She propped herself upon her elbow to stare down at him.“And you, sir?”she asked, tracing a circle around his nipple with her fingertip.He captured her hand in his, kissed her palm, and smiled at her.
“Can you doubt it?”
“It seemed polite to confirm.”
They laughed together then, and Fergus rose from the bed.He fetched a cloth and the bucket of water, then helped Leila to wash.The linen with its blood stain was removed and set aside, and they worked together to put fresh linens on the bed.“I will give it to my father before I leave in the morning,” Fergus said.“You do not need to be present when he shows it to the household.”
Leila smiled that he understood she would find it crude.“I would prefer a more telling proof,” she said lightly as she donned her chemise again.
Fergus tugged a chemise over his head, then gave her a look.“Like?”
“A child rounding my belly.That will set all concerns to rest.”
He pulled back the covers, inviting her back to the bed.“Come and be warm.We will try again soon.”He yawned.“I am spent for this night and you will need a day or two to recover.”
“I am stronger than that,” she said and Fergus smiled.When they were tucked into the bed anew, with fur pelts around them and the curtains drawn against the cold, the music from the hall seemed more clear.Leila rolled to her back to look at Fergus, not yet ready to sleep.“Were you truly chaste for four years?”
He nodded ruefully.“And counted every day and night of it.”
Leila wondered if he and Isobel had been intimate before he departed, but did not truly want to ask.“I thought it might be simpler in a company of monks.”
“Jerusalem was the easiest part of it, to be sure, though Wulfe was not the sole one to find pleasure with whores in Outremer.”
She laced her fingers with his, liking this new intimacy enough to want more of it, yet not wanting to demand too much lest he move away.
To think of Isobel.
“I admire that you kept a vow of chastity,” she said.“It is not a sacrifice that most men can manage.”
“I think you know something of determination, Leila.”
“Perhaps that is a trait we have in common.”
He smiled at her.“Perhaps it is.”
“Is it true that you can see the future?”Leila asked.
Fergus nodded.“Duncan likes to make much of it, but I see less than he imagines.”
“He said you were born to the caul.What does that mean?”
“It means that part of the womb was still covering my face when I was born.It is considered a sign in these parts that the child will have the gift of foresight.”He shrugged.“Also, my mother’s hair was as red as a flame.In England, that is often considered an indication of otherworldly powers.”
Leila saw affection light Fergus’ eyes.Her aunt had said it was a good sign for a man to be fond of his mother, and that any man’s treatment of his mother was a good indication of how he would treat his wife.“She was fierce in her opinions and she had a temper, to be sure, but she had no powers beyond that of a strong will.”
Leila smiled in her turn, for she thought it good that she and Fergus’ mother had some trait in common.“If that was all it took to make a witch, the majority of those women of my acquaintance would be found so.”
Fergus laughed.“Indeed.”
“What exactly do you see?Or how do you see it?”
He pursed his lips, choosing his words.Leila appreciated that he took her question seriously and did not dismiss her curiosity.It seemed he would stand by their agreement to be honest with each other, and she liked that.“It is not seeing as we do each day, as I see you here and now.It is not even like a dream, which can be clearly envisioned and follows a sequence of events.It can be like a dream, though, in that it seldom makes sense right away.And more often, it is a sense.”
“A sense?”
“An awareness or a conviction.Crossing this avenue would be a mistake: step back instead and wait.Rounding this corner will change all: choose another route to the destination.”
“It sounds very immediate, like amu'aqqibgiving you advice.”
