Timestruck (38 page)

Lady Adalhaid didn’t answer. She merely
chuckled, making that throaty sound Gina liked to hear, and
regarded Gina out of smiling eyes.

“Unless,” Gina said, realization slowly
dawning, “you are trying to tell me that I’m already pregnant. But
how can that be?”

“I suppose it happened in the usual way,”
Lady Adalhaid responded with dry humor. “I assume that you and
Dominick were lying together before you left Feldbruck, which is
why he kept you in his house here in Regensburg, rather than
sending you to the women’s quarters at the palace. That was a wise
decision in many ways. I began to consider the possibility when I
noticed that you were pale, with circles under your eyes, and you
ate little. Your bosom has grown larger. Haven’t you noticed how
snug the tops of your dresses are?”

“I developed circles under my eyes because I
wasn’t sleeping much while I was so worried about Dominick,” Gina
said. “That’s why I haven’t been eating.” Yet in the back of her
mind lay the tantalizing memory of a brief conversation she’d had
at the infirmary.

“There is a final, conclusive detail,” Lady
Adalhaid said. “Since you first arrived at Feldbruck, you’ve not
had a single monthly flow.”

“How can you possibly know something like
that?” Gina cried, dumbfounded.

“Ella noticed. She told Imma, who then told
me. Servants always know these things, sometimes before their
masters or mistresses do.”

Of course Ella had noticed. At Feldbruck she
and Gina routinely spread out the laundry together, including the
cloths the women used each month. Gina recalled being glad not to
have to use and reuse the same cloths and hoping she’d return to
New York before she needed such supplies. Then, with the journey to
Regensburg and all the excitement there, she’d forgotten about the
matter entirely.

“Brother Anselm’s assistant told me he
thought I had a female problem of some kind, and he said I ought to
speak to you about it,” Gina admitted. “I was so concerned about
Dominick that the conversation slipped my mind until now.”

“There, you see?” Lady Adalhaid chuckled
again. “How can you doubt what even a lay brother has noticed? Why
do you think I went to Charles and insisted that you and Dominick
marry quickly?”

“You told Charles I’m having a baby? Before
you said anything to me?”

“Of course not. I wouldn’t do that. I only
told him that you and Dominick were deeply in love and deserved to
marry but that I feared you would refuse him if he asked because
you lacked a dowry. I knew Charles could easily remedy that little
problem.”

“You’ve been arranging my life behind my
back!” Gina cried.

“I have been doing what any loving foster
parent would do,” Lady Adalhaid replied, unruffled by the
accusation. “I perceive that you are frightened about the future.
It’s natural, you know. Any bride who’s not a half-wit is worried
on her wedding day, and to learn on the same day that you are to
have a child must be somewhat disturbing.”

“That’s putting it mildly,” Gina said,
horrified by the possibility that she might be returned to the
twentieth century while pregnant, leaving Dominick to wonder
forever about the gender and the well-being of their child, and
leaving her far from his love and tender support.

“You do want to marry Dominick, don’t you?”
Lady Adalhaid began to look worried. “I’m sure I am not mistaken in
thinking you love him.”

“I love him with all my heart and soul.” It
was a simple statement of truth that put the uncertain future into
perspective. “I want to marry Dominick and live with him for the
rest of my life.”

“Well, then, we ought to start for the palace
before he begins to think you’ve run away and deserted him,” Lady
Adalhaid said, teasing. “He would come after you, you know.”

“I know,” Gina said, love and hope and fear
all mingling together in her heart. “If it were possible to follow
me to the end of time, Dominick would.”

* * *

Gina did like the simplicity of a Frankish
wedding. In the presence of Charles and his courtiers, but with
Fastrada absent, Alcuin read out the terms of their marriage
contract. Gina’s dowry of Vincona in Lombardy was given to Dominick
to administer for her. Since he held only Feldbruck, having no
lesser properties to bestow on her as a marriage gift, the contract
stated that, in the event of Dominick’s death without heirs of his
body, Vincona would become Gina’s property, to do with as she
wished, so she would not be destitute when Feldbruck was returned
to Charles to give to a new count.

