Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Tommy loved how sore his muscles were after a game. They were evidence of how hard he had worked, the grit he had pushed through to win a game, especially one as close as that against the Old Etonians.
The pints of ale after a game always seemed to help too, although tonight, with Minnie sitting beside him, he had kept it to two, not wanting to be too out of his wits to properly see her home.
He had wished she would sit closer to him, take a seat on his lap as Emmaline often did with Rhys or Lily with Colin, but it was as though all of the flirtatious banter that had been present between them when they were nothing but attracted to one another had fled upon their marriage.
He knew the problem. There was too much pressure now, both expectations and feelings unknown.
He didn’t like it, but Tommy had never been particularly adept at complicated situations. He liked things simple. A flirtation, perhaps a night together, and then time to part ways. That was how he had always been, and he hadn’t been planning to change his ways.
Until Minnie.
Now, he had no idea what to do.
He smiled as he thought about Minnie meeting his family tonight. His mother and Cindy had been waiting for him after the game, their faces veritably shocked when he told them he had someone he wanted them to meet and proceeded to introduce his wife.
“How did this happen?” his mother asked, although a tear squeezed out of her eye as Minnie leaned forward and embraced her.
“It’s a very long story,” Tommy said.
“And one we would love to share,” Minnie had added. “Perhaps we could have dinner together soon?”
“Very soon,” his mother had said, before giving Tommy a look that told him he had a lot of explaining to do – likely most of it about how he could have married without involving her.
He did feel guilty about that, but he hadn’t thought much about it until now.
It was a short walk between The King’s Head and his apartment above the blacksmith shop, and they were home soon enough, the bit of conversation between them focused on the match and how much Minnie had enjoyed watching him.
“Did your friends have much to say about our wedding?” he asked as they climbed the stairs up to his rooms.
“Oh, yes, Emmaline said she was proud of me, and Lily and Ada were greatly intrigued,” she said. “But I think Emmaline was also most concerned about what had caused us to wed, what with her grandfather being my father’s business partner and her brother set to work in the business.”
“I can understand that,” he said, before telling her of what Mickey had said about Blackwood as they walked through the door.
She seemed interested, although her face fell in disappointment at the thought of just what her father had involved himself in.
“I’ll find out more tomorrow,” he said, running a hand down her arm, wishing he could extend his touch, but uncertain if she had any wish for him to do so. “You look tired. Why don’t you ready yourself for bed?”
She nodded and left to use the outhouse. When she was gone, Tommy went to work with the extra blanket and pillow he had bought earlier that day. When she entered, her mouth fell open in surprise.
“What are you doing?” she asked, staring down at the makeshift bed on the floor in the middle of the room.
“I thought you needed more space to sleep, so I made a bed for myself,” he said. “You’ll be more comfortable now.”
“Tommy,” she said, stepping forward, shaking her head. “You cannot sleep on the floor.”
“Why not?” he said, confused. Wasn’t this what she wanted? More space for herself.
“It will be so uncomfortable. You won’t get a bit of sleep.”
Actually, he was sure to get a lot more than he had sleeping in the bed next to her, although he wasn’t about to admit that to her.
The bed was small enough to start, and he had slept as close to the edge as possible, or else he would have been pressed up against her.
Beside her was bad enough, but if he had to touch her all night, his mind went somewhere else entirely as he imagined how he would like to hold her, kiss her, show her all of the pleasure that could be found between husband and wife.
He had vowed to sleep next to his wife, but the truth was, so far he couldn’t do so and still get any sleep.
She already had an idea of what could be there — he knew that much from when she had acted out her dream the morning after their wedding night.
Little did she know what he could truly do.
“I’ll be fine, Minnie,” he assured her.
“But you had your game, and you have to work tomorrow,” she said. “I’ll take the floor.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Tommy—”
He crossed the room, reaching out and cupping her cheeks in his hands. “I’m going out to use the outhouse. You prepare for bed, and you better be in it when I return.”
“Or else?”
“Or else I will haul you off the floor and into the bed myself,” he said, his lips twitching as he said it. Was he imagining things, or had her eyes darkened at his stated intent?
Her cheeks turned a beautiful shade of pink, and she ducked her head.
“Very well, then. But we must find a better solution for tomorrow night.”
“Not to worry about it, luv,” he said, before crossing to the door, picking up two buckets on his way.
“Lock the door while I’m out, and don’t miss me too much,” he said with a wink before slipping out, not wanting to leave her for even a moment in case something should happen but knowing he didn’t have much of a choice.
When he returned with two full buckets of water, she was, fortunately, lying in his bed, but instead of her back to the room as it had been last night, she was turned over, facing him.
He gave her a quick grin as he placed the water into a pot over the fire, then left again.
It took him a few trips to fetch water and pour it into the tub he was preparing to bathe.
He felt her eyes on him as he washed in the basin, turning his back while he stripped off his shirt.
“I’ll get a curtain tomorrow, but I have to use the tub after the game,” he said, looking over his shoulder with a grin he couldn’t suppress. “You can watch or turn around — your choice.”
She gave a little squeak when he began to undo the fall of his pants, quickly turning around. He finished filling the tub from the water over the fire, one bucket at a time, and when he took a look back, she was still facing the wall as he slid his pants down and stepped into the tub.
