How to Wed a Wild Lass Read online

  How to Wed a Wild Lass

  A Medieval Romance Duet

  Kathryn Le Veque

  and

  Emma Prince

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  The Jewel’s Embrace

  Copyright Page

  Author’s Note

  The Legend of the Earth and the Sky

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  About Kathryn Le Veque

  The Siren’s Kiss

  Copyright Page

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Epilogue

  Author’s Note

  About the Author

  The Jewel’s Embrace

  A Short Medieval Romance

  By

  Kathryn Le Veque

  © Copyright 2019 by Kathryn Le Veque Novels, Inc.

  EPUB Edition

  Text by Kathryn Le Veque

  Cover by Kim Killion

  Edited by Scott Moreland

  Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.

  Reproduction of any kind except where it pertains to short quotes in relation to advertising or promotion is strictly prohibited.

  All Rights Reserved.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  License Notes:

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook, once purchased, may not be re-sold. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it or borrow it, or it was not purchased for you and given as a gift for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. If this book was purchased on an unauthorized platform, then it is a pirated and/or unauthorized copy and violators will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Do not purchase or accept pirated copies. Thank you for respecting the author’s hard work.

  Author’s Note

  When the lovely and talented Emma Prince first approached me about doing a duet, I thought it sounded like a lot of fun. We came up with the idea of two brothers on a wild search for a bride and the first one that married inherited the earldom.

  Since I wanted this to be a fun and light romp, I took inspiration from one of the most romantic movies I know – a film called Friendly Persuasion starring Gary Cooper and Dorothy McGuire. There’s a particular scene in it where Gary Cooper’s character and his son, played by Anthony Perkins, come across a widow and her three daughters who are quite man-hungry. I thought it would be a lot of fun to put that same situation into Medieval times, when a man seeking a bride comes across women who are more desperate than he is. I’ve given it my twist and added a few things, but that was my inspiration.

  But why is this romantic, you ask? Because the movie came out in 1956, when my father was sixteen years of age, and when he met my mother a couple of years later, they both loved the movie so much that inscribed on my father’s wedding band are the words from the theme song of that movie – Thee I Love. So, both the movie and that song mean something to me and to my parents. Pretty romantic, wouldn’t you say?

  Now that you know my inspiration and the back story behind it, I hope you enjoy this short little romp into the borders between England and Scotland, where an arrogant young knight comes face to face with his bad decision making – but happy ending!

  Hugs,

  The Legend of the Earth and the Sky

  The Succession Crisis of the Earldom of Drumburgh

  1300 A.D.

  To the last Earl of Drumburgh and his wife, twin sons were born on the cusp of a bright summer morning.

  Roget de la Haye and his wife, Julia, had waited a very long time for a child. From the day of their marriage until sixteen years later, they had prayed for a son. The years passed and the prayers went unanswered until, finally, Julia was with child. Roget cared for the woman himself, personally tending to her every need, doing everything he could to ensure that his wife and son thrived. Joy and gratitude filled the couple, spilling over into the daily lives of those who lived in the earldom, and happiness reigned. It was known as the Time of Great Joy throughout the land, a time of celebration and thanks.

  And then came the birth.

  Or births, as it were. Instead of one son, there were two, and in the excitement of two heirs, the old midwife neglected to mark the firstborn son. It was a mistake that should have been paramount to Roget but, unfortunately, something else had his attention –

  The loss of his wife.

  The strain of the birth was too much on her weakened body. As Julia lay dying, Roget held her hand and wept, listening to her speak of what she saw from the window of their bower, a window that faced north over the channel of the River Eden.

  Julia seemed resigned to her death. She wasn’t distressed, nor did she weep alongside her husband. She spoke of the world and its beauty, of the hopes she had for her sons, and of a falcon she saw soaring in the sky above the river, a falcon she was certain had come to escort her to her heavenly reward. She spoke of the gentle current of the river, and how it was much like life itself – ever-flowing, full of mystery, but never predictable.

  When Julia passed, her last thought was of the bucolic and gentle river.

  But Roget’s grief knew no limits. When presented with his sons, healthy and screaming, it was all he could do to force himself to look upon them. Their births, so long awaited, had killed his beloved. It was difficult not to hate the infants for what they’d done but, in the same breath, Roget knew they were a living, breathing testament to Julia. She had died to give them life and they were part of her. He named them for the last earthly visions Julia spoke of – Falcon and River.

  The boys grew.

  Falcon and River did not look alike, but they had much the same disposition – aggressive, intelligent, strong, and humorous. They loved one another deeply, yet there was an inherent sense of competition between them. The fact that neither one knew who was first in the birth order never mattered; they were simply brothers, and any competition between them was purely sibling rivalry.

  But the birth order mattered to Roget.

