Matthew closed the door as he, Sarah and Tilly stared, shocked, at Cadan. He shifted uncomfortably. “He needed to know, that’s all.”

Tilly’s giggle burst free. “That was better than the midsummer puppet show at the castle. I need to go warn Ma.”

Matthew opened the door again with a rueful smile and watched Tilly all but skip across the way to her parents’ home. “It’ll be all over the village and halfway to the castle by sunup. But well done, lad.”

Cadan flushed and ducked his head, then whispered to Eleanor. “I know you could have torn him to pieces but he’ll be mad at me now, rather than you.”

Eleanor wasn’t sure what to feel. Should she focus on the warm glow that someone really was standing by her side, and prepared to fight for her? Or should she prepare for what her instinct said were some hard battles of her own to come?

Time enough to worry, and she had practice in fighting. She leaned in to Cadan’s side with a smile and basked in the novelty of the moment.

Which Cadan ruined by saying. “You never did tell me why you don’t like to be called Ellie.”

Eleanor moved away and focused on her food. “It’s not important.”

She peeked sideways enough to see Cadan frown and begin to say something, then subside when Sarah tapped his wrist from where she sat and shook her head.

The rest of the evening was uneventful, no more visitors or unwanted questions and after a general wash and tidy of the area by all, Eleanor felt herself drooping, and wondered how long she would need to sit by the fire and talk before tumbling into bed.

Sarah smiled at her. “Go on with you. The first few days will tire you out beyond imagining but you’ll adapt before you know. Just be sure to have Cadan put the salve on your back before you sleep.”

Cadan said. “Sore muscles? It’ll help, I promise. That stuff is the only reason I survived the early days of my apprenticeship.”

That did not sound promising, or comforting, but Eleanor stood and cast a vague, tired smile around the room. “In that case, I’ll see you all in the morning.”

Maybe she could be in bed and mostly asleep by the time Cadan came to bed and there wouldn’t be a problem. He stood and followed her into his, their, room. This was so awkward.

Cadan seemed to realise. “I know we’re married, but I’m not going to ask or expect anything of you that you’re not ready to give.”

Eleanor’s cheeks heated and she mumbled some sort of mix of acknowledgement and thanks. He smiled, she thought he might have sighed, then began removing clothing.

She spun to face the other way, face now fully aflame, and focused on carefully removing Sarah’s apron and her shoes and stockings. Could she sleep in her dress again?

Cadan said from behind her. “I’ll need access to your back, Nora. That goop needs to be on skin to do its work.”

Fine, just fine. They were married after all, there was bound to be things happening between them sooner or later. She needed to start getting used to the idea. She unlaced her dress and pulled it off, keeping her front to the corner of the room away from Cadan. It wasn’t going to be enough. To get at her shoulders, she was going to have to lift her smock.

Looking around for ideas, she spotted the bed and blew out a breath. She went to it, pulled back the covers, and slid into it, then pulled the covers to her waist, squirmed onto her stomach and tried to pull up the back of her smock. Her arms protested and she dropped them with a pained grunt.

“Let me help.”

Large, warm hands began slowly, carefully, pulling up the soft linen, bunching it around the back of her neck and above her shoulders. Her entire back was bare to him.

She felt him move away, then return, and the side of the bed dipped as he sat. “This feels weirdly hot and cold at the same time, but after the first minute or so, it’s wonderful.”

She gasped when the first dollop was smeared onto one shoulder, releasing a spicy, minty smell as he smoothed it into her skin. By the time Cadan had applied it to both shoulders and across her upper back, Eleanor was a sleepy puddle of bliss. She felt him return her smock to its proper position, then round the bed and slip into the other side.

She kept her eyes closed but smiled, muzzy and half asleep, all her shields down, as she felt him lie beside her. She mumbled. “You’re a nice husband. Much better than Sebastian.”

She vaguely heard his amused thanks as she sank into the welcoming dark.

The dark the next morning was less welcoming. What was Cadan doing getting up this early, and did this mean she had to get up as well?

He lit the lamp, then patted her shoulder. “Eleanor? You need to get ready to go to the bath house.”

So, yes, she did have to get up as well, and go and face down a gaggle of gossiping, whispering village women who would all have opinions on the junior forester’s new wife, and no doubt most of those would be coloured by the smithy girl, who was probably as rude and closed-minded as her father.

Related posts