Pillaging Elinor's Castle [Elinor's Stronghold 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (7 page)

“But if you build bridges, the soldiers will cross, too. How will the people know when to destroy the bridges?”

“They shall learn to swim. We’ll all learn to swim. Just enough to cross the river. No soldier in armor will follow the people into the river.”

“Swim? Like the children?”

“Exactly. If children can learn, how hard can it be?” Elinor laughed.

Hammond and Rhys proved harder to convince, but surprisingly, Albin and Wade jumped on the idea.

“Many of our boys learn to swim, at least to some extent. But once they grow up, they put aside such childish pastimes. Enough of the men will be able to teach their wives and children,” said Wade.

“But if everyone can swim, doesn’t that mean as a defense it’s useless?” asked Alistair.

“Can you swim, lord?” asked Wade.

Alistair shook his head.

“That is your answer. It is distinct to this valley here. Lady Elinor’s river never runs dry, even in midsummer. Many rivers don’t flow in the hottest weather, and it’s during the hot weather when boys decide to swim. Lord Jeffrey’s men are not from around here, and when they attack, they’ll be wearing armor anyway.”

“They must all learn to swim wearing their clothes,” said Elinor suddenly.

“Modesty, at a time like this?” asked Rhys with a grin.

“No, practicality. If they’re fleeing, they won’t have time to get undressed,” she replied.

“Of course.” He nodded.

* * * *

Elinor’s days had always been busy, but now they were busier than ever before. Gathered wood was piled high against the walls of the barns, nuts, berries, and edible grasses and fungi were collected and stored in her cellar, and the earliest fruits had been picked and carefully arranged so they didn’t touch each other in long rows on her cellar shelves.

Most nights both Hammond and Rhys came to her bed. Sometimes Hammond had guard duties that couldn’t be avoided, or Rhys and Hammond needed to stay in the great hall talking with visitors, but usually they all lay in bed together.

Elinor greatly enjoyed the pleasures of the bed. Whether they were plowing her mouth, her ass, or her cunt, lying down, sitting, or standing up, they always gave her pleasure. Over the past months, both Hammond and Rhys had learned which places she liked having touched, and what aroused her fastest, and they were dedicated to using their knowledge to give her pleasure far greater than she’d known before her marriage.

But she needed to become pregnant, needed a child, an heir. A son by Rhys would be the best possible outcome, but any child, girl or boy, fathered by Rhys or Hammond, would be an heir to the stronghold and would give them more security. Many children died, but once she’d birthed a child, the world would know there’d be more children and that, if this one died, the succession would still be ensured.

That night, after they’d made love and were resting in each other’s arms, the men were discussing why Alistair was not a lord.

“There can only be two reasons. Either he will become a lord only on his father’s death, or else he’s illegitimate, recognized as his father’s son, but not able to inherit,” said Rhys.

“So at the moment, he’s not a suitable husband for Rhyannon, even though she loves him and he seems to love her,” sighed Elinor.

“Not only that, but if he inherits the title and honor on his father’s death, he’ll have to return to his father’s lands, and from what he’s said, that is not something he will ever do willingly,” added Hammond.

“Do you think she’s still a virgin? Should I tell Father Augustus to marry them soon, anyway?” asked Rhys, worry threading through his tone of voice.

“She’s been to Court several times, with two of her father’s wives. I’m sure the ladies there will have told her things to do to ensure her honor is maintained,” said Elinor.

“Good.” Rhys’s voice was filled with relief.

Elinor knew he’d much rather find Rhyannon an appropriate match and was already mentally running through the nobles in the valley, looking for prospective candidates. No woman could expect to marry for love. Marriage was an alliance of lands and wealth. But affection, if not exactly love, could come after marriage, as she was learning herself.

She rubbed her wet cunt over Hammond’s thigh and slipped a hand down Rhys’s body to grip his cock. It was still limp, but she knew it would soon rise again. Both these men had endless stamina, both in the bedroom and on the battlefield.

