The King, The Duke, and The Lady

A Story of Friendship, Love, and Lust

Chapter 7

Lady Brianna sat in the semi-dark room listening to the crowds alternately applauding, jeering, and gasping as the executions took place, one after another. The bell tolled and then held its silence until the next person was killed. The Duke of Suffolk, dressed in his dark gray and black court attire, and the King dressed similarly were in the room with her. The Duke stood staring blankly out the window, not twitching a muscle as the executions finally commenced. The King sat either with his back to the window his fingers pounding the table or twitching in anxiety, or he paced the floor with his hands held stiffly to his back. Every time the bell tolled, he crossed himself and uttered 'Deus me ignoscat', may God forgive me. By the time the Queen's private execution began, the crowds waited outside, just as they did, waiting for the bell to ring. The King sat at the head of the table in his Privy chamber, with Brianna sitting to his right. His two hands held hers as he bowed his head in prayer. He could hear words being spoken but could not hear what was being said. Suffolk came and stood beside Brianna as tears flowed down her cheeks. The bell finally tolled. The latest Queen was dead along with the other accused, and the three friends remained at their positions in silence. There was no need to talk. The Queen was dead and nothing that could be said would change or erase the enormity of it.

Finally the King raised his head from his heartfelt prayer to God, and saw the tears slowly drying on Brianna's face. "You weep for them, My Lady?"

Brianna sighed and looked directly in the King's blue eyes. "I weep for the dead and commend their souls to heaven. And I weep for my King and pray that God offers him solace that he cannot seem to give himself."

The King raised himself from his chair and leaned over and kissed Brianna's hand. "Thank you, Bri. May your tears be the beginning of the cleansing of my soul."

The Duke of Suffolk turned to face the King, his face solemn and his voice quiet. "May I escort the Lady back to her chambers, Your Majesty?"

The King sighed as he thought to retire to his bedchamber. "Yes, Brandon. Please do. And thank you both for being here with me."

A knock on the door announced Master Cromwell. The King looked wearily at the Chancellor. "Yes, Cromwell?" his voice curt towards his Chancellor. Over the last several weeks, or even months, he had grown to increasingly dislike the rat-faced man, his false subservience a grind on the King's nerves.

"Your Majesty," Cromwell bowed and took in the silent and dangerously neutral looks of the Duke of Suffolk and the Lady Brianna. Cromwell knew the Duke had no love for him, and while nothing could ever be confirmed, imagined that view was shared by the Lady as well. Cromwell retained his bow and turned to Brandon and Brianna, "Your Grace, Countess…"

They remained silent although nodding their heads in acknowledgement. The King looked at Cromwell with a refreshed irritation at his mere presence much less whatever it was he had come to say. To say that Cromwell's star was waning was putting it mildly, Brandon thought.

Cromwell finally continued, "Your Majesty, the executions are completed and the crowds are slowly dispersing."

The King looked at him in silence. "Did you have anything to tell me I didn't know Cromwell? The bell clearly signaled death with every stroke. I am not deaf, nor are my companions. If you have nothing else of consequence to tell me, then you are dismissed."

Cromwell unhappily bowed and left the room, closing the door behind him.

The King looked at Brandon and Brianna. "I think he is one of the many I have elevated to a position that it is not in my best interest for him to retain."

Both the Duke and the Lady nodded their heads carefully before leaving the room and the King to his rest.

Two weeks later, Countess Brianna left court with the King's blessing, promising to return as soon as she felt she was able or when he requested, whichever came first. She gave a great sigh of relief as she and her small court of servants saw Cheverly appearing over the horizon. She couldn't remember a time when she had been so pleased to see her home once again.

A month after her return, a messenger arrived on a frothing horse, both the messenger and horse exhausted from their hasty ride to Cheverly. Brianna quickly took the letters from her lady and opened the one from the Duke first.

My dearest Brianna—

As you read this, the King and I are riding swiftly to Cheverly. There has been but a single death of the sweat in London, but the King has already disbanded Court and has chosen to leave the palace and head for the country. As you know, the King is terrified of the sweat, hence his abandonment of London. He has chosen to stay at Cheverly instead. We will travel with but two armed men a piece who will also be our man servants during our stay there. We will be there shortly.

Yours always,

Charles

Brianna took a step backwards and covered her mouth at the contents of the letter. The sweat! There had not been an outbreak of that plague in years, but the last time it took tens of thousands of lives. She was glad that Charles and the King had quickly removed themselves from the city where the risk was very high and were coming to the country. Brianna's home and lands were well situated and during a plague, few died if any. She opened the second letter.

My dear Brianna-

Instead of calling you back to Court, I find myself beseeching you to give Charles and myself sanctuary. The sweating illness has broken out in London and I fear the spread greatly. We are already on our way to Cheverly and will arrive before dinner. Please keep the messenger there. While I have disbanded Court, I will need to communicate with my ministers during this difficult time.

