They had both known this minute would come, perhaps him more than her. The food, the conversation, had all been leading up to the inevitable and he could see the anxious look in her eyes because she knew there would be no more delays.
The time had come.
He cleared his throat softly.
“I wish we had all the time in the world to consummate this marriage, but it must be done before we leave here,” he said. “We must ensure that de Wrenville can never dispute the union. Youdounderstand, don’t you?”
She nodded quickly. “I do,” she said. “We must do what husbands and wives have done throughout history.”
“That is true.”
“I do have a question, though.”
“What is that?”
“Do you know how to do this?”
He had been in the process of draining the last wine from his cup, and suddenly, he was coughing it out all over the place.Do you know how to do this?Was she really so naïve that she thought he never had? He coughed his last, wiping at his mouth, eyeing the woman as he figured out how, exactly, to tell her that he knew everything about it. He’d done it, or had it done to him, so he was well-versed on the art of lovemaking.
Odd how he didn’t really want to boast about it.
“I do,” he said simply.
Emelisse looked as if she were trying to be quite rational, even clinical, about the whole thing. “Then someone has told you how?”
Caius wasn’t entirely sure how to explain it to. Surely she couldn’t believe he was so–inexperienced?Him? He was almost insulted by the mere idea, as if it were a slight to his manhood. It was almost laughable.
“Emelisse,” he said patiently. “Someone has, indeed, told me how. In fact, someone has shown me how. I have done this more than once.”
She looked at him as his words settled before lowering her gaze. She ended up looking at her lap.
“I see,” she said quietly. “I suppose it is foolish of me to think that a man your age… what I mean to say is that a man as handsome as you are would have surely had… forgive me. I am rambling on. Shall we move to the bed, then?”
She seemed… hurt. Caius watched her, thinking he could do one of two things– he could ignore her behavior or he could talk to her about it. He’d never been one to discuss feelings, as he’d told her, but somehow, he just couldn’t let it go. He didn’t want her to feel badly, about anything that had to do with him or their marriage.
He didn’t want her to think badly abouthim.
“Not yet,” he said, reaching across the table and collecting her hand. “And you were not rambling on, sweetheart. Clearly, you had expectations about this moment in your life, so I do not want you to feel badly or hurt about anything.”
She wouldn’t look at him. “I am not hurt.”
“Aren’t you?”
She shook her head. “You are a seasoned, virile man,” she said. “Of course you would not have remained celibate for themoment when you married. And you did not know you were going to marry me, nor I you, so this conversation is foolish.”
“It is not,” he said. “I am a man of honesty and this is an honest conversation, so let us explore it. I realize that it is a strange society that expects women to remain pure, but that same expectation is not placed on men. And you are correct; I am seasoned. I have seen forty-three years this past summer, meaning I have been to many places and known many people in my lifetime. I’ve known many women, too, but given that I was unmarried and had no marital contract, I would say that there would be something wrong with me had I not shown any interest towards women in all that time. Wouldn’t you?”
She nodded reluctantly. “Aye, I would say so.”
“Then do not be surprised nor hurt that I have known women before you,” he said. “Before you ask, I have bedded women before you. I will not lie to you about it. But I have never had a wife before, and once you became my wife, you shall be the last, and only, woman I shall ever bed. I swear upon my oath that you shall be the only woman I ever touch for the rest of my life.”
She looked at him, a timid smile on her lips at his sweet declaration. “I never asked that you should swear your loyalty to me.”
“I know you did not ask,” he said. “But the moment I married you, my loyalty became yours. I know some men do not treat marriage that way, but I swore I always would. It is a bond I will not break and I promise it will be you, and only you, until I die.”
Her smile turned genuine. “Thank you,” she said softly. “And I shall swear the same. Only you, until I die.”
He grinned at her, lifting her hand to his lips. “Thank you.”
