The Medieval Marine - Rise of the British Empire

CHAPTER I - Diphtheria

“We should never forget that God granted us the power to reason so that we would do His work here on Earth - so that we would use science to cure disease, and heal the sick, and save lives.” - Barack Obama.

York, Great Britain. June 1070

Marion sat on her bed at the end of another long day and, like every day over the past seven months, stared at the latest family portrait hanging on the wall. The portrait had been painted a year before when her life was much happier. Then, her guards didn't hate her, and her husband loved her. While her guards still performed their duties, most looked disgusted when she walked by. The bed shifted, and Marion's only remaining friend sat beside her.

Gabriella was just as guilty as Marion for the shift in their lives and was being punished in much the same way. Alice had moved out during the first week of January and rented a small house near the hospital for her family. Pollyanna had done the same thing, only she and her children lived near the army base. When she moved, she also told Matt he wasn't welcome in her new home. Matt resigned from the army and now lived in a bottle where, to everyone's relief, he couldn't do any more damage. At least that issue wasn't related to the rest since Matt had proven himself incompetent and jealous of Pollyanna’s success. Marion's other personal problems were directly related to one mistake she would give almost anything to go back in time and prevent.

"Come on, Marion. Staring at his painting won't bring him back."

"Why? Why was I such a bitch? What's wrong with me that I think I can treat him in such a way?" Marion softly sobbed.

"I don't know, Marion. Why didn't we tell you the French bitch was full of it? If you can answer that, then you should be able to answer your question."

Marion laid her head on Gabriella's shoulder as tears streamed down her face. It had been four months since she had seen Luke and ten months since she had felt the pleasure of his body. The last time she had seen him was when he stopped by to give Mackenzie and Carl their birthday presents. For Mackenzie's fourth birthday, Luke had found a beautiful top that a local woodworker had made; it was brightly decorated and quickly became her favorite toy. Carl also got a simpler top and new boots.

That day still haunted Marion's dreams. The only people who helped Mackenzie celebrate her birthday were their family. Marion's inner circle had stayed away, hoping to avoid any fireworks. To give herself more time with Mackenzie, Marion decided only to work half a day and spend the rest with her children. Things started fine with Marion and Gabriella giving Mackenzie some gifts that she could use, like new clothes and shoes. It wasn't until after dinner that things went downhill for Marion.

As they finished dinner, one of Marion's guards whispered in her ear, causing the blood to run out of her face. She could only give the guard a slight nod and stare at the door. Gabriella didn't know what was happening until the door opened, revealing Luke in his uniform holding a small bag. Mackenzie saw her daddy and rocketed off Marion's lap, the first knife to her heart that evening.

Luke grunted as he picked Mackenzie up.

"What has mommy been feeding you, kiddo? Have you been a good girl?" Mackenzie nodded enthusiastically, sending her curly blonde hair flying. "Well, happy birthday, munchkin."

Luke handed her a brown paper bag that revealed the top when Mackenzie opened it. She squealed and sat on the floor to start playing with the top while unknowingly demonstrating the laws of motion. Luke smiled at her before hugging the rest of his children. It was the first time he had seen them in seven months, and during that time, they had grown. He also gave his son Carl a top and a pair of kid-sized combat boots since the party was also for him. Fredrick's birthday wasn't until later in the year, so he didn't get a gift, but Luke hugged him.

Once Luke finished handing out gifts, he looked at Marion and a very pregnant Gabriella. Marion tried to keep the tears from flowing, but it was a losing battle.

"Your Majesty. Colonel." Luke said with a nod to both women.

That was all it took for the tears to flow freely down Marion's face as she rushed to Luke and threw her arms around his neck. She hoped Luke would wrap his arms around her but was crushed when he gently pushed her off him and turned to play with the children. It was all Marion could take as she fled the room, not that Luke or the children noticed.

Things got worse for Marion when Luke was getting ready to leave. Marion had been begging him to stay, but he refused. When Mackenzie asked him to stay and tell her a bedtime story, it took her no effort to convince her daddy to tell her and her siblings one of his stories of growing up in the 21^st century. The children didn't realize his stories were real; they thought they were fairy tales. Unknown to Luke, Marion sat around the corner from the children's room and listened. As Mackenzie was about to close her eyes, Marion got the next stab to the chest.

"Daddy?" Mackenzie asked, "Can you stay the night?"

"No, I can't, kiddo. Daddy needs to return to the army base."

"But why? You used to stay here."

Luke sighed, "You should ask your mother."

"So, why does mommy cry every night and wish you to come home?"

Luke's voice caught; how do you explain betrayal to a four-year-old?

"Sometimes, sweetie, adults do things that make no sense to anyone and hurt people they love. I still love your mother deeply, never doubt that, but she hurt me badly, and I haven't healed yet."

"Do you know when you will heal? I want you home, Daddy!"

"Oh, sweetheart. Sometimes, the ways adults hurt each other never heals. I promise you that no matter what happens, I will never forget you and will help you in any way I can. Now you need to go to sleep."

"Okay, Daddy."

"And Mackenzie."

"Yes, Daddy?"

"Just because your mother and I are not together anymore does not give you an excuse not to listen to her."

"Yes, Daddy. Good night." Mackenzie said through a yawn.

"Night, munchkin."

Luke pulled the cover up to her chin and kissed her forehead before turning to leave. Before he stepped through the door, Luke stopped to check on the children. All of them were sleeping like perfect angels, and he couldn't have felt more pride in how they were turning out. By all accounts, his children grew fast, were healthy, and well-behaved.

After the children fell asleep, Luke went to leave, but Marion intercepted him at the door to try one last time. After hearing Luke and Mackenzie, it took Marion everything to keep it together.

"Would you like to stay the night? It would be much warmer than traveling back to the base in the dark."

"Sorry, but I need to get back."

"Please, Luke?" Marion begged with tears running down her face. "I know I was wrong to condemn you without you being able to defend yourself, and I know I was wrong to believe that lying French bitch when she accused you."

"Why did you believe her?" Luke snapped.

Marion sighed, "I don't know, Luke." She didn't have the courage to look into his eyes when she said it, preferring instead to inspect the tops of her shoes.

"Until you figure that out, don't ask me to stay again," Luke growled. "YOU crushed all trust I had in you! YOU crushed me, Marion, when you forbade me from seeing the children. My former lover was no better, so at least you're not alone in your fucking stupidity. Now, if you will excuse me, Your Majesty, I need to be leaving before the weather turns."

Luke turned and left before Marion could say anything. As the door shut, Marion broke down and sobbed as she went and grabbed a bottle of her strongest wine. When Gabriella saw the wine bottle, she tried to stop Marion's drinking, but to no avail. Marion drank the whole bottle and passed out while Gabriella cried herself to sleep.

When Alice learned that Luke had visited Marion, she was furious. Luke had visited Marion and not her. Alice hadn't seen Luke since before he shipped out to France and now missed seeing him again. She would have been still living with Marion, but seeing Marion was a constant reminder of what they did to Luke, so Alice moved out into her own place.

With her medical empire growing in leaps and bounds, money wasn't a problem for her, but companionship was. When news of her and Luke splitting made its way around, Alice found she had suiters lining up to have the opportunity to court her. While Alice and Luke might not have been together, she still loved him completely and would happily give almost anything to have him back, but she understood why that couldn't happen. Still, there were times, especially at night, when Alice craved Luke's contact and his scent. At least Luke was giving Marion the cold shoulder, too.

Pollyanna was the group's only member who did not condemn Luke but had her own problems. Matt had finally overstayed his welcome when Pollyanna came home and caught him in bed with two recruits who believed sleeping with Matt would provide them a shortcut through training. After catching Matt, Pollyanna kicked Matt out and rented her new home. When Luke heard, he gave Matt a simple choice: resign from the army and keep his mouth shut about Luke's secret or face prison; he chose to resign. Matt had started cheating on Pollyanna because he felt threatened by her success.

In May 1070, Pollyanna gave birth to her and Luke’s child, who had been conceived during their evening together in France. Luke was at Pollyanna’s side for the child’s birth and cried when Pollyanna named her boy Lucus Hall. Marion and Alice had made it a point to stay away while Luke was with Pollyanna, only visiting once they were sure he was gone.

One might wonder why, as Luke’s commanding officer, Marion didn’t order him to report to her. If Marion had ordered Luke to report to her, he would have, but she didn’t order him to report. Instead, she only insisted on written reports and visits from junior officers. After talking with Gabriella, Marion correctly determined that she had to let Luke take the next step, and if she tried to hurry that step, it would take him even longer to do it.

It was a warm night in June, and Marion was having problems sleeping. After her nightly cry, she and Gabriella had turned in, hoping to get a good sleep that never seemed to arrive. Marion had just fallen asleep when one of the children woke her up, moaning in pain. Quickly, Marion and Gabriella threw robs on to investigate. To their horror, they found Edhida covered in sweat. Recognizing she was infected with some disease, they moved the rest of the children out of the room and sent for Alice.

Alice arrived an hour later, looking like she had just been woken up; her children were in the care of their governess. It didn't take long for Alice to recognize Edhida had come down with diphtheria, and she forced Marion and Gabriella out of the room.

"I don't want anyone going into that room who hasn't had diphtheria."

"I haven't had it," said Marion.

"Me neither," added Gabriella. "Do we know anyone who would be safe?"

"I do," said Alice as she hurriedly left the room.

"Who?" cried Marion, but Alice was already out the door and didn't hear her.

Alice raced to the army base and was granted immediate access. She was one of the few who would be let in during the off hours without a signed pass. Not knowing where Luke was staying, she demanded one of the guards take her to him. Knowing who Alice was, the guard took Alice to the small brick building where Luke had been living. Not wanting the guard to hear, she dismissed him before pounding on Luke's door. As she pounded on the door, the sick child wasn't the first thought on her mind; Alice was wondering what she would do if she found another woman in Luke's bed.

