Chapter 43: Chapter 43

THE EXCESSIVE SUBSTANCE

We left the room with the fine bed curtains to Arin. For this we moved into one of the other scrubbed rooms, which we furnished with fresh hay as a bed.

I leaned against one of the walls and watched Armin throw his coat onto the haystack and carefully lean his sword next to the wall.

"How old is your father now?"

Armin looked surprised. "forty-four."

What!? No never. "Indeed? But he... looks so young. No gray hair, no fat..."

The red knight nodded. "However. In fact, the Campbells hardly show any signs of aging. I'm not sure why, probably because we're all tall and not really ailing."

Well, if Armin was like his father in that way, I had nothing to fear. Arin looked thirty to me...

"Why do you ask?"

"Only this way..."

Armin sighed wearily and stretched out on the hay bed. "Where were you before? I wanted to introduce you to my father. Did you eat at all?"

In the kitchen. I didn't want Armin to notice my eavesdropping.

"I've eaten, don't worry."

The man on my bed raised his head suspiciously. The black fringes on his forehead hung slightly over his forehead. He raised an eyebrow. "You're different."

I looked down at myself. "No, still Isabella."

His gorgeous dimple finally graced me again.

"Well, still Armin. So, what's up?"

I sat down next to him, grinning. "Nothing. i just feel good Why not?"

"Don't think I'm complaining, but I've never really seen you grin like that before. And I'd like to know what makes you so happy. In such a shabby box."

I shrugged before looking over her into Armin's brown eyes. He kept his gaze, so familiar, as if we hadn't just been married for less than a week.

I suddenly felt his warm fingers between mine, his gaze slid to my lips and back to my eyes. Suddenly embarrassed that he seemed to have read me, I stared at the wall in front of me, ignoring Armin's fingers and the rustling of the hay as he sat up.

I felt his fingers on my chin for just a moment, then his lips were on mine.

It felt better than expected. As if it were right and natural. As if we weren't actually complete strangers. As if we weren't forced to.

Armin's tongue slipped between my lips and teased mine. He felt the counter pressure, pushed me back onto the bed and knelt over me.

I traced his upper arms and shoulder. I could feel the muscles through his doublet. The little stubble on his cheek, his knees apart mine.

He was so tall and had such broad shoulders that I almost disappeared under him. His large hand ran down my knee to my thigh and pulled it to his waist.

Armin broke away, knelt in front of me and looked down at me.

"What was the trigger?"

"You've kissed me."

I looked up at him, trying to be innocent.

Armin grabbed my knees by his thighs and suddenly pulled me a bit towards him. He didn't change his face. i wanted him Instantly.

I rolled my eyes and sighed. "I was listening."

Already somewhere else with his thoughts, he tore my bodice and carelessly pushed aside the superfluous fabric between us.

After hastily getting rid of his clothes, there was no stopping either him or me. He was a strong man. Not skinny and not scrawny.

Armin Campbell had tight muscles, strong upper arms and an animal growl that drove me nuts.

I had never felt so connected to a human being. With no man in front of Armin. And never again with one after him.

With that divine little growl, Armin kissed again and lay down next to me when we both had caught our breath.

"I tore your dress..." he grinned slyly, looking at my bare chest. "Doesn't bother me, believe me."

I laughed and snuggled up to him a little.

Armin's breathing slowly became even in the silence. So I punched him lightly.

"Hm?"

"I can't make your father dinner tomorrow."

"Isabella, don't talk about my father now!" he wailed with his eyes closed.

"And the first problem is" He was about to fall asleep, I shook his shoulder until he opened his eyes and blinked again. "You tore my dress."

We both spluttered at that stupid thing.

Armin felt much better the next day when he and Akay took care of the horses in the yard. Whistling, of course. Arin soon came out of the village and ripped some boards out of the wall. Armin almost hit the blow.

"What are you doing!?"

"What does it look like?"

"Vandalism..."

Arin playfully headbutted his son.

“I have boards outside. We're going to build this coop a little... more waterproof."

"Father, I don't have money for something like that."

