Chapter 44

After Marion’s army left, the king went back to his. They would end up spending five days in York, and Godwinson’s men thoroughly enjoyed their stay. York’s whore houses were open 24 hours a day and still couldn’t keep up with the demand, so they raised their prices. Whore houses were legal in York as long as the girls who worked there were protected from violent customers and everyone paid their taxes. Luke argued that prostitution would happen anyway, so make it legal. That way, the workers could have some protection from violence, and taxes could be collected. If one of the girls got sick, she could get the needed medical treatment.

Godwinson stayed in York until he received word that the Normans had landed. The king left immediately and started to recall his army because most had left to return to their crops. Many of his remaining men were broke anyway, so it was an excellent time to depart. Luke estimated the king would only get maybe 6,000 troops by the time he got to Hastings. Before the king left, he asked Marion for some of her troops, but she refused. Her army was mostly keeping order, fighting the Scots, or being refitted.

At least that’s what she told him. In reality, she was readying her army for when William won the Battle of Hastings. A result, she would ensure by not loaning her troops out. She had done this at Luke’s request, and by now, she had figured out what he was angling after. He wanted her to be Queen of England, help lead them to an enlightened future, and hopefully avoid the pitfalls of his history. As much as Marion hated lying to her king, she had to admit that Luke’s path was probably the best she could take. If she fought Godwinson, she would be seen as a rebel, while if she waited to fight William, she could be cast as the savior of Anglo-Saxon England. This would give her some legitimacy at the start of her reign.

Two weeks later, Luke got some horrible news from the Lake District. It appeared that he had gotten cocky with the army he sent up there, which didn’t have adequate recon capabilities. While they had been tangled up with the Scottish Army to their front, a cavalry force had snuck around them.

At first, the reports were contradictory; one said the army had been routed, and another said they had won a great victory. After spending all day in the telegraph room, Luke had the whole picture. Yes, the army had won once again in that the enemy quit the field, but it was a pyrrhic victory. Almost half the army had been killed or wounded. It was only due to the talent and extreme bravery of the commander that the entire army had not been annihilated. One of the worst reports was that the entire medical unit had been wiped out. Every doctor and nurse had been killed when the Scottish horsemen surprised and overran the field hospital. Among the confirmed dead was Alice’s fiancé. The commander also recommended him for the highest honors possible: the Cross of Honor and Valor. This was the highest award for valor that could be achieved in Marion’s army. It consisted of a solid gold cross on a white and red ribbon worn around the neck. On the cross was a Lion on its hind legs, holding a sword in one paw and a shield in the other while the lion wore a crown of olive branches. Luke had worked out a military awards system before Marion had captured York.

Marcus had fought the enemy cavalry single-handed long enough for the army commander to get word of the attack and organize a response. In Marion’s army, the medics and doctors were trained to fight and were required to be armed. Luke didn’t believe in non-combatants while in uniform. Markus might have been killed, but he took several enemy soldiers with him. The army probably would have been wiped out if he hadn’t fought. Luke was deeply saddened, knowing how much Alice and Markus loved each other. As he was leaving the room, Marion entered. She was delighted until she saw the look of despair on Luke’s face.

“What happened ... Luke, what’s wrong?” He didn’t say anything; he just handed her the report.

“OH, MY GOD!! NO!!!” she exclaimed after she read the report, and her hands flew to her mouth as tears started flowing.

“Yep, and now I have to tell Alice that because I’m a fucking dumbass, her fiancé was killed. Excuse me, darling, but I want Alice to hear the news from me instead of through the grapevine, and I want to do it before I get that bottle of booze I’ve been saving for a rainy day.”

“Luke, I’m going with you. Alice is one of my best friends, and I signed off on the forces you sent.”

When they found Alice, she was in her hospital office and in a really good mood.

“Hey Marion, GREAT NEWS! Markus’s priest says he can marry us as soon as he returns. I CAN’T WAIT!!” she squealed.

Marion forced herself to smile weakly:

“That’s good, Alice.”

“Something wrong, Marion? I haven’t seen you this quiet in a long time.”

Marion tried to talk, but all she did was tear up. Finally, she couldn’t take it and ran out sobbing.

“Luke, what happened?” Alice was now worried.

Luke kneeled in front of Alice and took her hands in his.