After they both agreed to the terms, Dominick
slid onto Gina’s finger a simple gold band into which a green stone
was deeply set. The top of the stone was rounded, and it shone with
a soft glow. Gina couldn’t tell whether it was an emerald or some
other kind of gem. It didn’t matter. She touched the ring and
looked into Dominick’s eyes and blinked away tears of
happiness.

As soon as all the copies of the contract
were signed and witnessed, the entire court went to morning prayers
at St. Peter’s. Gina was pleased to see Deacon Fardulf, Brother
Anselm, and his two assistants among the attending clergymen. All
four of them congratulated Dominick and Gina after the service and
after Father Theodulf had formally blessed the union.

“All that’s left is to say good-bye!”
exclaimed Lady Adalhaid, laughing and crying at the same time as
she embraced Dominick. “I will see you again in January,” she
whispered into Gina’s ear.

“I hope so, dear friend,” Gina responded.

“Dominick,” Charles said as they all stood on
the church steps, waiting for the king to depart so they could
leave without being disrespectful, “my wedding gift to you is
temporary remission of your military service to me. You will
require time to recover from your recent wounds and also to put the
estate at Vincona into order. Nor would I deprive a new bride of
her husband’s company. I will see you at the Mayfield next spring.
You will receive the usual notice of when and where it’s to be held
and how many fighting men you are to bring with you. Lady Gina, you
are always welcome to join the other ladies who attend the Mayfield
assembly with their husbands.”

Charles clasped Dominick’s hand and kissed
Gina on both cheeks. Then he was gone, mounted on his favorite
steed and riding out of Regensburg surrounded by his loyal nobles
and their ladies. He was so tall that Gina could easily distinguish
him in the crowd.

* * *

Dominick latched the bedchamber door and
turned toward his new wife, noting the nervousness she could not
conceal. Gina was behaving like a skittish virgin. He couldn’t
understand it; he was sure he had banished the last of her qualms
about the act of love some time ago, and they had settled the final
differences between them on the previous day. Perhaps there was
another reason.

“I am completely restored to health,” he
said.

“I know.” She backed away from him. “The room
looks nice.”

“It’s lovely.” He made a quick assessment of
the clean sheets, neatly turned down and awaiting them, and of the
large pitcher crammed full of flowers that sat atop his clothing
chest.

“The servants were considerate to leave us
alone,” Gina said.

“I suggested it.” He took another step
forward.

“I didn’t know.” Gina took another step
backward.

“Enough, Gina.” He caught her by the
shoulders. “I did not come to my own bedchamber to stalk quarry.
What’s wrong?”

“Can’t a girl be nervous on her wedding
night?”

“It’s midday, and we have done this before,
several times. Though, I grant you, there is a special solemnity to
this occasion.” He wished he were capable of understanding a
woman’s mind. He knew of no man who could. Gina was a greater
mystery than most women. From the first moment he’d seen her, she
had baffled and intrigued him. He was sure she was hiding something
from him now, though he couldn’t think what it might be. She had
told him everything about her past, and he knew she was completely
honest.

“We have the rest of our lives to learn to
know each other,” he murmured, as if to convince himself.

“If we’re lucky,” she said. Then she
rephrased the thought. “If heaven wills it.”

“Surely heaven will not take you from me
now.” Dominick knew he couldn’t wait much longer to possess her.
More than a month of abstinence was too long for any man to endure,
especially a man who knew what joys awaited him in Gina’s embrace.
Fire surged through his veins.

“Wife,” he said, “my beloved wife,” and he
bent to taste her lips.

“There is something I ought to tell you,” she
said, sounding uncertain.

“I want to know, but later. Let it wait.” He
silenced her attempt to speak again by claiming her mouth, and by
moving closer, so she could feel his arousal. To his surprise, she
actually resisted for a moment. But then she surrendered, melting
against him, and his heart beat harder in triumph. Her mouth opened
to his pressure, and Dominick let his tongue surge into her,
establishing a rhythm he would very soon continue with another
eager part of himself that was already throbbing insistently.

