1. I, Lady Mildrith Rhys, was a gentlewoman in my own right. The only child of my father, I had inherited the fief of Capel-le-Ferne. I was married to Burke Hollis, eldest son and heir of Ealdorman Walter Hollis of Tunbridge. The elder Hollis had arranged the marriage soon after my father’s death. He was one of the richest English nobles and a close advisor to the king.

My marriage meant that my strategic fief was now merged with Tunbridge and controlled by my father-in-law, Walter. In due course, when Burke succeeded his father, I would become Ealdorin of Tunbridge, which would be duly expanded to incorporate Capel-le-Ferne.

But just a few hours after my unconsummated marriage, Danish longships had been sighted from my ancient seat of Hill Fort in Newhaven. My new husband abandoned me and ran away with his mean back to the safety of his father’s castle in Tunbridge.

With only my local lads to defend my Hill Fort, the Danes were able to take it after a short battle. Grier, the Danish chieftain, had taken my virginity, fucked me regularly for weeks, and impregnated me. Then Burke returned with his father’s army led by his fearsome bailiff, Leofric, and retook Hill Fort – and me.

*

2. Supervised by my castellan, Oswald, a crew of my tenants had worked hard to decorate my seat of Hill Fort for the festive dinner, the first I would host as a married lady. The Great Hall in the ancient keep of Hill Fort was festooned with streamers of the finest French silk – they were red, white, and black, the colors of Capel-le-Ferne. The days were getting shorter in the first chill of early autumn, and the Great Hall was bright from the light of thousands of candles. There were roaring fires in the two huge hearths, tended by stewards with metal pokers.

Upon hearing that Burke had arrived in Newhaven town, I stood at the massive doors to the Great Hall with Oswald attending me. We were both formally attired and he wore his sword in a leather scabbard that had been polished to a high gloss. Burke arrived, bringing not only his dozen gentlemen and Sheriff Guy of Litchfield, but also the Sheriff’s wife Lady Ardith, their two-year-old son, her nursemaid, and ten of the sheriff’s gentlemen. I blanched, for the stores at Newhaven Fort were not sufficient to meet the requirements of such a large dinner.

“Don’t worry, my lady,” Oswald whispered in my ear. “I am sure we have your father-in-law’s credit. I will send men to Newhaven with a cart to get the requisites from the baker, the fishmonger, and the miller, as well as ale from the public house had in stock.”

I was relieved and welcomed Burke as a dutiful wife. He put his arms around me and squeezed my buttocks with one hand, and my breasts with the other, whispering, “I’ll fuck you in the ass again tonight, bitch!”

“You are looking very fine, Lady Mildrith,” said Gareth, after Burke passed into the Hall. He was the most courtly of Burke’s gentlemen. He then to turned to Oswald. “I hope you are quite recovered from the injuries you sustained defending Hill Fort against the Danes.”

“Fit as a fiddle, sir,” said Oswald.

When everyone had entered, Oswald led the way to the long High Table. He had set me in the central place of honor with Burke on my right and Sheriff Guy and Lady Ardith facing us as the honored guests.

“You will not take precedence over me, Mildrith –” began Burke, trying to take the chair of the central seat.

“No, my lord,” said Gareth, restraining his young master. “This is the ancient Keep of Hill Fort, the ancestral seat of the Rhys family for generations. Lady Mildrith takes precedence over you here, just as your father takes precedence over you in Tunbridge Castle.”

Burke looked like he was going to argue, but Gareth was a head taller and far more powerful, so my husband thought the better of it. He sat on my right with bad grace. As soon as I sat down, he leaned over and spoke to me in a low voice, “I’ll make you pay for this insult tonight in bed, you bitch!”

My cooks outdid themselves and used up the stores we had in bringing out appetizers while more were brought up from Newhaven town.

Two of the village men who had some musical talents were pressed into service with their fiddles and there was dancing in between courses. Women were scarce, for only Lady Ardith, her nursemaid, and I were of gentle breeding, and the men took turns to dance with us.

Burke was heavy-footed and trod on my toes several times. Sheriff Guy was hardly better. Even that was preferable to one of Burke’s younger gentlemen, who let his hands stray and took liberties on the dancefloor – Burke was either too drunk or simply did not care, I did not know which. I tried to push away his grasping hands, as he squeezed my breasts and pushed his fingers up between my buttocks. I was shocked by how much intimacy he was able to gain through the layers of my skirts and petticoats and the final shield of my panties.

“I can feel your cunt, you Danish whore,” he whispered in my ear. “You’re wet for me, aren’t you? I know that you want it. Burke told us how you buck when he rides you with his cock up your ass.”

I did not reply but wiggled and managed to dislodge his fingers. I was heartily relieved when the music ended and the next course was served, requiring him to reluctantly release me. I returned to my seat facing Lady Ardith, who was sitting demurely by her husband. She was an attractive woman about five years older than me, still in her early twenties. She was higher born than her husband, the daughter of an ealdorman from Mercia, and looked less than pleased with everything that she saw at Hill Fort.