  Therefore, on the eve of the anniversary of Julia’s death, thirty years before, Roget gathered his sons for a critical discussion. The time had come for them to determine who was to be the next earl and because of the midwife’s failure those years ago, Roget had presented the issue to his clansman and they had arrived at a logical solution.

  Marriage.

  The first brother to marry would inherit the earldom.

  Falcon and River hadn’t shown much interest in marriage until that fateful day but, now, the moment was upon them. Each brother believed that he would make the better earl and now the moment had come for them to prove it. The first one to take a wife would assume the title of Earl of Drumburgh and the loser would inherit only at his brother’s pleasure. He could inherit something, or nothing.

  The power would belong to the heir.

&nb
sp; Brotherly love aside, Roget’s directive now pitted son against son. Each man would have to prove his worth and reach for the prize – the Earldom of Drumburgh.

  But he would have to find a wife first.

  Would he be foolish and take the first woman who agreed? Or would he use his common sense and realize this was not a short victory, but a lifelong conquest. Fine women were rare; common women were not.

  To the winner would go the spoils.

  Or the curse…

  Chapter One

  1330 A.D.

  Arcmare Castle near Drumburgh

  A storm was pounding overhead, with lightning streaking across the sky and the smell of wet earth heavy in the air. Oddly enough, not even an hour before, the sky had been clear. But in that hour, so very much had happened.

  A legacy was at stake.

  River de la Haye was dashing across the bailey with a purpose. He was looking for someone, someone who might hold the key to everything that was important to him – the assumption of the Earldom of Drumburgh.

  But there was a catch.

  He had to find a wife first.

  He still couldn’t believe it, but that’s what his dying father had told him. The man’s health hadn’t been good for some time, a disease of the lungs, and as the rest of Drumburgh had watched and waited for the man to die, River and his brother, Falcon, had watched with a heavy heart.

  The heirs to Drumburgh knew their father’s death was coming; death came for everyone. There was no avoiding that particular fact of life. But they had been hoping, unreasonably, that death would bypass their elderly father. He was the only parent they had left. Even though the sons were well into adulthood, losing a parent made them feel like orphans.

  But Roget de la Haye had expectations of his sons before he passed on and those expectations had just been discussed in a gathering with their father not moments earlier. In the House of de la Haye, there was a crisis of succession.

  Everyone knew it was coming. Ever since twins River and Falcon had been born and the foolish midwife had forgotten to mark the firstborn, everyone knew this moment would eventually come. Even River and Falcon knew it, but it was never something they discussed. As brothers, they were inordinately close. They loved one another deeply. But the crisis of succession was about to make competitors out of them.

  It was something River had been dreading.

  Whoever marries first shall inherit the earldom.

  That had been his father’s directive, unexpected but not surprising. There had to be a determining factor but no one had expected marriage to be that mark. Once he’d heard those words, and a few more, he’d kissed his father and bolted from the great hall of Drumburgh, his mind whirling with what he’d been told, searching for an answer that would make him the earl.

  No offense against his brother, but this was a battle he was going to win.

  Leaving his brother still at his father’s side, River had bolted from the hall and even now was heading for the stables. He was looking for someone in particular, an old man who liked to drink heavily of the cheap ale that the brew wife made and then find a cozy place in the stables to sleep off his binge.

  A man who had been his mother’s brother.

  They called him Deoch, which meant “drunk” in the Gaelic tongue. Everyone knew of Deoch, whose real name was Sir Douglas Ashby-Kidd. He had been their mother’s younger ne’er-do-well brother and had been living at Arcmare Castle since Julia’s marriage to Roget. River and Falcon had taken to calling their drunken, slothful uncle “Duchy” at a very young age, which wasn’t terribly close to Deoch, but close enough.

  It was Duchy that River was searching for.

  As the storm raged overhead, River found himself in the stable. The smell of animals and hay was strong in his nostrils as he made his way straight to the loft where his uncle usually slept off his drinking marathons. Climbing the ladder into the dark and cramped place, he was rewarded with the vision of shoes several feet away. He knew those shoes were attached to a familiar body. Heaving himself up into the loft, he crawled on all fours until he came to the shoes. Then, he yanked on a foot.

  He pulled so hard that the hay fell away from a figure bundled in tattered, smelly wool. “Ooch!” a man yelled. “What’s wanting?”

  “Wake up, Duchy,” River said grimly. “I must speak with ye.”

  Duchy peered at his nephew in the dim light. “River,” he said with disgust. “Why did ye wake me? I’m in no condition to speak at the moment.”

  River shook the man’s foot again, so hard that his entire body rattled. “I care not,” he said “Father summoned Falcon and me within the last hour to tell us something and I must speak with ye about it. If ye do not get up, I’ll find a bucket of icy water to throw on ye.”

