Chapter 23

The next morning, although

determined to get out of bed as early as was expected by his

parents, Edward found himself once again late to breakfast after

waking and finding his wife eager to repeat the previous

evening.

As he slid inside her,

she spoke to him, asking him how it felt to him. The question was

enough to take his mind off it for a moment, and enable him to stay

in her for a bit longer.

"Oh,

Alessandra. It feels warm, like a fine fur coat wrapped around me

tightly. It is exquisite - you are exquisite,"

he said in reply to her question as he stayed still deep inside of

her and kissing her.

When he felt her move slightly,

he let himself go with the feeling of physical pleasure as they

started to move together, before he let go completely.

Alessandra

revelled in the feelings that came from the new connection she'd

found with Edward. The feeling of joining took her to another level

of happiness. She found it difficult to comprehend how other women

could not enjoy it.

She watched his face as she saw

him recover from the moment of bliss. Focusing on her once again,

Edward gave her a shy smile.

"My parents are going to tell

me off again," he laughed quietly, making Alessandra smile.

"Yes, sorry," she said, teasing

him.

"I think you are not at all

sorry, my beautiful wife. I think you are enjoying getting me into

trouble almost every morning!" he laughed back at her as they

pulled themselves from the warmth of their bed and readied

themselves for the day ahead.

~~~~~

"Edward!" they both heard as

they entered the breakfast room. The sternness of his father's

voice made the two of them jump. "This has to stop. You have

responsibilities that need to be attended to. Eat quickly as we are

expected at the lawyer's office … now!"

Edward grabbed what

portable food he could in a napkin, and ate as he walked out of the

room, only having time to give Alessandra a quick kiss. After he

and his father had left, Alessandra remained at the breakfast table

with Edward's mother.

Expecting a similar

reprimand, Alessandra sat quietly while choosing a selection of

food to eat, but could feel the eyes of Edward's mother on

her.

"I remember how it is in

the first weeks of marriage, Alessandra. Do not worry so much.

Edward's father is eager for Edward to take over the full running

of the estate, so he wants him to prove his sense of

responsibility. Charles has forgotten what mornings were like for

us also at the start," Alessandra heard Edward's mother say

quietly. When she turned to look at her, she noticed a slight blush

on the woman before her.

"Enjoy this time and make

the most of it," she continued. "Once a child comes along,

something changes between a husband and his wife, and things are

never quite the same again. Work hard to hold on to what you now

share."

Alessandra nodded while quietly

eating, not sure how to move forward with the day from such a

conversation. Edward's mother resolved the uncertainty, beginning a

conversation about the storage of linen that relieved Alessandra's

mind of having to think about pleasure anymore.

"Come, Alessandra,"

Edward's mother eventually said. "Today you and I are going to

visit and talk to every staff member who works in this household.

It will help you know who everyone is by name, and what their role

is. I know it is not a common practice, however since I have been

the mistress of this estate, it has always been important to me

that the people who work for us are all treated with respect and

appreciation. For some of them, us simply remembering their names

shows them how much we need and respect them," she added as the two

of them began walking through the large house. It was quickly

becoming home to Alessandra, even though she was sure she had still

not been into even half of the rooms.

Alessandra spent most of

the day in the company of Edward's mother. When she was dismissed

later that afternoon, she made her way to the glass room she had

grown to love so much. Sitting behind the glass in complete

solitude in the late afternoon sun was something she appreciated

doing every day when she could be spared. Always there was so much

for her to remember from what she considered her daily lessons in

the manor management. It was invigorating to someone who loved

learning, and viewed everything as being a possibility to discover

new things. That invigoration didn't stop her from becoming

overwhelmed when she took a moment to consider that one day she

would be running it all.

Determined to not put

herself in a panic, Alessandra turned off her mind, closed her

eyes, and let the sunshine warm her face. She sat like that until

she heard the door quietly open and close, and then felt a presence

sit beside her.

"You look so tranquil," she

heard Edward say. She turned to see him smiling at her.

"I do love being in this

room," she replied, enjoying looking at him. Almost instantly, she

was transformed into a woman of desire again, even without him

touching or kissing her.

Edward moved closer to her and

leaned in to softly kiss the side of her neck while taking her hand

and holding it in his.

Alessandra moved her head so

she could grant him access to her neck completely. She sat with

eyes closed once again as she felt him softly move his lips slowly

but steadily all over her accessible skin.

~~~~~

From a distance, Edward's

mother watched the interaction and felt a huge sense of sadness. On

the one hand, she was sad because she felt like she was losing her

son - the one person who she had always felt needed her. On the

other hand, she was sad because she had lost that level of physical

interaction so many years earlier. Even though she had put that

aspect of her marriage out of her mind in recent years, she found

the memories resurfacing at a rate that was starting to affect her

greatly.

Suddenly, she was aware

of her husband moving up behind her. She briefly turned and smiled

at him before resuming her stare at the young lovers.

"You miss that, I think," he

said to his wife.

She knew him well enough to

know there was no point in not being honest.

"Yes. I had forgotten for

so long, but when I see their faces when they are like that, I do

miss what you and I shared." She was silent before continuing. "I

am sorry that I was restricted from the possibility of conceiving.

I know that you have missed out…" she started to say before he cut

her off.

"I have not missed anything. I

have you, I have Edward, and now we also have a daughter who I

believe we both highly regard," he said and saw his wife nod in

acknowledgement.

He turned her slowly so they

could look fully at each other.

"I did not know you missed our

physical closeness so much. Come with me," he said to her softly.

Taking her hand, he led her to the room that he now slept in

alone.

She stayed quiet, not sure why

she was in the room that was foreign to her.

"You are still the most

beautiful woman in my acquaintance," he said.

Upon recognising that he was in

the mindset to make love to her, the thought made her fearful.

"I know that we agreed we

would keep apart all those years ago, as a way to ensure you did

not get with child," he continued, as he began to undo her gown. As

nervous as she was, she did not stop him. "We are older now, and we

can better control what we do. Let me help you to feel like the

desirable woman that you are. I will not put you in danger of

conceiving a child, but we can still give joy to one

another."

He continued undressing

her until she stood naked before him. He drank in the sight of his

wife of so many years, while he removed his clothing.

She fell into his arms,

realising then how hungry and lonely she had been in body. She let

him kiss her all over, including that special spot he had found all

those years ago. Once he'd settled there, he teased her until she

experienced the first release she'd had in almost two decades.

After her climax, she

grew worried again. It was always after that moment that he would

join with her. What she didn't know was that in the time they had

spent apart, he had learned, as a way of managing his desires, the

art of self-pleasure. He took her hand and placed it on himself.

She had never pleasured him in such a manner. It was as new to her

as it was to him, to have her touch him in such a way. They kissed

as she did as he showed. It was not long at all before he found

that release came.

They lay together, holding one

another, relishing the contact of their bodies once again.

"I did not know we could

both find pleasure without joining," she whispered, feeling tears

come to her eyes as she considered all the years they had stayed

apart from one another in body.

Charles held her even

closer.

"Oh, my dearest love, I

love you as much now as I did when we began our marriage, and I

have always desired you. When you miss this, you only need to let

me know," he said, and suddenly, with remembering how it was, he

was more understanding of how his son could have been so distracted

and late to breakfast every morning.