The Spoils of War Read online

  The Spoils of War: Story of a Saxon Bride, Part 1

  Matilda Martel

  Matilda Martel

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 1

  Robert watched his beautiful wife shiver silently in her sleep as his heart ached with the thought of being away from her. Trying to warm her, he tucked the blanket tightly over her slender body and pulled her gently towards him. Smelling his musky scent and feeling his heat, Lynette opened her violet blue eyes and gazed up lovingly at him.

  “Good morning, my love.” she cooed into her husband’s ear as he trailed long slow kisses down her shoulders. His lips were lingering near her milk-swollen breasts, licking the drops that were cascading freely from her protruding nipples. Their son was almost a year old, but it was just as much his fault that her chest was still engorged every morning. Ever since he’d first sampled the creamy elixir accidentally while she was carrying their son, he found himself yearning for any chance to relieve her of it.

  “Good morning.” He suckled at her breast stretching out his long body over hers. Lynette let out a soft moan before running her hands through his black hair, gripping it tightly as he drained her so exquisitely.

  “Oh Robert, please don’t go, what will I do without you?” Caught in the sweet ecstasy of her husband’s ministrations, Lynette’s eye’s filled with tears remembering he was about to leave. Tormented by his wife’s words, Robert wrapped his arms around her delicate frame and captured her lips, kissing her deeply, letting his tongue seek hers out while he savored every taste and every moment. He couldn’t bear to leave his young wife and their infant son so vulnerable, but he was the king’s vassal and had to do as he commanded.

  The rebellions in the north were becoming more troublesome to the king. William had promised he would allow him to live in peace and obscurity after his long service in Normandy and the subsequent conquest, but when his other military leaders had all failed, he once again called on his former henchman. If anyone could suppress the uprising once and for all, it would be the Butcher of Rouen. Robert’s family had long served the Dukes of Normandy and he’d served William since he was a boy, fighting, killing and leading battalions of soldiers into war. In the end, his prize had been land and a title but for staying in England after the conquest, he’d been given his choice of bride.

  Lynette had never been meant to be the wife of a Norman baron more than 16 years her senior. Since childhood she’d been groomed to become the bride of her third cousin, Edgar, heir to an ancient Saxon earldom. Weeks from her wedding, she and her father had received an unusual summons to London, where she learned she was being gifted to Lord Robert Malet, one of the king’s most loyal captains and vassals. Neither she nor her father could refuse. The following day, King William attended their wedding and her father left home without his daughter.

  As soon as she saw Robert in William’s castle, she understood why she’d been asked to accompany her father. He wasn’t a stranger to her. Months earlier, when Normans were tearing through her father’s estate, she had found herself surrounded by a group of soldiers intent on defiling her. Their captain had come to her rescue, savagely striking then beheading the man who had her pinned down. He saved her virtue and perhaps her life- she knew she owed him. It never occurred to her she would be paying that debt her entire life.

  On the morning of her wedding, Lynette prayed she could learn to accept her husband. It was unimaginable to her at the time that she would fall desperately in love with him. But from the moment he claimed her body on their wedding night, caressing her every curve, loving her so completely and making her feel pleasure she would have never dared believed was possible, she had been his to command. And he had been hers. The birth of their son followed less than a year later and now after another splendid year, war was calling him way from her.

  As he held his heartsick wife, Robert could see faint rays of sun streaking through the shutters. The soldiers would be here in an hour or two and he didn’t want to waste one second feeling sad. He wanted to make love to his wife, take her every way they enjoyed and fill her with his seed one last time before his departure.

  “Please, Lynette, let me love you before I go. I want your scent on me for days while we ride north.” He released his embrace and flattened her out against the bed. Lifting her legs and spreading them wide, he dipped his head into her core, inhaled and licked her nether lips from top to bottom. They were soaking wet and so much moisture had pooled at her entrance, his tongue could hardly keep up with the steady flow streaming out of her. Lynette gyrated her hips into his waiting mouth, but when his lips found her swollen bud, she cried out with need and jerked wildly as he ruthlessly suckled and stroked it with his tongue.

  “Robert! I’m cumming! I love you so much.” While she was still crying out helplessly, she sat up and pushed him down on the bed. Without uttering a word, she reached for his stiff cock and engulfed it into her hungry mouth.

  “Lynette! Oh my angel. Your mouth, you know how much I love when you take me in your mouth.” His breathing grew rapid as he stretched out and gathered her long brown hair on the top of her head. He loved watching every moment of her mouth swallowing his shaft and didn’t want his view obstructed. She had gotten so much better over the years and could almost take all of his 9-inch cock into her small mouth with ease. Lynette sucked lower and lower, pumping in unison with her suctioning and speed, she loved how wide she would have to stretch her jaw to accommodate his thick member. It was just another reminder of how magnificent her husband truly was.

