‘It’s nothing... Hugh, I wondered if you were awake...’
‘Hmm...? I am now.’
‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up but I can’t get to sleep,’ she murmured.
‘Can I help you with anything?’
‘Well, yes, you can,’ she whispered.
That got his attention. His eyes flew open and slowly he turned his head and met her quizzical gaze. ‘Oh?’ he croaked. ‘What would you have me do?’
She was biting the inside of her cheek, clearly finding whatever she wanted from him difficult to ask for. Well, now... His heart beat a little faster. Could she...did she want the same thing as him?
She rubbed her forehead with the back of her hand. ‘Actually, I don’t believe what I desire from you will be conceivably, remotely possible...’ She lay down again with her back to him.
Hugh darted to the other side of the bed, reaching for her. ‘Whoa, wait—wait... Why not let me be the judge of that.’ He gently turned Eleanor around and stroked her cheek with his callused knuckles. ‘Well, Eleanor?’
He raised his brow, putting his weight on one elbow and waiting eagerly for her to respond. He sent a silent prayer, willing her to say the words he longed to hear from her.
‘I don’t know that I should...’ She shuffled beneath him, clearly flustered.
‘Oh, you should—you definitely should,’ he murmured.
Please, just say it!
‘I’m not certain that it’s an entirely appropriate thing for me to ask you.’ A crease appeared between her brows.
‘Oh, it will be. Ask me anything, Eleanor—nay, demand it of me. As you reminded me earlier, we’re married.’
For the love of God, just say it!
‘Yes, of course... Well, it’s just that I...’
Hugh’s heart was hammering against his chest now.
‘Just say what it is you want from me.’ He stroked the length of her velvety hair, then along the side of her shoulders and down her arm. Reaching for her hand, he clasped it and gave it a squeeze of encouragement. ‘Go on, Eleanor.’
‘Very well. You see, there is something that has been on my mind all day...’
‘There has?’ he ground out, hoping that he was still somehow breathing.
‘Yes?’
Just say it, please!
‘I want... I mean, if it’s not too much trouble, I want to ask you to teach me...’
‘Anything—anything at all.’ Hugh leaned in closer.
‘The impressive quarterstaff technique you exhibited when you were sparring with Sir William.’
Hugh blinked. ‘What?’ He pulled back, staring at her. ‘What did you say?’ he asked, not trusting he had heard her correctly.
Eleanor shrank back slightly, but replied. ‘That swipe, turn and bend thing was remarkable, and I wondered...’ She shook her head slowly. ‘I’m sorry. It was a ridiculous thing to ask.’
Hugh sat up and studied her for a moment. ‘Let me understand this.’ He dragged his fingers through his dark hair. ‘You are asking me to show you how to perform a certain move that you saw me exhibit...’ he exhaled ‘...in combat?’
‘Yes,’ she whispered. ‘I thought I might need to use it to protect myself one day.’
He stared at her for a moment before responding. ‘There is no need. I will always protect you, my lady.’
‘But there is a need—do you not think? One never knows when the situation may arise, and a lady should know how to defend herself, even if it’s rudimentary.’
‘True, true...’ It was Hugh’s turn to rub his forehead. ‘But really, Eleanor, I cannot believe that this matter is of such importance to you that you had to ask me at this hour.’
She’d woken him up for this?
Eleanor nodded in resignation. ‘No...no, you are right. I’m so sorry to have woken you up. Let’s go back to sleep.’ She plumped her pillow and flopped against it.
As if sleep was a possibility now.
He groaned inwardly, thinking how he had misjudged her and assumed she was bent on more amorous pursuits.
Damn!
Hugh knew he should be shocked at her request, but it was so typical of Eleanor. He sighed, and after a moment’s reflection said, ‘Very well. If it means so much to you.’
‘Really? Do you mean that?’ She grasped his hand and held it against her cheek.
‘Yes, Eleanor, I do.’ Even in the dim light, Hugh could make out the gleam in her eyes. ‘I’ll show you on the morrow, if you like,’ he said, shuffling back to his side of the bed.
‘Oh, thank you! Thank you so much.’
Hugh tucked his hand behind his head, smothering the urge to laugh. ‘My pleasure. Now, let’s try for some sleep.’
If only it were that easy. Mayhap if he could think of something to count he might possibly drift off.
The image of what he had planned as her wedding present popped into his head and he grinned.
Chapter Six
‘Sheep? You...you have bought sheep?’ Eleanor said quietly. ‘For me?’ She regarded Hugh blankly.
They were standing together outside the curtain wall of the castle, on the green pasture on the edge of the demesne land that was usually used for growing crops but now was seemingly to be used to rear livestock.
‘Ah, but not just an ordinary flock of sheep. This particular breed yields an incredible quality of soft fleece, as you can see—or rather feel.’
Eleanor stared at the soft sheepskin in one hand and the sealed scroll in another. ‘I don’t understand...’
‘There’s not much to understand, Eleanor. You are now the proud owner of three hundred and fifty sheep. That is if the tallies are correct.’
‘Three hundred and fifty...’ She looked at him, incredulous. ‘But...but why?’
Hugh chuckled softly. ‘It’s a wedding present, my lady. Don’t tell me you have never received a gift?’
She hadn’t. Not since she was a child. But Hugh didn’t need to know that. He didn’t need to know anything about her miserable past once her father and all her family had perished. Gifts? No, not for her.
His expression softened. ‘Well, what do you think?’ He raised a brow, waiting for her to respond.
That was just it. Eleanor couldn’t think when she was around her husband. He deprived her of breath and of thought, which both baffled
