Ethenn blew out a heavy breath. He was too tired for these thoughts, too confused to adequately weigh the right and wrong of them. So he stood, kicked his boots out of the way, and untucked his shirt when a knock sounded at his door.
Pausing, Ethenn stared at the door, sure he’d misheard.
A second, more insistent knock came.
Ethenn lifted his eyes to the ceiling, realizing that Thom hadn’t been successful, and Rafferty was here to collect him. Well, he wasn’t interested in getting plastered a second night.
Letting his shirt hang loosely about his waist, Ethenn crossed the room, preparing to tell Rafferty to go away. But when he opened the door, it wasn’t Rafferty on the other side.
In shock, Ethenn couldn’t quite process her presence until she was already pushing her way into his room. “Ilain?” he said, bewildered. “What are you doing here?”
“Shut the door, would you?” Ilain said. “It’s letting in a draft.”
Dumbfounded, Ethenn did as requested. Ilain strode into the room, a small carpetbag in hand. The moonlight caught on her white dress, making her look like a beam of light herself. She turned in a circle, surveying the small space, before looking at him. “Our rooms are identical,” she noted.
Not sure what else to do, Ethenn just gaped at her.
“You look like a fish,” she said.
He shut his mouth. “What are you doing here?” he asked again.
Ilain gave him a look that said it should be obvious. “Well, it’s night, darling. And as you said a short while ago, we have anearly morning.” She dropped her bag onto the foot of the bed. “I’m going to sleep.”
“Sleep?” Ethenn repeated. “In here?”
“Yes, of course.”
“This is my room.”
“If you want to be technical about it.”
Ethenn shook his head frantically. “You can’t—Ilain, you need to go.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“We aren’t sleeping together.”
She regarded him thoughtfully for several seconds before crossing her arms. “Ethenn, I told you this morning that this is expected. Husbands and wives share a bed, so we will too.”
“We aren’t married,” he argued.
“We’re betrothed,” she returned. “Which means we’re in a trial marriage, which further means we ought totryand give this our best shot, hm?”
Ethenn stared at her, incredulous.
Ilain muttered something under her breath, then gave him a placating look. “Don’t worry, dearest. I’ll keep your honor intact.”
“It’s not my honor I’m worried about,” he admitted.
She laughed and turned to her bag. “In Wauld,” she said, pulling out a small pile of items, “you have every right to my womanly virtue, Ethenn. Should anyone question our liaisons, my reputation would remain beyond reproach regardless.”
Though Ethenn wanted to tell her that she was missing the point, the words escaped him when she promptly sat down and lifted her skirts. “Ilain!” he exclaimed, whirling around to avert his gaze. “You can’t just undress in front of men like that.”
“I’m removing my stockings, you prude,” she said with laughter in her voice. “Besides, I’m not undressing in front ofmen. I’m undressing in front of my husband.”
“InEphria,” he said, glaring at the wall, “women don’t undress in front ofanyman unless they are intending on...” He cut off, his imagination rampant with images of that white dress pooling on the floor.
“On what?” Ilain prompted.
