She raised an eyebrow, her suspicions definitely aroused now. “For what purpose?”
I thought you would never ask, my prim and proper little wife. Let me see if I can muddle your senses a bit more. “Have you ever heard of the five-petaled lotus?” Not in a thousand years, I wager, especially since I just conjured it up in my mind.
“Nay.” She frowned, obviously trying to connect his question about timekeeping candles with a lotus flower. “Does the flower have aught to do with the type of candle wax produced when bees gather petal dust from it?”
Eirik could barely keep from rubbing his hands together with relish before saying casually, “Nay, it has more to do with what is done during the five hours the candle is burning.”
“Oh?”
“I am sure you would not be interested.” He examined his fingernails in a bored fashion. Ask me. Ask me. Ask me.
“You have piqued my interest.”
Peak! That is the key word here, my trusting little pigeon. And you stepped very nicely into my word trap, thank you very much. “Well, if you really want to know, there was a caliph in one of those eastern harems—”
“Oh, nay, not another one of those harem tales of yours!”
He raised his eyebrows innocently. “Have I told you this saga afore?”
“Remember, you mentioned once that sheer fabrics, like my beekeeping veils, are used for a different purpose in the eastern harems.”
“I had forgotten. Nay, ’tis another tale.” He wagged his fingers impatiently in the air in front of his face. “This one involves time, and mayhap your candles.”
She eyed him skeptically with the most beautiful violet eyes he had ever seen, finally prodding, “Go on.”
Oh, I love it, I love it. “As I was saying, there was a caliph in an eastern harem who bought a slave girl who did not appreciate the honor of sharing his bed.”
“Humph!”
“Even when he agreed to make her his eleventh wife, she refused to let him ease himself with her bodily charms.”
“Eleventh! Hah! He was probably too tired to do more than breathe.”
Eirik grinned, satisfied that he had snared her interest, looking forward to trapping her in the web of her own curiosity. “He tried gifts, aphrodisiacs—”
“Aphro… what?”
Eadyth’s question stopped Eirik short for a moment, setting all kinds of indecent fantasies in motion in his head. When he regained his composure, he said gruffly, “Let us save that explanation for another time. Are you going to keep interrupting me? If so, mayhap we will miss dinner, and I am mightily hungry.”
“Go on, I promise not to interrupt again.”
I doubt that sincerely. “In any case, the caliph tried everything, but to no avail. Finally, he consulted a wise old man who told him of the five-petaled lotus.”
He looked over to Eadyth who was leaning forward with interest. That is a good trusting bird, Eadyth. Just a little longer.
“The wise man advised the caliph to set aside five hours to peel the petals of the lotus flower. For the first hour, there was to be absolutely no touching. Both the man and woman were to remove their clothing and just talk. They could share a glass of wine, mayhap, to relax, and the man could tell the woman what he was going to do. Of course, the woman could tell the man what she would do, as well, but if she was shy, mayhap she would just discuss what she liked having done to her. And if she was really timid, perchance she would just nod when he hit on something particularly tantalizing.”
“Oh, you truly are beyond belief, Eirik, telling me such ridiculous tales. I think ’tis beyond time you went to visit your mistress in Jorvik. Mayhap Asa could cure you of your lecherous delusions.”
Eirik stiffened. He did not like the idea of Eadyth dismissing him so easily. And, oddly, he did not like the way Eadyth accepted his mistress. ‘Twas unnatural.
“I do not want to make love with Asa right now. Actually, I am thinking more these days of you in my bed.”
Eadyth was stunned speechless. In fact, he was stunned himself at his disclosing so much of his secret inclination. But he took advantage of Eadyth’s momentary silence and hurried on with his imaginary tale before she regained her shrewish tongue.