The Conquest

  THE CONQUEST

  By Julia Templeton

  The Conquest

  Julia Templeton

  Copyright 2014 Julia Templeton

  Previously published by Penguin Books 2008

  ISBN: 978-1-939863-10-2

  This book is a work of fiction. Characters and events portrayed in this book are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author.

  Cover Illustration by Michelle Preast/Indie Book Covers

  Formatting by Iron Horse Formatting

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Currently Available by Julia Templeton

  Chapter 1

  1080

  The Highlands of Scotland

  “Rhiannon, do not swim out too far! We cannot be late.”

  “Quit fretting, Elspeth,” Rhiannon replied to her maid, rinsing her hair in the loch’s cool water. “Father said supper would be delayed this evening.”

  Elspeth crossed her arms in a stance Rhiannon knew all too well. Any argument would be futile. “That is true, but do ye not want ample time to prepare for your betrothed’s arrival?”

  Hearing the word betrothed made the hair on the back of Rhiannon’s neck stand on end. “To be honest, I do not care what Malgor de Cion thinks of me.”

  “Ye are far too stubborn for your own good, girl,” Elspeth said, shaking out Rhiannon’s kirtle, and laying it over a large, flat rock. “And it will be me who takes the brunt of your father’s anger when ye show up late to meet your betrothed, ill dressed and with your hair soaking wet.”

  “Perhaps de Cion himself will be so furious, he will call off the wedding.” Rhiannon could not keep the hope from her voice.

  Elspeth sighed heavily. “Ye have helped make de Cion a wealthy man. Plus, one look at ye, and he will be besotted.”

  Rhiannon ignored the disturbing words and floated on her back, staring up at the large canopy of trees. Her stomach coiled in distress. Being the only daughter of a chieftain, she knew she would one day be expected to marry. She had just never envisioned herself moving so far away from the only home she had ever known.

  Once she left to marry the Norman knight, she would never again see this loch, the trees overhead, or the rolling hills and mountains of her homeland.

  “Do ye think England is like Scotland, Elspeth?”

  “I do not know. From what I understand, Castle Almeron is on the Scottish border, which makes me believe the two could not be so very different from one another.”

  “But what if there are differences? What if there are no lochs, no trees, no hills or mountains? No other place could be as beautiful as the Scottish Highlands.”

  Elspeth approached the loch’s edge, the water lapping at her feet. “I think it is safe to say there will be lochs, rivers, and ponds aplenty in England, and trees as well.”

  “What of the mountains?”

  “And mountains, too,” the maid said with a soft smile. “Ye shall learn to love our new home just as ye love Castle MacKay. True, it will be hard to leave those that we care for, but we shall manage. I’ll never leave ye, Rhiannon. Ye know that.”

  Rhiannon nodded. “Aye, I know that.”

  Planting her hands on her curvaceous hips, Elspeth glanced over her shoulder for the third time in as many minutes.

  “Who do ye look for?”

  “No one,” she said, bending over to rinse her hands in the water.

  “What if Baron de Cion is ugly?”

  Elspeth sighed heavily. “I swear ye are your own worst enemy, Rhiannon.”

  “What if he is ugly, though?”

  “And what if he is handsome?”

  “That would be lovely.”

  The maid grinned.

  “But I fear, Elspeth, that he is ugly.”

  Shaking her head, Elspeth splashed playfully at Rhiannon. “Soon the mystery will be over. Lord Malgor will be here, and ye can ask him all the questions ye have been fretting about for weeks now.”

  The past months since Rhiannon had learned of her engagement to the newly promoted Lord Malgor, she could think of little else. Was he tall, short, fat, skinny, old, young? Every time she asked her father the simplest of questions, he became agitated with her. Her stepmother, Deirdre, the woman who had stolen her father’s heart from her mother, had smiled coyly, no doubt enjoying the fact that Rhiannon would soon be out of their lives forever.

  Elspeth paced along the water’s edge, her gaze continually drifting toward the trees that surrounded the loch.

  Rhiannon swam closer until she could stand in the water, her toes curling into the sand and small rocks beneath her feet. “Who do ye look for, Elspeth?”

  “No one,” Elspeth replied a touch too quickly.

  Scanning the brush, Rhiannon’s heart skipped a beat seeing a man in the distance, walking toward them. Though she was well under water, she covered her breasts with her arm. “There is someone in the thicket just over there,” she said, pointing in the direction of the intruder.

  “Where?” Elspeth’s voice held no fear, but rather was tinged with excitement.

  “Just there, to the right of the path.” Rhiannon squinted against the sun. “It looks like Antony. What on earth is he doing here?”

  “I shall be back shortly.” Elspeth glanced back at Rhiannon, a sparkle in her eyes that had not been there moments before. “By the time I return, please be dressed and ready.”

  Rhiannon frowned, confused by her friend’s odd behavior. Minutes ago Elspeth had been urging her to get out of the water, and now she was wandering off with the stable master? No wonder she had been acting so strangely all afternoon. She had been planning a tryst.

  Scandalous woman.

