At bedtime, she went to attend to the princess, helping her to undress. “Are you all right?” she asked anxiously.
“Why do you ask?” the princess queried, suspiciously.
“Sir Conrad spoke to me about our leaving the keep.”
“Aye,” the princess sighed. “My lord was angry and I paid the price for it. I can tell you, I shall not cross my husband on anything for the rest of my life, if I can help it.”
“I'm so sorry, my lady. 'Twas my fault.”
Tova shook her head, “Nay, 'twas my decision.”
“Sir Conrad was going to chastise me for my part in it, but I managed to... well... talk my way out of it.”
Princess Tova gave her a rueful look. “Good for you.” She pulled up her chemise and turned around to show the purple welts across her bottom and the backs of her legs.
Meriwyn gasped in horror.
“Aye. But 'twas not the whipping that was the worst of it, actually.”
“What do you mean?”
The princess looked thoughtful as Meriwyn brushed her hair. “I mean...having him angry with me was the worst of it. He was very disappointed and he scolded and looked frightening until I almost cried. 'Twas actually the punishment that made things right between us again.”
Meriwyn considered that. “I suppose it's nice to have a quarrel resolved so swiftly.”
“So thought I. By the time he finished chastising me, he was as tender and loving as could be. He didn't leave me to 'think about what I'd done' the way my mother had as a child. He laid me upon the bed and held me in his arms, though he surely had much to do in the keep after being gone for so long. It was...nice. It made me sure I would not disappoint him again-- not because it was so horrible, but... more because he is a good husband.” she said. “Does that make any sense?”
Not really.
“Of course, my lady.”
She mulled that over when she went to her own chamber. The princess's words matched what she had witnessed at supper. But she couldn't imagine feeling the same way. To be whipped so harshly.... she shuddered. She was absolutely terrified of it, and it seemed to be all she could dwell on. As she lay in bed and watched Henic and Hunwald attending to her husband, her mind kept pulling her there. She observed Conrad's large hands pulling off his boots and imagined how they would feel on her backside. She eyed his leather sword belt and felt her heart pick up speed. She realized, with a start, that he must whip Henic, and mayhap even Hunwald. And Anna, his daughter. That thought filled her with dismay. She would have to try to protect the child.
Only when her handsome husband dismissed the boys and crawled onto the bed with a look that told her that their after-bath activity had not fully satisfied him, did she put it out of her mind. She watched his muscles ripple as he climbed over her and nudged her head to the side, leaving a trail of kisses down her neck. She arched as his lips dragged over her collarbone, eager to have them settle a little lower. He chuckled and teased her nipple with his thumb until it stood erect, aching for his mouth. Only then did he slowly lower his mouth, sucking and nipping at it so she felt a corresponding tug between her legs. She sighed with pleasure, her fingers wending through his sandy brown hair.
“I missed you, husband,” she murmured.
“Mmm...I've been thinking about doing this since the moment I left,” he murmured. He moved to her other breast as one of his warm hands stroked down her belly and cupped her bottom. She tightened her cheeks, thrusting her hips upward, eager for more. Conrad's hand slid around and found its way to her sex from behind. This time she thrust her hips backward. His fingers glided up and down her outer sex, dipping into her natural moisture and spreading it. She moaned in response to the exquisite pleasure of his touch.
Emboldened by her experience after the bath, she reached down and grasped his cock the way he had shown her, then pulled her hand down toward the head and back up again. Conrad made a growling sound and sprang into position to penetrate her. He rubbed the head of his sex over her silky slit and then pushed inside. She gasped at the sensation – the burn of his large length stretching her passage, the satisfaction of feeling him within her at last. She wrapped her legs around his back and locked her ankles, pulling him tighter against her, deeper within her, but preventing him from driving in and out too forcefully because her hips were affixed to his. He rocked, still managing to thrust into her and she arched, moving her hips in rhythm with his, slowly releasing the grip of her thighs and allowing him to withdraw and plunge again and again. Her need for release built until she clawed at his shoulders and gritted her teeth, emitting her own low growl. Conrad slammed against her in an urgent rhythm until they both cried out, climaxing, one right after the other. He smiled down at her as they both caught their breath.
