AN: Okay, so here is where I need to change the rating of my story. I'm giving this a strong T rating – M is yet to come! My Cathry heart hurts to have written their altercation in the first part of this chapter (sorry!) but it's how it was sometimes, and that's why she turned to Richard for comfort after all. Still torn because I love Cathry though! My love for Catherine comes first, as does Richard's…

Chapter 10

Richard could hear their voices ringing down the corridor as he approached Catherine's chambers. Angry and raised – half the castle could be sure to know that the royal couple were engaged in another feud this evening. He had been looking for Henry to return the books he needed for tomorrow's meeting with his father and the Archduke, and when the guards to his chambers told Richard he could find Henry at his wife's chambers, Richard immediately suspected an altercation. He went as quickly as he could, books in hand, to make sure that Catherine was alright. They fought more often than not, and it was taking its toll on Catherine. Henry seemed to Richard very much the same as always, but Catherine was building her walls, which meant that she was hurting. She had it so perfected now, that nobody at court could tell how she was feeling. She wore a mask of dignity and indifference, no matter the hurtful situations she found herself in. People called her cold and unfeeling, but Richard knew the truth, and it was almost unbearable to have to sit and listen to the accusations, and act as though he didn't care, in order to throw off suspicion. It felt like betrayal. He hated it.

Rounding the corner, he saw that the door to Catherine's chambers was ajar. Catherine's voice rang out angrily, obviously furious with Henry over something. No wonder the whole castle could hear them!

"What has happened to you, Catherine?! You know, rumour has it that you are cold and unfeeling. I believed it too, but after what you've just said, I know it to be untrue." Richard heard footsteps on the stone floor as he neared the door. "Devoid of feeling is inaccurate – you have become bitter and vengeful!" His voice was tight and angry, and Catherine gave a sudden gasp.

Pushing the door open, his eyes burning, Richard was shocked to see his best friend towering over the love of his life, as she looked up at her husband with wide eyes. His large hand gripped her slender wrist tightly, exerting his greater strength over her.

"HENRY!" Instinct took over, and as Henry looked up startled, Richard was by Catherine's side in a second, his fingers gripping the muscular forearm that Henry was using to clutch his wife's wrist.

Henry's eyes were full of rage. Richard didn't know if he'd ever seen him like that before. He wasn't sure if he even knew his friend any more – he'd never thought him capable of aggression towards Catherine. If he hadn't intervened… But perhaps nothing more would have happened. He was thankful to have arrived when he did.

"What are you doing?! Have you lost your mind?!" He ought to care how he spoke to the Dauphin of France, especially a very angry Dauphin of France, but he only cared about Catherine at that moment.

"Have you lost yours?!" Henry practically spat at him. "How dare you barge into my wife's chambers and confront me like this!"

Richard took a breath and tried to rein in his anger as quickly as possible. This could get out of hand if he wasn't careful.

"It wasn't my intention, Henry. Look, I came from your chambers to return your books for tomorrow, see?" He gestured to the two books he had dropped on the floor on his way to protect Catherine. Now he let go of Henry's arm and stepped away from the couple to pick them up. Holding them out to Henry, hoping he'd let go of Catherine and accept them instead, he added, "Your guards told me you were here, and when I saw you… I'm sorry, I didn't think. I just – I wanted to stop you from doing something you might regret. Think what your father might say."

A look of regret passed across Henry's face, and he dropped Catherine's wrist, looking at his hand as though it didn't belong to him. Catherine drew her hand to her chest and crossed her other arm over it protectively, waiting silently.

"Uh, yes, thank you Richard, that was… well considered." Henry stuttered. He took the books from his friend, glanced at Catherine with a mixture of contempt and uncertainty, and swept out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

The slam rang and echoed in the stillness of the room, and for a moment there was no movement or sound in the shocked silence. Breathlessly, Richard turned to Catherine, eyes searching her out anxiously. She was cradling her wrist, and her chest was heaving so violently that she almost appeared to be panting. She looked scared. Richard went to her, and took her in his arms. She was shaking, perhaps a mixture of anger, shock and fear, he couldn't tell, but when she was finally protected against his chest, she began to cry.

"It's alright. It's alright." He whispered into her hair, holding her close.

"He said such terrible things!" she sobbed, "He makes me so ANGRY!" Richard could feel her trembling with feeling, as she choked out, "And I feel so – so hurt - and unloved – and - "

Richard pulled back from her a little, so that he could see her face. Lifting her chin with a gentle finger, he tilted her beautiful face to his. "Shhh…" he breathed, "Don't dwell on the things he said."

