Pillaging Elinor's Castle [Elinor's Stronghold 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (5 page)

The day progressed with swordfights and throwing contests, wrestling matches and more, but Elinor was looking forward to the next to last contest, the one where the children would deliver messages. It had taken her a long time to devise the test. It had to be difficult enough that there would be a clear winner, but not so hard many would completely fail. In the end, the message was threefold. First, go to the blacksmith’s house and leave a stone and collect a cup. Take the cup to the lake and fill it with water, and remember what else was at that marker, and finally, take the water to the finishing line without passing the blacksmith’s house again. Of course, all these places were on the field, they were just markers, but the soldiers had set up several obstacles and barriers so the children could not easily run from one marker to the next.

Elinor was enchanted to notice one of the girls from the red team was also lined up to attempt the message challenge. All the children were blindfolded until it was their turn, so they couldn’t watch and learn from their competitors. The girl was the next-to-last to run. Whereas, all the other children had listened to their instructions, then run immediately toward the marker for the blacksmith’s house, the girl looked over the field slowly and carefully first, as if planning her journey. She ran to the blacksmith’s, then crawled through an obstacle to get to the lake—actually just a pail of water—running from the lake back to the finishing line.

The boy who ran fastest had forgotten to leave his stone behind at the blacksmith’s so was disqualified. Two children couldn’t remember what else was at the lake—an apple—and one had passed the blacksmith’s house on his return journey. The two who had done everything correctly were announced as winners and each received two oranges. The winners were the girl, and the boy who’d captained the blue running team.

Elinor determined to find out more about the girl. She was definitely the kind of child who would be of great worth to the castle. It was vital she not be married off to some old peasant the day she reached womanhood and likely die in childbed before she was truly an adult. One in four of all young brides died in childbed. It was a fact of life. But Elinor did not want that for this girl who showed such promise. Elinor wanted this child to be free to use her mind and body in the service of the stronghold, and not marry until she was fully grown, and then to a man worthy of her.

The day concluded with a modified melee. Hammond and Rhys had wanted the final event to include as many people as possible, so horses were not permitted, only hand-to-hand fighting. All the participants were divided into two teams, red and blue, with equal numbers of soldiers and freed men on each, and the melee began.

It was a wonderful spectacle to watch, although Elinor’s stomach tied itself in knots worrying that people might be badly hurt. Several times, a man went down under a rush of people, but each time, men from his team hauled him to his feet again, and the battle continued. She had no way of discerning who was winning, but the soldiers seemed to know, and Rhys declared the blue team to be the winner about an hour later.

Because everyone had been watching the tourney, dinner was very late and consisted of bread baked the day before and cold meats and vegetables. But no one complained. The peasants and freed men helped tidy the field while women prepared the food, and then the day ended with a celebratory meal together. Elinor permitted no strong wine or ale to be served. Only the everyday watered barrels were used, but no complaints were heard.

Elinor watched Hammond, Rhys, and Albin take Wade outside and speak to him. She wondered what he’d learned and hoped Rhys offered him some reward for his day’s work. She also noted that Lord Devon, who’d done so well in the jousting, remained all day, and that both Wade and Albin had spent time talking to him.
I wonder if he no longer wishes to work for Lord Jeffrey. Or perhaps he’s here to see how prepared we are for an attack.

She beckoned the steward to her.

“Yes, Lady Elinor?”

“Byram, what is the name of the girl child who did so well in the messenger test? Whose family does she belong to? I don’t recognize her at all.”

“That is Nerida, lady. Her father, William, is a free man with no other child and has reared her more as boy than girl. But she honored him with her success this day. I saw him holding her oranges as if they were a purse full of gold.”

“So he should. She proved that girls can run and remember as well as boys, at least at that young age. She will make a fine messenger for Wade’s little soldiers. Has Wade spoken to her father about her becoming one of his messengers?”

“Yes, indeed, my lady. William nearly burst with pride at her being included in that group.”

