Joseph took Clarisse's hand. "Let's get out of here, before anyone comes up with anything else for us to do!"
Clarisse smiled tiredly at him. "I agree. But where are we going?"
"Your place or mine?" he teased.
"Something like that." She was still smiling, but he could sense her nervousness.
"Yours. We would have a great view of the fireworks from your balcony." He kept his tone light, hoping to allay any fears she might have. She nodded her agreement and linked her arm with his as they ascended the staircase to her suite.
There were two footmen on duty outside her door as usual. Joseph waved them off as Clarisse entered the rooms. He told them they would not be needed for the rest of the night. He also instructed them to make sure the staff knew not to disturb the queen in the morning. She would summon them if needed. The footmen nodded quickly and left their posts, grinning at each other as they hurried down the stairs. Joseph watched them go, then entered the suite, pausing to lock the door behind him.
Clarisse was standing in her darkened bedroom. She stood in the middle of the room, apparently gazing out the French doors at the garden beyond the balcony. She stood as straight and elegant as ever, but as Joseph entered the room, he saw her raise her arms and run both hands through her hair and down to rub the back of her neck.
He silently crossed the room, not turning on the lights, and wrapped his arms around her from behind, just as a tired sigh escaped her lips.
"Mmmm, Joseph," she murmured. She turned in his arms so that she faced him. He smiled at her and kissed her platonically on the end of her nose. This made her laugh and she relaxed, laying her head against his shoulder. "I am so very tired." She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly. "But I am so very glad you are here with me."
Joseph nuzzled her hair and the nape of her neck. "I am rather happy to be here, myself."
She pulled away slightly and looked over her shoulder to the balcony. "If you help me move that couch, we could sit inside and watch the fireworks."
He smiled and bit back the comment he wanted to make about fireworks indoors. Instead he merely nodded and released her. They moved the couch into position and she sat down and began to remove her shoes. Joseph noticed a bottle of champagne chilling in a bucket on her coffee table, next to a tray of pears and cheese. He picked up the table and moved it to the front of the couch. Finally he sat next to Clarisse as she removed the small wrap that covered her bare shoulders. He ran his hands down her arms and began to trail fire across the tops of her shoulders with his kiss.
She put her hands on him and slowly started to work his dinner jacket free of his shoulders. He reached behind his back to finish removing the jacket. She pushed lightly on his chest, causing him to lean back against the couch, his arms pinned behind him. Clarisse gazed at him for a moment, not really meeting his eyes, but seemingly studying his features, as if burning them into her mind. Finally she reached up and began to remove his tie. Neither of them spoke. Her nails scraped lightly across the skin of his neck, sending little bolts of electricity all the way to his center and back. She pulled the ribbon of satin free of the constraints of the collar, then unbuttoned the first few buttons of his shirt, running her hand across the fiery skin inside. Leaning in closer, she inhaled his cologne before placing a searing kiss on his neck. Joseph moaned as she pulled away, allowing him to sit up and free his arms.
As she sat back, and he finished removing his jacket, the first of the fireworks exploded, seemingly right outside their window. Clarisse jumped as the darkened room was bathed in colored light.
Joseph chuckled. "That is going to prove rather difficult to ignore."
She laughed as well. "So why ignore it – let's enjoy it."
Joseph opened his arms to her and she snuggled against him. Eventually she slid down so that her head rested in his lap. They said little as they watched the fireworks show outside. Joseph fingered her silky hair and the soft skin of her neck. With every touch of his hand she seemed to become more calm, more relaxed. Her body settled against his.
In a very short time, she was fast asleep. Joseph grinned at the thought that he'd not managed to keep his wife awake on their wedding night. However, he himself dozed off and on through the remainder of the show outside.
The fireworks were finished and all had been quiet for several minutes. Clarisse showed no sign of waking up. He sat a while longer in the darkened room, reveling in the sound of her breathing, deep and slow. Then he carefully and quietly shifted her body away from his, gently laying her head on a sofa cushion. She moaned softly at the loss of contact. He stood and looked down at her for a few moments. The moonlight danced across her face, erasing the lines of care around her eyes, making her appear more beautiful than he had ever seen her. He couldn't bear to disturb her rest.
He moved stealthily across the room and took a soft cashmere throw from the foot of the bed. He laid it over her sleeping form. Then he went into the sitting room and sat down at the small writing desk, rummaging inside for a pen and paper. Finding both, he composed a short note, folded the paper and took it back into the bedroom. He laid it on the coffee table, where she would be sure to see it when she woke up. He lingered a moment longer, watching the rise and fall of her breast as she slept, before walking quietly away, headed back to his own rooms.
It was almost dawn when Clarisse awoke with a start. She sat up, calling his name tentatively. There was no answer. Then she saw the note.
She read.
'Thank you for a lovely evening, sleeping in my arms. You have no idea how beautiful you are when you sleep, my love. Promise me we will be together every night for the rest of our lives, and tonight I will leave you to your rest.
Come to me when you awaken…'
She murmured his name again, running her hand across his words, as if it were his face. Then, looking across the room at the clock, she had an idea.
She was anxious to get out of the dress she'd worn the night before, now impossibly wrinkled by her night spent on the couch. She took a hot shower and emerged feeling happily refreshed and fully awake. Wrapping her towel around her, she stepped into the closet and debated about what to wear. She finally decided on a pair of silk pajamas with a matching robe. She wasn't planning on being out of bed for very long, why get fully dressed?
She laughed at her own reasoning and dressed quickly. Once she was ready, she quietly opened the door to her suite and stepped cautiously into the hallway. No one seemed to be on duty, which was just fine with her. She made her way down the back stairs to the kitchen.
She hoped none of the kitchen staff was awake yet, but wasn't surprised to find the kitchen already fully lit and bustling with activity. The chef looked up as she came in the door and immediately apologized for not having breakfast ready. She reassured him that he'd committed no offense and asked for a breakfast tray that she could carry back upstairs. Thankful that the man had the good graces not to inquire if it was for one or two, or to even offer to have the staff deliver it when it was done, she sat at the table and sipped the cup of tea he brought her.
Within a few short minutes, she was headed back upstairs with a tray of breads, eggs, bacon, fruit and a small carafe of orange juice. It was more than enough food for two, but arranged on a single large platter. Clarisse climbed the stairs, but turned towards Joseph's suite, rather than her own.
She stopped outside his door and tried the handle. It was unlocked. She opened the door and tiptoed into the suite. His bedroom door was open and she walked quietly across the room to stand in the open doorway. She saw him sprawled across his bed, face down in a pile of pillows. He was wearing black pajama pants and nothing else. She stood for a moment in the doorway, watching him breathe; unconscioulsy biting her lip as she watched the little ripples the breaths made in the taunt muscles of his back.
He seemed to sense that he was no longer alone and sighed softly as he shifted in the bed. She entered the room and sat the tray on a side table. When she turned back towards him, he was lying on his back, watching her with one half-opened eye.
She indicated the tray with her hand. "I brought you sustenance," she said in her most official tone.
"Sustenance?" he rasped.
"Yes. You're going to need it." She turned away and walked around to the other side of his bed, so as to hide her blush. He reached out, grabbed her arm and pulled her down on top of him before she had a chance to protest.
"I am certain I will need it," he growled and with one swift movement he rolled the two of them over, so he was on top of her. She buried her face in his chest and giggled merrily.