Chapter 8 Chapter VII

A guard grabbed her by the arm and dragged her toward the stake, binding her hands behind her back. Alex looked up at the horizon, thinking that this was the last day she would see daylight.The dawn had just lit up the day, and she jumped over the piles of firewood and aimed at the crowd of onlookers.These would be the last faces she would see.She will take these images with her to heaven—or hell. Closing her eyes, she tried to recall Ryan's face. "Hang on." The voice made Alex suddenly open his eyes.Voice was life to her, and she would remember someone's voice, but not his face or name.Looking at the onlookers, she didn't find any familiar faces. All the faces seemed so dirty and hideous.

"Let me light the fire," said the voice again, and this time she looked straight into Rosamund's eyes.A chill crept across her skin, her scalp itched, and a small flame of hope rose within her. The guards were not in a hurry to light the fire, they were cautiously looking around the countryside, waiting for a warrior to lead his men to come.Not knowing whether to believe his eyes, Alex looked at the crowd again. "What are you waiting for?" The voice Alex spoke this time was all too familiar.There, standing at the forefront with a mouthful of black teeth and eyes covered with dirty bloody bandages was Joss.Standing next to him was one of the men in the battalion who had accused her of stealing.They were all changed, some dirtier than she remembered, but the whole battalion was here, looking up at her with weird smiles, knowing she recognized them.

Her eyes blurred with excitement, and it took a long time to see clearly what Joss was saying to her. "The fire should make the witch sing louder," he said, and Alex could see the fury in his tone. She looked at the guards hesitantly. They were frowning at the empty countryside, and they didn't even look at the crowd gathered under the platform. "We've waited long enough," said a black-robed Inquisitor, "burn the witch." One of the guards ordered the torch to be brought to the firewood. At this moment, Alex took a deep breath and sang powerfully with all the emotions of despair, fear, hope and joy in his voice. They were all intimidated.The first to make a move was Joss, who answered Alex with a thunderous cry and leaped onto the platform, followed by twenty men and women.

A self-proclaimed murderer threw himself on the guards carrying the torch, causing the torch to fall onto the firewood behind Alex and instantly burst into flames. There are six guards and four inquisitors on the platform.As soon as the judge saw that the situation was not good, he immediately lifted up his robe and ran away. Smoke rose in the sky around Alex, and she watched men and women fighting bravely with the warriors.Every punch that fell on them seemed to hit her heart.She had been so bad to them, and today they risked their lives to save her. The smoke was getting thicker and thicker, she was coughing and her eyes were tearing up.The sun-like heat was roasting her back, and she looked at the people around her with all her eyes, knowing how fragile they were compared to the fully armed warriors.Her only consolation was that Ryan didn't show up sanely, at least he was alive and safe somewhere.It was some time before she found one of the warriors, unassaulted by the forest mob, until she heard a roar from inside his helmet, and she knew that one of the guards was Wren.

"Joss, go and untie her quickly." Ren ordered, raising his double tomahawk and slashing at the shoulder of a warrior. With the sound of metal impact, the warrior fell to the ground wrapped in armor.A woman immediately jumped on the belly of the fallen warrior and tore off his helmet, while another one-eyed man hit him in the face with a stick. The smoke was so thick that it blocked all sight, and Alex had a dry tongue and throat from coughing.When Joss cut the leather straps that bound her hands and pulled her out of the burning fire, her eyes were smothered with tears and her throat was burning.

"Come with me." He took her hand. But she stopped and turned her head to look at the platform. Ren was fighting with four warriors at the same time. Seeing the thrilling situation, her heart twisted and she couldn't bear to watch it. "Alex." Joss yelled at her, "Ren ordered me to take you away first. He is already very angry with the two of us. Just this time, don't disobey him." "I can't leave him." She wanted to say, but when the voice came out of her burning throat, it was unbearably hoarse, and Joss couldn't help but dragged her to run.After running for a long time, she saw several horses coming towards them.

"He's late," hissed Joss, out of breath, "come on, Alex." At least running gave her no time to think about the danger Ryan was in.With the baby in her belly, she was really running out of breath.When they got to the horse, Joss forcefully carried her on the horse's back and galloped in the opposite direction.Alex wanted to protest, but he couldn't make a sound. Her silence made Joss turn his head in surprise. Seeing her frantic look, he burst out laughing, showing that he knew her sorrow. They galloped for more than two hours before stopping at a monastery. Alex was exhausted from the fear of the past few days. When Joss helped her off the horse, she could barely stand.

