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Author's Chapter Notes:
We are galloping towards the end of this story and my muse has woken up from her hibernation!
my thanks to those who too the time to review
Buffy felt the light shining through the door long before she opened her eyes. She reached across for her husband but the bed was empty. She could feel the heat in the sheets indicating that he hadn’t long left and slowly opened her eyes to look around. Her eyes caught sight of the herbs above the bed again and she smiled. It had been an amazing night; her smile widened as she remembered the way they had worshipped each other’s body until dawn and her skin tingled. She thought she had flown with eagles, he sent her so high.

Buffy reached out for her under-dress and slipped it over her body, then stood on the bed to pull down the flowers. The Thor’s hammer was made from pure silver and had been laced onto a leather thong, a valuable gift left for the bride to remind her of her wedding day. Buffy pulled it over her head and spent a few minutes unwinding the cross from the flowers and herbs. It too was silver and threaded onto leather.

She had tried to understand William’s faith. This symbol meant so much to him and she knew at one time he had considered becoming a Gothi for his own folk. She stroked the surface of the cross and remembered how his face had lit up and his eyes had sparkled when he had read from the book he had been given. Maybe he could teach her about it now that they had a lifetime to be together.

The Thor’s hammer felt cool against her overheated skin, rubbing the area between her breasts. She could feel the power that was supposed to be in Mjollnir entering her body. It sent waves of pleasure straight to her womb. Maybe Thor, Husband to Sith and God of protection and storms was making her as fertile as he made the fields. She hoped so. The thought of carrying a second child, a son, for William made her hot for her husband’s touch again.
‘Speaking of husbands,’ she muttered, and headed outside to find out where her Lord had gotten himself to. She had had enough of waking without him, and had expected him to stay in the bed with her this morning of all mornings.
.
Before she could leave the building a voice caught her attention: ‘Good morning Buffy.’

She peeked out to see Athelflaed and Thora coming towards her carrying a tray with a light breakfast on it. She could see the jug steaming in the cool morning air.

‘We were going to let you sleep a little longer, but now you are up, we have food and drink for you. Peppermint tea and porridge with honey in it - to help you recover your strength after last night,’ Thora added with a grin. Buffy blushed at the implication that they had heard everything last night long after the witnessing was over, and gratefully accepted the food. She sat down at one of the tables that had been set up the night before and attacked the edibles with gusto. The two women sat on the edge of the bed and smiled at the speed she was eating.

‘Where’s William gone?’ she asked through a mouthful of hot tea.

‘He’s over in the main hall talking business with Eirik.’ Athelflead answered. ‘He didn’t want to disturb you, but was going to send a serf with your food. We offered to serve you ourselves this special morning.’

Buffy was well aware the honour she had been given. She wrapped the cross around her wrist and stood up.

Thora helped her on with the overdress and Buffy slipped her feet into her shoes. Athelflaed picked up Buffy’s cloak and put it round her shoulders.
The three women headed across the yard to the main hall. William was talking quietly in one corner, but it was a sight that brought a smile to Buffy’s mouth. Sitting on William’s knee, held securely in her daddy’s arms was Nordlys. She was playing with a small carved horse, biting at one of its legs, chewing for all she was worth. She started whimpering at one point and William naturally just jiggled her up and down on his knee until she stopped. Nordlys then started hitting William on the head with the same horse.
‘You are as violent as your mother,’ he complained to the child, and removed the horse from her chubby little hand but before she could voice her discontent, he replaced it with a small ripe pear. Nordlys started to bite into the fruit, spilling the juice down herself and her father, her first teeth breaking through the skin and into the soft flesh, before chomping away with her mouth wide open.

Anne offered to take the child, but William refused and Buffy watched as he shook his head and pulled his daughter in closer, kissing her fair curls. Buffy smiled again at the tableau before her and made her way over to her family. She slipped an arm around William’s shoulders before Nordlys looked away from her pear to see who was trying to get her favourite man’s attention.

‘Mamamam,’ she gurgled, holding up her arms for a hug from her mother. Buffy picked the child up and wrapped her arms around her, snuggling her face into the magical place between her beloved daughter’s neck and shoulder. The smell reminded her of William and had always brought her peace. Now here she was, William’s acknowledged wife and her daughter his accepted child. Her world couldn’t be more perfect.

William smiled as he saw his wife and child share a special private moment.
He still couldn’t believe it, they were together and he had a child, a beautiful daughter, and she had his eyes. Eirik dug him in the ribs and pointed back to the vellums on the table. William grinned and went back to work. He had an estate to see to.

‘So who are you going to get to oversee this estate?’ Eirik asked as he filled up cups with small beer.

‘I really don’t know: its on the border between your people and mine, just in the right place to be either supported by both or attacked by both. I need someone who is politically astute as well as capable of opening up a new estate. We will be coming back every couple of years, and I don’t want to find it overrun with boar.’

‘The four legged or the two legged kind?’ Buffy asked, kissing him on the cheek.

‘Either,’ William replied with a laugh, ‘or both,’ he added, thinking about some of the idiots he had met. His unlamented brothers would have caused chaos in a hall that close to the new border.

Buffy put Nordlys back on her father’s lap and wrapped her own arms around his neck. The baby snuggled into the crook of his arm and dropped her pear as she fell asleep. Buffy looked over his shoulder at all the vellum spread out on the table.

‘What you doing?’

‘Overlooking the new estate inventories. The hall is tiny, but we can rebuild that, and this is on the new road from Chester to Meols. So there will be lots of travellers. I intend to put an agent in to care for the whole place while we are away.’ He looked back at the lists. ‘It’s going to take time to get things started,’ he added with a frown.

‘Then we’ll take time. My lands can be left for a while, they are in good hands; we’ll go to your home and start work. Once we get things underway, your people can carry on.’ Buffy said simply, wishing that she could read the ink marks on the vellum.

‘Hmm.’ William looked thoughtful. He hadn’t wanted to keep Buffy away from her people for too long, but it might be a good solution.

‘Anyway, no worrying today,’ she said. ‘I have brought you the cross from above our wedding bed, it’s for luck in the marriage.’

‘Don’t think we’ll need much of that,’ he smiled, but accepted the cross around his neck when Buffy put it there. Her fingers brushed the silver where it nestled on his chest and she patted it again.

Buffy looked up into the blue eyes that were staring down at her. ‘You’d do that for me?’ he asked. ‘Stay here until my estates are on a firm enough footing to leave in someone else’s care?’

‘Of course: we are partners in life now, William. We work together.’

Buffy found herself pulled down into a tight hug, in front of everyone as William kissed her fiercely, passionately. Her William.

‘Don’t wake the baby!’ she laughed, her eyes shining as she pointed towards Nordlys, still asleep in the crook of his arm.

‘I think I’m going to be hearing that for a lot of years, God willing,’ he laughed, full of joy and contentment at the way things had worked out for him.





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