The Rebel Captain's Royalist Bride Read online

  * * *

  ‘Do you mind that my aunt and her daughter came here?’ Babette said later that evening when they were alone. ‘I could not refuse them a home here—until such time as they can find a cottage of their own.’

  ‘Sir Matthew was my cousin, even if I did not always like his principles,’ James said and reached out to touch her cheek. ‘You are always generous, my sweet Babs, and it is one of the reasons I adore you. Of course they must have a home here, but I shall find them a house in the village where they may live as they please, and give my cousin’s widow an allowance. It is the least I can do for her. Perhaps we may find a husband for Angelina soon enough. In time, I may be able to recover some of their property, for the land he farmed is rightly theirs.’

  ‘Angelina used to like Cavaliers for their gaiety and their clothes, but after what happened I think she may have taken a dislike for them. I think had I been there I should have found such men to be my enemies.’

  ‘In times of war these things happen. At least your aunt and cousin were allowed to take some of their belongings and leave. My cousin brought his fate on himself, for he should have been more discreet in his dealings with others. I dare say he upset his neighbours and was reported to the Royalist troop. I do not excuse them, but in war...’ He shook his head, looking grave.

  James left the rest unsaid and Babette understood. He, too, might be forced to do things he found unpalatable in war, but it did not mean he would relish the task.

  ‘I would not have my cousin pushed into a marriage she could not like. She must marry for love, as I know she would wish.’

  ‘I am all for that,’ James said and reached out to touch her cheek. ‘I loved Jane so very much and I was devastated when she died. For a long time I thought I should never love again, but then you came into my life—a bold, beautiful woman who stood up to me fearlessly and sneaked out to tend a Royalist spy. I should not have fallen in love with you, Babs. I should have ridden away and forgot you, for your beliefs were so opposed to mine—but I could not. That indefinable thing we call love bound me to you in a way I never was to Jane. She was my friend and sister—and you are the woman I adore with my heart, my mind and my body. I think in a way Herbert was right—his sister was not meant for marriage.’

  As he gazed into her eyes, Babette trembled. Could he really mean what he said? Was it possible that she had come to mean so much to him?

  ‘Do you truly love me, James?’ she asked, her breath catching in her throat. ‘I thought...that I could never be first with you...that you would always love her.’

  ‘As I do, as the sister she was to me. Had we married it would have been a terrible mistake, as I believe Jane knew. She loved me and everyone took it for granted that we should marry, so when I asked her she could not refuse me, but she begged for time. I should have known that what I felt was not the love a man feels for a woman he wishes to lie with in the marriage bed. And if I did not then I know it now, for I have found a woman who can match me in all things, a woman who hungers as I hunger. A woman who is strong enough to share all the things of life, both pleasure and pain. Yes, I desire, but I know also that you are the better part of me...so much more than I deserve.’

  Babette’s cheeks were warm as he laughed softly in his throat, pulling her close into his body. His breath was warm on her cheeks and she felt herself tremble as he bent his head, touching his lips to hers. A ribbon of fire shot through her, making her breathe more heavily and moan as she arched into his body, melting in the heat of his passion.

  ‘I love you so very much,’ she said and her lashes were wet with the tears that slipped silently down her cheeks. ‘You must promise me to come back to me as soon as you can.’

  ‘As soon as I can,’ he promised against her lips. ‘But for now I want to think of tomorrow and tomorrow night when you will be my wife in truth and I can take you to my bed.’

  ‘We have so little time,’ she murmured huskily. ‘Why wait until tomorrow night when you can have me now?’

  ‘I have waited so long, my darling,’ he said. ‘I can wait a little longer, for I shall not dishonour the woman I love above my life.’ His lips brushed over her skin, his tongue lapping at the hollow in her throat. She longed for him to take her down to the soft rug of sheepskin that lay on the floor, but she knew that her honourable rebel would not step over the line he had set himself. ‘Tomorrow will be all the sweeter for waiting another day.’

  A gurgle of laughter rose in her throat as she pressed herself closer. The night between might seem an age, but then she would find her happiness in the arms of a man she had once thought her enemy.

  * * *

  James’s neighbours and friends had all accepted the invitation to his wedding, and the church was filled to capacity to see them take their vows. As yet the hand of the Puritans had not touched their place of worship, and the sunlight struck on the huge silver cross and candlesticks that graced the altar as they knelt to take their vows.

  Babette was dressed in the gown she had begun before she left for Oxford, which Mrs Brisket had finished for her.

  ‘I did it in the hope of your return, mistress,’ she had told Babette when they spoke in private. ‘I hope that I did as I ought?’

  ‘It was a wonderful surprise, for I had nothing suitable to marry in and should not have cared to wear an old gown for my wedding.’

  She had a dress of pale grey silk trimmed with silver lace, a veil of old Spanish lace, which had belonged to James’s mother, and a coronet of silver wire set with semi-precious stones. Angelina told her she was beautiful and hugged her until Aunt Minnie told her to be careful of Babette’s gown. Angelina wore a dress of pale blue, which colour she had always loved to wear until her father forbade her to wear anything but black.