  She thought she was getting close to tasting his salty cum, when he pulled her off of him tossed her on her back and guided his massive cock into her begging cunt. A loud roar of delight escaped her lips as he split her open. He lifted her legs high across his chest and began pitilessly plundering her pussy. Her muscles spasmed in response to his brutal pace, unable to control the incredible tide building within her. Robert groaned loudly with every thrust as Lynette’s hips bucked roughly into him, trying to take him as deep as possible. When her screams grew louder and her pussy convulsed on his ramming cock, he buried himself deep inside her and unloaded streams of hot semen into her womb. Perspiring and smiling at one another, Robert covered her body with his, kissed her and silently prayed she would be heavy with their second child when he returned to her.

  The sun had risen and the soldiers were arriving soon. The last thing Lynette wanted to do was send her husband away with memories of a hysterical wife, so she held back her tears and held him close a few more minutes. There was no need to mention these could be their last moments together. After a few more kisses, she reluctantly rose from bed in order to wash and dress. She wanted to look her best when they said their goodbyes and wanted to give him some time with their son, Henri. Watching his squire dress him in his armor, Lynette tried to smile, but her lips quivered in defiance. She couldn’t hold back her tears after all. Turning away to hide her sorrow from him, Robert walked over and attempted to soothe her fears.

  “I promise I’ll return to you, my love. I beg you not to be sad.” He took her chin in his hand and bent down to kiss her.

  “You cannot promise me that, Robert.” She looked into his blue eyes as she wiped her tears. He was so much taller than her and so handsome. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing him.

  “Then I promise to move heaven and earth to return to you. I love you. Everything I have done in my life before I met you was to secure the life I have with you and Henri. I won’t give it up so easily.” He took her in his arms again, kissing her passionately, knowing he could be forever leaving the only happiness he
had ever known.

  Chapter 2

  For the first two months there were no messages or any gossip in the villages about casualties or if the rebellion had been quashed. Her cycles had come and gone, dashing any hopes she had for another child with her Robert. So every day she waited. She waited until she thought the silence would drive her mad. But then the truth came and she prayed there could have been silence forever.

  The dawn had just broken when she heard the sounds of horses galloping towards the castle. Peeking through the shutters, she saw the soldiers descending into the valley carrying multiple flags with different coats of arms, but the Norman flag led them all. Lynette’s heart soared, he had returned! She flew across the room to dress, comb her hair and tried to make herself as presentable as possible for her darling husband. They would spend the whole day making love and promising to never be apart again. She ran through the castle into the outer court just in time to see Lord Villiers climb off his horse holding Robert’s bloody helmet, shattered breastplate and sword.

  Before anyone uttered a word to her, Lynette dropped to her knees crying out with such primal grief her wailing frightened some of the horses and forced many of the soldiers to turn away for fear they too may be driven to tears. Lord Villiers, Robert’s lieutenant, crouched down to comfort her but she was inconsolable. Another soldier, Eustace came from behind him and carried the grieving widow back into her home, trying to explain what had happened to her husband.

  “Lady Malet, your husband fought valiantly as always. The rebellion was suppressed because of his military expertise, but he was killed in the final battle. We tried to save his body but it washed down the Trent before we could. These are the only items we could salvage for you and his son.” He handed her Robert’s sword, helmet and the broken breastplate that showed where he had been struck. The two men looked at one another, wanting to say more but both reluctant to be the one to do it. Finally Lord Villiers spoke.

  “There is more, but you are in no condition to hear it now.” He wrung his hands and paced. Lynette’s swollen eyes stared up at him, afraid of what more horrors he could regale her with.

  “Please, just tell me so that I may go to my son, he’s all I have left now.” She wept into her handkerchief.

  “Lady Malet, you have become part of the peace negotiations.”

  “Pardon? What are you saying?” She stopped crying and gazed up at him horrified.

  “One of the noblemen whose vassals joined William’s army and who was instrumental in bringing about an end to the hostilities wanted you as part of the negotiation. He wants you to be his wife, nothing sordid of course.” Lord Villiers was sweating and stammering trying to relay King William’s message.

  “But I was married, how did he know I was a widow? When did Robert die?” Lynette jumped out of her seat. “Who is this Englishman? How does he even know me by name?” Her tear stained face was turning red with anger.

  “Your husband has been dead for over two weeks, my lady. The nobleman is Lord Edgar Grimm, soldiers are here to take you to him as soon as you’re ready.

  “Edgar! But I have just lost my husband, how can I be expected to marry another? It’s cruel and inappropriate to force a widow to take vows so soon.” Lynette cried and pled but neither man could provide any answers.

  Her staff prepared her and Henri’s belongings for the journey to Edgar’s with little help from her. She was too grief stricken to be of any use to anyone. Life as she knew it, was over. Once again she was being given away as a gift to a man and again she had no say in the matter. She had been fortunate enough to fall in love the first time but there was little hope of finding that again. Edgar should have married another by now, why had he waited for her? Lynette feared his resentment and she feared for the safety of her son.

  When the hour drew near for their departure she accepted her fate and steeled herself for the inevitable. After she finished dressing into traveling clothes and preparing Henri, she went to see to the two maids who were accompanying them on the journey. Every precaution needed to be taken to ensure a safe journey for her son. Before leaving their bedroom for the last time, she took Robert’s family heirlooms for Henri and grabbed his sword. A part of her wished she could fall on it, but she would and could endure almost anything for Henri. He was all that mattered now.

