She nodded firmly.
Clearly still skeptical, Riftan studied her face before frowning. “But where exactly do you bleed?”
Maxi turned beet red. She had never imagined that she would find herself in such a mortifying situation. Did she truly have to spell it out to him?
After a long pause, Maxi whispered the answer in his ear despite being the only two people in the room. These visits were bound to happen to her again in the future. It would bebetter to explain everything to him clearly just this once so that she would never have to do so again.
“Are you…being serious?” Wide-eyed, Riftan stared down at her as though he found her words difficult to believe. His face was still ashen. “Are you certain that it’s normal for women to bleed…down there?”
“Y-Yes, it is perfectly normal! It’s something every woman g-goes through.”
“Then, this must not be the first time this has happened to you. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“I assumed…that you knew. I was t-told…that it wasn’t something one had to explain. My nursemaid said that you would understand…if I hinted at it.”
To her surprise, his cheeks reddened. He began babbling excuses in an attempt to justify his ignorance.
“Maxi, I grew up in a mercenary group full of men. After I became a knight, I spent most of my life fighting in campaigns. What on earth would I know about women? All I know is that they have breasts, that it’s impossible to figure out what they’re thinking, and that they can bear children!”
Maxi was skeptical. He spoke as though he had never had a lover to teach him everything there was to know about women. She eyed his perfectly symmetrical face, his intense black eyes, and his sculpted body. He was simply too beautiful to claim inexperience.
Even if Riftan was not the sort of man who had regular conquests, she was certain that the women around him would not have left him alone. Maxi recalled the brazen pair who had tried to come on to him on the day of the festival. She did not think a man as insatiable as her husband would have resisted such blatant seductions all his life.
Feeling a sharp pang of jealousy, Maxi glowered at him. “I’m sure you know m-more than that. Even with me, you…”
“Even with you, what?” Riftan asked, cocking an eyebrow.
She bit her lip, then blurted something she would normally never dare to utter aloud. “Before I m-married you…I knew n-nothing of…my own body, but you…already knew. It was you…who t-taught me…h-how it was done,” she stammered.
Was she accusing him of using the skills he had learned from other women on her? Could there be anything more absurd? Even she could not understand why she was arguing about this.
Riftan looked bewildered, unable to grasp the intention behind her question.
“Ninety percent of the words spoken by mercenaries are obscenities,” he finally said, looking uncharacteristically flustered. “Whenever they open their mouths, all they ever talk about is where and how to touch a woman, as if it were something to brag about. I’ve had to listen to such talk since I was twelve. All I know are vulgarities, and, as it turns out, half of them weren’t even true….”
He gazed down at her before glancing away. He cleared his throat and changed tack, trying to extricate himself from the embarrassing subject. “Anyway, I am glad that you are not hurt. Is it painful?”
“I do have a slight stomachache…and I feel l-listless…but it’s bearable.”
“You look pale.” He caressed her cheek before turning to the bath with a sigh. “I’ll bathe by myself. You should lie down and rest.”
Maxi did as she was told and slipped beneath the sheets.She heard bath water splashing behind her as Riftan washed, and she lay curled up in bed battling against the throbbing pain.
Awhile later, Riftan finished his bath and pulled on a pair of cotton trousers. He lay down behind her and pulled her close, gently rubbing her lower abdomen with his warm hand. Maxi moaned in relief. With his body still hot from the bath and pressed against her back, she felt her tense muscles relaxing. He slid his other arm beneath her head and pressed his lips against her shoulder and cheek.
“It upsets me that you have to go through such a thing. How often does it happen?”
“It tends to h-happen intermittently,” Maxi replied, keeping her answer purposefully vague. She prayed that he would not find out that her cycle was different from those of ordinary women. His ignorance was a blessing in some ways. Feeling relieved and hating herself for it, she snuggled deeper into his arms.
The sweet, refreshing scent that was uniquely his stirred her senses. He buried his face in her hair and inhaled deeply. A low sigh escaped his lips. “I hope it ends soon.”
It was obvious that his desire for her pained him, but even still, Maxi could tell that the sentiment was not because of his unfulfilled need, but because he did not want to see her suffering.
Riftan continued to stroke her tight stomach and caress the outline of her cheek. His touch was light, as though she were a delicate flower that could be crushed by the slightest pressure. Maxi traced the prominent veins on his arms as she slowly drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Seventeen
The rain continued intermittentlyover the next few days, shrouding the landscape in a misty fog. Golden sunlight occasionally seeped through the pale clouds and lingered over the damp garden. The invigorating beauty of the sight lifted Maxi’s spirits.
