Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Sense and Sensibility! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates on the second and fourth Saturday of each month!
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Mr. and Mrs. Brandon's wedding night had only been the beginning.
Over the course of the next three weeks, Mrs. Millins and the rest of the staff hardly saw the Colonel or his new bride as they allowed themselves the luxury of indulging in the pleasures newlyweds enjoyed.
After years of mournful solitude and haunting remorse, Christopher had at last received his reward for his service in the form of kisses, touches, blissful peaks, and all of the exhaustion that came to lovers who actively sought to physically express their feelings for one another.
He and Marianne greeted each other with sweet kisses as soon as they woke each morning.
They exchanged deeper versions of the same affection before they closed their eyes to sleep every night, usually both bare under the sheets, with Marianne cuddled on his chest and his arm around her as the perspiration from their efforts stained the bed beneath them.
Mrs. Millins and the staff saw their workload steeply increase as they changed their master's bedding every day and worked to put meals on the table at exactly the appropriate times, lest the couple lose interest in eating all together and seek to satisfy themselves with each other's company instead of sustenance.
The staff of the Brandon estate were thoughtful enough to leave pitchers of water outside of the Colonel's bedroom door to ensure the lord and lady of the house at least kept fluid in their bodies during pauses between their…..activities.
It made the maids giggle every time they came to retrieve the pitcher and found it empty.
One night, after a pleasantly tiring evening spent kneeling on all fours in front of her husband while he lifted her towards the heavens, Marianne snuggled against Christopher and placed a tender kiss directly over his heart.
"I love you, my darling Marianne." He whispered as he idly let his fingers comb through her auburn hair.
"And I love you, Christopher." She replied in a heavy, satisfied sigh.
Marianne closed her eyes as her exhausted body took its rest.
After Christopher silently watched her for a few moments, he bent his head and placed a delicate kiss on her forehead.
As she shifted in her sleep, he noticed her beautiful nipples had reddened from his attention.
Christopher gave her forehead one more kiss before he closed his eyes, wrapped his arms around her protectively, and sought his own rest.
Marianne drifted through undisturbed slumber until the morning sun peeked through the fine curtains that lined their windows, but Christopher reunited with his wife far before the time they woke as he met her once again, naked and loving, in his dreams.
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Colonel Brandon was not a man who had spent much time living intimately close with women.
He had heard vague descriptions of female struggles, but as for many men of his era, the fine details of specific occurrences in those of the fairer sex remained shrouded in mystery.
As he woke the next morning to watch his dreams turn to nightmares, he wished that someone had taken the time to enlighten him.
His eyes widened as soon as he realized that Marianne lay curled on the floor with her legs folded under her chest as she rocked back and forth.
"Marianne….?" He asked as he sat bolt upright in bed and frowned down at her, "Marianne, my love, what's the matter?! What's wrong?!"
He placed a hand beside himself on the bed but recoiled as soon as he noticed wetness underneath his palm.
Christopher happened to glance at his hand out of the corner of his eye and as he did, he started in surprise when he discovered it had been coated in bright, red blood.
He quickly looked over and leapt from the bed in shock when he saw his wife's entire side of the sheets stained with the ominous fluid.
With his eyes still wide and the colour draining from his face, not from fear or squeamishness but from worry, he rushed over to his beloved and knelt at her side as he asked, "Oh, Marianne, my darling! What's happened? Where is the pain?...Have you injured yourself?...Stay here! I'll ride into town and fetch a doctor!"
"Nooo…." Marianne moaned as she looked up with her eyes closed while she let out a breath. She dared to brave the pain as she looked at Christopher and stammered, "I….I don't need a doctor, Christopher…..I…..I only need help cleaning up…..Fetch Mrs. Millins will you?..."
Her voice sounded strangled as she dropped her head again and exposed the nape of her neck to Christopher's view as he frowned at her and asked, "Marianne, please, I beg you! I am consumed by worry to see you in such distress!...Am I not your husband? Tell me what's the matter or I shall be driven to insanity!"
"This is part of a woman's trials, Christopher." Marianne whispered as she bit her lip and lifted her head to stare straight ahead. She glanced up at him and rolled her hips as she begged, "Mrs. Millins, please! Send for Mrs. Millins!"
Bewildered by his wife's sudden ailment, Christopher staggered to his feet and stumbled out of their bedroom to begin his search for Mrs. Millins.
Colonel Brandon had seen his share of blood and gore during his years of military service.
He had fought battles, held injured soldiers still during their amputations, and cradled dying men in his hands as he watched them breathe their last with their innards splattered all around.
Somehow, those horrors had failed to rattle his steely nerves, yet the most natural thing in the world seemed to him like an awful calamity.
The soldiers on the battlefield had been an entirely different matter.
Colonel Brandon couldn't stand to see his precious Marianne bloodied and broken.
