Ch 7 - One Day at a Time
He could still remember that first night, as clear as if it had just passed.
The nights and mornings had changed much in stages over the years. As Henry had desired they had several years all to themselves. In that time they learned to work as a couple, to work together and lean on each other well.
They learned to take time for themselves, away from responsibility and obligation.
As there presently seemed to be a short reprieve in the churn of the day Catherine and Henry decided to take a few minutes to themselves while Mary finished the morning meal, taking a trip down memory lane was cathartic. Though not the most conventional of beginnings, in part it helped to carve out who they would become, individually and as a couple.
It took some time for Catherine to pry the first part of that fateful night out of Henry. His only brilliance in manipulation was under the guise of bravado. He was however quite confident in his ability to avoid a subject.
When Catherine had finally found out how he had gained her as a wife she was so curious at his hesitance, as well as thoroughly in love, that at his continued bashfulness about it she had simply kissed him until he cared more about the present than anything in the past.
After breakfast, Henry and Francis headed off to work in the shop while Catherine remained at their home for the day.
Henry was teaching Francis his trade, but was also giving him lead to begin working on the finer art of making swords. Rarer metals were more expensive so Francis was primarily crafting them out of iron, but on a smaller scale this provided an additional line of profit in the way of more intricately crafted knives, daggers, and other small metal items people were willing to pay extra for.
Their town may not be wealthy, but for a reasonable price people were willing to spend a little frivolously for quality craftsmanship.
Francis would also collect scraps of other metals to fashion into swords as the opportunity presented itself. The time Francis spent on such side projects may not have been practical in the way of income, but Henry was glad that he had found something he enjoyed. That he found pleasure in his work.
And perhaps it would eventually lead to a career.
By midday if the day was going well at home, either Catherine or Mary would bring them lunch. If neither had not shown up at a reasonable time though Francis would return and give his mother a reprieve, eating his lunch back at the house while she took their father's to him herself.
Whoever considered women to be a vessel of weakness had never managed a household full of children.
Enjoying the fresh air and the relative quiet, Catherine walked to greet her husband with a relatively hot meal. She had been feeling a bit under the weather lately and she appreciated the change of pace.
Entering through the back Catherine planned to surprise her husband while he worked, but it turned out that he was outside speaking with someone.
Placing her package down and beginning to unpack it she was a bit surprised to hear that the customer was female.
Though everyone in the village needed her husband's services at some point, it was usually the men that came by to enlist his skills. The only ones that didn't were women who had lost their husbands in some fashion or women of ill-repute. Listening to the voice for a moment longer, she could tell that this one was in the later category.
Diane de Poitiers was a woman well known among the townsfolk, and particularly the women.
She had been married once to one of the richer men from their village who died under suspicious circumstances. Since then she had taken to housing and caring for those women who had nowhere else to go, not far from the town tavern.
Rumor had it that the women were not always of the most virtuous sort, although they did not flaunt their deeds if that was the case.
Diane not only took them in, but used her slightly elevated status to teach them some of the more refined arts of entertaining, hospitality, and presenting one's self should the opportunity for a husband of some wealth come along.
Minus the likely indiscretion of also attracting husbands and potentially resulting in infidelity, Catherine was less critical than some of the women in town of her efforts.
She had been extraordinarily lucky in finding Henry, or rather in him finding her.
Husbands were not expected to do much by society for their wives while wives were considered indebted and subservient to their husbands, given to being attentive to their every whim and temperament. To marry into money at least increased the likelihood of some comfort in the midst of the discomfort that marriage often brought.
All that said, she had never really liked the woman. With catlike eyes and pristine clothes, she just made Catherine uncomfortable.
Walking out towards the voices, Catherine's discomfort was not diminished as the woman in question had her arm wrapped somewhat possessively around her husband's. He was certainly not responding as many of the men in town did though, practically melting at the attention she payed them.
Catherine decided to enter as if she felt nothing amiss.
"Good afternoon Diane, husband. I have just brought your lunch and wanted to see how your day has been."
