Medieval Brides. Anne Herries

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СКАЧАТЬ murmured her assent and followed Gudrun back to the Hall.

       Chapter Fourteen

      Surrendering to Gudrun’s urging, Cecily left Matty in the mead hall in charge of the babies, and accompanied the housekeeper to the loft room. A garnet-coloured gown in a rich damask was laid out on the bedcover, alongside a cream silk undergown with an alarmingly low neckline. Reaching out, she examined the texture of the fabric. Silk, and somehow incongruous against the work-roughened skin of her fingers.

      ‘Oh, no, this is too fine for me.’

      ‘Nonsense!’

      Would Adam like the gown on her? she wondered. Was it vanity on her part to hope so? Well, perhaps she might wear it—for if she did manage to please his eyes, and if he did develop a fondness for her, then surely she would be in a better position to speak for the villagers?

      Gudrun had also found a gauzy cream veil, a fabric headband that matched the gown, and a pair of black leather shoes—fresh from the cobbler’s by the look of them.

      Unable to resist the lure of new shoes, Cecily plumped herself down on the edge of the bed, yanked off her workaday boots and slipped them on. ‘They fit! Oh, Gudrun, feel how soft the leather is.’ These she would definitely wear.

      Gudrun’s smile was warm. ‘Better than you’ve had in awhile, I’d say.’

      ‘They’re so beautiful I won’t want to spoil them by walking outside.’

      Gudrun took a bobbin out of her workbox and snipped off a length of thread. ‘Get you out of that blue dress, my dear, and let’s measure you for the garnet damask.’

      ‘Gudrun, I…I’m not sure about the dress—’

      ‘You have to wear something, dear, it might as well be the damask.’

      And thus, in no time at all, Cecily was standing self-consciously in nothing but her shift and the new shoes while Gudrun clucked about, oblivious of her embarrassment, slipping the thread round her waist, knotting it to mark her measurement.

      ‘You’re as tiny as you were when you left us,’ Gudrun said. ‘I thought you would grow, but you still have the smallest waist in the family.’

      Cecily smiled. ‘Emma’s taller than me, so she would be bigger.’

      Gudrun held the thread out again. ‘Now for your bosom…’

      As Gudrun wound the thread round her again, Cecily’s face grew warm.

      Gudrun’s eyes sparkled. ‘No need to be shy with me, dear,’ she said, briskly marking the size with another knot in the thread. ‘Who washed your clothes when Cenwulf chased you into the pigsty? Who bathed you when you were little? Who…?’ Gudrun gave her a sly look. ‘Such modesty is fitting in a convent, no doubt, but in a married woman…’ She clucked her tongue and shook her head. ‘He won’t like it.’

      Thoughtfully, Cecily submitted while Gudrun continued taking her measure…the width of her hips, the length of her arms from wrist to shoulder, the length of her from waist to floor…As each measurement was taken, another knot was added to the string.

      ‘Let me see you in the silk shift,’ Gudrun said, reaching into the sewing box for the pin pad. ‘It laces at the back, which is a blessing as the seams will be easier to take in. The damask, unfortunately, laces at the side; it will be more tricky to alter that. I pray I can get it done for three o’clock.’

      ‘Thank you for doing this, Gudrun. I appreciate it, but you mustn’t worry if it’s not finished.’

      ‘It will be,’ Gudrun said, as Cecily dragged the cream undergown over her head. ‘Another day we can look to the other gowns. There’s also some fabric in the linen closet, waiting to be made up. It would do for Sir Adam. There’s enough stuff in there for his men too, if you’re of a mind to follow your mother’s tradition. As Sir Adam’s wife, it will be your duty to see your husband and his men well clothed. Your mother gave every man in your father’s household a new tunic, hose and braies at Yuletide.’

      ‘Yes, Gudrun, I do remember.’ Cecily bit her lip. She might not be the ablest of seamstresses, but she knew which housewifely duties would be expected of her. Today, however, it was the more physical aspects of marriage that concerned her. She wanted to know more about what happened between a husband and wife in the marriage bed, and Gudrun would seem the best person to ask. Gudrun had, as she had pointed out, known her since she was a child. She was a married woman herself, so…

      The silk undergown was soft and warm, but the neckline—really, it was shamefully low. She pulled ineffectually at the bodice, trying to hide her exposed flesh.

      ‘Don’t do that, dear,’ Gudrun said, batting her hands away. ‘You spoil the fall of the skirt.’

      ‘Gudrun?’

      ‘Mmm?’ Gudrun mumbled through a mouthful of pins. She dropped to her knees and began turning up the hem.

      ‘A-about the marriage bed?’

      Gudrun’s hands worked swiftly as she pulled at the skirt of the undergown. Tuck, pin. Tuck, pin. Tuck, pin. ‘Mmm?’

      ‘Could…?’ Cecily twisted her hands together. ‘Could you please explain to me what happens, exactly?’

      Gudrun rocked back on her heels and turned startled eyes up at her. Removing the pins from her mouth, she stuck them back in the pincushion. ‘What happens, child? But surely you know?’

      Cecily’s face was burning. ‘I know what…what animals do, of course. I’ve seen dogs and…and horses—but what about people? It can’t be like that with people. Is it?’

      Gudrun rose, took Cecily by the hand and sat down on the bed. ‘I don’t expect this was a subject ever touched upon by Mother Aethelflaeda?’

      ‘No—not unless you count the time that Novice Ingrid joined us. There was much talk then of sin. Mother Aethelflaeda read out a passage from the Bible and interpreted it for us. She said that women gave birth in pain to pay for the sins they had committed when conceiving their children. She talked constantly about carnal love and the sins of the flesh.’

      ‘You poor love—you are afraid,’ Gudrun said gently.

      ‘Afraid? No. I don’t think Sir Adam would hurt me. At least…I…I hope not. But does…does it hurt, Gudrun?’

      Gudrun patted her hand. ‘With some women it does the first time, maybe even the first few times, but not always. Wilf didn’t hurt me.’ She sighed. ‘Don’t fret, dear. Sir Adam wants your marriage to succeed.’

      ‘Does he? How can you know that? I’m just one of the means by which he legitimises his claim to my father’s lands.’

      Gudrun nodded. ‘There is something in what you say, I’m sure. But that’s not the full story. He likes you, dear. I’ve seen the way he is with you. Already you’re more to him than that. And given time…’

      ‘He was married before,’ Cecily blurted out. ‘I think he loved СКАЧАТЬ