“Shh,” Nessa said, stepping back. “Damp down the fire, here—” She moved to rake the ashes in, to set the pot to one side. Careful habits are not forgotten, even in such moments. “I see it is almost dark; we must light our lamp and settle for sleep, I think. And it’s getting cold. How fortunate I have brought some blankets. Will you come with me, dear one?”

So, leading him by the hand, she made it quite natural as they crept through the low entry into the tower in the earth. Eyvind set the lamp in an alcove; Nessa spread blankets on the earthen floor. Time out of time: each moment a precious gift. His fingers were careful, unfastening the small hooks at the front of her gown. She could feel the warmth of his breath against her cheek; the light touch of his hands through the thin wool of her bodice was somewhere between delight and torment. Her fingers moved to touch the butter-yellow hair where it curled behind his ears. Her heart seemed to be thumping quite hard, doing a wild dance all its own.

“I’m sorry,” Eyvind whispered. “My hands have become very clumsy all of a sudden.”

“Shall I help?”

It did not take long to unfasten bodice and skirt, to let both slip to the floor, so that she stood before him in her fine-woven shift. She could hardly bear the look in his eyes, and yet she could not tear her gaze away. That a man could feel such need for her was astonishing; it filled her heart with joy and terror, and found something in her own body that strained to meet and answer it.

“Turn around,” Eyvind said, and when she obeyed, startled, he untied the ribbon that bound her long plait, and ran his fingers through the dark, silken strands until her hair fell like a soft curtain across her shoulders and down below her waist. Then she undressed him in his turn, an awkward task in view of his height. There was a certain difficulty with the trousers, which had both of them helpless with laughter again. They found a solution quickly, and the laughter ceased, for their long-denied need rose in them fast. Last of all, Eyvind bent to take the hem of Nessa’s shift between his fingers, and drew it upward, and she lifted her arms so that the fine garment could be shed entirely, leaving her naked in the lamplight save for the cloak of her long hair.

“My Bright Star,” Eyvind said shakily, “I would stand here and simply gaze at you, for such loveliness can surely be found nowhere else in the world. But I find such restraint is beyond me at this moment—will you—?” Nonetheless, he held back, as always demanding of himself more than might be expected of any other man.