"But Richard - "

"Catherine, no. I don't want you to hurt any more. I wish I could take it off your shoulders!"

She looked into his eyes, seeking the comfort he was longing to provide.

"You are loved." He brushed his fingers over the curve of her cheek, smoothing the wetness of her tears away as she gazed into him. "You are loved…" His thumb traced the fullness of her lower lip as he whispered, "I love you."

Their lips met, and he couldn't tell if he had leaned into her or if she had leaned into him.

This kiss was unlike their first, which had been sweet but brief. This time, there was so much need for love and comfort on both sides – she to receive, and he to give. He hadn't been able to read her eyes to tell if she had begun to feel anything for him, and he knew she deeply loved Henry, so he had no expectations in any case – but she was kissing him, really kissing him!

Their lips brushed gently together, and Richard was startled by a passion that seemed to be building between them. He was anxious not to be taking advantage of Catherine, and to uphold his promise to her by not making advances towards her. Her hands came up to grasp his shoulders as she kissed him more fervently, and he was losing the capacity to think straight. He pushed her gently away and broke the kiss abruptly. She looked at him with surprise.

"Catherine," he paused, trying to catch his breath, "I don't want to break my promise to you."

"You're not," she replied, reaching for him again. "It is I reaching out to you for comfort, not the other way around."

"But - "

"Richard, it's alright," her tone reassured him, "You make me feel so loved, and as pathetic as it sounds, I crave that. I'm sorry. It was wrong of me – I'm the one taking advantage of you." She looked down sadly, her hands falling to her sides.

Richard stepped in close to Catherine and took her precious face in his hands once more.

"I want to comfort you. I know you love Henry. I don't want you to think of my feelings at all. I just want to comfort you. Please… if there is anything I can do bring you the love and comfort you crave…" he faded off, feeling that his words were beginning to sound foolish. She looked into his eyes, and he did his best to communicate his love for her with just his gaze.

Catherine drew close to him in the silence, and he waited. She traced his lips with her gaze and her fingertips, and pressed them gently through his beard, looking thoughtful. Meeting his eyes again with her own, she reached her hands around the back of his neck, and lifted herself up on tiptoe to kiss him.

Richard just let her. It was all like a dream. Her lips met his slowly, passionately, soft and open, and he was gone. He kissed her back, no longer aware of anything around him. Her tongue brushed his, and oh she was as talented at this as she was at all other things. Richard had never kissed a woman like this before, in fact, given that Catherine had consumed his thoughts completely since the days when he was too young to have had any experience with women yet, and his passion for her was such that he couldn't maintain a courtship with anyone else, he truly had not experienced any of the carnal pleasures that many of his friends had. He was caught off guard by the strength of desire for her that coursed through his veins.

Kissing her with all the love and desire he had for her, he became aware that her fingers were fumbling to undo the buttons on his shirt. They broke their kiss, breathing heavily, to give more attention to removing the shirt. Richard didn't dare to touch any of Catherine's clothing. Even with her undressing him, he still didn't want to appear presumptuous. He hardly dared believe that this was really happening! She wanted him? She wanted to be intimate with him? He didn't even care that it was probably just for comfort, and nothing more – he considered it a privilege to be the one she chose.

While she pushed the shirt off his shoulders, he leaned down and kissed the soft skin at the side of her neck, down to her collar bone. She smelled wonderful. Nothing he could put his finger on, just "Catherine" - the most heavenly scent in the world. She sighed as he kissed her, and with his shirt on the floor, she ran her hands over the muscles of his chest, and lifted her eyes to look at him. Her smile was – Richard couldn't breathe! – a mixture of naughty and shy; she was intoxicating! He suddenly felt very inexperienced.

"What should I do?"

She looked at him with wide eyes. "You've never done this before?"

Richard looked down, embarrassed. "No. I – I never took the time to cultivate a relationship with a woman, and never employed the services of a courtesan…" He looked at Catherine again, "You were the only one I ever wanted. Nobody else could compare."

"Oh Richard." Catherine picked up his hand and held the back of it against her cheek lovingly. "I didn't mean for you to feel uncomfortable."

He smiled at her, loving her tenderness towards him. "Not at all," he lied, for he was truly very nervous all of a sudden. Were they going to make love? She was the most desirable woman in the world! What if he disappointed her?