"Is your voice really gone?" he asked, half sympathetic, half amused. She tried to speak again, but the sound was still broken. "Maybe it's better this way. Ren was so angry that he wanted to tear our tongues off. Are you okay? They didn't hurt you when you were captured, right?" Alex shook his head. Before Joss could speak, there was a moment A monk in a brown cassock opened the heavy door. "Aren't you coming in, boy? We're ready and waiting for you." Alex touched Joss' arm, frowning to express his doubts. What did the monk mean by "ready"?

"Go in, you'll understand later." Joss laughed. Inside the stone wall is a large green courtyard with doors on three sides for access.After a while, she was sitting in a gorgeous room drinking hot milk, halfway through drinking she heard the sound of metal rubbing outside. "Alexander." That roar could only be Ryan's masterpiece. Out of habit, Alex opened his mouth to respond, but what he let out was a painful neighing. With one hand covering his throat, she opened the door. Ren turned to face her, and looked at each other for a while, his eyes were darkened, his hair was tangled into black curly locks with sweat, and the armor on his body was even more traumatized, but the most frightening thing was his The anger in the eyes.

"Come out." He ordered indisputably.After she stood in front of him, he put his hands on her shoulders, looked down at her swollen belly for a moment, and then looked into her eyes, "I should give you a good punch for this." Alex wanted to speak, But after talking for a long time, he still couldn't make a sound, and was so anxious that he burst into tears.He looked at her in confusion for a while, and suddenly a dimple appeared on his cheek, "Have you been choked by the smoke?" She nodded. "Great, this is the best news I've heard in months. After the matter is over. I have something to tell you, this time you just have to listen obediently."

He took her by the shoulders and pushed her through a small door, heading straight for the chapel.In front of the altar stood Jos and a tall and thin strange man. "Wearing armor?" the strange man asked, looking at Alex curiously. "If I waste time changing clothes again, she will definitely slip through my fingers again. Have you got the ring, Gavin?" Alex's eyes widened when he heard the words. It turned out that he was Ryan's eldest brother. Looking at Gavin, she realized that he was not like Ryan in terms of size, and that Ryan was much more handsome than him.As much as she could think, she hardly noticed what the priests were saying in their presence. "Concentrate, Alex." Ren ordered, while Gavin coughed to hide his smile. Alex looked awkwardly at the men surrounding her.Joss had a smile in his eyes, Ryan looked like he was about to explode with anger, Gavin was trying to hold back his laughter for some reason, and even the pastor waited patiently for her to do something for no reason. "Alex," Ryan growled again, unable to restrain himself, "I know you can't talk, but at least you can nod—unless you'd rather not marry me. Maybe you'd rather—Jose?" "Marry you?" she called silently. "For heaven's sake, Ryan. Sorry, Father," Gavin said, "have pity on her, she's just been frightened. One moment she's going to be burned at the stake, the next moment she's going to be married, she needs time adapt." "When did you know women so well again?" Ren said hostilely, "You left Judith alone at the gate just after you married her. If I hadn't broken her leg at that time, she would have been lonely." Lingling is alone." "If you weren't in the way, she would have come to me long ago. And—" "Be quiet," Joss yelled, and when the two brothers turned their anger on him, he backed away hastily, and he took a deep breath, "Alex was looking at Sir Gavin just now, and I don't think she knew she was talking to him at all. Sir Wren is married. Explain to her, and she may answer questions appropriately, even if she has no voice." It was only then that Alex suddenly realized, his eyes widened and his mouth widened in an unladylike manner. "Is that a terrible idea?" Gavin burst out laughing. Ren turned away from looking at Alex, because he was not sure what her expression meant, "She is pregnant with my child, and she will marry me." He said flatly. Although Alex couldn't speak, he could at least