Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
M argaret spent the rest of the day relishing in the love and warmth of her family. Aiden refused to let her leave the bed chamber, and hovered over her as if he expected her to collapse into that deep, dark sleep again.
It should have irritated her. Months ago, it might have. But not today. Today was too good a day to ruin with arguing with an over protective husband.
He did, however, allow her to visit Annabella and her new babe. Oh! She was a beautiful, wee little thing. As bald as a pebble, she was. But she had the sweetest little nose and cheeks. “I think she looks just like ye,” she told the proud mother.
“Emery thinks she is the spittin’ image of himself,” Annabella said. “But I think I agree with ye.”
“Was the birthin’ bad?” Margaret asked.
“Nay,” she said with a shake of her head. “Me waters broke at around midnight. An hour later, she was here.”
Margaret had next to no knowledge of birthing, but even to her, that seemed rather quick. “Lizabet and Elayne would nae speak to me for two days,” Annabella said with a giggle.
“Why nae?” Margaret was quite surprised by that bit of information.
“They admitted they were a bit jealous. But they have since forgiven me.”
The two women giggled before turning back to Little Margaret as Annabella and everyone else was referring to her. “She is so beautiful,” Margaret repeated more than once.
“Ye need one,” Annabella said. “Or mayhap a dozen of them.”
Margaret didn’t think she wanted quite that many bairns. “I might settle for two or three,” she told her. “Our family is big enough as it is.”
“And it continues to grow,” Annabella said. “Elayne is with child again.”
“Nay!” Margaret exclaimed happily. “A woman sleeps for a few hours and the whole world around her changes.”
“’Twas more than a few hours!” Elayne declared. “Ye almost died!”
’Twas long after the evening meal before Aiden and Margaret were finally left alone. He had seen to it that a bath had been brought up to their chamber. He declared that he didn’t want to risk her going up and down the stairs just yet. After all, she had almost died. He left her alone to enjoy her bath. “I must tend to a few things below stairs,” he told her before quitting the room.
Margaret scrubbed herself clean from head to toe and washed her hair twice. She soaked in the luxuriously warm water until it went cold. It felt good to finally be clean.
The bath invigorated her. She quickly dried off and donned a fresh sleeping gown. With her hair still quite damp, she sat by the hearth and combed it. The heat from the fire helped to warm her as much as to dry her hair.
Her thoughts, for the past hour, were of her husband. Aye, she loved him very much. Just how or when it happened, she wasn’t quite certain.
Earlier, as she bathed, she had made a decision. Tonight, they were going to consummate their marriage.
Because she had no experience in the matter, she wasn’t exactly sure how to broach the subject with her husband. How does a woman tell her husband such a thing?
She was left presuming that mayhap if she kissed him, one thing would lead to another. What the ‘another’ was, she had no earthly idea. The only thing she did know was that her sisters-by-law enjoyed the act of loving with their husbands. While they hadn’t gone into any great details, they had hinted, on more than one occasion, that it was great fun.
Hopefully, her husband would know more about these matters.
Aiden stayed out of the bedchamber for what he felt was a respectable amount of time. While he would have loved nothing more than to assist his wife with her bath, he couldn’t take the risk.
He wanted her, in the physical sense. But was she ready to have him? Besides, she had almost died recently. And if their previous conversation on the matter were any indication, it would be some time before she was ready for, as she called it, ‘a more intimate relationship’.
Not wanting to leave her alone any longer, he gently rapped at the door. He heard her muffled voice come from the other side, and happily entered.
She was stunningly beautiful this night. Sitting by the fire, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, as she combed her long locks.
Would she ever not steal his breath away?
He took a deep breath and willed his nerves to settle before closing the door behind him. Aye, it was going to be another sleepless night. He’d be lost in a sea of worrying over his wife and desiring her to the point of madness.
“Thank ye for the bath,” Margaret said as she stood up.
“Think nothin’ of it,” he said. Why on earth had his mouth suddenly gone dry? ’Twas probably the fact that she was standing in front of the fire in her night dress and the flames illuminated her hips and legs from under the gauzy fabric.
He had to turn away, lest he be tempted to scoop her up and toss her on the bed. Instead, he chose the honorable thing and looked at the floor. “Are ye ready for bed, lass?”
“I am, Aiden.”
But she didn’t move. Didn’t make any attempts to get into the bed. Nay, she stayed right where she was. Looking more beautiful than he had ever seen her before.
If he got too close, he would lose his mind. He sat down on one of the trunks and removed his boots. Lord, why was she still standing there?
“Are ye well, lass?” He finally mustered the courage to speak. He was beginning to feel like a fool but wasn’t sure why.