  Antony waved at Rhiannon, a friendly smile on his face. She waved back, and watched as the two walked away, down the pathway, hand in hand.

  She hadn’t even realized Elspeth liked Antony, aside from friendly greetings whenever they passed by each other in the bailey or the great hall. Apparently things had progressed without Rhiannon even being aware.

  But why would she have not said anything about liking Antony? Rhiannon thought back over the weeks and could not recall a single conversation that included the stable master. Sure, there were things one kept to oneself, but had the tables been turned, Rhiannon would have told Elspeth.

  In fact, when Rhiannon had become smitten with Gerard, the goldsmith’s grandson who lived in a nearby village, she had told Elspeth that every time she saw the young man, she became weak at the knees.

  Did Elspeth not trust her? The very thought made her furious.

  She knew enough about love to know what Elspeth and Antony were about. Neither one would be able to slip away at any other time during the day, so they had planned this meeting.

  Curious, she swam to shore and, making sure no one was abo
ut, rushed from the water and snatched the drying cloth from the rock. If she were discovered spying, she would just have to come up with an excuse, such as she had heard noises and gone to investigate the cause.

  With her mind made up, Rhiannon dressed and headed up the pathway, one of many that led back to the castle. The two could not be very far away since Elspeth was supposed to be watching Rhiannon.

  Elspeth had always been extremely overprotective where Rhiannon was concerned, and yet she had barely given her a second glance before leaving her alone in the water, and without another soul around.

  Rhiannon had walked a fair distance and considered turning around and returning to the loch, when she heard a low-throated moan pierce the quiet.

  Her heart rate accelerated and she followed the sound deeper into the thick trees. The closer she came to the sounds, the more nervous she became. She envisioned the two wrapped in a heated embrace, kissing furiously.

  Perhaps they were doing more than kissing…

  She knew she should leave them alone, let them have this rare time together. But no matter how much she tried to convince herself to do just that, her feet would not obey and she continued walking.

  Rhiannon’s breath caught in her throat seeing Elspeth flat on her back in the soft green grass, and Antony settled between her legs. The maid’s soft blonde curls had fallen out of her sloppy bun and now spread out about her in tangled disarray. Her gown had crept up, or perhaps had been tossed up about her waist, her naked thighs spread wide. The stable master still wore a tunic, but his braies were bunched down past his knees, his buttocks bare, the muscle flexing there as he cupped his hips.

  A wave of heat rolled through Rhiannon as she watched the young lovers kiss. Elspeth’s fingers slid into Antony’s hair as he cupped one small breast, his thumb brushing over an extended nipple. His mouth left Elspeth’s. He kissed a path down the side of her neck, before continuing to her chest, where he tasted a nipple. His tongue danced around the bud before covering it again with his lips.

  Rhiannon’s nipples tightened as she watched the young man pleasure her friend, and an unfamiliar heat rushed to her groin, and between her thighs.

  Elspeth moaned low in her throat, almost desperately, her head moving from side to side in the soft grass as Antony played homage to one breast and then the other. “That feels so good,” she said in a voice Rhiannon hardly recognized.

  Antony took one of Elspeth’s hands and brought it down to his sex. “Feel what ye do to me.”

  Elspeth smiled as her fingers wrapped around Antony’s thick cock. “Already hard as stone.”

  “Aye, lass. Your touch makes me that way.”

  She gripped him firmly, her hand moving up and down in a practiced rhythm that had Antony groaning, his breathing shallow, his hips thrusting in time with her movements.

  “God’s breath, I need ye,” he said almost desperately, using his knees to spread her thighs wider. “Ye have no idea how long I have yearned to be with ye, Elspeth. This is like a dream.”

  Elspeth laughed softly, and pulled him down for a kiss, her mouth moving over his ravenously.

  I shall stay for just a moment more, and then leave them alone.

  Elspeth licked her lips and watched her lover with longing. “No more talking, Antony. I want ye now.” She guided his rigid cock inside her. As he thrust home she moaned loudly, the sound sending birds flying from their nests.

  The two lovers didn’t even hear; they were too lost in their own world.

  Rhiannon pressed tight against a tree, her fingers digging into the bark. Her entire body burned with a need that scared her, and yet strangely fascinated her. How would it feel to be in Elspeth’s place? To have a man moving over her, inside her, his thick length stretching her, thrusting in and out, in and out, while telling her how much he desired her.

  A soft cry escaped Elspeth’s lips and her eyes closed as she lifted her hips to meet each solid stroke, the expression on her face one of pure rapture.

  Antony kissed her, and she opened her mouth to receive him, their tongues mating furiously. Rhiannon touched her lips, wondering and yearning for such a kiss.

  Soon she would be married and her husband would expect her to do the same. A man she knew absolutely nothing about, save for the fact he was a French soldier who had come to England with King William, and had been given her hand and extensive dowry for his service to his king. It was a marriage that would help ease the rift between England and Scotland, her father had said.

  But what of her heart? She would never experience what these two lovers shared. True desire for each other. A need brought on by attraction and friendship.

  Antony stopped moving his hips as he laved one nipple, then the other, his tongue flicking wildly over and around.

