Chapter Summary: Tallis sends her sons away for the night so that she can break some unexpected, possibly unwelcome, news to her husband.
Author's Notes: First of all, the outline for the sequel to "Puzzle Pieces" has been written but there are still a few short stories that must be told before y'all get the first chapter of that story. Oh – and it needs a title but that is just a minor detail. I will say that I am giving this chapter an "R" rating! AND I MEAN IT! This chapter deals with a married couple and what got them their sons in the first place. Yes – this chapter hints atsex! So if you are under age – consider yourself warned. Not to mention that this is my first time writing this kind of stuff as my characters usually abide by Rule #86 – "No explicit sex, please; we're British!". Oi … oi … oi – for all of us!
CHAPTER ONE
"Oh, Moira," Tallis sighed as she closed the door to Trevinny, turning the key in the lock and slipping it into the pocket of her coat. She turned to look at her cousin. "He is going to be so angry with me."
Moira snorted and adjusted the hat on her head. It had been a hard winter and the winds of March were still blowing bitter cold off the Atlantic. It seemed as if Old Man Winter was deeply reluctant to let go of the sway he held upon the land. It was as if he were having his last bit of blustering anger before spring swept in trailing warmer weather and brighter days in her wake. Those who lived along the Cornish coast of England were hardy folks and used to having to wait for the heady days of spring and summer. Moira was no different. She turned her face into the wind and settled her hat in a position that would keep it from flying off. Moira then slipped her arm through Tallis'. "I think it takes more than one person," Moira reminded her cousin in a no-nonsense tone.
Tallis nodded her head. "It does," she said softly in response, reminding herself at the same time. "It does."
"Let us go! Let us go!" children's voices chorused.
Moira and Tallis shook their heads and exchanged grins as they approached the wagon that sat in Trevinny's front drive, Moira's husband, Joseph, seated at the front and holding to the reins. In the back of the wagon, nestled in the warm hay and covered by thick blankets was a group of bouncing children. Two heads of dark curly hair stood out amongst the other heads of warm brown hair. Moira took the offered hand that was held out and allowed Joseph to help her up to the front of the wagon.
"Thank you for taking them," Tallis said as she smiled up at her cousin's husband.
Joseph smiled and nodded at her. "It is our pleasure. What are two more children in a house all ready full of them?"
Tallis winced. "Oh dear."
Moira nudged her husband playfully. "He is just joking," she laughed. "We love having Gabriel and Michael and their cousins love having them, as well."
"They will have a wonderful time and we shall take the best of care," Joseph finished.
"I know," Tallis assured them. "Thank you." She walked to the back of the wagon and rested folded arms on the edge. "May I have goodbye kisses from my boys?" she asked.
Two small boys, one five, one nearly three, peeked their heads out from beneath a thick blanket. They crawled to the edge of the cart, stood up and wrapped their arms about their mother's neck.
"I love you, Mama," Gabriel said as he kissed his mother's cheek.
"Wuv you, Mama," Michael lisped as he kissed Tallis' other cheek. He always wanted to do what his big brother did.
Tallis sighed happily and wrapped both sons into her embrace. She kissed first one and then the other. "I love you," she whispered in each of their ears before drawing back slightly and smiling at their eager little faces. Tallis no longer saw the scarring that marred Gabriel's right temple or the malformed ear and scarring that disrupted Michael's scalp and thinned out his otherwise thick black curls – she simply saw her boys. "You both promise to be good for Aunt Moira and Uncle Joseph, yes?" she asked them and both boys nodded. "And you will play nice with your cousins?"
"We promise!" Gabriel and Michael chorused; their promise echoed by the same words from beneath the heavy blanket, followed by a round of happy giggles.
"Have a wonderful time, my angels," Tallis told her boys and gave them each a last kiss, shooing them back under the warmth of the blanket. She smiled widely as she watched the blanket undulate and heard the blissful sound of children's laughter. She turned toward Moira and Joseph who were looking over their shoulders. "I shall see you tomorrow, then."
Joseph nodded and turned his attention back to the team at the front of the wagon. Moira nodded and mouthed "Good luck" as Joseph clicked his tongue and the wagon began to move off.