"That's why I'm paying for it."

Armin shook his head and jumped when his father threw the door off its hinges with a slight push.

"Now don't act up, Armin, do you hear? I'm not giving you the money. But the horses really can't help it. Also, they are way too expensive. Imagine your beloved Argos dying. You don't have money for a new horse for a long time."

Armin had to admit that was true, but... It damn smelled like a present.

"Be a helpful son and get your butt off!"

"When do you want me to pay you back the money?"

Arin grinned mischievously. "You'll wish that I paid you something."

"As?"

Arin ignored Armin. And no matter what he tried. Arin said nothing and even teased the twenty-year-old.

THE FATHER IN LAW

Akay spotted me first and sauntered towards me imperiously.

"Well, you useless flea circus? Where is your master?"

After a few steps I saw him. Armin was standing shirtless on a rickety ladder, his hair tied back in a small ponytail and his forehead fringed with sweat. He talked to Arin who handed him a board and smiled mischievously.

I couldn't breathe for a moment. Because I remembered how nice it was last night with him. And how much nicer it was on a haystack than I could have imagined.

Armin asked Arin something, who just laughed silently and looked up at him with a mysterious grin. A cheerful smile with his dimples spread across Armin's face before he shook his head and went back to the stable.

"Good morning."

Arin suddenly murmured without turning around. I jumped like a thieving child.

Armin turned his head and gave me a conspiratorial twinkle. I liked it at first, until I remembered that I was only wearing a simple dress made by Jenny, our maid.

It was straight and plain brown. I looked like a real peasant woman. I was almost embarrassed to appear in front of my father-in-law like that. Because there really wasn't anything flattering about the dress. Not even an actual cut. Somehow it was as if two pieces of fabric had simply been sewn together, leaving a hole for the head.

Arin half turned, still holding the ladder. He didn't seem to notice my dress.

"Good morning." I answered his greeting.

Briefly he studied something in my eyes, then he grinned almost boorishly. Apparently my shyness gave him irrepressible joy.

"Lady Isabella, this is my father Arin." I heard the faint sneer in Armin's voice. He didn't know me too shy. But Arin Campbell wasn't a man like anyone else to intimidate.

And he noticed. And exactly. You could see it in his evil smile. I had to look up at him a bit because he was tall and his smile was challenging in a playful way. God, the man was personable!

"Isabella? Spaniard, my lady? A very beautiful country."

"Thank you." I surreptitiously scanned the boards around us. We didn't have any money, so Arin had about...

Armin came down the ladder and sighed softly. "Bad..."

"What?"

He looked at me. “Look at this crooked thing. If we ever have a little bit left over, we'll build it from scratch."

Arin nodded knowingly and leaned his shoulder against the wooden wall, looking up at the stable roof.

"Don't you think it will be enough for our two?"

As if he had noticed something, Armin's eyes widened almost imperceptibly. "I haven't told you yet... Since this country is absolutely not fertile anymore and there is no other way to make ends meet, I thought that we would try to start a small horse breeding business at least at the beginning."

Arin smiled at Armin. "And you didn't like Pocket."

Armin nodded defiantly. "Because he threw me off, that beast for slaughter."

Arin raised a finger in warning. "He can hear you!"

And as if on cue, a horse in the stable snorted loudly and Arin nodded in agreement.

"Pocket?" I knew it was a horse and probably belonged to Arin. But why was he important?

Armin turned back to me. “He is the Black Knight's famous horse. And I raised and broke his foal: Argos. If I can somehow sell people the fact that Pocket's blood has almost legendary potential, they might get curious."

I frowned. "Wouldn't we have to feed the horses differently and also train them? Then we would also need the necessary staff, stable boys..."

Arin, who had just been looking at his boots, smiled and looked at me through his eyelashes.

"Better than buying a thousand cattle or several kilos of seed for god knows something..." He frowned indignantly that it could bring something."

"Of course..." It was logical. But it still seemed very far away to me. But what did I know?

Arin rose and clapped his son on the shoulder. "We see us later."

