In the Land of the Long White Cloud

laugh. “Now, out with it, Gwyn! What do you want? Shall I kill your husband? That’s worth a thought. Then afterward I’d have you all to myself.”
    Gwyneira looked at him, horrified. “Don’t say such things! That’s terrible.”
    “The thought of killing your husband or of belonging to me?”
    “Neither…both…oh, now you’ve got me all mixed up!” Gwyneira was almost ready to give up.
    James whistled for the dogs and got off his horse. Then he helped Gwyneira out of the saddle. She let him. It was exciting but also comforting to feel his arms on her.
    “All right, Gwyn. Now let’s sit down here, and you can tell me nice and easy what’s on your mind. And then I can say yes or no. And I won’t laugh; I promise.”
    McKenzie removed a blanket from his saddle, spread it out, and motioned for Gwyneira to sit.
    “All right, good,” she said softly. “I need to have a baby.”
    James smiled. “No one can force you to.”
    “I
want
to have a baby,” Gwyneira corrected herself. “And I need a father for it.”
    James frowned. “I don’t understand…you’re already married.”
    Gwyneira felt his proximity and the warmth of the ground beneath her. It was so pleasant sitting here in the sun, and it was so good to finally get it off her chest. Yet she couldn’t help but burst into tears.
    “Lucas…he can’t manage it. He is a…no, I can’t say it. Anyway…I’ve never bled and it’s never hurt.”
    McKenzie smiled and took her gently into his arms. He kissed her lightly on the temple. “I can’t guarantee that it’ll hurt, Gwyn. I’d rather you enjoyed it.”
    “The main thing is that you do it right, so that I have a baby,” Gwyneira whispered.
    James kissed her again. “You can trust me.”
    “So you’ve done it before?” Gwyneira asked seriously.
    James choked back a laugh. “A time or two, Gwyn. Like I said, I’m not a gentleman.”
    “Good. You see, it has to happen quickly. Otherwise, there’s too much of a risk that we’ll be found out. When should we do it? And where?”
    James stroked her hair, kissed her forehead, and tickled her upper lip with his tongue.
    “It doesn’t have to happen quickly, Gwyneira. And you also can’t be sure that it takes the first time. Even if we do everything right.”
    Gwyneira looked suspicious. “Why not?”
    James sighed. “Look, Gwyn, you know about animals…what’s it like with mares and stallions?”
    She nodded. “When the time is right, one go is enough.”
    “When the time’s right. That’s just it.”
    “The stallion senses it…does that mean that you don’t sense it?”
    James didn’t know if he should laugh or feel insulted. “No, Gwyneira. People are different in that respect. We always want to make love, not just on the days when a woman can become pregnant. So it might be that we have to try it a few times.”
    James looked around. Their location was quite good, pretty far in the highlands. There was no danger of anyone riding by. The flock had scattered to graze, the dogs were keeping an eye on them, and he had tied the horses to a tree that could offer them shade.
    James stood up and offered Gwyneira his hand. As she got up, bewildered, he spread the blanket out in the semishade. He embraced Gwyneira, picked her up, and laid her down on the blanket. He carefully opened her blouse and kissed her. His kisses set her on fire, and when he touched her most intimate parts, he set off sensations like Gwyneira had never felt before, spiriting her away to a state of bliss. When he finally pushed into her, she felt a brief flash of pain that then dissolved in a delirium of sensation. It was as though she’d always been seeking someone and had now finally found him—as though they were indeed the “soul mates” he had recently teased her about. Afterward, they lay next to each other, half-naked and exhausted, but infinitely happy.
    “So would you be against it if we had to do it several times?” James asked.
    Gwyneira beamed at him. “I’d say,” she replied, striving for a properly serious tone, “we should do it just as much as necessary.”

    They did it whenever they found an opportunity. Gwyneira especially lived in fear of being caught and preferred abstention to taking even the slightest risk. Finding credible excuses to disappear together were hard to come by, so it took several weeks before Gwyneira was pregnant. They were the happiest weeks of her life.
    When it rained, James made love to her in