Keeping her eyes on his, she took his hand from her face and placed it at the laces of her corseted dress, below her neckline. There was such encouragement in her gaze that he took courage, and pulled the cords, loosening each section as he went along. When there was nothing left to undo, Catherine leaned in and kissed him once more, and he was left to navigate the removal of her outer dress by touch, lost in the kiss. Pushing the decorative sleeves over her shoulders, back and down, the dress fell away to the floor, leaving Catherine in her shift. She was already undoing his belt, and he helped her pull it out of his leather trousers. Holding her afresh in his arms without the restriction of her corset and many-layered gown, he could barely breathe. She felt so delicious! Richard could feel all her curves and his hands were free to caress her bare shoulders, and the length of her slender back. He pulled her gently in the direction of her bed, and she went with him willingly.

Laying back on her bed, Catherine looked up at him. She smiled and reached out her hand to him, and Richard lay down beside her. He didn't know what to do, or where to start. She was everything he had ever dreamed of and more, and he was suddenly uncomfortably nervous. How he wished he had let Henry talk him into spending some time with a courtesan now! He pushed all thoughts of Henry far from his mind – here he was laying half naked with his wife! What was he doing?! He stifled rising panic over the whole thing, and was brought back to earth by tender lips working their way across his shoulder with little kisses. The world turned right-side-up again as he beheld the creature in bed with him, and he reached for her, holding her close against his chest.

Her hands reached around his bare back, smoothing his skin, and he cherished the touch he had craved for so many years. Leaning over her, he kissed her passionately, and let his hand wander across the silky material of her shift, swirling around her belly and upwards, stopping just short of her breast. He wanted to cup it in his hand through the thin fabric, but he hesitated, unsure if he should. Perhaps, she would be uncomfortable taking things any further? Maybe he should let her lead, so that he would not overstep her boundaries. Although, he longed to remove her shift so that nothing would separate their skin.

Her body against his felt glorious, but there had to be no better feeling in the world than being skin-against-skin with the person you loved most. Even better for Richard, since he never believed it could possibly happen in his lifetime. Propping himself up on his elbow next to Catherine, he touched the laces that secured her shift, and looked at her.

"May I?"

His beloved smiled. "Yes," she whispered simply.

He pulled the laces, and reached down to the hem of her shift. She lifted her hips slightly as he drew it up the length of her body, and he helped her raise it over her head and arms, dropping it over the edge of the bed. She relaxed back into the pillows next to him, as Richard, completely spellbound, gazed upon her beauty, brushing the palm of his hand softly over the treasured skin that was newly revealed to him. He delighted in everything he discovered – the dip of her belly button, the softness of her skin just below her collar bones, and how Catherine sighed gently as he stroked her there with his fingertips. Her skin was so beautiful, and she had so many more freckles than he had realised. He smiled at the sight of them, and kissed along their trail, whispering softly against her skin, "Catherine… you are so beautiful!"

He kissed her ear, her cheek, her nose. "You are the most gorgeous woman I have ever seen," he breathed, as he trailed little kisses along her jawline, "I love you." He heard her give a little sigh, and moved on to taste her neck, pushing aside sweet red-gold curls. As he did so, he dared to lay his hand upon Catherine's breast, and was surprised by the softness, reining in his desire to take her - such was his arousal. "This is for Catherine," he kept telling himself, and he made her his focus. Caressing her breast, paying special attention to the soft skin of her nipple with the pad of his thumb, he was rewarded with a hum of pleasure – Richard could even hear her smiling. He kissed everywhere he could reach, taking his time, using his fingers to explore more of her lovely skin. Any time he had air enough to talk, he praised her softly, communicating to her in as many different ways at once how much he loved her.

When he kissed back up her neck to her face, he found her cheeks wet, and pulled away to look at her, concerned.

"Have I done something wrong, my love?"

"No," she wobbled a half-laugh, half-sob. "You've done everything right." She laid a gentle hand on his face. "Thank you for loving me like you do."

Richard smiled, placed a loving kiss on her lips, and pulled the coverlet up over them, settling Catherine against his chest comfortably. He knew he couldn't stay all night, but as long as he was able to stay, he would hold her beloved skin against his and let her just feel loved and secure. It was all he wanted for her. If he was lucky enough to have her reach for him again in a time of need, perhaps he might yet share carnal pleasure with her. He wanted her, he would be lying if he said he didn't, but more than that, he wanted to meet her needs ahead of his own.