The Falcon and the Flower Part 11

Rolf spoke up quickly. "I tracked down the priest. He had been hiding in the vil age with one of the serf's families since de Beiame took over eighteen months ago."

"Good. See that he's moved into the castle quickly and begins his duties immediately. We want to restore the moral tone of Hagthorn as quickly as possible," replied de Burgh. "Which brings me to another point. Rolf, if you fancy the young widow you are bedding you can wed her and become castel an here.

But if you would rather escape her toils you may return with me. The choice is yours."

Sir Rolf spoke up eagerly. "I'l stay!"

"Good. I'l also leave Rupert and Andre here and take you other two back with me. Tomorrow I want you to begin recruiting men-at-arms from Hagthorn and training them in earnest. I may have need of them shortly. Wil iam of Salisbury has been made head of the armies and intends to place five hundred mercenaries in my command. No doubt they'l require a deal of training also before they measure up to my standards."

Rupert announced, "We hanged three cohorts of de Belam6.

The people came forward and accused them of such horrendous crimes, we had no choice, but there are others whose fate we left up to you. One of them, the old castel an, swears he has information with which he wil be able to buy his life from you."

"Did you find de Belame's coffers?" asked de Burgh.

"We looked high and low but found nothing," replied Rolf.

"Then the old castel an must know where the monies are hidden. I have legal jurisdiction to hold a baron's court tomorrow. I'l decide everything there. I bid you good night." He winked at Rolf. "I wish you joy of her."

Jasmine awoke eager for the day's events. She summoned every servant in the castle to attend her in the hal . Clad in her richest gown and bolstered by Dame Estel e and the crystal bal , she climbed the dais to hold sway. She liked the feeling it gave her. Every eye was riveted upon her, every ear p.r.i.c.ked to catch her words. As the cook related the event to her husband later that night, she said, "The room was so quiet, you could have heard a c.o.c.kroach fart!"

Jasmine, after a cursory glance into the crystal bal , held up her hands and said, "I see a wedding celebration soon. The lady Joan wil marry one of my future husband's knights and you wil take your directions from her in my absence."

Estel e whispered, "Are you guessing?"

Jasmine's eyes sparkled. "You taught me one of the strongest tools of witchcraft is the power of suggestion. I have sown the magic seed." She raised her voice. "Let us proceed to the first dispute."

Two enormously fat women stood before her, their faces bright red from the strength of the emotions involved. They were head cooks by profession and, as custom dictated, their bulk attested to the quality of their culinary ability. The first one spoke up, "My lady, I was head cook of Hagthorn before the evil de Belam6 came here and set her up in the job." She felt confident that she would be restored, as practical y every other server of the dreaded de Belame had already been deposed by the new knights.

Jasmine turned her attention to the other fat woman to hear what she would say. "I do my job wel , my lady. I am a better cook than her. In fact, I could cook better than her stood on my head with my hands tied behind my back!"

Jasmine saw the graphic picture she painted and could not conceal a peal of merriment at so fat a woman in so ridiculous a position. "The meal we had last night was excel ent,"

decided Jasmine. "I see no need to replace the present head cook."

At her words, one red face beamed, the other looked as if it would burst. Jasmine added quickly, "I have, however, a most important post to be fil ed and feel you are an excel ent candidate for the position." She inclined her head toward Estel e. "Dame Winwood knows the magical properties of al plants. Go to the stil room with her now and she wil instruct you in herbal medicine so that you wil be able to minister to the health and welfare of al at Hagthorn." She had said the words that enabled the second red face to beam.

words that enabled the second red face to beam.

Jasmine pa.s.sed judgment on al the other disputes of the castle servants, most of which dealt with the pecking order.

