Leofric and Godiva Pt. 04

"Her Ladyship will now hear matters of the utmost importance first," the scribe called out to the unusually crowded hall, "Please step forward, one at a time, and state your business clearly and slowly." As usual, nearly every child present ran forward to the scribe's desk, but most unusually, they sat down quietly in a row. "Uh... th-thank... thank you?" the scribe said, looking uncertainly at the well-behaved youngsters. Even Sir Hulgar was unnerved by their strange behavior, taking a step forward and resting his hand on his sword.

A hissing sigh puffed out the veil of the seated Lady Godgifu, as she stared over the heads of the children toward Sir Leofric who leaned quietly against the back wall, a beatific smile on his face. Her informal meetings with the public had become one of Leofric's favorite occasions to torment her, second only to their meetings in church when she was forced to nervously use her veil to shield others' views when he used his fingers to pantomime two lovers accidentally falling off horses into a variety of sexual positions and copulating. She wondered what perversions had he planned for her now, and when, in His wisdom and mercy, would God turn Leofric into a pillar of salt for involving the children?

Lilly, the smithy's daughter, was first in line and got right to the point, "Are you going to have a baby now?" she asked with the volume that only a child asking an indiscreet question could attain. A wave of gasps and tittering went through the crowd, as Lady Godgifu's head jerked up and looked accusingly in the direction of Sir Leofric who looked alarmed and raised his hands, shaking his head quickly.

"What... what makes you think I would have a baby, Lilly?" she asked, trying to make her voice as steady as possible.

"My cousin said that babies happen when a man and a woman do a special dance together and you and Sir Leofric danced at the Miller wedding, so are you going to have a baby now?" Lilly persisted. Nearby, Godgifu heard Sir Hulgar clear his throat. After drinking some mead at the Miller girl's wedding, she and Leofric had drawn a bit too much attention to themselves when the pipe and drum music had started up. Godgifu had awakened the next morning to another glare from Sir Hulgar. Perhaps his long lecture to her on the importance of propriety had left his throat parched.

"Well... ahem... Sir Leofric danced with a lot of women at the wedding--"

"That was just the carol, dance, though! When you danced with Sir Leofric it was special!"

"Honestly, sweetheart, dancing with Sir Leofric isn't all that special," Godgifu said, dismissively, "He's so tall he just stands there and sways. It's rather like dancing with a tree in a strong breeze." Sir Leofric closed his eyes and dramatically clapped his hand over his heart at the pain of her critique.

"But then he picked you up and twirled you in his arms! That was special!"

"That's just how they dance at court, now. Sir Leofric was showing me--"

"I was concerned for Her Ladyship's safety, Lilly. Her Ladyship's stature is rather dwarf-like and I feared we would lose her amidst the stamping feet," Sir Leofric offered, simultaneously.

"Then, why did you have your head under her veil?" Lilly asked, turning around to look at Sir Leofric.

"Oh, well now... um... that was..."

"No, Lilly," Godgifu cut in before Sir Leofric could make her situation worse. "To answer your question, no. I will not be having a baby, now. That was not the special baby-making dance that you saw at the wedding. I'm afraid we have to let the other children have their turns, now. I hope you had a good time at the wedding."

Lilly looked like she still had several more very loud questions to ask, but instead nodded, accepting that a turn was only a turn. She did not leave the hall though, as usual, but instead walked directly to Sir Leofric and held up her palm. Godgifu canted her head and snorted under her veils as Leofric began quietly arguing with the little girl who insistently kept her palm up. Leofric squatted next to her and continued their conversation face-to-face, gesturing several times toward Godgifu on the dais in frustration, when Lilly finally yelled "BUT YOU *SAID* TO ASK HER ABOUT DANCING!"

Muffled laughter filled the hall as Leofric grudgingly pulled a coin out of his pocket and put it in the little girl's hand. Lilly thanked him with a curtsey before going to sit with her mother. Leofric slowly stood again, his smile less beatific and far more uncertain as he looked at the remaining children in the line before Godgifu.

Next, sweet little Anna Morgan climbed the steps and sat next to Godgifu at the embroidery table. "If you get married again, will you still wear a veil and how do you do the special baby-making dance?" she asked. At that point, somewhere behind Godgifu's left eye, a terrible stabbing headache began.