Luke had been sound asleep when someone beating on his door woke him up. At first, Luke ignored them and put a pillow over his head, but the person at the door persisted. He groaned as he stumbled out of bed to put on his pants. Whoever was at the door had better have a good reason for waking him, or they would be used as live target practice. When he peaked out the door, he was greeted by a beautiful redhead.

"Alice, what are you doing here?" Luke mumbled as he tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

While Luke loved Alice, he didn't like being woken in the middle of the night.

"Luke, I'm sorry for waking you, but this isn't a social call. I'm here because Edhida is sick, and I think she has diphtheria. Marion has already moved everyone out of her room, and I ordered her door sealed to keep it from spreading."

Before Alice could finish her thought, Luke threw his door open and was packing before Alice could enter. All thoughts of sleep left Luke's mind at once. While Luke packed, Alice looked at where he had been living. It was a simple one-room building with a bed only big enough for a single person in the corner. In the opposite corner was a kitchenette with a small stove and ice box. All of Luke's clothing fit in one mid-sized armoire near his bed. Alice could see that Luke had been the only one living there and felt an immeasurable sense of relief.

Once he had a small bag, Luke rushed to the door and, picking Alice up, gave her a deep kiss that curled her toes and flooded her thighs. The moan that escaped her mouth was involuntary, and she wrapped her arms tightly around Luke's neck as she sobbed. Luke was thanking Alice for telling him about Edhida, while Alice was thanking him for not having a new woman in his life.

"Thank you for telling me, Alice. The last thing I want is one of you taking such a risk as purposely exposing yourselves to diphtheria. Come on, let's go. I need to leave word that General Jaavika is in charge while I'm caring for Edhida."

Having come from 21^st-century America and served in the Marines, Luke had been vaccinated against numerous diseases, including diphtheria. After Alice recovered from Luke's kiss, she followed him out the door and to the security office so he could send word to General Jaavika that she was in charge of the base until further notice.

Luke rushed into Marion's chambers and her arms. She was waiting for him and intercepted him before he could take two steps into the room. If Luke's kiss curled Alice's toes, Marion's kiss almost gave Luke a heart attack.

"Thank you for coming, Luke. Edhida is hurting, and I'm so afraid. I love her and don't want to lose her."

"I love her too. That's why I came."

Edhida was lying in bed and covered in sweat when Luke entered her room.

"Hey, Edhida."

"Hello, Daddy. I feel terrible."

"I know, pumpkin. We're going to try to get you feeling better."

"What about your job with the army?"

"To hell with the army, Edhida. I'm going to be here to make you feel better. Now you relax, pumpkin."

"Daddy, I'm scared. I don't want to die!"

"Well, I'm here to ensure that doesn't happen."

"Can you hold me?"

"Of course."

Luke sat next to Edhida's bed and held her hand. From the door, Marion watched Luke with tears running down her face. This was the same man she accused of raping the French queen the year before and didn't allow him to defend himself. Now, he was sitting with their adopted daughter while she was in extreme pain and possibly on death's doorstep. Marion knew Luke had plenty of other things he needed to do, but he was still willing to make time for someone in his family.

The following day, Marion found Luke still sitting next to Edhida in a position that Marion knew would hurt him. As Marion poked her head in the door, Luke woke up and stretched before checking on Edhida; she was weak and had a high temperature. Luke ordered some thin broth and yogurt for her so she could eat while ordering a couple of eggs for himself. Marion was all too happy to take Luke's order and give it to the cooks while putting a rush on it.

When the food arrived, Luke fed Edhida before he ate. Before giving her any broth, he tasted it and added salt to replace what she lost through sweating. Luke also made Edhida drink a glass of water with a touch of honey and salt every hour. The biggest killer of most diseases wasn't the disease but the symptoms like dehydration or being weakened from lack of nutrients. Edhida didn't want to eat, but Luke gave her no choice, almost forcing the food down her throat. After Edhida had finished eating, Luke went to the shower and set up a chair for Edhida to sit on while she took a lukewarm shower. While Edhida was sitting under the cooling stream of water, Luke stripped her bed and sent all her bedding to be steam cleaned before putting fresh bedding on her bed. Edhida was still miserable after her shower, but Luke noticed her temperature was down. The heat and moisture from the shower had loosened the phlegm in her throat, and Edhida spent a couple of minutes coughing it up before she laid back down.

Unfortunately, Marion had to go to the office, which she had to admit was one of the hardest things she had ever done because she desperately wanted to stay with Luke. However, Luke remained by Edhida's side all day, ensuring she drank water and told her stories. As the day wore on, Luke kept an eye on how Edhida was doing and was thankful that her breathing wasn't too severely affected yet. She also began urinating again; it was still dark yellow and had a strong smell, but the fact that she was going bathroom said much. By the end of the day, Luke was exhausted but couldn't leave. Edhida begged him to stay, and someone had to keep an eye on her. Thankfully, Marion brought some bedding so Luke could sleep on the floor next to Edhida.

Over the next week, Luke only left Edhida's side to go the bathroom or take a quick shower. When Edhida slept, Luke worked on paperwork that was slid under the door. By the end of the week, however, she had slid further downhill, and Luke had never felt so helpless watching his adopted daughter die before him. What made it worse was Luke knew diphtheria was a curable disease in his time; he was, after all, vaccinated against it.

Finally, thirteen days after Alice had fetched Luke, Edhida gave up the fight and passed into the afterlife. Luke had been by her side, holding her hand while she struggled to take her final breath. When Edhida died, it felt like his soul had been extinguished, and when he stood, all emotions had vanished. Death finally became too much for Luke, and he shut down emotionally.

With Edhida dead, Luke decided to give Alice everything she needed so she could begin manufacturing diphtheria antitoxin. The process was broadly outlined in one of the medical texts that Luke brought back with him, but Alice never had the money to pursue the antitoxin, plus she had ten other things that needed to be done first. Now, money wouldn't be a problem as Luke decided to cover the enormous research and manufacturing costs even if it bankrupted him; he wanted to ensure no other parent had to suffer like he had while waiting for Edhida to die.

"I'm so sorry, Luke. I wish there were something I could do to help you," Marion told Luke as he was getting ready to leave.

"She never had much chance. Fucking diphtheria is one of those diseases that I bet kills upwards of 70% of everyone it infects and will continue to do so until Alice can develop the vaccine. I will give her all the funding needed to develop the vaccine and the antitoxin. I don't care if it bankrupts me."

"Luke, I know her passing hurts, but you must remember something too, darling; this is the 11^th century, not the 21^st. People die much younger from diseases you don't have the kit to stop. No matter what you do, that will not change for some time." Seeing the look on his face, Marion continued quickly, "Luke, please look at me." She was thankful when his cold, empty gray eyes turned toward her. "I know you don't believe me, darling, but I do love you. Even when I was under the spell of that French bitch, I would crave your touch, the sound of your voice, the feel of the strong muscles under your skin, your intelligence, and most of all your caring for people. Luke, I know this will be hard for you, but don't turn it in on yourself; please don't shut off your emotions. Alice tried that, and it nearly destroyed her. Your Becky tried that, and it nearly destroyed her. Don't let this destroy you, Luke. Please."

Marion sighed as she leaned against Luke. When he didn't put his arms around her, she took matters into her own hands and put his arms around her as she looked up into his cold, stormy gray eyes. For one of the first times she could remember, Luke looked vulnerable. When Luke looked into Marion's tear-filled blue eyes, he knew he would be moving back in with her before long. They needed each other to be happy, and both knew it. When Marion felt Luke's hand land on her cheek, her heart almost burst as tears flowed freely. She stood on her tiptoes to kiss Luke without him bending over, and when their lips met, both felt electricity flowing through their bodies.

When Luke suddenly picked Marion up, she squealed, feeling his strong arms cradle her. Luke gave Marion a tired smile as he carried her, and her heart raced when she saw where Luke was taking her. One thing she was going to make sure of was if Luke would join her in bed, she would do absolutely anything until he had regained his trust in her.

Laying his blonde angel on the bed that was once theirs, Luke gently ran his hands up Marion's arms. While Marion would have preferred they get naked right away and Luke pound the stupidity out of her, Marion allowed Luke to set the pace.

The pace Luke set was maddeningly slow for Marion, and Luke was content to let his fingertips explore every millimeter of Marion's skin. With every touch, goosebumps rose from Marion's skin as she squirmed to try to gain more contact, but Luke would move his hands with her body, thus keeping the amount of contact the same. Marion swore she would go insane before Luke moved on, so when one of Luke's hands slid under her shirt and brushed her hard nipple, her breath caught in her throat.

With one hand, Luke gently massaged Marion's breast while the other unfastened the buttons on her shirt. Marion was glad she had worn a button-down shirt as the breeze across her skin increased as more buttons were undone. Eventually, all the buttons were undone, and Luke saw Marion's breast for the first time in ten months. Without warning, Luke latched onto one of her nipples and began suckling, proving too much for Marion, and she had an orgasm in her pants. However, this didn't stop Luke as he continued to suckle on Marion's hard pink nipples. Marion's hands found their way onto Luke's head to keep him at her breasts. When she looked at him, his eyes were closed, but Marion could see the tears trying to escape. At that moment, Luke looked like a small child rather than his nation's most fearsome general.

After another orgasm, Luke left Marion's nipples and lay beside her to kiss her properly. As they kissed, Marion's body molded to Luke's, and his hands gently rubbed her back. When Marion looked into Luke's eyes, they had shifted from cold gray to soft blue, and Marion stopped kissing Luke to stare into his eyes. Neither moved as their foreheads rested against each other, their eyes locked, and their noses touching.

Luke pushed Marion's shirt off as gently as possible and unfastened her pants to slide them down her shapely hips. While Luke was finishing stripping Marion, she was undoing his clothing. Once Luke's pants were off, Marion pushed on his shoulders so he would lay on his back. With Luke on his back, Marion kissed his hardened body until she reached his cock. Marion took hold of Luke's cock and gently kissed up and down his shaft. When at the tip, she would suck it into her mouth and swirl her tongue around it, and when Marion reached the base, she would suck one of Luke's balls into her mouth. Marion kept this up until Luke's cock swelled, and she closed her mouth over the tip so he would cum in her mouth. While jacking him off, she looked up at Luke with such deep pools of love that Luke exploded. Once Luke was done cumming, Marion opened her mouth to show him his cum before swallowing it.

