Chapter Forty-Six
Priscilla and Nick walked out of the nursery, holding hands. They had said good night to the children and were heading back to their room. It was their habit on Sunday, after the big meal and everyone left, to go upstairs with the children. After getting them settled in the nursery for their naps, Priscilla and Nick would have the afternoon to themselves.
When it was teatime, they would join the children in the nursery, where tea was actually their dinner. It was always a merry time with lots of laughter and hijinks by the children. Today had been extra fun, because Simon was very excited about his friend's mother marrying Senor Heath.
They finished their Sunday with a light supper in their room, weather permitting out on the balcony. They had started this tradition not long after Thomas Henry had been born. A new baby had been wonderful but upending all at the same time. Those first few weeks had been exciting for the couple, but both admitted that they were missing the time they had spent exclusively with each other.
It had been hard enough to find time, other than late at night, when they were living at the Big House. Nick had purchased a cottage in Monterey, right on the beach, where they would visit several times a year. The Sunday afternoon and evening routine was a change they had adopted, to keep the closeness of their relationship.
"I see Juan has already brought the food up" Nick announced as they entered their room. He gestured to the small cart that was over by the French doors that that led to the balcony. It had several covered dishes on it, along with plates and silverware off to the side.
"The weather has been glorious." Priscilla announced, as she started setting the small table on the balcony. Nick opened the bottle of white wine that had been chilling in the silver ice bucket on the lower level of the tray. He poured the wine while Priscilla lit the beeswax candles that were set in French porcelain holders.
She always made the table setting very special – he had noted how different it was from the formal elegance of the dining room. She had a collection of delicate printed napkins, whimsical napkin ring holders, and placemats in bright colors instead of the heavy damask tablecloth that adorned the table downstairs.
"Oh, we have Welsh rarebit!" Priscilla exclaimed as she started serving the food. "And Silas makes it perfectly. I love his touch of using sourdough bread with the sauce." The next several minutes were spent with the couple toasting themselves with wine, and then sampling the food.
"Everything seems to be going well in the nursery" Nick offered, taking a sip of his wine. "I get the feeling Sissi, that you are feeling better about Paloma." He reached over and took her hand, squeezing it gently.
Back in February, when Ducky had been sick, Priscilla had come down with an infection in her breasts. She had not been able to nurse, and Granny Elspeth had found Paloma. She was married to one of the hands on the ranch, and her daughter was just weaning.
Nick had been so scared to death, at how sick both his wife and son were, that he gave her carte blanch. They both recovered, but for the first several days Priscilla had been sad about not nursing Ducky. He had noticed though, over the last several weeks an uptick in Sissi's attitude.
"Actually – and I feel guilty about saying this – but it has been so nice to sleep through the night." Priscilla swirled a bit of bread in the cheese sauce, pausing to eat the morsel. "Three babes in under four years had been harder than I realized."
"You are the most amazing mother, and I am in awe of how you have done so much." Nick reached over and kissed her tenderly.
"Thank you" she looked like she might cry, and Nick kissed her again. "It came to me that Ducky is not going to remember who fed him, he is only going to remember the time we spend together." Priscilla took on a pensive look, as she took a sip of her wine.
"What are you thinking?" He asked, before going on "Is that a new tea gown?" Nick smiled appreciatively at the outfit. It was dark blue silk with teal green satin trim and purple lace. It was very striking with her dark blonde hair and light blue eyes.
"I never thought I would say this and thank goodness Granny Elspeth will be too kind to say I told you so" here she paused and smiled ruefully. "I think for the next baby I am getting a wet nurse right away. The pain when I had that infection was ghastly!" She shuddered and looked over at him, waiting on his response.
"Sissi, is there something I should know?" Nick's countenance took on a surprised expression. However, her peals of laughter made him realize he had jumped to the wrong assumption.
"Honey I do not have an issue if you want to have a wet nurse the next time – whenever that is" he paused as he made the statement. "I will say that you have been looking well rested the last couple of weeks. "My only interest is that you are happy. When you were so sick, I was scared beyond words that I would lose you." Nick was secretly pleased that she wanted a wet nurse for the next child if they were blessed with one. It would make Sissi's life so much easier, which was always his first thought.
"Nicholas can you tell me what is bothering you? You have had something on your mind since Heath and Sharon announced their engagement?" Priscilla had carefully timed her question carefully. They had finished supper, then she had poured her husband some more wine.
"Ah, well you see." Nick paused and Priscilla knew she had hit the nail on the head. While not physically squirming Nick was mentally squirming. Priscilla knew that her husband was loyal beyond words to his brother, but she did not believe in sweeping things under the rug.
"What do I see? I thought we were on the same page in wanting Heath to pursue Sharon." Priscilla took a deep breath and shrugged her shoulders as she made the comment.
"I don't think he loves her!" Nick said in a sad voice, which caused Priscilla to look closely at him. She asked him what he meant.
"If you had seen them the first time, they were crazy over each other. Now it is rather like they – especially Heath are going through the motions." Nick shifted in his chair as he looked at his wife. "Did you not notice how he had to force himself to put his arms around her shoulders? And the honeymoon plans? Heath abhors San Francisco!" Nick took a large of sip of his wine as the made the comment.
"And then Sharon! The only time she looked happy – other than when she was talking about this outdoor party – was when she looked at her children. Which she did almost non-stop through the whole meal." He pushed his chair back, stood up and went to stand in the corner of the balcony.
Priscilla sighed as she looked at her husband. She knew how much he loved his brother, and only wanted the best for him. She saw that Nick wanted Heath's happiness on his terms. It made her giggle to herself, because Heath was even more stubborn that Nick, and could keep secrets better than Jarrod. Victoria had confided that Heath was the most like her late husband. When Priscilla had heard that she had decided that her mother-in-law deserved sainthood.