Afterward, she curled into him, her head resting on his shoulder, one knee draped over his body, listening as his breath turned to gentle snores. She couldn't sleep-- her mind had slid back to the worry of his spanking her. It seemed so inconsistent with the man who had just made love to her. How could he hurt her?
She shifted in his arms and he woke, his snores stopping abruptly as he moved to accommodate her changed position.
“I never knew I'd be spanked.” she said into the silence.
Conrad opened one eye and gazed at her, then closed it and opened them both. He considered her. “You're afraid of it, aren't you?” he asked gently.
She was grateful that he did not laugh at her this time, and she nodded.
“You've not been spanked before?”
She shook her head. “Only a few swats as a child. Never with a strap.”
He smoothed her hair back from her face, but said nothing.
“Were you going to spank me with a strap?”
“No. I was going to use my hand.”
“The prince spanked Princess Tova with a strap.”
“I'm sure he did,” Conrad said. Then he made a shrugging motion, which was really just one shoulder, since he was lying on the other. “It's just a sore bottom, Meriwyn.”
The way her heart was beating in her chest said it was something far worse. “I don't want to be spanked,” she said in a small voice.
Conrad smiled at her fondly and touched her nose. “Then you'll have to be an obedient wife, won't you?”
“But what if I make a mistake? How will I know how not to displease you? We only just met four months ago.”
His mouth twitched a bit. “I won't spank you without giving you a warning first,” he promised.
“But what about today? You'd given me no warning.”
He raised an eyebrow at her. “You needed a warning not to disobey the prince? Our lord and master?”
She felt her cheeks grow hot. “No, sir,” she mumbled.
“I thought not.”
“Will you only spank with your hand?” she asked hopefully.
He regarded her for a long moment. “I will spank you as I deem appropriate, Meriwyn,” he said firmly at she felt her belly flip.
She had nothing more to say to him, then, so she rolled over to face away. He rolled her back. “Nay, woman, what are you doing?”
Her lips trembled, though why she felt as though she might cry, she could not say. “Sir?” she managed.
He pulled her in closely against him. “You need not be afraid and you need not hide from me. Nothing's changed between us.”
She leaned her forehead against his hard chest and hid her face there. He was wrong--everything had changed.
Chapter Two
The intensity of Meriwyn's fear of chastisement was amusing, but Conrad had sympathy for the anxiety she clearly was experiencing. The best thing would be to get her past her first spanking so she would know it was not such a terrible thing. It had been a mistake not to punish her the day before. And now he had promised not to spank without issuing a warning, which would only delay that first event further.
He would keep a close eye on her. Ideally, he could find some small infraction and give her the mildest of punishments. She would see it was not so terrible and would relax.
But it was difficult with a wife who was already eager to please and now was deathly afraid of being punished. Several weeks went by before she seemed to forget her distress and return to her more lively state. Finally, at dinner one afternoon, she truly did irritate him.
Anna had rushed in late, and the King and prince were already seated before she slipped into her place on the bench next to him at the high table.
“Where have you been?” he demanded.
“In the courtyard, learning to sling with Henic,” she said breathlessly.
He frowned. She spent far too much time out of doors with the pages, when she should be playing dolls at the hearth. “Anna, it's time you stopped running around outside with the boys and spent more time with the ladies,” he said sternly.
“Nay, Conrad-- she's only eight years old! Let her enjoy her childhood while she can. She grows restless when she's inside for too long.”
He felt his neck grow hot with irritation at being contradicted-- not only in front of his daughter, but at the high table, no less, for all the courtiers to hear. Indeed, Sir Gallohan and Lady Gwenyth, who sat across from them at the table, had stopped their conversation to listen with interest. “Who is the master here?” he asked icily.
Meriwyn's eyes widened as she realized her mistake. “Forgive me, my lord,” she said, blushing.
He gave her a long stare before turning back to Anna. “Tomorrow you will stay with your mother,” he looked pointedly at Anna, who nodded, “and the ladies.”
Anna looked chagrined, but nodded obediently. “Yes, papa.”
