“You act so surprised,” Bennett said, chuckling at Ruby’s bug-eyed expression. This was early in the seventeenth century, and I knew nothing about homosexuality and close to nothing about heterosexuality. I was a girl. I was supposed to grow up and marry a man, and I did. My mother told me I was to be subservient to my husband just as she was to my father. She barely mentioned what would happen on my wedding night, so that was a bit of a surprise.”

“I bet it was,” Ruby said, tittering under her breath.

“Warrick was kind and gentle though, and when I bled on our wedding night, he assured me it was natural, and of course, it was,” Bennett said. “Warrick was a good man, and he was a good father, too.”

“Wait. You had children?”

Bennett bowed her head, her words barely carrying over the stillness in the room. “Three.” Bennett took a slow breath, and reaching for her wine, she emptied it in one swallow. “I’m going to get some more,” she said, swinging her legs off the bed. “Would you like some?”

“Yes, please.”

The heartache carved into Bennett’s face was unmistakable, so when she returned to the bedroom, Ruby steered the conversation in another direction. “So, how did you get from being an illiterate daughter of a farmer to this?” she said, taking the glass Bennett was offering.

“Just like everything else in the world, a series of events that, when lined up like the stars, takes you somewhere you never imagined you’d be,” Bennett said, taking a sip of her wine. “Warrick and his family were originally from an area that was a three-week-long journey from my village. Not long after our marriage, Warrick decided we would move back there. He liked the area more, and renting land wasn’t as costly. So, I packed up everything I owned, said goodbye to my family, and off we went. By the time we reached what would be my home for the rest of my natural life, my belly was swelling with our first child.