Rhys grabbed her hair. “Suck me. Suck me hard, and make me ready for you.”

Happily she slid down his body, making sure Hammond felt her wetness and the hard points of her nipples as she moved off him, and over Rhys. She loved sucking their shafts. They each had a distinct taste, neither of them unpleasant, and, as always after they’d already coupled, their cocks also tasted of her, which was an aphrodisiac all of itself.

Elinor licked along the length of his stalk, tasting her own cream plus his seed. The mixture was incredibly arousing, her sweetness and his tartness blended together. She flicked the tip of her tongue up under his foreskin, loving the softness of the protected head of his cock, then into the eye hoping for a drop of his essence, but he wasn’t ready yet.

Carefully, she sucked him deeper inside her mouth, opening the back of her throat as he’d taught her, forcing herself not to gag as he slid deeper down it, then she swallowed on him, knowing that aroused him faster than anything else.

She couldn’t hold that position very long, only for a few heartbeats, but it was long enough to feel his cock fatten and lengthen before she released him from her mouth.

Elinor took his balls in her hand, rolling them around, loving the contrast between the tougher, hairy skin and the solid muscle of his shaft.

“Now lie on Hammond, your back to his chest,” ordered Rhys.

Elinor moved onto Hammond as instructed, expecting him to press his cock into her ass, but instead, he moved her around and pushed it into her cunt. She enjoyed the new position. He felt different like this, but just as good as ever.

When Rhys leaned over her, she opened her mouth, expecting him to fill it with his cock, but instead he pushed his dick into her cunt, beside Hammond’s. He had to push hard, forcing her entry to open wider, her walls to stretch to accept him. But then, she’d just been thinking about a baby, and a babe’s head was bigger than even two such well-endowed men as hers. Elinor held still as Rhys forced his way in, until the two cocks filled her and stretched her wider and tighter than she could have imagined.

Four big, brawny hands on her hips held her quite still as the men began to pump into her. They moved slower and more carefully than usual, and she guessed that was because they had to allow for each other as they withdrew. But gradually they pushed a little harder, a little deeper, and the hands on her hips wandered to squeeze her breasts and stroke her arms and thighs.

In her turn, she threaded her fingers through her men’s hair, holding them tightly to her, stroking their necks gently as they pumped, keeping her movements in time with theirs. Then her body exploded. One of the men touched her where she’d never been touched before, and a shaft of pleasure/pain slammed into her, tossing her like in a leaf in a storm, into her release.

“Again. She liked that,” said Hammond, and the men did it again, sending another wickedly delightful pain through her belly.

“Her womb, together we can hit her womb,” gasped Rhys.

With the third jab, Elinor’s entire body melted into a puddle of joy. Her fingers went limp in their hair, her arms and legs shook, her cunt clenched and released over and over again, and she had no control of her body at all. She was simply a vessel to be filled with the seed of their lust, as she reveled in the exquisite feelings deep inside her.

Both men pumped a few more times, their hot seed filling her and running down her thighs. When they finished, Rhys had to lift her off Hammond, as she was still too well fucked to move.

The deer hunt had brought back one buck and three does, which required a lot of work to prepare and preserve for the long winter ahead. All the fat was saved, the clear to be eaten and used in cooking, the spoiled for candles. Hides and skins were preserved as well as the meat.

The last of the fruit was harvested along with the grain, and even the children were busy in the fields from dawn to dusk. The guards were very alert, knowing Lord Jeffrey’s attack would be soon. At dusk, the men supervised the people’s swimming lessons, until even old Mary, older than anyone could remember, was able to cross the river with a little help from her grandson.

Several times, the children saw men hiding in the forest. Jeffrey’s soldiers were very good at concealing themselves, but Wade had taken his position very seriously, and every child had been taught to look for the tiniest thing out of place, such as a tree whose shape seemed to have changed overnight.

