She looked amused at the question, as she went on sewing.
‘As well, my lord,’ she told him, ‘as I can look to be these many months more. But women must learn such lessons, which men have only to teach.’
He knew that he was outmatched. ‘I am thankful, madam——’
‘My lord, you have every reason.’
‘I say, I am thankful; for I had a fear——’
She gave him a sharp look. ‘Do you fear, my lord? What have you to fear? Your friends are about you, your wife a prisoner. What have you to fear?’
‘The tongue, madam.’
She had goaded him to this, and could have had him at her mercy had she so willed it. But she was silent, husbanding her best weapon against good time.
He went headlong on. ‘I had words for your private ear. I had hoped that by a little intimacy, such as may be looked for between——But it’s all one.’