he warned. “I swear I have ne’er met two more bothersome and troubled lads before.”
Troubled? To Aeschene’s way of thinking, the word ‘troubled’ meant the two boys were not of sound mind or spirit. They had lost their mother under dark and painful circumstances. “Mayhap they simply need a woman’s influence,” she whispered her reply.
“Well, m’lady, stronger men than ye have tried to get those boys in line. I wish ye all the luck in the world.”
“Well, I be not a man,” Aeschene told him cheekily. “But I do believe I am up to the challenge.”
Gylmyne chuckled loudly as he smacked his thigh. “Aye, I do believe ye are goin’ to give our laird a time of it.”
Aeschene wasn’t certain what he meant by that, but he didn’t give her a chance to ask for an explanation.
“I think I like ye, lass.”
She beamed a bright smile and thanked him. “I think I like ye as well, Gylmyne. Now, have ye any work these two lads can do for ye?”
“Aye, I had heard the lads were offerin’ to help the others fix up their cottages,” he said as he rubbed the back of his neck. “‘Twould be right nice if the lads could weed my garden. It gets harder and harder for me to do with me bones and joints painin’ me all the time.”
Aeschene was delighted to hear he was willing to give the boys a chance.
As was becoming habit - very old and wearisome habit - Aeschene once again awoke to an empty bed. Richard was gone. It had been this way for since their first night together.
Although she truly enjoyed joining with him, she was beginning to grow terribly weary of waking up all by herself. She had a vague recollection of him leaving their bed last night, but she had assumed ’twas only to answer nature’s call.
Yawning, she stretched her arms out, the action causing her a bit of discomfort along her chest. Carefully, she touched the skin. It felt bruised and irritated. That was undoubtedly due to the fact that he still refused to remove his tunic during their love-making. The leather ties had scraped and bruised her tender skin, right in the middle of her chest.
For a long while, she lay their debating on whether or not she should complain to her husband about the discomfort his tunic was causing. Nay, she worried, chewing on her bottom lip. He may refuse to join with ye again. That was the last thing she wanted.
’Twas still her fervent hope that eventually Richard would open up to her and that he would feel safe from his worry over what she would think of his scars. She didn’t give one whit about them. The scars were simply apart of who he was and he had earned each and every one of them.
Mayhap if ye showed him yer own scars, he might feel better about things. Deciding that was a most excellent idea - pointing out her own imperfections so that he wouldn’t feel quite so badly about his own - she tossed the covers aside and climbed down from the bed.
Thankfully, Richard had left her robe at the end of the bed. She stuffed her arms into the sleeves and tied it shut. Even though ’twas made from the softest of wools, the material irritated her chest so much so that she was forced to leave the robe gaping open.
Richard had been kind enough this morn not to leave anything scattered on the floor that she could trip over. She made a mental note to thank him later for his kindness.
Mayhap some praise and thanks would be another way to show him he could trust her. “Aye,” she told herself. “Praise and thanks will go a long way, I think.”
She tended to her morning ablutions, washed her face and teeth in the frigid water. The afternoon before, Marisse had been kind enough to leave a fresh chemise and Aeschene’s dark blue gown hanging on a peg. As soon as the fabric of the chemise touched her chest, she winced. Pushing the discomfort aside, she pulled on the dark blue gown and tied the laces, a bit looser than she would have preferred. She sat on the small bench next to the washing table, pulled on warm woolens and her boots.
Moments later, she was knocking on Marisse’s door.
Marisse was already up and dressed when she answered Aeschene’s gentle rap. Teasing her friend, Aeschene said, “I have not had to drag