Chapter 14

For the next hour, that's all she did. Back, forward, sideways. Frang walked around her, pushing at her occasionally and seeing if she was maintaining stability. She got quicker, more prepared, more in equilibrium. When he was satisfied with that, he had her do it again, but holding her epee. In another hour, her point was dragging, she was drenched in sweat and her legs were screaming at her.

"I have to stop. I can't go anymore,"Ailene said.

"Aye, I can see. You canna even hold your wee point up anymore. Come with me to the armory. I've got some balm to ease the pain in your legs."

They went into the armory and Ailene handed Frang her epee.

"Keep it," he said. "It's your weapon now. You will become as familiar with that as your own body. From now on, each day that you train, you will wear breeches and leave off your stays. You may wear a blouse over your shift which will need to be short due to the breeches. After you've progressed in your training, you can return to stays and dress as that is what you'll be wearing all day and how you move in dress and stays will differ from that of blouse and breeches. Bar the door, would you."

While she barred the door, he went to cabinet behind the weapons rack and got a clean rag and a jar. Waving her to a stool in the corner of the room, he directed her to sit down. He then set another stool in front of her and sat down himself. He handed her the cloth and had her dry herself off. He poured some of the jar's contents into his hand.

"This is a mixture of lesser burdock and wild marjoram in a base of lavender oil," he said. "It will help with muscle aches."

He took her left arm and rubbed it in thoroughly, then took her right arm and did the same. When he took her leg and set it in his lap, she drew her leg away.

"I can rub my own legs, thank you," Ailene said. "Tis nae proper for you to do so."

"Under normal circumstances, you'd be right," Frang replied, "but I nae think these be normal circumstances, do you?"

"Stuart has shared me with you. You and Thorburn have both had me. Is nae that enough? How much longer must it go on?" She asked.

"Until it does nae happen. When Thorburn and I nae longer desire you. I dinna see that happening anytime soon," he said, chuckling. "Thorburn's convinced me that I must sample that talented mouth of yours. I plan to do so today."

"Please nae! I'm a proper wife. I dinna want to be sharing myself with men other than my husband. It's nae right."

Frang did nae respond. He got up, unbarred and opened the door and called for Stuart and Thorburn both to come to the armory.

When Stuart came in, he asked, "What is it? What do you need?"

"Stuart," Ailene said, running to him, "Please tell me that I dinna have to service your brothers still? I thought that was over; that it ended yesterday."

Thorburn came in as she was asking the question. He closed the door behind him, barring it.

Stuart said, "I know it's hard for you, my love. I do. But I wish my brothers to know and love you as I do. In all ways. I want you there for them as you are for me. To love them as you love me. When you love them, you love me; you honor me."

Ailene broke into tears. She turned to Stuart and cried into his shoulder.

"I feel like a whore!" she cried, wrenching sobs wracking her body. "You make me feel like a whore! How can I love a man who makes me feel that way? How can my husband say he loves me and then gives me to other people? How can you respect me; how can I respect myself if I'm fucking other men?"

Thorburn patted her shoulder and said, "Lady Cameron (he emphasized the Lady, letting her know that she was a lady and not a whore), when I was in Greenland, we made contact with many of the native inhabitants. They live in houses made of ice, hunt seals and white bears. It is the custom of those people, to honor a guest, to give their wife to the guest to help keep them warm at night. Of course, it is more than to keep them warm, as the faces of some of the children would indicate. But it is a matter of honor to these people that they give that which they love most to show the esteem in which the guest is held. It is an insult nae to accept their gift. If they would show you the honor of their gift, you must accept it in the same spirit. I know that we are not these natives, that you have not been raised to this expectation all of your life. But it is an honor that Stuart grants us, and in some way, it would be an insult to nae accept."

"It would be like saying that we dinna respect his gift," Frang added, "that it was not a worthy gift. I know that this concept is difficult to accept. Most people would nae understand it. We dinna understand it really; it's just something we've always done and always will do."

"What I think is really important for you to understand," Thorburn said, "is that we know how much Stuart loves you. I've never seen him so happy. Because he loves you, his gift is more magnificent; greater than we could ever know. And because he loves you and you love him, and make him so happy; we love you for making him happy. Aye, we love you, too."

Madness, it was madness, Ailene thought. It made a demented kind of sense, but what insanity! What was she to do? Should she surrender to their crazy? What would happen if she did? What would happen if she dinna do it? Her primary concern was that Stuart would stop loving her if she shared herself with his brothers. What if the opposite was true? What if he only continued to love her if she loved his brothers, but would begin to hate her if she refused?

"I don't insist upon this, my love," Stuart said, "if you canna do it yourself. It would be rape if I made you; if you're taken against your will. Just know that it is my hope and my wish that you agree to this. It means everything to me that you submit to them as you do to me, in all ways, any or every day they wish it, under the rules that were established."

He kissed her lips, her forehead, then left the armory, Thorburn going with him.

Frang barred the door behind them. He took Ailene in his arms until her sobbing ceased.

"Lassie, lassie, I will nae make you do anything now. Tis your decision. It will always be your decision. You don't have to decide this instant, but we should still rub the ointment on your legs. Will you allow me to do that for you?"

"Aye, I suppose," she said.

"Just sit back down on the stool."

She sat down and he took his seat again. He took her left leg and setting it in his lap, removed her shoe and stocking, and began rubbing the ointment on her foot, then her calf, and finally her thigh. His hands only went midway up her thigh, for the moment respecting her non-decision about her participation in their sharing. It felt good, that she admitted to herself. His hands were sure, massaging her tired, sore flesh so that it finally began feeling normal again. He set her left leg down and picked up her right. Removing the shoe and stocking, he repeated the process on her right leg. After reaching mid thigh, he poured more of the ointment in his hands and reached for her soft thigh, and watching her face closely, moved his hand farther up. He intended to stop if she showed any inclination that he was going beyond the bounds of her propriety.

Ailene watched Frang watching her. She knew what he was doing and that it was within her ability to stop this right now, that she did not have to continue in this madness. One sign from her and it would cease, a decision to be made on some other day, perhaps. Or never. She felt his hand creep higher on her leg. Soon he was rubbing at the very top of her leg, his hand within a fingers width of her sex. She closed her eyes.

Frang saw her eyes close and knew that he had her tacit permission to continue. His hand continued upward, massaging both upper thighs, her hips, the muscles on either side of her groin, his hand frequently brushing the hair guarding her sex. When the last of the ointment on his fingers had been massaged into her skin, he took a finger and gently brushed her labial lips. A light tickling at first; gently separating the hairs, pushing the folds aside. He steadily increased the pressure, sliding one finger, then two, through the wetness beginning to flow from her sex. Using the fluid to slick the way from her sheath to her fleshy nub.

Frang was as good with his fingers as he was with his tongue, and Ailene parted her legs, granting him more access to her sex. Her nether lips were parting, her nipples hardening to little nuggets of wrinkled flesh under her shift, her fleshy nubbin was standing at attention. His fingers shifted downward again and she felt his two middle fingers penetrate her dampened slit, while his thumb continued to pay attention to his clit. Ailene let out a moan and began rocking back and forth on the stool, riding his fingers.

"Aaahh," she sighed. She reached up with her right hand and loosening her stays, pulled a breast from her shift and fondled it in front of Frang.