"All right." Armin was just about to bend down around a new board when something occurred to him and he jumped up. "Father! Don't!"

But Arin was gone again. Swearing, Armin threw the board to the ground, hit his toe and almost silently sucked in air. Still, I smiled maliciously.

"Damned..."

"What is it? He's not an old man who needs morals..."

Armin looked at me angrily. I couldn't breathe for a moment. There really wasn't anything nice about Armin's otherwise friendly face suddenly scowling.

"Because he's going out to buy food. Because I can not."

Oh, that was bitter. And for a man, of course, humiliating. "Sorry, I didn't think of that."

"I know..." He ran a hand through his hair with a sigh and looked at the roof of the stable. "It can't be done like that. I'm not a child anymore. He can't take care of me anymore. Lord God, I'm married!"

"I'm sure he won't see it that way..."

"But I did." He murmured firmly, stomped into the stable and – still shirtless – mounted Argos rode up and was gone.

And his trusty shadow, Akay, followed immediately.

Just before lunch, both Campbells came home. The two maids took the bread and ham and, grinning, went into the kitchen. Armin somehow managed to prevent Arin from paying for this meal and apparently negotiated a deal with two villagers.

After the meal, Arin seemed incredibly relaxed.

When he rode off without saying where, Armin stormed into the castle with me. He walked right up to me, grabbed my wrist and pulled me into our current chamber after him. Akay was in front of the door after Armin had slammed it shut.

He grabbed my hips, pinned me to the windowsill, and began to eat away at his shirt buttons.

"Was what?" I mumbled, taken aback.

"Not what you might think..."

"So what?"

"I've wanted to be alone with you all morning..."

"I could hardly follow you and Arin..."

Suddenly Armin impatiently tugged at his shirt and the buttons flew at me. "Let's not talk about him!"

I wasn't exactly sure what we were just talking about. "No problem!"

He grabbed the hem of my dress and pulled it up to my waist. "Let's not talk, okay? Now let's just... get steamy, baby."

I wrapped my legs around my waist, pulling him closer to me. "No problem. Infant."

I felt his soft stubble as he nuzzled the back of my neck and buried my fingers in his thick black hair. The other hand ran along his beautiful back muscles...

This man was stunning. he was perfect

His hand slid into my long curls and tilted my head back, pinning me against a crotch with the other hand and murmuring at my lips with relish. Until he sighed, growling and relaxed against my forehead, struggling for breath.

I still clung to him with my hands, trying to understand how this came about. Not that I regretted it. Just to revisit at a later date.

Then I noticed something and giggled.

"Hm?"

"Your shirt..."

"What about it?"

I tapped him on the holes where the buttons had just been.

"If you keep it up, we'll be walking around naked soon..."

Armin smiled and played with my hair, lost in thought. "You got me."

He planted a kiss on my lips. Hesitantly he arranged his clothes and looked at his battered garment with a shake of his head.

PLANS

Armin had finished repairing the stable in the afternoon and was now sitting in the inner courtyard with his ragged shirt and thinking about how he could prevent this damned morass from forming again.

He kept thinking about how beautiful Isabella had looked in the midday sun on the windowsill. How the sweat glistened on her breasts and how she had been panting softly... Where had she gone? Now he would love to have her back with him.

How could he possibly offer her what she deserved? It all started with a decent dress!

He had a terrible pang of conscience, if only because his father, who had always been his greatest hero, now wanted to pay for his own dinner. He didn't even have anything to sell.

Again it seemed to Armin as if Richard had given him a large stone grave. No matter how he looked at this castle: It remained a gray.

Suddenly he heard a roar in the distance.

Akay jumped up and wagged his tail.

"Armin!"

That couldn't be true...

Four horsemen rode through the castle gate. One waved wildly and jumped off his horse while it was still galloping. Armin couldn't believe his eyes.

"Armin!" It was Jacob who came running towards him. "How was it in Spain!? Does the castle belong to you now!?"

The blond boy with blue eyes turned to Arin, who came riding into the yard behind him. A mare in tow and a woman on her lap.

