"Oh, all right. I didna realize that ye did it face to face. I thought ye must do it the back way, like; like horses, ye know."
It was a struggle to keep my promise, but I didn't laugh.
"I know that sounds silly," he said defensively. "It's just… well, ye know how you get ideas in your head when you're young, and then somehow they just stick there?"
"You've never seen people make love?" I was surprised at this, having seen the crofters' cottages, where the whole family shared a single room. Granted that Jamie's family were not crofters, still it must be the rare Scottish child who had never waked to find his elders coupling nearby.
"Of course I have, but generally under the bedclothes, ye know. I couldna tell anything except the man was on top. That much I knew."
"Mm. I noticed."
"Did I squash you?" he asked, a little anxiously.
"Not much. Really, though, is that what you thought?" I didn't laugh, but couldn't help grinning broadly. He turned slightly pink around the ears.
"Aye. I saw a man take a woman plain, once, out in the open. But that… well, it was a rape, was what it was, and he took her from the back. It made some impression on me, and as I say, it's just the idea stuck."
He continued to hold me, using his horse-gentling techniques again. These gradually changed, though, to a more determined exploration.
"I want to ask ye something," he said, running a hand down the length of my back.
"What's that?"
"Did ye like it?" he said, a little shyly.
"Yes, I did," I said, quite honestly.
"Oh. I thought ye did, though Murtagh told me that women generally do not care for it, so I should finish as soon as I could."
"What would Murtagh know about it?" I said indignantly. "The slower the better, as far as most women are concerned." Jamie chuckled again.
"Well, you'd know better than Murtagh. I had considerable good advice offered me on the subject last night, from Murtagh and Rupert and Ned. A good bit of it sounded verra unlikely to me, though, so I thought I'd best use my own judgment."
"It hasn't led you wrong yet," I said, curling one of his chest hairs around my finger. "What other sage bits of advice did they give you?" His skin was a ruddy gold in the candlelight; to my amusement, it grew still redder in embarrassment. "I could no repeat most of it. As I said, I think it's likely wrong, anyway. I've seen a good many kinds of animals mate with each other, and most seem to manage it without any advice at all. I would suppose people could do the same."
I was privately entertained by the notion of someone picking up pointers on sexual technique from barnyard and forest, rather than locker rooms and dirty magazines.
"What kinds of animals have you seen mating?"
"Oh, all kinds. Our farm was near the forest, ye see, and I spent a good deal of time there, hunting, or seeking cows as had got out and suchlike. I've seen horses and cows, of course, pigs, chickens, doves, dogs, cats, red deer, squirrels, rabbits, wild boar, oh, and once even a pair of snakes."
"Snakes!?"
"Aye. Did ye know that snakes have two cocks?—male snakes, I mean."
"No, I didn't. Are you sure about that?"
"Aye, and both of 'em forked, like this." He spread his second and third fingers apart in illustration.
"That sounds terribly uncomfortable for the female snake," I said, giggling.
"Well, she appeared to be enjoying herself," said Jamie. "Near as I could tell; snakes havena got much expression on their faces."
I buried my face in his chest, snorting with mirth. His pleasant musky smell mingled with the harsh scent of linen.
"Take off your shirt," I said, sitting up and pulling at the hem of the garment.
"Why?" he asked, but sat up and obliged. I knelt in front of him, admiring his naked body.
"Because I want to look at you," I said. He was beautifully made, with long, graceful bones and flat muscles that flowed smoothly from the curves of chest and shoulder to the slight concavities of belly and thigh. He raised his eyebrows.
"Well then, fair's fair. Take off yours, then." He reached out and helped me squirm out of the wrinkled chemise, pushing it down over my hips. Once it was off, he held me by the waist, studying me with intense interest. I grew almost embarrassed as he looked me over.
"Haven't you ever seen a naked woman before?" I asked.
"Aye, but not one so close." His face broke into a broad grin. "And not one that's mine." He stroked my hips with both hands. "You have good wide hips; ye'd be a good breeder, I expect."