Now that Marion had taken the edge off, Luke pulled Marion up on him until her now hairy pussy was directly over his mouth. Knowing that Luke liked the fur between her legs, Marion had only trimmed her pubic hair since she figured out how badly she fucked up. Using his hands to control Marion's hip movements, he worked Marion from anus to clit. It wasn't long before the combination of Luke's kissing and her emotional overload caused her to explode all over Luke's face.

When Marion saw Luke's face, she almost laughed; he was soaked. Luke had a smoldering fire in his eyes as she lay on her back and spread her legs. It was time for Marion to ignite Luke's lust for her as he moved between her legs to impale her with his cock. With Luke's tip pushing its way through her flesh, Marion's eyes dilated, and her nostrils flared as a loud moan escaped her throat and her back arched. The moan continued until Luke bottomed out, causing the moan to end with a chirp.

There was no fucking with their joining as their eyes locked, and both moved to work themselves into each other’s skin. Luke and Marion were engaged in that most ancient dance between lovers, like a blacksmith forging pieces of iron into one. Each thrust, each moan, and each kiss bound them tighter together until, as one person, they arrived at the only destination possible. Their mutual orgasm gave their love a soul, like a bladesmith's quench gives a soul to the blade he worked. Marion and Luke were fused once again.

The couple lay curled up together as Marion cried in the aftermath of their joining. Her emotions had been rubbed raw, and the dam broke when Luke whispered that he loved her. Eventually, Marion fell to sleep, wrapped tightly in his arms and him following closely behind her.

Gabriella entered the room that evening to find Luke and Marion wrapped tightly in a lover's embrace and sleeping soundly. Seeing they had finally made up, Gabriella smiled and slipped back out of the room. She wouldn't have been smiling if she had known Edhida was dead. Her destination was the small home Alice was renting.

Alice heard someone knock at her door and sighed. Sometimes, she swore it would be much easier to pick one of the less objectional suiters and marry him. Every day, some young man would knock on her door and ask to court her. Alice turned them all down, but it was wearing on her, so when she opened the door, she was surprised to see Gabriella.

"What do you want, Colonel?" Alice demanded as Gabriella slipped into the room and shut the door behind her.

"Is that any way to talk to your once and future lover?"

"Lover? I didn't know you had a cock."

"Chill, Alice. I believe Luke and Marion are getting back together."

"And what, pray tell, makes you think that?"

"When I left the palace, Luke and Marion were tangled up and sleeping in bed."

"I'm sure Marion will do something to fuck things up."

"And I'm sure I will do everything in my power to keep Marion on the straight and narrow. It's time for you to come home, Alice."

Just then, there was another knock at the door, and Alice sighed as she answered it. Gabriella stood to the side and watched as Alice opened the door to see a finely dressed man standing there.

"Good evening, Miss Kensley."

"What do you want, Ælfsige?"

"Why the hostility? I would like to ask you to dinner this evening."

"Because I have told you multiple times that I'm not interested in you."

"You misunderstand me, my dear Alice…."

"No, you misunderstand me," Alice pulled Gabriella to her and kissed her deeply. "As you see, I don't like men, especially men who will not take a hint," Alice growled. Ælfsige stood rooted in place with his jaw sitting on the ground. "In case you don't realize who this is, may I introduce Colonel Gabriella Smiten, head of the Household Guard and one of my lovers. You can't tell the queen about us because she already knows."

"Ah. Ah. I beg your pardon, Miss Kensley."

"That’s Doctor Kensley to you,” Alice interrupted and slammed the door in his face.

Gabriella looked at Alice with a calculating look.

“All right, Alice, what the hell has gotten into you?”

“That fucking bastard has been after me since I moved here.”

“Then it’s time you move back to where you belong, Alice.”

Alice sighed and looked at Gabriella, then the door. All the young men chasing her were emotionally draining, and none were close to the one man she wanted. Here was a chance to get back what truly made her happy, but did she want to take it? She did, but then she didn’t. Alice would love nothing more than to be held in Luke’s arms but knew she couldn’t endure another episode like the previous seven months.

“Gabby, I’m sorry, but I can’t move back now. I couldn’t stand to have my heart broken again.”

“Alice, you won’t have your heart broken again.”

“How do you know? None of us predicted when Luke went to France, a crazy French bitch would come back and brainwash us. What if something like that happens again?”

“This time, we’ll know better.”

“We should have known better the last time, and yet look what we did. It seems like whenever Luke is away for some time, Marion goes stupid, and we go right along with her.”

“Come on, Alice. It’s not that bad.”

Alice gave Gabriella a look usually reserved for the village idiot. Marion could be extremely jealous and got stupid when Luke wasn’t nearby. The former French queen was a case in point. Her story was so ridiculous that an idiot could have seen through it, but Marion bought it hook, line, and sinker. Then she sold it to Gabriella and Alice with no effort. The guards figured out the truth within a day, but it took Marion almost six weeks to figure it out, and only when she was hit in the face with the evidence.

“Gabby, you’re delusional. As soon as Luke has to leave, Marion will do something stupid to drive Luke away again. I can’t lose Luke; he’s the closest thing I have to family.”

“What about Marion and I? What about your children?”

“Does Marion care about me or the service I can provide? I know Luke cares about me.”

Gabriella was flabbergasted. Being at a loss for words didn’t happen to her often, but now she couldn’t think of anything to change Alice’s mind.

“Alice, I’m going to prove to you that we care about you, the person, just as much as we care about you, the doctor.”

Gabriella left Alice’s house in a fog, and when she returned to her and Marion’s room, she found Luke playing with the children and Marion sitting in a chair, watching him with no emotion on her face.

“Hello, Gabby,” said a melancholy Marion as she embraced her lover. “Where have you been?”

“I went to see Alice.”

“Oh. Is she moving back in?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“She feels that you won’t be able to stop yourself from pulling another stupid stunt in the future and that you only value her for what she can do for you, not her personally.”

“Okay, the first part, I see, but the not caring bit? That hurts.”

“I’m guessing Edhida is feeling better since Luke is out here.”

“No, Gabriella, she isn’t. She passed away this morning,” Marion answered.

“OH GOD, NO!” Gabriella’s hands flew to her mouth. “I’m so sorry. Luke. Luke.” He finally looked at her, “I’m so sorry, Luke. If there’s anything I can do for you, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Thank you, Gabriella. It really fucking sucks, but the coffin maker had a coffin the correct size for Edhida. I know you would have rather made one yourself, but I couldn’t put you through that.”

“Luke, you should have asked me; I would be honored to make one for her. I know. Since she loved birds, I’ll carve some to put on her coffin.”

Her last sentence shattered Luke’s remaining emotional wall, and tears poured down his face as he sobbed. Marion sat down beside him and held his head against her breasts. She gently rocked him back and forth as he cried, eventually putting him to sleep. Gabriella looked down at the sleeping general and sighed. Somedays, she didn’t envy him, and this was one of those days.

As a native of the 11^th century, Gabriella knew at least half of all children born didn’t make it to adulthood and fully accepted that death was part of life. Coming from the 21st century, Luke couldn’t fully make that transition. He valued every child’s life and found it profoundly saddening to see one die. Marion, Gabriella, Alice, and Pollyanna knew they had been fortunate that only Edhida had died so far. They also knew if something happened to one of Luke’s biological children, his depression would be far worse.

Seeing Luke wasn’t going to be getting up soon and not wanting to wake him to get him in bed, Marion quietly called her guards in and had them help move Luke to bed. They knew Edhida had died since they were there when Marion ordered the coffin, and it stunned them to see the general break down so badly over the death of one child. Both guards had seen siblings die young and figured the general had as well.

Marion and Gabriella held each other once Luke was in bed. They had a rough, long day and were ready for bed. Finally, Marion snuggled up next to Luke’s body while Gabriella lay in Marion’s arms. Both women fell asleep quickly.

Luke didn’t wake up until the sun streamed through the window and landed on his face. As he groaned, he noticed a familiar weight against him. The feeling of Marion’s body leaning against him reassured Luke that everything would work out. Gently, he rolled and wrapped his other arm around Marion and found Gabby, so he embraced both women.

“Hello darling,” said Marion as she grinned at him. The night before had been the best she had slept in months.

“Good morning, sweetheart. How did you sleep?”

Marion purred, “The best. Thank you.” Now sounding serious, “Luke, I don’t know how to ask this without sounding desperate, so I’m just going to ask, Will you move back in with Gabriella and me? Please.”

“I was hoping you would ask. Marion, living apart from you and the children was just as hard on me; I believe I’m ready to come home.”

Gabriella leaned over Marion and planted a kiss on Luke’s lips. When she took too long, Marion sucked on her nipple and got some milk out. It was time for Gabriella to feed her youngest child, Molly MacDougall, who had been born in April.

After Gabriella got out of bed, Marion gently pushed Luke on his back so she could put his morning wood to use. Marion started by spreading her legs over Luke’s mouth and sucking Luke’s spear to ensure it would slide easily. The effects of their 69 session were immediate as Marion started leaking and Luke got harder. Happy with the results, Marion spun around and slowly slid Luke back into where he belonged. The feeling of her tunnel stretching to fit Luke into her was delicious and gave Marion immense pleasure. Once Luke bottomed out, Marion looked at him with lusty fire in her eyes.

Where the day before had been for healing, their morning romp was primal, with Marion’s body twisting and turning while Luke pounded her from below and tried to hang on. The result was that both were drenched in sweat and needed a nap by the time they were done. The problem was both had to return to work to catch up on the mountain of work that had been piling up. Gabriella wasn’t very gentle with Marion as she frog-marched Marion into the shower, with Luke following a few minutes later to get his shower. When he stepped into the shower, he hadn’t touched the water before Gabriella kneeled to clean Marion’s fluid off his cock.