  Duchy immediately sat up because he knew his nephew was quite serious. “I’m up,” he grunted. “No need for violence, River. What’s this about Roget?”

  River sighed sharply. “Do ye know what he told Falcon and me?”

  “About what?”

  “About our inheritance. He told us that the first one who marries will inherit the earldom. Have ye ever heard of such a thing?”

  Duchy blinked his eyes, appearing a little less sleepy. “So he did it,” he muttered. “I was wondering if he would.”

  River peered at him strangely. “Did what?” he asked, but even as he said it, understanding seemed to dawn on him. “Do ye mean to tell me ye knew about this?”

  Duchy hesitated a moment before nodding his head. “Something of it,” he said. “Roget has been lamenting what’s to be done with ye and yer brother. Yer father’s not well, River.”

  “I know that.”

  “He’s afraid that he’ll pass on before the new earl is named.”

  “So he is forcing my brother and me to marry? That hardly seems fair.”

  “What did ye expect him to do? Drumburgh must have its next earl.”

  River looked at him a moment before lifting his broad shoulders. A big man with a crown of dark blond hair, a bit of a beard, and an aggressive personality, River de la Haye was a son to make any man proud. He was brilliant to a fault but sometimes too arrogant for his own good. Duchy loved that particular trait, mostly because it could bring about humorous situations where River was forced to squirm, talk, or cheat his way out. River never disappointed in that regard.

  But now, he was facing a situation he couldn’t squirm, talk, or cheat his way out of.

  He had to face it.

  “I expected him to have my brother and me compete in feats of strength, I suppose,” he said. “Falcon is strong, but I’m stronger. I know I could best him.”

  “Are ye certain?”

  River eyed the man unhappily. “Of course I am,” he said. “Even now, Falcon is still in with our father while I am already off to find a bride. At least, I will be as soon as ye help me.”

  Duchy’s face screwed up. “Help ye? What do ye want me to do? Marry ye myself?”

  River’s eyes narrowed at the sarcastic old man. “Nay,” he said. “But as Father was speaking on brides and how the first of us to marry would become the new earl, it occurred to me that I had to find a woman who was desperate to marry. I cannot find one who I must take time to woo.”

  “And?”

  “And it reminded me of something ye spoke of a year or two ago,” River continued. “Back when my father would send ye to allies with messages or gifts, ye told me once that ye met a woman and her daughters who lived in the wilds of the borders. She was a shepherdess and raised some of the finest sheep on the border. Do ye recall?”

  Duchy was scratching his head. “I think so,” he said. “A shepherdess, ye say?”

  “Aye. Ye said she and her daughters were so desperate for a man that they set out traps, hoping to catch unsuspecting travelers. Do ye remember, Duchy?”

  Duchy’s tired, old face lit up. “Aye,” he suddenly exclaimed. “The woman with daughters as big and strong as men. I remember!”


  “Good, Duchy,” River said excitedly as he reached out and grasped the old man. “Where did ye see them? Try hard to remember.”

  Duchy squinted as he tried to recall. “To the east of Carlisle,” he said. “Near Chapeltown, as I recall.”

  “There are a lot of sheep to the east of Carlisle.”

  “True, true.”

  “I need ye to show me where ye found them, Duchy.”

  The old man’s eyes widened. “What’s this ye say?” he gasped. “Ye want me to find them for ye?”

  “Aye.”

  It was Duchy’s turn to grab his nephew. “But ye don’t understand, lad,” he said. “These are not women ye want to marry.”

  “If she’s got breasts and a seed cave, I’ll marry her.”

  Duchy shook him. “God’s Bones, lad, would ye really say that to a woman?” he said in disgust. Then, he spoke mockingly, as if asking a woman that very question “Do ye have a seed cave, lass?”

  In spite of himself, River started to laugh. “What do ye want me to call it? That’s what it is, ye know. I put my seed into her cave and my son is born, the heir to the Earl of Drumburgh.”

  Duchy grunted, disapproving his nephew’s rude slang for a woman’s miracle. “This is what happens when a man has not grown up with a mother.”

  “What happens?”

  “Ye’re not fit to be around a decent woman.”

  River didn’t have any time to argue. He grabbed his uncle by the arm and started pulling him towards the old ladder.

  “Show me a decent woman and I will act accordingly,” he said, “but according to ye, these are desperate women who are more men than women, so I don’t consider them decent.”

  Duchy wasn’t so sure he wanted to be dragged anywhere. “Behave like a barbarian and they may take yer head off for it,” he said. “Where are ye taking me, lad?”

  They reached the ladder and River braced his big legs on it, pulling his uncle towards him. “Ye are going to help me find these desperate women.”