She set the iron rod down and brushed off her hands. “I… I do not know,” she said. “I have only been as far as Shrewsbury. Where do you think we should go?”
He gave her a half-grin as he pulled off his mail coat, bending over to shimmy it off. “London, mayhap?” he said. “Paris?Would you like to see the lands where the ancient Romans lived?”
Her mouth popped open in astonishment. “But that is so far away!”
He nodded. “It is very far away,” he said. “But if you wish to go there, then I shall take you.”
It was a sweet declaration and something that made her feel very special. No one had ever made her feel as if her wants were important, as if she mattered somehow. Her father respected her, of course, but this was different. A handsome, powerful knight thought enough of her to marry her and, still, she could hardly believe it.
As Kevin stood next to the bed and untied the padded tunic he was wearing, she made her way over to him, watching what he was doing, pondering this moment between them.
“I have never been to London,” she said. “Or Edinburgh. Which is closer?”
He thought on that. “Probably London,” he said. “Edinburgh is very far to the north.”
“Have you been there?”
He nodded. “There is a great big castle and dirty streets.”
“And London?”
“A great big castle and dirty streets, only more of them.”
“Where wouldyougo?”
He thought on her question as he pulled off his padded tunic, a thin tunic being the only thing left.
“When I was young, my father took my mother and brother and me down to the seashore at Brighton,” he said. “My mother was ill at the time and he took her there hoping it might help her health. I was very young, but we went in the summer and I remember fishing in the sea with my brother as my father and mother sat with us, soaking up the warm sun. It was quitepossibly the only time in my life that I ever knew peace. I always thought I wanted to return someday.”
Juliandra was gripping the canopy post, listening to him with a smile on her face. “I think it sounds wonderful,” she said. “I want to go to Brighton, too, and sit in the sun.”
He glanced at her, grinning, as he reached down to pull the tunic over his head. “It burned my mother’s face,” he warned. “She turned bright red. So did I, as I recall.”
Juliandra laughed softly. “Then I shall take care not to turn red,” she said. “But it does sound beautiful.”
“Would you like to go?”
“I would.”
He pulled the tunic right over his head, finally revealing his spectacularly naked torso. He was beautifully built, with enormous arms, big shoulders, and a trim torso. He caught Juliandra staring at him, rather wide-eyed at the sight of a naked man.
“Then we shall go,” he said. “But right now, we have… other things to do. I seem to be the only one making any effort.”
He meant undressing. Cheeks flushing a bright red, Juliandra quickly turned away and went over to the wardrobe. As she unfastened the ties of her garment, she thought about what they were going to do, something she was only told of, once. She’d seen dogs mate and horses mate, so she knew the basic dynamics of it, but mating with a man… she knew very little.
“May I ask you a question?” she said.
He had moved over to a table to pour himself whatever was in the pitcher which, upon smelling it, turned out to be that damnable pear cider again. He couldn’t seem to get away from it.
“Of course,” he said, pouring himself some.
Juliandra cleared her throat with some embarrassment. “I know what we must do,” she said. “But I do not know how to… doyouknow what to do?”
Kevin looked at her sharply, wondering if she was being sarcastic, but quickly realizing that she was serious. She had been very clear about her innocence, but he, on the other hand, wasn’t innocent in the least.
“I would not worry about that if I were you,” he said evenly. “We shall do what our instincts tell us to do.”
Her dress was loosened enough so that she let it slide off her shoulders onto the floor. “Do you think so?”
