A/N: Thank you folks, again, for the support. :-) You are the best! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Hope you will like this chapter!

Married

Fading, like a flower

CHAPTER XV

The tip of his bony fingers dig into Angelica's skin. Her jaw grows sore but her state is stuck in his firm hold. His eyes pierce right into hers, warningly and she reflects a challenging aura. He has had enough of her trying to ruin his plans, on how she openly plays house and is just about a corner away from risking changing Jack's ideas of this.

Any person knowing there is a problem to solve, one must firstly eye the cause.

Which now so happens to be, Angelica herself.

But how had Mister Hans, come to this conclusion to a final time, pull her inside an empty room to have a brief telling to her? An informative and decisive conclusion of what she needs to redo, what she needs to stop do and most of all - what she cannot do anymore.

It all began during Frances' first birthday celebration. With Hans' wary eye, the small traces eventually would lead up to a moment when he put two and two together. To a realization that this cannot go on forever. It slows the process and he is at the risk of Jack getting new ideas.

It is quite rather an enjoyable celebration with harmonic bubble to it all. Fancy dressed wives arriving in carriages with their husbands already partly drunk. Nursemaids came along with spoiled toddlers and children of all ages, who run around as if they are in charge. In between a wife will shout for her child to at least try to behave, yet truly no more such emotion in the voice that can be comprehended as an empathy for the poor nursemaid trying to not have their children killed.

However for Angelica, her eye is too wary of whatever Frances is up to. And if she could have decided, the nursemaid really would not have been needed anymore. The picture of a lady though is not compatible with a loving mother. Ladies are not supposed to be too attached to their children. Partly yes, but they are supposed to wave divalike to the nursemaids and have them mother their children. Their truest duty is to just organize the perfect picture of a family and it seems as if their husbands have nothing more of a duty than to never really grow up. To just be the top of a party, have most wealth, net worth and probably, mistresses.

It comes to the result though that after a glass of popped champagne, quite forced into Angelica's hand, she finds herself with relaxed shoulders and having quite a good time. Into the afternoon when some begin to head home, leaving just her so-called favorites left, they are far into a conversation mainly shooting different statements of pure bragging among each other. Quite smoothly though.

Surprisingly, she is even taken aback herself, by how with such pride, she speaks the truth of Frances's first word, 'Daddy' of Jack. Frances is such a good and sweet little girl. That is a fact spoken among the ladies and Baroness Anna Rothley is the one stealing the spotlight rather fast, to cheerfully rejoice upon the fact that Frances is the one who will be her daughter in law. It still would leave Angelica as if someone punched air out of her, yet she has learned since a long time ago how to still wear that smile as if she agrees.

A witness to her behaving well, is Jack. Even if he so sits in a lounge group further away, the men drinking their heads off, he has an eye in Angelica's direction. It is barely no use, even for himself, that he finds the image irresistible. That morning he had even pretended to sleep just so he sneakily could catch a glimpse of her getting out of bed. He absolutely hated to admit it, but for every passing moment he finds her more and further irresistible than before. He prefers denying it, how he tends to care for her. An arm out to assist her or to rest along her backrest's neck while she sits in a chair. His body would slightly be turned towards her and he unwillingly found himself in situations where he seeked her approval, as if when he dressed up or showed off Franny-girl for Angelica, or seeked her attention, like when he desperately breaks something or anything else she cares for, just to get a reaction.

He tries two things. One is to always look away when he notices she is aware of his staring.

And the other one is to try to wave away Franny-girl, as she seems to be drawn to him. For whatever reason. Lately she barely could pass him without wobbling over to him and hug his leg. Even in situations where he tried to hide, she would always find him. As if she wears this inner insight of where he is. The positive thing about that, is how it always led Angelica to him. She would come looking for Franny-girl and find her in Jack's hold. And he would taunt her, playfully, about how Franny-girl only spoke of Jack as Daddy and he clearly being her favorite. Something that indeed always got a reaction from her. She would hit his arm, clench her jaw or mutter at him in Spanish. It was fun, and both knew it was not anything he truly meant with his remarks. But fun, it was indeed, to piss her off.

Now at this birthday party, which indeed is for Franny-girl, she has managed navigating herself between guests and with fast steps escaped the nursemaid. Finding Jack in company of many other men, fathers, she immediately begins to tug his leg and call for him.

"'Addy," and her arms are out, wanting him to pick her up. "Daddy?"

He must refuse picking her up, at least in front of others. Instead a nearby piggy nobleman gestures to Jack's nursemaid. "Will you pick the girl up and actually do what you are hired for?"

The nursemaid apologetically hurries to pick the disappointed Frances up, and the girl's pouty eyes to Jack makes his stomach twist awfully much. He is not supposed to have this girl make his inner world flip like this either. And he hates to understand that he begins to certainly do get, what probably has awakened in Angelica.

Again, he finds himself staring at her. Angelica. How she carefully sets the porcelain teacup back down into its belonging saucer. No other person notices, but naturally him, how she almost ungraciously lets the cup slip and slide out of it. Her eyes discreetly go wide for this brief moment before she manages it in place and instead wears this false smile as one of the ladies throws a gossiping statement about another wife to her.

