Chapter 17

York, Great Britain. October 1067

Luke woke up as soon as he heard the doorknob turn. Through an open eye, he saw his beautiful redhead still in her surgical scrubs, Gabriella’s blood on the front of them. Carefully, so as not to wake up Marion, Luke slid out of bed.

“You ok, Alice?”

“Ya,” she responded tiredly.

“Is she going to live?”

“I think the next few weeks will be very rough, but she’s young and strong. Luke, if you have any antibiotics ready, now would be a good time to use them. The knife put a hole in Gabby’s small intestine.”

“Shit, peritonitis?”

“Very possible. I cleaned the wound the best I could. All we can do now is wait and ensure she’s kept comfortable.”

“Remember Alice, no matter what happens, Marion and I love you.”

The tears that Alice had been fighting erupted as she fell into Luke’s arms and sobbed. She had fallen in love with Gabby and didn’t want to think about her life without Gabby. Gabby was as much family to Alice as Luke or Marion. While Luke held Alice, tears streaked down his face as well; he was thrilled Gabby was still alive but terrified she wouldn’t live. Luke loved Gabriella almost as much as he loved Marion and Alice. As Alice cried, Luke gently moved her toward the bathroom where she could strip and wash the blood off her.

After Alice was clean, Luke encouraged her to curl up with Marion and get some sleep. He knew Alice always slept better with a warm body, and he needed to get to the army base. Gabriella’s intelligence network had reported that Bleddyn was going to attack that morning. Luke knew he would be earning his pay with the Welsh problem. Reports had the number of enemy troops at roughly 20,000, but most were untrained levy infantry. The amount of cavalry the Welsh possessed was laughably small and consisted entirely of Welsh nobles. In an era before aerial reconnaissance, the cavalry were the eyes and ears of the army.

Luke didn’t want to go to the base; he wanted to visit Gabriella and comfort Marion, but duty called, and he took his duty seriously. His ride to the base was quiet, even though he had more guards than usual. Colonel Smiten’s second-in-command wasn’t taking any chances.

The first news Luke received was the British defeat at Outpost Welsh-Able. To keep the outpost from being confused from campaign to campaign, the campaign name was inserted into the outpost name. Included in the reports were copies of all telegraph communications, which gave Luke a reasonably detailed view of the battle. From everything he read, it wouldn’t surprise him to see the Welsh retreat and go on the defensive to try and gain time to work on a diplomatic solution. Overall, Luke was happy with the results of the battle. It might have been a Welsh victory, but it was a Pyrrhic victory.

It was time to send orders. Luke ordered the 2nd division cavalry brigade to follow the Welsh Army and harass it constantly by using day and night raiding and snipers because he didn’t want the Welsh Army to get away intact. To help control Wales, Luke ordered General Reading to reorganize the outpost. The front line of the outpost would remain while the rear line would be relocated. They would form a line running East to West from the front line through Wales to the Irish Sea to cut the room the enemy had to maneuver. This move would also cut Bleddyn ap Cynfyn off from his home territory in northwest Wales.

It took Luke several hours to read reports and send orders. After Luke finished, he had time, so he gathered his guards and went to the hospital. Soon after walking in, he saw Alice and Marion walk in. After hugs, the three walked to the post-op ward, where Gabriella was recovering. When Gabriella saw Marion come in, she straightened up in bed to lay at attention. Marion sat beside Gabriella and leaned over to kiss her, but Gabby turned her head. She didn’t feel worthy of Marion’s love, but Marion put her hand on the other side of Gabby’s face to keep her from turning away. Gently, Marion brought Gabriella’s face back to her, and Marion was able to capture Gabriella’s lips with hers. Feeling Marion’s lips, Gabriella started crying:

“Gabriella, what’s wrong?”

“I’m not worthy of being one of your guards or receiving your love, Your Majesty. I hereby resign my commission, and if I survive this, I plan on enlisting in the army as a private. After I enlist, I’ll be moving out of the castle; at least I will still be able to serve you, your majesty. Luke,” looking at Luke, “take care of Carl, please. I pray one day he will forgive his mother for being a failure.”

Marion, Luke, and Alice looked at each other, trying to comprehend the bomb Gabriella had just dropped. None of them could understand Gabriella giving up being Marion’s head guard and lover. Marion recovered, and Luke could see the anger in her eyes. What Marion did next took everyone by surprise when she slapped Gabriella as hard as she could.

“Resignation denied, Colonel,” snapped Marion. “I’m alive and well because of you and your sacrifice.”

By now, everyone in the ward was staring at her and Gabriella. The red mark forming on Gabriella’s cheek went mostly unnoticed.

