A Memory of Love

once to my aunt. All I have learned I learned in the last few months, for I swear to you I could speak no language but my own before then. I knew not our dear Lord Jesus, or anything else, for that matter, but war and weapons. The prince of Wales needed a daughter for this treaty marriage. My aunt saw he got a perfect daughter back, and believe me, it cost him dearly.'

Edward de Beaulieu was astounded by her story. 'That is why he put the marriage off until now,' he said thoughtfully.

'Aye,' she agreed. 'You call me beautiful, my lord. Six months ago I don't think you would have thought so. My father should have put his children with my aunt when he found us nine years ago, but Cythraul was closer, and it was easier to leave us there. Fortunately for my brother and me, our kinsman, Morgan ap Owen, has a large and good heart. I had no woman to model myself after until I went to my aunt the abbess. I am certain that lasses raised in a normal way know enough about consummation not to be considered fools. My aunt is a holy virgin. If she knew of such things, she did not discuss them.'

de Beaulieu suddenly laughed. The entire situation was absurd, and yet the upshot was he now had a beautiful wife.

'You find this situation amusing, my lord?' She was puzzled.

'I can but imagine ap Gruffydd's chagrin when he came to fetch you and discovered you as you were. He must have been terrified, at least momentarily,' Edward de Beaulieu chuckled.

'You do not like him,' Rhonwyn said.

'I do not dislike him,' her husband quickly replied.

'Nay, my lord, you do not like him,' she insisted. 'Neither do I. I doubt I have seen him more than a dozen times in my life. While he was never unkind to us, his passion was for our mother, not his children.'

'But none of what you have told me, Rhonwyn, changes our situation. This marriage between us must be consummated tonight,' he said. Reaching out, he caressed her small breasts tenderly.

Rhonwyn squirmed nervously. 'Please, don't,' she told him.

'Why not?' he demanded half angrily.

'I am not used to being touched in so intimate a manner. It unsettles me, my lord.'

'You will grow to like it,' he assured her, brushing his fingertips across her right nipple teasingly.

'Never! It is all too possessing, my lord. It is as if you owned me, body and soul,' Rhonwyn cried out softly, moving away from his bedeviling fingers.

'I have already told you, Rhonwyn, that I do own you. You are mine to do with as I please. Our marriage will be consummated tonight. If you let me, I will make the experience as pleasing as possible for you. I am not a man who takes his pleasure heedless of his woman's enjoyment. But whether you will or nay, I will have you, my fair wife.' Then swiftly he was atop her-and as swiftly gasping with surprise at the dagger pressing against his throat. 'What, will you kill me then to preserve your virtue, or do you fear I will learn you have no virtue?' he said in a hard voice.

'You will be the only man to have my virtue of me, my lord,' Rhonwyn said, 'but I will have something of you in return.'

'What?' He contemplated taking the dagger from her.

'ap Gruffydd will leave Haven once our marriage is consummated, will he not?' she asked.

'Aye. That is why he waits this night to see if he may snatch you back. He will go, however, on the morrow when I show him the bloody bedsheet with the prool of your defloration upon it. Why?'

'You must ask him before he leaves to send my brother, Glynn, to Haven,' Rhonwyn said. 'My brother is still a lad. We have never been parted until these past few months. I have seen how much there is in the world since I left Cythraul. I have learned and gained such knowledge as I never knew existed. I want those same advantages for my little brother. He is a gentle soul and does not belong in a fortress of rough men. Only that I was there and as great a roughneck as the others, was I able to protect him. Please, my lord, do this for me, and I will yield myself without further ado to your wishes and desires,' she pleaded softly. 'Please!'

Unexpectedly he grasped her wrist, disarmed her, and threw the dagger across the chamber. He slapped her lightly on the cheek. 'In future when you seek a favor from me, Rhonwyn, do not threaten me with a weapon.' Then he pinioned her hard and laughed at the anger in her eyes. 'Such a fierce little virgin, it is,' he said crooningly. 'I will grant your request, Rhonwyn. Now, what have you for me in return?' His mouth came down hard on hers, forcing her lips to part, and he thrust his tongue into her mouth to ravage hers with wildfire.

Rhonwyn lay still, not knowing what else to do. He was almost gagging her with his tongue, and it was all she could do not to become sick. His lips began to kiss her face and her throat. She shivered. His kisses covered her breasts, her belly. She almost screamed as his fingers began to forage in her nest, pushing through her nether lips. She bit her lips until they bled as his fingers went deeper, slipping into a place she had not even known existed, probing her gently.

'This is the place where our two bodies will be conjoined,' he told her thickly. 'It is called your love sheath, and like a sword, my manhood will fill it, Rhonwyn, wow!' He plunged himself inside her, and Rhonwyn screamed aloud as his manhood made contact with her maidenhead and thrust hard through it.

Oh, God, she hated this! It was impossible not to resist him now, and she fought him with all her strength, biting and scratching at him. 'No more! No more!' she sobbed, but he only groaned a sound of distinct pleasure and thrust again and again into her body. Finally he stiffened a moment, and then she felt him relax and collapse atop her.

By the rood, the girl had aroused him, much to his surprise. And when she had stopped lying silent and had fought him, his lust had grown so hot he was surprised his head had not exploded. He knew it had not been a good experience for her, and he regretted it. Gently he kissed the tears from her pale cheeks and said, 'There, Rhonwyn, it is over and done with now. We have both done our duty, and I shall leave you to recover yourself, wife.' Catching his breath, he climbed from her bed.

Rhonwyn swallowed hard. 'Glynn?' she said.

'Your father shall not leave Haven without giving me his promise to send the lad to us, Rhonwyn,' he assured her. 'Whatever you may think of me, I want you content.'

'Do we have to?…' The question was unfinished, but he understood.

'Not until we are ready, Rhonwyn. We have done what was expected of us by king and prince. Now we will wait until you are happier. Good night, wife.' He moved through the small arched door separating their bedchambers, and she heard the lock click shut.

For the first time in her life Rhonwyn wept.

Edward heard her on his side of the door and felt sadness that she was so unhappy. Hopefully these feelings would soon pass, especially when her brother arrived. He had never forced a woman in his life. It had never been necessary for him to do so. He felt guilt sweeping over him. Worse was the fact that he had enjoyed her despite everything. Why? He shook off the question. She was intelligent, and he had explained the situation to her. Her fears he understood, but her stubborn determination and her sudden threat to his person followed by a demand in exchange for her cooperation had truly infuriated him. She was his wife and therefore belonged to him! She must obey him, and that was all there was to it. Still, be had promised her a respite from his attentions, and he would keep his word. Common sense told him that it could not hurt for them to know one another better. He listened by the connecting door again. Her weeping had died away now, and he felt better for it.

Enit gently shook her mistress awake the following day. 'You must wake, my lady. It is time to dress for the mass.' The servant felt shy, for she knew Rhonwyn had lost her maidenhead the previous evening. She had been fearful that the master would be in her lady's bed yet, and was relieved to find it not so. She bustled about the apartment, laying out her mistress's clothing and skirting about the oak tub that still stood before the fire in the dayroom.

As she arose, Rhonwyn realized that she ached. She saw her dagger across the floor and hurried to pick it up. She always kept it beneath her pillow at night, for she had been taught an enemy can come upon you at any time. And an enemy had, but she had not killed him when she had the chance. Had it been necessary for him to be so