulled her forcibly back toward him.
Her body went stiff then and her face froze into a mask of hurt as she suddenly seemed to remember something painful. “You betrayed me with another woman,” she accused, coming to her knees before him.
“I did?” At first, Eirik forgot what had prompted their rolling about in the mud—the ruse he had concocted with Aaron’s young wife. Had he really been so lackwitted as to think he could rite his wife by pretending to be with another woman and not suffer the consequences? “Oh, that was just a charade to provoke you,” he confessed unashamedly.