Tallis stood in the front drive of Trevinny, watching the wagon move down the drive and turn right onto the main road that led down to the plains sheltered by the huge curve of land. It was there that Joseph and Moira had a comfortable home, two barns and several acres. And it was there that Gabriel and Michael loved to run around with their cousins, chasing the farm cats, startling the implacable cows and being the active, happy boys Tallis loved to the point of her heart breaking. Tallis stood watching until she could no longer see the cart before she turned to walk around Trevinny, through the back garden and toward the path that led to the huge cottage she called home. She paused for a moment at the entrance to the well-worn footpath near the cliff's edge and turned to look back at Trevinny, sighing as she thought of all the wondrous changes that had occurred over the last seven years. A smile crossed her face as she turned, wrapping her arms about her waist and walking toward the home she shared with her husband and their children.
Tallis could scarcely believe it had been over seven years since she had found Erik slumped along the lake's edge in his lair, barely clinging to a life he no longer wanted. It had taken all her strength to pull him back from the eternal darkness, his fighting her every inch of the way. Yet Tallis had fought harder, had been the one with the strength that time, the one who would not take no for an answer. She had spent months badgering and cajoling, screaming and caressing, hating and loving. She had not allowed Erik to have a moment's peace. She had not given him even the barest of room in which to maneuver and play his games. She had not settled for "no" as the answer to any question she had asked him – even the one of marriage. Now, as spring promised to come forth, trailing summer in her wake, their seventh wedding anniversary loomed on the horizon. It had been seven years of grief and happiness in equal measure. Seven years in which there had been moments of great pain and even greater peace. Seven years of unending music punctuated by the hard won grace notes named Gabriel and Michael.
"Oh, Erik," Tallis said as she paused at the front door to her home. "I pray you understand," she finished as she pushed the door open, smiling as Erik appeared in a doorway.
"Have the boys gotten off safely?" Erik wondered.
Tallis nodded. "I wish you would have come," she replied as she slipped from her coat, hanging it on the peg rack by the door. Tallis turned and melted into the open arms that waited for her. "They were laughing so hard when the wagon left." She drew back from the embrace and kissed her husband. "I think they will be having such a wonderful time! I am certain it will be quite late before all the children finally get to sleep this night." Tallis felt Erik's hands move down her back, grabbing her rear and pulling her close.
"They will not be the only ones," Erik breathed in his wife's ear, emphasizing his intentions by grabbing her earlobe lightly between his teeth and tugging it gently.
"Erik," Tallis protested as she wriggled free from his arms, "it is daylight!"
The look upon Erik's face was one of disappointed confusion. "When has that ever been an issue?"
"Since I have dinner to prepare," Tallis replied, laughing at the groan she heard from the man she left standing by the front door. "Why do you not go into your music room and compose?" Tallis asked over her shoulder. "I shall call you when the meal is ready." As Tallis entered the huge kitchen at the rear of the cottage, she heard her husband clomp across the floor, the sound a slamming door echoing through the still rooms. Tallis sighed and raised her eyes to the ceiling. "I do not know which child is most difficult, Lord – Gabriel, Michael or Erik."
Tallis reached for the apron that hung on a peg, tying it about her waist and going to the huge pot that simmered over the open hearth. She lifted the lid, standing back as steam smelling of dried herbs, root vegetables and rich stock exploded from the pot. Tallis smiled as she dipped a nearby spoon in, stirring and lifting a little stock from the pot, blowing on it and giving it a taste. She nodded in pleasure as she replaced the lid and turned to the brick oven on the other side of the hearth. Tallis used her apron to protect her hands as she slid a golden loaf of bread out and onto a nearby counter. "The way to a man's heart," Tallis muttered and then under her breath, "Please let this work." She turned back to the kitchen and shrieked, a hand going to her heart. "Erik, you startled me!"
"Good to know I still have the ability to startle people," Erik replied with a smirk on his face that rapidly disappeared as he entered the kitchen, breathing in the aromas that floated by. "Can I have an end of the bread?" he wondered.