When al was decided, she held up her hands again for silence. "Which of you women are good seamstresses?" she asked. Half a dozen stepped forward and then four others hesitantly held up their hands. "I have noticed that al who serve at Hagthorn would benefit from new clothes." There was a murmur of delight as she continued. "I should like al those who serve in the hal to wear a livery in a cheerful color, perhaps yel ow or green, definitely not brown." She had gotten the idea of livery from the Countess of Gloucester, whose servants were al uniformed. "Anyone who has a messy job to perform shal receive a smock as wel as a new outfit of clothes." She smiled at them knowing she had won their hearts. She decided that at the royal court she would a.s.sist the little queen to make decisions. Jasmine was acquiring a taste for power.

That night the meal served surpa.s.sed the one the night before, and at table Jasmine told Falcon of her day's decisions. Somewhat hesitantly she added that she had promised al the castle servants new clothing.

He silently appraised her and when she thought he was about to refuse the money to purchase the cloth, her stubborn chin went up, her eyes flashed, and she said, "De Burgh, you are a s "

He leaned close and murmured a warning, "Make your words He leaned close and murmured a warning, "Make your words soft and sweet, cherie, in case you have to eat them."

". . . you can be a generous and understanding lord when you choose. I hope you wil not disappoint these people."

He grinned at her, knowing she would like nothing better than to slap him. He said quietly, "It's a good thing I discovered a treasure trove of gold last night the way you have squandered my money today. Just think, if I'd al owed you to tempt me into your chamber last night, I might never have uncovered the h.o.a.rd."

He was baiting her into a sharp retort, but she was aware of his intent and sighed prettily, "Ah, milord, my loss was your gain."

His teeth flashed. He was pleased that she joined his game.

He bantered, "My gain could be your gain. I also discovered a jewel or two secreted away. One in particular would match your beauty. 'Tis a flower of diamonds and sapphires on a fine chain." He paused and whispered suggestively, "You have a jewel I desire ... we could come to some arrangement perhaps."

Her eyes flashed with silver ice, then she quickly veiled them, her lashes brus.h.i.+ng her cheeks as she murmured, "Ah, Sir Falcon, my jewel is more precious than yours."

"What if," he said boldly, "your jewel is a myth like that unicorn you ride? Things are seldom what they appear. You look so pure and virginal and yet I know I spoke to you at a baccha.n.a.lia at Stonehenge once."

Her eyes flew wide. Why was he himself there unless he had been practicing Devil wors.h.i.+p? She s.h.i.+vered as a thin thread of hatred ran through her. She put up her chin and said, "I grow tired of being p.r.i.c.ked by your words."

"When I p.r.i.c.k you with my weapon your virginity wil be proven," he said mockingly.

She was d.a.m.ned if she would let him have the last word this time. Her wicked juices bubbled over and she said cruel y, "I hope I am barren; I think I would hate your child as much as I hate you."

The banter and mockery were gone. His hard gaze bored into her, while at the same time his hand crushed down over hers.

"Apologize!" he commanded.

She thought he might crush the fragile bones, yet stil she was reckless enough to fight him. "I'm sorry, milord . . . I'm sorry I wil hate your child."

Suddenly she felt herself swung up into his arms like a piece of Viking booty. He strode from the hal , leaving the onlookers agog with their mouths open. Tonight he did not stop at the chamber door, but swung inside and slammed the door loudly to warn Estel e he wanted no interference.

He dropped her onto the bed. "Your backside needs warming.

A d.a.m.ned good thras.h.i.+ng fol owed by a good bedding wil go a long way to curbing your impudent tongue," He sat down quickly beside her on the bed and dragged her facedown across his hard thighs. He pul ed up her dress and s.h.i.+ft, yanked down her drawers, and brought his hand down in a stinging slap on her bare flesh.

Jasmine cried out, but he brought his hand down again a second time. She was very frightened. She knew he hadn't the faintest notion of how much the slaps had hurt her. She twisted over in his lap and flung her arms about his neck. "No please, I beg you, don't beat me, milord. 'Twas only a game to see who could make the crudest remark."