For him, it had been this way since the day
Gina fell into his bed at Feldbruck. He remembered waking, sure
that he was being attacked, and tossing her onto her back to hold
her down. Even then, his body had instantaneously reacted to her.
Even then, when he’d thought she was an enemy, a spy for the queen,
he couldn’t resist her. Now that he knew her better, Gina’s allure
was increased tenfold.

She was clinging to him, sighing softly, her
green eyes shining with moisture.

“Gina? Why are you crying?”

“Because it hurts to love this much,” she
whispered. “Whatever happens, wherever I am, I will always love
you. But, Dominick—”

“Hush. You are going to stay with me.” He
couldn’t bear to think she wouldn’t.

“I wish I could be so certain,” she said.

Dominick kissed her again, to reassure her
and himself.

Slowly they undressed each other. When she
stood naked before him, Dominick smiled in appreciation of her
womanly beauty. She had gained weight since coming to Francia. No
one could call her sickly or ill-nourished now. Her arms and legs
were gracefully rounded, and her breasts were fuller than when he
had first known her. She was everything a man could desire in a
woman. But most of all he loved her independent spirit that was
bold enough to challenge a king, and her unique way of looking at
life.

While he was gazing at her in rapt enjoyment,
Gina had been assessing him. She ran her hands along his shoulders,
feeling the newly hard muscles of his upper arms.

“You do appear to be almost completely
recovered,” she said, her fingertips skimming lightly over the scar
on his side.

“There is still one place that aches,” he
said.

“I’m sorry.” She took her hands away. “I
shouldn’t have touched your wound.”

“Not there.” She was becoming nervous again,
and he could tell he was going to have to act quickly to calm her.
“Here.” He caught her hand and guided it to his rigid manhood.

“Oh.” She touched him with gentle, trembling
fingers, and Dominick almost went to his knees as a wave of desire
surged through him.

Fortunately, they were standing right next to
the bed, so he wasn’t going to have to pick her up. He didn’t think
he could, not when he was shaking and half-mad with longing. He put
his arms around her and exerted a slight downward pressure. They
fell onto the bed together. He was on top of her, and it was pure
bliss to be pressed against her soft skin and sweet curves, from
knee to shoulder.

Gina appeared startled by his sudden action,
and he could see she was still oddly nervous.

Exerting severe self-control, he rolled off
her, lifted her legs onto the bed, and lay down beside her. Then he
began to kiss her, starting at her forehead and slowly working his
way down toward her toes. By the time he reached her breasts, her
nervousness was gone, and when he finally, after a long, delicious
interval, arrived at her knees, she was whimpering and begging for
more.

He made her wait. There was one area he had
deliberately omitted from his attentions. Not until he was working
his way back up her lovely body did he pause and separate her
creamy thighs and touch the liquid center of her.

“Dominick!” She reared upward, clutching at
his shoulder with one hand and grabbing his hair with the other.
“Please, come to me. Now!”

As he had known it would be, it was worth the
wait, worth taking the time to gentle her, though he had feared
more than once during the last half hour that he’d shatter into a
thousand pieces.

He settled over her, and she lifted her hips
to meet him. The ecstasy on her face was all the reward he needed
for his patience. But even greater rewards awaited him. He thrust
hard into Gina’s tight warmth, offering her his manhood, his heart,
all that he was or ever would be. And in return she gave him a
rapture beyond anything he had previously experienced, and a
fulfillment that bound them together forever.

* * *

Hours later, in the blue twilight, with the
stars just beginning to shine, Gina revealed to him her last
secret.

“A child?” he said, laying a tender hand on
her abdomen.

“An heir for Feldbruck.”

“Not only an heir. A child born of love.” In
reverent homage to a mystery as old as humankind, Dominick bent his
head and kissed the place beneath which their child grew.

“I hope this doesn’t mean you’ll neglect me
until after January,” she said with a wistful smile.

“Oh, no. I am not meant to be a monk.” He
wasn’t quite sure whether she was teasing him or not, so he chose
the only course open to a joyfully overwhelmed husband. He proved
he had no intention of neglecting her. With infinite care, he made
love to her all over again.