A Love Match

12 - Sophie

Over dinner, the Duke of Norwich told Frederick that he came to Ashbury so he could personally congratulate Nicholas on the birth of his daughter, which I found both charming and odd, since Nicholas has never mentioned him being a close friend during our marriage. The dinner table was a lively one that night; aside from the Duke, we were joined by Elizabeth, Isabella, Sinclair, Frederic, and my parents. The food was exceptional, the conversation stimulating, and my mind kept wandering to the future, seeing this very table filled with our children and their spouses some day, spending our summers together, enjoying each other's company. I kept glancing over to Nicholas, but his face seemed taut and strained the whole time.

After dinner, the men went to the library to smoke, and us ladies sat in one of the drawing rooms for a while before we all retired for the night. I went up to my room to relieve Dorothea, and to get Abigail ready for bed. After she fell asleep nursing, I waited and waited for Nicholas to come up so he could put her to bed like every night, but he never came. My stomach began churning with unease. Was he not feeling well? He did look odd at dinner, so I decided to go look for him. After I couldn't find him in his bedroom or anywhere on our floor, I ventured downstairs. The house was already silent and somewhat dark, so it was fairly easy to hear that the only occupied room was the library. My bare feet made no sound as I approached the not entirely closed door just in time to hear Duke Talbot say to my husband:

"I'm worried about you here all alone in the boring country, you should come stay in London for a while, old friend."

"I'm happy right here, Talbot, mind your business. And I am not alone," my husband responded in an uncharacteristically cold tone of voice.

"Bad enough you saddled yourself with a wife, but now that you are imprisoned here in the country, it is just pathetic. Imagine the rest of the Ton finding out you stare at your wife constantly like a lovesick puppy. A real man enjoys God's bounty on Earth without limiting himself to one garden," he said and I could hear the smile in his words and it sickened me. Talbot spewed all of this with utmost confidence and I could not believe that the seemingly polished and kind man who ate dinner with us hid such a cold ugliness on the inside.

"There is nothing more valuable or important to me than my wife, maybe I was unclear the last time you provoked me, but our love is something I am proud of. I could lose my dukedom and still be happy if I had her and Abigail with me. That is the true measure of a man, his loyalty to his family. I don't care what the Ton thinks and I don't care what you think. I can only hope you'll get to experience love like this in your lifetime, because you used to be my friend once upon a time and I still want you to be happy. But until you do, you are no longer welcome in my home if you are going to speak against my marriage and disturb our peace."

"Very well, I see you've made your choice. I look forward to seeing you regret it. I will take my leave first thing in the morning then."

"Good night, Talbot."

I scurried upstairs as quickly as I could before either of them could catch me eavesdropping. I felt flushed and giddy after I closed the door to my room and leaned my whole body against it. As unsettling as the whole conversation was since men normally took great care when they discussed matters in front of ladies, it resulted in my heart finally being unburdened. Nicholas had stood up for me and our marriage, and I now knew that we would be alright, no matter where we were. Ashbury or London, our bedroom or the ballroom, my husband would protect our family and fight for it. I saw my face in the looking glass, and I liked the way my eyes shone with excitement. I knew what I wanted to do – I opened the door to Nicholas' room, took off my nightgown, and got under the covers.

Some moments later, I saw Nicholas come into his room and his gaze immediately went to the open door to mine. He rushed into my room, calling my name, but I quickly sat up in his bed and shushed him before he could wake Abigail.

"Darling, what are you doing here?" He seemed confused at first, but his eyes soon registered my bare shoulders and my unruly hair and they darkened with lust. I smiled at him and asked coyly:

"What do you think I'm doing here?"

He took a step towards me while undoing his tie and removing his cufflinks.

"Remove the coverlet, Sophie," he said in that deep husky voice of his that made me shiver. I instantly obeyed, I was eager to. He hasn't seen my naked body in almost a year, and he was now taking every detail in – the fuller breasts, the wider hips, the softer belly, and judging by the way he looked at me, he enjoyed all of it very much.

"You look so beautiful, love," he murmured before kissing my lips gently and then trailed open-mouthed kisses down my neck and lower, and lower... I moaned and then stiffened.

"We should close the door," I breathed, and he shook his head.

"No, this way we'll hear her if need be. You'll just need to be quiet, my Sophie, do you think you can do that for me?" he asked with a devilish grin and I narrowed my eyes at him.

"You know very well I cannot, or have you forgotten? It's been a long time, after all," I teased him but my smile was soon wiped from my face as I felt his readiness between my legs.

"It has been a long time and I've missed you in my arms every night my love."

"Show me."

And he did.

Afterwards he pulled me into his arms and we just tried catching our breath together, sweaty and dishevelled. Nicholas kept stroking my arms and my hair, kissing me every few moments on the temple, the head, or my shoulder.

"I've missed this so much, being one with you. But may I ask, why tonight?" he wondered.

"Well, I happened to overhear your conversation with Duke Talbot in the library, and it eased some remaining fears and doubts that I had."

"Does that mean that now we can now have the marriage we've both wanted?"

"Yes, Nicholas. This time we will truly face things together and be honest with each other, because I love you."

"Oh Sophie," he croaked. "I love you so much. You will not regret this, I promise you, I will spend my life loving you and our children the right way."

"I know you will," I said and lost myself in his hug.