"You are very deceiving, Jasmine. You appear to be soft and sweet as an angel, yet your tongue can be as cutting as a sharp sword. You dazzle a man's eyes and wits with your ethereal beauty, but the moment he is drawn close to your warm glow, you turn to ice and freeze his blood in his veins.

Because you are smal and pretty you have been used to having al your own way. Wel , I see through your lovely facade.

... I know you are headstrong as ten men. You are al sweetness and light so long as you are getting al your own way, but the moment someone comes along with a stronger wil than yours, you turn mean as a spoiled child who refuses to play anymore."

"You paint a very flawed picture of me, sir. Too bad you haven't as clear a picture of yourself!" she said boldly, removing herself from his lap. "Why, you are more used to having your own way than I am. Because you have never encountered another who was stronger or more dominant than yourself, you overrule everyone. Because you are a natural leader of men and because every s.l.u.t who sets eyes on your physique fal s on her back for you, you think you have the G.o.d-given right to take me and bend me into anything you desire."

He appraised her through narrowed eyes. Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s rose and fel temptingly with her agitation. His desire could not be held in check much longer. "When we are wed, Jasmine, I wil be your lord and master and I wil have the G.o.d-given right to take you and bend you into anything I desire."

Her anger flared at his ruthless male att.i.tude. "Some women may enjoy being treated like dirt, but I am not one of them. Tis a strange wooing where you try to win my affections by comparing me to a spoiled child each time we meet."

"A better a.n.a.logy would be a spirited, unbroken fil y. The trick wil be to tame you without breaking your spirit."

She gave a little shriek. "Now I'm a fil y! You'l have me eating out of your hand in no time."

He pul ed her hard against him, anger and l.u.s.t flaring up until he was crazed with the desire to make her submit to him. His hands stroked down her back to the base of her spine, then very deliberately he took hold of her b.u.t.tocks and rubbed her body against his hard, pulsing erection. His hot mouth moved up her throat. "Ja.s.sy, yield to me!" His mouth was on hers, forcing his entrance between her soft pink lips. As his tongue plunged into her, she knew his shaft would soon be ravis.h.i.+ng her other soft pink lips. Desperately she reached down and put her hand over his arousal to s.h.i.+eld her mons from its onslaught. As he felt her hand enclose him, he took in a ragged breath and groaned aloud with pure pleasure. The moment his hands slackened she pul ed from him and ran across the chamber.

"Why do you run from me?" he demanded, closing the gap between them in three strides.

"Because I fear you. Because you struck me before and would do so again if the whim took you. Because I'm smal er, weaker, softer. Because I have no weapons, no strength, and cannot defend myself in any way against you!"

At her words his heart softened, yet he was disgusted with himself that he had failed to properly teach her a lesson. He said almost contemptuously, "You're too delicate to beat and too fragile to f.u.c.k! I'd have to restrain myself too much." He slammed from the room and though she was relieved, she was also very stung by his contempt and angry that once again he had had the last word.

Chapter 12.

King John would rule from London, and that is where the royal court would reside. People were flocking there from every corner of England, and Jasmine was deep in preparation for her journey. She was going with her father's blessing and Falcon's grudging permission, and she needed a sumptuous new wardrobe as befitted the niece of the king. Natural y Estel e would accompany her, and the older woman was having new clothes of her own fitted. Although she would never have admitted such a thing, the new garments were a source of pleasure. Estel e was also distil ing a large supply of potions and electuaries. She compounded medicines and simples and gathered roots, seeds, flowers, leaves, and barks to take with her to London.

Jasmine had come to the stil room for some rose petals, lavender, and cloves to pack between the layers of her new dresses. She was stil tender from Falcon's spanking and could stil feel the impression of his hand against her bare flesh. Her grandmother said, "Tomorrow is the twenty-first day of June, the summer solstice. We must go to Stonehenge.