  With a frustrated moan, Elspeth arched against him, almost desperately, and yet he did not move. “Fuck me,” she finally said, the words so unexpected Rhiannon’s eyes rounded to hear such language coming from her maid.

  Finally, Antony looked up at Elspeth, a soft, albeit surprised smile on his lips. “I hear ye, lass.” He slid in and out of her, inching the maid across the soft grass with each hard thrust. “I love ye, Elspeth.”

  Rhiannon’s heart skipped a beat. She did not realize her best friend was in love, and wondered again why Elspeth had not confided in her.

  “That feels nice,” Elspeth replied, saying nothing of love or the declaration Antony had just made.

  His brows furrowed for a minute until she whispered, “Ye are so big, Antony. So thick. Ye make me mad with desire.”

  The frown dissipated. He pumped against her in deep, even thrusts, the fierce movements making her breasts bounce. “And ye are so hot and tight, lass. So sweet.”

  Elspeth grabbed his buttocks with both hands, squeezing hard, her legs wrapping around his waist.

  “Ye like that, don’t ye?” Antony’s face looked strained.

  “Aye, I do.”

  Rhiannon’s gaze shifted down the man’s body, where he joined with Elspeth. Her pulse quickened seeing his long, slick cock enter and retreat into the maid.

  The flesh between her legs tingled, growing damp.

  “Are ye comin’, lass?” Antony asked in a deep, husky voice.

  Coming where? Rhiannon thought to herself as Elspeth’s hands moved up his back to cling to his shoulders, her nails biting into his skin.

  Rhiannon shifted. A twig snapped beneath her feet and Antony stopped for a moment, glancing over his shoulder. She would be horrified if they discovered her spying on them in such an intimate moment. Holding her breath, she pressed against the tree’s large trunk.

  “It is nothing.” Elspeth reached up, drawing his attention back to her.

  To Rhiannon’s great relief, the sighs and moans continued, growing in intensity as the slapping of skin against skin quickened.

  Daring to breathe again, Rhiannon pushed away from the tree, rushing back to the pathway. She raced toward the loch, pulling her kirtle off as she went. It must appear as though she had just left the water.

  She had scarcely caught her breath when Elspeth’s laughter came from nearby. Rhiannon pretended to be drying off just as the maid stepped from the trees.

  “There ye are,” Rhiannon said, hoping Elspeth did not notice she was winded. “I was ready to call out to ye.”

  “I did not mean to take so long,” Elspeth said, a huge smile on her face as she hurried toward Rhiannon. “Antony needed help finding a special herb that grows in the thicket.”

  Rhiannon almost sighed with relief. “And did ye find what ye needed?”

  “Aye, I did,” Elspeth responded, her cheeks a rosy pink, her blue eyes bright. When she started humming a merry tune, Rhiannon could not help but smile.

  Mayhap marriage would not be so horrible, after all. But then again, what if her husband was not as pleasing as Antony or Gerard, the goldsmith’s grandson? Could she do what she had just witnessed with an old man? “I wonder if Lord Malgor will have
a pleasing body.”

  Elspeth frowned. “Most soldiers have pleasing bodies, so I am certain Lord Malgor is no different.”

  “How do ye know most soldiers have pleasing bodies?”

  “They must be in prime condition, the warriors that they are.”

  “What if de Cion is not handsome, Elspeth? Ye know I cannot hide what I feel. My face has a mind of its own, and if I am disappointed, I am sure to show it.”

  “Do not fret, lass. For all ye know, he could be the man of your dreams. Mayhap he is tall, handsome, and has a body sure to please.”

  “With my luck, he will be a toad. An old, tired, ugly, fat toad.”

  Elspeth cupped Rhiannon’s cheek. “And perhaps within lies the heart of a gentleman and truly caring husband who wishes nothing but to please ye. Ye are a strong woman, Rhiannon. Do not ever forget it. If your betrothed is not to your liking, then ye shall find other ways to please yourself. Trust me in this.”

  “Please myself. In what ways?”

  Tilting her head to the side, Elspeth asked, “Have ye no idea what it means to pleasure one’s self?”

  “I have touched my breasts before, but I doubt that will ever take the place of what happens between a man and a woman.”

  Elspeth’s lips curved in a secret smile that made Rhiannon feel very young. “True, one’s own hand cannot make up for the absence of a lover’s touch, but if your marriage with de Cion is disappointing or lacking, there are ways to ease the ache in your body. In the days before your wedding we shall discuss how, but for now we must return to the castle and meet your betrothed. Who knows, my dear, perhaps there shall be no need for such a discussion.”

  “What if he is disappointed when he sees me?”

  Elspeth snorted. “Rhiannon, most any woman would give their soul to have your beauty. Your hair is like silk, and your eyes are so unique.”

  “I was once called a witch because of my eyes.”

  “Your eyes are unusual because one seldom sees such a color. Ye are an unrivaled beauty and ye shall make your future husband weak at the knees, this I promise.”

  Some of the trepidation she’d been feeling left her. “What if he is displeased with me in the bedchamber?”