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Christopher paced up and down the hallway outside of the room he and his wife shared while Mrs. Millins and the maids tended to Mrs. Brandon.
He couldn't hear much beyond the shuffling of feet, the rustling of sheets, and the whispers of the women inside the room.
Every once in a while though, he did detect a sob from Marianne.
Each of those muffled cries pierced his heart.
Christopher knocked on the door after twenty minutes had passed.
"Give us a moment, Colonel!" Mrs. Millins called out.
Christopher frowned when he was denied entrance.
He pressed an ear to the door and heard Marianne weeping as the other women cooed to her in soothing, low tones.
His anxiety heightened as he resumed his pacing for another twenty minutes.
Finally, he rushed over to the door and knocked again, but Mrs. Millins called out a bit louder, "Patience, Colonel!"
"If I could only see her!" Christopher cried desperately.
Silence fell.
He leaned in with the intention of placing his ear to the wood again but the door flung open without warning.
His eyes widened as Mrs. Millins stared up at him with a resolute frown.
The surprise on his face was evident as he took a step back while she moved towards him and closed the door behind herself.
"We're trying to help the poor girl, Colonel!" Mrs. Millins snapped, "...Which is becoming a difficult task with you pounding on the door like a lunatic!"
"I…..I meant no offense or inconvenience, Mrs. Millins." Christopher said as he blinked at his housekeeper, "Marianne suffered greatly this morning….My only wish is to be by her side."
"And for what purpose?" Mrs. Millins demanded, "She's not dying, Colonel! This is as common as sunrise and sunset. Every woman alive endures what she does now and on a regular schedule! Honestly, what will you be like after she conceives?!"
Christopher looked taken aback as he contemplated his housekeeper's question for a moment before Mrs. Millins turned on her heel, opened the door, and reentered the room.
He sighed to himself as the door slammed shut.
A frown marred his face as he walked over and sat down on the bench by the window in the hallway.
It thrilled him beyond measure to think of the family he and Marianne could have together.
He smiled as he pondered the idea that he may one day be surrounded by admirable sons and beautiful daughters, but the path to that reality seemed fraught with peril.
Christopher Brandon knew very little about pregnancy and childbirth, only that it was a dangerous, painful process.
He had attended more than one funeral for women and children who had lost their lives during those perilous events.
Marianne's quiet sobs had nearly destroyed him, he couldn't imagine hearing her screams as she brought their little ones into the world.
His eyes narrowed as a new thought presented itself in his mind.
When those days came, if they ever should, Mrs. Millins would be in for a rude awakening if she thought that she would possibly be able to keep Christopher from Marianne's side.
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After what felt like an eternity had passed, the door to the bedroom finally opened.
Christopher looked up as Mrs. Millins and the maids walked out with the soiled fabrics clutched in their arms.
The servants nodded at him as they passed, but as soon as the last maid had left the room, Christopher charged inside.
"Marianne?!" He asked as his eyes fell on her from where she rested in bed, "Oh, Marianne, my love! How are you?"
"I'm alright, Christopher." Marianne answered with a soft smile.
Her face seemed paler than usual, but her eyes held their same vibrant sparkle as she looked up at her husband and laughed, "Don't excite yourself so, it will pass soon enough."
"Your pain causes my own, my love." Christopher sighed as he furrowed his brow in concern and sat at her bedside, "Tell me, is there anything at all I can do to ease your trials?"
Marianne turned on her side and whispered, "If you place your hand on my back, that may help."
He responded immediately to his wife's needs.
Christopher raised his hand and let Marianne guide him to the place that felt best before he began to rub soothing circles into the tense muscles there.
"Yes….." She breathed in a breathless sigh as she closed her eyes against the feeling.
Her husband's loving ministrations countered some of the agony brought on by the deep cramps that coursed through her abdomen.
After several moments, Marianne whispered, "Thank you...That's much better."
Christopher leaned down as she turned her head towards him.
Together, they slipped into a deep kiss as Marianne sought comfort and Christopher hoped to ease his wife's suffering.
"You're a kind man, Christopher." She smiled as she finally pulled away several moments later.
"Anything I can do to help, my love," Christopher whispered as he nuzzled her affectionately, "Say it…..and I will complete your request to my fullest ability."
Marianne sighed as she moved over in bed.
Christopher took her silent cue, removed his slippers, and slid in behind her.
Their trying morning had ended in merciful peace.
As Marianne drifted off for a nap, Christopher let out a breath of relief that his wife's pains had at least somewhat eased.
Downstairs as Mrs. Millins and the maids washed the blood from the white linens, it made her smirk to imagine just how anxious her employer would become when his wife gave him happy news one day……
If Mrs. Brandon ever announced a pregnancy, the entire estate would be thrown into utter chaos.