Thank you, your humble servant always,

Henry

Brianna quickly called for her housekeeper and estate manager to begin the quick preparations for the King and Duke's arrival. Rooms had to be prepared, food set in, servants quarters prepared, stables stocked, etc. Both her housekeeper and estate manager were very good at their positions and she was confident that even with the scaled back staff she had at the estate, things would be handled well. She also told her staff that under no circumstances was anyone to come into contact with anyone or anything from London. Food etc. would have to be purchased from within the estate and surrounding lands. And she required that as soon as the King and Duke along with their retainers arrived, baths were to be prepared and their clothes removed and cleaned. This was in case they brought any of the illness with them to Cheverly. She also quickly outlined a tincture that everyone in the household was to begin taking several times a day that would hopefully ward off the disease.

The King and Duke were met with minimal circumstance when they arrived. Everyone on the estate was busy preparing for their arrival and ultimately the defense of the estate and manor against disease. Neither the King nor the Duke cared about the brief welcoming, and were pleased when Brianna greeted them. She smiled and curtsied as was custom, and surprised them both by delivering very direct orders.

"Your Majesty, Your Grace. Welcome to my home. A maid will show you to your rooms where baths are being prepared for you now. Please bath yourself well, as well as drink the tea tincture that has been left in your room. Leave your clothing, all of it, outside the door so it can be smoked and cleaned." She smirked at their surprised reactions. "I assume you brought other clothing?"

The Duke looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "Well yes of course. But what is all of this?"

She smirked at him and then the King. "Given my penchant for cleanliness, I had hoped it would have worn off on the two of you, but apparently that is not the case. In any regard, you will bathe and your clothes will be cleaned immediately in case you brought any of the illness with you. It is a safety issue, not necessarily a vanity that you have both accused me of in the past. Although, trust me Your Grace, for me, cleanliness is next to Godliness."

Both the King and the Duke snickered at her innuendo and bowed to her wishes, letting one of the maids usher them to their rooms where steaming hot baths waited them both, scented with lavender, rosemary, and mint oil. The oils would serve to scent their bodies as well as remove any infectious disease. Fruit and ale was brought to both, although Brianna delivered the Duke's small meal to him in person.

She boldly entered his room to find him relaxing in the steaming water, the room filling with the scent of rosemary and lavender. He had already begun the washing of his hair with the soap provided and she gracefully sat on a stool nearby and took the soap from his hand. He had watched her with surprise when she entered his room, no doubt expecting his man servant or other household servant to bring him anything. Instead, it was Brianna taking up a seat to wash his hair. She was comfortably silent while he took a welcome sip of ale and found himself relaxing under her ministrations.

"How did you find your journey, Your Grace," Brianna asked breathing softly in his ear.

"Entirely too long, my lady. My horse could not ride fast enough for me to return to you."

"And we welcome you back with open arms, Your Grace," she smiled from behind his head, pouring water gently over his hair to rinse the suds.

He sighed as she returned to his side where he could see her, his head tilted towards her relaxed and watching. He then spoke seriously. "By the time we left, many more had died, and as news of the sweat spread, there was an exodus of people from London. The roads were crowded until we got farther out. And of course, on the way here the road was almost deserted."

Brianna took up the soap and wet her hands thoroughly. Brandon thought she looked amazing with her hair loose and her feet bare, dressed in a simple peasant dress with medium length sleeves and a corset that laced up the front. The laces were untied and loose enough that he could see the top of her bosom and knew she wore nothing under it. He felt himself growing hard just watching her. His body jumped in surprise as she took his foot in her soapy hand and began to massage the tiredness out of his aching muscles.

Brianna looked up the bath at him, a small smirk on her face as she watched the clear effect she had on him. "Well my Lord Suffolk, you and the King are here now and all will be well."

Brandon just sighed and moved his body deeper into the water as her hands moved across his body. Her hands touched almost every inch of his body, avoiding his most private parts with her hands, but her eyes could not avoid taking in the impressive sword that now lay upon his stomach, hard and slightly purplish in color. His eyes were closed and his breathing quick when he felt her finger across his lips. It brought back the memory of the last time they were as intimate as this and her finger crossed his lips then. The memory brought a deep moan to his throat and she reveled at her ability to bring him such pleasure.

She placed a grape against his lips causing his mouth to open to accept the fruit from her hands. He sighed as he took it into his mouth and opened his eyes to look into hers. She smiled softly at him taking a grape with her fingers and placing it in her mouth as well. She placed another in her mouth and leaned over his freshly cleaned face and body, pressing her lips to his so he could take the grape from her mouth into his. Again he moaned and brought his wet arm out of the water, putting it behind her head pressing her to him, taking both the grape and her tongue into his mouth. He welcomed the taste of her, the press of her lips against his once again, the power of her touch to arouse him beyond anything he ever experienced before.

