The King, The Duke, and The Lady
Chapter 11
Two weeks after the country wedding of Charles Brandon and Brianna Huntingdon, the messages from London and other parts of England indicated that the sweat was winding down. More than half of the population of London had been decimated and mass graves or burnings were being held to manage the dead bodies.
However, at Cheverly things were much the same as they had been since the King and the Duke had arrived for refuge. The newly married couple spent every night and several times each day enjoying their new found passion for each other, taking every advantage to pleasure the other in every way possible. The King stayed silent on what he couldn't possibly remain oblivious to.
One morning, Brianna climbed out of the warm bed while Brandon still slept. She found it amusing that he was more tired than she after their adventures. Lothario indeed… she snickered to no one but herself. She silently dressed herself in her men's riding attire, leaving her hair in curls down her back. She quietly left their room and crept down the hallways to the kitchen where Mrs. Potts was already busy at work.
"Mrs. Potts. Would you be so kind as to prepare a delicious and large mid-day dinner picnic for the Duke, the King and myself? I would enjoy fresh meat, vegetables, fruit of course, some mead and ale, and those small scones the King is so fond of. Please feel free to make any other additions you feel appropriate. Also, Mrs. Potts, I would like two down comforters and at least 3 pillows for us to use for our comfort."
Mrs. Potts' eyes got large at the odd and suggestive request. Brianna never blushed and her countenance never changed. She acted like it was the most natural thing in the world to ask for pillows and blankets to share with two men. Brianna turned to leave through the side door, but just before she left Mrs. Potts could have sworn she saw a very naughty and secretive wink only for her eyes.
Brianna then left the mansion and headed for the stables. She requested their horses to be saddled and ready to go in an hour. She let the groom know that Mrs. Potts would have some extra weight on the horses and he would need to figure out a way to attach the picnic sundries so they could gallop with abandon. She then turned and left, heading for the chapel.
She often visited the chapel. She found the changes that Henry had wrought to the religion were welcome, at least for her. From a theological viewpoint, one which she was very educated in, she never could understand why she would confess her sins to a man (a man no less!) who she knew to be less than perfect or God-like. And she appreciated the changes to the Bible and other changes he had made. Henry hung onto just enough of the Catholic Church to respect the religion, but offered people a chance for something different. She certainly didn't approve of his methods, the burning of heretics, and making himself as the all-powerful head of the church. And of course, she despised his true reason for making the changes. But, at any rate, she found herself at the small chapel beset by beautiful gold trimmed icons, a solid wooden giant crucifix, and holy water and lights. Perhaps she wasn't as far from Catholicism as she wished to believe.
She prayed to God for what she planned to do this day. She found that as she became more and more aware of her sexuality she felt no regrets and no sense of sin for indulging herself. After all, if God hadn't meant people to enjoy their bodies in such a way, he wouldn't have made it such a wonderful experience. But what she was about to do and the consequences of it would be pushing even her limits of rationale. Brianna made a commitment and a contract had been signed. And she could be honest with herself: she did love both Brandon and Henry. That she had no doubt of. If Henry had not been such an inconstant and dangerous King, she might have considered becoming his Queen. However, now she was to have it both ways, have her cake and eat it too (first known use of this phrase was 1546). Of course, she snickered at the opposite and more dangerous…'No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other: or he will sustain the one, and despise the other.' (Matt 6:24) She hoped the latter was not the truth she would find herself facing. She finished her prayers and slowly walked up to the house deep in thought.
Both men were still sleeping and she decided to wake the King first. This would be the first time she had entered his room without his permission and wasn't sure what she would find. She slipped quietly in the door and closed it silently behind her. She walked to his bed and laid her clothed body against his clearly naked one. The scarring from his continuously ulcerated leg was evident as were a few cuts and marks from jousting and the wars he had seen. Brandon had many of the same battle scars. Her finger lightly touched him intending to gently trace one of the scars. Instead, Henry came instantly awake and pulled a blade from under his pillow and wildly pinned her under him as if she was there to kill him. He immediately pulled the dagger from her neck as a small drop of blood slipped down her tiny neck.