Having Gabriella’s talented mouth on his cock caused Luke to get hard again. Since Gabriella was healed from her recent childbirth, Luke picked her up and held her against the wall while he entered her. All Gabriella could do was wrap her arms and legs around Luke and hold on for the ride. And what a wild ride it was for Gabriella as Luke pounded her through at least six powerful orgasms before making a deposit deep inside her. Before Gabriella could get her feet on the floor, Marion’s head was between her legs to suck all of Luke’s juice out of her tunnel. Marion drove Gabriella to another orgasm before Gabriella pushed Marion away. It was taking her everything she had to stay on her feet and rinse off her body.

When Luke returned to the army base, he noticed everyone was walking taller and giving him crisper salutes. Before, many soldiers saw Luke as some mysterious, emotionless commander, but after Edhida’s death, they saw he had emotions just like they did. They knew Luke stayed by his child’s side, risking his life to comfort his daughter. None of them knew Luke wasn’t in danger, and he wasn’t going to tell them either. Another reason the soldiers were happier was rumors that Luke and Marion were back together. With Luke being happy again, he wouldn’t be such a hardass.

The soldier who was most glad to see Luke come back was none other than General Jaavika. She had been overwhelmed with paperwork and intelligence reports. When Luke entered the office door, she jumped out of her chair and hugged him tightly.

“Well, hello, general. If this is the kind of greeting I can expect, I’ll leave you in charge more often.”

“DON’T YOU DARE! How can you keep up with all this work?”

Luke smiled at her, “I know how to prioritize and multitask. So, anything important happen in the last couple of weeks.”

“Yes, we’ve started getting numerous reports of pirates raiding along the western shore from Cornwall to the Orkneys.”

“Any clues as to where the raids are coming from?”

General Jaavika slid a report over to Luke from Brigadier General Lefuuinus detailing some of the pirates one of his patrols had caught red-handed. The pirates were a mix of Vikings and Irish clansmen. For Luke, that settled things. He remembered the intelligence report he had read back in late January regarding Hawise going to work for an alliance of Viking and Irish kingdoms. It seemed Hawise hadn’t convinced them to stop raiding, and now they had Luke’s attention. With the thaw between Luke and Marion, she would know of the pirate threat by the end of the day.

CHAPTER II - Assassination Attempt

“The important thing to know about an assassination or an attempted assassination is not who fired the shot but who paid for the bullet.” - Eric Ambler

Rome, Papal States. June 1070

Pope Alexander II wasn’t as happy as in previous months. His intelligence reported that Marion and Luke were still separated, but Great Britain was still united and showing no signs of breaking up. Even the queen was still in power. Like almost every European leader, Alexander expected Luke to rise against Marion and take over as king. When he didn’t, it confused Europe’s political classes.

Still, the distraction could have been enough for Alexander to regain control of the British church if Marion hadn’t purged it of corrupt officials in previous years. The remaining British church officials figured Luke and Marion would eventually reunite and knew Luke wouldn’t rebel. If they rebelled, it would push Luke and Marion back together.

By the time Alexander knew of their split, Marion had her feet under her, and news of Luke’s refusal to rebel against the queen had spread through the army. Alexander never had a real chance to regain his lost power, but that didn’t stop him from trying. After learning of the split, Alexander sent a flurry of letters to every church official in Britain, instructing them to do everything in their power to gain power for the church.

As Alexander sat on his throne in June, he thought about far more important matters than the situation in Britain. The Papal situation in Sicily was worsening, with the remaining Normans and Muslims uniting to drive Papal forces off the island. The Normans brought military training and discipline, while the Muslims brought the support of about half the Mediterranean plus deeper manpower reserves.

So, while the Papal Army had a far superior army, they were being worn down by the local forces. Alexander hadn’t had the time to set up a domestic gun industry, so he had to buy them on the international market. There, he got an expensive lesson in capitalism when the increased demand from the Papal States forced the price of firearms to increase. Alexander needed those guns, though, because he was suffering heavy losses in Sicily, and usually, the weapon was lost with the soldier.

What was turning into a bigger problem was the local resistance was learning to use the captured firearms. The Battle for Sicily was turning into a battle of attrition that put Papal forces at a severe disadvantage. It didn’t matter when Papal troops won a battle because the resistance would melt away, only to reform somewhere else to continue the fight.

The only part of Sicily the pope had complete control over was the area from Messina southwest to the slopes of Mt. Etna. While half of the remaining island had papal troops on it, they didn’t control it; the locals did.

Back in Rome, Sextus wasn’t sure if anything he did would cheer his liege. Ever since Marion had come to power in England, the world seemed to turn against Alexander. While the Papal States controlled most of southern Italy, the northern Italian states refused to join. Sicily became a death trap, and the remaining Byzantine stronghold was regaining power.

The Normans had been conquering Byzantine Italy, but when the Papal Army destroyed the Normans south of Rome, it gave the Byzantines some breathing room. Even though the situation in Constantinople was unsettled, the local Byzantine military leaders in Bari were not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. They used the preceding 15 months to strengthen themselves and await the perfect opportunity to strike back and retake the land the Normans had captured.

Frankfort, Holy Roman Empire. June 1070

While Henry IV didn’t have the insurgency problems that Alexander did, he did have a serious problem. Word of his wife’s plot finally reached him from the most unlikely source. Henry had been sorting incoming letters in his office to avoid a late winter storm in early March when he came across a letter from Gretchen. This had been the first letter she had written him since she had resigned from his service.

His delight quickly turned to horror, then to an anger he had never felt before. The letter started well enough, with Gretchen updating Henry on her personal life. His son Otto was healthy and growing quickly, while Gretchen was Marion's spy mistress. The first hit for Henry was when he learned she was seeing a young industrialist named Nicol of Falkirk. He was a young Scot who came to York and was making a fortune operating a textile factory.

The horror started when Gretchen wrote about an assassination plot she had received intelligence about. A conspiracy that involved Henry’s wife joining forces with his brother-in-law Rudolf of Rheinfelden, Duke of Swabia. Bertha was a central member of this plot, and she plans to marry Rudolf after Henry was dead and her sister was confined to a convent. To support her claims, Gretchen sent Henry copies of intelligence reports outlining the plot and who was involved. If Henry considered ignoring the evidence, Gretchen included an actual letter from Bertha to Rudolf detailing their latest plans.

As Henry read the letter from Bertha to Rudolf, he could barely hold his anger. In the letter, there were references to a dinner he was scheduled to attend that evening. The plan had been to poison Henry’s food, and if he somehow survived, Rudolf would stab him and declare himself emperor. After Rudolf’s coronation, he would condemn Adelaide to a convent and marry Bertha. To ensure Rudolf followed through with the plan, Bertha had ties to the most powerful nobles in the empire.

Once he finished reading everything Gretchen sent, Henry was tempted to head out and arrest his wife, her sister, and his brother-in-law. Then he had second thoughts; if Henry could catch them in the act, he would have support to punish the plotters without revealing Gretchen’s letter.

Not knowing who to trust, Henry kept everything he read a secret and locked the letter in a lock box behind his father’s painting. At the dinner, Henry’s eyes continuously scanned the people attending, and what he saw frightened him. From several of his most powerful nobles, there were almost imperceptible nods when Rudolf came into the room. This plot was far more extensive than Gretchen had known, and it was up to Henry to stop. To keep from eating, Henry ate cold cuts and bread before dinner and skipped the alcohol to keep his reflexes sharp.

When the second course was brought out, Henry noticed Rudolf seemed edgy and strongly suspected which plate had been poisoned. Suspecting which dish was poisoned, Henry noticed the man delivering it wasn’t one of the usual servers but one of Rudolf’s body men. That confirmed for Henry which dish to avoid. He wouldn’t have noticed the change if he hadn't been forewarned.

“Rudolf of Rheinfelden, my dear brother-in-law, tell me; what do you think of the food this evening?”

“Ah… it is excellent as always, Your Majesty.”

Rudolf was nervous. He knew what dish was poisoned, but Henry had chosen the very moment it was to be delivered to make conversation about the food. Then Henry took a bite and grinned.

“My dear Rudolf, you must try my plate! It is the best I have ever tasted!”

Seeing Henry not react, Rudolf thought maybe his man didn’t get the chance to poison the food, but tasting the emperor’s dish would require him to lean in the wrong direction to stab him, but he couldn’t just disobey the emperor. Since at least four more courses were planned, Rudolf figured his man would have other opportunities to poison Henry’s food, and if Henry were alive by the end of the meal, he would stab him.

Rudolf took a spoonful of the soup before Henry and tasted it. It was good but no better than his soup. Then Rudolf began to feel strange as his stomach tried to reject the toxins. Henry calmly watched as Rudolf started to vomit and foam at the mouth; he didn’t even move until Rudolf was on his back with his feet strumming the floor and hands holding his throat. With Rudolf out of the way, Henry demanded Bertha eat the remaining soup in his bowl. She refused.

“Why are you refusing to eat?”

“I am not going to eat something the devil has contacted! How else could one explain your brother-in-law’s reaction to it?”

“The devil, maybe, but in this case, the devil is mortal.” Henry stood up, and the hall went silent. “My lords and ladies, as you all can see, the devil has touched my brother-in-law, who was not strong enough to fight back! Now, how did the devil get in? This room and everything in it was blessed before we entered and again before we ate. Lords and ladies, Rudolf of Rheinfelden, Duke of Swabia, wasn’t touched by the devil but consumed the poison meant for me!” The other people in the hall stood and began screaming. Henry let it go on for a minute before he pulled one of his handguns and shot into the air. No damage was done because this gun was loaded with a blank round, but it got everyone’s attention. “How else can you honestly explain his reaction to eating the soup from my bowl?”

The noble sitting directly across from Henry spoke up. He was the Duke of Bavaria and a supporter of the plot.

“You ate the soup before Rudolf did, so you must be the DEVIL!”

