Good News
Three months went by before news came from Ellesmere. William reported he’d let it be known at court that Melton Manor was under his protection. He’d sent a contingent of knights to bolster Terric’s garrison.
Adrien and Terric were well, and fully committed to the secret movement to bring King John to heel. The majority of the English nobility were in favor of curbing royal power, but William predicted it would take many years to force the king to grant some of the rights and freedoms the barons were striving to achieve.
The welcome news brought joy and relief. Adelina had been concerned for Terric and knew the Montbryces worried about Adrien.
When she and Roland retired for the night after an evening of celebrations in the Great Hall, she took it as an opportune time to share her own good news with Roland.
However, she decided to wait until after they’d made love, otherwise her husband would fret about harming her, and the babe.
She wondered if it was perhaps the babe growing within her that heightened the pleasure Roland brought with his clever fingers and tongue.
She’d enjoyed three blissful releases when he finally came to all fours and entered her. She always felt complete with Roland’s most private part inside her, his thick warmth filling her. Then, they were truly one.
Deciding it was a woman’s prerogative to change her mind, she grasped his hips and stayed his gentle thrusts. “I have something to tell you,” she whispered, looking into his puzzled blue gaze.
* * *
Roland wasn’t sure how he knew. There was just something about Adelina that he’d noticed recently. A radiance. And there was no denying the joy in her brown eyes as she looked up at him. He was going to be a father. If his trembling arms failed him, he’d collapse on top of her. He couldn’t let that happen. And his cock probably shouldn’t be basking in the pulsing warmth of her sheath.
Her smile widened. “Aye, you’ve guessed right. I’m with child.”
Roland had longed for such news, yet his heart filled with such overwhelming joy, he was struck dumb. He swallowed the lump in his throat. He should withdraw, but Adelina’s firm grip on his backside seemed intent on pressing him home. His throbbing cock was adamantly opposed to the idea of withdrawal.
“You can’t hurt me, or the babe,” she whispered.
“Thank you for loving me,” he finally rasped as they began the long, slow climb to rapture.