The servant smiled. “I used to when I was yet a girl, but I don’t now.”
Mairin looked puzzled a moment. “I don’t understand,” she said.
“Well,” said Nara with a wink, “once a girl’s had a bit of a taste it eases things up for her.”
“A taste of what?”
Nara suddenly realized that although Mairin might have been taught the basics of passion by her mother she actually knew little, and had no practical experience. That was how it should be for a proper young lady. The saucy servant, however, had backed herself into a corner. There was no help for it. She must tell the truth.
“Well, my princess, what I mean to say is that once you’re coupling regular like with your husband, the pains should go. At least they did with me.”
“But you’re not married,” replied Mairin. Then she blushed crimson as Nara’s words sank into her brain. “Ohhh!”
“I’ll go right to your mother, my princess,” said Nara quickly as she scooted through the door of the bedchamber.
Of course! Nara had a lover! How could she have been so stupid? Perhaps she should be shocked, but she wasn’t. At home in England the village boys and girls often coupled before the marriage banns were announced from the church pulpit. Although she knew that Nara’s confession wasn’t quite the same she found she was not put off by her serving woman’s admission. She wondered if her mother knew of Nara’s indiscretions, and decided Eada did not. Still, she thought, it could not hurt to have someone so obviously knowledgeable in her service. At least until the time that she herself gained such wisdom.
Then as she awaited Nara’s return she remembered that it was May 1st! She had known it this morning, but somehow with the excitement of the wedding she had forgotten. She had to light her Beltaine fire! Particularly on this the most important day of her life! It was her only real link with the parents who had given her life. How else could she share her happiness with them?
Frantically she looked about the room. Everything was totally strange. She had never been in Basil’s apartments before today. She had no idea where Nara had placed her cache of oak chips. A knock sounded upon the door, and she bid the knocker admittance.
Dagda entered bearing in his hands a shallow enameled copper dish. “I know you are tired, my lady, but I knew you would not forget Beltaine. The bedchamber terrace faces partly to the west. You may celebrate your fire in privacy there.”
He held out the bowl to her, and she set up within its flat bottom the makings of a fire in miniature. “Let us go outside,” she said smiling, and he saw the relief in her eyes. “I almost forgot, Dagda, and when I remembered I couldn’t find the oak,” she admitted.
“I have it safe,” he said.
They stood together before the little flame, once again celebrating their ancient heritage. Mairin, her soul soaring free, saw two brown eyes peering from a long, lean face, and knew with some primitive instinct that the owner of that face hated her and therefore her happiness. With a little cry of horror she returned to herself.
“What is it?” Dagda demanded, his familiar face looking anxiously into hers.
“Nothing,” she said, not wishing to share her vision with him. She was without a doubt unsettled by her first woman’s flow, and now felt foolish. “I am all right,” she told him patting his hand, and felt guilty seeing the hurt look in his eyes, for they both knew she lied.
The fire died quickly now and Dagda left her. Returning to the bedchamber she sipped the wine that Nara had poured her, and awaited the servant’s return. Nara had run the entire way. Mixing Eada’s potion with fresh wine, Mairin drank it down and quickly fell asleep. When she awoke her pain had gone. Fortunately her gown was so encrusted with jewels it had not wrinkled. Bathing her face in rosewater she appeared fresh and lovely as she joined her husband for their wedding supper.
It was a dainty repast that had been placed before them—a plate of mussels that had been poached in white wine and herbs; a silver platter with two pigeons roasted golden, and set upon a bed of saffroned rice dotted with raisins. A leg of baby lamb rubbed with garlic, and surrounded with tiny white onions, a bowl of artichokes braised in oil and tarragon vinegar, black olives in their own oil, goat’s cheese in brine, and soft, fresh white bread.
Feeling much better, Mairin ate with a good appetite. The servants cleared the table of the main meal, and set a bowl of fruit before them. It was then Mairin realized that she was alone with her husband. Slowly she chose an apricot from the bowl, and bit into it.