“Did I eat the soup, or did it look like I ate the soup?” Henry turned, and everyone saw a spoonful of soup on his shirt. What nobody in the hall knew was when Henry was little, he spent the day with a magician who revealed some of the tricks of the trade, such as sleight of hand and deception. Those tricks had saved his life. Now it was time to clean house, “Empress Bertha of Savoy, you are under arrest for attempted murder and treason. GUARDS! Seize her!”

Henry’s loyal guards rushed in and apprehended Henry’s wife before her loyal noble friends could get her out. Several of those nobles were arrested as well. The Duke of Bavaria shouted across the noise.

“Emperor Henry! How dare you arrest the empress with no evidence!”

“I have all the evidence I need since Bertha of Savoy was a lover of Rudolf of Rheinfelden. One of his guards was the man who served me the poisoned soup, and I have a letter from Bertha to Rudolf planning this plot. GUARDS!” Henry shouted. “Nobody is allowed to leave the palace until further notice, and ANYONE who attempts to leave without my express permission is to be arrested. If they resist, kill them, no questions asked.”

Henry walked out of the room with his wife being dragged behind him. He led the group to a chamber deep inside the palace and had his wife tied to a table in the middle of the room. With her tied down, the rest of the torches in the room were lit, and Bertha looked around to see she was in a torture chamber. When she pulled against the ropes, there was no give, and Henry ordered everyone else but a loyal scribe to leave the room.

“Bertha, I do not wish to torture you, but I will unless you give me the names of the rest of your conspirators and tell me where the evidence is hidden that condemns them.”

Henry sighed when she didn’t answer and put several iron tools in the fire. While waiting for them to heat up, Henry lined up the necessary tools, ensuring Bertha could watch. He wanted her to start talking before the torture began. The tools in the fire were red hot, and Bertha still hadn’t said anything, so Henry took a knife and, cutting her clothing off, threw them in the fire. Using a thin, red-hot rod, Henry touched Bertha’s nipples and heard a sizzle as the flesh burned, but Bertha refused to make any sound louder than a whimper. Seeing Bertha trying to hold up, Henry used her bindings to spread her legs, then used the rod to touch her clitoris, making her scream at the top of her lungs.

“Tell me what I need to know, and this will stop. You will be given medical treatment and a private room. Also, if you provide me with everything I need, instead of executing you, you will be sent to a convent for the rest of your life. This offer is only good for a limited time, and if I have to touch you again, not being executed is off the table. The longer you make your torture last, the less you will receive when you break.”

Henry sighed when Bertha didn’t speak and moved to push another red-hot rod into her vagina.

“STOP! STOP, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, STOP!! Please, I’ll tell you everything you need to know,” she sobbed.

Henry motioned for the scribe to step up and begin taking notes. Bertha named every noble Henry had witnessed taking secretive glances at the dinner, plus several who were not in attendance. When she stopped, Henry put his face right up against hers.

“If any of this information turns out to be false, you will face immediate execution by impalement. Is there anything you gave you wish to change because if the scribe leaves, you will not be able to change your testimony later.” Bertha shook her head, and the scribe left. “I wish this had never happened, Bertha. But you forced my hand, and everything that happens to you from now on is because of your betrayal.”

Henry left the room, and guards came in to release Bertha, clothe her in cheap clothes, and take her to a private room. Once she was in her new room, a lady in waiting came in and took care of Bertha’s burns. While Bertha was being cared for, Henry was rounding up nobles named by Bertha and quickly found all the evidence he needed once he searched Bertha’s chambers.

While the rounding up of conspirators only took a few days, the trials lasted months. Once a noble was found guilty, they were hanged, and their lands were seized by Henry. He did allow the family to keep a small home and some land to sustain them. Once Henry had the land, the serfs were informed of all the changes coming. They were no longer serfs but were free to leave. They had some options if they wished to stay and work the land; they could rent the land for a percentage of the harvest or pay Henry a flat rate and keep the rest. The last option was the most expensive but could lead to the highest returns; the former serfs could buy a parcel of land and own the land they farmed.

Many of the villages pooled their resources and bought the land they farmed. The people could then work the land collectively, and everyone would profit. As long as they paid their taxes and were loyal to him, Henry didn’t care.

The money from selling the former noble’s possessions and lands was used to improve infrastructure by improving roads and building the first continental-based railroads. Every piece of steel used in the railroad’s construction had to be imported from Britain, though, since nobody other than the British had figured out how to make large quantities of steel.

By June, Henry had realized to further economic growth, vast sums of money would need to be invested in North Sea ports to facilitate trade with Britain. Importing the necessary rails and engines was difficult because the existing ports were not up to offloading the ships carrying them. British ships were rapidly growing larger with more powerful steam engines. The larger vessels took longer to unload and drew a deeper draft, limiting the ports they could use.

Paris, France. June 1070

While Henry was purging his nobles and building infrastructure, King Philip was trying to rebuild his kingdom after the twin disasters of King Guiscard and the British invasion. King Guiscard had stripped much of the manpower from the countryside to wage his war on Britain. When the British invaded, they stripped almost everything of monetary value, including the treasury. The only areas of France that remained untouched were in the south, where the nobility hadn’t been shaken to their core. Nobility in central and northern France had much of their money confiscated from them by the British. Much of that money was now in Britain or the hands of the peasants from whom the British had bought supplies.

Once Philip had settled back into Paris, he confiscated all the lands of the nobles who had rebelled against him. With their land in his control, Philip freed all the serfs. Like in the Holy Roman Empire, Philip sold or leased the land back to the freed serfs. With the money made, Philip intended to improve France’s road and canal network.

Seven months after Philip had returned to France, he was still treading water. The French economy lacked currency as a medium of exchange, and the British destroyed much of the kingdom’s infrastructure.

Still, there were some good things for Philip. For one, France was at peace with all their neighbors. Another positive was the French nobility had been crushed. Between the ones arrested for rebelling and the ones killed on the battlefield, an entire generation of nobles had been decimated. The best point in Philip’s favor was sitting in a cell deep in the castle. The pretender Guiscard was handed over by Queen Marion once Philip reestablished power. Guiscard’s wife, though, was in a British prison labor camp for her treachery in trying to separate Marion and Luke. That was fine with Philip because Clémence d’Aquitaine being in a British prison gave Philip free rein in seizing Aquitaine.

Philip decided it would make a good summer solstice celebration to have former Viscount Guiscard of Orléans hanged for treason. Typically, the nobility wouldn’t be hung but beheaded. However, Philip decided to send a message to his remaining nobility; they were no better than the common class, and their treason would be treated the same way. This was yet another influence of Marion; the laws and punishments applied equally to all citizens.

Guiscard was sitting in his cell with a sneer when the guards came for him. He was the real ruler of France and was determined to retake his throne. When the guards grabbed him, he ordered them to release him immediately, or he would have them burned at the stake. While that attitude might have worked with regular guards, the guards tasked with escorting Guiscard were men who had everything taken from them by Guiscard. They hated him and had no reason to listen.

Removing Guiscard from his cell, the guards roughed him up. When the guards were done with him, Guiscard would barely stand, requiring the soldiers to drag him out. When he saw his method of execution, Guiscard pissed his pants and began whining about being noble birth. The guards pulled him into the square and fitted the rope around his neck. Only then did Guiscard see Philip standing off to the side, and he cursed the French king. Philip didn’t care about Guiscard’s cursing as he signaled his men to lift the traitor. As Guiscard was lifted off the ground by his neck, he fought viciously to breathe, but everyone only watched as the life was slowly choked out of him.

Once Guiscard’s feet stopped moving, Philip turned his back and ordered the body to be left there for three days. That way, everyone could see the consequences of treason. At the end of the three days, Guiscard’s body was discarded and dumped in the forest for the wild animals to eat. While Guiscard was hanging, Philip ordered a picture to be painted showing what happened, which was displayed to the public. This would prove to the population what happened to the traitor and discourage anyone from trying the same thing.

Dyflin, Ireland. June 1070

Hawise regretted every moment since she had landed in Dyflin. The city was filthy, cold, and wet, while the population wasn’t much better. Her Viking and Irish host continuously ignored her advice, and she even had to fight off several men who approached her but wouldn’t take a hint.

They had to avoid bandits on every road during their journey from Rome. During the last bandit attack, before they reached the sea, Hoël was wounded in the arm. The wound was superficial, but they had no medical care, and their diet had been rather poor; Hawise and Hoël couldn’t afford better food. At first, nobody gave the wound any consideration, but during the seaborne part of their journey, an infection developed in the wound. It didn’t matter how much Hawise prayed or begged God; Hoël got progressively worse until he died three days after they landed in Dyflin.

With Hoël dead, Hawise lost her greatest protector at a time when she was powerless. Unlike when she ruled Brittany, Hawise was now just a hired adviser and not eligible for the protection that came with her previous station. It seemed like she had to fend off men every week, killing several of them. After she killed one of the better warriors, the rest left her alone, but they refused to listen.

Her first killing took place only a month after her husband died. She had been invited to meet with one of the local nobles and had been under the impression they were there to discuss ways to improve the combined Irish/Viking Army. After the customary eating and drinking, Hawise and her host got down to discussions; only he didn’t want to talk about ways to strengthen the army. He wished to speak about how beautiful British women were, especially the British women in the military.

As they talked, he drank and became drunker. It only took an hour before the noble was so drunk he could barely form a sentence. That’s when Hawise had enough and went to leave.

“Why are you leaving Hawise of Rennes? We are having so much fun.”

“I think we are quite done until you sober up.”

“No, we are not done! GUARDS!”

The guards rushed and grabbed Hawise’s arms. She tried to struggle, but they were too strong and completely sober. Before she knew what was happening, her clothes were cut off, and she was pinned to the table. Once pinned, her arms and legs were tied so she couldn’t fight back. Only then did the noble stand and remove his clothes. When he was naked, Hawise almost vomited because the noble who was going to rape her was fat, hairy, and smelled hideous.

