I nodded.
“Turn around. I will help, I winna take any liberties.”
I turned around and he undid the sling at my shoulder. Then he stood quietly with his eyes averted while I loosened the laces in the front of my bodice. I said, “How do women back in the day get undressed without help?”
“They travel with other women and nae alone with a man they haena married.”
“Oh, I guess you’re right. This is shameful.”
“I married ye in m’heart, I daena think tis shameful, I think ye need m’help undressing ye.”
I said, “Okay, you can look, I need help with the laces at the bottom.”
He stood in front of me and quietly concentrated on pulling the rest of the laces free.
I watched his face, but it was too close and intimate, he was so hot. I turned my head and looked away.
I sensed that he was glancing at my face as he worked.
He finally had the bodice free and pulled it off down my injured arm.
I grabbed a towel from a stack in the bathroom and wrapped it around me under my chemise. Then turned around, “Can you pull my chemise off? But don’t look, you're not allowed to look.”
He pulled the hem up and off my arms one at a time, until it was free. My back was exposed but I was mostly hidden. “You didn’t look?”
“Nae, I promise.”
I turned with the towel wrapped around me.
He stood there for a moment, emitting a deep exhale, holding the bundle of my chemise in his hands, stilled, staring at my shoulders.
I said, “I’m going to take a shower now.”
“Aye.”
“I’m sorry you’re not invited.”
He shook his head and put my chemise on the bed. “Aye, nae, I ken why, I will go out and get m’self cleaned as well.”
I asked, “Are you okay, Lochie?”
“Nae, I canna think, m’mind went all foggy.”
“By my shoulders?”
“And ye daena hae any clothes on under the cloth, Ash, tis mesmerizin’ and causin’ me dismay. It has taken all m’courage tae maintain m’composure.”
I looked down. “That is a lot of power.”
“Yer skin is so close, I could just reach out and all would be well.” He lifted his hand but then dropped it again. “How long until we are married?”
I smiled. “I think it’s like centuries.”
“Och nae, I am the most courageous man who ever lived.” He left the room and went down the hall.
I found a dresser in the main bedroom that held women’s shirts, a pair of joggers, and a clean pair of socks.
I took a luxurious but quick shower, trying to really deeply experience it, because having warm water rolling down my face was amazing. There was shampoo and conditioner — I scrubbed and rinsed. Then I got dressed. I tried to fit into a pair of tennis shoes in the closet but they were way too big. So I would have to wear my boots again...still.