His vision once again, drifts to her deep eyes. She seems content, happy, even if he knows she is pretending. She genuinely appears to be happy. The way she calmly breathes, savors moments and keeps a mothering eye over Franny-girl.

And his eyes travel to her mouth, her lips. Which form that smile. And when his gaze goes further down, he must fidget and Rothley suddenly bangs his upper arm.

"Lord Teague!"

Monty is nearby and begins to cough on his drink.

For a brief second, Jack struggles tearing his gaze from her and fights on keeping his attention on Rothley.

"What does she do to you?" he wonders.

"Who?" Jack foolishly grins as if not understanding a word.

"Who?" Rothley scoffs and then laughs. "Your wife! Hasn't she given you anything for a while or what, I may ask?"

"Beg your pardon?" Jack tries to follow.

"Well, if she hasn't, better on finding yourself a fun one to entertain you at night."

Monty agrees. "Right. I know one we can invite for you at the gentlemen's club next week."

Before Jack has time to object, Rothley has it already settled. "Perfect, Monty! Excellent!"

But it is not until Rothley embarks into the topic of Caribbean islands, that Jack understands he must push the matter even further. And so on, find a specific certificate that he has inside the office room. But as he goes inside, he stops as he passes another one of their overly big lounge rooms. Angelica is inside, searching among drawers without a care of how she messes whatever is inside up.

"Lookin' for something, love?" and he cannot resist entering the room.

She quickly throws a look over her shoulder but never really stops diving into the drawers. "Yes," she says. "The necklace Hans meant you gave me for our second wedding anniversary. It's supposed to be a pearl necklace with a grand diamond hanging in the middle. That Mary lady, countess, highness, or whatever she is, outside is bragging her head off about what her husband gave her and I'm supposed to beat her at it."

It leaves Jack to smile wryly and he suddenly pulls out a tinier drawer at another one she yet has not looked into. Immediately he pulls out a box he once stumbled upon my mistake. "Ye mean this one?"

Angelica stops her search and lets her held breath out. "Thank goodness." And she aims to grab it from Jack.

Maybe it is an inner urge to have her attention, or else he cannot explain why he just must, hold the box away from her. Out of her reach. His smirk is playful as like two children playing, he holds it away as she lounges for it.

"Stop it, Jack! I don't have time for this."

When he supposedly surrenders and is about to hand it her and she wants to take it, he snatches it back.

"Give it to me! I mean it, I need it now!"

There is only one thing he wants, and she understands it as soon as his traveling eye has taken in every inch of her. He slightly leans todays her with his finger pointing to his cheek.

"No way," she refuses and takes a step back. Her arms fold and she frowns.

"Say ye want it, or perhaps not, eh?" his winning smirk grows.

When she has given up, running out of time, she does lean for his cheek. Although reacting quick, he has turned his head to make her end up kissing him full on his mouth.

Of course, his urge for her might have been better in control if he or at least she, had yet again been aware of Hans silently passing by the doorway and for yet once again, being a witness of them.

Because even though how much she into their kiss, mutters how much she hates Jack - she does let him push against her and even lift her bum to the backrest of a nearby couch so he more easily can hold her separated legs in place. She meets his magnetic urge, but it is definitely Jack that is the dazed partner trying to get out the most of the moment. His hand that firmly had held the box, just opens and lets it slip through his fingers down to fall onto the couch below Angelica's bottom and he much rather needs to hold onto her. It does astonish him slightly that she seems to not fight against him, even if her words tell him anything but anything positive. He has probably never heard a person hate him as much as she does, in words.

Her actions speaks otherwise though. When he understands he has to pull his face away from her, or else they will have to finish this and as result be away from the guests for much longer, confusion displays in her eyes.

"Ye look lovely," he reasons as excuse. Something he does utter whenever he needs a reason to just seek her attention, seek her presence or just be seen by her. Or as now, an excuse as of why he cannot get his hands away from her.

As in demonstration, she wipes her sleeve against her mouth, as if to wipe away any trace of him. He still smiles at her when she slides back down to the ground and pushes him lightly away from her, her palms put on his chest.

It is again as if Jack's body lives its own life, as he grabs her wrist to stop her actions to walk away from him. Gently yet steadily he brings her back to him, her back into his chest and he brings his arm around her tightly over hers. He hugs her tightly against his torso to kiss her cheek from behind and whisper. "Me wife, aye."

Her chuckle of irony is one she quite swallows. But he knows just as much as she does, that it is her way of refusing to show how she really reacts to his words.