“But, Your Majesty...”

“No buts, Colonel, and if you call me Your Majesty one more time...”

Gabriella closed her eyes as tears streaked down her cheeks. Marion sat back down and held her hand; neither said anything. Alice and Luke drifted away quietly so Marion and Gabriella could have a quiet moment together. For the next hour, Marion barely moved as she contemplated what she had almost lost. Gabriella wondered why Marion wouldn’t let her resign since she was utterly incompetent. Eventually, it was time for Marion to get back to work. She stood up and bent over to give Gabriella a passion-filled kiss which Gabriella barely returned. When Marion broke the kiss, she moved her lips next to Gabriella’s ear:

“I love you so much, Gabby. I can’t wait until we share a bed again.”

With that, Marion stood up and walked out of the ward to collect her guards and return to the office. Marion detailed two guards to stay with Gabriella, just in case more assassins lurked nearby. As Marion walked out, Gabriella started crying. Ever since she woke up, she had convinced herself that she had failed and was angry with Alice for keeping her alive. Now, Marion, her lover, had invited her back to bed and told Gabriella that she loved her. Tears streamed down Gabriella’s face for the next few hours, and mucus ran out of her nose. Eventually, the duty doctor gave her some herbs to help her sleep.

The report regarding the attack the night before was sitting on Marion’s desk when she got to the office. The group that attacked her didn’t bother to hide the fact they were from Wales with orders from Bleddyn ap Cynfyn to kill her so he could conquer most of England. Instead, the assassination attempt failed, and now Marion was going to make an example of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn so foreign leaders wouldn’t be tempted to attack her in the future.

The next report was from General MacDougall detailing the Welsh attack on the British line of forts and what his orders were. This was thrilling for Marion because the Welsh attack gave the casus belli she had been looking for to conquer Wales.

The last report on Marion’s desk was from the British Navy. The Breton port where the invasion had been launched from was smashed, so they wouldn’t be able to launch another invasion attempt for some time. Pollyanna reported the naval base was nearing seventy-five percent completion, and shipbuilding was gathering speed with two more destroyers to be launched by the end of the month. These two Stella class destroyers would be hull numbers DD 2 and DD 3, named HMS Guinevere and HMS Ealhswiþ, respectively.

Marion knew Pollyanna hated working at the shipyard; the problem was she was very good at constructing shipyards and even commanding naval forces. Pollyanna would never make it as an admiral; she had never been on a boat, but she might make a fine combined arms commander. It was something for Marion to think about for the future and, at some point, talk about with Pollyanna.

With her work caught up, Marion had a moment to contemplate her relationship with Gabriella. Marion had heard it said that if you truly love someone, you would let them go if they wanted to leave. The thought of Gabriella leaving made Marion nauseous, and she wouldn’t let Gabby go without a fight; besides, Gabriella was too well-trained to be allowed to leave her position. Professionals had carried out the assassination attempt, and Gabriella had saved Marion’s life; even if she didn’t realize it, Marion did.

It was too much to think about as Marion sat at her desk and stared at the opposite wall. The object drawing her attention was a framed painting, but it wasn’t the painting but the frame Marion was staring at. Gabriella had made the frame for the family portrait that was in it. As she stared, memories of her life came flooding back. Memories of her and Cecilia sitting on their father’s lap as he told them stories of heroic deeds from a time long passed. She remembered sitting there dreaming that she was the woman in the story and the hero was rescuing her, that she would be his queen and he would be her king. She realized her dream had come true without a king to follow. Instead, she was queen, and her husband was the country’s leading general and industrialist.

The day they met still haunted her dreams sometimes. What would have happened to her if Luke hadn’t interfered? From seeing the other women Richard kept, Marion knew she would have been raped repeatedly and forced to carry his or William’s children. If she were with a woman, it would have been forced in order to humiliate her further. The life she would have lived wouldn’t have been worth living.

A knock at her door brought Marion back to the present; it was time for Marion’s next meeting. It was a meeting Marion wasn’t looking forward to, but it had to happen. The southern nobles had been a thorn in her side for months as they lawyered to get Marion’s reforms canceled or slimmed down.

This meeting was with Wulfnoth Godwinson, Earl of Wessex. After Marion’s army had defeated and killed William, Wulfnoth Godwinson was released from captivity and returned to England to claim his title of Earl of Wessex, which had belonged to Harold Godwinson until he was killed at the Battle of Hastings. The purpose of the meeting was evident within 30 seconds of him striding through Marion’s door with a sneer on his face.

