Dragon of the Island (24 page)

“Then you are playing right into her hands,”
Gwenaseth noted grimly. “If you continue to make Maelgwn angry, she
may well succeed in getting rid of you.”

Aurora looked troubled. “You do not think...
that Maelgwn would disavow the marriage... set me aside?”

Gwenaseth shook her head. “I don’t know, but
perhaps you had better consider that possibility and think of a way
to make up with him.”

Aurora looked down at her hands. “I don’t
know how to make things right with Maelgwn.”

“It’s easy. Just tell him that you are sorry
and that you love him.”

“Love! How can I love him? He doesn’t care
about me at all.”

“Perhaps you don’t know what love is. Many a
young girl is disappointed when she discovers that marriage is
different from the dreams and fancies she nurtured growing up.”

“I
do
know what love is!” Aurora said
defensively. “It is trust... and tenderness... and
companionship...” Her voice trailed off and she blushed.

Gwenaseth stared at Aurora suspiciously.
“Who was he?”

Aurora could not meet Gwenaseth’s eyes. She
had said too much already. “He was... no one. No one I could ever
marry,” she answered with resignation.

“I had guessed there was someone else. How
close were you? Did you and he...?”

“No!” Aurora answered emphatically. “We were
more like children playing together than lovers. I was a maiden
when I married Maelgwn.”

“Then there’s no reason you can’t come to
care for Maelgwn. He is your husband, Aurora. You must try to be a
good wife. It seems you have found much pleasure in bed together.
That is more than many women have.”

“Perhaps I could care for him if it were not
for Esylt. The sight of her burns like bile in my throat. Never
will I forget that first day when she taunted me and ridiculed me
and Maelgwn did nothing.”

Gwenaseth shook her head at Aurora’s
flashing eyes and flushed face. “You cannot win your battle with
Esylt by blaming Maelgwn. It’s only if you win his trust that he
will finally see his sister for what she is and take your
side.”

“But how do I do that?” Aurora asked
imploringly. “He will barely even speak to me. It is humiliating to
have everyone see how cold he is to me.”

“He may be cold to you, but it is also clear
he has a real weakness for your beauty,” Gwenaseth said with a
smile. “Leave it to me. We will find a way to get Maelgwn back in
your bed.”

Maelgwn was tired and irritable. He had gone
over the visit with the Brigantes with his council, dealing lightly
with the incident of Aurora and the trophy head. It served no
purpose for his men to hold Aurora’s mistake against her, and they
might well question his judgment in choosing her as his wife.

Certainly
he
questioned his judgment.
It was not just that Aurora was impulsive and emotional. He could
forgive that in a woman. In many ways it was preferable to Esylt’s
cleverness. No, it was the effect she had on him that was
frightening. Since he had first taken Aurora as his wife, he was
either distracted and lovesick, or so angry he wanted to kill
someone. And this jealousy he felt—he had always considered
jealousy a poison, a sickness—and yet something about Aurora made
him mad with it. If he had any sense he would probably send her
back to her father. But if he did that, he would be admitting he
had made a mistake, that he was wrong to marry her. He didn’t want
to give Esylt the satisfaction of gloating over his error in
judgment.

Esylt. He still had to visit her today. Some
of what Aurora said rang true. Esylt was certainly capable of the
sort of mischief that Aurora had accused her of. It was unlikely
that Esylt would ever admit to scheming against Aurora, but he had
to question her.

Maelgwn rapped impatiently on Esylt’s
chamber door and waited. After a moment, she answered and greeted
him with a lazy, sloe-eyed smile as she motioned him in.

“I am honored. After a week of traveling
together, my brother has not yet tired of my company.”

Maelgwn stepped into the room impatiently.
“There is something I wish to discuss with you, and I could not
talk freely with others around.”

Esylt gestured disdainfully, bidding him
speak.

“It is regarding the incident with Ferdic
and the trophy head.”

“Of course,” Esylt smiled gleefully. “I’m
sure you will want to take Aurora on all your diplomatic visits,
since she has shown herself to be so tactful and quick-witted.”

Maelgwn ignored her sarcasm. “I wish to know
your part in that unfortunate event.”

“My part?” Esylt’s eyes were opaque and
guileless.

