Authors Note: Hiya Lovelies! Sorry this is late I got busy. Lady Love will have a faster update though hopefully and then I'll do Our Toxic Love. I'm putting off my latest one An Italian Girl and Nothing More because I have a few different ways i can take it at this point and I haven't decided what I'm gonna go with as yet so if you're waiting on that one - I'm sorry, that ones gonna be a little while, but I'll try to get onto it asap. But anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter! Next will be Henry's reaction to her outburst. Don't forget to let me know what you think Xox
Waking up next to her husband, who insisted on snoring like a freight train, after their ordeal the night before was...awkward to say the least. Thanking whatever god there was that she was an early riser, Catherine slipped out of bed silently, taking care not to wake her sleeping bear.
Her eyes still only half open, she went down stairs to brew herself a pot of coffee. Her bare feet sliding around the tiled kitchen floor as she sleepily went about her task, humming her satisfaction as she brought the steaming cup to her lips, breathing in the rich aroma for a few moments before finally taking a sip. This was her favourite part of the morning. The few minutes she could always count on having to herself before she woke the kids for school and her husband woke from his rock-like sleep. It was the only time all day that she had to think without having to deal with constant interruptions.
She sighed heavily as she replayed the nights events in her head. Stupid bitch. The blonde couldn't believe she'd allowed it to get so out of hand, she couldn't even remember why she'd decided to provoke him, though she assumed it was her husbands fault to begin with. Though it was more how it ended than how it started that had her kicking herself. And in front of Mary as well. Fuck. Just thinking about the whole thing made her want a cigarette. She didn't even smoke.
But she had no more time to dwell on it further according to the clock above the fridge. She had to start getting her babies up and ready for their first day back at school after summer break. Quickly downing her coffee, knowing she would need it if she had any hope of getting her three little monsters out of bed, Catherine made her way upstairs to get ready for her first day back at war. Little Henry's they were, every one of them. 'Not morning people' didn't even begin to cover it. If left to their own devices there wouldn't be a single one up before noon.
Mary, however, was much easier to rouse. An earlier riser like Catherine she woke up almost immediately after her new mother figure entered the room, ready to greet the day, unlike Elizabeth who merely let out a few whines in protest to the sudden stream of light in her eyes before rolling over and going back to sleep. Catherine rolled her eyes as Francis and Claude greeted her with the same enthusiasm as their sister. Going back down stairs to set the table for their breakfast she let Mary shower and dress herself before helping her fix her hair in a long ebony braid that reached half way down her back.
The matriarch sat by her young charge as she ate her cereal peacefully, all the others still in bed, watching the girl with her brow furrowed in concern. Always the nurturing mother, she worried for the pretty little thing. Her short life hadn't been an easy one with her parents relationship being not unlike the one she had with her own husband, though they at least had the grace to keep their problems behind closed doors, she knew Mary had seen a lot. Then of course her fathers death and now her mothers absence..she didn't want her to be afraid after what she'd witnessed last night. Catherine hadn't taken her in with the intention of traumatising the girl further, she'd wanted to give her a home. A safe one.
"Mary, my darling.." She started softly, knowing that if they didn't have this talk now she'd likely come to regret it in the long run "..how much of last night did you see?"
"I didn't see anything" replied immediately avoiding the blonde woman's eyes, sure she would be in trouble. Though when she saw Catherine's brow raise in her peripheral vision she corrected herself, albeit with some reluctance. "...anything more than I've seen before"
Not an answer.
Catherine sighed inwardly, though she hid her frustration from the child. It seemed she was going to have to coax it out of the girl.
"So, your parents...they fought a lot then, huh?"
"Sometimes" Mary answered evasively before a tiny smirk found her lips "..sometimes they did the kissing thing as well"
Trying to hide her embarrassment, Catherine looked down so the dark haired girl couldn't see the subtle blush that was burned her cheeks "Yes well, I'm sorry you had to see all that, sweetheart." The matriarch responded sincerely, taking two tiny hands in her larger ones, trying to offer the girl as much comfort and reassurance as she could. "I can't promise it'll never happen again but I'll try to keep it away from you as much as possible"
"What are you sorry for? It's your house." She shrugged, not used to someone being so concerned about her feelings. "I was supposed to be in bed" Mary smiled softly, attempting to relieve some of the guilt she could see Catherine was putting on herself.
"True." The blonde smiled fondly. "But this is your home now too, darling and I want you to feel as safe and comfortable as possible"
Chocolate orbs looked deep into hazel, searching for any sign of a lie and finding none she smiled back. This was new for her, this..attentiveness. Mary had never had this with her own mother, Marie was always rather preoccupied, where her father was just..absent. She felt like she was the star of some orphan Annie after school special, where the kid with the crappy childhood finally finds a decent home. It'd only been a day and already she was strangely attached to her new 'aunt'.
As she thought about it now, Mary found she only really had one concern about what she'd seen the night before. "..did he hurt you?" The girl asked softly, motioning to the faint red handprint around Catherine's neck.
The blonde reached up to touch the mark on her throat, grazing her fingers over it softly hoping the others wouldn't be so observant. She'd checked on it before leaving her room when she woke up and it didn't seem too bad, it likely wouldn't even leave a bruise, truthfully she was surprised Mary even saw it. Though the matriarch realised it'd probably be easier to spot if one was looking for it. In the bright side though it did answer her original question on how much of their little lovers spat had been seen, the not so bright side being that that answer was, most probably, all of it. Or at least the majority.
"No, sweetheart. I'm fine." Catherine promised gently.
"Then I'm fine too" Mary answered, smiling sweetly with a glint in her eye that was somehow equal parts, childhood naivety and wise beyond her years. Her new mother figure was about to say something more but right at that moment, three young Valois' came running down the stairs changed and ready for their breakfast.
