The Enchantress of Ingley Ch. 02

Her room was shrouded in darkness. Only the late afternoon sunlight streaming through the pair of narrow windows high in the wall provided any illumination. Dark draperies and furnishings seemed to drink in what light there was, leaving little for the cold stone walls of the manor to reflect. For the act she was engaged in, however, little illumination was needed.

The steady slap of flesh against flesh punctuated every creak of the bed under their rhythm. The man beneath her groaned, which earned a sneer from lips stained berry red. Dark, jade colored eyes gazed down past the plump swells of her own sweat-sheened breasts toward his broad chest, and her hands slipped forth. The feel of skin dragging under her sharp nails as she raked them along his flesh was intoxicating. The muffled cries that rose from him at the sting of those sharp points simply drove her to ride him even harder.

She hardly recalled his name. Thomas or something. It was unimportant. He was just a stable hand, a servant who knew his place, and today that place was beneath her in a more literal sense than usual. Her breasts heaved and bounced with her quick, needful movements. Muffled moans and the faint clink of the cuffs that bound him met her harsh use. She could care less about him, really, but she loved the feel of that thick cock within her. More than that was how helpless that powerful form was beneath her, between her thighs.

The young noblewoman wished he was someone else, however. The young apprentice smith, with his well built form and boyish good looks would be a true prize. She always got her way, or almost always. But a precious couple days ago, Hafred had the gall to turn her down! It had frustrated her ever since, and she'd taken it out on her own servants, either through harsher treatment, or as in this case, raw need.

"Marissa!" The woman's voice that drifted in upon her frantic coupling grated upon her, despite being as courteous as a call for attention could be expected in that household.

She was so close, she just needed a little more. Marissa's nails once more sank into flesh, this time hard enough to draw blood. She bucked her hips and clenched that hot, heated flesh about the shaft within her. Bound as he was by that ring at the base of his manhood, the poor stable hand could do little besides meet her acts, straining at the cuffs which held him to the bed.

"Come on," the spoiled redhead hissed, "You can do better than that."

His efforts redoubled, and she found herself riding that growing wave of pleasure, ever closer to her peak. Her breath came in sharp gasps, her hips bucked raggedly against the bound man below.

"Marissa! Your father demands your presence now!"

Crying out in frustration, she stopped her movements. Hands flung down to pound at the servant's chest, taking out her ire upon his helpless form. Muffled grunts were the only response her tantrum elicited. Panting still, she drew herself up and off of that still rigid shaft.

"Mariss-"

"I'll be right down! My the Dark One take you." She screeched her response out, if only to silence the repeated calls. Couldn't the woman use a servant to summon her like any civilized person? But she could hardly fault her father's lover for not knowing how to handle a noble estate properly.

With hair and curves still damp with perspiration, she threw a simple black dress on, and tugged it over her figure. It hardly came to mid thigh, all too daring to wear without additional skirts. Yet she made no move to gather any. Catching a glimpse of herself in the full length mirror by her bed, Marissa smoothed a hand along her frame. Even with those coppery curls mussed and her skin flushed, she was still the very image of desire. She could have any man in the village. Hafred was a fool to refuse her.

As she turned toward the door, the man still bound upon the bed gave a muffled cry. Marissa turned her eyes toward Thomas, then a cruel smile crossed her features. She stepped forth toward that bed, then traced a single, long nailed finger along his hard arousal. Still slick with her juices, a single drop of his own beaded on the tip, having managed to escape the constriction of that ring.

The redhead gathered that translucent fluid on one fingertip, then watched his reaction as she sucked it from her own digit. Cheeks hollowed as red lips pursed, then she languidly traced the tip of her tongue along that long nail.

"Don't you dare move a muscle," she taunted, "And you had best still be hard when I return."

Ignoring the servant's protests, she slipped out of her chambers, and padded down the quiet corridors toward the manor's great hall. Barefoot, and with scandalously bare legs, she knew quite well that her father would guess at what she had been up to. It amused her to flaunt herself before him, fully aware of how his gaze upon her had changed since she'd grown into full womanhood. If not for Isolde, she'd have him wrapped about her finger like all the rest.

Isolde. The woman enraged her. Marissa couldn't understand what her father saw in the bitch.

