Gift of God: Lady Godiva - Chapter 2

“What is it, Lady Godiva?”

“They deserve to live as well.”

“Why is it that you…”

Godiva was gentle, but not merely weak. Leofric knew that. His wife was young, quick to tears, and delicate of heart, yet at times she possessed a strength that surprised even him.

Since settling in Coventry after their marriage, there was one thing she had wished for each day: peace for the serfs. As her brother Thorold had hinted, she spoke endlessly of reducing taxes.

It was a wonder how she could barely meet his eyes when alone with him, yet still gather the courage to raise such matters.

“You care for them more than for me?”

The question was unexpected. Godiva stared at her husband in shock.

“When you look at me, is that the only thought in your mind?”

“My lord…”

“‘My lord’ again?”

Leofric let out a cold laugh.

“Leo…fric.”

“Tell me. Are they dearer to you than your husband?”

“N-no, it isn’t like that.”

“Then what is it?”

His scent drew closer—dangerously close. Godiva tried to step back, but there was no escape. Long fingers slipped into the soft hairs at the nape of her neck. When his hand grasped the back of her head, she froze.

“Answer me.”

Dux Leofric was like the sea. Not calm waters, but a vast force brimming with power. Godiva gazed at him with pleading eyes before parting her pale lips.

“Before they are the king’s subjects, they are your people. So please…”

“Please?”

“Please look upon them with mercy. It is too harsh for them… Leofric, you are strong. Please, shelter them.”

To her, nearly a decade her senior, her husband was an object of awe. He was wise and powerful. Surely such a man could grant mercy. Though her brother Thorold would never listen, this man might. She believed that.

“This tenderness is your virtue.”

Leofric swept her up in his arms. The twin braids of gold swung brilliantly as he strode forward, her long hair trailing in a luminous sweep across the floor. Violet ribbons woven through the silken strands fluttered softly.

“But do not waste it anywhere but before me.”

Before she knew it, they stood beside the bed. The silk canopy brushed lightly against her cheek.

“You are my wife, Godiva.”

In him, she glimpsed the shadow of an oncoming storm. In that dimness, she sensed how the night would unfold—where his fierce hunger would begin and where it would carry them.

Her nanny had once told her that a strong husband was a rare blessing, yet for one so young, it was overwhelming. His relentless desire, his insistent hunger that pressed and claimed—it left her aching and sorrowful.

“Do not try to become anything else.”

His breath broke hot against her brow, yet his voice was cool as it seeped into her skin. Godiva’s violet eyes fluttered shut.

“Do you understand?”

“Leo…fric…”

As always, when their lips met, her thoughts dissolved. Godiva clutched the linen sheets spread upon the bed.

Their breath mingled, their mouths entwined; he kissed her deeply, thoroughly, until she was left faint. At first, she naively thought, He was like this yesterday—surely tomorrow he will not be.

But he never spared her. When night fell heavy around them, he would take her without hesitation, claiming her completely. Had she not resisted in tears that day, he might have embraced her just as boldly beneath the daylight. Such was his hunger for her.

“Mm.”

“The—the lights…”

After being bared and held beneath candlelight on their first night, Godiva had since struggled to hide herself in darkness whenever she could.

“Hm.”

Leofric gave a short laugh.

“Please, Leo…”

“You plead every time, yet I always do as I wish.”

Among nobles, marriages were forged for strategy; they lived a lifetime without love, seeking to fill the emptiness—whether of heart or body—with lovers elsewhere.

But this man… Through her dizziness, Godiva looked at him. For her husband, there was only one woman. Though she was young and inexperienced, she knew that since their marriage, she alone stood at his side. He never said he loved her, yet he was faithful to her in his own unyielding way.