On and on it went. Finally, having found a willing, or at least captive, adult to talk with them about topics normally forbidden to them, the children proceeded to cheerfully crucify Lady Godgifu with their questions. Her only consolation was seeing the progressive deterioration of Sir Leofric at the back of the room. This apparently hadn't been how his plan was intended to go.

Last in line was Frederic, the son of a farmer that raised wheat, barley, rye, sheep and pigs, a boy of seven years who had obviously spent each and every second of them thinking. "I think I want to marry Sara..." he said, as if he'd finally decided the matter after they'd had a long discussion about the topic.

"Oh really?" Lady Godgifu said with tired interest, wracking her brain to remember which Sara he could be thinking about. There were many girls named "Sara" in the village, but she could only ever remember Frederic talking about anything but his farm. "What is it about Sara that you think would make a good wife?" she asked.

"She's very smart... and I like that. She doesn't go and do all the silly things the others do. She likes to sit by me and we can just be quiet together," he said, thoughtfully.

"Well, that sounds like a very good start, Frederic. Do her parents like you? That's also very important. My late husband Wilfred made sure to talk with my father a lot before he asked to marry me," she said, noticing that Frederic's mother was beginning to look ill at ease.

"Sara's father died last year, Lady, but I'm very nice to her mum and I always make sure to help her across streams and show her to the best grass." At this, Leofric's shoulders slumped and Frederic's mother closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Oh... she's an ewe? Your Sara?"

"Yes, milady. Her mum, Cleo, is too. She's a widow, like you."

At that moment, Godgifu decided she was done figuring out everything for children and decided to let her cousin do some of the work, "Well, then I think the next order of business would be to talk with Reverend Palmer and see when he could fit your wedding into his schedule... oh dear, it would probably make him change his pew plan again. He won't like that. Are you sure this Sara is really the one for you? Couldn't you just be good friends? People keep a favorite pet... and sometimes a pet can be a closer friend than a human can be. Why marry?"

"We... we understand each other, milady. Sara and me. And even though we're different... we make each other better, see? I think better when she's there with me, and she's happier being there," he said, simply.

Lady Godgifu felt her throat begin to tighten. She knew exactly what Frederic meant. Sometimes it was like her horse Elva could read her mind. They never were so happy as when they were riding together, Elva sensing her wishes with only the slightest pressure or movement. Now, since the criminal Godiva had been taken into custody and her horse confiscated, Godgifu couldn't go around riding the horse of a criminal and just had to content herself with the occasional visit to the stables at night. Elva kept asking her when they were going out, not understanding why her small mistress didn't pull off her strange clothes and just ride her again. It was her inability to make her equine friend understand her neglect that broke Godgifu's heart the most.

"That sounds... it sounds like you and Sara have a very special relationship," Lady Godgifu choked out, discreetly wiping the tears from her face from under her veil.

"I just want us to belong to each other, you know? So, we can just wake up together every day and smile at each other. Isn't that why you marry someone?" Frederic asked.

Godgifu slumped in her seat and only nodded, sobbing silently. Sir Leofric was now crouched against the back wall, his arms covering his head. Concerned, Frederic patted Godgifu's shoulder gently and then walked to the back of the hall where Sir Leofric sat. Without looking up, Leofric held up a coin, resignedly. Instead of taking it, Frederic took his hand and pulled, prompting Leofric to rise. Continuing to herd his reluctant sheep, Frederic kept pulling until Sir Leofric stood before the dais and then the boy left him there to his fate.

Drained, but at least composed once more, Godiva looked at him and sighed. "Sir Leofric, have you concluded your demonstrations of courtly love for today?" she asked, tiredly.

"I... I had one more thing planned, but... I think it's probably just better to call it a day..." he said, sounding thoroughly defeated.

"No, no... if Christ endured the cross, I can surely withstand your courtship... let's have it," she said, taking a deep breath, stretching her neck and squaring her shoulders again.

"Well, if you're sure, Your Ladyship..." he said, taking a knee before her. "As you know, I recently brought to justice a rather troublesome character in Coventry..."

"I am tempted to address the irony of you calling Lady Godiva a troublesome character, Sir Leofric, but do go on..." Godgifu muttered.