“Aye, I am well.”
He finally looked up at her. There was a strange expression on her face. One he couldn’t quite reason out. She looked afraid, yet … “Is somethin’ the matter?”
He watched as she nervously shifted from one foot to the other. She started to speak then stopped, tried again, and yet again, she stopped.
“Is there somethin’ ye need?” He was growing concerned. Was she feeling ill again?
After a long moment, she cleared her throat, lifted her chin a bit, and said, “Would ye think ill of me if I asked ye to kiss me?”
’Twas, in hindsight, a most ridiculous question. For the next two hours, Aiden showed her exactly how he felt about kissing her.
The act of loving was even far more exciting and fun than she had anticipated. She didn’t think there was a spot on her body that he hadn’t kissed or teased or touched.
He kissed her deeply, passionately, and in the most shocking of ways. His strong hands felt as light as feathers whenever and wherever they happened to light upon.
His skin against hers? Oh, that was exhilarating and blissful and thrilling all at once.
It hadn’t taken long at all to discover just what a woman’s release was. Oh, she liked that part very much. So he did it again. And again.
He clung to her like a man adrift at sea might cling to a bit of wood; hanging on for dear life, when he finally found his own pleasure.
When they were finally done, spent, exhausted, Margaret laid by his side, on her back, as naked as the day she was born. It took a little while for her to catch her breath. For the life of her, she couldn’t stop smiling.
Her husband was in much the same state as she. After a time, the cold air began to cool her skin. The blankets had somehow ended on the floor. Her night dress somewhere within it.
She bent over the edge of the bed to grab the furs. Before she could manage to roll back, Aiden was reaching over her, helping her with the task. In no time at all, they were snuggled into one another, the furs drawn over them.
Margaret tried to stifle a giggle.
“What is it ye find so amusin’?” Aiden asked.
She buried her head into her pillow. “What we just did.”
“It was amusin?”
She giggled again. “Aye. Amusin’. Fun. Excitin’. A bit terrifyin’ at first. But I think I enjoyed it.”
“Ye think ?” He asked playfully as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her tightly against his chest.
Not for a minute did she believe he was insulted. Nay, from the mischievous grin on his face, he seemed quite proud of himself.
“Aye,” she said, feigning uncertainty. “But I think we should do that again, so that I can be certain.”
They didn’t leave their bedchamber until the next night. Thankfully, no one came to check on them and left them to their own devices.
Aiden was more than just glad that his wife had asked for that first kiss. And for the second and third, and all those that came after.
By nightfall, they were both famished. Reluctantly, they got dressed and went below stairs to join the family for the evening meal.
George glanced at Aiden and smiled as if he wanted to say something. But knowing Margaret would probably die from embarrassment, he kept his mouth shut.
Lizabet and Elayne, however, were not thusly inclined. They smiled at Margaret, the kinds of smiles that said, I ken what ye were doin ’ .
Margaret didn’t care. She was blissfully happy. A bit tired, perhaps, and ravenous. But more than that, she was happy. Content. Down right joyful.
After the meal was finished, Margaret wanted nothing more than to go above stairs and ask her husband to kiss her again. But Lizabet and Elayne decided they needed to speak to her about something important.
Reluctantly, Margaret made her excuses to her husband and followed her sisters-by-law into the hallway. As soon as they were out of earshot, the questions began. They hurled them like arrows over a parapet. “Well? Did ye like it?”
“Like what?” Margaret pretended to be confused. “The evenin’ meal? Aye, the venison was quite good.”
The two women giggled. “Nay! Yer night with Aiden?”
“And yer mornin’ and afternoon,” Lizabet quipped.
Margaret felt her face grow warm. Truly, she didn’t enjoy speaking about intimate things of this nature. But she simply couldn’t help herself. She smiled, a beaming smile. “Ye were right,” she said in a whisper. “It was quite fun!”
Before the women could drag any details out of her, George and Emery appeared behind them. “What is this about?” George asked.
“I think they are plannin’ something,” Emery added. “A mutiny perhaps?”
“Never ye mind,” Lizabet told her husband. “Why are ye here?”
“The boys are fussin’,” he informed her. “I believe they be wantin’ fed.”
Lizabet let out a quick breath. “They are always wantin’ fed,” she declared. “I will be glad when they can eat solid foods.”
Soon, they left the confines of the hallway to return to the gathering room. Margaret scanned the room for her husband. He was standing next to the hearth, looking at her. The smile on his face was one of contented happiness. A smile that warmed her heart to no end.
Surely, my life cannae get any better than this.