  ‘I am so happy to see you wed Cousin James,’ she said. ‘I longed to come and stay when you were at your brother’s castle, but I am even happier here.’

  ‘We shall see each other often, even when you move into your own house. James must leave in a few days and you will be my companion and stop me moping while he is gone.’

  ‘I shall visit every day if you will have me.’

  Babette said she would be very happy to see her. James had found a house not dissimilar to the one they had lost in the village for them; it would take Angelina only twenty-five minutes or so to walk to the manor every day to visit, which she would find easy, unless the snow was deep on the ground.

  Angelina acted as Babette’s attendant, and Aunt Minnie gave her away. The vicar was pleased to see that she had relatives to attend her and more than delighted that her brother had given his consent to the wedding. Babette would have liked John to be present, but she knew he was in Oxford and still recovering from his illness. When the war was over she believed he would visit them, but until then perhaps it was best that he did not. James’s people were staunchly for Parliament and it would not do to stretch their loyalty too far.

  * * *

  When they returned to the house, it was to discover that Mrs Brisket and her minions had outdone themselves. The wedding breakfast was a collation of pies, roasted meats, capon, baked carp and pigeon in wine. There were side dishes of sweetbreads, stewed raspberries and custards, also plums preserved in wine and delicious creams laced with brandy. A dish of apple tarts was placed in the centre of the table and proved irresistible for all the younger people—and the wine had been sweetened with honey to make it pleasant on the palate.

  Babette could not stop smiling as she greeted her guests and made them welcome. Everyone spoke of feeling pleased that James had found someone he could love, several mentioning his sweet, lost Jane. However, Babette no longer felt that prick of jealousy, for she knew she was loved and would always be first with him.

  * * *

  When at last their guests had gone and Aunt Minnie had taken Angelina off to the
ir new home, Babette stood within the circle of her husband’s arms, her body thrilling to the heat of his and the throbbing evidence of his desire.

  ‘Shall you go up and prepare for bed, my love? I shall not be long.’

  Babette kissed him and left his arms reluctantly. Alone with Maigret in the chamber she would from now on share with her husband, she stood to allow her maid to disrobe her and then sat on a stool to have her hair brushed so that it fell in shining folds to the middle of her back.

  ‘You have such pretty hair, mistress.’

  ‘Thank you.’ Babette felt ridiculously shy as James knocked at the door and then entered, Maigret leaving by way of the dressing chamber so that they were completely alone.

  James came to her, gazing down into her face for such a long time that Babette was anxious, thinking that something must have displeased him, but when she tentatively asked if anything were wrong, he shook his head. His hand reached out to caress her cheek and he smiled.

  ‘I was thinking how lovely you are in every way and how fortunate I am to have found you, my darling.’

  ‘Oh, James...’ Sighing, Babette moved into the circle of his arms and, giving herself up to his kiss, she felt her bones melt with pleasure. Suddenly, she was on fire with need and desire and pressed herself against him so that she could feel his hardness through the thin material of her night chemise. ‘I love you so much, my beloved. Make me yours, James. Show me what it is to be a woman in the arms of the man who loves her.’

  ‘I shall always love you,’ he murmured throatily as he gathered her up and carried her to their bed. ‘Even when we are both growing old and past the heat of youth I shall want you to lie beside me, my dearest love.’

  He was gentle as he lay her down and then stripped away his robe, coming to her naked as she watched, a faint colour burning her cheeks as she saw and understood what she had only sensed previously. His manhood was proud and vital, as was the rest of his strong body, making her tremble with delicious anticipation.

  ‘We have no need of this between us,’ James said and lifted her to tug her night chemise over her head. It resisted and she helped him to remove it, their efforts to be rid of the offending garment making them laugh and easing any tension that Babette might have felt. She lay looking at him trustingly as his eyes moved over her. ‘You are more beautiful than I could ever have imagined.’

  Bending his head, he began to kiss her. First her lips, then her eyelids and her nose. Kisses trailed down her white throat to the little pulse spot at the base and then down to her breasts. With the tip of his tongue he circled her nipples, which had peaked with thrusting need under his attention. A moan left her lips as she felt the stirring of something wonderful deep inside her. Oh, what was this lovely melting feeling that made her feel boneless, weightless, as if she floated on air? His lips and tongue travelled over her navel, made her squirm and cry out with need, though she hardly knew what more she needed. His hand parted her legs, and he kissed the insides of her thighs, the slight roughness of his tongue making her cry out in pleasure. When he buried his face in the curls that covered her most feminine place, inhaling her scent, she moaned and arched beneath him, her body calling for a fulfilment she had never known or realised she wanted.

  When at last he entered her, she felt a sharp brief pain that made her still and caused him to look at her.

  ‘I have hurt you, but it is always so and will not happen again.’

  Babette raised her love-drugged eyes to his and whispered through lips swollen with his kisses, ‘Please, continue. The pain was slight and I want you inside me. I am yours, make me yours in truth, James, take me with you where you go.’

