Chapter 39

"Edward!" Alessandra called out

as she saw him approaching the manor two mornings later.

Being the confident horseman he

was, Edward seemed to fly down off Beauty before he cast the reins

at the groom and rushed into his wife's arms. The young couple

kissed as if they had been apart for much longer than only three

nights.

Breaking apart,

breathless, Alessandra looked at him. She had missed him

desperately, and felt the need to be closer to him. Her desire made

her feel shy around him all of a sudden.

Edward looked at her face and

smiled in the knowledge of just how much his wife had grown to love

him. No matter how handsome his adversary was, it was he - Edward -

who held her love.

"My beautiful wife, how I have

missed you," he said before kissing her again.

Upon realising they had an

audience, he laughed softly.

"Father, Mother," he greeted

his parents.

"Edward, it is good to have you

home. Come and see us when you have given your wife the attention

she deserves," his father said, walking his wife away and leaving

the lovers to go to their room and have some privacy.

~~~~~

Once in their room, they were

immediately in each other's arms, making Edward laugh at her

enthusiasm.

"Wait, Alessandra. First,

tell me if you did get the message about your mother and father

being well."

Alessandra nodded and

smiled. "Yes. It was so kind of you to go and check on them for me.

It is a relief for me to know they are well. Were they good to you,

without me there?" she asked, curious since she'd spent the

previous three nights in the company of just his parents also, and

had found that not uncomfortable, but certainly very

strange.

"Yes, of course. They were very

kind, and I learned much about your family background, which was

good to know since that will be part of our children's heritage,"

he said as he led her to the seat by the fireplace. "Speaking of

which, how is our little one?"

As he asked, Edward placed his

hand on her belly, caressing it softly. Alessandra rested her hand

over his, having missed his touch.

"All is well, Edward. I am

happy to have you back with me. It was not the same being in bed

without you," she said, looking at him with a look that fuelled him

instantly.

"Oh, how you invigorate me,

Alessandra, even when I should be feeling so tired," Edward

said.

He looked at her fondly, trying

to back away from the desire he was feeling. As she leaned in to

kiss him, he found himself eager to please her. He gently guided

her back so she was reclining on the seat. There he let his hand

move up her leg, inside her gown, and felt her legs part as her

breathing deepened.

After moving all of the fabric

up and aside so that he could kiss her there, he heard her moan

with the pleasure he was providing her, and very quickly reach that

peak that she loved. When he pulled away from her and rearranged

her dress, he smiled at her, seeing how much more relaxed she

was.

Alessandra made to move

toward him, but he held himself back from her reach.

"Later, my lovely wife. I must

find my father and talk to him. Come down with me," he said to her

with teasing in his voice. As he held out his hands to help her up,

she tried to kiss him again.

"Do not try and tempt me any

further, Alessandra!" he laughed at her as he led her out the

door.

~~~~~

"I was

disturbed o n reading your

note, Edward. Who is this man, and why do you believe he might come

here?" Edward's father asked when the two of them were alone in the

steward's room.

"He is a man Alessandra

had feelings for before we met her. He has appeared several times

now. Since she told him in Bath that she did not want to see or

talk to him, he has been writing love letters to her, trying to

tempt her away from me," Edward said. He immediately saw distaste

on his father's face. "He was the cause of Alessandra not receiving

her mother's correspondence. He had been pretending to send them,

but instead was not. I believe it was his hope that Alessandra

would get so worried that she would go back to her village, and he

would be able to see her."

"It is a shocking business, my

son. But do you truly believe that he would dare come here?"

"I do not know. I hope not, but

he did seem particularly determined in his quest, when he spoke to

me," Edward quietly said to his father, who had a look of

increasing concern on his face.

"Very well. You and I

will begin visiting tenants tomorrow, and make sure everyone is

vigilant across the estate. In the meantime, do you agree it is

best to keep this from Alessandra and your mother?"

Edward nodded. "I do, Father. I

do not think any good could come from either of them being worried

about this."

"Very well then. Let us

not speak of it. Perhaps this man may not know where you are

living, and all this worry will be for nothing."