Sensing her thoughts he reached over to touch her cheek. “I love you,” he said, “but I am also aware that your mother died at fifteen, weakened by childbirth. I do not want that happening to you, my perfect one.”
“Has my mother not told you that my woman’s flow began just last night?” She blushed as she said the words, but Eada had said a woman must be forthright with her husband. She had been certain he knew, yet his words confused her.
“She did,” he answered her gravely, “but that will not change the way I feel, Mairin. I am not some ravening beast who must instantly consummate my marriage to you. Tonight is but the first of many nights for us. There is time for us to love, but not until you and I have learned to know each other better. I know that such an attitude is rare among men, but it is how I feel. I do not wish to lose you to childbirth as your father lost your mother. Can you understand that?”
She nodded feeling strangely relieved. It had been very exciting to be courted by a prince, to be chosen by him to be his wife. She was quickly realizing, however, that she actually knew little about this man who was now her husband. She found that she was glad that he wanted to give her time to acquaint herself with him. “I do not know you at all, do I?” she said thoughtfully.
“No,” he answered her, “you do not. When you do, I do not think that you will be too disappointed, my love.”
Mairin suddenly laughed. “But what if I am?” she teased him.
“I shall have to see that you are not,” he told her with a chuckle. He liked her gentle mockery of his confidence. When she grew up she was going to be a magnificent woman. He saw now though that she was pale again, and so he suggested that she retire.
“But where will you sleep, my lord?”
“I have arranged with Nara to have the couch in our bedchamber made up for me, Mairin. It is not necessary that the world know our business. We have but three personal servants. Your Nara and Dagda, and my body slave, John. They will be silent unless they wish their tongues removed. Our lives will be our own.”
So their life settled itself into an easy pattern. He had promised her a tutor, and he found her one. Master Simeon was a learned and elderly Jew who came several days a week to teach her philosophy and history, higher mathematics and the natural sciences. There was a particularly skilled young eunuch named Peter who came to instruct her upon the lute. He taught her the music of Byzantium. She and Basil rode in the hills behind and outside the city walls each day. They swam naked together in a pool within their private garden.
For the first few months of their marriage they slept separately though neither was shy of the other’s nudity. She easily became used to him, and his being there. An easy affection sprang up between them. He soon began to wonder how he had ever existed without her for she was loving, and amusing. As she grew surer of his love for her he found she was less shy, and very quick-witted which greatly delighted Basil. After a short time her tutors became lavish in their praise of her intelligence. He shared with her their plaudits drawing her into his arms as he had done a hundred times before to give her a kiss of congratulation. He grew prouder each day of his beautiful and brilliant wife.
This time, however, something happened. Afterward neither of them was ever certain just what it was, but when Basil’s mouth touched Mairin’s their senses ignited simultaneously. Her slender arms wound around him as she pressed the length of her body against his, suddenly needing his warmth. Beneath his lips hers softened. What had b
egun as an innocent kiss of congratulation became a kiss of unexpected passion as his tongue slid easily past her teeth into her fragrant mouth. Mairin murmured contentedly, rubbing against him like a kitten. Her little tongue shyly teased at his. Suddenly he was pulling her sleeping chemise from her unresisting body, and laying her back upon the bed.
For a long moment he looked down upon her. Then he sighed deeply. She was unbelievably lovely, and really quite perfect with her creamy fair skin, and her delicate coloring. It wasn’t just her innocence that aroused him. It was that aura of the unknown that surrounded her. All loves were unfamiliar for a time, but Basil sensed that his wife would always retain something of her own that she would never share with another. He wanted her very much, but it was still too soon. He had always planned to familiarize her with other paths to pleasure, and at this moment the time seemed right to begin her instruction. Though her eyes were tightly shut she neither struggled against him nor forbade him. Indeed she showed no fear of him, her calm acquiescence encouraging him onward.