When she saw Armin, she tugged at Arin's sleeve, who had to stop immediately. Elain jumped down gallantly, but before she was completely on the ground, Armin was already there.

Elain was still a beautiful woman. After four children, she had a small tummy that Arin found adorable. Her blond curls were perhaps not as blond as they once were, but they weren't white yet. She had just turned forty. She still laughed a lot, was still the only Arin to tame, and exuded calm.

An invaluable quality in the Campbells.

Smiling, Armin put his arms around her and laughed when Elain had to stand on his toes.

She smiled at his shirt. Then she looked away, laughing, and put her hands on his cheeks.

"Are you healthy, Armin?"

"Naturally. You too?"

Elain's blue eyes twinkled. She saw through him but left it at that and shrugged. "You know I'm always fine."

A small hand tugged at Armin's trouser leg. Elizabeth stood in front of him, her mother's spitting image. "I've missed you!"

Smiling, he stroked her cheek. "Me too, Elly. How are you?"

She glared at Jacob angrily. "How am I supposed to be..."

Arin passed them, three-year-old Joan with her father's black hair on her hips. "Don't start again. Jacob, take the horses and take care of them properly." He kissed Joan's forehead and then put her down. "Elly, wash Joan's hands. Over there in the bucket. Then help, Jac. Yes?"

Like an angel, Elly nodded and adored Arin.

Armin appreciated that his father enjoyed having a little girl. It was different. He was different. He often hated himself when he was strict with her. Because Elly was the princess. Both with Armin and with Syman.

If Arin hadn't known Elain was going to have a hard time, he would have thoroughly enjoyed letting the girl get away with just about anything just to see her adorable little child shine.

It disgusted him how similar he was to Avan in that way... But he always pulled through and got through that phase. Still... unlike the sons, Arin was free to show his affection for Elly.

"Yes, sir!"

Arin looked proudly after the three children and, quite naturally, took Elain's hand and stroked it with his thumb.

Elain smiled slightly ashamed. "I'm sorry Armin. I know now that you're just taking possession of the castle, guests must be a curse."

Armin politely waved him off. But Elain knew what Armin was like.

"Actually, we didn't want to come either, but your father said he would help you for a while and..."

Of course, neither Elain nor Arin could be apart for long. After more than twenty years, both were almost unable to be alone.

Armin suddenly understood why his father had ridden away so quickly. He must have known Elain was coming.

He hoped that one day he and Isabella could be as close as his parents were.

"Don't worry, mother. I was going to bring you over here soon anyway. I'm glad you can meet Isabella this way."

Elain looked up at the sky with a sigh. "I had guessed it... How is she?"

Arin pointed behind Armin. "Find out for yourself, my lady."

Isabella stood behind Armin in the doorway and smiled and talked to Jacob, who once again disobeyed his father and preferred to explore the castle.

Elain tried to look over Armin's shoulder. "She's a beautiful woman... Do you like her?"

Arin pointed to the holes in Armin's shirt. "Apparently... what, boy?"

Armin wasn't ashamed of something like that with his father.

With Elain, yes, so he quickly turned his gaze back to his wife, who seemed pale to have noticed that her mother-in-law was there.

"Oh dear, what are you wearing there? Didn't she have a wardrobe?"

"No. Her father gave her nothing at all. Maybe there wasn't enough time."

Elain clicked her tongue and cocked her head. Isabella approached the small group and gratefully took Armin's outstretched hand. He introduced the two and proudly watched as his mother ignored Isabella's dress and they talked about Spain for a while.

In the hall, the two ladies then sat down together, while Arin and Armin sat on the other side.

"Have you written mother?"

Arin nodded. "Jamie always needed money."

"Jamie?"

"Your messenger from back then."

"Yes I know. But I didn't think he would play messenger again. Good to know..."

Young Jacob sat with Arin and sulked.

"Now stop it..." he snorted angrily and looked down at his son.

"But I was good."

"Naturally..."

"Elly was with the horses and-"

"Even..."

Jacob studied Arin's face and pouted more. He looked so much like Elain that Arin often found it hard not to laugh when it really wasn't helpful.

