Page 42 of Knight of Darkness
She stilled in his arms, but knew she would never find any sort of pleasure with this man, especially when he forcefully thrust his tongue into her mouth. He made an attempt to urge her participation but while she didn’t fight against him, she gave very little effort to prove she was enjoying his attention.
He pulled his lips from hers and frowned. “That was pitiful, Ceridwen. You will have to do better than that, my dear,” he said watching her carefully.
“What did you expect, Ratcliff?” she said quietly before lowering her eyes for appearances’ sake. She did not wish for him to see the anger resting dormant just beneath the civility she showed him.
He took her chin between his fingers forcing her to look at him. “I suppose I should not expect much from a virgin who has not been taught how to pleasure a man. But we will have many years ahead of us for you to learn what I like. I will summon you once I bring the prisoner up from the pit.”
“You put him in that disgusting pit?” she fumed, taking a step forward. She reached for him as though she would like nothing more than to strangle the very breath from him. She lowered her hand when her sanity returned.
“Tsk, tsk, my dearest lady. You would not wish to test this small courtesy I bestow upon you, would you?” he asked. His sarcastic tone tore at Ceridwen’s nerves. “Answer me!”
“Nay, Ratcliff,” she said keeping her anger in check.
“Say my first name. I would like to hear it said sweetly for my benefit.”
Ceridwen swore inside her head before she lowered her eyes and conjured up the strength to appease him. “Sperling.”
He laughed and clapped his hands. “Now that was not too difficult was it, my lady? I shall bring Norwood up. Consider this gesture of good faith between us as an early wedding gift.”
He put the key to the door and left, locking the portal before she heard his footsteps fading down the passageway. Her knees buckled and she fell to the floor. If all went according to plan, Ratcliff would find only an empty pit. Only then would Ceridwen plan her next move to be rid of her enemy. Setting Wymar free was her main concern. The rest she prayed would eventually fall into place as fate dictated. Only time would tell if she would end up on the winning side.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Sperling led theway down the spiraling steps deep into Norwich’s bowels. Torch held high, he thought of the enormous pleasure he was going to take in flaunting Ceridwen in his arms before his prisoner. They reached the area where the pit was located only to see that the bars were open.
A growl of rage echoed in the chamber when he saw the pit empty. How the devil had he escaped? Wymar barely had the ability to move after all they had put him through. He must have had help.
“Who checked on him last and when?” Sperling shouted to the men surrounding the hole in the floor.
“’Two days… Mayhap, three. We have been celebrating our victory,” one knight said from the rear of the group. “There was no place for him to go considering the depth of his cell.”
Several knights nodded their heads. Sperling came to the man who had spoken and took him by his tunic before throwing him into the pit.
“See if you can get yourself out of there and enjoy your new quarters,” he shouted down before looking at the others standing nearby. “Anyone else care to join him? No? Then search the passageways and find him. He could not have gone far,” Sperling ordered before making his way back above.
That bitch must have known Wymar had somehow escaped and that is why she’d agreed to his proposal. There was no way she would meekly say her vows before a priest now… but ’twas no matter. She still belonged to him whether he made her his wife or not. Either way, Ceridwen would be in his bed and there was no reason not to take what he wanted from her!
His footsteps echoed throughout the great hall and he took the turret stairs two at a time until he reached the fourth floor of the keep. He took the brass key from a guard standing near the door and shoved it into the lock. Thrusting open the door, he slammed it shut and put the bolt into place.
The lady turned from the window as though she had not moved since he left her but a short while ago. A smile passed across her lips before she quickly covered up her apparent amusement knowing Ratcliff had failed.
“You knew!” he accused before taking her in his arms and shaking her.
“How could I know anything going on outside of the walls of my bedchamber, Ratcliff? I am but a prisoner here.” She looked around him toward the closed portal. “Why do you not bring Norwood before me? Have you lost him?”
He raised his arm and slapped her across her cheek with all his strength, leaving the beginnings of a red imprint on her smooth creamy skin. “You bloody bitch from hell!”
She looked dazed when her eyes finally met his and still she had that same regal, disdainful look upon her as if she were better than him. “I will assume by your actions and the fact you are alone that you could not bring Norwood to me. Is he dead or alive, I wonder?” she asked whilst lifting her chin in clear defiance.
“Hopefully dead after we got done torturing him,” he spat and watched when the color drained from her face. So… she cared for the bastard just as he thought but ’twas of no matter. He would take her maidenhead from her and receive the satisfaction of knowing that he was the first to have her.
Grabbing a hold of her arm, he tossed her onto the bed and quickly jumped upon her when she tried to scamper away.
“You have been a pain in my arse from the moment I first came to your gates but today I will get my revenge. At last, I will have something that Norwood will never be able to have for you can only be a virgin once!
The sound of her gown ripping when he tore at the linen was nothing compared to the smile of contempt she tossed at him. “Then you have lost even that treasure, Ratcliff, for Wymar has taken that pleasure from you as well. Why, even now, I may be carrying his child within me.”
Disgust and rage coursed through him and he got off the bed. Her hand went to her stomach causing Sperling to inwardly seethe. He would in no way bed her if there was a possibility that she carried his enemy’s child. When she birthed a babe, he would need to know for certain that ’twas his. Otherwise, he would suffocate the bastard before it could take its first breath. He made his way to the door.
