Page 8 of Sweet Mead for Lady Martine

“Nay, it’s not true and I won’t tolerate such talk in my tavern.” David hoped his answer would stop the tongues from wagging.

As soon as he said the words, the kitchen door opened. The noblewoman named Martine walked out with a dazed look upon her face. Her hair was mussed and she had a strange smear across her cheek. The sleeves of her gown were missing. The lacing on her bodice was loose, exposing the tops of her breasts. A tired expression was mixed with a slight smile on her face.

“Lady Martine,” said David. “What happened in there?”

“It was really rough,” said the girl, pulling a stray strand of hair from her mouth. “I was frightened at first but decided not to fight it.”

“Oh!” gasped the customer’s wife again.

“It looks like you enjoyed yourself, Honey.” Cinnamon’s hands went to her hips.

“It wasn’t enjoyable but the results were so satisfying that it made it all worthwhile.” Martine’s smile turned into a full grin.

“My lady?” asked David, hoping she would explain herself since the whore and patrons were taking this the wrong way.

“David, I’m sorry your bed is ruined but I will buy you a new pallet,” said Martine.

“There’s a man in there, isn’t there?” Cinnamon demanded to know.

“Yes, there is a little man, and he is taking everyone’s attention,” said Martine. “Let me tell you, he was so worth everything that happened in there, even though at first I wasn’t sure about any of it.”

The crowd started getting rowdy. David would have to quickly explain matters so they wouldn’t think Martine was a whore. But before he could say a word, Martine grabbed on to his arm. He turned to look at her and noticed her eyes rolling back in her head. Her face seemed extremely pale. Then her knees buckled and she fell up against him. He reached out and caught her before she hit the ground, scooping her up into his arms.

“Now you’re going to bed her too? Hmmph,” snorted Cinnamon, sounding disgusted.

“Out of my way, all of you,” he ground out, hurrying into the kitchen with Martine in his arms. She had fainted. Her eyes were closed and her head fell back with her long beautiful tresses hanging nearly to the floor. “Mother!” he shouted, not knowing what to do with the girl. “Mother, where are you?”

His mother opened the door to their living quarters, looking out while she wiped her hands on a towel. “What is it, David? And stop all that shouting. You are being much too loud.”

“She fainted. I need to lay her down.”

“Oh, no. Lady Martine!” exclaimed his mother.

David pushed past his mother into the room, stopping when he saw the blood all over his pallet. There was a mess everywhere. Lady Sage sat propped up with her head against the wall and her legs still spread with her gown pushed up to her waist. She held something in her arms.

“David! You cannot come in here,” spat his mother as Lady Josefina quickly tossed a blanket over Lady Sage’s legs to protect her modesty.

“Was the birth a success?” he asked, walking over to one of the other beds and gently laying Martine down upon it.

“It was,” said Sage from his bed. “Thanks to your mother and Lady Martine, my baby boy was born and we are both going to be just fine.”

“Really,” he said, smiling slightly. Now he understood everything Martine said in the tavern, especially about the little man in the room and how satisfying the results were.

“Mmmph,” moaned Martine, her head tossing back and forth on the pillow. “Where am I? What happened?”

“You are a hero,” he told her, using part of his sleeve to wipe away the stain of blood on her cheek. “I hear you helped to deliver a baby.”

“I did,” she said, the smile returning to her face. She looked directly at him with hooded eyes. “I did everything your mother told me to do. It was frightening, I won’t lie. And there was blood. Lots of it. I felt so hot and my body was shaking.” She grimaced. “So much blood.” Her eyes closed and she swallowed deeply.

“Shhh,” he said, gently touching the tip of his finger to her lips. The action for some reason sent a delectable shiver right through him. “It’s over now. Rest, my lady,” he told her. “We will talk more later, I promise.”

David got up and headed to the door. His mother ran after him, stopping him from leaving.

“David,” she whispered. “We can’t let them leave here.”

He slowly turned around. “What do you mean?”

“It’s storming terribly outside. Lady Sage has just given birth. She cannot be moved until morning. Besides, it’s not good to take the newborn out in the rain.”