The nursemaid was from around Litchfield, the daughter of a gentleman farmer. Now she handed the babe to her mistress saying, “Lady Ardith, young Harry is hungry again.”

Ardith clicked her tongue in annoyance.

“Hand me my shawl,” she said. “I will cover myself and feed him right here, I will not let this lamb shank grow cold while I feed him in another room.”

The nursemaid handed Ardith a wool shawl and she draped it over her upper body before undoing her bodice and underbodice to free her breasts. I was too close to avoid seeing the young boy – for he was too big to be called a babe – eagerly cuddle his mother’s breasts and say, “Want tit!” before taking a pink nipple in his mouth and sucking greedily. Ardith let him work on her breasts one at a time, while she leaned over him and ate her lamb as delicately as she could.

“This is lamb is quite delectable, Lady Mildrith,” she said. “I did not think you could have such fine cooking in this rough fort of yours.’

“My maid Edwina has been helping our cook,” replied Mildrith. “She is good at basting and broiling. And we grow some very fine mint here.”

“Well, give her my compliments,” said Ardith.

I tried to avoid staring, but I had a hard time keeping my eyes off Ardith’s son who was still energetically sucking at her breasts. His jet-black hair, his blue eyes, and his face were such miniature replicas of Grier that it was impossible to doubt his paternity. The question rose to my lips several times and each time I bit it back. But finally, as the lamb was cleared away and the fiddlers returned, I could no longer control myself. I leaned over and whispered in Ardith’s ear.

“How many times did you sleep with Grier?”

Ardith’s eyes grew hot with anger.

“How dare you, you hussy!” she hissed back. “Everyone is talking about how you were happy to become a Danish whore. Don’t think every woman is like you.”

“Your boy is the spitting image of him,” I insisted, too bound up in my line of questioning to care. “You may deny it to everyone, but not to me. I beg you to help me.”

Sheriff Guy had risen and was waiting impatiently for his wife as the fiddlers had begun playing a reel.

“My lord sheriff,” called Ardith to her husband. “Pray, ask the musicians to wait a few moments. I must finish feeding our son.”

“Very well,” said Guy. He led the gentlemen to the other side of the hall, where kegs of ale were stacked.

“What do you want?” asked Ardith in a low tone, once the men moved away.

“I am not a Danish whore, for I fought a spirited battle against Grier and his men,” I said. “This was after my cowardly husband abandoned me. I killed one of Grier’s men with my own hand. But I did indeed sleep with him. He was in my bed for many long weeks. And now I carry his child. I am several months into my pregnancy and soon it will be impossible to conceal it. I am already showing, but I have loosened my gown to hide my rounded belly. I beg of you to tell me how you dealt with your husband through your pregnancy and when your son was born.”

Ardith’s face was expressionless, but it softened as I spoke.

“Have you slept with Burke after they retook Hill Fort? Has he spurted his seed in you?”

“Yes, of course,” I said, unwilling to go into the details of my nightly bouts with my husband.

“Men have fragile egos,” said Ardith. “They are willing to suspend disbelief to an extraordinary degree if it preserves their manly pride. Guy knew full well that Grier had his way with me, for the first time he took me was on our dining table for all to see. He was in my bed every night for a week. They were long nights, for he had sex with me again and again! The man is an insatiable animal! Then he sailed away, his ships laden with booty from Litchfield.”

Her voice grew harder as she spoke.

“Afterward, I had to fawn on Guy for weeks, getting him to sleep with me as often as possible. I kept telling him that he was more of a man than Grier, that his seed would impregnate me. That he would wash the Danish seed out of me with his manhood.”

I tried to keep a straight face, but I failed. A grin split my face and I covered my mouth to stifle a giggle.

“If your sex with Grier was anything like mine,” I said. “He must have ejaculated an enormous amount of his seed deep into you every night. This is his son, there can be no doubt.”

“Yes, he is Grier’s son,” acknowledged Ardith. “But Guy’s pride is invested in believing that he is a Litchfield. And I help him out, continually pointing out features that the boy has inherited from him and his Litchfield forebears.”

“So you advise me to tell Burke that I am pregnant? And claim that I am carrying his child?”

“Yes, dear. You will be surprised how easy it will be to convince him that he has impregnated you. He will want to believe it, and the more you praise his manhood, the easier it will be.”

The boy finished with Ardith’s second breast and fell asleep. The nursemaid took him and laid him down in the crib by the wall. As she covered him with the wool blanket, Ardith refastened her underbodice and bodice. The musicians warmed up on their fiddles. Ardith and I stood up and beckoned to the men across the room.

“Tell me,” I whispered to Ardith. “Do you miss him?”

Ardith looked so angry that I thought she was going to slap me. Then her face crumpled, and she looked down at her feet.

“Yes,” she said, so low that I had to strain to hear her. She continued more quickly, as her husband and the other men approached. “He pounded me like his nickname – he used his rod like a battering ram! I reacted like a madwoman and the climax was always explosive! I came again and again! But afterward, he held me tenderly and made me feel like I was the most beautiful woman on earth. I miss lying with him more than I can say.”

