A NEW DAY
Chrissie woke that morning feeling strangely energized. She sat at her place at the round table waiting for Aili to join her for breakfast, feeling a happy restlessness fill her, some strange excitement she could not fathom. She had dressed in white linen and asked Stella to bind her hair in ribbons. She felt pretty and alive, ready for everything.
“Aunt!” she said, cheeks flushed, as Aili came to join her. The older woman was wearing black, and her face was softened by a gentle smile. She looked as if she was mildly amused by something, though what it was Chrissie could not guess.
“Ah, there is Stella,” her aunt exclaimed, as her maid came in, bearing a vast platter on which resided a loaf and rashers of cured ham, some butter, and cheese reposing in a dish off to one side.
Chrissie saw her watchful eyes regarding her, twinkling, as she reached for a generous slice of bread and ham. She felt so hungry! The sickness was relenting now – at least for today – and she had twice the appetite she usually did.
“Aunt?”
Aunt Aili chuckled. “You are loved, I hope you know. He suits you very well.”
“Aunt..?” Chrissie asked again, swallowing a mouthful of bread and ham. Did she mean..? Could it be that..?
Aili chuckled, as if suddenly relenting. “Well, that tells me all I need to know. He's here. Your man. Now at least I know you want him as he does you. He's downstairs.”
“What?” Chrissie stared at her, feeling her heart suddenly flying like a lark, soaring on wings of happy joy. “But how? When..?” She half stood, and then sat down again heavily, legs swinging as restlessness overtook her. She had to go down now! Had to see him!
“Yesterday, late in the evening,” Aili confessed, answering her question, and taking a bite of the bread. Chrissie stared.
“And you didn't tell me? But why? When..?”
Aili laughed, waving a hand at her. “You and he suit each other, you know? Oh, yes, he is clueless about many things. Grounded, practical. However, I think your bright spirit is airy enough for both of you. You will do very well.”
“Aunt!” Chrissie exclaimed. She jumped out of her seat and placed a kiss on her aunt's soft hair. When she turned to face her, already halfway across the room, she saw her aunt's eyes shone as if she cried. “Aunt Aili?”
“Hush yersel',” her aunt said roughly, waving a hand in her direction. “You can go and ready yourself if you like...he should be waiting downstairs. But will you not break your fast first?”
“Oh, I couldn't, Aunt!” Chrissie said, turning in a little circle where she stood, feeling joy bubble up within her. “I'm so excited. I can't wait to see him...” she trailed off, almost through the door. “He knows, doesn't he?” she asked, suddenly concerned.
Her concern must have shown in her face, for her aunt stood. She looked into her eyes, her level gaze grounding her fears. “Aye, lass. He knows.”
“And he's not angry? He's...” Chrissie trailed off, feeling nervous.
Aili squeezed her hand. This morning, her hands did not seem cold, but seemed to radiate gentle warmth, strengthening Chrissie's resolve. She smiled. “He knows, lass. And he was worried for you. He will be happy to see you. And he will love the child you bear.”
Chrissie felt something inside her melt. An icicle of sadness, of horror, that had frozen there over the last days, from when she first heard the news of the child she bore. She sobbed. She wrapped her arms round her diminutive aunt and her shoulders shook with grief.
“There, there,” her aunt said, rocking her gently, patting her back. “There, there.”
When they moved apart, when Chrissie had cried out her grief, she sniffed, and her aunt stood back. She looked, if anything, slightly sheepish at having shown so much care and letting slip the reputation of the fearsome seer. She straightened up, slipping back into her remoter self.
“Thank you, Aunt Aili.”
“Pish! 'Tis nothing,” her aunt said roughly. “Now go and find that man. He's waiting downstairs.” She was already turning back to the table, straightening a pitcher and the candlesticks. “And liable to be pacing with nerves, if I read him rightly,” she added with some amusement.
Chrissie giggled. She had, indeed, read him rightly. “Thank you, Aunt! I shall.”
Hugging her joy to her chest, she ran lightly from the room.
Downstairs, the pale sunlight drifted through the high windows, making a haze that made it hard to see. Chrissie slit her eyes and danced down the stairs lightly to the great hall. Was that a man she saw at the end of the hall, back stiff with tension, cloak trailing on the floor behind?
“Blaine?” she whispered.
She saw his back tense. Saw him stiffen and then turn. Saw him walk towards her, that same rolling, gentle gait she would recognize anywhere, and had come to love.
“Blaine!” she cried out. She ran to him then, and he caught her in his arms, holding her close.
“Chrissie!” he sobbed. “Oh, Chrissie!” He was smiling, face radiant, and covering her face with kisses. She giggled as his arms wrapped round her, holding her in a crushing embrace.
“Blaine!” She laughed. As his lips tickled her throat, she let out a chuckle. “Blaine, stop it! You're squashing me.”
He let go instantly, his face a picture of concern, and Chrissie felt quite guilty. She laughed, taking his hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.
“Oh, my dear. You don't have to be so careful. Not really...not for months yet.”
His face softened, then, and Chrissie felt her heart fill with joy.
“So you are...really...”
“Yes, Blaine,” she said gently. “Yes, it really is true. I really am with child.”
He looked at her with wonder in his face and Chrissie felt her heart soar with joy and dissolve in tenderness at once. She wrapped her arms around him.
“Blaine,” she whispered. “I love you. I love you so very, very much.”
Blaine went very still. She could feel his chest working as he swallowed, and she guessed he was trying not to weep. She looked into his eyes and noticed they, too, were damp. She leaned up and kissed him, her own face soaked with tears.
“I am so proud you are my wife, Chrissie,” he whispered into her hair. “So, so proud.”
Chrissie did sob then. His arms wrapped her close and they stood in the ghostly pale hall, the sound of her gentle weeping echoing as the light filled the place, diffusing into every corner, dispelling the dark.
Later, as they went upstairs together, they found themselves overflowing with questions.
“How did you..?”
“When did you..?”
They spoke at once and then smiled shyly at each other.
“You say first,” Blaine said, smiling.
Chrissie twisted her skirt, feeling as shy as if she had just met him. “I wanted to ask how...when you found out where I was?”
Blaine sighed. “Alina,” he said briefly.
“She told you? Oh!” Chrissie covered her mouth with her hand and then looked at him, wide-eyed. “How does she fare? Is she getting well?”
Blaine thought back to his strange encounter with his wife's cousin over breakfast. “I think she is,” he said slowly. “In fact, she seems to have more life in her already. But...”
“What?” Chrissie asked, suddenly worried.
“But for some strange reason, I think she's...well, never mind,” he said, looking uncomfortable.
“Never mind what?” Chrissie asked, feeling suddenly curious.
“Is she drinking blood?”
Chrissie laughed. They were in the upper hallway now, the darkness friendly here, pressing close. She leaned on the lintel and laughed and laughed.
Blaine looked on, bemused.
“What?” he asked, a little helplessly when she had finished laughing.
Chrissie breathed in, gathering herself. “Oh,” she said, smiling. “I'm very glad to hear it, really I am. It was just your face!”
Blaine grinned hesitantly and they both laughed. