"What a little wanton you have become," he said to her one night as he sheathed his great weapon gently in her passage from behind so that his weight would not harm the child. He fondled her bosom, wickedly teasing the hard buds of her nipples. He then slipped his hands down, grasping her about the hips, drawing her firmly against his belly. He sunk his teeth into the flesh of her neck, nuzzled at the marks, and then placed a kiss on the flesh.
Cailin squirmed against him. "Are wives not allowed to be wanton, my husband? Ohhhhh," she squealed softly as he probed her more deeply, and her hips began to rotate just slightly against him.
Wulf groaned. He had never known any woman to have the effect on him that Cailin did. She roused him quicker, and brought him on quicker. He wasn't certain that he liked it, but he certainly did not dislike it. Unable to help himself, he began to pump her, her little staccato cries of pleasure only increasing his own.
Cailin thought dizzily that she should be used to him by now, but each time he took her, the excitement built and built until she could scarcely bear it, it was so achingly sweet. He seemed to grow and swell within her until finally they would both burst with pleasure, and yet the afterglow was delicious as well. Even now when the child moved within her she enjoyed his attentions. "Ahhhhhhh!" she sighed at last.
"Soon we must cease this," he told her reluctantly.
"Why?" she asked him.
"I fear I might hurt the child," he replied.
"Will you take another woman?" she asked, and he heard the edge of jealousy in her voice, which pleased him inordinately.
He was silent a long moment. "Would you mind if I did?" he asked, affecting a nonchalant air.
Now it was Cailin's turn to be silent for a time. Would she mind? And if she did, why would she mind? "Yes," she finally answered him. "I would mind it if you took another woman to your bed. But do not ask me why, because I do not understand it. I just would!"
"Then I will not," he told her. "If I cannot keep my desires in check like a man, then I am no better than a green boy. Besides, I have seen the difficulties your grandfather has with more than one wife. I think I should just as soon avoid such difficulties, although I do not promise I will always feel so, lambkin."
Cailin found herself smiling at his words. There would be no other wives if she could help it. One wife was more than enough for any man, even a magnificent, marvelous man like Wulf Ironfist. She would always be more than enough woman for him. Then a thought struck her. Why did it matter to her? Was it possible she cared for him? Was his thoughtfulness a sign he might care for her? Cailin slid into a contented slumber, her last waking memory that of her husband's deep sleepy breath humming against her ear. It was a comfortable feeling.
Several days later, on a bright April morning, Wulf Ironfist put his plan to regain his wife's property into effect. Assembling the young warriors he had spent the winter months training, he asked them, "How would you like to demonstrate your skills to me by helping me take a villa owned by a Roman called Quintus Drusus?"
The young men looked distinctly uncomfortable. Then Corio, Cailin's cousin, said, "Most of the lads want to return to their villages, Wulf. The planting is already under way, and their families need them. You never really expected that they would form an army for Berikos and carry out his foolish plans, did you?"
Wulf Ironfist laughed. "No, Corio, I did not. However, Quintus Drusus is the fellow who murdered Cailin's family, and was responsible for Brenna's death. I promised Cailin when I wed her that I would regain her family's lands for her, and for our children."
Corio's blue eyes widened, and then he grinned. "So that is why you have never pressed grandfather about the lands he promised you! You knew all along that you would have Cailin's property."
"I will only have it if you and the lads will help me to retake it, and mete out justice to this Quintus Drusus," Wulf Ironfist said honestly. "I cannot do it without your help, Corio."
Corio turned to the other young men. " 'Twill only take a few days of our time," he told them. "We will right a wrong, and Cailin can go home again to raise her children, to give honor to her dead family, to live in peace as we would live." He looked to his companions, and when each head among them nodded in assent, he turned back to Wulf Ironfist, saying, "We'll do it!"
"Get a good night's rest, then, my lads," the Saxon told them. "We leave in the morning." Then he dismissed them, but Corio touched his arm, obviously wishing to speak further with him as the others hurried off in all different directions. "What is it, Corio?"
"I must tell you something, Wulf," the younger man said. "It's about my grandfather, but you must keep what I reveal secret for now."
"I agree," Wulf said.
Corio did not dissemble, but came right to the point. "The men have had a clandestine meeting. As you know, Berikos lives in the past-a past he was not even a part of, which makes it even odder. As he grows older, this determination of his to drive all the Romans from Britain grows and eats at him. Brigit encourages him in it. We have no wish to join him in his folly, but while he is our chief we must give him obedience. However, we have the option of replacing him with another. My father, Eppilus, has been chosen to lead the hill Dobunni. Berikos can retire with honor and spend his days amusing himself in whatever manner he chooses."
"When will this happen?" Wulf Ironfist asked.
"Just before Beltane," Corio answered him. "We will retake Cailin's lands, and then we will return to help the others depose my grandfather."
"I think it a wise decision that has been made," Wulf said. "Some men in power grow old, and their wisdom but increases along with their age. Their judgment remains sound, and good. Others, however, lose their sense of proportion with the passing years. Berikos is one of these, I fear. Your people will never truly have peace as long as he is your ruler. I understand your desire for peace. I have seen enough war to last me a lifetime. I will not fight again except in defense of my lands and my family. There is no other reason for it."
"I have lived my entire life here among these hills," Corio replied. "The farthest I have ever been away is to the town of Corinium. It is a wondrous place, with its paved streets, its shops and pottery works, the theaters and the arena. Still, I could not have lived there, Wulf. It is too noisy, too busy, too dirty; and there are, I am told, places even larger than Corinium, even here in this land. They say there is a huge town in the southeast called Londinium. Two roads from Corinium lead to it if one rides far enough, but I never have had the desire to follow either of those roads.
"I have heard your stories of the battles you fought in Gaul and in the Rhineland. They did not fill me with excitement like they did some of the lads. They frightened me, and Celts are not supposed to fear anything. Like you, I can see no reason for fighting except to keep one's lands and one's family from harm. The majority of us feel this way, and so Berikos must go. He will not be happy, but he will have no choice but to accept the will of the Dobunni."
"Brigit certainly will not be happy," Wulf noted. "You had best beware her. She is a wicked woman, and will not hesitate to do a bad turn to those she thinks have betrayed her, or Berikos."
"You do not have to tell me about Brigit," Corio said quietly. "When she first came to our hill fort as my grandfather's bride, she tried to seduce me. She has never forgiven me for repulsing her. I am not the only man she has approached, either. It would be one thing if Berikos offered her, but he has not. He is very proud of her, and jealous of any man who looks her way. You are right when you say she will not be happy. To be a chieftain's wife gives her a certain rank, but to be simply the wife of an old man does not." Corio smiled. "I think I shall enjoy her discomfort, and I shall not be the only person who revels in her downfall. Few like her."