Page 70 of A Knight for Gwenllian

“Hunter girls, hey?” was all he said. “We never stood a chance.”

No. They were irresistible. God help the man who crossed little Seren’s path in a few years’ time.

While the two sisters hugged and chatted animatedly in Welsh, Christopher drew Alexander to the side, looking serious once more.

“Your brother came to visit this morning, you know, brandishing the deeds I signed the other day, asking when I intended to leave his castle. He truly is as vile as I remembered him.”

“Even more than you think,” Alexander said grimly. “I’m sorry for that.”

The apology was waived away. “He told me he had bedded a certain Glenda while he was at Audley. I could tell he hoped to get a reaction out of me, but I’m afraid I could not indulge him, as I know no one of that name.”

Glenda. Gwenllian.

Alexander mentally thanked his brother’s inability to bother learning the name of the woman he thought he had spent the night with. Had Christopher been told that Hugh had bedded Siân’s sister, he would no doubt have taken exception to it, perhaps even drawn his sword to cut the man to ribbons. Then he would have demanded that Alexander explain how the hell he had allowed this to happen and cut him to ribbons. Yes. There was no doubt that a very unpleasant confrontation had been avoided.

“Just ignore him. With luck, we will have seen the last of him.”

“Yes. Except that Throckmorton Castle is not that far from Audley.”

“I know, but I doubt he’ll spend much time here. He only wanted to impress his future father-in-law with his consequence. But his home is at Hotwell, by the coast.”

“Now, what are you two whispering about over there?” Siân called out.

“Wouldn’t you like to know, little lamb?” Christopher threw her a heated glance. “In any case, we are not the ones whispering in a mysterious language, are we?”

His wife burst out laughing. “Oh, Alexander,” she said, running to him, “I do hope you have more talent for Welsh than Christopher does. He invariably ends up saying the opposite of what he means.”

“And how do you know this, I may ask? How do you know what I meant to say in the first place?”

She rolled her eyes. “Because I know you, perhaps?”

Alexander watched the playful exchange a moment. Then he walked over to Gwenllian, who had the same amused expression on her face.

“How do you say ‘kiss me’ in Welsh, then?” he purred in her ear, leaning over so he could brush her temple with his lips. Mm, she smelled good today. Had she been trying a new soap, he wondered? He would make sure to ask her later, perhaps even bathe her himself. This was something he had always fantasized about.

She turned to face him, a mock scowl on her face. “Why would you want to know that? Do you intend to ask many Welsh women to kiss you?”

“I intend to ask one many, many times a day. You. My beloved wife.”

She softened in his arms. Then she lifted her face to his, her eyes bright with love. “Cusana fi,” she said.

“Cusana fi,” he repeated, lowering his mouth to hers, pleased to see that it was easier than he’d expected. He’d had the chance to hear that Welsh was not the easiest of languages to pronounce. No wonder Christopher had problems.

“Da iawn, that was very good! I believe you might be a natural at⁠—”

“And I believe I asked you to kiss me, not to compliment me on my Welsh. And I’m still waiting.”

He didn’t have to wait long. She threw her arms around his neck and gave him one of the most passionate kisses he had ever experienced. Heat scorched his veins, shooting straight to his cock. Had they not this moment been mere yards away from Christopher and Siân, who were also kissing, Alexander thought that he would have lifted her skirts and buried himself deep inside her.

“That was your first lesson in Welsh, husband,” Gwenllian said, drawing back. “I can’t wait to teach you more in the privacy of our own bed.”

No, he couldn’t wait either.

Gwenllian and her dashing knight were married a month later, in the small chapel at Audley, the place that would become her new home, as she had guessed.

Messengers had been sent to Scotland and Wales to tell her friends, parents and siblings to join them as soon as they could. She imagined the surprise with which her letter had been received at Castell Esgyrn. No one knew of the feelings she harbored for Alexander, even if she had made sure to specify in the missive that she had known him for more than a year. Her parents were the only ones who had actually met Christopher’s friend and would know who she was talking about. Ironically, ten years ago, they had gone to Audley to thank him for saving their daughter from two ruffians. She was looking forward to seeing them do the same, for real this time.

The family arrived one rainy afternoon. Her brother, Rhys, was the first to draw her into his arms.