fucked ye will be enough. I know yer no wanton, my love, but ye canna deny yer body responds to mine. Why do ye insist on fighting me? I am gentle wi ye, and I know I am a good lover. Why do ye continue to resist?'
'Oh, Jamie,' she said softly. 'I really believe ye dinna understand. I hae never known any man but Patrick. Before we were wed, I resisted him, but I loved him. Of course my body responds to ye. He taught it to respond. But now ye come and claim the
'Yer very fortunate, my lovely cousin,' said James Stewart. 'I hae never loved anyone. I dinna ken what it really means. I was raised by those who fed, clothed, disciplined, and educated me. I canna remember a kind word or a caress when I was a child. The only person who ever showed me any tenderness was my old nurse.'
'Then I'm truely sorry for ye, Jamie, for to really love is to live life to its fullest. Yer problem is that ye've never had anyone of yer own. When the little queen comes home to Scotland, she will be yers alone. And when the bairns come-why, Jamie! Before ye know it ye'll hae a whole big family to love, and be loved by.'
'Thank ye, Cat. Ye gie me hope.' He smiled at her. 'Ye really do belong at court, my love. Ye know what to say to yer king. I do look forward to the arrival of my queen, but now…' Gently he pushed Cat back against the pillows and, finding her mouth, kissed her with a practiced skill. Her first reaction was to struggle from his clutches. Then suddenly she realized the king was right. If Patrick arrived home now his reaction to her predicament, whether she resisted or cooperated, would be the same. Anger at her!
Her body was in real pain from resisting. I dinna love this man, she thought, but I can stand no more of this!
He stopped kissing her, and was looking down at her. Her eyes met his. 'I'll never love ye, Jamie, and I am ashamed of what ye are making me do, but I yield to ye, my liege.'
'Until the queen comes,' he countered quickly.
'My lord! Ye'll destroy my marriage! Ye canna hide from Patrick the fact that yer laying wi me.'
'I can if he isna here. No man in his right mind could taste of yer sweetness and stay but one night. I will send Patrick to Denmark wi a group of nobles to escort the queen home. Our liaison will be kept secret from the court. Yer reputation will remain intact. Yer husband's pride willna suffer.'
She knew she must be satisfied with that. She could argue no more with him. 'Thank ye, my lord,' she whispered.
In answer the king bent his head and began kissing her quivering body, starting with the pounding pulse in her slender throat. He moved his lips to her chest, her taut breasts with their sharp, pointed tips, her rounded belly, the mole at the top of her cleft. Suddenly, he turned her over and took her in a way that Patrick Leslie never had. She gasped in shock and heard the king mutter thickly, 'Here's one place Glenkirk's nae been before me.' His hands cruelly crushed her breasts. To her amazement he brought them to a quick climax. They lay quietly side by side as their breathing returned to normal.
'I hope,' said James Stewart, 'that the queen does nae arrive too quickly. My love! Ye are magnificent! No wonder Patrick hasna strayed all these years!'
Her voice was trembling. 'Patrick never did what ye just did tome.'
'I know,' he said. 'Ye were a virgin there, but ye liked it, didn't ye, Cat?'
He laughed. 'Aye! Ye did! Glenkirk's used ye gently, my love. I'll teach ye many things, including how to please me.' He rose and poured them each a goblet of wine, and added more wood to the fire. 'Soon yer Patrick should return from Melrose Abbey. Within the week he'll be on his way with some others to meet my bride and escort her home. Dinna look so sad, my love. We hae a lovely month or two ahead of us.'
Chapter 15
THE Countess of Glenkirk sat quietly before her mirror while Ellen brushed her thick honey-colored hair. She wore only her white silk petticoat and a low-necked underblouse. Cat Leslie was frightened, and she did not know what to do. Patrick was, she knew, within the palace giving his report to the king. When he finally came to their apartment, would he notice anything different? She prayed he wouldn't.
Since the twentieth of August-a week ago-James Stewart had been sleeping with her. God knew she hadn't encouraged him! In fact, after the first night, she had fled the palace for her townhouse. He had quietly but firmly ordered her return. Desperate, she had confided in her favorite brother-in-law. Adam Leslie listened. Shaking his head, he said, 'There's no help for it, Cat. What the king wants, he takes, and he happens to want ye.'
'If I went home to Glenkirk, Adam? Surely he wouldn't pursue me there.'
Adam Leslie was truly sorry for Cat. She was willful and stubborn, but she loved Patrick. The agony she was enduring was unfair. Nevertheless, there was no help for it. 'Ye canna leave court wi'out Jamie's permission, Cat. Ye know that.'
For a brief moment she looked defiant, and Adam spoke cruelly. 'Ye canna endanger the Leslies, Cat, because it doesna suit ye to be the king's mistress. He's chosen ye, and he's even been kind enough to agree to keep yer liaison secret. If ye defy him, he'll ruin us! God, woman! Yer no virgin, bargaining a good price for yer maidenhead! What Jamie wants has already been well used by Glenkirk!'
Briefly Cat hated Adam. 'Ye'll not tell Patrick?'
'Nay, Cat. Dinna fear,' he said more kindly. He hesitated. 'Cat, thank ye for confiding in me. I'm truly sorry, lass, that I canna help ye, but I'm here should ye need to talk again.'
She nodded. 'Does anyone else know?'
'Only Ellen,' she answered him.
Faithful Ellen vacillated between her mistress's agony and her own pride that Cat was exquisite enough to attract the king. 'If ye dinna put a smile on yer face, he will wonder what's wrong,' the woman said sharply.
Cat jumped. 'Oh God, Ellie! I feel so dirty!'
Ellen put down the brush. Kneeling before her lady, she looked up and spoke. 'What is done is done, ma-dame. Stop being so selfish! Yer thinking only of yerself. Think of the earl instead, my baby. Think of the family. Of yer own bairns. If ye want peace in yer life, this episode must be secret. And unless ye pull yerself together it won't be!'
Two tears slipped down the countess' face. Ellen reached up and brushed them away. 'The king may touch yer body, my lady, but he can nae touch yer soul,' she said quietly.
'How did ye get so wise?' Cat asked. But before Ellen could answer the door burst open and Patrick Leslie entered. Cat leaped to her feet and flung herself into his arms. Ellen discreetly withdrew as the earl found his wife's mouth. Kissing her deeply, his arms tightened about her until she cried out, 'Patrick! I canna breathe!' He swept her up and deposited her on the bed.
She watched as he drew off his boots and outer clothing, and then stretched out next to her on their bed. He pulled her into his arms, pushed her blouse down, and kissed her lovely breasts. 'I missed ye terribly, sweetheart,' he murmured from the warmth of her. She cradled him against her, grateful he was back, and hoping he might save her from the further attentions of the king.
He raised his head up. 'What were ye dressing for?' he asked.
'Another damned masque in honor of the Danish match,' she answered.
'I think, considering I've been away, that Jamie might not miss us.' He pushed her petticoats up past her thighs.
A smile lit her face, and she held out her arms to him.
But James Stewart did miss them. 'I dinna see Glenkirk and his wife,' he said casually to his cousin the Earl of Bothwell. 'He came back from Melrose today.'
'I'm nae surprised, Jamie,' said Bothwell. 'I imagine that Glenkirk has taken his wife to bed. If she were mine, and I had been away from her a week, that's what I would do.' He grinned wickedly at the king. 'The most virtuous woman at court! A pity, eh, majesty?'
