In Which Cord Has a Lot to Think About

October 16, 1176

So much for hoping a drink with the boys could ease the stress of the season's end. All Cord had wanted was to take a breather after finally getting the pigs settled for the winter, but no... no, his so-called "friends" hadn't granted him that luxury. Not when half the conversation centered around what wild things Cord must have been doing with his wife and the other half--the more enthusiastic half--was all about what wild things his friends had done with his wife. Like he hadn't even been in the room. Maybe in all the ecstasy of their carnal memories, they'd forgotten he was--at least, until he'd slugged Nedrir Corran across the jaw and stormed out.

And yet... well, it hadn't been all that long ago that he would have been laughing along, maybe even pitching a few jokes and anecdotes himself. He'd always felt a little bad about it--she'd always been his friend--but men talked about women like that. They always had, hadn't they? It didn't girls like that know it? Girls talked about girls like that too.

Still. He wished they'd stop now, or at least where Riala was concerned. Every reminder that she'd done such things with those men in the past was a worry that maybe--maybe, when he was off with his friends or she was out and about--she was doing something similar in the present.

"You're home early."

If she was entering through the front door, then no wonder the house had felt so empty. "I see you were out."

"Your horse lost a shoe. I had to take him to the blacksmith." The blacksmith. Now there was a man who'd always had a thing for her. A handsome man too, if the giggling of the local girls meant anything. "Anyway, I'm glad you're back. I wanted to talk to you about something."

She looked so sweet and serene, just standing there smiling at him. He wished his immediate thought wasn't that she wanted to discuss alternate sexual arrangements. "Actually, I should probably talk to you about something too."

"All right." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as he heaved himself off the couch. Had she thought it too loose? As if it had been ruffled earlier? "Cord, I--"

"Can we talk about my thing first?" A hurt, doe-like look flashed across her eyes, but she nodded. In an odd sort of way, he supposed he felt sorry for her--she was a nice girl--but now that he was wondering, he had to get to the bottom of it. "Look, Riala... how many men have you been with?"

Riala frowned, one eyebrow nudging skyward. "Does it matter?"

"A little bit, yes." Her pretty eyes widened. She couldn't believe what she was hearing and he couldn't believe that. She wasn't a stupid woman; she must have known what people said about her. "Look, I just... I don't know. I guess I just want a normal marriage at this point, and I want to be sure that you aren't about to--"

"To what?" Her eyes tensed to a slant so dangerous he felt foolish for thinking her fawn-like before. He'd always known she was a tigress deep down, but it was the first time he'd ever felt threatened. "Sleep around behind your back? Call on men in exchange for favors? Make you support children that weren't yours? How could you say that?"

She had a fawn's face but her scowl was practically draconian. The air from her voice might have been fire and he would have been none too shocked. He should have been more careful in his phrasing, perhaps. "Riala, please, I just... well, I know you weren't exactly an angel before we got married, and--"

"And you were?" Cord flinched. She might as well have kicked him in the groin. "At least I had nobody to hurt, Cord! You courted Asalaye for years, years while you spent spare change on prostitutes and came to me for a good roll in the sack every now and then. What would you be saying if you'd married her and she asked you what you just asked me? Wouldn't you have said the same thing? 'Does it matter?'"

Flustered, Cord struggled his way into a grimace. "...does it?"

"Yes Cord. Yes it fucking does!" The flames in her voice shot throughout her body, the aura about her an inferno he could never fan. He shouldn't have pressed the issue. He'd never felt so stupid, not even when he'd burned the old house down. Not even when he'd accidentally jilted both of Master Indruion's daughters. "Christ! A man sticks his cock somewhere and he might as well be trying on a pair of boots, but a woman tries to have a little fun and suddenly she's a whore for life, isn't she? Here I was thinking you were better than that. Fuck you, Cord--fuck you!"

A wad of spit landed on the toe of his boot. Her flare eyes scorched him one last time before she stormed up the stairs, an uncrossable wall of fire springing up on every step she cleared. Her shoes slammed against the floor of the upper level, pausing only long enough for her to shoot him one last jab. "Oh, and did you want to know how many men I've slept with since I married you? One. You!"

The furious steps resumed and the bedroom door banged shut with the force of a cannon. Silenced, Cord slumped back onto the couch. A pang in his gut told him he had a lot to think about.

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