Jude noticed her trembling, the soft motion of it almost in tune with his. He leaned back on the bed, until he was completely flat, coaxing Jinai to lay on his chest. He continued to rub her back and his eyes followed hers to the fire. Despite warmth flooding the room, he too shivered still. His body was beyond exhaustion and the poorly padded bed was a wonder to cold hard ground.
His voice broke the silence. "You asked me once about my first time when we were back at that cozy farm," he said softly, musing aloud for the comfort of them both. "I never answered for we were in quite a hurry. But what I would have said was that back in the village, I was..maybe sixteen, there was this clockmaker's daughter. She was cherry haired with luscious brown eyes. Her name was Adelaide and she was a sight for sore eyes. We grew up together in a manner of speaking...when my family would come into town taking our stock to sell, we would speak and play and soon she kissed me...and dreamed of me becoming a soldier one day. She said she always wanted to marry a soldier, someone with great valor and courage and with stories to tell." He laughed softly. "If only she saw me now, I have plenty of stories to tell, but none of them from being a soldier. We made love shortly before the Mordecai came to the settlement... She ran away with a captain and..." His voice went on telling small tales of his childhood, of life on the farm, his sister, his mother, all to settle the mood and comfort the woman in his arms.