"I just took it out of the oven!" Tallis exclaimed. "It is hot!"
"But I am not Gabriel or Michael," Erik reminded her as he walked toward the counter where the bread rested. "And I can handle hot foods."
"As you would," Tallis told him. "Just remember it is …"
"Damn!" Erik hissed between teeth as a single hand flamed at his mouth.
"Hot," Tallis finished as she reached into a cabinet, retrieving dishes for the dinner table. Most nights found Tallis and her family seated around the wooden table in the center of the kitchen, little heads bowed in prayer before the ruckus of mealtime began. Tallis ran a loving finger over the chipped edge of a bowl; tonight there would be no laughter, no silly child's jokes. She replaced the chipped bowl, hands reaching for china that had rarely seen the light of day since her sons had entered her life. Tonight was a night for fine china, her husband's favorite soup, a bottle of rich, red wine – anything to draw Erik into a sense of peace and security before she sprang her news upon him.
Tallis smiled as she turned around and saw Erik coming up from the basement stairs, a bottle in hand. "You must have read my thoughts," she said as she began to set the table, watching Erik move to the counter, removing the cork from the wine bottle.
"It is a bottle of the cabernet that Meg and Val sent us for our last anniversary," Erik told her as he set the bottle on the table. "I know how much you like that wine."
"I do," Tallis said as she leaned over for a kiss.
"I will go and wash and give the wine some time to breath," Erik grinned at his wife. "And the bread to cool a bit more."
"Twenty minutes?" Tallis wondered, watching as Erik nodded in reply.
"That will give me a bit of time to straighten my music sheets, as well."
Tallis took another kiss and watched Erik leave the room. "Please let this work," she sighed to herself.
Dinner was a time of blissful peace in lives that were otherwise ruled by two boys who had their mother's sense of wonder and adventure and their father's keen intelligence and quick temper. Erik and Tallis sat beside each other, instead of at opposite ends of the table. They laughed together as they ate out of each other's plates. They fed each other like the newlyweds they had once been. They spoke of the day's events – the progress of Erik's newest commission, the latest gossip from Paris contained in yet another of Antoinette's long letters, the desire of Tallis' parents to come and spend some time during the summer, the opening of Trevinny that would soon occur. And all the while both of their minds strayed to the two little people who were not present at the dinner table that night.
"Can you even remember the last time we had a quiet meal such as this?" Tallis wondered, taking the last sip of her wine.
"It is passing strange, is it not?" Erik wondered and snorted. "I never thought I would ever miss those annoying little interlopers so much."
"Remind me to tell your sons that you called them such when they are grown men with families of their own." Tallis took some satisfaction in the look of pained horror that crossed Erik's face.
"I shall remind you of no such thing," he replied and reached for his wife's hand, raising it to his lips. "Did I ever thank you for my sons?"
Tallis could feel her heart breaking. "Every day in so many little ways that you do not even know."
Erik kept hold of Tallis' hand, resting his cheek against it. "You went through such difficulty to bring them into this world and they have made me complete." He closed his eyes and rubbed his cheek against Tallis' hand. "They make us complete." His eyes opened again. "I never thought I could be this happy."
"I know," Tallis said softly, watching the emotions that played over her husband's face, knowing exactly to where his thoughts strayed.
"I thought I nearly lost you after Michael's birth and I do not think I have ever been so scared in my entire life."
Tallis gave Erik a wavering smile as he let her hand go, cupping her face in both his hands.
"Christine may have been able to bring me to my knees," Erik told her, knowing the mention of that name no longer bore the painful stigma it once had, "but you are the only woman who can scare The Phantom nearly to death."
Tallis felt Erik's fingers massage her temples as he leaned in to place a kiss on her forehead.
"Do not ever frighten me like that again," Erik told her in a stern tone of voice that softened to a plea. "Please do not ever do that to me again. I could not bear to face life without you. I would not know what to do with your sons. I would not know what to do with myself! I would not …"
Tallis reached up to take her husband's hands in her own, drawing them from her face, kissing his lips firmly. "You would know exactly what to do with our sons because you love them as much as I." Tallis wrapped her arms about Erik's neck, resting her cheek against his marred skin. "And I am not going anywhere." She felt the desperation in Erik's embrace – it was an emotion he had never fully gotten over.