"Oh my God Brianna! I could have killed you!! What are you doing here?" She laid back down on the back letting her breath return to normal.
"I wanted to wake you gently. I have a big day for us planned and it seemed like a good idea at the time. I guess maybe not." She sighed with resignation.
"No, it's fine. If I was to be woken up by anyone, it would be you without a doubt." Henry laid back on his back as well. "You are dressed in your riding clothes and I am naked: a very strange place to find oneself," Henry teased.
She laughed quietly. "Yes, I suppose it is. And yes, I have a special riding day for us today. But now perhaps you will indulge me, without the dagger?"
Henry sat up beside her, his body barely covered looking at her neck, the droplets already healing. He leaned forward and licked them off of her neck gently, never taking his eyes off of hers. She thought it had to be one of the most erotic experiences in her life.
His voice was deep with passion and arousal, and it was evident through the thin sheet that covered his well-toned body. "Brianna, my love, I would indulge you in anything. I would give you my Kingdom if only you were to ask."
Brianna laughed quietly so as to not break the mood. "I ask for nothing so dramatic. And besides you are welcome to your Kingdom and all the joys and tortures that come with it. I had hoped to wake you by tracing the wounds on your body. Now that you are awake, you can tell me how you got them."
"Do you have to stay clothed?"
"Yes, that is an absolute requirement."
Henry sighed dramatically, "My Kingdom for a look at your nakedness."
"Aren't you a little drama queen, Henry?" She teased back. Then he relaxed back against the pillows allowing her touch. She ran her finger down one scar that graced his chest muscle over his heart.
He laughed cheekily, "That scar is the wound I received when you refused my offer to be my wife and my Queen." Brianna just looked at him with a haughty look and he continued seriously. "An old jousting wound."
She lightly traced another wound lower on his body. "And this one?"
"An old war wound with the French. Brandon has a similar one. He saved my life that day, as he has many other times."
"Yes, I know." Her finger moved to the slice just above his lip.
"Fighting with a sword as a child. If I'm not mistaken, Brandon gave that one to me."
She touched the one on his brow, the one that broke his eyebrow line. "Another dagger wound, this time when an assassin got too close. No one has ever gotten that close to me again."
"I am that close right now Henry," she whispered.
"And you know there is a dagger under my pillow. You could easily kill me and I would not care. Better to be killed by someone you love then by some random stranger who kills from hate."
"And you know that I would never betray you in that way, or in any other." Her lips were very close to his, their breath mingling.
"Yes." He moved towards her waiting lips and seized them gently, applying a perfect pressure to open her mouth to him. They kissed again and she broke away regretfully.
"Your Majesty, I think you are sufficiently awake now, which was my main goal. You need to dress in your most casual of riding gear. The horses should be in the courtyard in another quarter of an hour. I think I have tarried here long enough." Brianna smiled softly at him and rose from his bed, kissing him lightly on the lips and turned away from him releasing his hand from hers.
"I now have the Duke to awake. I trust I shall see you downstairs in a short bit?"
"I would not miss this for the world, Brianna."
She smiled again at him from the door and opened and closed it as she again crept down the hallway to her own bedroom. Charles still slept where she had left him and she once again climbed in beside him. She was startled by his deep, sleep filled voice talking quietly but with his eyes still closed. "I am the last to be woken up, my love? I heard you come from the King's room down the hall."
"Yes, you are the last. I thought I might seduce you into a little play before you get up and get dressed. I woke the King up and was almost killed for the trouble."
Charles' eye brows raised in surprise. "Apparently, I didn't consider that he slept with a dagger under his pillow. I think he was as panicked as I when he realized what had happened."
"You must be more careful. At the palace, he will have guards surrounding him."
"At the palace I won't be sneaking into his bedroom, ever. Anyway," she asked as she reached under the covers to his ever present morning hardness, "would his Grace enjoy serving me a bit of breakfast before our ride?"
Her hand moved against him suggestively, with the perfect amount of pressure. "His Grace would be honored to help the Countess break her fast this morning."
Brianna laughed as she always did when they addressed each other so formally in such a quite informal occasion.