When the noble looked at Hawise’s furry crotch, he shook his head and demanded his servants come in and shave all her hair off. After the offending hair was removed, the noble had a cruel smile as he used a torch to burn the rest of her hair off. Hawise screamed as the flame licked her crotch, burning any remaining hair off. Once all the hair had been removed, the fat noble ran his finger up and down Hawise’s dry slit. Even when he flicked her clit her tunnel failed to produce any lubrication. Since the noble didn’t want to hurt his cock, he went to the kitchen and grabbed some lard to use instead. With his cock lubed, he shoved it into Hawise’s tunnel, causing her to scream.

Her first rape of the evening lasted about ten minutes before the noble shot his seed deep inside her womb. Once he shot a load, he allowed all the guards to shoot a load into her. Somewhere during this, Hawise stopped fighting and went into survival mode. Even when she was untied, flipped over, and retied, she didn’t fight. Now that Hawise’s arse was in the air, it gave the men another target, and they used more lard to lube her rear entrance. When the noble entered her behind, Hawise grunted but refused to make more noise. She barely felt anything. This rape party continued well into the following day when the noble decided Hawise should be killed. She was a temptress, a harlot, and should be executed for it.

When these words worked their way into her brain, something snapped in the most primitive parts of her brain. She wanted to survive and get revenge. Everyone but one guard went to bed. When he cut her binding, she lashed out and surprised the guard. Using her foot, she drove his nose into his brain, and once he dropped dead, she picked up his weapons. The time for revenge had come.

Hawise silently moved up the stairs to the noble’s chambers. On her way, she passed a short sword with gold inlays; that was perfect, and she picked it up. As she entered the room where the noble was sleeping, Hawise noticed two other men who raped her in the noble’s bed, and they were all naked. It was too good an opportunity to pass, and Hawise made quick work of cutting their cocks off. When they woke up screaming, she put their cocks in their mouths and slit their throats.

As she left, a maidservant named Bébinn surprised her, and Hawise almost killed her. Bébinn hated the noble and was only too glad to help Hawise escape after giving her some clothes. In addition to clothing, Bébinn showed Hawise where her master kept his valuables, and Hawise was able to grab several bags of silver in addition to the gold inlaid sword she was keeping. Hawise felt terrible for Bébinn and offered to let her work for her. Bébinn agreed because she knew she would be accused of murdering the noble. Together, they stole everything they could and left.

To cover their tracks, Hawise set the house on fire and stopped a short distance away to watch. Hawise found it theoretic to watch the flames lick the night sky. The house was fully engulfed by flame before someone else noticed and raised the alarm. With the house beyond saving, people focused on keeping the fire from spreading, giving Hawise and Bébinn the perfect opportunity to escape.

It took Hawise a week to recover, and when she did, she and Bébinn began sword lessons with one of Dyflin’s least well-known sword masters; he was the only one who would teach them swordplay for any price. Most sword masters only laughed at the two women wanting to learn how to use a sword. As the months passed, Hawise became better with a sword and eventually purchased a short sword for Bébinn to allow her to defend herself.

Hawise’s next killing occurred a few weeks before the raiders returned to plant their fields. Hawise was passing a dark alley when two men jumped out and grabbed her, causing her well-trained body to react. She drew her sword without thinking and, with a sudden sweep, took one of the men’s heads off. Before the other could think, Hawise drove the tip of her sword into his crotch, cutting several important blood vessels. The man bled out in under a minute.

As spring came to the land, Hawise watched the raiders return home to plant their fields. When they arrived, they brought tales of Britain with them. Nobody believed many of the accounts, but Hawise knew which ones to accept. She had seen the power of the British military firsthand and had reports from men she trusted of British technology.

What disturbed her was the number of raiders who went to sea after their fields were planted. They were after British slaves, and Hawise knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that the raids would bring the full weight of the British military crashing down on their heads. After seeing the latest raider return with a boat full of new slaves, Hawise went to the king of Dyflin Murchad mac Diarmata.

“Your Majesty. I must protest your raiders capturing so many British slaves. You will bring the full might of Queen Marion down on your head before your military is ready.”

“Listen, Hawise, to make the changes you say are needed, I need money, and nothing available produces more money than selling slaves. Besides, Marion is paralyzed by the loss of her husband.”

“Believe me; she’s not paralyzed. When you get Marion’s attention, it won’t matter how much money you can make because you won’t be making any money. Her navy will blockade the coast, making it impossible to sell slaves on the foreign market. She will make it almost impossible to obtain new slaves and next to impossible to conduct any trade.”

“Hawise, nobody here cares what mistakes you made in Brittany because we won’t make them here.”

“YOU ALREADY ARE!!” she screamed. “Can’t you see, by raiding the coast of Britain, you will get Marion’s attention, and unlike when she battled me, she doesn’t have multiple conflicts to distract her from fighting you.”

“GUARDS!! Remove this insulting woman from my sight.” To Hawise, “Be glad I don’t enslave you too. I think it’s about time for you to leave MY kingdom forever.”

Hawise looked at the king, shook her head, and left. When she returned to her modest home, Bébinn was preparing dinner for them. Unlike when she had been in a position of power, the new Hawise treated her servant more like family than hired help. Hawise finally understood that her life might one day rest in her servant’s hands, so it would pay dividends for Hawise if she treated them as humanely as possible.

As they sat down to eat their humble dinner, Hawise told Bébinn her plans. Hawise would leave Ireland and return to Rome. At least the pope saw the importance of firearms and was too far away to feel Marion’s full wrath.

“Mistress, what about me? If you leave me here, I will be enslaved and raped constantly. If not for your influence, I would have been arrested months ago for my former master’s murder.”

“I will still need a servant when I go to Rome, and I want you to go with me.”

“Oh, thank you. But Rome is so far away; why not stay on the island and go to another kingdom?”

“What do you have in mind?”

“The Kingdom of Munster, Toirdelbach Ua Briain is king and is much more powerful than Murchad mac Diarmata. I have a cousin who is one of his servants, and she says Turlough already recognizes the threat that Marion poses.”

“I have no problem trying our luck in Cork, but we must leave soon.”

The following morning, Hawise and Bébinn set out for Cork with a pack horse to transport their gear. Hawise was glad it was late spring, making it more comfortable to travel. What she didn’t like was the constant threat of bandits on the road, which happened on their first day out of Dyflin, and the pair had their first brush with bandits.

Bébinn had just woken up and was getting a pan ready to fix something for breakfast when a gang of six jumped out of the bushes and seized her before she could draw her sword. Hawise was relieving herself when the gang attacked and quickly realized they hadn’t seen her. While Bébinn distracted the men, Hawise got close and readied herself to attack.

Once the bandits had their backs turned, Hawise attacked with her short sword and dagger. Hawise stabbed and slashed in a blur as she moved through the group, leaving death in her wake. By the time she was done, all six bandits were dead, and she was covered with blood. Bébinn looked at Hawise like she was a monster until her brain resumed functioning, and she began to help Hawise clean up.

After Hawise was clean, the pair went through the dead to see what they could use. Bébinn found a small purse on one of the bandits that held several gold coins, and Hawise recognized one of them as a British £20 coin. It was the first one that Bébinn had ever seen, and she was amazed by the complexity of the coin. Hawise had already seen too many of these as they took over the medium of exchange for most northern European trading.

The journey took the pair a week, and during that time, they were attacked four times, and Bébinn was able to pay Hawise back for saving her life. By the time they reached Cork, both women had enough money to be considered well off and were about even in their body counts, with Hawise ahead by one.

CHAPTER III - Luke’s Doctor

“Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.” - Albert Einstein.

Portsmouth, Great Britain. July 1070

Admiral Ewing looked out over the harbor with a sense of accomplishment. The first ships designed and built in the Portsmouth Naval Yard were undergoing sea trials, and unlike the warships constructed in Hull, these warships had both sail and steam engines. The sails were for strategic movement, while the steam engines were for tactical use or when the wind calmed. Each ship mounted four 155mm cannons in two twin mounts plus six Vulcan guns, three on each side. The cannons were mounted before the foremast and behind the mizzenmast, giving them freedom of movement. Unlike other sailing vessels, the vessels constructed in Portsmouth were built of steel instead of wood. Using steel gave the designers much more flexibility in construction and made permanent repairs easier. It only took a cutting torch and a welder to repair the steel on the ship. By this time, stick welding had been introduced, revolutionizing all forms of steel construction.

Luke had introduced shielded metal arc welding or stick welding before he left for France, and it immediately caught on, allowing for metal fabrication to be sped up drastically. The ships Ewing was currently watching would have still been under construction if they were using rivets and wouldn’t have been possible if constructed from wood. The vibration from the guns would have shaken a wooden hull apart. British shipbuilders already had that problem with the wooden destroyers and patrol boats, especially the older ships. As more steel became available, the plan was to replace the wooden ships with steel.

This new class of ship was known as a light cruiser, while the entirely coal-powered ships were known as heavy cruisers. So far, the Portsmouth Naval Yard had built two ships and had three more in the dry docks. The two ships built were designated CL 1 and CL 2 and named the HMS Lion and Tiger, respectively. The CL designation was for light cruiser, while the HMS York was designated CH for heavy cruiser. The light cruisers would be able to escort merchant ships worldwide and outgun everything except the HMS York stationed at Hull.

Focused on watching the harbor, Admiral Ewing didn’t hear her office door open and close until the person who entered cleared their throat. Ewing spun around to see General MacDougall and Queen Marion standing there with amused looks on their faces.

“It’s good to see you again, admiral,” started Marion.

“It’s good to be seen, Your Majesty. What brings you to Portsmouth?”

“Piracy.”

“Piracy? I haven’t gotten any reports of piracy.”

“Wrong area, admiral,” Luke spoke for the first time. “We are seeing an increase of piracy along the west coast of Britain, especially closest to Ireland. The 2^nd division caught some raiders red-handed and confirmed they were sent to raid Britain by the King of Dyflin and the King of Leinster. Apparently, Hawise of Rennes has been stirring trouble in Ireland.”

“Hasn’t that bitch had enough?” asked an exacerbated Ewing. Luke and Marion chuckled since the admiral had hit a common theme in the intelligence discussions.

“That’s not the first time we’ve heard that phrase,” replied Marion. “Are the two light cruisers ready for sea?”

