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He took her hand in his, pal is?"

"Not exactly Sort of a tee?"

"A bit In the Isles and the re way from the nearest minister, a man and a woman noould be handfast; vowed to each other for a year and a day At the end of it, they find a o their oays"

Her hand tightened in his

"I don’t want anything temporary"

"Neither do I But I don’t think we’ll find a minister easily There are no churches here yet; the nearest minister is likely in New Bern" He lifted their linked hands "I did say I wanted it all, and if ye did not care enough to wed htened, hard

"I do"

"All right"

He took a deep breath and began

"I, Roger Jeremiah, do take thee, Brianna Ellen, to be oods I thee endoith my body I thee worship…" Her hand twitched in his, and his balls tightened Whoever had worded this vow had understood, all right

"…in sickness and in health, in richness and in poverty, so long as we both shall live"

If I make a vow like that, I’ll keep it--noof that now?

She brought their linked hands down together, and spoke with great deliberation

"I, Brianna Ellen, take thee, Roger Jere of his own heart, but he heard every word A breeze ca her hair

"…as long as we both shall live"

The phrase ht, than it would have even a few h to iility of life

There was a moment’s silence, broken only by the rustle of leaves overhead and a distant murmur of voices from the tavern’s taproom He raised her hand to his er, where one day--God willing--her ring would be

It was h some beast--a horse or , clean tang of hops in the air, enough to overpower the milder scents of hay and er felt drunk, but not fro her was both frustration and delight

"And I thought it took blind people years to develop a keen sense of touch," he h brushed his neck,the tiny hairs at his nape stir and prickle

"You’re sure it’s not like the poem about the five blind roped, found the opening of his shirt, and slid inside

" ‘No, the beast is like a wall,’ " she quoted Her fingers curved and flattened, curiously exploring the sensitive flesh around his nipple "A ith hair Goodness, a ith goose bu heras a bat snatching a ainst the wide, sweet curve of her lips His hands slid over the wide, sweet curve of her hips, cupping sraceful as the swell of ancient pottery, proot the ainst hi from her lips to his and into his bloodstrea fingers fu hesitantly and then le him from the layers of fabric

" ‘No, the beast is like a rope’…oops…"

"Stop laughing, daosh, ould you call that?"

"I had a friend once who called it ‘Mr Happy,’ " Roger said, feeling light-headed, "but that’s a bit whirabbed her by the arh to put a stop to any further co, but he didn’t think it was laughter He slid his arainst hiood deal more amazed now that she was nakd, those complex planes of bone and muscle transformed to immediate sensation in his arms

He paused for breath He wasn’t sure whether the sensation was , but whatever it was, there wasn’t en left between the before," he said,his breath back

"Oh, good; ouldn’t want you to have a stiff neck" The quiver was back in her voice, and it definitely was laughter, though he thought it stemmed as rabbed her again, oxygen be daainst his chest with that unique ued him whenever he touched her One of her hands slid hesitantly between the hi, but arched his back to let her push the breeches down over his hips They were loose enough to fall in a puddle around his feet, and he stepped free of the a small noise in his throat when her hand came back between them

She had eaten onions with her dinner Blindness sharpened not only touch, but taste and smell as well He tasted roast meat, and sour ale, and bread And a faint sweet taste that he couldn’t identify, that rerass Did he taste it, or s track of his senses as he lost the boundaries between theh it lay in his own chest

She was grasping hihtly for co heavily

"Would you consider letting go for a ot better uses"