21| An Uneventful Night

Mel plopped on the edge of the bed and she flinched as the mattress sank beneath her. She nearly fell onto her back so she pressed a hand down to steady herself and found the bed to be very soft, far softer than what she had at home. While it was cushiony, there was a certain firmness it had to it. She snatched her hand from the surface and sprang to her feet, stepping away from the fearful object.

The bed was large enough to accommodate the two of them on it.

A worrying crease disrupted the fine line of her brows and her pulse quickened. How would they even do it?

Annie walked out of the closet, Mel’s neatly folded undergarments clasped to her stomach in one hand, and the other hand closing the sliding door behind her. She paused when she noticed Mel staring at the bed with a troubled look on her face.

The middle-aged woman stilled, realisation dawning on her. It would only take a fool to not understand what was running through her lady’s mind at that very moment. And for a good enough reason, Annie was also fearful for Mel, but she forced a small smile. The worst thing she could do was induce more fear in Mel, so by no means would Annie allow Mel to see her, a knowledgeable woman, worried.

She could at least alleviate her fears and hope that the lord would be gentle with Mel. He had to be. From her digging around, the man was a fair leader and quite reasonable with his people. He was even far more responsible than her previous master, Mel’s father. But the back of her mind burned with worry. While Born may be fair, he had never seemed pleased about this wedding, and while Annie knew this union wasn’t exactly on good terms, she was just as clueless as to what had happened. And Harriett, her former madam, wouldn’t tell her either.

“My lady,” Annie spoke up and walked towards Mel. The young woman startled and jerked her head at Annie, a wry smile spreading on her lips.

“Thank you,” Mel said as she received the nightgown from Annie, discarding the towel and putting on the undergarment.

Annie stood still for a while and then she sighed. “Everything will be fine, my lady…”

Mel stopped and stared fixedly at Annie, an appreciative look on her face. “Thank you…”

Annie wanted to give say more, especially to tell Mel that tonight would be fine and she wouldn’t have to worry about a thing. But she knew it would be a lie. A big fat lie. It was possible Mel could even be angry with Annie the following morning should that night go badly.

*‘Badly?’* Annie quickly shook away the thought. *‘No. This will be a good night. It will be a good night. No harm shall befall my lady.’*

Annie noticed Mel had finished dressing up and was staring at her. If anything, it looked like Mel was about to say something. Annie stepped forward and engulfed Mel in a tight hug, her arm straining to hold up the heavy towel at her side as she rubbed her other hand up and down Mel’s back. “My lady… You don’t need to be nervous. I—I am sure your mother has taught you everything you need to know, and if you’re lost—I helped ask around about lord Bjorn and I spent whatever time I could around him. He seems to be a good man… If you’re lost about anything, you can—” Annie’s throat tightened. “You can ask him to guide you… You are precious.”

Mel hugged Annie back, her eyes beginning to sting as they watered. She blinked back the tears and stepped away from Annie with a silent nod. She had wanted to ask her maid what she knew about intercourse, but Annie might be right in asking Bjorn. But Mel wasn’t sure she would have the boldness to…

She slapped her cheeks with both palms, startling Annie. Mel smiled, the hurt lingering on her reddened flesh as a small burst of energy and equal anxiety filtered through her system. It was just one night. They would do it, she would have a baby and they wouldn’t need to do it again until another child was required. And since Annie was sure everything would be fine, then everything would be fine.

Mel took a deep breath and bid Annie goodbye. The puzzled maid reluctantly returned the greeting and took the towel back to the closet where there was another section for drying moist clothing.

“When… when will he arrive?” Mel whispered as Annie was about to leave the room.

The maid glanced back at Mel. “Soon,” she simply answered and stepped out, leaving Mel alone in the silence.

Mel’s heart fluttered in her chest and she felt nervous again. She started to pace around the length of the room, trying to reduce the odd feeling. The chamber walls were beautiful, but almost bare compared to the graceful frilled curtains that adorned Mel’s former room. Her lips widened in a bitter smile.

This was her new home, and this was no longer her chamber, so she had to put her husband’s feelings and opinions into perspective.

Exhaustion eventually caught up with Mel and she sat on the comforting carpet, leaning her back against the wooden board of the bed. Surely she wouldn’t fall asleep in that position. Her fatigue had morphed into worry when there were no signs of Bjorn even coming to the room. No matter how busy he ended up being, no one could hold him behind since this was an important occasion, so where was he?

Her eyes drooped and her head lolled but she jerked herself awake every few minutes just so she wouldn’t drift off into the deep end. Unable to take it anymore, she yawned and climbed the bed, dangling her legs off the edge. She considered time seemed so slow since she was alone and had nothing to do.

Sleep eventually consumed her and her final thoughts were her assuring herself that Bjorn would wake her up once he came in and was ready. She just wanted to rest for a few minutes.

_________________________

Mel jolted awake and she lay still, using the first few seconds of her waking moment to figure out who she was, where she had come from, and why she was in such a strange place. It took another second for her head to sort itself out and Mel sat up, flinging the heavy covers off her chest.

The dim crystals on the ceiling brightened at her movement, illuminating the chamber in a soft orange glow. Dazed, she surveyed the quiet room. What hour of the night was it? How sure was she that it wasn’t even daytime? She clutched the fur blanket. She remembered sleeping at the edge of the bed and not being tucked comfortably into it…

*‘Had he…?’*

Her cheeks heated for a moment and the rising excitement she felt subsided when things didn’t seem to add up. If they slept with each other, she would feel something. She ought to have felt something even if he did it while she was asleep. Her mother had told her that was wrong, and at the very least if she was touched while asleep, she would feel something was amiss after waking up. So if she wasn’t awake while it was done, would that mean Bjorn didn’t touch her at all?

Alarm bells rang in her head and she got down from the bed and pushed the covers off, inspecting the dark covering. Unable to find any wet or darker stain which would be a sign of her deflowering, panic took root within her.

Had Bjorn even bothered to sleep on the bed? Only her side was rough. She walked over to the other side of the bed and ran her hand over the surface. While it felt warm, she couldn’t tell if that was the temperature of the bed.

She let out a frustrated groan and paced the room, her mind running. What could she have done wrong yesterday? Had she offended him in any way? Now that she thought about it, he hadn’t said a word to her throughout the ceremony. That hadn’t been a normal thing?!

She thought of the time when she drank the liquid in a rush. She would have to ask Lori what that meant. They had been shocked, but the old man and the girl shrugging it off hadn’t made it seem like she had done something wrong. Or was Bjorn holding on to that?

Mel could feel a headache coming on, so she sat on the edge of the bed, her shoulders weighed down by dismay. She had woken up to an empty bed. What if it hadn’t even been Bjorn that had tucked her in but Annie? And according to her mother, a man not even gracing their marriage bed on the wedding night was the greatest dishonour any husband could show to their wife.

Not once did she think she would be one of those examples.