She giggled as her hair and shoulders became wet with the soapy, scented water where his arm pulled her to him. She whispered as she reached his lips again, her voice deep with passion, "Welcome home my love," and he brought her lips crashing to his.

He released her finally after bruising her mouth and leaving a red rash where his slight beard burned her skin. They were both breathing hard. "God, Brianna, there is no place in the world I would rather be than here in this cooling tub with you beside me. Unless of course you were in here with me and I was inside you." His voice teased her with promise of things to come and a passion that might never wane.

"Well, Your Grace. I can hardly climb into the tub with you but perhaps…" her small hand drifted down his soaking body, "I can do something else to relax you after your ride." He gasped and closed his eyes as her hand circled his turgid cock, the soapiness of her hand giving her some lubrication to ease her stroke from the base of his shaft to the tip. As her thumb passed over the tip, dipping slightly in the small divot at the top before her hand returned down his shaft back to his base. He gasped and moaned, his eyes were now open and boring into hers. While her hand never stopped moving, her eyes never left his. She could see the burning fire in his eyes, and it frightened her a little. His body shifted slightly splashing water over the side of the tub and she smirked as she felt him jerk into her hand.

She licked her lips, still watching him with her eyes and feeling him with her hand, "You'll tell me Your Grace," Brianna said with a slightly sarcastic tone in her voice, "if I'm not doing this correctly? I want to be sure and please you."

Brandon snorted and grasped her hand in his, squeezing it hard, forcing her hand to move faster from the teasing motion she had offered, "Brianna," he said breathlessly, "you are doing perfectly." She kept her hand at the tension and the pace he had set even as he removed his hand, and as she watched his eyes glaze over and his breathing grow rapid, his louder moans caused her hand to increase her pace, being sure to always stroke the tip with every movement up and down. She watched his head arch upwards and his eyes close as his body and his cock in her hand jerked several times, causing him to cry out in pleasure. She reduced the stroke to a softer and gentler one and then she eased her hand away. He opened his eyes, glazed and inflamed with passion, and pulled her towards him again, conquering her mouth with his, sealing his love for her with the unbridled love and passion of his lips.

When they finally broke their kiss, she smiled at him and stood from her stool. "Your Grace's water must be cooling by now. Here is a towel, your ale and your fruit await. When you are dressed and comfortable," she smirked at him now, "you can join us downstairs."

Brandon stood in the bath, allowing her to see him at his full height, see his gifted sword already growing in passion. He stepped from the bath and pulled her to him, pressing his wet body to hers, feeling her soft curves melt into his hard body. He was still breathing hard as was she, while she looked up into his eyes, she was not nearly as confident as she was earlier.

He leaned his towering body over hers, kissing her gently, first on her eyelids, moving softly to her cheek and then to her lips. He kept the kiss passionate but did not deepen it. He didn't need to. Their passion was stoked already and he was ready for her again, but knew that having her was impossible. He could also see the confusion and fear in her eyes.

He softly kissed her nose and his eyes looked deeply into hers. "Bri- that was perfect. You are perfect. And while I would take your perfect body into mine now, I have promised to honor your maidenhead. I see fear and confusion in your eyes and wonder that I might have put it there. You have nothing to fear from me, my love. I will not take what you are not ready to give. And I will not seduce you into wanting to give it before you are ready." He still held her close and she could feel him grow against her. Brianna's own scented arousal hinted around the rosemary and lavender that was already in the air.

"God Charles, I have never wanted anything so much in my life. I have never been as brazen as I have been with you. I come to you innocent, but being around you makes me feel wicked and I want to do bad things to you."

Charles chuckled at her admission. "You *are* innocent, and you *are* brazen, and you *are* wicked, my love. That is a heady combination that makes my body and my mind crave you and your touch. But there is nothing 'bad' about what we will do to and for each other. There are no limits to love. Rest assured, Brianna. There are no mistakes to be made. There is only perfection when two people love each other as we love each other."

She sighed as their foreheads came together and they breathed in each other. "The King must give us his blessing soon, Charles, or I will go insane or force you to marry me and risk banishment from court forever."

Charles laughed softly again, "As if that would be such a terrible thing for you, Brianna. And he will give his blessing soon. He already talks of it as a foregone conclusion. He just enjoys toying with us, especially me. He keeps waiting to see me grow inconstant towards you so he can withdraw his blessing. But Brianna, he will not see that for I will never grow tired of you and I will not be parted from you."

"Oh Charles," she said as she lifted her lips again to his, unconcerned with his nakedness pressed against her lightly clothed body. The only thing that would make the moment more perfect was if she was naked as well.

TBC