  Chapter 3

  Lynette sobbed quietly in her bedroom while she nursed her son and tried to forget all the events of the last week. Three days had passed since she arrived at Castle Grimm and she had only seen Edgar once. Although he had been kind, she was consumed by heartbreak and betrayal that he would force her to marry him so soon after her husband’s demise. Her maids had informed her of rumors and gossip being circulated that the Archbishop was arriving the following week. His arrival could only mean a wedding date had been set and a wedding would be followed by a wedding night that she could not possibly bear. She needed to beg Edgar for more time. For the sake of their future happiness, he had to listen to her.

  Late in the evening, while Henri slept and Lynette gazed longingly at the night sky, she heard a soft knock on her bedroom door. Believing it to be one of her maids, she shambled across the cold floor to see what she needed. To her surprise, it was Edgar.

  “Lynette, forgive me, I need to speak to you.” His pale skin was flushed and his deep green eyes looked irritated and red.

  “Edgar, Henri is sleeping and it’s the middle of the night. You shouldn’t be in my room.” She was only wearing a thin nightgown so she reached for her robe, which gave him the opportunity to barge in and lock the door behind him.

  Seeing she was scared, he quickly alleviated her fears. “I’m not here to force myself on you, Lynette, I just need to speak to you. I know you’re upset with me and you’re probably thinking of ways you can postpone our wedding, but I wanted you to understand, we are getting married next week.”

  “Edgar! How could you do this to me? My husband just died. I loved him dearly. He meant everything to me. How can you expect me to turn off my heart and marry you so quickly?” She turned from him and buried her head in her hands, weeping uncontrollably.

  He came up behind her and touched her arm gently. “Lynette, I waited to marry you for years and you were taken from me by your husband less than two weeks before our wedding. I’ve mourned your loss for two years never believing I would ever have the chance to be with you. When I saw him killed in battle, I knew I had to seize the opportunity to claim you for myself. You’re a 20-year-old widow. Believe me, the King would have forced you marry someone eventually. I moved quickly to ensure it was me and not anyone else.”

  “Edgar, you saw him killed? Did you kill him?” Her eyes grew wide with fear as she looked up at him.

  “No, I didn’t. But I was close and I did nothing to prevent it or help him. I’m sorry, Lynette. I’m truly sorry you’re in pain, but I hated your husband.”

  “But my son, what if someone hurts him. He’s all I have left of Robert.” She swayed into his arms, feeling faint from worry and dehydration.

  Catching her, he carried her over to her bed. “You don’t need to worry about your son. I don’t hate him, he’s a part of you and I’ve loved you since we were children. I’ve missed you so much. We can take things slow, but I won’t postpone our wedding. It’s already two years overdue.” He brushed her hair out of her face and kissed her forehead.

  Lynette stared at him as he placed her under the covers and tucked her in. His auburn hair had darkened significantly since they were children when everyone teased him for resembling like a Viking. He was only four years older than her, but they had grown up close. Yet once she married Robert she hadn’t given much thought to how he felt about their separation. He walked over to check on Henri, then extinguished all the candles before leaving them for the evening.

  Their wedding day came quickly. There was no banquet or dinner. As a recent widow she did not think it was appropriate to have a celebration. It was not appropriate for her to marr
y so soon either, but she had not been given a choice on that. Edgar promised her a small discreet ceremony in the family chapel and she promised him she would not wear black. She was surprised she was able to make it through her vows without shedding tears but lately she had found herself crying less and less. It was if the deep ache in her heart had been driven into numbness. Standing with Edgar, staring up at his handsome face, she prayed she could fall in love with him the way she fell in love with Robert.

  Despite his assurances that they would take things slow, he still wanted to consummate their marriage that evening. Henri was taken to the nursery and Lynette was prepared for her second wedding night in two years. She had no idea what to expect from Edgar, but she hoped he was as good as Robert. If she had to endure the marital bed so soon, she hoped it was at least somewhat as pleasurable as it used to be. Her maid had only just finished combing out her hair, when Edgar knocked on their bedroom door, eager to take advantage of his husbandly rights.

  “Lynette, you look beautiful.” Edgar’s heart beat wildly as he caught a glimpse of his bride’s slender figure and full breasts, visibly noticeable through her thin nightgown.

  “Thank you. Could you put some more wood on the fire? It’s so chilly in here.” Her nipples were incredibly hard and drawing attention to her bosom. By the look on his face, she knew he could see her shape clearly through her gown.

  Edgar did as she asked them returned to his wife’s side, taking her into his arms and brushing his lips against hers until their tongues were intertwined and their mouths threatened to consume the other.

  “My love, I’ve waited so long for this night.” He peeled his shirt off, revealing his muscular chest and arms before shedding his pants and drawing her stunned fascination to his massive cock. Lynette could not look away. He was slightly bigger than Robert and so engorged it looked almost painful.