Chapter Six #2
“Come along, mistress. Let us attend to this matter. I see yer thinking. More noblewomen should be as astute.” Agnes swept her from head to toe again.
“Indeed it would make for a happier world. The lord’s mother was inspected before her wedding night as well.
Yer mother was wise to teach ye to respect the tradition. It has its place.”
Anne forced her feet to move. Each step was an effort and she was suddenly very aware of how little clothing she had on.
Her surcoat was closed up over a chemise.
The only other thing she wore was a pair of slippers.
The tapestry footwear was meant for her dressing chamber and felt very thin.
Walking allowed the air to brush all the way up her exposed skin.
She was convinced that the flight of stairs took longer to climb than any other she had ever mounted. Helen had built a fire in the chamber and fed it far more wood than normal. It blazed high, filling the chamber with heat. Helen came forward, intent on removing the surcoat.
Anne stood still and straight, refusing to allow her modesty to buckle her resolve. It took mere seconds to bare her body, once the surcoat was removed, yet it felt like hours. There was only her chemise and shoes. Each second swelled into time that felt as though it were standing still.
Agnes was still for a long time, her eyes moving over her body in slow motion.
She circled around Anne, lingering behind her.
When Agnes returned to stand in front of her, the midwife reached out to cup a breast. She handled it with a knowing hand as Anne bit into her lip to still her protest. Her grip was firm, judging the weight and texture.
She finished by pinching the nipple and leaning closer to look at it.
Agnes didn’t make a sound as she left off and moved her hand to the opposite breast. After pinching the nipple, she withdrew her hand.
“Lie down on the bed. I need to see if yer womb is sitting correctly in yer belly.”
“Of…course.” Anne snapped her mouth closed as her voice cracked.
What Brodick wanted from her was far more intrusive.
She had better adjust to allowing the midwife to make a detailed inspection.
That would provide her with all the more opportunity to gain the woman’s disapproval.
Getting to her father was the key. He would deal with Philipa.
Agnes pressed her hands against Anne’s belly, moving in an arch from one hip to the other.
Anne watched the woman’s practiced manner, the knowledgeable touch something only experience taught.
There was something she might admire at least. Agnes continued until she’d felt every inch of Anne’s abdomen with careful hands.
“Ye may dress yer mistress,” Agnes instructed Helen.
The midwife stood back and Helen brought Anne’s chemise forward. Anne held her tongue because Agnes was still contemplating her. Standing up, she helped pull her surcoat on, shivering as it warmed her. The midwife stepped close again.
“Let me see yer teeth.”
Agnes didn’t miss any part of her. She even made Anne cover her eyes so that she might test her hearing by snapping her finger near one ear and having Anne raise the hand on the same side of her body.
“Ye are more than fit, mistress.”
She gasped, but Helen clapped her hands together with glee.
“I’m going to fetch ye some supper. Ye’ll need all your strength tonight.” The maid hurried from the room, excitement making her steps lively.
“Oh, but—” Helen was gone before Anne decided what she might say to stop her.
“Marriage is always a time of uncertainty for a woman. Ye’ll settle in, mistress, as we all do.”
There was a firm parental expectation in Agnes’s tone. One that made Anne close her lips. For a small moment she felt like a child caught snatching a piece of sweet bread from the kitchen between meals.
“I do not want to disappoint the earl.”
The midwife slowly shook her head. “Ye willnae. I’ve seen many a girl less built for bearing babes than ye, push children into this world. Save yer worrying for things that have already gone bad.”
The trap was closing tighter around her again, crushing the breath from her. Agnes was watching her, observing the play of emotions that crossed her face. Anne turned, pacing toward the far side of the chamber.
“Did yer mother tell ye some tale of painful duty associated with consummating your marriage?”
Agnes was trying hard to understand her dilemma.
More guilt piled on top of her for putting the woman to the trouble of trying to help her.
She dare not trust anyone but she wanted to.
The desire to blurt out everything was growing stronger with each kind person she met.
But just because a person wanted to help you didn’t mean that they could.
Brodick might shelter her at Sterling but Philipa was still mistress of Warwickshire.
Even an earl did not have the right to remove servants from another holding.
