Page 36 of The Saxon Lord's Unwanted Bride
Edwin snorted with disgust. “You punish your wife’s suspected infidelity by breaking your own vows? I thought you better than that!”
“Do not fear for my soul, little brother,” Harald said. “I’ve not lain with another woman since my marriage.”
“Then what the devil were you doing with Marlin?”
“She’s been teaching me how to please a woman.”
Edwin threw back his head and laughed. Harald’s mood, which had darkened during their conversation, only grew fouler as his brother roared with mirth.
“Your pardon,” Edwin said, wiping his eyes. “To hear that my brother—the most unscholarly man I’ve ever known—is taking lessons. Lessons! And from a whore! I could travel the length of England and not hear a tale so extraordinary.”
At length Edwin stopped laughing. “Forgive me, brother. I applaud your attempts to refine your—expertise. But there are other ways to gain an understanding of a woman. To know your wife better why don’t youtalkto her?”
“For what purpose? What can I have to say to a woman?”
“Would you havemespeak to her?” Edwin asked. “Test her loyalty?”
Edwin knew what Harald wished for even before Harald voiced it. Who better to seek the truth than a skilled wordsmith—the scholar whose good looks and charm had always outshone his rougher, coarser older brother? Women had always been attracted to Edwin for his easy company—whereas for Harald, his title was his only attraction. Not for one moment did he think a woman desired him for himself.
“Speak to her if you will, Edwin,” he said, “and tell me the truth if you discover that she has a lover, so that I might deal with her.”
Edwin hesitated, then nodded. “I will.”
* * *
“My Lady,may I speak with you?”
Eloise looked up from tending to the herb garden, shielding her eyes from the sunlight. Edwin stood before her. The likeness to his brother became more apparent each time she saw him.
She stood and shook her head at Edwin’s proffered hand.
“You refuse my help?” he asked.
“I mean no disrespect.”
“At least let me help you with that.” He nodded toward her basket and she handed it to him.
She set off towards her store. Edwin fell into step with her, asking her about the plants she had collected. To her delight, he knew a little about their medicinal purposes, and she smiled at his gentle praise of the infusion she’d brewed the first morning he had seen her.
“I’ll wager my brother has had much need of that particular brew,” he said, laughing. “He has a fondness for ale.”
Frowning, she said nothing.
“I understand you read and write?” he continued.
“Aye,” she replied, “It’s how I catalogue the herbs. I know some of their properties, of course, but in making a note of the symptoms and their effectiveness I can administer to the sick more efficiently.”
“May I assist?” he asked.
“I’d be glad of it,” she said. “There’s little occasion to speak to someone with your knowledge.”
Feeling Edwin’s gaze on her, Eloise reached out for a jar of grease and measured a portion into a small bowl of dried herbs before pounding it with a stick.
“What is that?”
“An ointment for my husband,” she replied, “for the wounds on his…”
“The wounds on his back?” Edwin asked softly.