bark his teeth and spit at him. When he still refused to look at her, she could only look around for something to attract his attention.He didn't propose to her, didn't give her a chance to be ecstatic, and he didn't give her a chance to throw himself into his arms and tell him that he loved her. He just stood aside like a bumpkin and announced that she must marry him. "Would you like to borrow my sword?" Gavin laughed so hard that he could barely speak, "Oh, Ryan, Ryan—" He slapped his brother's shoulder, which made the armor clank, but Ryan still Unmoved, "I hope she leads you around, Judith would love to have a sister-in-law who glares at her husband, so she won't feel so alone in the world." Ren didn't bother to talk to Gavin at all, and Alex felt that some old disputes were involved here.Never in her life had she longed to harness the power of her voice.If she had a voice, it would surely make Ryan look at her. "Miss," said the pastor, it took a while for Alex to realize that he was talking to her, "the church does not encourage unilateral marriage, are you willing to marry Sir Wren?" She looked up at Ren's profile, annoyed that he didn't even look at her.She simply took two steps forward and stood in front of him, while his gaze was fixed somewhere above her head.She slowly reached out to take his hand, noticing that there were several bruises and cuts oozing blood on his hand.She took his hand and kissed the palm, and when she raised her head again, his gaze had already fallen on her, and for a moment they seemed to soften. "She'll marry me." He turned to the pastor. Alex really wanted to curse his self-confidence, curse his insistence on being angry to the end.She retreated silently to his side, and after the marriage was established, a gold ring was put on her finger. Ren didn't give anyone a chance to congratulate her, "Follow me, Mrs. Alex," his fingers clasped her arm, "We still have many things worth discussing." "Don't bother her, Rain," Gavin said. "Can't you see she's exhausted? Besides, it's your wedding day. Attack her another day." Ren didn't bother to look at his brother at all, and urged Alex out of the chapel, across the courtyard and into her room.As soon as the door was closed, Ren leaned against it, blocking the way out. "How can you do this, Alex?" he said softly. "How can you say you love me and make me suffer the pain of the past few months?" Frustrated by not being able to speak, she looked around for a pen and paper, then remembered that Ryan could not read. "You know what I've been living the past few months?" He threw his helmet on the bed. "For years I've been looking for a woman I could love, a woman who was brave and honorable, who wasn't afraid of me and A woman who won't do anything for money or land, a woman who can make me think," he began to undo the belt of the armor, and piled metal after metal on the bed, "first you dangle in front of me in your goddamn leggings Go, drive me half crazy, then look at me with those big hungry eyes and scare me half to death." In one quick motion, he pushed all the metal aside, sat down on the edge of the bed and unbuttoned his legs.Alex knelt down in front of him and offered to help. He simply leaned back on his elbows and kept talking. "I found out you were a woman when I was hurt, and I wasn't sure if I was dreaming, but I found the joy that night I never knew. You didn't hold back or flirt, you just gave love generously. Later, although I was angry with you for making such a big joke on me, I still forgave you." He spoke as if he was a sage, ignoring Alex's disgusted expression, and lifted his leg to remove the armor conveniently. The sound of knocking on the door made him stop the conversation. Several servants wore the most expensive clothes Alex had ever seen, and brought a large oak bathtub and buckets of hot water into the room. "Just put it here." Ren instructed. Alex stood up and watched the process in astonishment.A large tub of hot bath was brought in by the servants as if they were royalty.She had never really taken a hot bath in her life.When she was in Monton, she used to wash in a small washbasin, and in the forest she bathed in the cold stream. "What's the matter, Alex?" Ren asked when there were only the two of them left in the room, "You look like you saw a ghost." She silently