Chapter 58

The following

morning , Edward and

Alessandra rose early, greeted by a sumptuous breakfast when they

made their way into the dining room.

"Are you up for a ride,

my love? There are fine horses in the stables, and one that I think

will be particularly suited to you," Edward asked, excited by the

prospect of riding out with his wife more before winter set

in.

Alessandra looked up at him,

surprised as she had not considered the possibility.

"Yes, I think I would greatly

enjoy that, Edward. We should ride around the estate, in any case,

to visit some tenants I suppose."

Edward

laughed at her. "My wife, the estate

manager! I was thinking more of an easy ride at a slow pace, purely

for pleasure and exploration."

As Alessandra looked at

him, she saw him emphasise the last few words, and blushed in

response. Her blush made him laugh hard at her sudden shyness.

Always, she surprised him with her ability to sometimes be bold and

courageous, but at other times equally young and timid.

Alessandra smiled at

him, knowing he was attempting to make her face go the same

beetroot red colour that it had done so often when they'd first

met. As she watched his face, she felt only fondness for the man in

front of her.

"You tease me, my

wonderful husband, but I shall accept your offer to take me out on

the horses. I have not yet seen the stables. But I must change into

my riding habit first."

"Let us be off then," Edward

said, standing and holding his hand out to her to help her up,

before putting both of his arms around her and kissing her

softly.

From a distance, two dining

room staff members glanced at each other and smiled discretely. It

had been a long time since they had seen in the home such love as

they could clearly see between the new owners.

~~~~~

At first glance at the

new mistress, John, the head groom, was surprised and enamoured. He

had met the new master the previous day, and thought him an

intelligent, friendly and likeable gentleman, even though he was

not at all handsome. John had found himself wondering what kind of

woman would be married to such a man. Looking at Alessandra as they

were introduced, John saw that she also would not be considered any

great beauty, and yet there was something about her that made her

easy to look at and talk to. She was a far cry from the previous

mistress, who wouldn't even look at him, let alone talk to him as a

human being.

"I am very pleased to

meet you, John. I must inform you that I am quite new to horse

riding, so still in the learning stages," she started to say before

anticipating Edward was going to cut her off and disagree. Looking

at her husband with a degree of love that John had never seen on

the estate for as long as he had worked there, Alessandra laughed

and continued. "See how my husband begins to argue my point, but do

not listen to him, John. Please tell me honestly, do you have a

quiet horse that is suited to someone still quite unfamiliar to

horse riding?"

John smiled at her, mesmerised

by her friendly and joyful outlook.

"I do indeed, Mistress. Come

this way and meet my little Clover. She is a gentle soul and will

not bolt."

As Alessandra and Edward

approached the pony, they both sensed her goodness and

obedience.

"Oh, she is beautiful.

Yes, please, John," Alessandra exclaimed. "Could you saddle her for

me? And provide the master and I both with some directions so we

can venture out to start visiting tenants on the land?" she asked,

smiling greatly.

John obliged, gladly.

~~~~~

Staying within the borders of

where they had been told the estate began and ended, Edward and

Alessandra rode slowly. They visited people and talked endlessly

about all that they could see, and what would need to be fixed or

changed.

When they came to a border

ridge that overlooked a valley below, both were silenced by the

beauty before them.

"Alessandra, this is a

phenomenal property," Edward said, in awe of what was now under the

ownership of his wife. "Everything about it - the house, this

land…"

Alessandra looked at her

husband's face, pleased that he was finally finding some pleasure

in the exaggerated gesture of a gift from her previous beau of long

ago. She watched Edward for some time before he felt her

looking.

Feeling her eyes upon him,

Edward turned to look at her in return. On her face, he saw great

passion and desire. Instantly he felt a longing to be even more

alone with her, but then realised the area they were in.

Alessandra heard him groan.

"Oh my love, do not look at me

like that! We do not know this area. We do not know where is

private," he said, his face revealing everything that he was

feeling at that moment.

Alessandra pulled back her

desire and smiled shyly at him.

"You are right, Husband.

It would not do to reveal quite so much of ourselves to our

tenants!" she said, laughing with him so that the moment was not

forgotten, but put away until a more suitable time.

~~~~~

As they rode back into

the stables, John, the head groom, took time to consider why the

previous master had left his estate to the new mistress and not Mrs

Missinger. On Alessandra's face, he saw something he had not often

seen on a woman. The way she looked at her husband was so far

removed from how the previous mistress had looked at her husband -

the previous master - that he could completely see how the woman

before him would have made an impact on Mr Missinger.

"Thank you, John. Your

recommendation was perfect. Clover was wonderful," Alessandra said

to the groom before she and Edward rushed away in perfect sync,

with only one thing on each of their minds.

Under the guise of

Alessandra having to change out of her riding habit, they went

straight to their bedchamber. Once the door was closed, Edward

eased her up against it and kissed her deeply.

Alessandra held back from being

forward, letting the feelings rush over her as she allowed Edward

to set the pace with whatever he wanted to do. Taking care with the

unending patience he seemed to have, he undressed her only enough

to gain access to that part of her where he knew he could satisfy

her. With her still leaning up against the door, he took pleasure

in tasting her, groaning at how aroused he could tell she already

was. The effect of standing - something that felt so new to her -

was almost instantaneous. Alessandra felt her knees buckle slightly

as the familiar feeling flowed through her.

Edward restored her

misplaced clothing and stood up to kiss her once more before she

led him backwards to the bed, undressing both herself and him

completely, and not hurrying at all to bring him to sweet

climax.