He took his time, letting the warm water wash over him and soothe his sore muscles. He closed his eyes, sighing as he leaned his head back, even though his legs were bent near his chest in the small space.
He cracked an eye open just a touch and tried not to react when he saw that Minnie had turned ever so slightly, watching him through hooded eyes as clearly, she thought his were still closed.
“I don’t mind,” he said, startling her, trying not to laugh when she turned back around quickly and pulled the blankets up. “I’m not shy,” he continued. “Besides that, I’m your husband. Take your fill. You won’t be finding it anywhere else.”
He stretched his arms over the sides of the tub, and watched her as she slowly turned back around, her eyes landing on his chest before moving over his arms, his shoulders, and finally stopping on his face.
“You work hard,” she acknowledged, her swallow visible.
“I do,” he said. “I have to thank Rhys for that, for the most part, although I’d appreciate if you didn’t share that with him. Then the rest is from my job. It can be hard work.”
“I can imagine,” she said, pausing for so long that he wondered whether she had fallen asleep before she asked, “Can I do anything to help you? What does your employer’s wife do with her time?”
It took him a moment to realize her offer to help was not for anything in the present moment, for which he could have thought of an answer or two.
“Mostly, she looks after the house,” he said.
“They have four daughters, although they are nearly all grown now. Before I took on most of the work, she would also help in the shop, preparing and cleaning tools, and even doing small jobs that didn’t require much expertise, although she became rather more adept the more she worked. ”
“I could do that,” Minnie said eagerly.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes,” she said definitively. “I would also like to learn to cook. Mrs. O’Connor, the cook at Lily’s parents’ house, is willing to teach me. It won’t be much at first, nor likely very good, but I’d like to try.”
“Anything you’d like, Minnie,” he said. He wouldn’t mind what she did, as long as it made her happy. “I told you when we married that your life is yours. You can spend it on social visits, pastimes, or simply being with me. It’s your choice.”
“Thank you, Tommy,” she said quietly. “Is this what you always pictured for your life?”
“Eloping with the daughter of a shipping magnate?”
She laughed softly. “No, working as a blacksmith. Being married — in one way or another.”
“Yes, actually,” he said. “Besides football, my other love was always artistry, working with my hands, and I knew I wanted to take on a trade. Jack Cartwright, the blacksmith, was a friend of my father’s, and I was fortunate to be given this position.”
“I haven’t heard you speak about your father.”
Tommy paused for a moment. “He’s had a rough time over the past several years.”
Minnie didn’t say anything, and Tommy hesitated. He didn’t like speaking about his father with anyone, but there was something about Minnie that made him want to open up with her and be honest about his life.
“My father used to work in the mill, but then he was injured and couldn’t work in the same capacity.
He still has a job with the mill, but it’s lower paying and he feels…
disrespected, I suppose, even though there’s nothing to be done about it.
He can’t provide for the family like he once did, and he’s had a hard time with it. ”
“I’m sorry, Tommy.”
“Not your fault,” he said, needing something to keep his body busy, so he reached over and grabbed the bar of soap, beginning to run it over his body.
When she was silent, he looked over to see that she had sat up slightly, her weight on her elbows as she watched him from beneath hooded eyes.
Ah, she liked what she saw. Noted. He slowed down his movement, taking his time.
“What about you?” he asked. “Did you see a future in the small room of a blacksmith?”
Her chuckle was low and throaty. “Not exactly, but I didn’t have much idea of what my life would look like.
All I knew was that I didn’t like the plan my parents had for me.
To marry a nobleman or a man of a similar situation to my father and spend my life looking after him and having children.
To be seen as a lady of society. My parents always wanted to better themselves, to come as close to the upper class as they could without actually holding a title.
I think they always held out hope that I’d end up married to a duke or something. ”
She shook her head as though the thought was unbelievable, but Tommy could see it, with her beauty.
“That’s what they wanted, Minnie,” he said softly. “But what did you want?”
She looked him in the face, the force of her brilliant blue eyes upon him.
“I always just wanted more out of my life. Purpose. Freedom. Love.”
She looked down, then, as though she had said too much, becoming too vulnerable with him. But he had heard what she wanted as clearly as anything.
He could give her love. He knew he could. He just wasn’t sure whether she would ever return it when it was with a man like him.
He washed the soap off his body before sitting up entirely. “I’m getting out now,” he said, and before she could turn, he stood up, standing bare and proud before her.
He wasn’t sure he had ever been in a room with her without being a little bit aroused, so while he wasn’t completely hard, there was something for her to see. She gasped, her mouth rounding and her eyes widening, her cheeks turning not just pink but a brilliant red.
“Tommy!” she gasped, and he grinned at her before wrapping the towel around himself.
He shrugged. “We’re married and I’m fine with it,” he said, before beginning to dry himself, pleased when she didn’t turn around.
He normally slept naked, but he drew on some soft pants for her own modesty before he slid under the blanket on the ground.
“Goodnight, Minnie,” he said with a smile on his lips, before finally falling asleep, content in knowing that even if his wife didn’t love him, she was certainly attracted to him.
And that, he could work with.