Removing his undertunic he seated himself cross-legged above her. He began with gentleness to lightly stroke her breasts. After a few minutes the feathery touches caused her eyes to open, and she looked up at him. His fingers were now slowly encircling her rosy nipples with delicate, teasing caresses that as delicious as they felt were also becoming pure torture. Mairin made a small sound of obvious pleasure that brought a smile to her husband’s lips.
“You like this,” he said, making it a statement.
“Yes,” she answered. “Why have you not touched me thusly before?”
“You were not ready,” came the reply.
“What makes me ready now?” Her voice was a trifle breathless.
“I don’t know,” he said honestly. “You just are, my darling.” His dark head dropped down to quickly kiss her lips. Then stretching out beside her he leaned over and his warm tongue began to slowly lick at the nipple of one breast. After a moment she shuddered. His hand began to fondle her other breast, cupping and kneading and stroking at it as he continued lapping at the now tight little bud of the first breast.
The warm wet on her flesh. The knowledge that it was his tongue touching her ignited something deep within Mairin. A heat that seemed to center itself between her thighs. She shifted anxiously, but when he lifted his head from her breast she whispered, “Oh, please don’t stop, my lord!”
With a smile he transferred his mouth to her other nipple, closing his lips over the sensitive skin and drawing firmly upon it. She gasped with surprise! Then her fingers threaded themselves into his hair, and she held him hard against her, her voice crying urgently.
“Yes!”
He played with her for some time in this fashion. The soft globes of her tender breasts were wonderfully responsive to his touch. So much so that he wondered if the rest of her body would be as responsive. His hands began to feather downward over her slender torso. Her quivering, aching breasts silently cried out for the return of those hands. Her flat belly shrank beneath the fingers that gently kindled little flames within its depths, and smoothed hot desire over her perfumed skin. She could not suppress the pained moan that escaped her.
“Oh, Basil, my love! ’Tis so very sweet. How I burn! Oh, kiss me!”
Slowly he pressed his lips against hers. She kissed him back with intense passion, her mouth pressing firmly upon his. Her pointed little tongue running quickly along his mouth to plunge within and stroke fervently at his own tongue. Her hands reached up to caress his lean body. Frantically her fingers sought him, sliding over his shoulders and down his back to caress his tight buttocks. Her innocent touch caused an explosion of his own passions. Shifting his body so that they lay side by side he took her slim hand and drew it down to his manhood. Without any hesitation her fingers fastened about the smooth warm shaft. She fondled him gently and lovingly. To his great surprise, for he had not believed himself so deeply roused, her touch caused his seed to spurt almost immediately over her warm hand. He groaned, half-shamed, but Mairin was delighted.
“I have never seen a man’s seed before,” she said, her own passion ebbing as her curiosity took over. “Imagine that a child comes from that!” Sitting up she released her hold upon him, and examined the sticky liquid.
There was nothing he could do but laugh and ruefully he did. “I’m afraid I have sinned by spilling my seed where it will not take root,” he said.
“Is this the first time you have done such a thing, my lord? I thought that a man’s seed could only be expelled into a woman’s womb. I see now that it is not so.”
“No, it is not so, my love. A man can release his seed anywhere when he is aroused. Only in a woman’s womb will it take root, however, and grow into a child.”
“Tell me of other places where a man might release his seed, Basil. I want to learn to give you pleasure as you have given me pleasure.”
For a moment he considered her request, but realized she was still too inexperienced. “I would make no mystery of it, my darling,” he said, “but I should prefer demonstrating to you all these delicious things. You must be patient, however. For now, I prefer to end our lessons. We must bathe for we are invited to take our evening meal with the emperor.”
Mairin pouted. She lacked the wiles that would have helped her to get around her husband. “I will be glad,” she said, “when we are in our own home, and separated from Constantinople by the Bosporus. The emperor and his meals are most inconvenient!”
