7.
~ She watched him slip out of his dinner clothes as she settled back down between the blankets. It felt strange to have Arthur in bed with her. She was not innocent to what men and women did while they were alone; her disgraceful pregnancy proved that. But Arthur was still a stranger to her. Her feelings to him were still new.
But he was her husband, and if he wanted her, she had to submit to him. Her lot in life could be much worse.
She shyly watched him undress. He set his clothing carefully on the back of a chair and stripped himself down to thin undergarments. Ariadne had never given much thought to the underthings men wore. Jeffery had always been naked so fast with her, she didn't question it.
She watched as her husband slipped into bed next to her and put out the light.
"Are you warm enough?" He asked as she cuddled into his body. Their bed was small, just barley large enough for the both of them. It demanded that they sleep close together.
"Yes." She squeaked as she felt his cold feet touch hers.
"Your feet are cold." She whispered in the darkness.
Arthur chuckled softly.
"I was out walking along the boat deck." He admitted.
"In this chill?" She said in shock.
"My wife was a little mad at me." He whispered.
"Well she's not mad anymore. And she doesn't want you dieing of pneumonia. No more going out in the cold air like that." Ariadne chastised.
"Yes, Dear." Arthur mumbled as he kissed her forehead.
She bit her lip and tried to keep at bay the flutters of happiness that took wing in her body.
It felt marvelous to be in this bed with Arthur just now. His long, lean body fitting perfectly and protectively with hers. She breathed in his natural smell and buried her face deeper into his chest.
"Did you want to... I mean were you wanting..." Ariadne said spoiling the moment of peace.
"Did you want to?" Arthur asked.
"It's not for me to say." She whispered.
"Of course it is." Arthur said. "I'm not going to have relations with an unwilling partner."
"I'm your wife." Ariadne mewed up at him.
"Ariadne, I was wrong to try and force you tonight. I had too much to drink. It will never happen again. When you're ready, it will happen. Not a moment sooner." He breathed as he held her closer.
She wanted to say how much she wanted him just then. But some strange sense of fear gripped her tightly and wouldn't let her go.
"Good night." She whispered.
"Good night." He said softly back.
~ Ariadne had always imagined that sleeping with a man would be more romantic then the reality proved to be. When she was still in school, she would wonder late at night, about her future husband. About his arms holding her as she fell into peaceful dreams. How he would smell and how they would wake up at the same time and looking lovingly into each others eyes.
However, the real world of sharing a small bed with a man was different then the fantasy. Arthur snored slightly and kicked. He shifted his body too much and she was woken several times in the night.
She couldn't find a comfortable spot to sleep in his arms like she planed, and ended up facing away from him slightly.
In the morning, he was awake before her and bathed and shaved himself while she slept.
"Morning." He smiled at her as sunlight trickled in their window.
"Morning." She said weakly.
"Tomorrow we'll be in Paris." Arthur said leaning over to kiss her cheek. "What would you like to do today?"
"Don't you have to socialize with the businessmen?" She asked sitting up and holding her covers over her body. Her thin under garments not protecting her delicate flesh from Arthur's eyes.
"No." He responded curtly as he dressed himself. "I'm done with them. I hate social climbers."
"So what now?" She asked.
"Well, we can explore the ship if you like. Whatever you want." Arthur told her.
~ In the end, the couple stayed in their cabin and kept to themselves. Arthur read the paper in bed with her as she wrote her story.
"I didn't know you liked to write." He said casually as she explained the plot of her new story.
"It keeps me entertained." Ariadne said with a shrug. "So many novels are about love. Finding a husband and that sort of thing. It's all romance. Not one book will tell you what to do once you've found love. I think your just supposed to curl up and die after your married. It's what society expects." She said sadly.
"Society is demanding and unforgiving." Arthur mused as he looked over the stock market. "It's the gilded cage we've made for ourselves."
"If we were brave enough, we could live without it." Ariadne told him.
"I'm afraid no man is that brave. My business depends on my reputation." Arthur told her.
"I guess we'll have to settle on fooling them." She said.
"Precisely, we'll look out for each other. It's like walking into the lion's den here. Once we get to Blue Rivers, it will be worse. We shall be the only Americans there and whats left of the family won't trust us. We can only trust each other." He said.
She smiled at that idea. Arthur could be a powerful alley in this world of proper ladies who would cut out her heart out if they ever suspected her fall from grace.
She looked over her husband. When he wasn't laced up in his finery, he looked almost normal. His long legs stretched out on the bed. His fine brown eyes reading over the paper.
She shifted in their bed and sat in front of him. His eyes ignoring her as he was transfixed on some article.
"Would you let me read your work one day?" He asked.
"Maybe." She said casually as her fingers went to the ties of her undershirt. Her vulnerable skin barely hidden under it.
"Will we be having dinner with the Colonel and his wife?" She asked nonchalantly as she slipped the thin white cotton off her head. Her bare breasts now exposed. Arthur didn't notice as he kept reading.
"If you like, I suppose we can go to dinner. I'd prefer to stay in." He said. His face obscured by the paper as she sifted out of her thin, cotton panties. Her naked body sitting lady like in front of him now.
"Well, it's just as well. I have nothing to wear anyway." She said casually.
"We can find something for you." Arthur said as he kept his paper up.
"I suppose I could always go in this. Although it might cause a scandal." She said.
Arthur lowered his paper to finally see her. His face turned bright red as his eyes took in ever inch of her body.
She smiled sweetly at him and proudly, sat a little straighter.
"I think it would cause a riot." Arthur breathed at last.
