Taming His Demon Lover

They had gotten up at the butt crack of dawn and unlike his men who fell into drunken slumber Andras barely slept a wink. 

He ordered his men to return to the ship and prepare to leave at a moment's notice while he and Malachi rode off into the sunrise to recover his bride. 

Luck was not with them as the heavens let loose a sudden downpour of smelly rain.

The entire journey on horseback it rained and when they finally neared the tiny village the rain pelted them even harder.

Cold and miserable, Malachi was relieved to finally get out of the rain and seek shelter. 

They knocked on a few thatched houses before someone pointed them in the right direction of the village chieftain's home.

Out of the entire community this house was the most lavish and had ornate grilling and lawn sculptures everywhere. 

After a few knocks the wife of the village chief finally cracked open the door.

"We are looking for Squire James."

Mrs. James replied curtly, "my husband is not here. Leave your information behind and I can set up an appointment for when my husband is not busy."

"I'm afraid that won't do," drawled Andras. "I have plans to return to my homeland shortly. Just point me in his direction like the other villagers earlier."

"Why should I give out his whereabouts? State your business with my husband or remove yourself from my doorstep."

Didn't she see it was still raining heavily, why did she have to be blind on top of her blatant disrespect. 

This woman was deliberately wasting their time and now she started to close the door in their faces. 

Livid with anger Andras purposefully stopped her from closing the door with his boot heel. 

"Madam, with all due respect. Time is of the essence and I must see your husband today. So either you volunteer the information I need to know or we are going to have a problem."

Malachi said cheekily, "he means every word he says lady, you better take my foolish advice or else."

Andras paid Malachi no heed as he moved in more menacingly using his height to intimidate the woman. 

"Now where can I find your husband?" repeated Andras.

People who answered questions with questions were a personal pet peeve of his and Lady James did not disappoint. 

"Do you think you can just walk up to my doorstep and order me around? I refuse to —" her eyes widened as she gazed terrified at the expression on Andras' belligerent face. 

Warily she continued, "I'll do whatever you ask please don't hurt me."

No one would believe her if she told them that day Mrs. James met the devil on her doorstep. 

Andras softly demanded, "One last time Mrs. James, where can I find your husband?"

Intimidated, Mrs. James stuttered in reply, "doh…doh.. down by the..the ..the local tavern. It's the…the.. the.. only one in this.. this…seaside village." 

"Very good. Now that I finally have my answer there is one other thing I would like to know?"

"Does the lass by the name of Robin McDougal also live in this house?"

Mrs. James looked confused, "Lass?"

"Robin…" Mrs. James started to look uncomfortable as she repeated the name in puzzlement. 

Then it dawned on her, "oh, you must have been sent by Lady Tiandra."

"Yes, we have been sent by the Queen."

She gave him a look as if to say why didn't you tell me that from the beginning. 

He showed her the letter with the Queen's seal on it.

"So you are here on business from Her Majesty," her eyes suddenly glowed with adulation. 

Andras nodded. 

"Robin is to go with you?" inquired Mrs. James. 

Why did she suddenly look so ecstatic like the cow that jumped over the moon? 

"My husband coddles Robin a little too much. He will not want to but he's going to have to accept the Queen's wishes, won't he?"

"I suppose so," he had a few niggling questions but he didn't want to dally any longer. "Go and tell Robin to prepare to leave."

"I'm afraid I can't do that," she said nervously.

"Where is the lass?"

"My husband took Robin to work at the Tavern tonight. Just go back about ten yards and follow the yellow brick road that leads to a dead end. You can't miss that bawdy place"

"What the hell!"

Young, innocent and respectable girls do not work in Taverns. 

He wondered how long they had been putting an underage girl to work in the Taverns and his mind swirled with unasked questions. 

This was a far cry from the innocent and demure picture the Queen painted.

Andras was pretty sure Queen Tiana had no idea what the James had been doing with Robin behind her back, it was ludicrous. 

It was better not to jump to conclusions.

Based on the personality of Mrs. James maybe they had her slaving around the back in the kitchens and not whoring around like a tavern wench. 

"What does your husband look like?"

"Over sixty, portly with a huge gut and thin white hair… he left wearing a brown woolen coat this morning and hasn't been back since."

"Malachi help Mrs. James pack the girl's belongings we will leave for the nearest port upon my return."

Reluctantly Malachi went inside with Mrs. James while Andras mounted his horse and turned away in the direction of the Tavern that Mrs. James pointed out. 

Meanwhile at the Tavern the "lass" in question was getting ready to go on stage. 

The main attraction was an Arabian belly dancer who had fallen off her donkey cart and sprained her ankle. 

Without their prized dancer they would lose business and face harassment from angry customers who paid the entrance fee in advance. 

Squire James couldn't allow that and forced Robin to wear the costume and face paint, he also sported a black wig to complete the look. 

Soon the curtains would be drawn and Robin had only fifteen minutes left of solitude before he would have to face a rambunctious crowd.