Edward remained silent to the

fact that Tom must know where they lived if he'd intercepted the

letters. He saw his father pause and look at him.

"I am very

proud of you , Edward. I hope

you know that."

Edward was taken aback at

such a declaration. They had always had a sound father and son

relationship, but Charles Chisholm was not generally one to talk

about his feelings.

"I am glad you convinced me to

take heed of your mother's wishes about Alessandra as a choice for

you," Charles continued. "I do not think we could ask for a better

daughter."

The expression in his father's

voice worried Edward.

"Father, are you alright? Why

are you speaking like this?"

His father smiled sadly. "Yes,

I am well, Edward. I must now do some paperwork. You are free to

return to your wife. She missed you terribly when you were

away."

"I can help you with the

paperwork…" Edward began to offer.

"No, thank you. Leave me now,"

his father said. "Tomorrow we shall resume regular duties around

our visits to the estate tenants."

Edward knew he was

dismissed. He left the room and started to head toward the drawing

room. As he walked, he passed view of the glass room and saw

Alessandra sitting peacefully and alone. For several minutes, he

stood and watched her before he entered quietly but with enough

sound to make sure she wasn't startled.

As he moved into the

room, he saw her turn to him and smile. He approached and sat

beside her on what seemed to have become her own little bench on

the property. Taking her hand in his, he looked into her eyes. They

smiled at each other before she laid her head on his shoulder.

Edward sat quietly, waiting to see if she wished to speak, but she

sat silent.

"You are very quiet," he

whispered. "What is on your mind, my lovely wife?"

Alessandra took a deep breath

before seeming to find the words to answer.

"The weather is warm most days

now. I would like to be outside more, but I do not want to risk

riding Misty in case something happens. I am scared that I may fall

or do some damage to our little one," she said, instinctively

placing a hand on her belly.

Edward sensed her impatience at

sitting still.

"I agree that it might not be

good for you to ride, but what about just walking?"

Alessandra looked up in

surprise. She had not even considered going for a long walk.

"But where could I walk

to?"

"I would not wish you to

walk anywhere alone, however, I know of a very nice path that

sneaks around behind the manor, and leads to a magical place

indeed. I would be very happy for us to walk there if you like," he

replied, making it all sound like a dream. "It is quite a walk to

get to the destination, but very flat. If you feel up to it, we

could begin walking there, and come back whenever you feel

tired."

Instantly, Alessandra

brightened and gave Edward a magnificent smile.

"Do you mean it?" she asked and

saw Edward nod, his smile broad. "Oh, but do you have to help your

father today?"

"No," Edward replied.