“Not yet, ma’am. From this morning’s reports, the ships will need another couple of weeks of sea trials before I’m willing to send them into battle. Some of the new fire control technology is giving us problems, and we’re seeing more wear than anticipated on some of the gears in the engine room.”

Unlike many other monarchs, Marion could handle bad news. It was far better to tell her the bad news straight than to try and hide it. People who tried to hide bad news were soon without a job, and some without freedom.

“Why are you seeing more wear? We didn’t have any problems with the destroyers.”

“We haven’t determined that yet general, but the theory is there might have been a quality control problem in the foundry.”

“I’m going to want to see the parts that are wearing as soon as possible.”

“Yes, general. General, I have a question for you.” Luke looked at her and waited. “Why do you want to see the wear?”

Luke smiled at her. “Admiral, I will tell you, but you must swear never to repeat what I tell you to anyone.”

“Of course, general.” Ewing didn’t need to think about it.

“Well, admiral, the foundry you bought those parts from, I own it. I own the mines and mills that produced the steel for your ships. The railroads that move the parts and crews for your ships belong to my business empire, and I also own most of the farms that produce the oil to power the destroyers.”

“But how, sir?”

“I introduced the technology all those industries use, and before you ask the next question in your line of thinking, know that I won’t answer it.”

“Yes, sir,” Ewing swallowed. “Would you like to see the parts now?”

“Yes, I would.”

Admiral Ewing led the way as she wondered how Luke developed all the technologies he had introduced. Her musings took them to a workshop in the yard that specialized in propulsion. There, Luke was shown the bearings and gears that had worn faster than they should have. Taking the parts to the quality lab, he started performing tests to see if he could figure out the problem.

Standing by the door, Marion and Admiral Ewing watched Luke go from one test to the next while checking the paperwork that accompanied the parts. It was there he found what was wrong, and when he discovered the issue, he threw the gear in his hand across the shop, where it bounced off the wall with a loud crash. His foundry had used the wrong alloy to produce the parts.

“What’s wrong, Luke?”

“The fucking boneheaded idiots in the foundry used the wrong alloy, but the prints list the correct alloy. Admiral, I suggest you quarantine all the parts from this shipment until their composition can be verified.”

“Yes, sir.” Ewing turned to give the orders to her aide.

“You okay, darling?” Marion whispered

“Yeah. It just ticks me off when people make such stupid mistakes.”

“How do you know it was a mistake, Luke?”

Luke sighed. A spy might have been working in his foundry; it wasn’t like Luke had decent background checks to find red flags. A far more likely explanation was someone was stupid and used the wrong recipe to form the alloy. He could not do anything until the rest of the test results came back, so he decided to tour the port to see how it had changed since he helped build it.

“Hey, Marion, come on.”

“Where are we going?”

“Take a spin around the port. See if anything has changed.”

Luke held his arm out, and Marion snuggled against him as she felt his arm wrap around her. When the pair left, everyone watched them. They had heard the queen and general were split up, but they looked happy together. Word of Edhida’s death hadn’t reached Portsmouth and likely wouldn’t because Luke insisted the news of her passing not be leaked.

As the pair walked, Marion looked up at Luke, and the smile melted his heart. He was so glad to be back with Marion. Then Luke saw an apothecary, and his mind went to a certain redheaded doctor. Marion saw where he was looking and knew what he was thinking.

“Thinking about Alice?”

“Yeah. I want her back, Marion, but I don’t know if I’m ready to approach her.”

“If you don’t know Luke, you’re not ready.”

Luke smiled as the pair continued their tour of the naval yard. Their final stop was the lighthouse on the Isle of Wight, where they went to the top, and Luke looked out over the harbor and surrounding land. The sun was setting by this time, so Luke pulled Marion next to him and watched the sunset. Marion glanced around to ensure they were alone; their two guards were inside as they were deathly afraid of heights.

“Thinking about your old home?”

Luke sighed, “Is it that obvious?”

“To me, yes. Who are you thinking about?”

“Mackenzie and her children. My niece should be a teenager wherever or whenever she is. Based on how Mackenzie was at that age, I bet my sister has her hands full with my niece. I still wonder how my former employees are doing. Several were single parents just trying to make ends meet and keep their children healthy. I hope they are being taken care of. Mostly though, with every sunset, I thank God for introducing me to the best woman in any world.”

Marion looked up at him with tears running down her face as she tipped her head back to kiss him. Once the sun was gone, the pair returned to the port, where they had a room in the visiting officers’ quarters.

The following day, Marion and Luke had one last meeting with Admiral Ewing before they returned home. Marion’s orders for the admiral were as simple as they were brutal. As soon as the cruisers were ready for sea, they were to head to the Irish Sea, where they were to check all shipping for slaves. If slaves were found, they were to be rescued, and both the slave ship and crew were to be sunk.

York, Great Britain. July 1070

Marion and Luke arrived back in York as the sun was setting. Once they returned to the palace, Gabriella ran up to hug Marion and kiss Luke on his cheek.

“Welcome back, honey,” Gabriella turned back to Marion. “How was Portsmouth?”

“Good. Those damn Irish will think twice before raiding in a few weeks.”

“A few weeks? I thought the cruisers would be ready for sea by now.”

“They’re having teething problems with the fire control systems, and Luke thinks someone mixed the wrong alloy for some of the gears, leading to higher wear than anticipated.”

“Oh. Well, it’s been a few weeks. Can I take your mind off your troubles?” Gabriella asked in a sultry tone.

“I’m already wet, Gabby!”

Gabby and Marion took off for their sleeping chambers while Luke chuckled. Some guards looked at him with questioning faces, but Luke didn’t care. He decided to work in his shop for a few hours to give the ladies some time alone. While walking to his shop, another thought crossed Luke’s mind. There was a woman in his life he could visit, and she had three children who he hadn’t seen in almost a year.

Retracing his steps, Luke went to the house where he heard Alice lived. Looking at it, he approved of her taste before knocking on the door. Inside, he could hear little feet running around before he heard the woman he came to see.

“Damn it, Ælfsige! I’m not interested in you! For the last time, GO AWAY!” Luke smiled and knocked again. “GOD DAMN IT! Take a fucking hint!”

Alice threw back the door, obviously going to say something vicious when she saw who was standing on the other side of her door.

“Hello, Alice. Would you mind a visit?”

“What do you want, Luke?” she answered rather crossly. Hearing the venom in her voice, Luke had his answer as he tried to stop the tear from running down his cheek, but he was unsuccessful. If Alice saw it, she didn’t react. Without saying a word, Luke turned around to leave; he tried and found Alice hated him. Seeing him move to go, Alice cried out, “Luke, wait!” When he stopped, she continued, “You came all this way; would you like to spend some time with your children?”

“Yes, I would. Thank you, Alice.” Luke managed to get out between his tears as he carefully entered her home. He didn’t want to threaten her in any way, so he took every precaution to seem less threatening. As Luke walked into the front room, he saw a flash of red as Rebecca scampered across the floor. Luke moved quickly and scooped her up, getting a lot of giggling for his effort. That giggling did more for Luke than any therapy he could have imagined.

Alice watched as the face of the man she loved melted when he picked up their daughter. She wished Luke would pick her up and make her giggle, but she thought he was still angry with her. It didn’t occur to her that Luke looked that way because that’s how she presented herself to him. As Luke was playing with a giggling Becky, there was another knock at the door.

When Alice answered it, Ælfsige barged in. He was tired of Alice’s refusal to accept him and was determined to show her why she should accept. Since Luke was in another room, Ælfsige hadn’t seen him, but Ælfsige wouldn’t have cared anyway. He was a very accomplished swordsman who never went anywhere without his sword.

“WHAT THE FUCK, ÆLFSIGE!”

“I am tired of you rejecting me! Tonight and every night after, I will have you.”

Without waiting for Alice to respond, Ælfsige pinned her against a wall and sliced her clothing with a small knife. But before he could get his hands on her bare breast, someone cleared their throat. When Ælfsige looked around, he saw the commanding general standing with his arms crossed. This was even better than getting into Alice’s clothes. He hated Luke since Luke had almost destroyed Ælfsige’s family before Marion became queen. Ælfsige’s uncle was none other than Earl John of Mercia.

Ælfsige dropped Alice and drew his sword. After he cut the general down to size and killed the children he had seen previously, it would be time to have his way with Alice. He quickly made his way across the room, intending to end things quickly. The faster he ended things, the quicker Ælfsige could sink his cock into Alice’s red cunt. So, intent on finishing Luke, Ælfsige failed to notice Alice come up behind him and put him in a sleeper hold. She was strong enough to knock Ælfsige out.

After Ælfsige fell to the floor, Alice stood above him, panting, and Luke smiled. When she looked at him, Alice had fire in her eyes, and Luke swallowed. Using a sash, Alice tied Ælfsige’s hands above his head to the ceiling. Once Alice ensured Ælfsige wasn’t going anywhere, she attacked Luke with a ferocity she had never felt before.

She picked Ælfsige’s sword up and charged Luke without knowing what she wanted to accomplish. Luke wasn’t ready for her reaction but caught Alice’s sword hand anyway. He gripped her wrist and forced her to drop the sword; then, he did something he had never done before: he picked Alice up and brought her face to his.

“Try that again; your children will grow up without a mother,” he growled. While Luke loved Alice, he wasn’t going to tolerate being threatened. As he stared into her eyes, she still had a defiant glare even though Luke knew her wrist had to be hurting. Luke gripped Alice’s throat with his other hand and was surprised by the look he saw; she was daring him to strangle her.

Alice didn’t want to show weakness to Luke, but her wrist was killing her, and deep inside, she was terrified of what Luke might do to her. She knew Luke didn’t want to hurt her, but through her actions, she hadn’t given him much choice. Finally, Alice gave in and bowed her head as best she could.

Seeing Alice give up, Luke gently put her down and massaged her wrist. When she tried to pull away, Luke pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. Alice started screaming at Luke to let her go, but that soon changed to crying as she held onto him. Eventually, Luke was able to pull away and look into Alice’s puffy eyes. Where before there was fire, now there was fear.

