“He had no right demanding that of you. It is a degrading act to force upon any woman. But since you forever want to know things, I will tell you this. It is a common act shared between willing partners, but the two people must be willing.” Torr said.
“Truly?” she asked, surprised and intrigued. And then the thought hit her. “Do you mean a man does the same to a woman?”
Torr didn’t hesitate to answer. “Yes, couples do enjoy tasting each other.”
A shiver ran through Wintra at the image of Torr between her legs tasting her. A blast of tingles shot through her, and she felt herself grow wet. Good Lord, she was going to hell.
“Owen had no right to say that to you or to force you to do such a thing.”
“But it is an acceptable act?” she asked wanting to make certain she had heard him right.
“Between two agreeable people it is.”
“Then husbands and wives do that?”
“If they agree upon it.”
She stared at him for a moment, and then blurted out. “Has someone ever tasted you?” She slapped her hand over her mouth soon after the words slipped out.
“You truly are inquisitive. And the answer is yes and more than once, and I quite enjoyed it”
Why the thought annoyed her, she did not know, but she was quick to ask, “And would you expect your wife to taste you?”
“If she wished to, I would quite welcome it.”
“And would you taste her?” This time she was too curious to be shocked by her own words.
“I look forward to it.”
She grew annoyed again. Why? Was she jealous of what Torr would share with the woman he loved? While what of her? Would her future husband expect that of her? Would he be tolerant if she refused to taste him? The questions raised more questions in her head until she didn’t want to think about it anymore. This wasn’t something that could be settled right at this moment. At least now she had some prior knowledge and when the time came…
She shivered.
“Cold or did I upset you?” Torr asked.
“I am not sure what to think,” she answered, and then smiled. “The nuns would faint dead away if they knew I discussed an inappropriate subject with you.”
“I am sure your curious questions probably caused them to almost faint numerous times. And I would not be surprised if they still pray for you daily.”
“I was a bit of a problem to them,” she admitted. “It was probably the reason they kept reminding me to mind my curiosity and manners when Owen would visit.”
“I am surprised that he was allowed to visit with you without Cree’s permission.”
“It wasn’t me he came to visit. He had admired the abundant gardens I so painstakingly tended and asked if he could speak to me. Mother Abbess granted his request and when we spoke he inquired about some of the herbs I grew. We talked briefly, and he bid me good day.”
“And did you fancy him when you met him?” Torr wanted to know exactly how Owen had worked his way into meeting Wintra and convincing her that he loved her and wanted to wed her. Something did not seem right about the whole thing, and he knew Cree would be just as curious.
“I thought nothing of it. I simply enjoyed our brief discussion and thought that was the end of it. He returned and requested to speak with me about the garden again, though he mostly discussed the herbs with me, and Mother Abbess granted his repeated requests. There were always nuns nearby. We were never alone.”
“Did he ever tell you why he visited the abbey?”
After a moment of thought, Wintra said, “Now that I think of it, he never did, but then I had been warned time and again not to question visiting patrons.”
“So he was paying a stipend to Glenburgh Abbey?”
“The nuns were very secretive of abbey patrons, but from what I could gather in snippets of conversations I caught it would seem that he was.” She scrunched her brow. “I wonder why?”
Torr wondered the same, though said nothing.
“I was a blind fool for not seeing Owen’s true nature,” Wintra said annoyed at herself.
“Owen is a man of many talents while you are young and had been cloistered.”
“You know him?”
“I know of him. Owen cares about money and power. He takes what he wants and discards what is no longer of any use to him.”
Wintra shivered again. “He would have discarded me when he was done with me.”
“Cree would have never allowed it, and if anything had happened, your brother would have killed Owen and not quickly.” Torr did not add that Cree would have to have been quick about it because he would have seen to it himself.
Wintra turned her head to stare at the fire’s flames. “Dear Lord, I came so horribly close to making a costly mistake. I let Owen convince me that he was in love with me and that we would be happy together. But worse, I let him convince me that I was in love with him.” She turned to look at Torr, locking her tears away, refusing to let them fall. “Never again. Never will I let another man make a fool of me.”