Ordained by God

Section Eleven

Eleanor pushed past Lord Roland and walked out of the great hall. She ignored her father’s demands to come back. Dragging her hand across her cheeks, she wiped away tears.  It was strange to be breathing air directly from outside. Through the darkness, it was difficult to find her way through the city and she found herself on streets that she had never been on before.

After half an hour of searching, she found herself outside Clement’s house. Clement and Marjorie’s house. 

 She stood outside the door, pondering whether or not she should enter. If Clement were the only one living there she would have no scruples about going in. But this was not the right place to do such a thing. The longer she waited, the more anxious she became. I have to tell him, she thought over and over again until her mind grew numb.

Finally, she decided she had to tell him. As she brought her hand up to knock on the door, the door opened.

Clement nearly walked into her. “Oh, Lady Eleanor,” he said formally with a glacial tone.

“I have to tell you something. But in private.” She added the second part in a whisper.

Thinking it over for a moment, Clement said, “We can go to the tannery; nobody will be there at this time of night.  

They walked to the tanner in silence. Eleanor fiddled with her fingers, thinking about how she was to tell Clement this horrendous news. She latched the door once they were both inside. Sitting across from each other, Eleanor started to tell her tale of her upcoming marriage.

Once she was done, Clement sat in silence.

“I wanted to be the one to tell you,” Eleanor said softly.

Clement reached across the table and took her hand. “I should have told you about me and Marjorie.”

Eleanor nodded. “Yes, you should have. How is married life?”

“It’s awful.” Clement laughed.

A strange sense of triumph spread through Eleanor’s body. I haven’t lost you, she thought upon realising that after all this time, Clement was still hers.  Legally, Marjorie belonged to Clement and Eleanor would soon below to Roland, but emotions were more important to her. 

She tried to hide her smile and push her victory off her face.  But unable to do so, she tilted her head down in hopes that Clement would not see her expression.  “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“What you smiling at?” Clement said in a cheeky tone. 

Still smiling, Eleanor shook her head as if to brush his words off. “Nothing.”

Clement moved across the table and sat next to her on the bench.  He was so close to her that he could smell the sweet perfume of her body. He put his hand on her thigh as she touched his chest.

“I’m so glad...” she spoke in an absentminded voice that trailed off.

Looking at her with a sense of longing, and lustful hunger, he slowly slid his hand from her outer thigh to the inner thigh.  “Glad about-”

Eleanor kissed him before he finished his sentence. Her hands flew to the top of his tunic as she pulled him closer to her body. She pressed her soft breasts against his hard chest.

He gripped the back of her head with one hand while the other trailed the inside of her legs. He pushed the hem of her dress up to her hips. Pushing her lightly to the bench, he lay on top of her.

“Do it properly,” Eleanor whispered into Clement’s ear.

Her words stimulated a feeling that he had not felt for a whole year. During each time with Marjorie, he had never yearned for her touch like he did with Eleanor. “What if Lord Roland-”

Eleanor silenced him with another kiss. “I don’t care about if he can tell.” She stood, dropped her cloak to the floor and raised her dress up over her head. For a moment she was nervous to see if he would notice her flaws. Her thighs were too thin; her hips a slight bit too broad; her breasts too big.  She watched his face anxiously.

But Clement seemed to have no feelings other than deep love for the beauty that stood before his eyes. He striped his clothing off. He kissed the taut skin on her stomach as he grabbed her hips. Laying her down on the hay of the floor, he positioned his body between her thighs. “Ready?”

Eleanor nodded. “Oh, yes.”

As Clement entered Eleanor, she screamed out, “Stop!” She dug her nails into his naked back to keep his body close to hers.

“Sorry,” Clement said unobtrusively. He kissed her forehead, eyelids, cheeks, and nose. “Nod when it’s all right.”

Eleanor did not move her head for another moment but took in the glory of being so intimate with Clement. Nodding her head slightly, when the ache abated, she came to realise why people enjoyed making love.