"You might be overthinking the situation, Nicholas." Priscilla paused before going on, wanting to make sure she said the right thing. "Was it not like eight years ago that they had their relationship? So much has happened for both of them. Sharon is a widow with two small children, and Heath" she paused as she regarded Nick.
"What are you saying? That my brother should just settle to get a family." Nick said in a terse note. He had started to see the handwriting on the wall, during the afternoon, and did not care for the conclusion he had drawn.
"The last several months Heath has been happier than he has been in years – honestly as long as I have been in the valley." Priscilla raised her voice slightly but remained sitting at the table. "He and Sharon have been social, and Heath always looks content. As far as San Francisco, of course Sharon will want to shop, and Heath did say that they liked going to the theater." She sniffed and took another sip of her wine.
"But that is not who Heath is." Nick turned to face his wife, as he thought about her statements. It came to him then that maybe his view of Heath was the raw young man who had come to stake his claim. He now remembered Victoria's comment to Sharon, about how glad that Heath was going to the theater and enjoying it. Nick then thought about some of his brother's past relationships and shook his head.
"I correct myself, and yes I do see how happy Heath has been the last several months." Nick walked over the table and sat back down.
"I remember asking my grandfather once, about how he could do weddings when he knew the couple wasn't in love." Priscilla reached over and took Nick's hand in hers. "He explained that if two people have common interests and goals, friendship and love can follow. Heath and Sharon are friends already, so I am sure that love will follow." She looked at him with a reassuring smile.
"You think the love will rekindle?" He asked with interest, hoping she was right. Heath deserved happiness, which had been in short supply in his life the last several years.
"Heath and Sharon are good friends! They like spending time together and have lots of common interests." She paused and gazed directly into her husband's eyes before going on. "There is also the fact that Heath will be well regarded because he swept the pretty widow off her feet, while Sharon will be admired for securing a good future for her children."
"I somehow don't see Heath caring about what people think." Nick shook his head as he made the comment. "I presume you are going to tell me to keep my nose out of the matter? And not say anything to Heath?"
"That is exactly what you need to do Nicholas!" Priscilla declared as she stood up and came over to sit in his lap. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him, which Nick responded to with fervor. He put Heath and Sharon out of his mind, and instead reached for the buttons on the front of the gown.
"You know if we were to get a sofa out here, we could be together under the stars." His voice was husky as he slowly undid the buttons, starting at the top.
"I don't think we have enough space" Priscilla giggled as she ruffled his hair. "We will need to plan another trip to Monterey." When they were at the cabin, they had a private beach where they would bring a blanket and be together.
One of the things he liked about her tea gowns was that she did not wear undergarments with them. It meant that when he had the buttons down to her hips undone her bosom was fully exposed. Nick started putting butterfly kisses on her neck, as his hands reached under her breasts,
He looked up at her, gave her a light kiss on her lips, as he took in the full breasts with the rosy tip nipples, now rock hard. Nick put a kiss on the center of her collarbone before he started nipping and sucking as his mouth went lower.
Priscilla moaned as he took one of her breasts in his mouth, delicately letting his tongue play with her nipple. It aroused her like a wave overtaking her, and she felt the need to be with him right away.
"We do not need a sofa!" She declared and she stood up and turned to face him as she pulled up her skirt. Priscilla sat back down, now straddling him, as she leaned hard into his groin. His quick growl and sigh let her know that he was as ready as she was.
"Ah, you can get my belt and pants undone so fast." Nick grunted, as Priscilla's fingers worked their magic. Soon, his pants were at his knees and his manhood was greeting the night sky. When Priscilla put her slim white fingers on his shaft and started stroking it, he groaned with lust and excitement.
"So you are going to ravish me out here on the balcony?" Nick panted, having no doubt what she was about to do him. He could already feel her hot wetness above his manhood and was all set to pick her up and sweep her into their bedroom.
"Do you not want to be ravished? And you said that you wanted to stay out here." Priscilla's voice was teasing, and he sighed anticipation. Clearly his wife had something in mind, and Nick knew that when it was done, he would be lucky to walk to bed.
His thoughts were affirmed when Priscilla shifted and let her femaleness come to touch the tip of his shaft. Nick, when she lowered her hot wetness against him, barely letting him inside her growled with desire. She slowly started to lower herself onto him, and then pulled back, just hovering against his shaft.
"Well are you not so eager?" Priscilla giggled and tossed her head, causing the pieces of her braided back hair to come undone. Nick loved how messy her hair looked – full, curly, soft and smiled a wolfish grin. He reached up and undid the silk ribbon tie with a firm grasp.
"Sissi, while I enjoy being teased by a beautiful woman – which are you – I am so hard that I could not stand up." Nick looked at her, the dark blonde waves cascading over the body, her breasts full with rosy tipped nipples.
"Well, a wife should always satisfy her husband's needs" she smirked with pleasure. "And I pride myself on being a good wife." Priscilla laughed and tossed her head.
She then positioned herself back against his manhood, letting her juices wet his shaft. Priscilla carefully let him enter her, but only so far, before she pulled back. Just as he was groaning, she entered him again, pushing even father.
By the third time Priscilla had let his manhood inside her he was overwhelmed with desire. The next time she slowly lowered herself onto him, Nick clasped her hips, and held them against him. He thrust hard and long into her, sighing with pleasure. Nick felt her trying to move back, but he strengthened his grasp and continued to thrust hard into to her until she screamed with pleasure and release.
They snuggled together, then went into their bedroom. Nick let Priscilla use their private water closet to get ready for bed, while he cleaned up dinner and left the cart outside of their door. They finished their evening in bed, snuggling with each other. Nick was sure that his wife was right, Heath and Sharon would find the love they had once had.
