“When will we do it again?” she wanted to know.
He chuckled. “So you are brave enough to try again, are you?” He looked down at her and brushed a strand of her black hair from her face.
“Aye, I am,” she said.
“Not tonight,” he told her. “You will be sore, but Elsbeth will know how to care for you on the morrow. And when you tell me you are ready we will couple again, Adair. And next time I will strive to see that you have much pleasure. Now go to sleep, lovey. We’ll have to face the old man soon enough.”
“I think I will be happy with you, my lord,” Adair told him, and he kissed her lips softly.
“Aye, I believe we can be happy with each other,” he agreed. And then he closed his eyes.
When the morning came Elsbeth awoke them. Andrew went to his own bedchamber next door, and found a man of middle years awaiting him.
“Good morning, my lord. I am Chilton, and it will be my duty to serve you.”
“I must get dressed,” Andrew said. “My grandsire and my brother will want to leave this morning, and they cannot go until the lady and I have bid them farewell.”
“I have water ready, my lord,” Chilton replied. He was of medium height, with brown eyes and a bald pate.
The young earl already sensed that Albert had chosen well.
Next door, Adair’s needs had been attended to by the faithful Elsbeth, and then the two women had stripped the bedsheet from the bed. Adair was shocked by the large stain, but Elsbeth smiled proudly.
“Well,” she said, “that should certainly satisfy the old dragon! His grandson did a fine job, and your innocence is there for all to see.”
“I do not think I can walk,” Adair complained. “I am too sore.”
“Nonsense!” Elsbeth said.
A discreet knock sounded upon the door connecting the two bedchambers, and Chilton’s head popped through. “If her ladyship is ready, his lordship is prepared to go down to the hall.”
“She’s ready,” Elsbeth said, and she gathered up the sheet, handing it to Adair. “You have to carry it,” she said. “And take it right to the old lord for his inspec-tion.”
Adair and Andrew met in the corridor outside the bedchambers, and together they descended. Entering the hall, Adair walked straight to Humphrey Lynbridge, who was standing at the large hearth. She flung the sheet open before him, her look a defiant one.
“There, my lord! You should be well satisfied,” she said.
The old man looked at the large brownish bloodstain on the sheet. Then he turned to his younger grandson.
“You have a mighty cock like me,” he said. “The stain on Allis and Robert’s sheet was but half this size. She screamed?”
“Aye,” the earl said tersely.
“Good! Now she’ll not forget who’s master in this house,” Lord Lynbridge remarked. He turned back to Adair. “You move gingerly, my lady Countess of Stanton,” he mocked her. “I am happy to see my grandson did his duty, and you yours. God bless you both!”
Adair was utterly speechless at his words. Finally she signaled to Albert to bring the morning meal. And whenit had been consumed she and Andrew saw their guests off. And at last alone, the newlyweds began their life together. Andrew went off to the cattle barns, and Adair called for her writing box. She had much to write her half sister, Bessie. She wondered if she should tell her all, for one day Bessie would have to face a bridegroom.
It was unlikely the queen would explain what was necessary. But then Adair considered that Lady Margaret would never allow her charge to go to the marriage bed unprepared. Finding her writing box, she sat down to write her half sister the news of her marriage, and of how she believed that she had at last found happiness.
Chapter 7
Their life settled into a comfortable pattern that revolved about Stanton and its needs. The winter was a quiet time for the estate. Christ’s Mass came, followed by Twelfth Night. The snows had finally made travel impossible, which also meant that borderers on both sides of the border ceased their raiding. The cattle grew fat in their barns as the granaries slowly emptied, until the time came for them to go back out into their pastures with the return of spring.
Andrew was amazed by Adair’s abilities to manage Stanton. But to his surprise she was more than willing to share her responsibilities, and taught him all she knew.
He realized that she trusted him implicitly, and that she did pleased him. When he mentioned it to her, Adair had demurred and told him that the estate was a man’s domain. The house, the servants, and the children were her province.
“I have done what I have done because I had to,” she said. “I am happy to pass these obligations on to you, my lord. It is obvious to me that you have come to love Stanton, and will care for it.”