The great hall itself was relatively quiet. A broad chamber with high ceiling supported by wooden beams, it had long been the seat of power over Ingley. Tapestries upon the walls did their part to trap the warmth from the grand hearth, and though their colorful depictions of victories past might have interested some, the young noblewoman found them incredibly boring.

The long tables that occupied most of the room stood empty, the wood dry and dusty. It had been many a year since Squire George had entertained guests. Like her own chambers, the great hall was ill lit. A few windows high up in the ceiling had their shutters thrown wide, to allow thin beams of light to strike down from above. Aside from this, only the hearth's flames provided any light.

A lone footman knelt by the opposite entry to the hall. Marissa was well aware of how his wanting eyes followed her smooth, pale legs as they scissored with each step. She intentionally put a further sway to her hips, to reward his gaze.

Before the hearth, two high backed chairs stood, angled toward one another so that their occupants might speak. Only one was occupied, however. George of Ingley, named Squire in his youth, was nominal ruler of Ingley village and its surroundings. His lack of ambition and generally foul disposition had stifled his ascent to higher rank. Since the loss of his wife, he had only further closed himself off from the outside world. The lone exceptions besides the servants were his daughter Marissa and his lover Isolde.

Now George was a shadow of his former self. Gray haired and weak, he appeared frail and worried most of the time. Isolde was a scold and a fuss, and the strain of living up to her demands was taking as much a toll on the old Squire as the passing of any amount of years.

For as long as she could recall, Marissa had been the center of her father's attentions, and though he had been crushed by the loss of his wife, she had been able to stir him to smile and laugh in years past. Then Isolde had come into the picture, and Marissa knew discipline and competition for the first time in equal measure. She hated the bitch, truly.

To compound matters, she had insisted that Marissa be married off only when a suitor of suitable status be found, that would increase the Squire's holdings. Few other nobles took interest in Ingley's lands, however, and Marissa herself had long earned a reputation as a difficult and wild one. Thus, her eighteenth birthday had found her an old maid, still unwed. It suited her just fine, she could continue whatever dalliances she wished.

Fortunately, the raven haired Isolde was nowhere to be seen, despite her earlier shrill calls for Marissa. Mostly relieved, there was a certain strain of disappointment, as her current state would only infuriate the woman. Instead, only the eyes of that distant footman and her father lingered upon her.

While she appreciated the longing gaze of the footman, it was her father's that sent a secret thrill along her spine. Oh it hadn't always been so, she knew well enough that enticing her own flesh and blood was wrong, but she just didn't care anymore. If she could divert his attentions from Isolde in that way, that was just one more arrow in her quiver against the bitch. It allowed her to imagine, however unrealistically, that she might reclaim his undivided adoration some day.

As Marissa crossed toward the Squire on quiet, bare feet, she cast a sidelong glance across to the footman. Her father must have caught the look, for he waved his hand to dismiss the fellow. Heavy footsteps marked the footman's reluctant retreat, and they were left alone in the hall.

The air was thick with tension as Marissa slipped around the back of the chair facing her father. She was well aware of her father's gaze, lingering on her legs the same as the footman's had. She was well aware too at how her smooth thighs must glisten still, at how the fabric she wore clung and shifted with each movement.

Her body grew taut with excitement at the prospect of teasing the old Squire, and she took her time, sinuously slithering around that chair and into its velvety confines. As Squire George lifted his gaze, she idly wondered if he could see how tight her nipples were, against that thin fabric. A shiver ran down her spine.

Still, he said nothing, and she was forced to breach the silence first. Her tongue darted out over her painted lips as she fixed her eyes upon his, then spoke in a breathy, teasing tone, "Father? You desired my presence?"

"You are a wicked, foul wench." The Squire's grumbling tone would have stung, if that wasn't exactly the image she was going for. "But we have a task for you."

The "we" in his words made her flinch. Isolde, the bitch, had put him up to something. Marissa rolled her eyes and crossed one leg over the other, but made no move to correct her skirt where it had ridden up. No, she enjoyed the way her father's eyes drifted back down at that movement. "What would you have me do, Father?"

"Prince Cantrol arrived in our fair village this very afternoon. He's staying at the Tepid Toad."