pointed to the steaming tub. "You want to wash first? Go ahead." Curiously, she knelt down by the bathtub, submerged her hands in the hot water, and looked up at Ren with a smirk, while he was busy taking off the leather pads worn under the armor. "Don't try to tempt me," he said, a little too sweetly. "I was thinking about spanking you. You know how I felt when I found out you were with Joss." She looked away, clearly remembering the pain in his eyes that night. "How many years it took me to finally find you, and you tell me your—your music is more important than mine, shut your mouth, that's what you said. You know, Alex, I'd rather I would rather you be dumb, my brother still doesn’t believe that you, a little thing, are capable of yelling at fifty big men, I proposed to give him a sum of money to stop his big mouth, but he still refused.” "Alex," he warned, "don't act insulted, you have no right to be angry. No! It's me who has suffered these past few months. I don't even know where you are, let alone you. How many men have you slept with?" This time she was going to give him a cannibalistic look. "You're the one who convinced me you had no morals—and I'm being polite when I say that. In the battalion I drove everybody crazy, and a few even rebelled and refused to go near the training ground." He frowned and watched her pointing at him, "Yes, I spent a lot of time there, I just want to wear myself down, so I won't have the energy to remember you and Joss." Alex squinted at him, and then made two large arcs on his chest with his hands. "Oh, Blanche," he said so easily that Alex grinned at him, "you deserve it if I ask her to bed, but I'm not interested in other women after you. Damn you , Alex, don't be so proud, my life will be miserable after you leave." She pointed to herself, and love appeared in her eyes. He turned his face away, and when he spoke again, his voice was very hoarse, "When Joss came to me, I almost killed him. I refused to see him, and the guards didn't allow him to pass, but that kid felt the forest clearly. That day we Get yourself so drunk, wake up the next morning and he's sitting next to my bed, and it takes me a while to listen to him." Alex rolled his eyes angrily when he heard his understatement, and Ren simply turned a blind eye to her. "Tell you, I heard that you were captured by Pi Neil, and that kid tried to frame me again, but he didn't relieve my hangover at all." Alex knelt by the tub and held Ren's hand. He only had a few bare underwear left on his body. "Alex," he whispered softly, kneeling in front of her, "don't you understand that I love you? Of course I will save you." She tried to tell him with her hands and her face how worried she was that Penier would hurt him. "What?" Ren stood up, "You think I don't know about the trap?" He was obviously humiliated, "You think people like Pi Neil can counter Montgomery with mosquitoes?" In one quick motion, he tore off his panties and stepped into the tub, "Dirty all day—Alex, don't you believe that Piney—?" She threw up her hands and bowed to him pretending to be humble. "Well, maybe you should be forgiven, you don't know what kind of person he is. Maybe in your eyes, all nobles are virtuous." Now it's her who is humiliated, and his "you" refers to her, a low-class commoner who only believes in witches, kings, justice, and other stupid things.She punched into the water, splashing water all over Ryan's face. He grabbed her wrist, "What is this for? I forgive you for leaving me, I saved you from the fire, and I married you again. You are not grateful at all." Oh, she really, really wanted to talk, she'd tell him in a voice that made his ears ring, that she'd left to save his life, that she'd been burned because she was pregnant with "his" child.As for marrying her, there was no doubt that his foolish sense of honor was at work. "I don't like what's going on in your head," he pulled her closer, "and Gavin laughed at me when I said you'd appreciate what I did for you. It's logical, now what am I doing wrong?" She raised her fist and threatened to punch him on the nose. "Alex, you are really testing my patience, don't you even have a little compassion? I have been tortured for two days. I have to climb the tower in the middle of the night in the dark, kill the guards on the roof and change