Jekyll's Wife

Chapter Eleven - Midnight Hour

Maria and Nancy walked arm in arm into town. Later that evening they would both be dining with their husbands at Nancy's house, so had decided to head into town to collect their ingredients.

It had been two weeks since the 'incident', as Nancy had taken to referring to it as, and for the most part Maria's marriage had returned to a mixture of silent, lonely nights and solemn glances.

Jonathon hadn't returned to their marriage bed until a few days ago and for that, Maria was thankful, as she was dreading the idea of sharing the room with him again.

She'd needed time to accept that what had happened was an isolated incident, the sign of the beginning of the end.

Really she should be grateful that she'd had those few passionate nights with her husband, most women didn't even get that.

Look at Nancy, so jealous of her illustrious nights with Jonathon, sure Nancy had a wonderful marriage with Alfred, but she'd never experienced anything like Maria had.

They'll always have Autumn, Maria had decided, her and Jonathon would always have those few memorable nights in Autumn and that was enough. She could live with the knowledge that somewhere beneath his paperwork and whiskey, he did love her and she hoped, always would.

Besides, at least she had some wicked memories to keep her going. The way he'd played with her-

"Turnips?" Nancy's voice shocked Maria out of her reverie.

"Sorry?" Maria walked to Nancy's side and eyed the ingredients Nancy had already collected.

"I said, shall we do turnips? Alfred loves them, how about Jonathon?" Maria nodded absently, her eyes scanning over the copious amounts of the food on sale.

"Yes, yes, turnips are fine. Did you decide on what you wanted to drink?"

Lost in planning the evening, Maria hadn't spent much time at home recently. Often her and Nancy could be found helping at the Church or occasionally volunteering in town. They had become quite the inseparable pair.

That evening they prepared the meal side by side, both knowing what they needed to do, without needing to be told.

They laughed and joked as they settled into a happy rhythm. Jonathon arrived a little after seven, with Alfred not far behind. The two men sat in the Vicar's study and discussed their days whilst the two women served dinner.

They ate in a mixture of silence and polite conversation, Maria was surprised at the effort Jonathon was appearing to make.

She wasn't sure she'd ever seen him this engaged in a conversation that didn't revolve around science. Although they kept their topics light, the group of them got on well and silently bonded.

Maria found herself relaxing a little, she hadn't realised how stressed she had been about this evening. She found herself grateful to Jonathon for not only showing up on time, but also for making such an effort.

Soon she was smiling at him and affectionately placing her hand on his on occasion. To her eternal surprise, he began to reciprocate her actions, his rough fingers delicately tracing her hand.

At one point she caught Nancy's gaze and gave a small smile, a flicker of surprise chased away by a smile across her friend's face.

By midnight the two couples had parted ways and Maria and Jonathon walked home under the guise of the moon.

As they walked their arms occasionally brushed and instantly Maria was transported back to when they'd first met.

Although their marriage was already decided, they'd had a small amount of time to court and often took walks like this, arms brushing with each step, but never quite touching.

Although winter had arrived, the night was quite mild, yet when Jonathon had offered her coat she'd accepted it. Surrounded by his familiar scent and the warmth from where his body had been, she was very content as they headed home. They didn't speak and yet she felt that they didn't need to.

Reaching the house, they stepped inside and shook off the cold, Maria couldn't help the smile that claimed her mouth as she hung his coat upon the hook.

Suddenly feeling the urge to tell him that she loved him, these moments between them so rare, especially since the incident, Maria spun around and stepped towards him.

Or would have done.

As she turned she was greeted with the distant sound of the study door closing and an empty hallway.