“The old woman who did all the weaving died some months ago. There is no one else to assume her job.”
Kassia gaped at her in astonishment. “That is ridiculous!”
“I fear ’tis true, my lady,” Alice said.
“Aye,” Blanche said, a pleased smile on her lips. “I, of course, asked Graelam for funds to hire a weaver to come to Wolffeton, but he refused.”
“Well, I should think so,” Kassia said. “I will, of course, teach the servants to weave and sew properly. If you please, Alice, see that all is in readiness for me when I return.” She knew she should keep her mouth shut, but her resentment at Blanche overflowed once Alice was out of earshot. “I wonder that you do not possess such skill, Blanche.”
“I am not a servant!”
“A wife’s responsibilities number many things, amongst them the knowledge to train servants. Just as a wife also enjoys many benefits, such as pleasure in her husband’s company!”
Blanche paled. So Graelam had taken the girl, and evidently he had not hurt her. “Perhaps,” she said nastily, her disappointment coming to the fore, “when your belly swells with child, you will not so much enjoy your husband’s randy company! Whilst you retch and grow fat, you can rest assured that he will not be so concerned. Perhaps he will even provide you with another chamber, so he can continue to enjoy himself with his other women.”
“You speak as if you know,” Kassia said calmly, but her heart was pounding furiously.
“I?” Blanche gave a dry laugh. “I am simply not a silly little girl who believes her husband is a gallant lord. I doubt Lord Graelam was faithful to my half-sister for above a month!”
“Graelam,” Kassia said quietly, “is an honorable man. I cannot, of course, say anything about your half-sister, but I know he would never break faith with me.” She was beginning to feel the nibblings of guilt, for she was not blind, and she knew that Blanche had wanted to wed Graelam. “Blanche, let us not disagree. You should not have lied to me about coupling.”
Blanche shrugged. “So you are larger than you look. I did not lie to you, I merely did not want you to go blindly like a sheep to slaughter.”
“Thank you for your consideration,” Kassia said dryly. “Now I must go.”
Kassia felt pleased with herself. As to Blanche’s terrible accusations, she knew it the result of jealousy. Coupling wasn’t the terrible ordeal Kassia had believed it would be; his part of it had hurt a bit, but nonetheless, she had felt some pleasurable sensations at her husband’s touch.
“You are looking thoughtful.”
Kassia’s face flooded with embarrassed color at her husband’s voice. “Oh! I was just . . . that is, you were . . . It is a lovely morning, is it not?”
A thick black brow winged upward. Graelam reached out his hand and cupped her chin. “If I threaten to beat you, will you tell me what your thoughts were?”
She smiled, rubbing her cheek against his palm. “ ’Twas wool, my lord! Pure and simple wool!”
He leaned down and lightly touched his lips to hers. “My thoughts, also, were pure and simple.”
She gave a saucy giggle. “I do not believe you. Mayhap you have simple thoughts, but never pure ones!”
“Perhaps I should beat you,” Graelam said thoughtfully. “A man does not want an impertinent wife.”
“Behold, a docile creature,” Kassia said. She dropped him a deep curtsy.
She no longer fears me, he realized. He supposed it pleased him—at least, that she did not fear him sexually. And she made him smile.
He said nothing as they rode from the keep southward along the coast road. The day was deliciously warm, for which he was greatly relieved. He shook his head at himself. Never before had he approached coupling with less passion and more planning. He gave Kassia a sideways look, but she seemed entirely possessed by the scenery. The road roughened downhill, then flattened out, swinging toward the cliff edge. To Kassia’s surprise, Graelam left the road, slowing Demon to a walk, and disappeared for a moment over the edge. She followed him without question and saw that there was a well-worn path down the cliff to the beach below.
“It is not steep,” Graelam called over his shoulder, “but go easy!”
When they reached the pebbly beach, Kassia drew in her breath in pleased surprise. “Oh, how lovely!” she exclaimed, slipping off Bluebell’s back.
The beach formed a deep half-circle, its arc protected by the overhanging cliff. Scraggly bushes and a few bowed trees provided more protection. As Graelam tethered Bluebell and Demon on long leads, Kassia walked around the beach.
“This was my own private place when I was a boy,” Graelam said, coming up behind her.
Kassia raised her face to the bright sun overhead and closed her eyes. The only sounds were the crashing waves and the squawking of the seabirds. “It is so peaceful,” she said, turning to face him.
“I am pleased you like it.”