In Consequence

In Consequence - Chapter 18

Thanks to everyone still following this story. It's nearly done.

-Trudy

Mr. Thornton’s gaze followed the unclad figure of his wife as she slipped out from under the bed sheets to hastily don her white dressing-gown.

“We must dress quickly if we are to eat breakfast downstairs,” Margaret muttered, tightening the sash at her waist, her back to her husband.

The corners of his mouth lifted to observe her blushing modesty after such a spell of unhurried lovemaking as they had just shared in the morning’s gentle light. He drew a deep breath and propped himself against the pillows to luxuriate a few moments more in this dream-realm of perfect contentment. He would be loathe to leave the place where the glory and wonder of marital bliss had been revealed to him.

Reluctantly, he climbed out of the bed to tug on his drawers and trousers. Throwing a shirt over his head, he turned to see his wife, now in her long chemise, laying yesterday’s garments in her trunk. No longer hiding behind a screen, she went about the mundane task of dressing and tending to her clothes. The sight of it entranced him, for here was a vision of the life that now lay before him, where the common routines of their existence would blend into new harmonious rounds, transforming the ordinary into something exquisitely wonderful and precious.

She would come home with him, and live in his house. The contemplation of this simple fact caused his heart to contract in fervent longing, astounded for the thousandth time at his fortune.

He crossed the room in a blaze of ardor.

“At times, I cannot yet believe you are truly mine,” he whispered, wrapping his arms around her from behind.

“I believe that has been made abundantly clear,” she answered softly, feeling heat rise to her cheeks. She felt the strong sinewy lines of his forearms beneath the clasp of her small hands.

He held her closer, the implication of her answer sending a warm sense of satisfaction through every portion of his body. The joy he felt in the close, intimate bond they had created surpassed all his imaginings. He would never tire of their coming together, but feared that his own desires might overwhelm her more hesitant inclinations. “Are you happy?” he murmured with his cheek pressed near hers, wanting to hear the confirmation of his fondest hope from her lips.

She twisted about to face him. “I thought that was also plain,” she returned, lifting her luminous eyes to his.

His heart leapt up at her words. Although he rejoiced that their love had sparkled and dazzled in the bright dawn of these first days, he secretly worried that in time the life of a manufacturer’s wife would lose its luster.

Margaret’s thoughts held no such misgivings. Settled securely within her husband’s embrace, she reached up to tenderly stroke his face, her fingertips tracing the spot near his temple where the stone had struck him on that terrifying and life-altering day. “It seems so long ago…when we hardly knew one another.…” She faltered, recalling with a pang of guilt how she had once dismissed him as a heartless tradesman.

“Not so long ago,” he answered, taking her hands in his and kissing the slender fingers that had touched his old wound. He could well remember the months he had longed to gain her affection, and the thrill of hope that had overtaken him when he had seen the look of tender concern in her eyes that momentous day.  “You captivated me from the very beginning. I knew there could be none other,” he admitted with conviction.