The news was startling, to be sure. It was also troubling. "The inn? Why would he stay at that gods forsaken place rather than the manor? We've received royal visitors in the past!" Not in her lifetime, but she had read about them in the histories when she was little. A pout began to threaten, as if she had been personally slighted by the choice of a man she had never met.

"I do not know," the Squire shook his head, although he certainly looked like he had a fair idea, the way his eyes narrowed. "Still, this gives us all an opportunity. The Prince is young, and single."

Marissa arched one brow as she ventured, "So you want me to what, impress him? Fawn and flatter him like some court lady?"

"No, no. I know a wicked whore like you could never accomplish such subtleties." His eyes roamed Marissa's form pointedly, and for the first time in a long time, she felt ashamed. "You obviously have chosen your path, but you may as well put your talents to good use. Seduce him. He may grow fond of your pleasures, or he may put a child in you. The mistress of royalty or the mother of a bastard prince is still better than a lay about slut with no prospects."

His words more than stung, they burned. Marissa averted her gaze, even as she folded her hands down to tug that dress back as far to her knees as it would go. She had misread him. Whether there was lust in his gaze before or not, at that moment there was more contempt than anything. "Yes, father." She sounded as defeated as she felt. "I will do as you wish."

"Marissa?"

"Yes, father?" She dared lift her gaze to his. Her eyes encountered only a frowning, stony visage.

"Do not disappoint us."

There it was again, the plural that denoted not rank and land, but the Squire and his infernal mistress. Marissa rose without a word, and returned to her chambers. Tears threatened, but she couldn't say whether it was because of her father's words, or the idea she had somehow failed him.

Marissa wasn't in the mood to finish her enjoyment of the bound stable hand, but rather than immediately release him, she left him tied as she bathed, then dressed, simply to tease him.

She had no doubt that she would have the Prince in her pocket in no time, but being rejected by Hafred over some unrequited crush on that damned barmaid had wounded her pride. Her own father's take on her actions had further cast doubt upon her own desirability, so she really needed this. Whether it was for her own aggrandizement or the benefit of that bitch Isolde, capturing the Prince's eye would at least prove that she was still the most beautiful woman in the village, and perhaps beyond.

Within a little over an hour, she slipped from the manor and made her way on foot to the village. The walk wasn't far, and gave her time to clear her head.

Marissa had gone with a more elegant outfit, that would perhaps give her an air of courtliness that would be hard for others within the village to match. She certainly didn't want to appear the whore her father apparently thought she was. Her coppery curls had been tied back into a single tail, forgoing fancier styles. An off-the-shoulder black and crimson dress of crushed velvet left the slender line of her neck and her collarbones revealed, while a frill dipped along the swell of her chest. The sleeves and skirts were long, but clinging. The waist drew in above the curves of her hips nicely, while a pair of black boots graced her feet. They had a three inch heel that lent her some height and drew the eye.

By the time she neared the quaint, thatch-roofed inn, the sun had long dipped below the horizon, and the merry glow of the lights within shone out through the Tepid Toad's low windows, along the dirt streets. A lone wooden shingle carved to resemble a toad sitting in a cup hung before the old wooden door, and swung gently in the growing evening breeze.

As Marissa approached the inn, she caught sight of a familiar form making his way from the smith's forge just down the road. Her breath caught, and she shrank back into the shadows. What Hafred was doing out and about that eve, she had no idea. The only thing she knew was that his presence might make it harder for her to accomplish her task.

Her eyes followed the well built smith's apprentice in his trek to the inn. He was certainly something to be admired. Tall, strong, with sharp eyes and neatly kept hair of a rich, deep brown, he would be a prize for any. And yet, he had denied her for a silly bar wench who hardly knew his name.

Inwardly, Marissa fumed a while, then began to stalk toward the door of the Tepid Toad, some moments after Hafred had entered. She had a job to do, whether she enjoyed it or not.

The common room of the Tepid Toad was busier than she had seen in a long time, and it was all because of the Prince's retinue. Prince Cantrol was a practical man, but he was royalty, so besides his bodyguard, there were several other men at arms scattered amongst nearby tables, still clad in various light mail. There were no signs of attendants or ministers, no trappings of the court. The locals, however, had come out in force. Everyone who was anyone in that meager village seemed to have packed into the inn to see the Prince and his men.