"Tomorrow I am going to spend the day out with him, visiting

tenants. For the remainder of today, I am all yours," he replied

indulgently. He was tired from his journey, but considered that a

long walk might be just what he needed himself, to stay awake for

the rest of the afternoon. "Let us go and visit Cook, and see what

food we can pack up in a small bag to take with us, and then we

shall head off."

~~~~~

Half an hour later,

Alessandra found herself being led through one of the back gardens

behind the manor, and then on to another garden behind that one.

Having not seen the second garden before, she was already surprised

and thought that perhaps that was their destination, but still

Edward walked. They made their way through the rear wall gate of

the second garden before entering in a bushy area with tall trees

and shade.

"Oh!" Alessandra exclaimed as

she realised she was visiting an entirely new area of the estate.

"How pretty, Edward!"

He smiled at her, letting

memories of his childhood flow over him. He remembered the days

when he would run around the estate in complete freedom. At times,

he'd explored the area for hours on end while his childhood tutor

had tried to keep watch over him from not far away.

"Are you well enough to

keep walking?" he asked.

Alessandra nodded. "Yes, I feel

fine."

"We do not have to go the full

distance today. If you tire, let me know immediately and we can

turn back and come back another day."

Alessandra held his hand

tightly. She felt more alive than she had in weeks. She relished

the feeling it inspired in her.

"I did not know that you ever

walked anywhere," she said, surprised at seeing a different side of

her husband.

Edward laughed softly. "I

do not tend to walk anywhere now, but when I was young, I spent

many hours exploring out here. I must be honest and tell you that I

had forgotten about it until you spoke earlier about getting out in

the fresh air."

"I know nothing about your

childhood, Edward. Tell me about it," Alessandra said.

For the next half an

hour, as they slowly trekked forward through the bush and forest

area, Edward shared with her story after story about different

things that had happened. He enjoyed reminiscing over such fond

memories.

Alessandra was so caught

up in his conversation, and the pictures it promoted in her head,

that when he stopped talking she almost didn't notice.

Edward quietened as he

knew they were close to where he wanted to take her. He began to

watch her face so he could see her expression as he walked her a

little bit further. As they moved closer, the sound of water could

be heard, and then began appearing louder. Finally, Alessandra

seemed to hear it.

"What is that?" she asked with

the look Edward had seen on her face so often, being that of a

scholar on a journey of learning.

Edward led her further still.

Their eyes adjusted to the light as they slowly emerged from the

darkness of the forest. Ahead of her, Alessandra could see a grassy

area with sunshine streaming onto it. Off to the right side of

that, a small body of water sat with a tall waterfall flowing into

it.

Edward watched her face,

mesmerised. On it, he saw what he'd hoped to - the sense of having

been transformed from such darkness of the forest area, into a

small but beautiful piece of paradise bathed in sunshine.

Alessandra looked at him

and smiled broadly before letting go of his hand and walking

forward. She moved until she was standing in the middle of the

grass area, with sun rays shining directly onto her. As she held

her face up to the light and closed her eyes, she listened to the

water flowing behind her. She felt like she'd woken up from sleep,

in a new dream.

Edward gained joy from

watching her. He waited before he approached her, letting her enjoy

her pleasure. When he saw her open her eyes and look at him again,

he moved forward and gladly accepted the hand held out to him as an

indication for him to join her. Quietly he put his arms around her

to hold her. He felt her cling to him as though they were going to

be apart again. When he pulled away from her, he could see she had

started to silently cry.

"Is this making you sad?" he

asked, curious.

Alessandra smiled

through her tears.

"No,

quite the contrary," she said. "I am

very, very happy, Edward. I love you so much."

As she kissed him

passionately, he indulged in it, this time welcoming it.

~~~~~

Edward pulled a blanket

out of the satchel and laid it down on the grass, encouraging

Alessandra to sit down and rest. She did so gladly, and lay back on

her back to let the sunshine flow over her. As Edward sat beside

her and contently looked down at her, he loved seeing the happiness

on her face.

After a few minutes of watching

her lie down with her eyes shut, he saw her look up at him and

reach out her hand to touch his face, guiding him down to kiss her.

Edward lay down fully beside her. They kissed for a long time, with

no move toward anything more.

"Can we make love here?" she

asked, making him laugh as he once again remembered how shy she had

been when she'd first come to the estate.

"Perhaps, but not today,

Alessandra. I do not want to risk you getting a chill, and the

weather is not as warm yet as it will get," he said stroking her

cheek softly. "In summer perhaps."

Alessandra made a face like a

child might make at being told they could not have pudding after

their meal.

"In

summer , I shall be too

large to make love!"

Edward smiled at her

indulgently.

"Then after this child is born,

we shall take our time and plan the timing of conception a little

better so that you are not with child in summer. Let us declare

that to be our baby-making time from now on, rather than baby

carrying time."

"You are so wise,

Edward," Alessandra said with humour in her voice before becoming

serious. "But Edward, will you want us to have children straight

after each other?"

"Do you mean will I want you to

become with child again as soon as a child is born?" he asked and

saw her nod in reply. "No! I would like you to have a proper amount

of time to rest and enjoy what you want to. We shall have a new

child in our lives. Let us take time to enjoy getting to know

them."

"But when I am closer to

giving birth than this, we will not be able to…" she started to

say, but then felt incredibly shy all of a sudden. "You will be …

hungry … by the time the child is born."

Edward

laughed out loud at her wording, but

kissed her to reassure her.