The people in every hamlet were warned to keep watch. “The attack will be very soon,” the guards told them. The children promised to bring their messages quicker than ever before and raced against each other, discovering the fastest path to each village, and learning from Nerida the value of planning a route before running. Nerida was one of the leaders of the children now, even the boys admitting she was as fast and smart as they were.

Elinor knew Rhys worried about Lord Jeffrey, and he, Hammond, and Albin trained the guards and freemen as much as possible around the necessity of gathering in the harvest.

When the attack finally came, it was almost an anticlimax. The children saw the soldiers when they were still miles away, as sunlight flashed off their armor when they topped a hill. Instantly, each child was dispatched to a hamlet to warn the people, some of them reciting Wade’s comment as well, “Foolish man. Why go over the hilltop instead of around.”

Long before the soldiers arrived, everyone was safely in the stronghold, the gates barred and soldiers and freemen lining the castle walls with bows and arrows, pots of rocks to throw, and weapons stashed ready around the perimeter in case the enemy soldiers broke through somewhere.

Smoke from two of the hamlets indicated that Lord Jeffrey had burned them in anger, but the people had long since buried their valuables, knowing an attack would come. They also knew Lord Rhys and his men would help rebuild their homes as soon as it was safe to do so.

Lord Jeffrey threatened and raved, his bowmen shooting arrows at the castle, but no person was hit.

He rode up and down just out of bowshot of the walls, screaming at his men, waving his arms, and trying to force them to attack. But his soldiers were smart enough to know that unless an arrow killed Lord Rhys, Lord Jeffrey was not going to be successful. Or at least, not this time.

Lord Rhys maintained a calm demeanor, while Hammond and Albin memorized everything about Lord Jeffrey’s men, aware there could be later attacks and needing all the information they could gather.

Lord Jeffrey responded to the inevitable, withdrawing his troops, but the watchers had no intention of lessening their vigilance. The attackers needed food and supplies, but they weren’t going to take them from any of Elinor’s people if they had a say in it.

* * * *

No one stepped outside the castle walls for a full week, and then Lord Devon appeared at the gate, fully armed and with a baggage mule behind him.

“It’ll be a trap. Double the guards,” suggested Albin.

“Yes, do it. And send all the women and children inside the castle keep before we open the gate,” replied Hammond.

Rhys came running and stood on the battlements. “What do you want, Lord Devon?” he asked.

“Lord Jeffrey has released me from my pledge of service to him. I wish to be your liegeman.”

“Why would you do that?”

“The words should not be shouted to the world. I’ll tell you in private.”

Rhys was puzzled. The man was noble and an excellent fighter. But why would he leave Lord Jeffrey’s employ? What would cause him to do such a thing? A man’s word was not lightly given, nor was it rescinded easily. It had to be a trap. “God’s truth, I need those children’s sharp eyes right now,” he murmured.

“There’s no sign of soldiers hiding in the forest or coming over the hill,” answered Wade softly.

“That just means Lord Jeffrey has learned from his last mistake,” scoffed Hammond.

Rhys was torn. He needed Nerida’s sharp eyes. He needed Elinor’s sharp brain. There were times when being the Lord of the Stronghold was a huge responsibility. If he made the wrong decision now, the lives of more than one hundred people could be lost.

Making Elinor his, holding her soft body in his arms, and loving her was wonderful. Fighting soldiers and other warriors was what he was trained for. Decisions like this were much harder. He could not be wrong. He had to be right.

“All the freemen and half the guard stay on watch. Keep your gaze on the forest, on the hill, on the road. Don’t stop watching for as much as a heartbeat. Hammond, you stay on the wall with Wade. The rest of the guard and Albin, come with me.” It was the best he could do. The freemen were safer on the wall, and it meant there were extra eyes watching for a trap. By leaving Hammond up there, too, if one of them was killed, the other could still protect Elinor.