"We don't have long my love. The horses are already being held for us downstairs, and I imagine the food has already been prepared as well."
He moaned as her small hand took him into her hot and wet mouth. She had learned quite adeptly to take all of him into her mouth and wasted no time doing so. As she pulled her way up, creating a hard suction Brandon moaned louder as she dragged her tongue up the vein that coursed there and then lightly whipped her tongue across the mushroom head before lowering her mouth again all the way to the base. He grabbed at her hair with his large hands controlling her motions and speeding them up. She turned over control to him which she found that she enjoyed being dominated by him in this way. Their sexual life was clearly dominated by him. He began thrusting into her mouth and she sensed he was losing his rhythm, meaning he would fill her mouth shortly. She kept the motion going even while he could not until he finally cried out her name and filled her mouth with his seemingly never ending seed. She swallowed and gently licked him cleaned and laid beside his naked body waiting for them both to catch their breath.
He said still breathless, "God I Iove waking up that way in the morning. And I love that you enjoy it as much as I do."
Brianna gave him her most wicked smile, and slapped his backside. "And now, my master, it is time for you to get up and dress in your most casual of riding attire. Our horses and our picnic await."
Brandon laughed equally wickedly, not knowing what she had in mind, but not caring either.
Two hours later, the King, the Duke, and the Countess had exhausted their horses and worked up quite an appetite. The three of them dismounted their tired horses and began to walk congenially following the Countess to someplace where they had never been before. Brianna finally dropped her horse's lead and looked around with satisfaction. There were many large trees surrounding the area, a small brook, along with a larger swimming hole nearby.
"We will picnic here," she announced.
The two men looked at each other but didn't disagree. The setting was stunning and completely without any one nearby. Soon the blankets were set up on a grassy knoll free of knotty roots, and Brianna took charge of their picnic. She took out the platters of fruit, meat, cheeses, along with still chilled jugs of mead and ale. Facing them, she sat on her knees between the two men. She had fetched water from the small brook and brought it to the blankets along with several cloths. Brianna slowly unlaced each man's boots and removed them from their thighs and feet. Neither man had ever had a woman do this service for them and found it a very erotic experience and their bodies responded in kind. She wet the cloths and washed each man's face, dipping the material into the cool water. Then she washed their hands thoroughly with clean water. She rose gracefully and returned to the brook to gather more clean water and returned to them to wash their feet: being bathed in such a way only left them wanting more.
After their small baths, she reached into the picnic basket for small clay cups and poured them both some ale while pouring mead for herself. Then she silently, picked up some fruit and first fed one and then the other, sometimes even peeling the grapes for them to enjoy. She picked at some of the greasy meat that she personally did not prefer but knew the two men enjoyed it quite a bit. She put some of the meat in her mouth and then leaned over to kiss Brandon letting him take the food from her mouth. He groaned into her mouth at the erotic nature of the act. She then repeated it for Henry, eliciting the same response from him. After she fed them both and served them drinks until they were full, she smiled at their relaxed bodies and almost sleepy faces.
Brianna rose from where she had been seated and walked away from the two men who now had puzzled looks on their faces. As she walked slowly to the swimming hole, she undid each bow on the back of her corset, soon dropping it carelessly onto the ground. As she took care to approach the swimming hole to extend the whole strip tease, she slowly undid the laces to her man's pants and ultimately dropped them to the ground, her tight small bottom displayed to the two men still sitting on the blankets. She bent over to pull the pants from her feet and then stood straight again pulling her hair over to one side. She walked gracefully into the cool clear water and swam out to the center of the water, her hair wet as well as her face.
"Well, am I the only one to go swimming this afternoon my most favorite of gentlemen?" Her voice teased as they fell over each other stripping themselves to join her in the water.
Both men slipped into the water, their usual grace having abandoned them. Brianna laughed and splashed them, where they chased her around the clear pool. Finally she let them catch her, holding her between them. Henry grasped the front of her body against his, while Brandon locked the back of her body against his. Both men were kissing her, fighting for the attentions of her mouth. Henry dipped his mouth to her perfect breasts, sucking hard enough to cause her to draw her breath in. Brandon, not to be outdone, reached his hand around to her front and without fault found that little bit of nerve endings that caused her to call out his name. Between the two of them she was in heaven, and knew this was exactly how she wished to spend all her days, shared between the two men she loved most in the world.