"Yes, Your Ladyship. And knowing your love for the people of Coventry, over the past few weeks, I have also settled accounts with them and performed numerous services beyond to make clear to you and to them my most honorable intentions. In all this time, though, it has troubled me that I had not been able to do anything for you. So, if you will indulge me, I would like to present you with a gift that I hope with all my heart that you will accept..."

Her heart leapt into her throat. This was it. This was his proposal. Godgifu's mind raced, torn between her wishes and her worries. Still, Leofric was a good man, and it wasn't right to keep him hanging on or being used for unpleasant labor by the townspeople. It was time for her to do what was right.

"Sir Leofric, I am most honored by your kindness and forbearance--" Godgifu began.

"Wait, Lady. Don't say no, you haven't seen the gift yet--"

"Please let me finish, good sir. I am most gratified by your--"

"Will you just let me--"

"And the fact that you have troubled yourself to gain my people's favor is most--"

"WILL YOU JUST LISTEN, WOMAN? I'M NOT PROPOSING TO YOU!"

The crowd fell silent after gasping in unison. "You're... you're not?" Godgifu whispered, feeling her heart sink through the floor. A dangerous-sounding hum began to buzz in the hall, only to be pierced by a shrill whistle from Sir Leofric.

The doors to the hall opened to reveal the graceful figure of Elva, led by Ham the stableboy. A choked squeak came out from under Godgifu's veils, as she watched the graceful marbled white mare brought into the hall. "As I was saying... it troubled me that, while I had performed many services for your people, I hadn't the chance to give you a gift to show the sincerity of my affections. Although our union would be favored by the King, you must know that I thank God every day that His Highness made it my duty to win you, Your Ladyship. Therefore, please accept my gift of Lady Godiva's horse to you as a token, not of my duties to the King, but of my enduring and sincere affection for you."

With a cry, Godgifu left the dais, ran heedlessly past the outstretched arms of Sir Leofric and embraced the graceful creature. She was bawling so hard now, that she began hiccoughing as she held her forehead to Elva's soft nose. "Sir Leofric... will you marry me?" Godgifu choked out between hiccoughs, still not turning away from her beloved horse.

Leofric bowed his head, "Most gladly... my Lady," he said, smiling as the people in the hall burst out into cheers and whoops of joy. His heart lighter than he'd ever remembered it, Leofric decided that making Godgifu happy would be a good use of the rest of his life. As he strode to join his future wife, he realized he still held Frederic's coin. He looked around the hall for the boy, and finding him, Leofric nudged his head to beckon him forward.

"So, I guess we'll both be visiting the Reverend, Frederic," he said, flipping the coin to the boy who caught it midair and held it up to the light to examine it.

"Will we, sir?" Frederic asked, biting on the coin and checking for a mark.

"Me and Lady Godgifu, you and your sheep... Sara?" he said, looking away from Godgifu, down to the boy.

"Between you and me, sir... I never name the sheep. Makes my sister cry when we take 'em to butcher if they have names," Frederic replied, watching Lady Godgifu coo over the flowers braided into Elva's mane. "I don't think I'm a marrying man, myself... I prefer gold."

Leofric blinked and looked at the boy again, as if seeing him for the first time. "You mean, you never... that... that whole story about Sara..."

Frederic tucked the coin into a small pouch on his belt, then looked up at Leofric with his eyebrows raised. "I saw the horse outside... and I knew her Ladyship liked it. I knew the thing you planned with the other kids would be a disaster and that you'd never get the deal done without some help. Of course... the other kids will be teasing me something awful about saying I was in love with a sheep, sir..."

Taking the hint, Leofric fished several more coins out of his pocket. "I'm glad you're on my side, Fred," he murmured, dropping the coins into the boy's hand.

"Yes, sir."

*** *** ***

Leofric felt Godiva's naked body crawl up onto his back in the large bed of the guest room he had been given in her house shortly after the announcement of their plans to wed. Sir Hulgar had caught Godiva sneaking to his room the very first night of Leofric's residence. It was only after a long lecture and a promise to get back to her own bed before Astrid awoke her each morning, that Godiva was allowed to continue her visits without her protector standing outside Leofric's room and grumbling to himself. After all their outdoor trysts, it felt like an unbelievable luxury to finally lie with each other in a soft bed.