“Aye, Aurora suggested that you put Ferdic
up to presenting her with that gruesome gift to embarrass her.”

“Why would I do that? I have no desire to
make an enemy of Ferdic.”

“Yet you joined Cunedda in laughing at
Ferdic’s humiliation.”

Esylt shrugged. “It
was
funny. Aurora
looked as if her eyes would pop out of her head. I don’t think it
was such bad manners to join our host in a joke. Cunedda rules the
Brigantes; Ferdic will have to earn the kingship in his own
time.”

Maelgwn moved restlessly to the other side
of Esylt’s chamber. There was an odor here that always annoyed him,
some sharp perfume that made his head ache and reminded him
unhappily of his mother. If it had not been for Aurora, he would
never have come here when he was already tired and
short-tempered.

“Aurora also said that while I was visiting
the coastal forts this past moon cycle, you followed her and
threatened her.”

Esylt snorted derisively. “I have made no
secret of my dislike for her. If she considers that a
threat...”

Maelgwn broke in impatiently: “She said that
you threatened to tell me lies about her if she didn’t return to
Viroconium. Explain that to me.”

Esylt’s face was composed and serious for
once. “It would not be a lie to tell you that I saw her and Elwyn
laughing and embracing alone by Lyn Fenydd, but the conclusions you
draw from that are your own affair. It would not be a lie to tell
you that Aurora was eyeing poor Ferdic quite eagerly that night
while you talked with Cunedda. Has it ever occurred to you why
Ferdic chose to give your wife such a costly gift? Can you honestly
say you trust your wife when you are away from her?”

Maelgwn struggled visibly to maintain his
composure. He turned away from Esylt, trying to breathe normally.
He did not want to give Esylt any more weapons for her cutting
accusations.

He turned and spoke scornfully.

“You and Aurora are two of a kind. You both
slyly seek to make me doubt the other, until I am trapped in your
webs of deceit and malice and cannot find the truth. I am sick of
you—both of you!”

Esylt laughed. “I’m glad that you at last
begin to see Aurora for what she is. Beware, Maelgwn. Your wife’s
pretty face hides a devious little mind, and her lush, young body
is just a trap to make you weak and stupid.”

Maelgwn walked up close to his sister and
glared at her threateningly.

“I have had enough. I’m not going to listen
to this anymore. I’ll warn you again—leave Aurora alone!”

Maelgwn breathed a sigh of relief as he left
Esylt’s room. His head seemed to be spinning, and he took deep
breaths of the fresh night air, trying to focus his thoughts. He
walked impatiently, rather aimlessly in the fortress courtyard,
struggling to work off the tension in his body.

Why had Esylt’s words made him so angry? He
was used to his sister’s taunts. Usually he ignored her, but
tonight her words had stung with the bite of truth. Could he,
indeed, trust Aurora? There was something about her—a secretiveness
and rebelliousness—that both tantalized him and frightened him.

“Maelgwn, my lord.”

Maelgwn whirled violently at the sound of
the soft voice behind him.

“Gwenaseth! By the light,” he said,
reverting to an old soldier’s oath. “What is it?”

“It’s Aurora,” she answered shyly. “She bids
you come to her. It’s important.”

“Is she ill?”

“Nay, it is not that, but she does have need
of you.”

Maelgwn stared doubtfully at the pale oval
of Gwenaseth’s face, half visible in the growing darkness. She was
a sweet thing—his friend’s daughter—and he suspected her of no
scheming or manipulation.

“All right, I’ll go to her,” he said
quickly. “Just give me time to have something to eat.”

Maelgwn finished eating hurriedly, and
washed the last bites down with some old sour wine. Then he took
off at a brisk walk toward the tower. He was troubled by this
summons from his wife. What could she want? He certainly hoped that
she was not going to complain to him about Esylt again.

Maelgwn climbed the tower stairs and pushed
open the door without knocking. Then he stopped and stared dumbly
at the sight that met him.

Aurora was lying naked on the bed. Her wavy
hair was splayed out on the soft purple of the blanket like a mist
around her face, and her skin glowed pink and smooth in the
lamplight. He could see the graceful arch of her ribs below the
soft mounds of her breasts. Her nipples were rosy and taut, and her
slightly parted legs revealed the tantalizing pink moistness
between them. Maelgwn had always thought Aurora was an exquisite
woman, but tonight her beauty was heightened by the warm radiance
of the lamplight and the unexpected thrill of her obvious readiness
for him. As he watched, she ran her tongue over her parted lips and
stared at him with a bold, seductive expression.