“Alice, we just got some horrible news from the front. It seems I got cocky, and we paid dearly for it. Almost half the army that went to the Lake District has been killed or wounded. It seems they suffered a surprise attack in the rear while tangled up with the Scottish Army in front of them. I haven’t got a full casualty list yet, but this has been confirmed, Alice...” Luke took a deep breath, “Markus is dead. The medical unit was right in the way of the attack and was wiped out. Markus has been recommended for The Cross of Honor and Valor, and I’ve already signed off on it. He was able to fight the enemy just long enough for the commander to save the rest of the army. I am so sorry, Alice.”

Alice now had tears streaming down her face; Markus had been her life, and she couldn’t imagine her life without him. She had never really had luck with men because she had always been a strong-willed woman and now had no intention of quitting being a doctor. She fell into Luke’s arms and sobbed. He held and cried with her; he had liked Markus tremendously even though Luke had never told him so. They then heard someone else enter. It was Gabriella, Marion, and Pollyanna. Matt wasn’t available, but Marion was sure he got word. Marion had told them the news, and they had come to help comfort their friend. Marion had also brought Luke’s booze. This was some of the strong whiskey he had made while working on the alcohol supply for the hospital. Pollyanna put five glasses on Alice’s desk, and Marion poured everyone a drink.

“I DON’T WANT A FUCKING DRINK! I WANT MY MARKUS BACK!!!” screamed Alice with a red face and tears still streaming down it.

“Alice, shut up and drink,” stated Pollyanna flatly.

Luke raised his glass:

“To Markus and all of the others that we have lost. You might be lost, but you will not be forgotten.”

With that, they all downed their glasses, and Alice immediately demanded another, which Marion poured and Alice gulped down. Marion refilled the glass again, but Luke stopped the glass from getting to Alice’s mouth this time.

“Come on, Alice. Let’s all get out of here.”

Luke guided them back to the castle, where they ended up in Marion’s chambers. Everyone had heard of the disaster by this time, so they all gave the five their space. The drinking continued back in Marion’s chambers except for Gabriella, who wasn’t drinking because of her pregnancy. Thankfully, the four drained Luke’s supply in an hour, which wasn’t too big. However, it had been enough for the four to get thoroughly plastered. Gabriella slipped out and got Matt. Pollyanna was wasted; it would take both of them to get her back into her bed. Matt picked Pollyanna up and put his drunk wife over his shoulder while Gabriella opened the doors.

When she returned, Luke, Marion, and Alice were passed out, which Gabriella was thankful for because she hated dealing with drunks. Luke was sleeping on the couch while Marion was in their bed, and Alice was in Luke’s favorite armchair. Gabriella went around and put covers over everyone. She then showered and went to bed with Marion, spooning her softly. Eventually, she fell asleep. Gabriella had to admit she would have been wasted if she hadn’t been pregnant. In fact, she really wanted to get drunk and forget everything for a few hours but remembered the warnings from Luke’s medical texts.

Sometime during the night, Luke was disturbed by someone playing with his cock. Between the booze, the darkness, him still being mostly asleep, and the incredible feeling, he couldn’t tell who was working on his cock, and Little Luke didn’t care. It should have occurred to him that the person working his cock had seemed timid and winced when Luke’s cock first entered her, but it didn’t. All he knew was that his cock was in someone really, really tight and really, really hot. Eventually, whoever it was rose and slowly slid down Luke’s organ. When Luke tried to grab her hips, she smacked his hands down. Up and down, she moved; her tight pussy had a death grip on Little Luke, and Luke had to admit it felt like he had put his cock in a wet furnace. After a few minutes, the pussy’s grip tightened even more as Luke watched her stiffen up and start quivering. This was too much for Luke as he thrust his hips up and deposited a massive load of hot sticky cum into her tight body. With this, the lady got off and covered Luke up. Luke, for his part, passed back out.

The following day, Luke’s head was killing him, leaving him wishing for coffee. When he went to get up, he noticed that his penis was sticky, like it had been inside someone. This brought back the memory of the night before; he thought it had been a dream, but now he wasn’t sure. He was curious about who had ridden him, figuring that it wasn’t Marion; she was a much louder rider, and he hadn’t noticed an expanded belly on the person riding him, which ruled out Gabriella. He fixed his pants and got up. Marion and Gabriella were still sleeping, so he was quiet. He then noticed Alice sleeping in his chair. Luke looked at her and started thinking. ‘No way it was her, and for that matter, I hope to God that it wasn’t her,’ he thought as he staggered into the bathroom to wash up and relieve himself.