Chapter 18
After walking in on Christopher and Alaina in what could be assumed was not the first passionate embrace of their courtship, Edward had discussed the terms of the engagement and eventual marriage with Christopher rather quickly.
The younger man had no real demands; love certainly did that to a person.
It was Edward who had one demand: the length of the courtship would be long enough to allow for a proper wedding, no exceptions.
And, in an attempt to avoid conflict with his wife, Edward convinced Christopher to hold off on any formal proposal to Alaina until Charlotte and Evelina returned from the shops, which happened luckily right after the contract had been signed.
The midday celebration over the impending nuptials spilled into the afternoon tea and then into the evening meal. By the end, Alaina and Christopher were elated, blissful, and exhausted, with no time throughout the day to talk or have any moments alone, most likely by the earl’s design.
Against his better judgement, and at the coaxing of his wife, Edward allowed Christopher and Alaina to occupy the front parlor at the end of the evening to say their goodbyes. This time the door remained completely open to the hallway, leaving no room for privacy.
The front parlor was warm from the fire that had burned all day, just recently stoked by Arthur, but the light from the afternoon was gone.
Candles had been lit and a lantern sat on the table between the two chairs situated directly in front of the fireplace.
The glow of candles gave the feel of a bedchamber, or at least some setting more intimate than a formal front parlor used for receiving guests.
Once they were left in their own company, Alaina and Christopher automatically came together closely in front of the fire.
No outward passion could be observed, it was only boiling under the surface, but an element of tenderness and hope for the future had taken its place.
“I fear they do not trust us,” Alaina whispered, motioning to the door.
“Well, if it justifies their actions, I have to keep reminding myself the door is open, else I will continue what I started this afternoon,” Christopher half-growled, only partly in jest.
Alaina looked away slightly. Christopher could not see her fully in the dim light, but he felt her embarrassment.
Trying to keep the tenderness of the moment, Christopher gathered Alaina’s hands in one of his own, putting the knuckle of his free hand under her chin, forcing her to look him in the eye once again.
“I feel so lucky to be here at this very moment, but I also owe you an apology,” Christopher probed Alaina’s eyes and sighed, finally able to broach the real reason for his hurried visit and proposal.
Alaina drew her brows together in confusion. “Apology? Doubts already?”
“No,” came Christopher’s quick answer, a little more brusquely than he intended. Frustrated with himself, he dropped Alaina’s hand, turning to face the fire and raking a hand through his tousled hair, almost blonde in the firelight.
It seemed the best he could muster was a muted apology said to the flames. “I should never have said the words I said in the state I was in last night, and for that I am sorry.”
“Oh,” was Alaina’s response, such a small word that seemed to fill the space between them.
Realizing his mistake, Christopher turned back to face Alaina. She was quick to put up her hand to stop further explanation. They were engaged to be married; if Christopher did not love her now, it mattered little, as long as there was hope for the future.
“I do not think you understand my meaning, please let me get this out,” came Christopher’s plea.
Seeing the glitter of tears in Alaina’s eyes spurred him.
“You see, words of love should be exchanged in times of joy, untainted by drink, or company. For goodness’ sake, I could not even make them private.
What I mean is that they should be special, given in an intimate moment, like now. ”
At the end of his explanation, Alaina’s lips trembled ever so slightly up in a smile.
“I love you, my dear Alaina. I fear I have loved you since we first met. I had been denying it ever since that moment. And I feared not saying the words for one moment longer would be my downfall. It was unfortunate that I needed the confidence of drink to express my true feelings. Will you forgive me?”
Alaina giggled. “There is nothing to forgive, I am just glad to hear the words again. I love you too, my darling Christopher.”
And with their declarations in the air, their lips met in a tender kiss, heat seeping from their bellies and spreading through their bodies.
After only a moment, Christopher pulled away, placing his hands on Alaina’s arms in order to set her a safe distance from him.
Christopher could see Alaina’s eyes were glazed over with passion even in the candlelight, and had to force himself to maintain decorum.
“It is getting late. I should be going,” Christopher said, giving a quick bow as a way of forcing courtly manners on the moment and on himself.
“You make me yearn for our wedding. I get the feeling kisses like these can lead to good places,” Alaina purred, aware that her words could lead to added embarrassment with her parents; but what she felt at his touch made her yearn for something more.
Christopher groaned, and pulled Alaina close in his embrace once more. She could feel a hardness on her belly and knew he felt the same.
“You, little minx, have much to learn, but know that I yearn for the wedding night as much if not more than you.”
Christopher landed a passionate and hard kiss on Alaina’s lips, and although it was brief, it communicated that his statement was in fact true.
Coming up a little breathless, Alaina was barely able to get out the words, “It is getting late.”
“That it is,” Christopher added, and with one last kiss, this time on the tip of her nose, he left by way of the parlor door and then quickly out of the front door of the townhome, thankful for the cool night air.
Alaina could still feel all the places Christopher had touched with his hands, his lips, his body, and took a breath to steady herself. The wedding certainly could not come soon enough, even if she had no idea what was truly in store past the kissing.
News travelled fast in society, and even before the proper announcement, Alaina and Christopher had received a wide variety of congratulations, invitations to dinner, musicales, and other social engagements.
It was always expected that Alaina and a chaperone of some sort would accompany the marquess, so whomever had proffered the invitation could learn about the couple, either to feed the gossip, or to gain favor.
The Rochester estate and title had long been held by gentlemen who preferred privacy over ambition, happy to maintain the success of the title without expanding it, at least through overtly political means.
Alaina learned that until Christopher’s late father, who had taken to excessive drink at a young age, there had been no real scandal, or none at least that captured the attention of the ton for more than a few minutes.
In fact, the Rochester line had been so boring that the family situation, or lack thereof, had never garnered much attention at all.
With a family that was so close, Alaina had been eager to learn about Christopher’s, and was sad that he had no close relatives to share in his life.
Alaina found herself asking questions, largely that Christopher could not answer.
Christopher did not remember much of his father before his mother’s death at all, as he had always been away at whatever Rochester estate that Christopher and his mother did not occupy.
Christopher admitted to Alaina he had realized that the absence of his father was probably what kept his mother from being completely withdrawn.
The few times the old marquess was in attendance, mostly holidays, Christopher recalled awkward and forced family dinners.
After his mother passed, Christopher was often only in the company of tutors and servants.
The occasional forced family dinners became more and more unbearable, as Christopher got older and became more aware both of his father’s drunken and belligerent behavior as well as its worsening impact on the late marquess’s health.
It was not until he went to Eton that Christopher made any friends his own age. Graham was his roommate by chance, and they became fast friends, even as Graham pulled Christopher into mischief.
Not even Charles, Christopher’s cousin, older by a few years, had seen fit to engage much with his younger family member while they both attended school, only extending basic courtesies, as required.
When Christopher had been younger, it had seemed personal.
After the passing of his father, Christopher learned of the bad blood between the late marquess and his uncle, Charles’s father, the second-born son, but had never learned the cause.
Over the years, their relationship had not much improved, even without the presence of the previous marquess.
It was only with the death of Charles’s father, and Charles’s own ascendence to his barony, that Christopher and Charles became friendly, still only seeing each other on occasion, but more due to circumstance than lack of desire to engage socially.
Christopher had come to value his cousin’s company and humor, and accepted his invitation to a quiet dinner at the rented townhouse his cousin currently occupied.
Alaina convinced her mother to join them for propriety, all of them leaving from the Norwich townhome together.