Ashes of Heaven by C. Dale Brittain

Author:C. Dale Brittain
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2017-04-17T06:00:00+00:00

Two days later, when they had spent the afternoon in the cabin together for the third time, they dozed relaxed and warm. But then Isolde lifted her head from Tristan’s shoulder. “My dearest love, what shall we do when we reach Cornwall?”

“We already know what must happen. You shall marry Mark, and we will never again be in each other’s arms. Nor must the king ever learn of our love for each other. Our eyes may speak of it when they meet, but our lips will remain dumb.”

“Yes, yes,” she said a bit impatiently, “but how will we hide it from Mark that I am no longer a virgin?”

“Well,” he said somewhat uncertainly, “I understand that different women are different, that one cannot always expect a clear physical sign of virginity. I would think that you know more about this than I do. And Mark will be so happy to have you as his bride that I doubt he will even think about such things.”

She sat up and frowned. “But I am a king’s daughter, marrying a king. Greatness belongs to her who dares seize it, and I am seizing greatness through my marriage. A princess bride should always have a maidenhead.”

“As did you!” he said, reaching up to stroke a soft, rounded breast.

She smiled briefly, then frowned again. “But no longer. And he may suspect our love for each other. After all, you say that he fell in love with me because of what you told him about me! He will not doubt your affection for me, and I shall have difficulty hiding mine for you. We cannot have him begin our marriage mistrusting me!”

“Then marry me instead,” said Tristan lazily, trying to pull her back down beside him. “Mark will be somewhat disappointed when we break the news to him, but you are now only a fantasy to him, not yet anything real. He will recover when he sees how happy we are together.”

Isolde shook her head emphatically. “I am a princess, sent by the royal court of Eire to marry a king, to end our long wars. I was born to become a queen upon my marriage. I cannot marry a castellan’s son instead, even if he is the king’s nephew!”

“Isolde!” said Tristan, stung. “I thought you loved me, not the idea of becoming queen of Cornwall.”

“I do love you,” she said, leaning down to give him a kiss. “I would love you even without the action of my mother’s potion. But we have already agreed on what we must do when we reach Tintagel. I am just worried what will occur if rumors reach Mark’s ear—if, for example, Brangein is not discreet.”

“But surely we can trust your cousin,” said Tristan.

“Especially if we do what I am thinking,” said Isolde with a small smile, and jumped out of bed and started putting on her clothes.

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