Anne was in her nightie on the bed, Richard sat down next to her and put his arm around her. She could not speak. Her heart was no longer fully with him, as in the early days of their marriage - but she was still his wife, with all the duties of a wife, at it had indeed been far too long since they united. If Richard wanted her, she would do her best for him 0 even if she had to think of Jeannette to get excited for him!
"We'll do it with dignity," he murmured, "for your sake." This was a code expression between them, meaning a style of nuptial intercourse most nearly like what Anne imagined (of course with absolutiely no help from the books) that the real Anne must have done with her husband Gilbert. At the very least, it was not nearly so unlike it as Richard's favorite style of carnal connection which Anne designated in Roman numerals as "LXIX". More times that she could remember, Anne's small mouth had stretched wide.