“By late winter,” he promised her. “The water supply for our palace was not as near as I had anticipated. An aqueduct is being built, but it takes time.”
“I want to be alone with you,” Mairin complained, and he smiled.
She was suddenly very much in love with him, and jealous of every minute he spent away from her. He had given her a taste for passion. Mairin wanted to drink deeply and often from that well. She took to lingering in her bath, and even purchased a slavegirl who was a skilled masseuse. Zoe spent several hours a day ministering to her mistress’s body so that it would be flawless for the prince. Mairin found that she craved Basil’s touch. She sought all sorts of ways to attract his attention, for the more he petted and caressed her, the more eager she was for his loving.
Basil did not disappoint his bride. Although he still believed her too young to completely consummate their union she was anxious to learn everything else that could give them pleasure. He knew that the time was drawing near when he would be unable to restrain his desire for this beautiful girl. If Mairin in her innocence craved total fulfillment, Basil ached with his knowledge of what their passion could be.
When she was not at her lessons with Master Simeon or Peter the Musician, and Basil not at court attending on his cousin, they were in each other’s arms. Her breasts had thrived with his attention. They were now perfect smooth globes of lush flesh in whose deep valley he enjoyed slipping his hard length, being careful to remove it just before his crisis. She was not shy of playing with him. Indeed one day as they fondled each other she bent her head down and boldly took him into her mouth.
When he gasped with surprise she released him, and looking up asked,
“Is such a thing forbidden?”
“Only by fools and hypocrites,” he answered her, and gently pushed her head back down so she might continue pleasuring him. When she had driven him almost to the brink he bade her cease. Then laying her upon her back he slipped between her slender legs drawing them up and over his shoulders as he loved her in the same gentle fashion.
As his tongue plied its tender torture the gates of knowledge opened just a bit wider for Mairin. Until now she had believed that even their eventual consummation could be little better than the delightful pleasures they gave and received of one another during their long evenings together. Now in this blazing moment she knew how ignorant she really was of what lay ahead. She felt suddenly out of control. Unable to stop herself she soared amid the very stars and moon for what seemed like an eternity
. Then once more she found herself within the safety of his strong arms, and he looked down upon her, smiling.
“I cannot wait much longer to possess you, my love,” he whispered to her. “You have become life itself for me, Mairin.”
“I don’t want to wait either,” she returned. “I love you, my prince. It has been eight months since our marriage was celebrated. I am now fourteen, and ready to be a woman, but let us wait just a few weeks longer. We will be moving into our palace soon. I do not want to consummate our marriage here in the Boucoleon, Basil. I want to consummate it on that first night in our own home. Would it not be a favorable omen for our future happiness to conceive our first child, our son, in our own home?”
Her words touched him. As deeply as he desired her the idea of celebrating their first passion for one another in their own palace pleased him. He caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. His turquoise eyes were warm with his love and his admiration for her. She was indeed the perfect wife for him. Her sense of tradition was instinctive and admirable.
“I shall see that our home is habitable as quickly as possible,” he promised her. “In the meantime we shall keep from one another. It will put a fine edge upon our desire, Mairin. You are a skillful and natural student of passion, my love. I want our consumption to be so perfect that you will remember it all of your life with joy.”
“But I cannot do without your touch, my lord! You are necessary to my very survival!” She flattered him artlessly.
“Tonight I shall satisfy all your lustful little cravings, my love, but come the dawn I shall take myself to another room and there remain, until we enter into our own home. I want you as hungry for me, my beautiful bride, as I am at this very moment for you!”
He took her into his arms, and kissed her. “You are delicious,” he murmured against her mouth. “I think I am mad to make such a sacrifice as separating myself from you.”
“Perhaps,” she teased him, “it would be better if we began our celibacy now, my lord.”
“Oh no, my fair enchantress, you shall not escape me this night!” he laughed. Then sweeping her up into his arms he carried her to their bed, and they lay naked together.
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