Put on his armor, I can't make a sound for others to find out." She felt herself melting as he took her wrists.Regardless of whether it was his fault that she was burned at the stake, he took great risks to save her. "Aren't you satisfied with me at all?" He whispered against her lips, "Aren't you happy to marry me at all?" Alex only felt that he was melting, melting under his strong will, and had no idea that he had dragged her over.With a bang, he dragged her onto his lap, splashing the bath water everywhere. "Now I have you," he laughed when she wanted to get up, "and now I want you to pay for your ignorance." He laughed again when Alex wanted to protest.Her voice was hoarse and ugly, but when he kissed her, she forgot her intention to speak. With her arms around Ren's neck, all her anger dissipated.She hadn't seen him for a long time, and her hunger and thirst for him was even more surging. She eagerly pulled him over, locked his lips with soft lips, and penetrated her tongue into his mouth, exploring as deeply as possible. "Alex," he buried his head in her hair, with tears in his voice, "When I climbed the tower, I saw you sitting alone in the room, crying softly, so small, so sad. At that time, I thought Kill all the guards, but I know I can't rely on the people in the forest to help me, and if my brother had time to help, I would have done it, but I would never risk hurting you." At the mention of his brother, she suddenly raised her head.Elizabeth! "What's the matter, Alex? Is there something wrong?" She struggled to get the word "Elizabeth," but it was incomprehensible.After a few tries, she changed to "Miles". "You met my little brother? No, impossible. He's in Ireland, and Gavin has been forcing him to visit Uncle Simon a few weeks ago when Miles nearly went mad after Mary— just left Ireland." Alex kept shaking her head violently, making Renn look like a King Kong, and she still managed to say Miles' name on her lips, "Did Miles have an accident? Is he in danger?" Alex nodded and said yes, before he could nod a second time, he was carried out of the bathtub.Putting her down, he wrapped her in the cloak, then put on the pants himself, "Let's go to Gavin, and you write down what you have to say." As soon as he left the room, Alex blushed.She was wet under the cloak, and Wren, barely naked, dragged her through the holy monastery, and they found Gavin in the stables. "You didn't intend to ride so soon, did you?" he teased. "At least you should pay more attention to your bride." Ren turned a deaf ear, "Alex said Miles was in trouble, and she will write you what happened." Pawen immediately changed his face, "Go to the study." He strode away first. If it wasn't for Ren dragging Alex all the way, she wouldn't be able to keep up with them. She thought he'd better enjoy it while she couldn't make a sound , He will never have the opportunity to be so arrogant in the future. The monks in the study protested against the women's entry, but they ignored them. "Here!" Gavin pushed the pen, paper and ink in front of her. It took her several minutes to finish writing Pinell's trick.Gavin and Ryan were lying behind her during this period, making her palms sweat from nervousness. "Elizabeth Chotels," Gavin said, "I thought she was still a kid." Alex shook his head. "What does she look like?" Ryan asked solemnly. Alex's expression was enough to make them understand. "King Henry won't like this," Gavin said. "He has punished Chottles heavily, and ordered Rogier to stay off all Montgomery lands." "Land," Ren yelled, "that's all you care about? Jotels kidnapped Bryant and killed Mary. Doesn't that make you care more about people than land?" "I care about my family more than any land. What happens if Miles rapes this Chottles girl? It's like we're disobeying the Holy Order, and who will be the one? It's you. He'll never I will forgive you, but you will have to hang out with those outlaws in the forest for the rest of your life. How can the king punish Miles? Banish him too? I am afraid that Sayuan Neal will cause me to lose two brothers .” Ryan was still glaring at his brother, and Alex was looking at Gavin with new eyes of admiration. "It's been a few days," Ren said, "I bet my life that the girl is no longer a virgin, and Miles didn't rape anyone, maybe if he knew who she was, he