I hope, Tallis thought and then out loud, "Why do you not help me to clean the dinner plates?" She drew back and winked at Erik, knowing how easily he could be distracted. "The sooner we finish, the sooner we can go to bed."
Erik responded to the twinkle in his wife's eyes. "It is still daylight, Madame."
Tallis looked over her shoulder at the darkening sky before turning back to her husband. "It is nearing twilight, sir."
"Then time is wasting, Madame," Erik replied, "and that is a sin against God." Erik's face was expressionless. "Or so I have heard."
Tallis smacked her husband's knee and laughed.
The table was cleared, the dishes cleaned and the remaining wine poured into the glasses in short order. As Tallis put away the last of the dishes and banked the fire in the hearth, she knew that Erik moved easily about the darkened cottage, securing windows and doors. They lived so close to the moors and the caves beneath the cliff that Erik often commented to her about her safety – a nervousness that multiplied exponentially with the arrival of each child. Yes, Erik would acknowledge, his wife's family was respected but a smuggling and salvaging heritage was capable of winning out over any respect. Tallis knew that Erik would double-check the locks on the windows in the room that the boys shared, even knowing that they were safe with their cousins that night. She knew he would give a longing look at the two empty beds, missing his sons even though he would be reluctant to admit to such a thing. Tallis had often heard her husband wonder when his heart and soul had been taken from him and placed into the dirty hands of two small boys. Tallis was also perfectly aware that Erik knew he would never receive an answer.
The sound of the door to her sons' room closing echoed through the still house and Tallis heard it from where she sat in the bedroom she shared with Erik. She knew that Erik would move through the deepening shadows of their home with an ease born of years living in even deeper, darker shadows. She could picture the smile that grew on his face, lighting his eyes on fire, as he approached the door to the bedroom they shared; Tallis took a sip of her wine to steady her nerves. She laughed slightly to herself and closed her eyes, unable to believe that her husband still had the power to make her feel like a frightened school girl.
"Do I make you that nervous?" a voice asked her from the doorway.
Tallis opened her eyes and rose to her feet, wine glass in hand. "Yes," she told Erik as she handed him the wine glass, watching him take a deep draught of the fine vintage. "You have always made me nervous." She took back the extended wine glass, placing it on the nightstand beside the bed. "You will always make me nervous." Tallis shivered as Erik ran a single finger down the front of her dress.
"A healthy sense of fear is what keeps us alert," Erik whispered as he drew Tallis into his embrace, expert fingers easily undoing the small buttons that ran the length from his wife's neck to her hips.
Tallis, too, was busy undoing buttons. A smile crossed her face as she slipped Erik's shirt from his shoulders, tossing it to the floor, allowing her fingers to play along the waistband of his pants. "Then you must be utterly terrified," Tallis breathed lightly, her breath catching in her throat as Erik moved his hands to her shoulders, her dress falling to puddle on the floor about her feet.
"You have always terrified me," Erik growled as he grabbed his wife, pulling her close, his hands roaming freely, massaging her sides, moving down to her hips, grabbing the shift she wore beneath her dress. "Thank you for not wearing that damnable corset," Erik whispered as he began to lift Tallis' shift.
Tallis lifted her arms, drawing back slightly and shivering as the cool air enveloped naked skin and her shift was thrown across the room. She lowered her arms and wrapped them easily about Erik's neck. "Wasting time is such a sin," Tallis told him, a half-grin crossing her face.
Erik swept his wife up into his arms. "I can think of other sins," he told her as he placed her in the center of the bed they shared.
Tallis moaned slightly as Erik moved his hands from the waistband of her French pantaloons down her thigh and under the wide lace edge, slowly creeping back to the edge of stockings. She looked at her husband through slitted eyes, seeing his calm expression even as his fingers danced back and forth over bare skin and stockinged leg.
"What do you want?" Erik teased his wife.