*

3. Burke leaned on me heavily as I led the way to our bedchamber. I was sure Edwina had ensconced herself in her maid’s chamber with her ear to the keyhole as usual. No sooner were we in the bedchamber than Burke began fumbling with my gown. When he was unable to undo my bodice quickly, he drew his dagger and sliced the ties, getting the point dangerously close to my skin.

“Don’t do that, Burke,” I cried in dismay. “I’ll undo it, I’ll undress myself for you.”

He did not reply but clubbed me at the base of the skull. He knocked me onto the bed, where I lay on my stomach, stunned for the moment. He undid his belt, dropped his breeches, and clambered on my back, rucking up my skirts and petticoats. His rough hands snaked under me and found my crotch. He ground his fist on my pussy lips before hooking his fingers in my panties and ripping them off.

“Oh, Burke, oh, oh!” I cried. “Those were my best lace panties, they were brought over from France!”

“You shouldn’t wear panties, you whore!” snarled Burke, positioning his erect cock between my buttocks.

“Please, Burke, not there again! Please give me your seed! I want your organ in me!” I implored.

Burke’s cockhead was at my anal ring, but my words gave him pause.

“You want my seed?” he repeated.

“Yes! Yes! Every time you have driven your semen into me, it has been intoxicating! You are such a virile man!”

Burke hesitated, then moved his cockhead down to my pussy and pushed unceremoniously into me doggie style. His modest dimensions did not excite me, but I cried out, “Oh, you are such a strong man! Fuck me, Burke! Fuck me hard!”

Burke needed no further encouragement. He began thrusting into me with all his might. I kept up a constant stream of flattery.

“Yes, Burke! Oh my God! You are such a bull of a man! Nothing can resist your manhood! Your seed has already sprouted in me! You’ve bred me, but I want more!”

Burke lasted all of six thrusts and ejaculated his load into me. He lay on me exhausted and sweaty and soon passed out. I waited till he shriveled and plopped out of me, then slid out from under him. I smoothed down my petticoats and skirts and fussed ruefully over the sliced ribbons of my bodice. I tried to refasten the ties, but soon gave up and let it hang open. I plumped my breasts under my white underbodice and picked up my ripped panties from the floor.

“Ruined!” I murmured to myself. “Bloody well ruined! What a savage you are, Burke!”

I heard a soft cough and looked up sharply. Grier emerged from the shadows and advanced. He put his arms around me and sank down on the bed beside me. I saw that he was at the limit of his strength and that his knees had given way.

“What are you doing here, Grier?” I whispered urgently. “How did you get in? Are you insane? They will kill you!”

“Climbed the stockade wall,” he said, trying to suppress his wheezing and sound normal. “I came to see you – to ask you to be mine.”

“I can’t do that!” I cried. “What will I do on your ship? Denhaf refused to take Edwina when she asked him!”

“I am going to give up raiding, Mildrith,” he said.

“You would do that for me? What of your men? What would you do? You have no trade.”

“I have spoken to my men. They are tired of raiding as well. The weeks in Hill Fort and Newhaven were a balm for them – they want to settle down.”

“Where will you settle down?” My tone was sarcastic. “Denmark?”

“England,” said Grier quietly.

“You think we English will give you Danes land? After what you have done to us?”

“I will not ask for it,” said Grier. “I will take it. And bend the knee to King Edward as an Ealdorman.”

I almost laughed out loud.

“Why would King Edward name an invading Dane an Ealdorman?”

“Because, like all kings, he needs strong nobles to protect his lands and collect his taxes. Especially Tunbridge and Capel-le-Ferne.”

Finally, I began to see his meaning. And now I did laugh.

“You would challenge my father-in-law Ealdorman Hollis, for Tunbridge? With your four puny ships and two hundred men? Do you realize how many men-at-arms he can raise? And how powerful Tunbridge Castle is? You ran from him when he came to Newhaven, you will have no chance of taking his castle.”

“Leave the fighting to me,” said Grier. “All I ask is that you come to my side if I win. With our child.”

“You know that I am pregnant?” I asked, surprised. “Did Edwina tell you?”

“No,” said Grier, smiling. “The swell of your belly is slight, but you have such a narrow waist that it is obvious to anyone with eyes in his head.”

Behind us, Burke groaned and sat up on the bed.

“My head!” he grumbled, eyes still unfocused. “You shouldn’t have tempted me into sex, you bitch, I’ll beat you for this … ”

His voice trailed off as he saw Grier. Several things happened at once. Burke leaped off the bed and grabbed his sword. He pulled up his breeches and shouted for help at the same time. Grier stood as quickly as he could, but he was unsteady on his feet. He drew his sword, but in his weakened state, he was very slow. In the time Burke got his breeches on and his sword out, Grier barely managed to get on guard.

Even so, Burke approached him warily and continued to shout for help. Boots pounded up the...