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Chapter 21
For Ever and Always
Clara’s chest rose and fell, keeping a steady, peaceful time in what until last night had been Edward’s bed. Bathed in the pale blue light of morning, her features seemed even more attractive than they had looked to him the night before. All the more so because of how utterly content she looked—her brow unfurrowed, eyes relaxed for the first time since he had met her.
How is it that she is even more beautiful every time I look at her? thought Edward as he rapturously gazed upon his bride’s serene face.
It was late in the morning, Edward suspected, though he honestly could not recall ever having paid attention to the colour of the daylight in the grand chamber. Nor even having spent this much time in the room whilst awake, for that matter. Usually, by this time of day he would have been dressed and been immersed in work for hours.
In a spell of curiosity, he thought he might rise and check the time on his pocket watch…but that impulse dissipated instantly when his eyes blinked open once more to see Clara’s beautiful face.
I still cannot believe this happened to me, Edward thought, feeling tears begin to stir within himself. What did I do to bring someone so wonderful, so loving and beautiful, into my life?
He had long spent his time thinking on matters of odds and probabilities—what course of action would be most likely to help Christopher, which investment would deliver a better return for the St. George family, and so on. Now he found it nearly incomprehensible how fortunate he had been: not only finding a gorgeous, intelligent woman he loved more than anything on earth, but her loving him in return? It beggared belief.
I will never let myself forget just how fortunate I am to have Clara. Not for the rest of my days.
Edward let out a small gasp as, as if hearing his thoughts, Clara’s long eyelashes fluttered open, revealing those magnificent streaked brown-and-green eyes. Her lips split in a joyous smile, and she gave a sigh of contentment.
“Good morning,” she said through her smile.
“Good morning,” Edward returned. The two laughed at the feebleness of their words—especially as they so clearly knew what one another was truly saying with these bland pleasantries.
“I love you,” Clara had said. And “I love you, too,” Edward had answered. Then their mirth grew still merrier as they drew one another close for a gentle kiss on the lips.
“Would you care for a cup of tea?” Edward asked after another long, leisurely several minutes of kissing.
“No,” Clara replied, pulling him back for another kiss.
He surrendered to this invitation happily, but the next time they surfaced for breath he found himself saying, “I could send for breakfast, whenever you are hungry.”
“No,” she repeated, hanging onto him with all four limbs. “No tea, no breakfast. Only Edward.”
Edward smiled, breathing out a sigh as he focused himself in the moment they were in once more. “We have had this conversation before, then, have we not? About giving you cause to thank me? Perhaps it is time for a rest from that as well, for a time.”
“I knew I did not marry a fool,” Clara murmured, brushing her lips against his stubbled chin, gleefully feeling the sensation of his manly features.
They spent the better part of the morning exactly like that. Feeling neither hunger nor thirst, they spoke of the wedding, of the life they would build together, of the sheer perfection of married life so far, each topic punctuated by thoroughly enjoyed bouts of kissing and caressing.
By the time the sun had shifted the room into a warm yellow hue through the gauzy curtains, Edward allowed himself to release a small sigh of regret. “I do so wish I could take you on the honeymoon you deserve. Rome, Paris, Florence—anywhere, really. You deserve to see some of the world’s great beauty.”
Clara put a hand to her chest and opened her mouth in mock offence. “And I thought you told me I was the world’s great beauty!”
Warm laughter rippled between them, filling the room with an affection that was almost palpable.
“Besides,” she said, walking her fingers along his chest playfully, “you told me you get seasick anyway. It would not exactly be the most auspicious beginning to our life together.”
The laughter slowed within Edward, then stopped. “I…do hope I will not stand in the way of you pursuing what you like, Clara,” he said in a serious tone. “It would truly injure me if you had to abandon your ambitions because of any limitations of mine.”
Clara rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Oh, for heaven’s sake, I was only joking!” Edward mouthed his understanding, but could not stop his familiar scowl from returning to his brow.
Tapping a finger to his chest, she mouthed in a low, sultry voice, “Do you know what it is you need, dearest husband?”
Edward’s mouth curled in a curious smile. He shook his head.
“A lesson in levity!” Clara exploded, her fingers flying to his shoulders and sides in a frenzy of tickling. Edward burst out in laughter, equal parts surprised and delighted by the gleeful wrestling match that broke out on the great bed.
The moment passed all too quickly, with the lovers once again collapsed in one another’s arms, their chests pumping as they snickered and caught their breath. Edward wiped away a tear, breathing out a sigh of satisfaction.
