Under His Watch {16th Century Valois-Orléans-Angoulême Romance]

Chapter 32

When Jacqueline had awoken, the next day, she had been extremely surprised. She had woken up with Dominic stroking her hair, staring into her face. Her heart had fluttered and her palms had turned nervous until he had brought wine to her lips, laced with powder she had fallen asleep again. It smelt sweet and tasted warm but her mind was too hazy to speak.

She had woken up later and he had fed her a small pottage. He had been slow and delicate in his movements, he had finished feeding her the large bowl before she had fell asleep again.

She had tried to speak to him, but he hadn't. He took deep breaths and gave her a strong tasting liquid before he played with her hair again. His fingers felt relaxing on her weak, sore body but she didn't want this from him. The man who didn't love her, need her and only wanted her for the producing of heirs. She hadn't been able to struggle because her body felt weak. She had closed her eyes, and fallen asleep.

She would inquire of his kindness when she had the strength to stay awake again. But for now she succumbed to her body's weakness...

Jacqueline pressed the ice to her ankle again. She hissed but she wouldn't let him do it. He had left her! She couldn't scream and had to weakly though the wine glass onto the floor. A maid had come in and she had later brought food, wine and ice.

Dominic had not returned that night and the day after, and after. It had been three days since she had saw her husband and she cursed the very ground he walked on. Deciding she would try and walk, she swung out of bed. She was sick of being dependent on the bastard anyway.

Gently holding onto the sides of the bed, she tried to balance on her feet. The broken ankle's pain shot through her, the pain almost threw her back into bed. Instead she screamed and put more weight onto her other foot.

The door flung open. Dominic. He stood outside the door and walked in. This was the first time he had seen him in his 'working clothes'.

In his hand was a helmet but the rest of his body was covered in armour. His blond hair clung to his forehead, less than the armour on his body. Some of it bloodied it was mainly a sliver metallic material, which with his blond hair touching it made him seem ever more the fighter. The clanking of the metal was even more apparent as he strode to her beside and towered above her.

"Why were you trying to rise Jacqueline?" Her name sounded softer than the rest of his sentence but she was still pissed off.

"You had left me."

"I made sure there was a maid to attend to you." He looked outside as his men ran around the castle grounds. His punishment for their idleness, an apology was never enough in his eyes. Focusing back to the issued, he called out."Who was suppose to attend to my wife?"

A maid who was suppose to attend to the countess. She was clealy a nurse, a book in her hand and a bowl of port for the patient, was now on her lips. came in view and curtised."Me, my lord. Faren."

Dominic looked at her with distaste."You think your name means anything to me?" He paused thinking of her punishment."You will work till tomorrow dawn. No sleep, no food. I want to see you work until your sorry behind has made up for neglecting my wife. Unless you want to return to your family on foot?"

"Y-Yes, my lord." Dominic knew which option she had taken, there was nothing else, but he had no time to think of her health whilst his wife was still unstable.

"Get out!" She curtsied and nervously scurried away.

Jacqueline's mind still dawned on the past."You left me in here."

"I have duties, I am no wife or nurse whose job it is to attend to her superiors." She lay quietly and didn't speak after that. He was an ass. An utter utter ass. He didn't care for her. Only for the part of the body he needed the most, the womb.