“I demand all trade restrictions with Brittany lifted and your solemn promise there would never again be restrictions on trade. All the south coast merchants support me on this, so don’t dare go around me. Now that’s settled, when can we resume business without risking going to prison?”

Marion slowly stood from behind her desk. She hated dealing with nobles in general and members of the Godwinson family in particular because they believed since the legitimate king of England had come from their family, they could run the whole country. There was fire in her eyes when she gave her cold response.

“You do not come into MY office and demand I do anything. You ask politely and give me good reasons for allowing what you want. The trade restrictions on Brittany stay in place. They attacked us and raided along the eastern coast. Anyone caught trading with Brittany will have all their property confiscated and sentenced to a minimum of five years of hard labor. If you think I won’t follow through with this, I suggest you ask the families of several local nobles what happened to them when they tried to rebel last year.” Wulfnoth’s face was an interesting molted red, and Marion wondered if he would die in her office. She wouldn’t mind him dying, but as they say, the paperwork would be a bitch. “Was there anything else you wish to discuss?” Marion asked in a sweet voice.

“No, you made your position quite clear. I hope you are prepared for the consequences of your ill-advised actions.”

“Then, if there’s nothing else, get out of my office so I can get back to work.”

“You haven’t heard the last of this! I shall take great pleasure in forcing you to allow trade with Brittany again, and who knows, maybe you’ll discover what a real man is like.”

“Sorry, but I don’t play with dicks that one has to use tweezers to manipulate. When my man uses me, I know it. Now, before I order your arrest, get out of my office and be out of York within the hour. COLONEL GARRETT”

“YES, MA’AM!”

“See to it this “gentleman” is out of York within the hour. If he gives you any trouble, throw his arse in prison. I bet he receives ten years of hard labor for threatening the queen, and if we look into his business dealings, there will be more charges against him.”

Wulfnoth Godwinson, the current Earl of Wessex, finally realized he had overplayed his hand and beat a hasty retreat. The last thing he wanted to do was manual labor; that was something for a commoner, not high nobility like himself. As a final slap in the face, the colonel didn’t even escort Wulfnoth out of town. That was detailed to a pair of privates.

After Wulfnoth was safely out of town, he began cursing and swore Marion would rue the day she cut off trade with Brittany. The trade embargo was costing Wulfnoth and his fellow merchants massive sums of money. Many of the merchants had been approached by various foreign powers to act as spies or revolt against Marion. Wulfnoth came to the decision that it was time for Marion to go. He would organize and lead a revolution against Marion with the support of France, Brittany, and the pope. Most of the organizing was already done, and Marion’s trade embargo was the spark Wulfnoth wanted to use to light the fuse.

When Colonel Garrett walked back into Marion’s office after seeing the noble out, he found her with her feet propped up on an open drawer and an ale in her hand.

“That was risky, wasn’t it?”

“What was risky?” asked Marion

“Cutting off trade like that and disrespecting that noble. I know, he’s a pig but still.”

Marion nodded, pulled out another drawer, took a sheath of papers, and gave them to the colonel.

“Pull up a chair and read these.”

Colonel Garrett did as Marion said, and his face turned bright red as he read. These were the intelligence reports from Gabriella’s network concerning the actions of various British nobles. A significant minority were being courted by multiple foreign powers to do everything from spying to rebelling. After Garrett finished reading, he looked up at Marion:

“Why don’t you have these nobles arrested? You have enough to hang them.”

“Most of those nobles haven’t done anything yet. The problem with that information was how we gathered it, and it wouldn’t look good for the queen preaching transparency in governance, and nobody is above the law to arrest a bunch of nobles who haven’t done anything yet. Most nobles who have crossed the line have already been detained and charged. I have a feeling, though, that a major revolt is coming soon, and the Earl of Wessex will be at the center.”

“Is there any chance they can turn the army against you?”

“Seriously? Turn my husband against me.”

“It’s not unheard of; offer him the crown if he will support the revolt.”

“I realize that while you have been with the army since it was founded, you haven’t seen much of my private life. Luke doesn’t want to be king; he’s the one who encouraged me to be queen. They can’t offer him money because almost nobody knows he’s already richer than Crassus and has more money than the crown. “Garrett sat there and looked like an idiot with his mouth hanging open. These facts were unknown by the population, and even in the army, many didn’t know. Seeing Colonel Garrett struggle to come up with a response, Marion smiled. “Why don’t you come to dinner with us tonight and meet the rest of the family? That should put your fears to rest.”

“I couldn’t do that, ma’am.”

“Why?”

“I don’t feel it would be right. Also, my wife is a jealous woman.”