Every year I have gone alone, but this year I wil let you have the life-giving magical power. When the first summer sunlight s.h.i.+nes upon you through the great arch of Stonehenge, you wil be surrounded and protected by the great white light of the universe for one whole year."

year."

Falcon de Burgh pa.s.sed by the stil room window and heard Jasmine's silvery laughter. He heard her say, "If we ride out, we are sure to be fol owed. Why don't we take the little boat on the Avon to gather cattails and waterlilies? None wil suspect us of going to Stonehenge."

On the spot he decided that he would take the time to be at Stonehenge before them. He hoped that Jasmine was not involved in live sacrifice. The practice went against his nature and was most distasteful to him.

It was stil dark when Falcon de Burgh tethered his horse in a copse at least a mile from Stonehenge. His long legs carried him to the ancient Druid circle before the first light of dawn, and on impulse he scaled the side of one craggy rock and lay down atop the flat stone arch. The sun was just climbing above the horizon when he spotted the two women. His high vantage point al owed him to watch them walk al the way from the river.

Estel e wore a strange garment decorated on the front with the four elements of the natural kingdom human, animal, vegetable, and mineral and upon the back with the four elements earth, air, fire, and water.

Jasmine wore a loose robe embroidered with sunflowers. The sunrise was a spectacular one, bathing everything in a light of pure gold. Falcon watched as Dame Winwood positioned Jasmine in what seemed to be an exact and predetermined spot, then to his amazement Estel e stepped away and took Jasmine's garment from her.

Jasmine stood naked, motionless, waiting for the Divine Power. Falcon was entranced. She was the most beautiful vision he had ever beheld. His gaze was riveted where her thighs joined her bel y. Just above the pubic area on either side of the curls of her mons venus were two identical smal , black beauty marks. They were sym- metrical and had a mesmerizing effect, for whenever his eyes lifted to devour the rest of her, they were pul ed back irresistibly to the intimate triangle. He knew such beauty spots were sometimes cal ed witches' marks and Jasmine had not one, but two.

Suddenly the rays of the sun shone through the arch of the Druid stones, bathing her with an unearthly, ethereal luminescence. Her hair, fal ing to her hips, looked like pure molten gold that was somehow on fire.

He heard Estel e's voice chanting.

"Harness the power a golden opportunity bright with promise.

The sun is the most important life-sustaining element on earth, bringing growth, attainment, success, joy, and happiness."

To Falcon's eyes, Jasmine glowed with a light-fil ed essence that made the air about her take on a sheen. She was bathed in sunlight so that her own aura and that of the sun were joined. Then the sun moved higher in the sky, and immediately Estel e pul ed Jasmine away and wrapped her in the sunflower robe before she could be touched by the stone's great shadow.

Falcon lay atop the great slab long after they had departed.

Jasmine was different from al other women. Special, pure, angelic, perfect. He dreamed of her almost every night and fantasized about her every day. She triggered sensations in his body and mind. Between her legs was like a flower blossom; making love to her would be like penetrating the lotus and discovering precious jade. The antic.i.p.ation of waiting for her carried an unbearable tension. He was constantly in a state of physical arousal these days. Everything that subtly reminded him of her sent desire flaming through him. A scent, a voice, a thought. His bed had never been so empty, and yet the very feel of the sheets upon his body was like an aphrodisiac. Somehow, he knew that with her, s.e.x would be magic; s.e.x would be supreme power.

It was the longest day of the year, and after dinner Falcon asked Jasmine if she would walk with him in the gardens. She had known, of course, that before she departed for London he would insist upon being alone with her. She antic.i.p.ated that his masculinity would force him to lay down prescribed rules of behavior for her to fol ow during their long absence from each other. Jasmine was determined to keep her temper under control. She would be amenable to his suggestions, silver- tongued in her answers to him, and try to look poignantly regretful that they were parting. Once she was in London, of course, she would do exactly as she pleased.