"That you also have to notice everything..."

Armin sighed wearily. “This yard isn't that big, Jac. You should be more careful about what you're doing here."

Arin listened. "Are you claustrophobic again?"

“Yes... But I have a plan. I don't know what you or mother will say to that. But I'll pull through, I think."

Interested, Jacob leaned forward. "May I then take over your castle?"

"Silence." Arin grumbled, pushing his forehead back against his seat. "So?"

Armin looked at Isabella, who was talking to Elain like she was talking to a friend. Would she go along with that?

"I want a ship." He looked at Arin again. Jacob's head appeared behind him. "Let's see where it takes us."

"You want to leave England?"

"Not directly. Not forever... Just every now and then. Experience something."

"Be free?"

The red knight nodded restlessly. "My fingers are itching. I would always come back to the castle. But I don't want to give Richard what he wanted. Impressing a Campbell's will. To let me get out of the way."

Jacob bit his lip.

"How long will you be gone then?"

"I do not know that yet. Always as long as we can, I think."

Arin looked over at Isabella and his lady. "Is it better for you to take care of her?"

"I dont know. But until I get that damn ship, I'll have plenty of time to worry about it."

Jacob smiled. His brother still had the braid from this morning. "Armin, you're going to be a pirate?"

Armin winked at him. "Do you think that would be good?"

Jacob shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "Mother would be disappointed in you."

Armin had thought of that too. That's why he spoke to his father. "Do you think so too?"

Arin raised his brows blankly. "No."

Jacob jumped up and grabbed Armin's forearm. "Take me with you! I'm a good sailor!"

Arin and Elain discreetly exchanged a look. As so often before, they hit it off that way and she smiled indulgently.

Everyone worried that Elain would be offended. But no one thought that Arin was the one of the two who was never in tune with his emotional life...

SOMETHING IS DIFFERENT

After the meal it started raining so terribly that we were all trapped in the castle. Which wasn't all that funny with three kids and a weird acrid smell.

Armin, Elain and I sat at the table with a hot wine while the three children got Arin under their nails. They tried everything they could to get him to the ground, and when Jacob started punching him, Arin laughed at him coldly.

"What in the hell are you doing? A rain dance or something!?" he scoffed while Elly hung on his upper arm, seemingly unnoticed.

"I challenge you!"

"I do not dance."

Jacob's cheeks turned red. His hand goes to Arin's stomach. It was quiet for a moment and everyone waited for the reaction. There was also immediate moaning, but from Jacob who clasped his hand.

Armin shook his head and turned his mug.

"Punch a blacksmith in the stomach..."

Arin raised his fists. "Follow me, Jac."

When I looked at Elain, she was dreamily looking down at her fingers and had her chin on one hand. Her lip was fallen and her blond strands hung over her forehead.

"What are you thinking about?"

She looked at me with a grin. "I'm just calculating something."

For a moment I didn't bother to immediately ask what my mother-in-law was thinking. But my curiosity got the better of me.

"About what?"

In the meantime Armin had turned to us again.

Elain gave me a gallant wink. "Would you like to know what Isa?"

I flinched in surprise. "I beg your pardon?"

Armin smiled. "My mother has a nickname for everyone in our family, but you never lose it. So, Isa, would you like to accompany me?"

Elain had a nickname for everyone in the family? I was admittedly flattered that a family had taken me in after only a few hours.

When Armin got up I followed him into the corridor.

His warm hand reached out to mine and immediately warmed it. He clicked his tongue in disapproval. "We need tapestries."

"Where are we going?" I was hoping for our little haystack when he opened the door and hurriedly pulled me into the new temporary horse stable.

Without a word he saddled Argos. The shirt he had borrowed from Arin was a little too big for him. But it suited him well. He looked bold and like a pirate because he still had his little braid.

Armin saddled up, pulled me onto the horse in front of him with no apparent effort, and then, without a coat, rode across the courtyard, the drawbridge, and the small hill through the rain.

The rain lashed us coldly, and as I turned my head to escape it, my nose bumped into his chin. He winked at me conspiratorially.

