Chapter 31

When Catherine retired to her room earlier than usual that day, a roaring fire has already been ignited, which pleasantly warmed the room and bathed it in a mild light.
Sighing heavily, the queen mother let herself fall onto one of the armchairs and took off her drop-dead gorgeous, yet extremely uncomfortable new shoes.
One of the young maids poked her head in the room shortly thereafter and asked her mistress if she needed anything.
"I would like to take a bath," Catherine decided after brief consideration. It would do her good to wash away the stress and tensions of the last few days in a hot bubble bath.

The girl nodded docilely and disappeared again to instruct the other servants.
When her maid returned with a shy smile, she helped the Queen Mother out of her dress and loosened the corset. Then she busied herself with preparing the bed while Catherine sat down in front of her vanity, only wearing her thin dressing gown and started removing her make-up. Then she put on a vitamin-packed face mask to fill in the time until her bath was ready.

A gentle knock prompted her to pause mid motion.
"See who has the nerve to disturb me this late," she said ungraciously as the girl nodded and walked to the door.
"Catherine?" Her husband's deep voice made her turn around.
"Stephane. What a surprise. First you move out of our joint chambers you forced me to share and now you even start knocking? What's next? Separate residences or maybe a divorce?"

She wasn't able to hide her vulnerability behind her harsh words. Not that she wasn't accustomed to such a treatment by her former husband but it had even taken Henry several years to show her such indifference.
"Don't be silly, ma Belle. You will not get rid of me that easily." The approving look he gave her nearly nude body gave Catherine goosebumps.
"Then what do you want?", She asked and turned back to her dressing table to gently dab her face with a damp cloth.
"I want to talk to you about this potential ambush."

"Your Highness, your bath is ready." Catherine, grateful for the interruption, nodded silently and stood up.
"I'm afraid this will have to wait, husband," she informed him. As she passed Stephane, she did not fail to notice his gaze moving over her half dressed body once again. His eyes got stuck at the gaping ends of her dressing gown to catch a glimpse of the valley between her breasts.
"Please!", She hissed and went into the adjoining room.

Warm steam with the sweet smell of rose petals and lavender struck her once she entered their bathing room. To her surprise, Stephane followed her and signaled the maid that she was dismissed. Catherine acknowledged the liberty he took with a raised eyebrow and a smug smile. Her husband still wanted her, despite their differences. She took a strange form of delight in this knowledge.
"Why not mix business with pleasure?" The Lord Chancellor asked and the playfulness of his tone was a clear sign that he would neither postpone their conversation, nor did he intended to miss her bath.
"Obviously I won't be able to stop you," she murmured and simply shrugged her shoulders. Then she carefully tested the temperature of the water with one hand.

Satisfied with the result, Catherine walked around the tub, deliberately swaying her hips more than usual. She flashed Stephane a brief but provocatively glance over her shoulder before letting her dressing gown slide down her form. And although she could not see Stephane's face the moment the garment hit the floor and revealed her naked body, his loud gasp for air couldn't be missed at all.

Catherine slowly climbed the step stool that made getting in the tub more easier. To her surprise, Stephane held out his hand to assist her. She looked at him questioningly but his smile was so open and inviting that she could do nothing but accept the help he offered.
With a contented sigh she plunged into the hot water. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes for a brief moment to let the alluring aroma of her bath water indulge her senses. After some minutes she noticed how her tired body perceptible started to relax. She opened her eyes when her mind threatened to make leeway and looked up in the expectant face of her husband, who had made himself comfortable on the windowsill meanwhile and had obviously watched her for the last few minutes.

"You wanted to talk - then talk!" She finally told him to bridge the silence that had spread between them.
"Always so direct", Stephane laughed amused and leaned back in his niche. "I've been constantly thinking about this ambush. And the more I think about it, the more uncomfortable I get."
"I thought we have agreed on that?" The Lord Chancellor placatingly raised his hand to stop the torrent of words that threatened to follow her statement.
"I'm not here because I've changed my mind, Catherine. But I do not like the idea of fending off a potential attack with only the number of guards we've brought."
"Why not withdraw some men from our troops?" she suggested with growing impatience.
"We are in no position to disperse our forces any further. Empty treasury, the English threat, border controls, rising turmoils - you know what I mean. No matter where I take them off, they'll be missed somewhere else."

Gradually Catherine understood what her husband wanted to point out. She slightly turned in the bathtube, resting her elbows on the wooden rim to look directly into his eyes.
"So our only option left is hiring mercenary soldiers. But you need gold for these soldiers. And you're hoping for Medici gold."
"My wife is not only incredibly beautiful, she's also intelligent and maybe a little too clever for her own good." From anyone else, those words would have sounded hollow, if not offensive, but Stephane managed for them to sound like a genuine compliment.
"But unfortunately she is not wealthy. At least not anymore." She felt sorry for disappointing him.
"Can't you ask your family for financial support?" His words caused her to snort in disparagement. Then she let herself fall back into the tub, what nearly caused the water to spill over.
"I'm not exactly darling of my family. But my dear departed cousin was whose tragical death is unfortunately blamed on me, which keeps the Medici's chests of gold out of my reach."

