After the ceremony, they adjourned inside for a mass.
Feasting followed. Table upon table laden with huge quantities of food that would likely appall modern doctors and spark lectures on the dangers of high cholesterol and high blood pressure. But it was all very tasty and too tempting for Beth to resist. She didn’t know if women here were supposed to pick at their food and eat dainty portions. But if they were, then she probably raised eyebrows yet again while she packed away more food than Sir Stephen.
In the bailey, Robert hosted games and contests for the villeins and their children.
In the great hall, lively acrobats and jesters entertained, as did minstrels.
Beth thought the dancing positively surreal. It entailed very little physical contact, aside from holding or touching hands. Nothing at all sensual. A far cry from the dancing she had witnessed at twenty-first-century clubs and parties, in which couples ground on each other to the beat and simulated sex.
And speaking of sex…
Apparently, at the end of the night, there was supposed to be a bedding ceremony of some sort. Beth could never quite figure out what it involved. The whispers she managed to catch seemed to range from Alyssa and some attendants helping Beth change and prepare for Robert to deflower her (a little too late for that one), to Beth’s being escorted to the solar by the women, stripped naked, then put on display for Robert and the men who carried him upstairs on their shoulders.
Beth had three words for the latter: Oh, hell no.
She didn’t know if Robert had nixed such plans ahead of time, or if there hadn’t been any to begin with. But when the time came for them to retire, he simply twined his fingers through hers and brought her hand to his lips for a kiss. The tenderness in his blue eyes as they met hers warmed her heart.
“Shall we?” he asked softly beneath the boisterous laughter in the hall.
She nodded.
Smiling, he rose, drew her up from her seat at the high table, then escorted her from the hall.
No one followed, though several of Robert’s men called bawdy suggestions after them.
Closing the solar door behind them dampened but did not silence the revelry that took place below.
Someone had prepared a fire in the hearth and left wine for them on the table beside it.
Beth stared up at Robert, her heart pounding wildly in her chest. “I feel nervous,” she admitted, “like it’s my first time.”
He smiled and drew her closer. “It is. For both of us.” Dipping his head, he pressed a lingering kiss to her lips. “Tonight will be the first time I make love with my wife.”
She smiled. “And the first time I make love with my husband.” She kissed his chin, then teased his lips with a brief caress. “I love you, husband.”
He deepened the kiss. “I love you, wife.”
Robert took his time, divesting Beth of her wedding finery. He couldn’t resist sliding his rough hands over every bit of soft, pale skin he exposed as he removed each article of clothing. When Beth at last stood before him, wearing only her black bra and panties, lust pierced him. “You wore them.”
She nodded, flashing him a siren’s smile. “Now I’ll do you.”
Every muscle in his body went taut as she placed her small hands on his chest, then slid them down to unbuckle his belt. Every brush of her fingers as she removed his clothes sent fire racing through him. Every caress that followed on bare skin tested his restraint until he shook with the need to bury himself inside her.
Never had he wanted a woman with such a burning need.
As soon as he was bare, he slid his arms around her waist, drew her tempting body up against his, and took her lips in a deep, devouring kiss. “I will never get enough of you,” he growled. As soon as he spoke the words, he regretted them.
Instead of expressing his desire, they served as a reminder of how little time they might have together.
Beth’s hazel eyes began to glisten with moisture as she looked up at him.
“Don’t,” he pleaded, easing his hold on her and cupping her face in both hands. “I spoke without thought. Forgive me. I only meant to—”
She curled the fingers of one hand around his wrist and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I know, Robert.” Releasing his wrist, she cupped his jaw and stroked the stubble she found there. “Just kiss me and make me forget everything else. No yesterdays. No tomorrows. Just you and me and our wedding night.” A teasing glint entered her eyes, banishing some of the sadness there. “And, if you really want to distract me and are feeling particularly adventurous, some of the men downstairs had some rather interesting ideas on how we can pass our time up here. Maybe we can give one or two of them a try.”
He grinned. “Or three or four.” Picking her up, he tossed her backward.
Beth squealed as she flew through the air and landed on his big bed with a bounce.