My stomach felt like it had those weird butterflies in it, like all those ladies in love at my father's castle used to say they did.

And they were not unwelcome to me. Armin was a good man. Besides, he seemed to be hiding something else.

There are a few sides of him that I will probably only get to know little by little. It would probably get interesting.

He drove Argos through the now completely deserted village, over a few hills to a river. Along that we rode until a tiny hut appeared to be built directly on the river.

There he tied Argos under the wide roof, climbed with me over the slippery footbridge to the door and entered the dark hut with me.

Armin fished two stones out of his pocket and lit a small pile of wood. I realized there was only room for a small table and a fire pit, for while inside the cabin, most of it was floorless. The river ran through it. A real boathouse. A small boat was tied to the jetty next to me, bobbing up and down. And thanks to the river, it shimmered a little bluish here.

"Wow..."

Armin lifted his head and grinned. His black strands of hair hung dripping in his face.

"Nice, isn't it?"

"When did you find this?"

"The last time I was in the village haggling around for food, I was told we also have a boathouse."

He rose gracefully and climbed into the small boat. I followed him without being asked and sat down in the nutshell opposite him.

His eyes lit up. "I love it. Whether stream, river or the sea..."

"It didn't quite look like it on the ship to England..."

Unperturbed, he raised his eyebrow. "Can you blame me? After what King Richard did there?"

"I don't regret it..." It was out before I could help it. Immediately I felt my cheeks getting hot. God I was embarrassed sometimes... I didn't dare look up and maybe see one of his expressionless expressions.

"Hm..." he murmured. For a moment I only heard the rippling of the river on our little nutshell. "You know, one night I saw a beautiful Spanish girl dancing. She had so much temperament. And passion. I never had Seen eyes that shone like hers..."

Jealousy boiled up in me. Well that was wonderful.

Nice that Spain wasn't so close to England!

He laughed so brightly that I had to look up. "You really have no idea who I might have seen on my only night in Spain?"

"How should I know?" I mumbled, embarrassed.

Armin's dimple immediately reconciled me as he leaned in and pressed his lips to mine. It felt exciting with my ice cold lips and his warm soft. As if two powerful elements would meet.

"I wouldn't have remembered any Spaniard like you did. Not a single one."

"I?"

"Don't you remember at all?"

To be honest, no. I actually forgot. There you go, the main thing is that I'm dying of shame and jealousy while he's talking about me. ... Me.

I smiled again like the dumbest dairy cow in England and put my hands on his shoulders.

"Will you walk with me if I tell you I don't want to stay on the mainland?"

"Yes." I answered without hesitation.

First of all, England was a complete stranger to me. Second, he was my husband. And thirdly, my life has been very different since I started dating Armin. And I didn't want to have to do without that again.

Armin pressed his lips to mine again, put both hands on my sides. "I want a ship. When I have it, there's nothing holding me anymore. We will come back here. But... only if there is no other way. will you be able to What do you imagine?"

I imagined nothing. I didn't spend enough time here for that. And when he said whether I would like to have children in the near future, then no. I still hadn't seen enough of the world.

"Show me the world Armin."

As if I had redeemed him, he sighed cheerfully and pulled me onto his lap with my legs apart.

"You didn't have to get me out of the castle for that."

He put his hands on my thighs. "The main thing is to get out of the castle, baby. It doesn't matter why..."

"Flattering. I have to say."

With a sly grin, he looked up and scratched my back upwards. "That wasn't planned either."

The ties at the back of my neck untied under his fingers and the brown peasant robs slid down my shoulders.

"But why not? Your wish is my command, you know?"

I clutched at his hair. "Indeed?"

He raised his eyebrows, grinning. "Try calmly."

Under the pattering sound of the rain under the old roof, it seemed to me that something had changed between Armin and me. As if it were somehow right and, above all, beneficial to be with him. I hadn't realized how much I missed him until we were finally alone again.

His laughter, his devious conspiratorial looks and his own twinkle in his eyes. Armin Campbell's eyes always seemed to reveal most of himself. More than anything about him.