would let her go, We can only pray that she doesn't get pregnant with his child." Pawen's snort explained a lot, "I'll take someone to chase Miles now, maybe I can still convince him, maybe that girl has fallen in love with him and won't want his head." Alex grabbed Pawen's arm and shook his head desperately.Elizabeth Chottles never fell in love with a Montgomery man overnight. "She's a shrew?" Gavin thought for a while, took Alex's hand and kissed, "Ren will take you home, you can meet my Judith, I'm sorry that your wedding was so hasty. After this matter is resolved, we will hold a tournament in your name." Still holding her hand, he turned to Ren, "You stay in Fort Montgomery for a few days, and your safety should not be a problem. Bring Let her go back and let her have a good rest, you haven't seen my son yet, and buy some beautiful clothes for her." Alex was sure that Ryan would be furious, but he just smiled back, "It's nice to see you again, brother." He said softly, opened his arms, and the two brothers hugged each other tightly for a long time. "Give my regards to Miles, please don't cause trouble," Ryan said with a smile, "you can see my wife when he comes back." Gavin smiled back and left, Ryan turned to Alex, her The cloak was open, and the wet clothes clung to her body. "Now, if I remember correctly, we were starting to do something when my brother's question interrupted us." Alex stepped back hastily, reminding him where he was. Ren laughed and put her on his waist, picked her up, and walked across the courtyard to their room.Regardless of the pile of dirty armor, he directly threw her in the middle of the bed, and then threw himself on her. "Will I hurt the child?" he muttered, biting her earlobe.She shook her head so violently, he responded with a seductive laugh, and pulled up the linen robe with one hand, the inferior material was torn into strips as soon as he tore it off at will. Alex has always been dissatisfied with her figure, and always wanted to add some curves. Now that she has a big belly, she doesn't want him to see her, but Ryan opened her hands to cover her. Moving her body down, he kissed her swollen belly, "It was my child who deformed you, and I love him and his mother." "Where's your daughter?" She forced out her voice, which hurt her throat. "I am mainly concerned about your safety, and my children are second to none. I am very happy to have a daughter. With you as my mother and Brianna and Judith as my aunts, I will be more than happy to hand over all my property to her. I I believe she is better at managing than me." She opened her mouth to speak, but he interrupted her by kissing her neck again, she felt him tearing off his pants, knew he was by her side, and for a moment forgot to worry about her appearance. She really didn't know how much she missed him physically and how much she needed the touch of his hands.He touched every inch of her body, making her feel cherished.Although she could feel his hunger for her, he still had time to love and touch her. She lay on her back, closed her eyes tightly, and locked his arms around his neck, allowing the feeling of his fingers to play in her body.When his hand touched the inside of her thigh, she suddenly opened her eyes to meet his burning gaze.She bent close to him, kissed hungrily so that he burst into laughter, turned over and let her lie on top of him, the armor around them was rattled, and some pieces even fell to the ground. Alex gnawed his teeth all the way down his neck, digging his nails into the strong muscles of his arms.What an extraordinary, she thought, such a magnificent man—all hers. The laughter that escaped from her throat was really not pleasant, but the hoarseness was extremely alluring.She slapped her thumb in his ribs, laughing happily, and he writhed under her, catching her lips. "Vixen," he muttered, grabbing her hips and thrusting himself forward, "Sword," he announced triumphantly over Alex's hoarse moan, "this is my secret weapon." Alex leaned forward, clamped him with his strong thighs and began to move, so that Ryan was too busy to speak.He lay still, trying to control himself with an almost pained expression on his face, concentrating on Alex's attack. When he couldn't hold back anymore, he hugged her tightly and rolled over under him, and then made two violent dashes that were almost rough, ending in ecstatic convulsions together.They clung to each other, as if they could get closer. After a long time, Ren raised his head and smiled at Alex. This smile said all the words, and with complete satisfaction, he turned over and lay down, and then pulled her into his arms to make each other skin-to-skin, and fell asleep together.