“Good. She is a child worth watching. I shall take an interest in her future. The boys may grow to become soldiers or guards. She may grow to become housekeeper or chatelaine.”

“May I tell William that, Lady Elinor?”

“You may tell him I am pleased with Nerida and wish to hear of her progress as she grows. Her future will be greater than marrying a peasant as soon as she becomes a woman. She has the potential to rise much higher than that.”

“Thank you, my lady.”

If William really had reared her more as boy than girl, he wouldn’t be rushing to bestow her on the first man who offered for her anyway, but it was good to let him know that Nerida showed promise of the ability to greatly increase her status.

Elinor hated it when girls were married too young. Too many of them died. When a family had too many girls to support, she much preferred them sending a couple of daughters to a convent. At least there girls would learn skills in growing crops and plants, cooking and preserving food, caring for the sick, and some even learned to read and write. The brightest of them managed the lands and wealth of the convent, and the lives of dozens of people. An abbess had more power than many ladies, far more power, status, and authority than a peasant girl could even imagine.

Elinor shook off her thoughts. It was almost the end of the day, and the men had promised something special for this night. She could hardly wait.

Hammond had to force himself not to run up the stairs to Lady Elinor’s solar. Tonight they were double fucking her. He’d been waiting for this night for so long, and his prick was ready to burst at the thought. He didn’t care whether he got her cunt or her ass. Both felt so good when they gripped his prick as she shared her body with him.

He’d bought a tiny vial of oil with him. Although usually she sucked the cock of whoever would take her ass to make it wet, with two of them inside her together, Hammond had decided oil might be needed for her to accept them both. He’d never double fucked before but had heard a man who’d done it say it was the best night of his life.

Another soldier had talked of fucking two sisters at the same time, but to Hammond that was a waste. A man had only one prick, so what use were two cunts, excerpt to take one after the other.

He knocked on the solar door and entered to find Rhys already there, sitting before the fire. The solar was always warm as it shared the same chimney as the great hall, so even when the solar fire died out at night, there was heat rising into the room from the great hall below.

Lord Rhys nodded to him. “Bar the door, my friend.”

“Wade said Lord Devon told him that when Lord Jeffrey burned Rhys’s manor house defenses, the fire was more than they’d expected. Some of the household grain and meat stores were burned as well, so he has not got enough to last through winter, even with the new crops to be harvested soon.” Elinor’s eyes were filled with worry. Hammond wanted to smooth her face until the worry lines disappeared and tell her all would be well. Unfortunately, there were battles to be fought before that could be true.

“That is bad news indeed, but it changes nothing. We always knew he’ll attack as soon as the harvest is reaped. However, we may bring forward our plans for hunting. We don’t want to wait until his men have hunted through the woods and no bigger beasts are left. Netting birds is all very well, but it talks a lot of birds to feed a castle.”

“Exactly. Tomorrow we’ll plan a boar hunt. Two or three large boars will feed the stronghold for many weeks,” said Lord Rhys.

“I was wondering about that. Can you capture a sow’s piglets? You may kill the sow as well if you wish, but I think we could try to raise some piglets,” said Lady Elinor.

“How are we going to feed three or even four piglets all winter?” asked Lord Rhys.

“They eat insects and grubs, and worms. The children can dig them from the edges of the fishponds and fields until it snows. After that, they’ll have to eat vegetable scraps along with the chickens and ducks. There’s always far more than the birds need. In the end, if we have to use grain for them and we don’t have extra grain, we’ll kill and eat them then. But I’d like to try. By next year, we could be breeding our own pigs.”

Hammond smiled. Lady Elinor was excited and happy about keeping piglets. Well, as she’d said, it wouldn’t hurt to see if they could survive.

Lord Rhys nodded. “Very well. A boar or two, a sow, and capture some piglets. Consider it done. Now, let’s get to what we came here for. Double fucking.”

At those words, Hammond’s prick, which had gone soft, suddenly almost broke its way out of his breeches. His hand automatically went down to loosen the fabric around his balls, and his legs widened instinctively. He saw Lord Rhys grin, so cleared his throat and said, “I bought a vial of oil in case we’d need it.”