Sitting her youngest on her lap to braid her hair similarly to how she'd done Mary's, she hushed the older ones from their incessant prattle about nothing in particular. Encouraging them to hurry up and eat their cereal so they could get going, not wanting them to be late for their first day back at school.
Piling her over-energetic little munchkins into the car for the school drop off had been quite the task but she'd managed it well and the peaceful silence on the return trip was well deserved. When she got home she could tell Henry was still asleep from the lack of banging and complaining about having nothing to eat. So, she decided now was as good a time as any to get a start on cleaning the house. Heading to the kitchen first as she had an uneasy feeling that she'd missed a few pieces of glass when she'd swept up the night before, Catherine made a start on cleaning the place top to bottom, making sure it was entirely safe for her babies and their little bare feet.
Not long after she started though, her husband wakes to find himself in an empty bed. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence, in fact he'd come to expect it with his wife being the early bed she was, but something in him had hoped she'd be there when he rolled over on this particular morning. Drowsily he walked down to the kitchen where his wife offers to make him breakfast, more out of habit than anything else. Nodding appreciatively he sat down in his usual spot and watched as his blonde wife put away her cleaning supplies and walked over to the stove. Her shoulders were tense and she wished she'd never offered, then she could've just left the room and wouldn't have had to endure him staring at her while she cooked.
He'd always done it. It was like some sort of bad habit or a weird fascination he had with watching her prepare meals, or vacuum, do her hair, read. All little things none of which particularly interesting to most yet always seemed to grab his attention. Smiling he took in the sight of his beautiful wife, his eyes drinking in that perfect shade of coppery blonde he'd never seen on anyone else, before traveling down her form. Taking in her perfect curves and her ivory skin as well as all her tiny freckles. He could hardly see them sitting so far away but he didn't need to, he knew exactly where each one was and just what it looked like. He had her memorised from her head down to her toes from the last time they were on good terms.
Catherine was the only woman he'd ever known that'd been able to make him care that much. To intoxicate him to the point where he wanted to know each and every inch of her and never forget...there were times when he did forget though. Forget what he had in her.
But after the night they had he was reminded with extreme force just who he was married to, though they'd been interrupted before he could get his fill of her and now sudden the was insatiable. For a few minutes there he tried to exercise his self control and stay seated, but eventually recalling he had none the mob boss found himself slowly walking towards his wife.
The blonde had tuned out a while ago, focusing all her attention on the eggs and bacon and trying to ignore the man she was making them for. A feat made increasingly difficult when she felt his arms wrap around her from behind as he buried his face into the crook of her neck, breathing in the sweet scent of her hair.
"Henry" his Medici wife warned, trying to shrug him off as she kept her eyes trained in the pan, making a conscious effort not to let him have an affect on her.
"I think we should talk about what went on between us last night" He whispered huskily, moving her hair off her shoulder to gain better access to her neck. She knew he meant ignore the fight and focus on how it'd ended up with them almost had sex about six feet from where they were currently standing.
"What is there to talk about" Catherine ground out in annoyance as she tried to think about anything other then trail of kisses he was leaving from the base of her neck all the way up her jawline and the fact that the calloused hands wrapped around her small figure were slowly venturing lower than what could ever be deemed appropriate at this point in their relationship. Because as infuriating as he was he also knew her better than anyone, especially this way and he knew just what buttons to press that'd make her forget her own name, let alone the fact that she was supposed to hate him right now. Which was bad enough on a regular day but it'd been so damn long and after what'd almost happened between them the night before she just..
Dead puppies, dead puppies, dead puppies.
In truth he almost had her, until he started talking again that was and her burning lust was outweighed by her burning rage. "How about the fact that you still want me just as bad as ever..I could see it in your eyes" her husband smiled against her skin, his hand venturing just beneath the waistband of her sweatpants as he added lowly "..not to mention a few other little tells of yours I quite enjoy."
Catherine felt her stomach roll slightly at his attempt at sexy, sighing heavily she grabbed his hand and pulled it off of her before taking a large step back from him. He had this way about him ever since the cheating started, this arrogance and bravado that coupled with the generic little lines he used made her feel so cheap and dirty..like she wasn't his one in a billion anymore, just one of the billion. She couldn't even tell whether it was better or worse that it didn't seem to be intentional, but either way it was like pouring salt on an already opened wound.
"You keep trying to seduce me like one of your whores and I'll shove face on this open flame and melt it the fuck off" She threatened venomously, lashing out as a reflex to protect herself like a wounded animal. Seeing the hurt in his eyes, she softened, but only slightly. "..we both know I still love you. I always have and I always will but like I've told you a hundred times before, I'm not ever going to be your Sunday night lay when you're to tired to drive to one of your sluts houses." The blonde huffed, trying to mask her hurt with anger as she stabbed at his food in the pan before piling it all up onto a plate.
"Last night was a mistake, one I won't make again." She went on, not daring to even look at him as she said the words, incase his expression weakened her resolve. "If you wanted to consider being a real husband and saying goodbye to all the others then that'd be a different story, but we've been through this before and you know what it'll take to have me, yet you choose to go to them anyway." She continued, making sure to keep her voice hard and unflinching, not wanting to allow him the satisfaction of seeing all the pain that one truth had caused her. How much control he had over her heart and what that one choice he made each day meant to her.
"So just shut up and eat." His wife ordered, placing his food down in front of him with more force then was really necessary before letting out a defeated sigh as she went to leave. "There's nothing more to talk about" Henry wasn't sure if he was meant to hear the last part, to hear the despair in her voice. But he had, loud and clear.