"You and I

are happy even without joining, are we not? " he asked. "We shall still share pleasure, just not

always like that."

"How then?" she asked,

attempting to deliver a look of innocence.

Edward laughed out loud

again. He knew she was working her magic on making him

heated.

"You know," he said, grinning

at her.

"You may need to show me,

so I can be certain," Alessandra said.

Edward swallowed hard and

kissed her before moving so he could tentatively touch inside her

dress and run his fingers up her leg. As he watched her face, she

stared back at him as he moved his finger to that place she had

discovered with him on their first night as husband and wife. He

didn't move for anything else, just moved his finger over her,

pleasuring her as he kissed her, until he felt and heard her

release.

Alessandra felt the climax and

indulged in it. No matter how far through the pregnancy she was,

her desire for him felt like it kept growing, not lessening. She

looked at him as he removed his hand and gently put her skirt back

the way it had been. Aware that it was twice he had pleasured her

since arriving home, she felt eager to return the feeling. She

kissed him passionately until he groaned in his arousal from it. As

she touched him through his clothing, she heard his groan change

and become deeper. She tried to rearrange him so she could access

him.

"Alessandra, what…" he started

to ask before she succeeded in subtly positioning the two of them,

gaining full access to him. She touched him with her hand and then

her mouth. "Oh, my love…"

Edward did not try to

argue with her anymore. Instead, he concentrated on the intense

feelings he was having. It wasn't long before he was in his climax

also. Immediately afterward, he relished the feelings going through

his body. He remained like that for several minutes before turning

his attention to Alessandra. Seeing the smile on her face, he

returned the smile with a slight laugh in his voice.

"I see you now know how we

shall survive quite nicely even without joining," he teased her.

They laughed together as he made himself presentable once again. "I

think I had better get our food out so that you have the energy to

return home."

She laughed loudly at him.

"I have not done anything

active, Edward!"

They sat up, close to one

another, both appreciating what a special moment it was. Their

laughter and conversation continued as they ate.

They did not know that

nearby, in the dark of the forest, two eyes were on

them.

~~~~~

Having seen Alessandra

and Edward from a distance as they had embarked through the bushy

area, Tom had taken the opportunity to follow them and watch them.

He hated the way they walked together, hand in hand, and laughed

together. It was painful to see the way Alessandra looked up into

her husband's eyes, and the way he looked back at her. Tom had seen

them lie down together, and the things they did to each other. The

level of pleasure they both seemed to get from that, even without

intercourse, evoked feelings in him that he found confusing. He

knew that everything that Edward had with Alessandra, he wanted. He

wanted her love, yes, but he wanted mostly her appreciation for

sexual pleasure and her body.

As he watched them from his

current position, he saw them continue to smile and laugh together,

even after they had done those things to each other. It was nothing

like what he had with his wife. Katherine did not welcome his

touch. She did not like to be kissed. The only time she laughed was

when someone said something cruel about someone else.

At some level, Tom knew

that what he was doing - following them and watching them - was not

right. Even so, he could no longer help it. Alessandra was his

object of affection. He would have her.

~~~~~

"Come, my beautiful

wife," Edward said, standing and helping Alessandra up. "We should

head back to the manor as it will start to get colder soon. This

area only has sunshine like this at the peak of the day, when the

sun is high, and only in spring and summer. All other times, it is

not so pretty. It can get very cold, being so close to the

waterfall and forest."

"We shall return?" he

heard Alessandra ask, and he gained great joy from her

enthusiasm.

"Of course," Edward

replied. "For the next few days, however, I must spend time around

the estate with Father. As much as I would certainly like to only

spend time with you like this, you and I must know everything we

need to when the estate passes to us."

Alessandra nodded,

understanding the seriousness of what he was saying. He was right

in subtly suggesting that the two of them did not work as much as

they should. She vowed to herself that she, too, would start making

working with Edward's mother a priority. The estate was, after all,

something that would be passed to their children, and their

children's children. It certainly deserved their love and

respect.

They packed up and started

their slow walk back through the forest and gardens, completely

unaware that they had not had any privacy at all on their journey

out.