Feeling like she needed to assert herself and derail any ill intentions on the part of their guest she continued, "Pardon the interruption Diane, but I don't want my husband's lunch to get cold."
The woman extradited her arm with more fanfare than was necessary but stepped away gracefully.
Henry blushed more than Catherine would have liked, but she held her tongue.
Henry had been faithful to her all these years, if not always in thought, than at least in deed. Desire was not always something that was bidden, she herself had experienced a wandering mind given certain circumstances and so she could not fault him for that. As far as she knew though, he had never taken it beyond that into anything of substance, not even with one of Diane's ladies.
All the while it still made her nervous. Her aunt used to just laugh it off, "boys will be boys," she would say. "They may get bigger, but they stay very much he same."
Eyes following Diane for a moment with a frown on his face, Henry seemed lost before shaking himself out of his trance, grasping her arm gently and turning them inside, presumably to find out what she had brought him for lunch.
Henry still seemed a bit off, so Catherine stepped forward and began arranging what she had packed on the one piece of clear countertop that she could find.
She was in part distracting herself intentionally from Henry's mood and her inner thoughts so she jumped slightly when his arms came around her waist from behind and cradled her whole torso.
She relaxed into his hold though almost immediately, humming her appreciation.
Henry had always been physically affectionate, something that had it had taken a while for her younger self to grow accustomed to.
Standing there, Henry swayed them gently back and forth for a moment. After she had collected herself Catherine turned her head to the side and placed her forehead at his chin. She was quite petite and he was at least a head taller than her. She had heard of the nobles fashioning heels which provided additional height to those of smaller stature, but could never fathom herself wearing any such thing.
Finally allowing her curiosity to get the better of her Catherine asked gently, "Are you alright Henry?" And belatedly in an ever so husky tone, "My king."
Chuckling Henry reached past her to grab a piece of freshly baked bread to take a generous bite, humming his appreciation at the gift. Not wanting to sprinkle crumbs into her hair as he ate he he gently grabbed her hand resting nearest to his and slowly twirled her before pulling her into his side.
Appreciating the whimsy of her husband Catherine simply looked up at him to await his answer.
"I am more than fine now that you are here, my queen."
Resting her hand on his chest she looked up at him, now somewhat concerned.
"Henry is there something the matter?"
Sighing Henry reached for a generous piece of cheese, with some honey on top. "Not at all my dear, simply another request for me to accept a second apprentice. It seems my good will has become quite renowned around town, despite the fact that I have only enough to keep Francis and myself busy."
Smiling up at her husband she knew that to be the truth.
Henry was kind and generous, and while they never really wanted for anything, life could be hard and cruel, and work was at times scarce.
"Well I certainly don't fault you for that husband, it is indeed one of your shining attributes," Catherine said in earnest, knowing the compliment would make her husband just a little uncomfortable.
Finishing his last bite Henry licked his fingers and drew her even closer with his arm now around her waist. "Is that so wife? And have you been spouting this nonsense around?"
A grin on his face Henry watched for her reaction. He loved watching her calculating mind work.
Walking her fingers up his chest and grinning softly she responded, "Only to a favored few my love."
"Well then my queen, it would seem that you have far too much time on your hands to be spreading such prattle," Pushing aside the remains of his meal, Henry lifted her up on the counter by her waist, a small squeal escaping her lips.
"We shall have to fix that, now shan't we?"
"Henry…" Catherine began to protest, unconvincingly, before his lips crashed upon hers.
Exchanging kisses like they were young once again, Catherine and Henry continued until they began to need air beyond their desire to enjoy their pleasure.
Lightning their caress until they finally stopped altogether, Catherine eventually kissed her way down and along his jaw, more and more slowly until she found the crook of his neck. She breathed in his scent, fisting her hands in his shirt, and resting her head on his shoulder. She hummed appreciatively when he sighed, resting one hand on her head and laying his cheek on the crown, right where her curls began.
They would soon have to return to reality, but for now they took time to find rest in each other.