Sir Gallohan and Lady Gwenyth lost interest in the interaction and began to talk anew. Meriwyn fidgeted a bit beside him. When the meal was over and they stood from their places, he placed a hand on the nape of Meriwyn's neck and pulled her close to him, speaking directly into her ear. “If you ever contradict me in front of my child or at the table again, you'll be spanked,” he said firmly. “Understand?”
He lifted his head from her ear to gaze in her eyes.
“I'm sorry. It won't happen again,” she said, her eyes filling with moisture. One tear escaped her eye and he caught it with his thumb and wiped it away before anyone could see.
“Don't cry. It will be all right,” he said more gently. “Just don't do it again.”
She shook her head quickly. “No, sir. I won't.”
“Thank you,” he said and released her, kissing the top of her head. “I'll see you at supper.”
She bobbed a curtsy as he turned to head out to the field where the prince had them running drills with the soldiers. He returned before supper and Henic and Hunwald helped him out of his armor and into a clean shirt. Meriwyn entered the room, looking agitated. He dismissed the boys and turned to her, expectantly.
“Yes, my lady?”
She was pacing the room, twisting her fingers around each other. She stopped and took a deep breath. “My lord--”
He raised his eyebrows expectantly.
“You do wish me to be a mother to Anna, do you not?”
He felt a thread of tension travel through him. He understood immediately where this was going. “Of course I do,” he snapped.
She frowned at him. “Well, how can I if I am not permitted to speak my mind?” she asked shrilly.
He pursed his lips. “Meriwyn, I did not mean to imply that you may not speak your mind about Anna's upbringing,” he said.
She stamped her foot, clearly too worked up to take in what he had said. “I'm the one who spends more time with her! I'm the one who knows what she needs!”
“You are the one who is acting like a child right now, and you may consider this your only warning. You will speak to me respectfully or you will find yourself over my knee,” he said evenly, though his ire was raised.
She pressed her lips together, the conflict between her anger and her fear of chastisement clearly warring in her countenance. A blush crept across her breast and up her neck and face and she bobbed the quickest of curtsies. “I'm sorry,” she mumbled so quickly it was almost unintelligible.
He looked at her with disappointment. The sound of the supper bell interrupted any further discourse. “We'll discuss it later,” he said shortly and held the door open for her.
She flushed an even deeper red and he noticed her lips were trembling as she passed him, though he guessed it was more from anger than regret. He said little to her at the light evening meal and then excused himself to make the rounds of the soldiers, checking to be sure all the guards were in their proper stations. When he finished, he climbed the spiral stone steps to landing at the top of the tower, where he could look out on the kingdom. He took a deep breath and sighed.
Meriwyn certainly was spirited. He was itching to spank that defiance right out of her, but with a new young wife, a more gentle hand was called for. It was his duty to correct her misunderstanding as quickly as possible. She believed she could not provide her input to the raising of Anna and was acting out of anger at that injustice. It didn't excuse her disrespect, but it did make it understandable. He waited until he was sure he was no longer angry or irritated before he headed back to their chamber.
Meriwyn had been pacing in their chamber since supper. Conrad had not returned after his night rounds. It was because he was angry with her. She should not have stamped her foot and spoken so shrewishly to him earlier. He had told her that she would be permitted to provide her input to the raising of Anna, though she didn't see how she was meant to do so. Still, she should have allowed him to explain, rather than attack him with her sharp tongue.
Mayhap he would not return until he thought she was asleep. Or mayhap-- her heart stopped in her chest momentarily-- mayhap he would find another maid to bed that night. The thought made her sick. This was how marriages were corrupted. She'd seen it happen growing up-- a woman turned sharp-tongued and bitter and her husband took his pleasures elsewhere. Her eyes filled with tears. What had she done?
She understood, suddenly, what the princess had meant when she'd said that the prince's disappointment in her was the most horrible part. She stopped her pacing and stood still in her tracks, remembering the rest of Tova's story. That the spanking had not made it worse, but had resolved things between them. And she remembered how close they had looked when they came down the stairs together that afternoon. By Our Lady, what she wouldn't give to have that closeness with Sir Conrad again!