Notes: Requested drabble (so yes, it's meant to be this short) set five years after a MA rated one-shot ("After the Ball") found on my writing journal. Reading that piece is not required to understand this drabble, though it may enhance your enjoyment of it. AU.
"Five Years Later"
In five years the house has gone from silent, lonely in the absence of its master to noisy, filled with the giggles of children and the pleading tones of tired parents. It is one such noisy night, when the manor is filled with men and women for a ball that Archer curls his hands around his wife's trim waist (the corset helps keep it trim, it's only been a few weeks since she gave birth to their fourth child) and leans down to whisper in her ear, "You wore your hair down?"
She glances at him and traces her fingers along the backs of his large, tanned hands. "For after the ball is over."