She could feel their bodies pressed hard against her, their members making it plain what they wanted from her. She snickered a little laughing at how just a few weeks ago she was a virgin and now she was swimming in a pond with two naked men who clearly wanted to take her. Brianna turned her head and smiled and her husband and then back to Henry. She turned back to Brandon and laughed lightly. "And what is it that you would like to do in this situation, my love?"
"Having never been in this situation, I'm not quite sure what the next step would be." Brandon answered a laugh in his voice.
Brianna gave the King a wicked and unrepentant look. "Well, Your Majesty. I think we might be able to break a few laws if you were willing."
Henry choked on her brazenness. "Consider those laws just stricken from the books." His hand went down between her legs checking for her wetness and readiness for him.
Charles felt between the back of her legs, putting two fingers inside of her causing her to arch her back into Henry. "I'm afraid my love that we have no night cream to ease your comfort."
Brianna laughed, ever prepared. "If you would look in my pants pocket on the side of the pool, I think you will find something that would be suitable."
Brandon made short work of finding the oily night cream that could allow them to go all night long if they so chose. With two fingers vigorously stretching her opening and applying the cream as he did so, the King positioned himself to enter her when Brandon was ready. She had made it clear she wanted to be had by both men at the same time.
Soon, with some kind of secret signal between the two men, they both surprised her by sliding themselves into her two channels. She gasped as she could feel both men moving between the thin membrane that separated the two passages. She could feel them attain the same rhythm while she began to float on a cloud of ecstasy. Brandon made sure she was comfortable and continually aroused by keeping one hand on her clitoris. Henry pulled on each breast one at a time as she arched and moaned at the actions of both. Ultimately, their excitement had to give way and they spilt their seed deep inside of her two openings. All three groaned and cried out as their orgasms poured over them leaving them exhausted and twitching in exertion.
Soon they pulled away from each other reluctantly and swam to the edge of the pool and up onto the down comforters. They lay there in comfortable silence feeling the sun drying their skin to a toasty warmth. Henry interrupted the silence, "Yes, that is definitely a law that is going to be stricken as soon as we return to London. It is good to be King."
All three laugh at the joy they had experienced, knowing that everything would be different once they returned, which would be soon.
The rest of the afternoon they laid naked among each other, bodies piled around each other alternating between napping, talking softly, and making love in their unconventional relationship. Brandon surprised them both by offering, "Henry, we don't have much time left before we have to return to London. Perhaps, while we are safely secluded you would join us in our bed. There will be little if any opportunity for us to join each other in London, and not risk too much."
"There is no risk too great for me to risk this time with the two of you."
Brianna spoke up, a voice of wisdom. "Perhaps not to you Your Majesty, but certainly to Brandon and myself."
The King paused, thinking things through quietly. "Yes, I suppose so. And I would not risk either of you for anything. But, in order to keep you both close to me, Brandon I am going to appoint you to the Office of Lord High Steward. You first among all others will have the ultimate access over all others. As his wife Brianna, you will share in that access although it would only occur during the evenings and at Court events."
Both Brandon and Brianna looked at him in surprise at his gifts to them both. Brandon spoke up finally, "Thank you Your Majesty, but this reward is not necessary because of our unique…arrangement. We do this out of our love for you the man, not necessarily you the King."
"And that is precisely why it will be so." The King smiled at them both and settled in for another round of lovemaking before dark settled upon them.
TBC
A/N: First of all, I'd love to see some reviews after my lengthy hiatus. Secondly, don't try this at home. Pond water these days has all kinds of nasty stuff in it, and could make one very ill. This is NOT safe sex. Thirdly, the religion discussed towards the beginning is my personal belief system coming to play and is argued in a very simplistic view. I could write a doctoral thesis on the subject so please take it as the simplistic view directed for the story. Again, thank you for all of you who shared your personal stories and best wishes. Renee