Chapter 12

Feeling exhausted by a strenuous dinner with his marry-in family and a tiresome discussion with some of the nobles who were concerned about the apparently bad condition of their King, Stephane returned to his chambers. Chambers he did not recognize. For a brief moment he stopped in the doorway to make sure he had actually entered the right door.
"Stephane, I already feared I might have to go to bed alone." Her ironic tone put a lie to Catherine's words.
"What for heaven's sake happened to my chambers?" Narcisse asked perplexely.
His wife put aside the book she was reading and rose from his sofa that was suddenly located in a totally diffrent corner of the room. She came towards him slowly.
"Our chambers. Have you already forgotten that little detail, my dear husband?" Her voice sounded sickly sweet and Narcisse finally realized what was going on. Catherine had evidently decided to accept their marriage - but on her very own terms. His wife had acknowledged his order to share his quarters with a complete redesign of the premises. Every male accent of these rooms had vanished and given way to overwhelming femininity.

"I'm sure you don't mind that I have made our chambers a little bit more homely. After all, I have to feel comfortable as well."
He knew she had deliberately gone over the top with the decoration. There hadn't been such direful pomp in her old rooms.
"As long as YOU like it, my dear." He could only hope that she would be fed up with this madness of pink blossoms, lace and velvet herself, rather sooner than later.
"I think I can get used to it," she said with a smile and tried to slip past him.

"You still have plans at this late hour?" Narcisse resisted the urge to put his hand on her arm to prevent her from leaving.
"No, I'm merely calling my maid." Now he gave in to his urge and stopped her.
"That won't be necessary, Catherine. I'll help you undress." To his relief she did not free her arm right away but she didn't seem to be pleased about his offer either.
"As I have already explained: I'm not in the mood!" She merely raised an eyebrow and looked at him with a defiant look. Her answer caused a knowing smile on Stephane's lips.
"Yes, I already got this the first time. And I'm only offering to help you undress." He would not force her to accept his offer, so he could only hope that she gave in at this point. To improve his chances, he stepped behind his wife and tenderly stroked from her cheek down to her neck with his pointing finger. "Grant your maid a free evening," he whispered into her ear and began to fearlessly strip off Catherine's heavy outer garment.

When she made no effort to stop him, he tenderly caressed the underlying skin. Just when he was going to let her overcoat fall on the floor, Catherine whispered: "Don't you dare dropping it. You offered the services of my maid, then meet these obligations!" Narcisse had to chuckle at her comment and took a bow.
"As you wish, Your Majesty," he breathed into her ear and hung the garment at it's intended place. With zeal he returned to his wife to loosen the numerous hooks that held her voluminous skirts. When the fabric slowly slid down her body, he reached out to assist Catherine carefully stepping out of her skirts.
His eyes slid over her half-bared body in delight. When his eyes met hers, she just gestured with a gracefull nod at her discarded skirts for him to hang up properly.

The part soon to follow was Stephane's favorite one. With tardy steps he circling Catherine and he looked deeply into her soulful eyes while passing his new wife to stand right behind her. His hands went to her shoulders on their own accord and he risked a look at her bulging breasts that gently rose at every breath she took and threatened to break out of their prison. It was time to finally release them.
With skilful fingers he loosened the strings of her corset and couldn't suppress a confident grin when Catherine took a long and relieved breath. He gently peeled her out of her corset and enjoyed the sight she offered him in her thin, nearly see-through chemise in the wan candlelight.
"How beautiful you are," he whispered awestruck and began to search for the needles that were holding together her strawberry-blond curls.
"Your flattery will still get you nowhere," his wife informed him, but he thought he could detect a slight trembling in her voice. So his closeness still seemed to hold a certain power over her. That was good news.

To test his theory he ran his fingers playfully from her waist to her sensitive sides. To his delight, he could observe how her nipples hardened at his teasing.
"Stephane," Catherine whispered and withdrew herself from his touch. He wondered if she would actually resist him.
"I could get you in the mood," Narcisse suggested with his most charming smile.
"I said no," she replied more violently than expected and settled down on the chair in front of her vanity. She first gave him a murderous glance through the mirror, then she loosened her hair and took off her jewelry.

Stephane had no choice but watch her from a distance. It seemed to him that he was already in need of making some reparations in order to reconcile with his wife. So he picked up her abandoned corset and draped it over one of the armchairs.
Without gracing him another look, Catherine walked past him to the adjoining room that was dominated by a giant bathtub. He wondered if she was planning on taking a bath and if he should send word to his servants to bring in hot water, but then he realized that she was merely getting ready for the night. Stephane decided to give her some privacy and readied himself.

He was already in bed when Catherine returned. Invitingly he raised the blanket for her. Narcisse could see that an ironic reply was lying on her tongue, but to his bewilderment she swallowed it and slipped under the blanket. Contrary to his expectation she did not turn her back to him but looked at him expectantly.
"I do not know if I'll ever get used to sharing my bed with someone."
Stephane propped himself up on his elbows, studying her.
"One of the most positive qualities of mankind is our adaptability."
Catherine let herself fall down on her back, staring at the ceiling.
"You do not change the habits of an old, stubborn mule anymore."
"Nonsense, Catherine," he contradicted his wife, slipping his fingers through her soft hair.
"Do you mean the adaptability of a mule or my comparison?" She sounded slightly amused. A reaction Narcisse welcomed very much.
"Maybe both. You are neither old nor a mule. Actually you are a true master of adaptation. Stubborn, however, is correct." His answer earned him a low chuckle.
"Don't be ridiculous. We're both old," she reproached him gently, finally turning to face him.
"Au contraire, we're looking good for our age."

"How horrid it has to be for you to no longer have a naive, young lass as a trophy wife," she mused, calmly looking at his fingers that were still playing with her curls.
"Oh, yes, because it is so dreadful to now call a former Queen my wife - one who is still the most powerful woman in France." Now Catherine straightened and turned to him.
"So far this former Queen in question was quite sufficient as your secret lover. You, Stephane, want your women young, naive and looking up at you. You can't expect any of that from me."
"I expect so much more from you, ma Belle."
"Then I hope disillusion will not blindside you," she said in a frosty voice.
"Don't worry your pretty head over things that will not happen."

A small, contemptuous snort escaped her throat.
"Do you really want to argue about future events that none of us has any bearing on?", the lord chancellor asked.
"I'm not arguing," Catherine explained succinctly. "Believe me, if you find yourself in a serious clash with me, you will notice it."
"No doubt about that from my side," he certified to his wife who simply muttered "good" and dropped herself back into her pillows.
Stephane interpreted this as a sign that their conversation had been finished for Catherine. He silently blew out the remaining candle on his night table.

at D: Thank you, Sweets. I'm trying to change POV back and forth between Catherine and Narcisse. :-)

at Suzan: HAPPY belated BIRTHDAY, my dear friend! All the best for you. I hope you've had a wonderful day. I'm soooo sorry, there will (I did already write it in German) be a smut scene, but not yet. I hope this update still pleases you... :o)

at G: oh yes, she is icy and he is horny... hihi, more to come of this. I actually like some torture and I'm sure as hell Catherine likes it as well. ;-P