"Shall we retire for the night?" I asked, voice breathless from nerves.
Christopher looked at me owlishly, and then gave me a tender smile. With a gentle tug, he led me up the flight of stairs and to a door on the right end of the hall. We walked into the chambers, and as soon as I crossed over the threshold- my nerves increased drastically. I turned him about to face me with a gentle murmur of his name, and then cupped the side of his face with my free hand. I bent his head down to meet mine and kissed him. With an almost awkward hesitancy, the kiss progressed into the type that Marianne would romanticize from her novels.
Suddenly, my cheeks were ablaze and I swiftly broke the kiss. An instinctive hand flew to my lips, and I beheld him with wide, apprehensive eyes. I was mortified at the sensual nature of my actions- my body had formed to fit his, and my breasts had been pressed firmly against his chest.
"Kiley, are you all right? Forgive me, I did not mean to frighten you." I fell into his open arms and hid my face from him; I fiddled with the buttons on his uniform, and my hands trembled slightly when his came up to cease their erratic movements. "Tell me what is bothering you," he whispered.
"I am afraid..." I trailed off, and swallowed thickly before continuing, "That you will not find me desirable."
"Oh, my beloved, how wrong you are!" he exclaimed softly, "You are my goddess, more beautiful than any orchid- more precious than the rarest jewel. Please, never worry over my love for you." He tilted my head back, and captured my lips in a heady, blood-tingling kiss; his fingers threaded through my hair with a rough tenderness, and he smoothed away the overwhelming fear to only a gentle simmer.
I do not know how long we remained there; locked within a passionate embrace, but eventually we had to draw away from one another die to the need for air. Summoning the shreds of my courage, I led my husband to the bed, and then turned so my back was to him. I loosely gathered up my tendrils in my hands, and then murmured, "Help me?"
With each new portion of my skin revealed with the unclasping of another button, Christopher would leave a lingering kiss. Soon, all of the buttons had been undone, and the only things holding the dress to my body were my hands, whose arms were devoid of their sleeves. I slowly let the dress pool at my ankles, stepped out of the gown, and then turned to face my husband. Christopher had taken off his shirt, boots, and seemed to have been working on removing his trousers- but when he saw me he ceased all movement. I blushed brightly as his gaze mapped each and every surface- every contour- of my body. "So beautiful," he spoke in whispered awe. Once more, he took me by my hand, and guided me to our bed.
Late in the night, or early the following morning, Christopher and I remained awake amongst the tangled, sweaty bed covers. My hair was wild about me due to Christopher's avid attention to it, and our naked bodies remained intertwined. Christopher ran idle fingers along the sweeping curve of my waist, and my hands were tangled in the hair at the nape of his neck in turn. We exchanged brief kisses, and enjoyed the heady calm after the storm. I kissed where his neck met his shoulder and asked quietly, "Did I please you?" My reason for asking due to my sister's words before the wedding resurfacing at the forefront of my mind.
"My love, you are irresistible, please do not doubt yourself so," he assured me, and rolled over me so that he held himself over me, and then captured my lips in a passionate kiss.
Epilogue...
I placed a nervous hand over the hardly noticeable swell of my abdomen as I approached my husband, who was writing a letter to Edward Ferrars. "Christopher, I have news from the physician," I announced.
"Has he found a way to counteract your infirmity of the blood? I hate to see you in such a state as you have been for the weeks past."
"He has informed me that I...I am with child," I explained in a rush, a radiant smile curving my lips.
Christopher fell to his knees before me and placed gentle hands on my faint swell. "With- With child?" he repeated with incredulous joy. I nodded jerkily, which caused him to cry out, 'Oh, my beloved, joyous news you bring me!" He leapt to his feet and kissed me soundly on the lips. "We are to have a child!" he sang.
"Are you happy?"
"Of course, Kiley, you have given me every happiness I will ever need!" he assured me. He rested his forehead against mine and murmured, "I love you. I love you. I love you."
I smiled up at him with eyes bright with tears. "And I love you."
Fin.