After a day spent bringing loads of tiles up to the roof of the church, Leofric was tired in his bones, but still glad to feel her slight weight on his back and legs, her long hair flowing down over his arm.

"Did you require a service of me, My Lady?" he murmured.

"Oh no... I just... no," she said, stroking his skin. "I just wanted to be with someone that... liked me," she said, tucking her head onto his shoulder and smelling his skin.

"By that count, you could find yourself crawling into bed with most of Mercia... something I'll have to forbid when I'm your husband, Lady... unless I'm allowed to watch," Leofric said, chuckling when she slapped his chest. "Tell me what's made you unhappy," he said into her hair.

"I'm not unhappy... just worried," she murmured, resting her cheek against his skin.

"You want to know what knights do when they're worried?"

"What?"

"We tell someone what we're worried about while we rub their shoulders," Leofric said solemnly.

Godiva snorted, "You made that up. I've never seen knights rubbing anyone's shoulders," she said, climbing up and straddling his chest, kneading the muscles joining his neck and shoulders.

"We do tend to be a rather untroubled lot," he said, "use the heel of your palm instead of your fingers and push along the muscle, not across," he advised, groaning in pleasure when she leaned up and put her weight into her hands.

"It's just that... I think... I was in the market, today, and I think someone threw something at me... I'd just finished talking with someone and I felt something small hit me in the head. Just out of nowhere! I hadn't argued with anyone or anything. Other than deciding to marry you, I can't think of anything that would make someone so mad at me to actually--"

"Ah," he said, succinctly.

"What do you mean 'ah,' Leofric? Someone attacked me for no reason!"

"No, no, you're right. Did you have Sir Hulgar round up suspects? Do we have them in thumbscrews until we get a confession?"

"What? No, of course not! Don't be ridiculous - it was nothing, but... but why would they do that? Why not just say something to me? Why do they hate me? How do I know how to make it better if they don't--"

"Diva... you're a leader. People are going to have bad days in life and look for a way to take it out on someone else, and as a leader, you're always going to be an easy target. I'm not saying that you shouldn't care what people think. What people think matters. But, if your every move is dictated by whether people approve of it, you are not leading them... you are following them. You can't just fall to pieces and doubt yourself every time someone throws something at you," he said, sleepily.

"You're right," she sighed, sliding off his chest and curling up against him again. "Well, at least you like me," she said.

Leofric grunted in response, and after shifting in the bed and pulling her tightly against him, he fell asleep almost instantly. Warmed by his skin and soothed by his heartbeat and deep breaths, Godiva soon fell asleep, as well.

Her dreams, though, were troubled. It felt like life was speeding around her at an impossible speed, but she couldn't see. A cloud of gauzy cloth had wound itself around her head, blocking her view and almost suffocating her. Just when she was able to dig a hole through the cloth to see what was happening, Wilfred was being attacked by someone that wanted to steal her away. Then the veils wrapped themselves around her again, and when she cut through them with a knife, instead of Wilfred, it was Leofric surrounded by the King and a courtly crowd of highborn men, smiling at him while hiding knives behind their backs. "Leofric!" she screamed, taking his hand and suddenly she had disappeared with him into an encampment of soldiers... except they weren't soldiers. Her veils were gone and she could see more than her eyes could believe, because it looked like the men were having sex with each other, one on his knees and the other behind him thrusting away. It was confusing, the intense fucking and men yelling out was incredibly arousing, but there were no women anywhere. Cruelly, her dreams gave her the wild abandon she craved, but came just short of delivering satisfaction, leaving her impossibly aroused.

Leofric's arm was curled around her body, his hand cupping her breast, his thigh resting between hers. By his breathing, she knew he was still sleeping and she had not the heart to wake him. She knew he was exhausted. She had watched him climb the ladder to the church roof again and again with loads of tiles, body breaking work and yet he hadn't complained a bit. He needed rest, and waking him because she needed to come seemed so selfish.

Godiva decided to address her predicament herself, because she knew there was just no way she could fall asleep until she found release. She thought about trying to go back to her room, but Leofric was holding her so tightly, she would surely wake him if she tried. She didn't want him to know that she would ever touch herself for pleasure, though. She could only imagine what Wilfred would have said if he had ever found her with her hand between her legs.