They woke up early the next morning, and Ren screamed and raised his numb knees, holding his back with one hand, "How can you be so dangerous for such a small thing?" He asked the sleepy Alex. After slapping her butt hard, he turned over and got out of bed and stretched, "Get up," he ordered, "We've stayed here for too long, it looks like it will take two days to get home." Alex's expression showed how much she didn't want to get on the horse.She would rather stay here - in bed - with Rendo for a few days. "Alex, don't tempt me, get out of bed now, or I'll go back to the forest and let Gavin's people escort you to Fort Montgomery." This threat made her jump up, and she got out of bed a few seconds later, putting the torn clothes on her head with three hands and two feet. "That sucks," Lane said, touching the fabric, "Judice will dress you up like a Montgomery, I can't wait to see you in what you're supposed to be wearing, but I still like to see you Hair like this." He played with her curls, as if he still thought of her as his squire. Without time to think about anything else, she was pushed out of the door by him and thrown onto the saddle.Except as a messenger, Alex had never seen a warrior walk with his master.Ryan only gave a hint, and Gavin's men rushed to obey the unspoken order.Quickly and efficiently, they cleared Wren of the armor he had taken from Pinel's men, and Wren changed into the dark green woolen sweater he used to wear in the forest.The astonished expression of one of the warriors made Renn laugh out loud. "This one itches too," he said. "Ready, Alex?" She set off before she could answer, her teeth chattering at such a galloping speed, she wasn't surprised when Ryan also drove at night, what really flattered her was the attitude of Gavin's men towards her.They inquired eagerly about her health, as if she were really exhausted.Some of the warriors gave her flowers when they stopped to eat and rest their horses.Another one spread his cloak on the ground and invited her to sit. No one seemed to notice that the fur-trimmed cloak was much better than the clothes she was wearing. She looked at Ren in surprise and hesitation, but he didn't seem to care.A samurai asked permission to play the lute for her, and Wren raised an eyebrow at her when the other three sang in chorus, because their voices were really not very good.It was inconvenient for Alex to comment, so she had to look away. To her, these warriors had good intentions, and although their singing voice was poor, their intentions were beautiful. As Wren hoisted her back on his horse, he said, "I hope you can bear with their courtship." Endure—she felt as if she had just caught a glimpse of heaven, and it was too late for her to enjoy it, so there was no need to endure it. They were resting in an inn at night. Alex was still embarrassed by his clothes, but the owner of the food inn only glanced at Ren and the twenty warriors in golden and green costumes who accompanied him, and immediately fell to the ground.All kinds of food that she had never seen before were on the table, and the quality made her speechless. "Can they sit with you?" Ryan asked. She froze for a while before she realized that he was asking her to approve these lovely warriors to sit with her at this oak table.With a bright smile, she generously motioned them to sit down.The table manners of the samurai were so good that Alex was embarrassed and overly cautious.During the meal, they kept scrambling to serve her dishes, and one even peeled an apple and put it on a silver plate, begging her to accept it. They expressed sympathy for her loss of voice, but Ryan burst into laughter and said that they were blessed and did not know their blessings, so they asked Sir Ryan to explain seriously, and they would not believe what he said, which made Alex blush Face. As soon as they entered the room, Alex threw himself on the neat and soft big bed and refused to move.A few seconds