“Bring her along. Dinner is at 19.00, and this isn’t a working meal; this is a family meal, so dress appropriately.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Garrett responded. “May I take off early to inform wife and go ready?”

“Granted, and I look forward to seeing you and your family. Tell the guards you have a dinner reservation with me when you get here, and they’ll escort you.”

Although Garrett’s wife wasn’t happy, she decided to go with him, mainly to keep an eye on him. Garrett knew he was playing with fire when he accepted Marion’s invitation, but it’s hard to say “no” to the queen, especially when she asked nicely. When Garrett and his wife arrived, the guards expected them and led them to Marion’s private chambers. He wasn’t sure what to expect, but it wasn’t what he found. Marion answered the door wearing not her regular clothes but a pair of shorts that stopped mid-thigh and a tight shirt.

“Hello, Garrett. Come on in.” Marion then looked at his wife. “Hello, I’m Marion.”

“G ... G ... Godiva, your majesty.”

Marion smiled warmly at Godiva and stood to the side to let them in. Garrett was nervous enough eating with the queen, but when he saw Luke sitting in a chair, he almost pissed his pants. The general might have been in civilian clothes, but Garrett snapped to attention, and Luke laughed.

“At ease, colonel. I’m not as rigid as it seems.”

Garrett tried to relax, but when Alice walked in, he became nervous again. Alice was in the middle of feeding Thomas; Rebecca was with a wet nurse for her feeding. Usually, Alice switched which child she fed so each child could spend time with mommy. When she nursed, she took her top off so she could switch nipples easier. Alice walked across and sat on Luke’s lap, curling against him while he wrapped one of his arms around her to hold her in place. When Garrett looked at his wife, he saw she was furious about his staring at Alice and Marion.

“Well, come. Let’s sit and eat,” proclaimed Marion. She saw the looks Garrett was getting from his wife and knew what they meant.

Everyone moved to sit at the table, but before they could start eating, Mackenzie decided to make an appearance, and Marion grabbed her this time. Luke had Carl, Rebecca, and Alice in his lap. Mackenzie’s shenanigans were always good for a laugh, and to her, Marion wasn’t Queen of Great Britain; she was mommy.

By now, Godiva had figured Marion wasn’t special; who allows the children to sit with the adults? Megan didn’t realize the children at the dinner table was Luke’s influence at work. As the different courses were delivered, Godiva could barely keep the sneer off her face as Alice, Marion, and Luke talked with Garrett. Her efforts at self-control broke when Marion removed her top after eating to feed Carl and Rebecca. The children got passed around between the ladies, depending on who had full breasts at the moment.

Seeing Marion’s hard pink nipples was almost too much for Garrett, and when Godiva decided it was time to leave, he had to agree. Briefly, Garrett wondered if Marion’s bush was the same color as her hair. He was always attracted to blondes, making things difficult since Godiva was a brunette.

After Godiva and Garrett left, Marion looked at Luke:

“You should have stripped to give Godiva something to distract her; maybe Garrett could have relaxed some. That girl really needs to get laid more often.”

“You should have said something to her. Too late now,” Luke said with a smirk.

“Maybe for the next time we have them over.”

“You want them over again?”

“Luke, until Gabriella gets back on her feet, he is my primary bodyguard. I will not let my security suffer because the head guard has a jealous spouse. That goes for your and Alice’s security as well.”

Luke shrugged and went back to playing with Mackenzie. She was figuring things out and always seemed to be getting into trouble which, to the ladies-in-waiting annoyance, didn’t seem to bother Luke. In fact, he ordered that unless Mackenzie was in danger, she was to be allowed to get into things. To help keep the peace, Luke made puzzles for Mackenzie to solve, and when she did, there was a treat for her. Usually, these kept Mackenzie busy for a day or two until she solved the puzzle; then, Luke made her a new one.

After playing with Mackenzie for a couple of hours, everyone was getting tired. Mackenzie started when she fell asleep on her feet, and Luke had to catch her. After she was in bed, everyone turned in, and Marion rode Luke. At the same time, Alice played with Marion’s clit leading to a series of earth-shattering orgasms for Marion and finally, Luke painting her love tunnel off-white. Marion collapsed next to Luke, and Alice took Luke in her mouth. She was horny and wanted to get laid.

Before getting thrown back in time, Luke was usually one shot and done, but now with a smoking hot redhead working on his tool, an erection was the only result possible. After Luke was hard again, Alice climbed aboard and rode him hard. Marion returned the favor by playing with Alice’s clit, and she responded by soaking the bed and Luke’s lap. Alice only got through two orgasms before Luke painted her tunnel too.