"Jack," she at last sighs, pretending to be irritated by him and she pushes out of his embrace. However she does 'accidentally', grind her butt into his groin as she does so. Her smile she fights back is evident though. But this time she quickly snatches the box and hurries out of the room before Jack gets any opportunity to prevent her again. When he is back outside, with the correct papers laid out for Rothley to investigate, he can barely hold up the idea of how they are such a perfect image of what would be authentic. Baron Rothley cannot even realize that they are false. Mister Hans really did his job to the most perfect details. Probably why he was hired in the first place. Nevertheless it is to no use for Jack nor Angelica, that he stands hidden in a window, behind a curtain as coverage while viewing their precise movements and actions. He studies and analyzes their very exact effort, which for the moment may be a step into the right direction.

Furthermore there is no denial that Jack is way more on his wife, than he may should be. Towards the beginning of this evening, with even fewer ones left, most children are put to bed by nursemaids and only adults seeking more to celebrate stay behind. And it leaves the perfect moment for Jack, when Angelica passes by to grab ahold of her hand again.

It is Monty and another count that discuss the benefits of having more children, particularly sons, that they embark it. A few wives would join the men, slightly intoxicated by now and a bit more loose to the idea of expanding the family matter. Just using any advantage possible, specifically easier when in front of an audience, Jack gets to pull her to his lap. She cannot really disobey. Not in front of others. And she may give it to him for using situations like that against her, but he simply found it difficult not to.

"Now what do you say, love?" he grins.

"To what?" she wonders and nervously fidgets in his lap. His arm protectively lays around her and he lets Monty do the talk.

"That your husband wants a son."

She would have jerked if Jack had not had his arm to force her to lean backwards to the side of his chest.

"Oh, that is not fair, Monty!" Anna shoots to her relative by marriage. "You barely have a woman around."

This quite would not slip passed by any other woman to utter such, and barely even a man. But as she is, after all, married to Rothley - it brings out a laughter from all of them.

"Dearest Anna," Monthy bitterly yet with a playful sparkle in his eye, speaks. "Just wait for your hubby wanting the second one." To make her face go pale.

For once speaking up for his wife, Rothley does put his cousin in place. The differ in attention brings Angelica the opportunity to in the corner of her eyes to eye Jack. But it is when he silently whispers, "It'd be fun to 'ave one, aye?"

That she shoots back as if someone had hit Jack's head with a heavy brick.

"Have you gone mad?!" she must hiss and silence herself to not have any eavesdroppers.

But Jack again, childishly wants her attention by trying to catch her eye contact. "Why? Is that too much for a husband to ask for?"

"It is!" she snorts but falters in her tone when his finger reachers her cleavage. He actually fingers on the diamond hanging in the pearl necklace that she previously was looking for. It is awfully apparent that he just uses this as coverage for just having his hand at an inappropriate place. His hand is brushing against the softness of her bosom, and when she meets his eye, he can see that she warns him silently. But he refuses to stop. And she cannot make him. Which makes him smirk.

He can see by her eye that she silently questions him, puzzled if he just acts or if her being scared to death is in terms. His eyes must have darkened or else Angelica would not have shot him, "Never."

"Why not? We already got one, eh."

Before in disbelief, standing up to pretend having an errand inside to do, she has to lean down back to him to hiss, "Now who is the one playing house?"

But for her unfortunate moment, Hans had seen everything. Perhaps not grasped the words from the distance. But he certainly had seen enough of their interaction. Which was true enough for him to understand the difference between the couple acting false versus genuine. And things have gotten too genuine for his approval.

And while the missus may just enter a random picked chamber to ventilate, have a break, it is the one which doors Hans decides to close behind him. At first her reaction is nothing but to just look over her shoulder and notify his presence.

But as if his tone is under his breath, "Angelica," she certainly does turn fully around. He is serious, angry, for something. And when he quite leaps for her, she even reacts by taking a step back.

"Hans?"

"What do you think you are doing?" he forces.

She does not understand what he refers to, but enough to comprehend that he holds a grand anger.

When she aims to get out of there, he has kicked a furniture in the way to block her way and to harshly grab her jawline, steadily hold her in place. It is all an intimidating gesture and when she tries to wince he just tightens it until it hurts.

"You stop doing this," he warns. "Do not even try me, Angelica."

Even in a case if she would have wanted to answer, she could not.

"I have seen you lately. Your idea of turning Jack's ideas. Don't test me, woman."

She swallows but keeps staring into his eyes.

"I find you trying to change Jack's focus one more time, and I'll behead the girl right in front of you."

"You wouldn't -."

"Try me." And he lets go of her.

As soon as his grip has loosened, he leaves the room. He tries not to frown, not to show how he feels. Instead his jaw continues to be clenched and he marches to a room he uses as office himself. He cannot have that woman risking to ruin things anymore. And he is willing to kill for it.

But to not even have her reason to work against him, he harshly sits down behind his desk, angrily unfolding an empty paper. His feather moves along it as he writes.

There is one person he needs to have around, to stop this madness. To break the bubble of this, make them refocus and leap way closer towards a simple and easy signature. That is after all everything he is asking for.

One to break things off not between the Teague couple itself, but to the persons behind the masks - Angelica and Jack.

One person he needs to have knocking on their door as soon as possible.

And that would be - Armando.

A/N: Well, guess Hans never really has been the definition of a gentleman, has he?