Twilight lingered long in the garden at Salisbury. The shadows gathered under the trees, the swal ows swooped low to catch the last insects before dark, and the fragrance of the night- scented stocks stole to them from the borders at the edge of the lawn. Her nearness affected him physical y, as it always did, and he crushed down the urge to lay her in the cool gra.s.s.

They stopped walking and faced each other. There were a mil ion things he wanted to say to her, a thousand love words he wished to murmur, a hundred kisses he longed to steal, a dozen places he yearned to touch, but in the end he said, "Court is a worldly place, Jasmine. Don't let its evil touch you.

It pleases me that you have known no men." He reached out and took a tendril of her hair between his finger and thumb and quivered at the silky, sensual feel of it. He cupped her face with his hands and dipped his head to brush her soft pink mouth with his lips.

She fought the urge to stiffen and resist him, and after his persuasive mouth had possessed hers for a ful minute she managed to melt against him, reasoning that it could not hurt to thaw toward him a little in face of the long spel of freedom she would be able to enjoy after that night.

He lifted his mouth from hers but held her captive against his heart. His scarred thumbs brushed the lovely curve of her cheeks. The magic of the garden enfolded them in a perfumed paradise. He breathed, "Ah, Jasmine, you are fairer than any flower that blooms here tonight. You beg to be plucked, but should any hand but mine reach out to take so plucked, but should any hand but mine reach out to take so fair a blossom, I hope you would tear it to shreds with a mult.i.tude of thorns." He took both her hands into his and, lifting them to his mouth, dropped a kiss upon each dainty wrist.

Then his arms encircled her in a captive embrace.

She could feel the heat of his hands on her back through the material of her gown and for a fleeting moment imagined his hands on her bare flesh, beneath her back, as he would lie with her in the marriage bed. She shuddered as his tongue invaded her soft mouth and knew not if it were in repulse or response. She was agonizingly aware of the peril she was in.

His physical response to her was overwhelming him, and soon he would overwhelm her. She gasped softly. "No, Falcon, no." She was smothered by his nearness and could not breathe. She struggled against the close contact of his hard, muscular chest. "Let me go!" She trembled and pushed with al her might against his wide shoulders.

Suddenly he swept her up into his arms, one arm beneath her knees. Greatly alarmed, she cried, "Where are you taking me?"

He buried his face in her hair and murmured thickly, 'Tm carrying you up to my bed, sweet, I can wait no longer."

"Falcon, don't spoil this beautiful last night in the garden for me. I want it to linger on in my memory, unspoiled by your forcing my body to satisfy your quickly aroused l.u.s.t," she said on a rising note of panic.

Reluctantly Falcon withdrew the arm he had beneath her Reluctantly Falcon withdrew the arm he had beneath her knees, al owing her feet to touch the gra.s.s again. As she tried to pul away from him, she was mortified to see that the material of her bodice was snared upon a fastening of his doublet and had torn to expose one of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. He groaned and his lips immediately sought the tempting swel of the round globe.

"My lord, you mustn't do such scandalous things," she choked.

"I must bid you good night."

A strong hand kept her anch.o.r.ed close to him. "Does it not excite you to do scandalous things?" he teased.

"No! I must go now," she insisted, "for 'tis plain you cannot keep your hands to yourself."

"If I promise not to touch you further, wil you stay with me longer?"

"Why?" she asked, not trusting him.

"I get pleasure from just watching you, looking at you," he said, drawing her toward a bench in a secluded garden alcove.

She laughed nervously. "You wil soon tire and grow bored watching me, I am sure."

He sat down and drew her down beside him, occupying his hands with hers so they would not wander to more intimate places. "I could watch you al night. I want to watch you sleep ...

I want to watch you dance ... I want to watch you bathe ... I want to watch you dress, for the sheer pleasure of undressing you so you wil have to start al over."

"You mustn't say these things to me, it is most unseemly!" she protested sharply.