“Good idea. You may have her ass since the oil is yours and you’ll need it on your cock. At least the first time. I’d like to do this twice tonight, if we can.”

“Twice!” Lady Elinor gasped and blushed.

Hammond’s prick began to throb against his breeches. Hastily he put down his sword and unbuckled his belt, pulling his boots off so he could lower his breeches before the pain in his prick killed him.

When he looked up, the others were undressing, too, Lady Elinor laying the pretty blue gown she’d worn for the tourney in her carved, wooden storage chest, and Lord Rhys putting his sword beside the bed, as he often did.

Carefully, Hammond set the tiny stone vial of oil beside the pillows on the bed and finished undressing. He wasn’t sure how they’d work this, usually they only did things as they arose, but tonight was special.

“Sit against the wall with your legs apart and your cock upright,” said Lord Rhys.

Hammond felt relieved. Now he understood how they’d be fucking. Grasping the oil, he did as instructed and opened the stopper so he could pour a little oil onto his cock then rub it down the shaft. Before replacing the stopper, he put a few more drops of oil on his fingers to oil Lady Elinor’s opening.

“Sit on his cock, facing me,” Lord Rhys told Lady Elinor, and obediently she moved to the bed.

“Wait. Stick your ass in my face, first,” said Hammond.

She did, and he thrust his oily fingers inside her pink rosette, smearing the expensive oil around her entry and massaging the tight ring as he so often had done in the past. It never ceased to arouse him. Touching her skin anywhere was good, but for some reason, her ass excited him even more than her cunt or her breasts, though both were wonderful to sample.

He guided her down onto his prick. He had to push to gain entry, but she didn’t flinch, and then he slid into her heat. Such heat. It warmed him through and through and made him burn to swive her with every inch of his prick, over and over again.

But first he had to wait for Lord Rhys. His liege lord spat on his fingers and wiped them on his prick, then spat and wiped again before he crawled across the bed, lifting Lady Elinor’s thighs up and inserting his own muscular legs on top of Hammond’s and under Lady Elinor’s. There was some wiggling and pushing until they were all in place, their bodies so tightly together they might almost have been one person.

“Like a saw,” gasped Lord Rhys. Hammond understood that as Lord Rhys pulled out he was to push in, as if they were two men working a saw to chop down a large tree. Instead, they were two men working on something much better than timber—although his prick was as hard a tree trunk. It had been for days, weeks even.

Watching his lord, Hammond timed his strokes to complement the other man’s, pulling out as he pushed in, pushing in as he withdrew. Lady Elinor’s ass was a wonderful place for a man to rest his weapon. She was hot and wet, her muscles clenching his prick hard enough to excite him unbearably. Yet as he plowed her deeply, his prick rubbed against Lord Rhys’s. God’s truth, it was the best thing he’d ever felt. Even the very first time he’d fucked her hadn’t been as good as this was. His balls were drawn tight against his body, his prick was full to bursting with his seed, his entire body was burning to fill her with everything he had, but he had to wait until she was ready.

Hammond kissed along her neck, lifting her thick, reddish-brown hair to lick and suck the soft, sensitive skin usually hidden from sight. She was a little salty, but altogether delicious, and like the finest wine, sucking her there made him a tiny bit drunk with the pleasure of it. He had to concentrate to keep plowing her steadily, every stroke matching that of his lord, but his lord was also highly aroused and they were moving faster now, harder, deeper, their pricks sliding against each other and slamming into their lady.

Suddenly, her muscles gripped him so hard he thought his prick might snap in two like an old sword blade. Instead, her body shook and shuddered against his chest, and with relief, he released his control and let his aching prick fill her ass with his seed. Again and again, he pounded into her, his essence jetting from him in an endless flood. He realized with shock that he could feel Lord Rhys’s seed, too, hot against the thin wall dividing their cocks from each other. That knowledge sent another burst of liquid from him, filling her again.