Using one of her hands, Luke tipped Alice’s head up and kissed her deeply, sucking the fear out and leaving love behind. Alice’s arms went around Luke’s neck as she held on, afraid that if she let go, she would be swept away. A moan disrupted her thoughts and caused Alice to turn around. Ælfsige was coming around and realized he was restrained.

As Ælfsige woke up, he saw his redhead in the arms of another man.

“I bet the queen would love to know how you go behind her and into the arms of another woman.”

“I doubt the queen will care because she’s in the arms of another woman right now,” Luke replied with a smirk. “Also, Marion knows all about Alice since I am the father of Alice’s three children, and Marion was there when they were born. Come to think of it, she was there when they were conceived.”

“You mean she helped me conceive,” Alice added, giggling.

Ælfsige’s eyes opened wide, and his cock began to harden as he thought about the queen and Alice together in bed. When visiting his uncle, one of his favorite things was forcing two young women to please each other in bed while he watched. Once they had each other nice and wet, he would begin thrusting into them and would make them clean each other with their tongues when he finished.

“And I think she would like to help with your next one, too,” replied Luke as Alice blushed.

“You’re willing to be with another woman but not ME!” exclaimed Ælfsige. “I could take you to places you’ve never been before.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m not interested in dealing with self-promoting men who need a pair of tweezers to find their cock. Luke is hung like a horse and knows how to use it. When I’m with him, I pass out from pleasure about half the time.”

“Then why aren’t you with him?” sneered Ælfsige.

“I am if he will accept my apology for being so stupid last year and my assurance that I’ll never do anything nearly as stupid ever again.”

To show he accepted her apology, Luke picked Alice up and laid her on a nearby sofa. The children were in the other room with their governess so they wouldn’t disturb the parents making up. Luke slowly stripped Alice before Ælfsige, ensuring he got a good view. Once naked, Alice stripped Luke and ensured Ælfsige got a good view of a real cock. Alice was so wet from stripping that she didn’t need any foreplay as she pulled Luke between her legs and put his cock where it belonged.

Using her powerful legs, Alice pulled Luke into her as forcefully as possible. She wanted to leave him with no doubt that she loved him. With Luke inside her, Alice used her Kegel muscles to clamp down on his member to give him extra pleasure as he slid in and out. Luke wasn’t about to let this session of make-up sex be one-sided, though, as he shifted so the top of his cock would rub Alice’s clit as he moved in and out.

Their tongues dueled in their mouths, and when Luke pinched one of Alice’s pink nipples, she exploded. When Ælfsige saw Alice explode in orgasm, he made a mess of his pants and was equally jealous and embarrassed. As she recovered, Luke continued to saw in and out of Alice’s tight tunnel. Alice knew how to get Luke to explode, so when she regained her senses, she reached under her arse and played with Luke’s sack.

When Alice started playing with his sack, Luke’s brain short-circuited, and his cock exploded, filling Alice with juice. Feeling Luke reach orgasm, Alice felt a perverse pride that she could make a man married to someone as beautiful as Marion of York cum almost on command.

As they recovered, Luke and Alice stared into each other’s eyes, looking for the love they once shared. If an ember was still there, they could try to rekindle their relationship and maybe take it to the next level by having Alice marry Luke to become his second wife. Hanging around, Ælfsige wondered what he was watching and was becoming impatient but didn’t say anything, hoping they would forget about him long enough to escape. Before Luke and Alice could find what they were looking for, they were buried under an avalanche of children as they couldn’t be restrained any longer.

Luke and Alice began laughing and tickling their tormentors, causing the twins to laugh and squirm as they tried to escape the tickling. While playing with the twins, Luke and Alice’s eyes met briefly, but it was enough for them to realize their next step was to visit Marion to get married. Since they had been excommunicated, Marion decided to authorize herself to issue marriage decrees. Finally, it was time to put the children to bed, and for the first time since August, Luke helped them settle down. After the children were in bed, it was time to deal with some garbage.

When Luke and Alice returned, Ælfsige had almost got his binding undone, but Luke grabbed him before he could go anywhere.

“Going somewhere?”

“I was going to inform you that Alice was witnessed kissing another woman last month.”

“Oh really?” Luke said with interest. “And who was she kissing?”

“Colonel Smiten,” Ælfsige said with confidence. If he could get Luke to leave Alice, she would be his.

“Oh, Gabby. That’s okay since I did the same thing with her earlier today.”

The cocky look on Ælfsige’s face disappeared, and Alice came to stand beside Luke.

“What should we do with this bastard?”

“Well, we could tell Marion and watch her sentence him to several years in the mines.”

“Or I could use him to perform a live autopsy, although I doubt I will find much of a brain.”

“You could let me go,” added Ælfsige. Alice and Luke told him, with their looks, that wouldn’t happen.

Alice sighed after thinking, “I guess taking him to Marion would be the best bet. At least we don’t have to worry about her letting him off the hook.”

Luke tightly bound Ælfsige’s hands behind his back and guided him out. He could sit in Marion’s prison until she was ready to deal with him, which Luke guessed would be in a few days. After Luke escorted Ælfsige to prison and filed charges, he returned to Alice’s house, finding her sitting on her sofa.

“I didn’t know if you would be back.”

“Why wouldn’t I come back?”

“I thought you would go to bed with Marion.”

“Well, while I’m married to Marion, I love you just as much.” Alice jumped off the sofa and into Luke’s arms. There had been some days when she didn’t know if Luke loved her. “Alice, I do have a question for you.” She looked up at him when he backed off and kneeled. “Alice Kensley, will you marry me?”

Alice looked down at Luke with tears in her eyes as he brought out a diamond ring just like the one Marion wore. She looked down at him and gripped the sides of his face with her hands to deliver the deepest kiss possible. Her fondest dream since she met Luke was to be his wife, and now that would come true. After Luke slipped the ring on Alice’s left ring finger, she gripped his hand and took him to her bedroom to celebrate.

When Marion saw Luke late the next morning, she fell off her chair while Gabriella was doing her level best not to join Marion. Luke looked like hell and was walking very carefully.

“What’s wrong, darling?” Marion asked once she was able to control herself.

“I asked Alice to marry me last night.”

“Well, it’s about frickin time, Luke. We thought we would have to write it out for you.”

“Shut up, Marion. I’m going to take a nap. Oh. Alice is going to be moving back in this afternoon.”

“Okay,” Marion called out, laughing as Luke went to bed.

“Well, Marion. Only one more to go.”

“What are you talking about, Gabby?”

“Alice is back; now we need to get Pollyanna to move in with us.”

“I don’t think she will, and it would be best if we don’t push. Polly won’t want to compete with us and would want Luke all to herself.”

“If you insist. I still think it would be easier if Luke had all his women in one place.”

“Pollyanna was using Luke to help her get rid of Matt. Now that he’s gone, I think Polly will look for a widower who understands her.”

Luke woke up a few hours later, just in time to help Alice move back into Marion’s chambers and get the children situated. Like families moving throughout history, Luke provided the muscle power to move Alice’s things back into Marion’s chambers and place them where Alice wanted them.

Once Alice was settling in, it was Marion who was in her sights, and the following day, it was Marion who looked like hell. When she finally woke up, some guards had to bite their tongues to keep from laughing. Fortunately for Marion, Luke was already at work when she woke up because she would have never heard the end of it.

CHAPTER IV - Foreign Trade

“Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations...entangling alliances with none” ― Thomas Jefferson

Rome, Papal States. August 1070

Pope Alexander was in trouble. His army in Sicily was being pushed back, and the Byzantines were pushing out from Bari. When they saw the Papal States were being beaten back in Sicily, they felt safe to recapture the land lost to the Normans, and since most of the Papal Army was in Sicily, the Byzantines were confident of success.

Andronicus of Bari, the local military commander, was sure of success. He had studied the Papal victory over the Normans and saw what worked and what didn’t. The British campaigns were more challenging to study because most of the losing troops were dead or in captivity. Andronicus didn’t know how firearms worked, but he had a few working examples bought on the black market.

Stopping Andronicus from equipping his forces with firearms was the expense of purchasing the guns and training troops to use them properly. What he had was plenty of swords, pikes, and bows for the infantry and a unit of heavy cataphract cavalry. If they could ambush Papal troops, the Byzantines could get their melee troops among them and defeat them before the Papal forces could respond.

En route to China. September 1070

Fàn Zongshi watched as the ship he was on seemed to fly over the waves. It was the first of a new class of armed trade ships launched by the Hull Naval Shipyard. Named the HMNS Explorer, she was 100 meters long with five towering masts that, along with clean lines, could propel the ship at a speed of 32KPH in favorable winds. The ship was equipped with a steam engine to propel the vessel in calm seas or port. Since she would have to operate independently for long periods, there were six Vulcan guns and a small detachment of marines to defend her from hostile powers. Instead of a wooden hull, this ship’s hull and mast were made with steel and painted to protect against corrosion.

When the new ship was launched, Marion thought it would be natural to ask Fàn Zongshi if he wanted to go along. By this time, he was fluent in English and well respected, so he could act as an interpreter for the crew once they reached a Chinese port. While at sea, though, he wasn’t in command; that responsibility fell to Commander Morwenna. She was a tough, no-nonsense Cornish officer with no sense of humor. What she was, though, was calm under pressure and very resourceful, which was why she had been given command. Within a week of leaving port, she had the grudging respect of everyone on board.

The ship’s holds were loaded with cloth, paper, and manufactured goods to be traded for silk, porcelain, tea, spices, and anything else they could find. Instead of using rocks or sand for ballast, the ballast of the Explorer was copper, tin, and iron ingots. If they had time and goods, they would also try to trade with Korea and Japan. Fàn Zongshi also had a personal mission; he wanted to bring his entire family back to Britain so they could live peacefully without fear of the government arresting them on false charges.

That was a preview of The Medieval Marine-Rise of the British Empire. To read the rest purchase the book.

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