later, Ren joined her, holding her in his arms and stroking her belly with both hands. He happened to meet the baby in the belly moving, and he laughed disapprovingly. "Strong," he was still muttering before falling asleep, "very strong." Early in the morning, the innkeeper knocked on the door and brought freshly baked hot bread and hot wine, as well as twenty red roses presented by Gavin's men. "It's all Judith's idea," Ryan said as he dressed. "They all fell under her pomegranate skirt, and it seems that you have won their hearts too." Alex shook his head all the way, implying that they only liked her because of her relationship with him. He leaned over and kissed the tip of her nose, "Maybe all men will fall in love with women who can't speak." Alex grabbed a pillow and threw it at him, hitting the back of his head. "Hey, is this ladylike behavior?" he teased. Little did he know that although he was joking, Alex was worried all day long.She is not a lady, and she doesn't know what kind of behavior a lady should have.Wearing a rotten gown without curves, how could she have the face to meet the noble and flawless Judith Montgomery? "Alex, what's wrong with you? Are you crying?" Ren noticed her strangeness and asked with concern. She forced a smile, indicating that there was a foreign object in her eyes, and she would be fine in a while.After that, she was more able to control herself, but when Fort Montgomery was in sight, she felt like sitting on pins and needles and wanted to run away with her tail between her legs.The majesty of the centuries-old stone fortress was beyond her imagination.As they rode closer, the ancient stone walls seemed to be crumbling down on her. Ren led them in through the rear city gate, making as few people as possible.On both sides of the path leading to the city gate are high city walls, and everyone above warmly welcomes Ren's return.He was at home here, and the man she knew seemed far away.The warriors absolutely obeyed his orders, and they were much closer to him than the wild people in the forest. They rode all the way into the courtyard, and Alex was surprised to see that the houses had many windows, and they were comfortable from the outside.She still remembered the castles she and Jos had sung about, and most of them still lived in cold, dank towers. Before they stopped their horses, a beautiful woman in bright red silk satin galloped out of the small garden panting. "Ren." She spread her arms and shouted all the way. She can't sing, Alex thought defensively, watching her husband dismount to meet him. "Judith." He picked her up and turned her around, lifted her off the ground, and kissed her lips generously, which was really unpleasant in Alex's eyes. “夫人，”亚历左边响起一声音，“我可以扶你下马吗。” 眼睛一直盯着雷恩和精致优雅的茱蒂丝，她怔仲地让殷勤的武士扶她下马。 “她在那里，雷恩？”茱蒂丝迭声追问，“你送来的口信实在含糊，我们几乎听不懂，我们大概是听错了，因为你的口信说你的妻子就要受火刑。” “那是真的，我在紧要开头把她救了下来，”他的口吻好不骄傲。一手搂着茱蒂丝，他领她到亚历面前，“这就是亚历，这位大美人则是我那不知感激的哥哥的太太。” 亚历点个头，公然打量起她的嫂嫂，她从未见过任何人像她这样，金色眸子，一头灿烂的金红色长发，和纤小圆满的身材。 茱蒂丝挣出雷恩的怀抱，“你一定累了，跟我来，我叫人去准备洗澡水。”她拉起亚历手就往屋里走。 “喔，茱蒂丝，”雷恩在她们身后叫道，“亚历被烟呛得没有声音了。” 亚历感觉到茱蒂丝僵住了，知道那是因为雷恩胆敢娶她这种女子，她迅速眨眼，把泪水往肚子里吞。 “你累了。”莱蒂丝同情地说，但声音却有丝不自然。 亚历无暇打量这幢房子，便被茱蒂丝拖进一间大房间。亚历在蒙顿的家，至多只有这闲房的四分之一面积。 楼梯间传来的沉重脚步声使茱蒂丝转身，雷恩站在门外，咧嘴直笑，“她很漂亮，是不？”他挚爱地望着亚历，“真可惜她没法子讲话，不过我确信这只是暂时的。” “还不都是你害的。”茱蒂丝咕哝道，领着亚历坐下。 “什么意思？”雷恩为之愕然，“我救了她呀。” 茱蒂丝旋身面对他，“救她什么？派尼尔的陷阱？别搞错了，雷恩，他们可是用她为饵诱你入瓮。你可以走了，你甜蜜的小妻子绝对不会想听我打算跟你说的话。” “甜蜜，”雷恩大叫，“你有什么理由要生我的气？”他为之气恼不已。 “你这是在考验我的耐性，雷恩，”她警告，“亚历，你饿了吧？” “听着，茱蒂丝，你有话就尽避直说。” “好吧，我们出去说，你太太需要休息。” 亚历开始有点知道茱蒂丝想说什么，她拉住茱蒂丝的手，用眼神催促她继续，茱蒂丝了解地眨眨眼，转身面对雷恩。 “好吧，你想听是不是？我就告诉你。你们男人，你们四个兄弟，全都不把女人当回事，拖着她在英格兰境内穿梭，也不顾她的安全或舒适。” 雷恩的下巴掉了，“我们昨晚在一间非常舒适的客栈过夜。” “你什么，你老婆这身打扮，你居然还拖她去公共场所？你怎么可以如此羞辱她，雷恩？” “你要我怎么样嘛？先去替她买几件衣服？也许我该马不停蹄赶去伦敦，请求国王赏我几匹丝料？” “别想博得我的同情，今天你之所以被斥为叛徒，全是你们蒙特格利的火爆脾气惹的祸。” 亚历鼓起掌来。 茱蒂丝了解地对她投以一笑，而雷恩则怒目瞪视。 “这里似乎不需要我。”他咕哝道。 “别想逃，”茱蒂丝喝道，“我要你下楼去把乔安妮揪出来！不管她在那个角落或那张床上——命令她带洗澡水上来。喔，雷恩，你怎么可以这样对待你孩子的妈？过了这么些天，她身上都还沾着烟灰，你一定连夜赶路没让她停下来歇息过一分钟，快去，把你自己也弄干净点，换件象样的衣服。” 嘟着嘴，雷恩一声不吭地冲出去，故意用力摔上房门。 重重地叹口气，茱蒂丝转而望向亚历，“你必须为自己站起来反抗，否则男人们只会得寸进尺。你还好吗？雷恩这样子赶路没伤害到你吧？” 亚历只是摇头，敬爱地望着茱蒂丝。 “幸好咱们三个都够坚强也强壮，否则早就没命了。” 亚历举起三根指头，茫然地蹙着眉。 “还有布莲薇，史蒂夫的老婆，你会见到她的，她很可爱，简直可爱极了，但史蒂夫走到那里都要拖着她，甚至还要她裹着毛毡睡在硬邦邦的地上，那小子实在差劲。” 敲门声打断了茱蒂丝，几名仆役搬了个大浴盆和几桶热水进屋来，“以后我该多让雷恩跑腿，”茱蒂丝说，“他确实有效率。” 亚历哑着嗓子咯咯直笑，茱蒂丝亦回以一笑。 “他们都是好男人，我绝不会拿盖文换任何人，但有时候你也真得大点嗓门。有一天你会克服对你丈夫的敬畏，发现自己正对他吼回去，现在也许你还不敢这么想，但你会的，等着瞧吧！” 亚历但笑不语，顺从地让自己被簇拥着跨入热腾腾的洗澡水中。