Sam smirked as Irene slapped his hands after he’d caressed her.  His answer was simple and direct.<br/><br/>“No! I can’t . . . not when it’s you and you’re not hearing me.”<br/><br/>He had blushed when she seemed to have quickly let the women in with the hot water as he drew his trousers up over his privates.  Sam nodded sheepishly in greeting as the women lugged the heavy buckets into the tub room. He had mistakenly thought that the heavy work would be done by men like Tomas out in the stable.  Shrugging he thought to himself, ‘What do I know about whorehouse operations?  Apparently nothing.’<br/><br/>Once the women were gone Sam was feeling again like a fish out water when Irene walked past him without a word and got into the tub.  He had no clue what was going on with her.  He walked over to the side table and found their marriage license.  Reading it through he was fairly confident that they were both right.  They were married but it would not be legally recognized until the bottom of the license form was witnessed and filed with the clerk.  He placed it back where he found it and walked into the tub room.<br/><br/>He found a dry spot on the floor and sat cross-legged and leaned his back against the wall.  Irene was quiet and apparently relaxing.  He wasn’t even sure if she knew he was there.  Her lips were curled in a smile that made him nervous.<br/><br/>“So Irene?  You want to tell me what’s going on?  You tell me not to think the worst but Irene you act a bit like maybe I should think about it some. I’m feeling like I’ve been talkin’ but I’m not sure that you’re interested in what I’m saying or in understanding it.”