“No, I understand the way of a man and a woman.”
“Yet ye clearly dread it.” Agnes followed her. “Are ye truly so feared of not producing a son? I hear yer mother never did.”
She was more worried about conceiving but Agnes had hit upon a perfect excuse for her to hide behind.
“Of course I am. Doubts fill my heart. Surely given my family background you can understand why I believe it would be best if you informed the lord of our mismatching. He could offer for a woman that has many brothers. A far better situation for him.”
Agnes didn’t look convinced. She pressed her lips together, aiming her keen stare at her.
“I disagree, mistress. Ye are healthy and large enough to bear the lord’s children without concern.
” She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.
“Ye are simply nervous. If I send ye home, ye’ll never face yer fears.
No one should live life that way. Ye English need to ken the value of boldness in a girl. That also has its place.”
The midwife nodded firmly, clearly settled in her decision. “Daughters do gain things from their fathers as well. Do not dwell so much on what yer mother didn’t do.”
Agnes lowered herself in a stately manner before she turned and left. Anne sighed, feeling her strength bleeding away.
Philipa’s plan was proceeding and she had no idea how to stop it.
None.
Brodick was tense.
Far more worried than he’d been in a long time. He hadnae wanted to let Agnes near Mary. The surge of emotion worried him because it was so strong. It was the sort of thing he’d heard tales about but always considered it nothing that could really happen to him.
“I’ve never seen ye pace.”
“Go away, Cullen. I’m nae in the mood for jesting.”
His brother didn’t leave but his mocking grin melted as he moved closer. “Nor am I. This marriage business is more complicated than I figured.”
“There is a great deal riding on what Agnes says.” And Brodick wasn’t just thinking about the dowry. He wanted Mary in his bed. Knowing that she was bare up in that chamber right now was slowly burning a hole in his discipline.
“Ye don’t have to send her away even if Agnes says she’s nae strong.”
Brodick nodded but returned to pacing. “By tradition I should.”
“Ye’re the McJames, no one will take her anywhere without yer word.”
“True enough,” Brodick said. “But it would be unkind. I’ve no wish to see the lass suffer.”
Cullen snorted. “It’s clear to one and all where ye wish the lass to be. In yer bed and right quickly, too.”
Brodick froze. “Is it that obvious?”
“To one that knows ye, aye.” He returned to smirking. “Ye’re so pathetic I can’t even find the heart to tease ye anymore. I never thought the day would come when I’d watch ye beg for a taste of honey.”
“What I crave is a family, Brother. It’s something that comes with manhood.
Chasing a wildcat for a few rounds of blistering passion is no longer what I need.
I want to lay awake on the trail and know that there is a woman waiting for me in my bed.
Maybe even praying that I’ll arrive home safely.
I want to see her cradling our babe, suckling it with her own breast, because she’s happy being my wife, and mothering my children. ”
Brodick smiled at his brother. They had always enjoyed taunting each other. The only one who needled him better was his sister. Fiona hid behind her feminine grace, trouncing both of them when it came to verbal attacks.
“I hope ye gain that, Brodick.” Cullen was serious, his face pensive. “Yet I’m suspicious of yer bride. Something is nae clear about her.”
Brodick agreed. “It disnae matter. Once Agnes is finished with this inspection, I’ll get on with welcoming my bride to the family.
It won’t make any difference what she was thinking.
All that will be important is our future.
She’s in a foreign place surrounded by strangers.
It’s expected that she’ll need time to settle in. ”
“Spoken like a true McJames.”
Brodick felt his anxiety fade. He was the McJames and Mary would adjust. Agnes appeared at the top of the stairs and he felt his shoulders tighten in spite of his resolutions.
Mary was correct about one thing. Men didn’t know a great deal about a woman’s body being sound for marriage.
What a man sought were things that nature designed to attract his interest. That was the main reason that marriage was more of a business transaction.
It was the wiser course of action. Letting lust lead the way was bound to land a man in a poor match both in dowry and children.
He was a large man; taking a petite female to his bed would be like a death sentence for her.
Inspections had begun to prevent uneven pairs.
It made sense, but his lust was trying to argue with logic.
He should be disciplined enough to ignore his rising attraction.
But he wasn’t.