until the last month.”
The bed curtains were open and she could see the candle’s golden light dancing in his eyes; they were the blue of a harvest sky, she thought, for she was still in that sweet, bewitched state where everything about her lover was a source of pleasure and fascination. “So you asked the midwife,” he murmured, tightening his arms around her. “Dare I hope that means you missed me as much as I missed you?”
“I missed you very much, my darling.” She wasn’t sure she’d have confided so readily in Humphrey or Conrad, for she’d played a more passive role with them, as an innocent and then a dutiful wife. With Henri, honesty came easily, for with him, she felt free to be herself, free to admit that she’d been eager to have him back in her bed. “I was so glad when Dame Helvis told me our love-making would not endanger the baby. But . . .” She paused and then sighed when he kissed her breast; they were so close now that she could feel his arousal, hot against her thigh.
“But what, my love?”
“Well . . . look at my belly, Henri. How are we to . . . ?”
“Is that what is worrying you, Bella?” He laughed softly. “That is easy enough to remedy.” And he proceeded to prove it.
ISABELLA HAD REACHED her climax first, and so she was able to watch as Henri enjoyed his. Now she lay in the circle of his arms, marveling that the simple act of love-making could be so different. Their first couplings had been urgent and impassioned; they’d usually left a trail of discarded clothing scattered about their bedchamber and remained abed so late each morning that they were greeted with sly smiles when they eventually appeared in the great hall. Tonight, though, it had been less intense, slower and more deliberate. She knew he’d held back, and was touched that he was so protective of the baby, so protective of her. Surely a man capable of being both lustful and tender would be a good father.
“So . . .” he said, giving her a drowsy smile, “did you like being the one in the saddle?”
She had; this new position had given her greater freedom to move, and knowing it was prohibited by the Church was somehow exciting in and of itself. “Will I have to do penance for it?”
“Only if you tell your confessor. Have you never wondered, Bella, at the oddity of it—that the men who decide what comprises sins of the flesh are the same ones who shun such sins themselves? My uncle once said it was like asking a holy anchorite to lead an army into battle.”
“Which uncle—Richard?”
“No, Geoffrey, the one who was killed in a tournament outside Paris. Although I’m sure Richard would agree—as most men would. Few would argue that adultery is not a serious sin. But why is it sinful for you to mount me or for us to lie together during your pregnancy or even when you will have your flux? Granted, that might be untidy, but why sinful? Above all, I do not understand why the Church cautions men against loving their own wives too well, insisting that they sin if their lust burns too hot. If that be true, I am doomed,” he said cheerfully, “truly doomed!”
“I am, too, then,” she confessed, propping herself up on her elbow so she could watch the amusement playing across his face. She loved the intimacy of conversations like this, loved the way they could shut their bedchamber door and shut out the rest of the world, at least for a while. “That reminds me,” she said. “I had a very interesting and surprising discussion about carnal matters with your two aunts this afternoon.”
He cocked a brow in feigned shock. “Women talk about carnal matters?”
“As if you men do not!”
“Well, yes, we do that,” he conceded, grinning. “But men tend to boast about the vast number of their bedmates, and I would hope that is not true for royal wives like Joanna and Berengaria!”
“Speaking of that, you’ve said very little about your past. I know nothing of the women you’ve bedded.”
“And I intend to keep it that way,” he said firmly, although the corner of his mouth was twitching with suppressed laughter. Sitting up, he swung his legs onto the floor and returned a moment later with a cup of spiced wine. Offering her the first sip, he took several swallows before