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His wife was gazing proudly at him from across the table. Her eyes gleamed with love. He was ready to drown in the depth of those eyes. How could everything be so wonderful in his life all of a sudden?
“I’ll have to borrow your workers then.” Adam chuckled from his left side. “Mine are getting too lazy, I’m afraid.”
“Enough former soldiers are looking for work. I am sure with your background in the Secretary at War’s office, you can get along with them quite well,” John said around a bite of food.
“Yes, well, unfortunately, we don’t have extra cottages lying around, and no land to build them on either. But I can trade you my villagers for yours once your renovations are finished.” Adam flashed his white smile.
“No trade.” John smiled in return. “They’ve put blood, sweat, and tears into this place, quite literally. Just like we did.” He looked at Sam, and she smiled too.
“Indeed, who knew that I would be a better landowner than you, eh, Gage?” she teased her elder brother.
“That’s a good point,” Richard drawled thoughtfully. “We’ll just hire Sammy here as the estate manager, and she will take care of it all. What do you say, Adam?”
Adam laughed good-naturedly. “You’ll have to ask her husband, I’m afraid.”
“If these are my only two options, then you take the soldiers. My wife stays,” John said, looking his wife over intently, more of a lingering caress than a look. She flushed crimson and looked down at her plate.
They proceeded talking about other things, problems with crop yields, animal husbandry, new prices for building materials with the current state of the economy, and other things. John found it quite pleasant to share his worries and concerns with people who genuinely cared about his state of affairs and were eager to lend a hand or at least offer advice.
He wondered what it would have been like for him to grow up surrounded by such a family. If maybe he would have turned out differently, had fewer burdens, fewer troubles on his shoulders. By marrying Sam, he had gained strong allies in her brothers and sister.
He wondered, once again, how his sister-in-law and his nieces were doing after the death of his brother. Had they received the letter John’s solicitor had sent them? Sam was right. No matter the past, they were his family, and they were female. Which basically meant that they were helpless on their own. Unless, of course, his brother’s widow had remarried. In any case, the girls were his nieces, and he’d developed an urge to see them.
After supper, the men went to his study and went over some of the estate matters. Curiously, John couldn’t wait to get done with work and see his wife. With the errands out of his way, he went up to his room, to find his wife snuggly nestled inside his bed. She looked up at him from under the covers as he entered the room.
“It is too cold on the floor without you,” she said sheepishly. John smiled at her, stripped off his clothes, and joined her on the bed.
“You won’t be cold for long,” he said in between kisses. “I promise you.” And with that, he proceeded to make long and leisurely love to her.
