Medieval 01 - Untamed

.
    Aid where you may life’s wealth .
    God keeps all between heaven and earth
    â€™ Tis for love of Him we bear the pain of birth .
    Amen .
    Meg touched the cross she wore, no longer silver but gold, her mother’s cross, which had lain waiting in a carved box for the daughter finally to wed.
    I wish you were with me, Mother. Your hands drew pain so quickly from those who suffered .
    But there was no one to take the pain from you .
    Shaking the last of the scented water drops from her fingers, Meg pulled on the Glendruid smock. It was freshly made, for a smock was used once and once only at birth or sickbed; then the garment was burned in a ritual as old as that of water, basin, and herbs.
    â€œWhere are the other children?” Meg asked softly.
    â€œThe two youngest are with her sister. The rest are in the fields.”
    â€œHas no one stayed with Adela?”
    The midwife shrugged. “The girls are too young. The boys are needed elsewhere for plowing and planting, both the lord’s domain and that of their father. There aren’t enough hands to go around. As soon as the fields are taken care of, someone will rake this lot out and put down fresh rushes.”
    â€œIt must be done now.”
    The midwife’s mouth flattened but she didn’t argue. She simply went into the yard to look for a rake.
    As Meg knelt by the pallet, Adela’s eyes opened.
    â€œAh, my lady,” she whispered, distressed. “I told them not to send for you. Your lord will be sorely put out with you.”
    â€œThat weighs little against your need. Tell me, how goes it with you?”
    As Adela began speaking in a halting voice, Meg leaned closer, eased her hands beneath the bed covering, and began to touch the woman’s swollen body with gentle hands.
    Â 
    â€œW ELL fought, brother,” Simon said, leaning against the stone wall of the keep and breathing hard.
    â€œNo so well as you,” Dominic said ruefully. “My head rings like a bell.”
    â€œAnd my ribs are squealing like piglets,” Simon retorted.
    With a laugh, Dominic swept off his helm and held it out. His squire leaped forward to take it. Across the bailey, Thomas the Strong called to Eadith to broach another barrel of ale. At Dominic’s signal, knights paired off once more. Soon the keep again rang with the sound of sword on shield and the shouts of men when they successfully gave or avoided a blow.
    Dominic stretched and resettled the heavy hauberk with a shift of his muscular shoulders. As he did, he looked up at the top story of the keep. All the shutters were open save two. In Meg’s rooms, sunlight’s warm fingers were kept out by heavy wood.
    â€œShe hasn’t even cracked them to watch me whack at you,” Simon said, following his brother’s glance. “How much longer will you keep her shut away? Until she bleeds?”
    Dominic smiled strangely. “I haven’t decided. I rather enjoy keeping my wife secluded like a concubine in a harem. Feeding her from my hand is unexpectedly sweet. Eating from her hand is even sweeter.”
    A slanting, searching look was Simon’s only answer for a moment. Then he turned to face his brother.
    â€œMarie is right,” Simon said, worry clear in his voice. “The witch has enchanted you. You have no carnal knowledge of your wife, yet you seek none of other women.”
    â€œI’m too busy gentling my small falcon.”
    The masculine satisfaction—and anticipation—in Dominic’s voice made Simon throw up his hands.
    â€œI don’t expect you to understand,” Dominic said, “so I’ll tell you something you can understand.”
    â€œI pray thee,” Simon retorted, “do!”
    â€œWhile my wife and I are secluded together—and when she is in seclusion alone—I don’t have to worry about her being seduced by a hazel-eyed Saxon with a honeyed tongue and an eye toward killing me and taking my wife and my keep.”
    Simon grunted.
    â€œYou may like secluding her, but the people of the keep are getting restless,” Simon said bluntly. “They whisper about Duncan of Maxwell and the rescue of their mistress.”
    â€œGod’s teeth!” Dominic said in disgust. “I haven’t harmed one fiery hair on the maid’s head. I’ve handled her as gently as the most prized falcon ever brought to the mews.”
    â€œThen show her to them so they may see