Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 86167 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86167 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
His kind words touched her. She returned to his side and gave him a strong hug, the kind she’d given him as a child. He was so much taller and bigger than her, he always had been, and so blond compared to her dark coloring. She might favor her mother in looks, but he was her papa through and through. Soon she would be married, in a new home away from her parents. She was ready, of course, even excited for it, but…
“I love you,” she said, holding him an extra moment. “Thank you for talking to Lord August for me.”
“I love you, too. And I doubt he’ll need much convincing,” he said with a smile. “He’s a most agreeable young man and will wish to make you happy.”
He is agreeable, she thought to herself. Even when he spanked her, he was quite caring and agreeable.
Caring? A caring spanker?
Somehow, it was so.
She left her papa and went to Arlington Hall’s silent library. She’d always loved it there, with its high windows and the cozy nooks in which to sit and read. The library had a character to it, a comforting, welcoming feeling, and she browsed the shelves for something to catch her interest.
She passed by books of maritime travels, browsed a couple of Gothic romances, then settled upon an Arthurian adventure with retellings of the most popular legends. She carried it to a chair in the corner and turned to some of her favorite stories, as she’d read this book many times before. She loved to think about life back in those ancient times, and thought she would have enjoyed being a princess, but not Guinevere, her mother’s namesake. That princess had a bit too much tragedy in her storyline.
No, Elizabeth would be a different princess, a content, settled princess with a loving husband—her knight, of course—and sweet boy and girl children who would all be princes and princesses too. The book’s stories were accentuated with detailed, dramatic drawings. She flipped through pictures of Merlin, the great wizard, and the Lady of the Lake. There was Arthur’s powerful, magical half-sister Morgaine, whose name was Elizabeth’s second name.
She would be a content, settled princess, yes, but have some of Lady Morgaine’s spark too. As for her knight…
She turned the pages until she found the illustration she sought, the rendering of one of Arthur’s knights in full armor, with his sword at his side and his helmet slung from his fingers. He had dark features and dark hair, tousled as if he’d just come from battle. His solid stance vibrated with the possibility of violence.
Not violence. Protection.
King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table had protected their women and lived by a strict code of honor: chivalry. While gentlemen still adhered to the vague idea of it, it was subtler now, not as visceral and commanding as it seemed to have been back then. She traced her fingers over the knight’s broad shoulders, his armored thighs spread wide as if ready to spring to action. The face was not clear; the artist had used heavily shadowed pencil.
When she was younger, she’d imagined the man looked like Lord Townsend, who also had dark hair, but then a few nights ago she’d dreamed of this knight, and it had been Lord August with his helmet held at his side. In her dream, he’d been tall and intense, striding toward her with his armor clanking. Studying the picture now, it did favor Lord Augustine in the hint of effectual movement. She’d awakened from the dream with a start of surprise, thinking the knight might spank her.
She closed the book, feeling silly, then opened it to a different section and read more about Merlin and King Arthur, and the ancient kingdom of Camelot.
She knew that Lord Fortenbury liked to read books, mostly about God and religion. She wondered if he ever read other books. She would like to talk about Arthurian legends with him, about the history, romance, and magic of it all. She tried to picture him as the knight in dark pencil, but Fortenbury reminded her more of a priest. Perhaps when she knew him better, it would be easier to see him as a chivalric hero.
Then she thought…would Lord Fortenbury spank her?
Would she want him to?
It wouldn’t be her choice, would it? If her husband believed she needed a spanking, she would have to take one. That was the way of the world.
She shook the thought from her head and tried to refocus on the story about Merlin and King Arthur, but in the end, she flipped back to the knight’s picture. Yes, there was no doubt on the subject. It favored Lord Augustine most of all.
Chapter Three
An Evening Assembly
Two months later
“August, darling, you’ve arrived at last!”
His mother’s bright voice was the first to greet him when he entered the noisy dining room. Lisburne Manor was a squat, sprawling, old stone castle, one he’d visited many times, and though it could be cold and drafty, it did offer plenty of space for populous gatherings. This dining room had been a great hall once, had, in fact, hosted the wedding banquet of Elizabeth’s parents: the Duke of Arlington and his Welsh bride Guinevere.