Mahogany Is The Color Of Devotion

Chapter 17

Nicholas watched as Lafayette danced in the moderate space of the Inn. Alfred was holding her with a strange stiffness, his arm rigid around her waist.

He knew that he should be happy. He knew that Lafayette needed a man her age. Someone that her family would approve of... He knew that and he constantly reminded himself of that fact and yet watching Lafayette in the arms of another man did something wicked to his psyche.

He leaned against the wall of the dinning hall, a glass of spirits in his hand. He swirled it around his glass, finally starting to feel its affects. He could not remember if this were his third or fifth glass?

"You threw the competition and now you're standing here brooding?" Leo asked as he moved to stand next to him. 

Nicholas chuckled, taking a deep gulp of the liquor in his cup before speaking. "You know just as well as I do that this is the right decision..."

Leo shrugged, "I'm no psychic, I can't tell you what's right or wrong. Especially where love is concerned. You of all people have met my family. Romantic advice is the last thing I should be giving. But I do know that my stubborn cousin is very much in love with you. Though she and Angel may be twins, Angel has always been the more volatile of the two of them. Lafayette knows what she wants but going after those things has never been her strongest suit."

"Are you encouraging me or am I inebriated?" Nicholas asked with a raised brow.

Leo chuckled, unable to help himself, "I'm merely telling you the truth. What you choose to do is your own idea. Just make sure it's not something you'll regret later. Fay will marry, whether that be to you or..."

They both looked in the direction of Lafayette and Alfred. "She wouldn't marry him."

Leo smirked, slowly heading back toward the dinning hall, "I can't tell you what she would do, old chap. Unfortunately, most of the Hugh family is a conundrum, even to me."

Nicholas watched him walk away before turning to glance at the pair once more. He watched as 
Alfred whispered something to Lafayette that made her genuinely laugh. She threw her head back and laughed, the sound was bubbly and clear.

His chest began to burn with warmth. He couldn't remember the last time he made her laugh or the last time she had smiled at him.

He drank the rest of his glass before moving to go get another.

--------------------

Lafayette excused herself from the table as she stood. She hoisted her dress in her hands as she ascended the steps.

It had been a surprisingly pleasant night. Alfred was rather dull but he had his moments when even he evoked great humor from her. As she rounded the final row of steps her mind wandered to Nicholas. He had actively avoided her all night. Sitting as far away from her as he could at dinner, and not once offering to dance with her.

However, he had indulged in the Brandy with a steel hand. She could not quite recall ever seeing him drunk before and yet now she could say she had. 

He was a rather loopy drunk. More quiet. Almost intimidating. She had caught him openly staring at her throughout the night, his gaze intense and never wavering. Until he had stood up on staggering legs and excused himself.

An hour had ticked by and then another. Without him there the room had suddenly felt infinitely boring. 

She made it to the top of the stairs and quickly headed for her room. Inside the room was dark, as she had expected. She fumbled around for the oil lamp, twisting it on as she kicked off her shoes.

She stretched before placing a hand on her stomach. She had not had her monthly. Time had come and gone and in the midst of it all she had gone a month without her time.

She should be worried. She should have been panicking quite loudly. But she didn't want Nicholas to marry her because she was pregnant. She wanted him to marry her because he couldn't live without her.

She sighed, sinking down onto her bed. She sat on something hard and jumped up, nearly tripping over herself as she put as much distance between herself and the bed. The glow from the oil lamp was low, casting a silhouette of a large body under the covers.

She moved a bit closer, squinting her eyes to get a better look at the mystery man in her bed. The closer she got the more relaxed she became. Nicholas was laid across the bed, half of his body under the covers, the other half hanging out and nude.

Shock came and went, now she was rather amused. She chuckled a bit before reaching down to shake him awake. 

He brushed her hand away, stretching like a cat before turning onto his side. She shook him once more, this time with much more conviction. "Nicholas? Wake up!"

He finally budged, reaching up to wipe a hand down his face. His voice was groggy and deep as he turned to look at her, "Are you in my room or am I dreaming?"

She blushed at his words. There was desire in his eyes and seduction in his words. "You're in my room, sir. I do hate to burst your bubble."

He frowned before sitting up. He ran his eyes over the darkened room, his eyes growing wide. He chuckled suddenly, "I just can't escape you, can I?"

She flinched at the emotion in both his voice and his words. Tears pricked her eyes and she sucked in a breath.

"You needn't worry about that anymore. I know you hate me but you won't have to endure m-," he cut her off, his voice low, astonished, "Hate you? You think I hate you, Fay?"

She raised her chin, there was a sparkling pride in her eyes. That was something he both loved and admired about her. Her pride in herself. Love? 

He tried to shake away the thought, but loose was his tongue in his still slightly drunken state. "Lafayette, you can't believe I hate you."

"Don't you? You treat me like a pest and I may have been a bit hasty in my chasing after you but that ends tonight. Tomorrow Leo and I will venture on with Alfred. He invited us to visit his Grandfather's country estate. I'll write and inform my..." Her words died down and suddenly he stood, the covers falling down his body.

He was completely naked. His body hard every where that she looked. "I don't hate you, Fay. Far from it."

They stared at each other for a moment, silence passing between them with the intensity of their gaze. "Come here," he asked.

She hesitated before moving toward him. He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her right up against him. She looked up at him, her heart pounding in her chest. 

He leaned toward her, his lips brushed hers once and then twice. And then they were kissing so passionately the room felt as if it were spinning. Lafayette pulled away to whisper, "My dress, help me take it off."

He didn't hesitate to do just that. He turned her around, sitting on the bed as he pulled at the strings of the of the back paneling. After much fumbling he pulled it open, helping her nudge it open and down her body. They removed all the layers of clothing piece by piece until she was standing in front of him naked.

He groaned low in his throat as he reached up to run his hands along her body. "You're beautiful."

She smiled and he felt warmth fill his whole body. "Thank you," she whispered shyly.

He pulled her toward him, spreading her out on the bed. He kissed and caressed every inch of her body until she was writhing. Until neither of them could tell where the other end or began.

*If she wasn't already pregnant she would be after this night!*