The Prince himself was immediately evident, and surprisingly young. Oh he was older by several years than her, of course, in his middling to late twenties, but still fresh faced and clean shaven. A circlet of gold rested at his brow, amidst his unkempt blond hair, and at the moment Marissa caught sight of him, he was laughing and watching someone she couldn't quite see from her vantage at the doorway.

Perhaps the task wouldn't be so bad. He certainly was easy on the eyes, and while not as tall nor as powerfully built as Hafred, Cantrol had a charm of his own.

Hafred seemed to be approaching the prince at that moment, and it was this that kept her from immediately making her move. Instead, Marissa eased herself from the door, and about the outer edge of the crowd.

It soon became clear that Hafred headed not toward the Prince himself, but rather toward the older man that wore the uniform of the Prince's bodyguard. It was then that she caught sight of old Garn, and the smith soon set to introducing Hafred properly to the dark haired warrior.

With the smith's apprentice so distracted, Marissa could put him out of her thoughts, and concentrate on the task at hand. There was little worry that he would notice what she was doing. She smoothed her hands over the fabric of her dress, ensuring it conformed to every curve, then began to stalk about the knot of people that obscured her view of the Prince.

"Um, well, if Your Highness is looking for someone, maybe Mr. Lumi can help?"

Marissa recognized that bubbly voice long before the ample curve of Jenrea's rear end came into view. The barmaid was retrieving something from behind the bar, the slender curve of the small of her back and the flare of her hip outlined by the simple tan fabric of her dress. Jenrea probably wasn't even aware of the Prince's gaze, locked on the slight sway of her hips, the curve of her ass.

"Mr. Lumi?" The Prince questioned in a gentler tone than most nobles might have. Either he had already learned Jenrea wasn't the sort to realize outsider might not know everyone in town, or the remarkable view had blunted any impatience on his part.

"Oh! He's a sage, he lives on the edge of town." Jenrea giggled and lifted her head, retrieving an older bottle, likely one of the inn's finest. With prize in hand, she wandered back over to the Prince. "Here we go, Your Highness."

The way Prince Cantrol's eyes lingered on Jenrea, the way he smiled at her, it made Marissa's blood boil. Almost as infuriating was the clueless look on Jenrea's face. She never seemed to have any idea what effect she had on men.

Intentionally or not, Jenrea had already caught the Prince's eye, and Marissa couldn't count on Hafred daring royal ire to interfere. It was up to her. She stalked forward with a confident, predatorial grace, and gave her own hips a little swish with each stride.

The Prince didn't so much as look up. Instead, his gaze followed Jenrea as she leaned over to pour him a glass of that rich, purple-red wine. The man's eyes lingered on the deep valley of her cleavage, presented just so before his gaze with her innocent task.

Marissa clenched one fist at her side, then cleared her throat as she came near. This time, the Prince and Jenrea both looked up to her.

A brilliant smile lit Jenrea's features, and she dipped her head. "Lady Marissa! How nice to see you out." Her words showed genuine affection, and it merely irritated the Squire's daughter all the more.

"And I am pleased to see you as well, Jenrea," she forced a tone of civility, before turning a smile to the Prince. Marissa offered her own deep curtsey to him, those skirts drifting to flash a hint of leather encased ankle. Her own bust, generous as it was, could hardly compare with Jenrea's, and the neckline of her gown was not the sort of low scoop that Jenrea's peasant dress offered, but she was certain her own elegance and bearing would more than make up for it. "Prince Cantrol, Your Highness. I had heard you had arrived, and my father, Squire George, sent me to discover whether we could offer you and yours proper hospitality."

When she lifted her head, however, the frown on Cantrol's lips was the last thing she wanted to see. Her brow furrowed, as she cast her mind back over her lessons in etiquette.

"You are George of Ingley's daughter, then? Marissa, was it?" The Prince glanced across to Jenrea, who merely nodded confirmation. His eyes then fell back to Marissa. "Tell your father that we will be by in the morning, to discuss my business here. He has offered us no reason in the past to believe he is capable of providing properly for an official visit, much less an impromptu one. Therefore we will maintain our quarters in the inn here."