Tallis drew several deep breaths, trying to still her racing heart; he was not going to win this time. Not like every other time. "Not this time," Tallis whispered under her breath and smiled at her husband. "I want …"
Erik's fingers danced ever higher.
"I want …" Tallis could feel her resolve weakening as two sets of fingers ran back and forth over the skin where her thighs met her hips, occasionally straying a bit further inward.
"What do you want?" Erik asked as he knelt over his wife.
"I want my legs back!" Tallis told him as she suddenly slipped from his grasp, going to sit against the headboard. She watched as Erik stared at her in disbelief, unable to stop the laugh that escaped her lips.
"You … little … minx …" Erik spat out. "And I want what is mine!" he finished as he lunged for his wife.
Tallis moved slightly to the right, just far enough for Erik to have to work to take her. She laughed delightedly as he finally grabbed her around the waist, pulling her backward to rest against his chest. Tallis found she could not stop laughing as Erik began to tickle every spot that he knew would eventually render her helpless. "Erik!" Tallis managed, her legs kicking in the air. "Please!"
"Please, what?" Erik growled back.
"Stop!" Tallis panted. "Please stop!" As fingers stop tickling, Tallis found herself turned around in her husband's embrace, staring into his face, the eyes that burned golden fire. The fingers that had been tickling her were suddenly slipping her pantaloons from her hips. Tallis felt her husband's need pressing into her abdomen and she buried her face in the crook of his shoulder. "I want you," she breathed into the sensitive skin of her husband's neck, her trembling hands going to his pants, fumbling with the button. Tallis found herself flipped onto her back, herremaining clothes discarded onto the floor. Tallis smiled as Erik caressed her legs, his fingers knowing just where to linger for maximum effect. "I want only you," Tallis breathed, raising her head as caresses suddenly stopped, a smile growing on her face as Erik slipped out of his pants which followed her clothing onto the floor.
Tallis held her arms open, closing them about Erik, her fingers lightly tracing the scars on his back. "Just love me," Tallis begged him. "Just love me." The slightest touch from Erik's knee was all it took for Tallis to open to him. She sighed deeply as Erik began to plant kisses on her neck, never stopping as his kisses traced ever lower. "Oh, God, Erik," Tallis whispered as she grabbed onto his gray hair.
Erik returned to claim his wife's lips, even as he settled between her thighs. "My Goddess," he whispered as he lightly bit her bottom lip, slipping easily into the treasured center of the woman he loved, feeling her hips rise to meet him. "I love you," he breathed. "I love you. I love you," he kept repeating.
Tallis savored each movement, each caress, the feel of her husband's lips, the warmth of his breath. She raised her head, kissing his throat, trailing her kisses along Erik's collarbone. Suddenly Tallis clung tighter to Erik as she could feel the ripples beginning to spread outward from her middle. "Erik, Erik, Erik," she kept repeating, words trailing off into incoherent sounds as the ripples became a crashing wave that pulled her under, drowning her in an emotional release that left her unable to breathe, unable to think, unable to function. Yet through it all, she could feel her lifeline, the other part of her soul, drowning with her, calling out to her, wrapping her in a symphony that surely rivaled the choirs of heaven.
Later they snuggled together, spooned into each other, Erik's arms wrapped about his wife's middle, his head buried in her hair. Their legs were intertwined and Tallis ran her foot lightly up and down her husband's calf.
"You will never know how very much I love you," Tallis heard her husband whisper. "You are my savior. My light. My very reason for living." She felt his chest expand and contract with a long sigh. "It terrifies me to know I would sink back into Hell should anything happen to you."
Tallis let out her own sigh, taking one of Erik's hands in her own and lifting it to her lips, kissing each finger in turn. "I love you just as much," she told him, feeling his arms tighten about her, pulling her closer to him, trying to pull her into him. "But you are so much stronger then you could ever imagine," Tallis finished.
"Not without you I am not," Erik insisted. "You and the boys are my strength."
Tallis knew it was time and turned over in her husband's embrace so that she could look at him.
"What?" Erik wondered as he looked into the earnest depths of his wife's calm gray eyes.
Tallis drew a deep breath. "We are going to be parents again," she said simply.