Now she had her head against my shoulder and her arms around my waist,holding onto me as tightly as she could. In turn,I had my head rested on top of hers and my arms around her back,clutching her against me. I'd never known a woman to be able to wear white so beautifully,to be able to extract the purity of the color,but Pearl did. When I told her so,she laughed and kissed me in her usual soft manner. Of course it always made every inch of my body shake,too. She happened to glance out the window over my shoulder and I felt her gasp. I turned my head to look over at the small two story house,the window hangings in dark blue silk.
The place had always been one of my favorite hideaways,Father and I had just fixed it up. It had been our project for 7 or 8 years. As we started to pull into the yard,Pearl started to shake. I wondered what she may be so nervous about. Perhaps it was the feeling of unease we had both felt all day? The wedding had been the only thing to feel right,aside from the small touches we had managed to give each other throughout the day. We had both also had the same odd sense of deja vu.
I stroked her back and kissed her forehead,calming her for the moment. Honestly,I would be much happier when we were alone in one another's arms in the house. We stopped presently and I felt a soft sigh of relief emit from my mouth. The longer this night went on,the more tense I felt. I helped Pearl out with a slight grin,which she returned whole heartedly,though she was now shaking so hard her teeth chattered.
We went into the house as quickly as possible,letting the servant Alec had sent along bring our things in for us. Alec would come by later to pick the young man up,promising he wouldn't "disturb" Pearl and I. I had laughed at the tease,but deep down? I appreciated it. I wanted tonight to be...special. There would be so many firsts,and I wanted them all to be perfect for my dear new wife. Pearl was shivering like a scared horse by the time we made it into the slightly under-furnished den. Well,no,actually I had only bought chairs,the kind for a dining room,until Pearl decided how she would like to decorate.
Our bedroom was a completely different story. It was all but a shrine for my beloved. It had every painting,musical score and poem she still had that she had created decorating the walls. The themed color of the room was both of our favorites,a very deep,rich blue. After dinner,we would go up and she would get to see it. I was a little nervous she may not like it-I hardly wanted to get into a fight over something so silly our first night of marriage. I also had another surprise for her. Etienne had sneaked her beloved cello to our new home while Pearl had been getting ready earlier in the day. My love had always been worried I despised that bit of metal and wood,so I knew she would be overjoyed to see it hadn't been forgotten.
We headed into the modest kitchen and began,almost instantly,working on dinner. The servant had gone back outside to wait,but both of us loved to cook so much it didn't bother us one bit. She blinked cross-eyed at the small dot of gravy I put on her nose to taste and slid her little pink tongue up to try it. "Perfect as always," She grinned at me after a minute. My specialty had always been making sauces and gravies to compliment Pearl's amazing cooking.
It seemed to take no time to get supper ready. The two of us were seated side by side,feeding each other within twenty minutes,laughing at a few jokes. It seemed only seconds before we were done with our food as well. I glanced out the window with a slight frown. Alex hadn't come by yet,I still saw the servant out there. "Charles?" My attention snapped back to Pearl as I blinked. "What's wrong?" She asked,voice trembling a little. I smiled and reached out,taking her hands in mine gently,"Nothing,Alec just hasn't come by yet. Don't worry your pretty head about it,my love." Pearled smiled serenly and nodded. I leaned forward to kiss her as I heard horse hooves approaching. 'It took him long enough,'I thought testily as I held my lips against Pearl's. God knows how I could tell,but after her arms made their way around my neck,I found myself picking her up and carrying her to our room.
She broke away from me only to take a few short breaths and kiss me again,more passionately than before. I smiled to myself at her bravery. I wasn't sure if she wasn't scared as much as she was hiding her fear,but I was still proud of my gemstone.
We didn't break the kiss until we made it to our bedside. She gave me a weak,nervous grin that didn't match the glazey,lusty look her eyes held. I saw her glance around and smile,obviously glad about my choice of decoration,but her mind was clearly elsewhere. The change from her normal demeanor was almost enough to shock me. How she did it I doubt I'll ever know,but she managed to pull both of us to the bed with a single twist of her hips. Anxious yet impatient as all hell,that was the fire that burned deep down. The same fire about her that I loved so much.
Within 10 minutes time,we were both sufficiently prepared to...erm... do what all married couples do. I'm hardly modest,but I was brought up to highly respect the process through which little bundles of joy are made. We were seconds away from that intimate connection when a crash came from downstairs. I froze,as did Pearl,staring at one another in silence. A stranger breaking into our house? NOW?! How low could someone go?! I sighed and kissed Pearl gently then stood and flung my clothing on. I had a knife,unbeknowst to my wife,in my left pocket should I need it.
As I turned to walk out the door,I found Pearl facing me,looking paler than normal. "I love you.." She whispered softly,stunning me by the sudden statement. I couldn't help but smile and kiss her again,briefly. "I love you too,Pearl," I murmured back to her as I held her warm body in my arms. I felt cold as I let go of her and I seemed to be holding back tears. What was wrong with me? The night wasn't ruined,I'd go down and correct whatever was wrong,then come back to Pearl. Not so hard,right?!
Wrong.
I walked down the stairs silently,frowning as I heard a whisper too low for me to make out. Great,at least two of them. I knew I could handle one,but I wasn't so confident with two or more. At least,not with Pearl's safety on the line. I glanced outside to see the carriage still there,and another that had joined it. My eyes widened as I realized the new carriage wasn't Alec Jenoviva's.
It was Elliot Stone's.