Stephane acknowledged her explanation with a sigh and she raised her head slightly to look in his direction.
"What?" She asked, certain that something else was still on his mind. When he did not answer immediately, she reached for the lavender soap and sponge, that were placed on the edge of the tub. Consciously, the queen mother soaped the sponge and began to wash her arms. She was more than aware that his eyes were still following her every movement.
"For some time I've been wondering what happened to Bornelle's gold. You of all people wouldn't know anything about it, wouldn't you, Catherine?" She paused in her motion at that question and thought for a moment how exactly she was going to respond.
"I don't have it," she said carefully, stretching her left leg to lather it as well. As expected, Stephane's attention went straight there. Catherine deliberately took her time, slowly letting the sponge glide over her exposed skin. She knew her husband had a weakness for women taking a bath, so she decided to use that knowledge against him.

"But I assume you know damn well who's got it." Stephane's voice sounded a bit husky as he rose to shorten the distance between them. Before he could touch her leg, however, she let it glide back beneath the water. Catherine rose her left leg instead and placed it on the edge of the tub on the other side - out of his reach. With a smug grin she continued to wash herself.
"I might have a hunch," she revealed once she was satisfied with the result and straightened up so that her breasts appeared above the water surface. "But that does not help us any further. How about your family? You have more siblings, as I have recently learned."
"I'm afraid they aren't feeling too friendly towards me."

Catherine lathered the sponge one more time and began to wash her upper body in a sensual way. His eyes were fixed on her breasts.
"You could involve Rafael. Maybe he can help or even mediate if needed," she suggested, stroking the sponge in a circling motion over her right breast, causing Stephane to utter a low moan. With a self-satisfied smile, she turned to the other breast before slowly letting the sponge slide down her torso until it disappeared in the warm water between her legs.
"Dear Lord, you're killing me here," her husband murmured in arousal, trying to reach for her. The bump in his pants was hard to miss. But Catherine avoided his grasp.

"You only wanted to talk, if I remember correctly," she said, holding up the dripping sponge. "But you could make yourself useful. Scrub my back?" As expected, Stephane nodded more than willingly and Catherine turned her back to him with a smug grin on her face. So her husband still wanted her.
With light pressure he first washed her shoulders and then her back. The whole thing took longer than necessary, but she let him.
"Done," he announced after an eternity and when she turned, he gave her a transfigured grin. "Would you hand me a towel, please?" She asked, slowly getting out of the water. Her husband stared at her naked form for a few seconds too long before he nodded and reached behind him to grab said towel.
Invitingly, he held it out for her and to her surprise he did not just hand it over, but affectionately wrapped her in it and helped her out of the tub.

Catherine dried herself off while trying to ignore his gaze that was still mainly focused on her. Meanwhile her husband gave the impression that talking wasn't all he craved anymore.
She meticulously applied lotion on her body and his eyes continued to devour her. But it was not until she released her pinned-up hair when he approached her again and ran his fingers through her long curls.
"You want to have sex," she stated bluntly which made him pause.
"Only if you want it as well." Though she shouldn't be surprised at his response after their heated argument a week ago, she still was.
"Well, actually I wanted to retire early to read, but if you want to, it's okay I guess."

Having Sex with her husband was always a fabulous experience. And she was vain enough to enjoy the fact that even a woman of her advanced age could drive a sensual and experienced man like Stephane out of his mind. She just did not want to get herself into this situation too obviously. But maybe a renewed sexual approach would minimize the gap between them.
Stephane was clearly not aversed.

He gently turned her head in his direction and cupped her face with his fingers before he kissed her.
"It's only okay in case you want it as well, ma Belle. Do not worry, I won't run away. Making love should never be a compromise but a both-sided desire," he whispered against her lips. Then he kissed her one more time in such a sweet and innocent way that almost brought tears to her eyes. "Good night, Catherine."

The Lord Chancellor released her and walked towards the door. She could do nothing but stare at him perplexed. How could he just leave now?
"Stephane?" She did not know why she stopped him and what she wanted to tell him exactly.
"You'd better not put my self-control to the test, my dear." With these words he left their chambers.

Catherine helplessly stared at the door where her husband had just disappeared. She would have liked to stop him, tell him that she trusted him and missed him and his closeness. A closeness he had initially imposed on her in such a dominant and shameless manner. But now she actually liked it how naturally it felt when he pulled her into his arms. She was feeling safe and secure with him. Protected.
But she simply couldn't overcome her pride to tell him that or invite him back into their bed. She was too damn proud for that.

I'd like to thank you for your reviews. It makes me so happy that you are still out there - reading this baby - still wanting more. Many many thanks for your wonderful feedback. It keeps me going. Believe me - I would spend all my time writing, 24/7, if only I could...

I hope you like this new chapter.

One special comment at Medicibitch: OMG, you're so cute, thanks for the compliment. Unfortunately my book is on hold due to this incredibly good series called "Reign". But I'm going there - sometime. Hopefully. ;o)