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Page 48
clung to his young body and Joanna suddenly felt a sharp pang of regret that they had been only betrothed instead of married. She had not objected when the idea was proposed to her, saying that she could not see that it mattered one way or the other.
Now, suddenly, it mattered. Joanna chewed a piece of meat and wondered how Geoffrey would taste when she kissed him or bit him. She could smell him as he sat beside her, and the salty, acrid odor was very exciting. The idea of coupling with Geoffrey, which she had considered obediently upon Alinor's order and had not found distasteful, now began to grow very attractive. She thought of Geoffrey's brief kiss at the betrothal ceremony and suffered a small sensation of disappointment. It had been no different from the many "kisses of peace" she had taken and received. All she remembered was that his breath was sweet and his mouth clean. A good digestion and good teeth, she had thought at the time.
That was not fair, Joanna realized, glancing sidelong at her betrothed again. A man would scarcely betray passion before a hundred or more noble witnesses, and she herself had been so preoccupied with other matters that she had considered Geoffrey no more than any other necessary furnishing to the ceremony, like fine clothing or rich plate. Altogether that entire episode had been unreal, a gay and gorgeous charade in which each participant had acted a proper role just as if they were players in a mystery pageant. This was realthe warmth that emanated from Geoffrey's body, the strong, biting odor of a healthy, active man.
"You never told me how long you would stay," Joanna said.
To her surprise, Geoffrey flushed a little. "Three days moreunless you have need of me. It will take four or five days of riding to come to Whitechurch, and I would like to be there before the vassals arrive. Of course, it can be done in less time if there is something you wish me to do here."
"No, nothing," Joanna murmured, but she understood Geoffrey's heightened color and she was oddly content.

 
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