The Man In Silk Chains {Historical Mystery/ #2 in Blake Series)

Chapter 6: Mr Ben Carson

MeepyM: Sorry this chapter isn't action packed. I had to rewrite the whole plot for this story because I wasn't happy with it. Now I'm sorted, I'll be uploading weekly again. Enjoy! Please vote and comment if you can :) This year is going to be stressful because I'm picking sixth forms (one stage before University or College in America) and I need to get accepted into a good one otherwise I'll be stuck at my school. So, if I am stressed out or reply to anything late, I am really sorry and I do apperciate everything I swear.

Dedication: Read her story, you will cry. Lovely person and great writer.

Chapter 6 

Katherine rocked her son to sleep, as he finally succumbed to his tiredness. The past few days had been rough on Christian, so much change in a short period of time. His mother was not a woman who entertained men, she only had Uncle Julian and now her Father, but Christian wasn’t used to sharing. Only seeing his mother for a few moments each day, had made him restless.

Seeing his father had gone to his study for brandy and work, Christian had given Katherine no opportunity to relax in privacy. He had talked about his day effortlessly, rapidly and as if he would die if he stopped doing so. Katherine had nodded, listened, and drifted off herself.

Now, Katherine brushed a curled hair from his face and touched his bronzed skin. He had soft skin, not coarse like his sire. But, he had long lashes like her and slept almost as soundly. Children see things that adults are naïve to, their actions explain the words easier than any book can. Christian falling asleep in his mother’s arms meant she had been spending too much time away from him, she had been too occupied and she needed comfort from him.

Katherine would describe her husband as approachable, but he hadn’t experienced the last five years she had. Christian could still remember, he had even asked if they would get the building back or when he would go to school. She hadn’t mentioned the differences between classes, and the fact William was paying for a private tutor to educate him.

She didn’t want him to grow up, Katherine wanted him to enjoy what little innocence he had.

“Mary, could you take Christian to bed please?”

“Yes, Mrs Blake,” Mary, Christian’s nursemaid, stopped folding Katherine’s dresses. She had been admiring them, and Katherine gave her permission to try some of them on. The young woman had twirled around the room like a Colonial thunderstorm, making the colours seem almost more surreal. But, she scooped the young lad in her arms and took him out the room.

Then, it fell quiet. Mary only came in the bedroom when William was not around, only cleaning in the day time. She avoided him during the evening, explaining it was for her virtue. Katherine did not know whether to be offended that the grey eyed maid thought Katherine was being betrayed so early in the marriage, or laugh. The girl clearly thought the worst in males, just like she had.

Katherine picked up William’s banyan which was on his chair, and slipped it on. The coat like garment was usually worn for portraits by philosophers and the powerful alike. She knew it was for more formal occasions, but it was most likely her clothes would be off soon. A thrilled shiver went down Katherine’s body, she had never looked forward to sex.

Glancing at herself in the mirror, Katherine wondered if it was possible. It had taken five years to get her pregnant, when the sex was rape and painful. Now, her body felt refuelled and she wanted a child of her own. She had forced herself to stop thinking of achieving more than being a mother, this was her only goal.

To achieve this goal, she needed the other half. Heading down to William’s study was easy; the stairs were empty because everyone was in bed. Katherine knocked on the wooden, mahogany door of her husband’s study. She pulled the blue banyan tighter, feeling the lack of fire in the corridor.