He moved toward her, drawn to her despite
his fatigue.

“What is this?” he asked, abruptly motioning
toward her enticing position, her obvious seductiveness.

“I want to make up for all the trouble I’ve
caused you,” she said, purring like a jewel-eyed cat. “You are my
husband, and it is my responsibility to make you happy, not to
burden you with my problems.”

Maelgwn stood a few feet from the bed,
undecided. He feared she was playing some game with him, but he was
too aroused and confused to care.

He walked the few steps left to the bed, and
Aurora moved smoothly to meet him. He stopped, and she reached up
with fingers that trembled slightly and began to unfasten his
scabbard. It dropped to the floor. She fumbled with the drawstring
of his trousers until she had released them. She slid her cool,
smooth hands down along his bare flesh.

Maelgwn groaned with desire. In all their
time in bed, Aurora had never sought to touch him so boldly. At
first, she stroked him clumsily, with an erratic, tentative touch.
Gradually she responded to the feel of him, and her caresses became
more sensual and rhythmic. Maelgwn watched her, enchanted by the
sight of her rapt, lovely face as she caressed him. His arousal was
intense, almost painful. Overcome, he leaned back and sighed; his
mind was empty, his thoughts vacant swirls of pleasure.

He had grown used to the delicate stroke of
her fingers when Aurora abruptly stopped. Maelgwn opened his eyes,
ready to protest, but as he watched, Aurora moved her face toward
him. He stared, fascinated, as she took him in her mouth,
swallowing him with a quiver of her dainty chin. She had never
looked so beautiful. Her eyes were closed in concentration and her
hair streamed backward over the bed. He could watch no more; her
ministrations left him blinded with rapture. As he neared climax,
he pushed into her mouth roughly, and Aurora struggled for breath.
Impatiently, Maelgwn raised her up and then pushed her down on the
bed beneath him. He did not try to be gentle, but forced himself
into her with brutal urgency. With only a few extravagant lunges,
he found sweet release and collapsed, sweaty and spent, onto
Aurora’s cushioning flesh.

Maelgwn opened his eyes as Aurora twined her
fingers in his hair with a luxuriant sigh. He was dull-headed and
drowsy as if after too much wine, and he struggled against the
grogginess that was overtaking him as he rolled off Aurora and
stretched out next to her. Something nagged at him, despite his
lethargy. He looked over at Aurora and pulled a tendril of curling
hair away from her face, studying her closely. Her face was soft
and blurred with sex and contentment, but her eyes watched him with
a sharp, appraising look.

Maelgwn remembered Esylt’s warning words.
She had said something about Aurora using her body to make him weak
and stupid. Ah, he thought—it was true. How skillfully his wife had
manipulated him. She knew how much he desired her, and she had
cleverly exploited his lust.

The delicious flush of relaxation moving
through Maelgwn’s body changed to irritation. Did Aurora think that
anytime she angered him, she could win him back with her expert,
thrilling touch? For a moment Maelgwn stared at Aurora with
narrowed eyes. Then he stood up brusquely and began to dress.

“What is it?” Aurora asked.

Maelgwn didn’t answer her but continued to
pull on his clothes. He didn’t want to look at her. He knew her
face would be confused and fearful, and he was afraid he would
weaken and not be able to leave her. The power she had over him was
terrifying. She was like a sorceress who could change her form to
manipulate his pathetic heart He had to get away. Now! While he
still could!

Aurora stared in disbelief as the door to
the tower chamber swung shut after Maelgwn. What had happened? A
few moments ago Maelgwn had been sighing with satisfaction in her
arms. The bed was still warm from his body, and her own body ached
with the dull throb of gratified passion. But now he was gone, and
without a word of farewell or tenderness.

Aurora pulled the blankets up protectively
around her body, trying to figure out what had gone wrong. Maelgwn
had wanted her; he had enjoyed their lovemaking. He had even
reached out to stroke her hair when it was over. But then he had
stared at her, hard, and a change had come over his face. For a
moment he had looked as if he hated her.