  James resumed his rhythmic motions, his manhood filling her, stretching her, making her melt with pleasure as the world seemed to move beneath her and she lost herself, becoming a part of the man and he a part of her. When at last she felt his climax and hers followed seconds after, she was spun away, feeling as if she were foam on a gentle sea that expended itself against a golden beach. She was warmed as if by the sun, boneless, complete and satiated, no thought but of his body clasped next to hers as they lay entwined, neither wishing to break the spell that held them.

  * * *

  Later, they talked of their joy in each other, of their hopes for the future. James wanted a son and two daughters, if God should grant them such good fortune. Babette laughed and said that as long as she had him and children she would not care what sex they were. James talked of his plans for the estate and the house, for the land he would buy to make their children more secure.

  ‘The house is yours to refurbish as you will,’ he told her as he lay stroking her hair, letting the silken strands run through his fingers. ‘I have made a will naming you as the guardian of our children until they reach the age of nineteen. The house is yours and an income, and the children will receive their portion when they reach the age of nineteen or marry...’

  ‘Hush, my love,’ she said and pressed her lips to his. ‘I know that you have done everything that needs to be done to protect us—but let us not speak of the need. God send, you will live to be ninety and I a few years less so that we are not parted for too many years before we meet again in paradise.’

  James laughed as he gazed down at her, raising himself on one arm. ‘Think you we shall be allowed through the pearly gates or mayhap ’tis the other place...?’

  ‘Oh, no,’ Babette said and smiled lovingly into his eyes. ‘You will live a long and exemplary life, as I shall—and when the appointed time comes we shall be together.’

  ‘I would burn in hell if it meant being with you,’ he said throatily and began to caress and kiss her once more. ‘But you are an angel and it is more likely that you would have to come there in search of me.’

  Babette knew that he was teasing her, making her laugh so that she would forget the possibility of his being killed in battle. He’d told her that he expected Cromwell to force a decisive battle before the year was out and he must be with his commander. Being the man he was, he had settled with his lawyers that she and any child she bore him would be provided for, but there was so little time and none to spare for worrying.

  * * *

  They spent the night in making love, sleeping and waking, roused to loving again and again, until James said no more lest she was sore and she begged him to kiss her again. So then he loved her, bringing her to a glorious climax once more, but did not take his own pleasure, saying that he knew she would suffer. Babette slept again, having known the most exquisite pleasure of her life.

  * * *

  In the morning James was up early. When she woke she heard voices in the courtyard and, rising, went to the window to look out. She saw her husband and his men training, working hard at their swordplay and fighting as if for real, which they must again in a few days.

  Her throat caught, but then James called enough, and she watched as he went to the pump and stuck his head under the cold water, letting it cascade over his body. Remembering how she had watched him from a window in her uncle’s house and felt immodest for having seen him without his shirt, she smiled. She knew every inch of his body now and it was glorious.

  They had two more days together before James must leave, and she would make the most of them. Chores could wait; she would have time enough for sewing and making lists when he had gone.

  Dressing quickly, she went down to the courtyard just as James was about to enter the house. He saw her and came towards her immediately, a look of love in his eyes.

  ‘Did we wake you, dear heart?’

  ‘No. I should normally have been up long before this,’ she said. ‘What must you do today, James?’

  ‘Nothing. We have done our training for the day—the rest of it belongs to you. What would you have me do?’

  ‘Could we take food to the river and sit in the sun? I would have a da
y of rest and pleasure, James. I want to spend every minute I can with you until you must leave.’

  ‘Then I shall oblige, my lady,’ he said and reached out to draw her in close, gazing down at her with passion. ‘We shall take a blanket and find a secluded spot. I know just the place.’

  * * *

  James’s secluded spot was idyllic, the riverbank fronded with willows that sheltered them from prying eyes if any had been there to see—but James had left instructions that the river was off limits for the day. Since his word was law, because his people loved and respected him, Babette knew that no one would come near. They were completely alone to do whatever they wished.

  Babette removed her gown and went into the river to paddle in the shallows because the day was hot. James stripped off all his things, came in with her and then pulled her down into the water so that her shift was soaked through. Then he pulled it over her head so that they could both frolic naked in the cool water. Babette screamed and laughed as he tried to show her how to swim. She kept one foot on the ground, but at last he encouraged her to trust him and she managed to keep afloat for a few strokes before going under.

  ‘You’ll learn in time,’ he teased and kissed her. ‘I’ll make a bather of you yet, my love.’

  Babette laughed and splashed him, but two could play at that and she came off worst, screaming as she ran on to the dry bank and flopped down on the blanket. James followed her from the water and she saw that his need for her had manifested itself. He wrapped her in his shirt to dry her and then lay down beside her on the blanket, drawing her into his arms.

  They made love swiftly, passion flaring, and afterwards lay in each other’s arms until James declared he needed food and they dressed and ate, feeding each other with the good pies, tarts, cheese and bread their housekeeper had provided.

  Afterwards, they talked, sang a little and recited poetry to each other. It was late in the afternoon when they wended their way home again. One of their precious days had gone, but it would provide memories to ease their loneliness when the time of parting came.