Anya looked under her lashes at Cuthbert as he drove the cart. She’d awakened in a much better mood this morning. Other than the little discussion over traveling arrangements, she was in an even temper. The padded seat made a world of difference.

The only problem with such a wonderful morning, if it could be called that, was that it was so quiet. The sound of clopping hooves, the creaking of the cart and an occasional neighing were the only things to break the silence. It was starting to unnerve Anya. She wasn’t used to this deafening silence.

Maybe Cuthbert thought she was still mad about him not allowing her to walk this morning? Certainly he knew her temper better than that by now. She let her anger fly and then she was done. Didn’t the oaf know that women never held grudges?

She decided to break the silence with a tale from her past. She bit her lip as she thought. A farmer passed by, leading a bull to another pasture. This sparked a memory, but it wasn’t an account for the innocent. He was a soldiering man, so she wasn’t afraid of offending his delicate sensibilities. She knew just the story to tell!

“Did you know that my husband once brought a man home with him who he called, Bull?”

Cuthbert’s attention came to her. She smiled and said, “He did, once. At first, I didn’t know why such a small and scrawny man would be called Bull by his friends, but I only had to wait until that night before I found out.” Anya chuckled as the memory came to the fore.

“I thought they were teasing him at first, because of his size - you know, calling him something that he wasn’t. I even told my husband, in private that it was deplorable the way he treated his friend. He just smiled and shook his head. Then, he pointed out that Bull did not mind the name. I observed this for myself and so I dropped the subject.

“Later that evening, the men decided to go to the tavern and meet other friends. Now, at this time, the tavern had a wench by the name of Kirta. They never called her by that name, of course, they called her Sugar. I think you can guess that they called her this because she was a loose woman who would lay down with any man, for a price. Well, Sugar spotted Bull and figured he’d be an easy mark. She was right. She propositioned him and it wasn’t long before they went into the back together.”

Anya looked at Cuthbert and saw that he was interested in the story. He was looking at her, a small smile on his lips. She continued, “Now, this is only what I heard from some of the matrons in town, who heard it from their husbands.” She never did forgive her husband for never telling her himself, she always had to find things out second hand. “It seems that Bull was not called that because of his size, well, not his physique, anyway.” Anya winked and she saw that Cuthbert understood her innuendo. “They say, Sugar was so pleased that she didn’t charge Bull, but often gave him services for free.”

Anya laughed at this so hard, she even slapped her knee. Cuthbert chuckled also, but she saw a blush creep into his cheeks. She was puzzled by this. Then, she concluded that maybe she had offended him. Maybe he wasn’t as experienced as she’d thought.

“Oh my. I am so sorry. I didn’t realize you were ... ummm ...” Anya whispered, “a virgin.”

The offended look he gave her wiped that thought from her mind. She laughed so hard, she had to grip the sides of the cart in order not to fall off the high seat.

“Well, you’re blushing like an insulted virgin! What was I supposed to think?”

“If you had any brains, you’d know I was blushing because a lady is not supposed to tell that kind of story. That is a tale for men while they’re drinking.”

Anya wasn’t sure why she felt like teasing this beast, but if she were honest with herself, she’d realize she was becoming attracted to him. It must mean that she had been too long without male companionship, she reasoned. But, it might have had a little to do with the fact that she was being taken care of, instead of taking care of others or herself. Whatever the reason, she wasn’t about to let him get away with that comment.

“Hmmph.” Anya said in reply. But, she wouldn’t let it go at that, she felt the need to chuckle evilly, but refrained. She had a barb of her own to plant. Anya looked under her eyelashes at him and put the most innocent look on her face. “I guess I should have known. No virgin could kiss a woman like you.”