Short chapter. Sorry. Next one will be longer.
Chapter 7
"I hope it gets here in time," Diego murmured. "It will make the perfect wedding gift."
Felipe signed slowly as he watched Diego play with the device on his desk. His first experience with that - experiment, had not been a pleasant one but subsequent tests had alleviated his fear.
Diego chuckled when Felipe made an annoyed gesture.
"Yes, Victoria wasn't too happy this morning." Diego confirmed and Felipe huffed in silence, waiting for the man to continue. After a few moments, Diego looked up to see the exasperated look in the mute's eyes.
"No, I'm not going to tell you why she wasn't happy this morning."
Felipe frowned and Diego placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "One day, you'll learn all about the mystery that is women. Until then, enjoy your freedom!"
"Diego?" Alejandro called as his son walked around the corner with a satisfied smirk on his handsome face.
Alejandro's eyebrow rose a bit as his son walked into the library, carefully selected an old book from the shelves and settled into a nearby chair.
"Diego?"
"Yes, father?" Diego looked up innocently his father and Alejandro's eyes narrowed.
"Trouble with Victoria this morning?"
Diego couldn't stop the pleased look that crossed his face and Alejandro would have had to be blind to miss it. "Not at all, why do you ask?"
"Because that little Lady you now call a wife stalked out of here with a look that could have struck a down a grown man." Alejandro crossed his arms and waited for his son to explain.
"Ah. Yes. That." Diego went back to his book.
"Diego!" Alejandro breathed, exasperated with his son.
"She was given a taste of her own medicine this morning, father." Diego grinned conspiratorially, not looking up from the text of his book. "And she was none too happy with the flavor."
Alejandro coughed and forced himself not to try and decipher the metaphor.
"Well, you'd better smooth things over when she gets back."
"Oh, I don't know. She's made her bed. She'll need to sleep in it, alone, for the next few weeks."
Alejandro grinned at his son, proud that the man was taking Victoria's decision to keep separate bedrooms until the formal wedding ceremony so - calmly.
"I'm almost afraid to ask what you've done."
"You may ask."
Alejandro groaned. He knew when his son used that tone it meant their discussion was at an end. Asking now would be pointless. Diego wouldn't give him any kind of an answer. Or, worse yet, it would be some cryptic one that Alejandro was too old to attempt to decipher.
Still, Alejandro had to marvel at the change that had come over his son in the last few days. Marriage would suit him, as soon as he got used to having such a strong-willed woman living under the roof.
Victoria didn't return until the evening and Alejandro couldn't hide his agitation with his son's reluctance to go out and search for her throughout the day. Diego obviously knew she was working at the tavern but he'd refused to go fetch her even at dinner.
She'd said little while they ate, only speaking when spoken to and when finished, excused herself to her room without a single word to her husband.
Diego only smiled knowingly and let her go without comment.
"Diego," Alejandro noted, a warning tone in his voice. "Don't let her seethe. It will only make things worse."
Diego regarded his father with a considerate look, as if he was weighing his options. "She's imposed this . . . restriction. . . . and now I should make apologies, hmm?"
"Whatever you did appears to be something she will not easily forget, since her mood has not changed." Alejandro observed. He was intensely curious about what had gone on between his son and daughter but his respect for their privacy kept him from voicing the question. He wasn't sure he really did want to know.
"Son," Alejandro pulled the book out of Diego's hands and stared down at him, exasperated. "Marriage is about give and take, knowing when best to give in, even if you believe you're right. Choose the battles you wish to fight wisely." Alejandro chuckled and placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "And then let her have her way."
"I'll speak to her, then." Diego stood and without another word strode down the hallway that led toward his bedroom and that of the guest room Victoria would be using until their formal wedding ceremony.
He knocked softly on the door and when she did not answer, he turned the handle and let himself in.
"Get out."
He noted she had been lying on her side, facing the door, and when she noticed who stepped through made a point of dramatically rolling onto her other side so she didn't have to look at him. A small smile tugged at his mouth at her annoyance.
"Victoria."
"You heard me." Her tone left no room for argument.
"Accept my apology, then." Diego winced at the unconvincing tone. He wasn't truly sorry about what he'd done. He'd simply didn't want to argue with her any longer. His father was right. This wasn't a battle worth fighting. He'd let her have her way.
She didn't answer, simply lay with her back to him. She wasn't sure why she was so angry. She certainly had no right to be. She was the one who had banned him from her bed.
When he leaned over and tenderly brushed her hair off her shoulder, she trembled with a combination of longing and rapidly fading anger.
"Such is my love, to thee I so belong, That for thy right myself will bear all wrong." His voice was a mere whisper as his lips dropped to her neck. He pressed a slow, gentle kiss to the soft skin that instantly melted her resolve. His arm came around her waist and he hugged her close. To his delight, he could feel the tension rush from her body.
"Shakespeare." She smiled and laced her fingers through the hand draped over her waist. Though not as familiar with the poet's works as Diego, she had memorized from childhood many of those relating to love. Now she had the entire de la Vega library at her disposal. And she planned to make great use of it.
They said nothing more to one another. She relaxed into his embrace and fell into a comfortable sleep.
When Alejandro walked down the hallway to check on his children, he found the door to his daughter's temporary bedroom open. Curious, he reached out to close it and smiled when he inadvertently glanced inside.
His son lay atop the covers on his side, his wife comfortably covered by the bedclothes and cradled in his arms. Both were sound asleep, a look of relaxed contentment on their faces.
Ah, one argument settled. Countless more to come. Alejandro thought with an amused smile as he made his way to his own bedroom for a nice, peaceful evening alone with his book.
TBC
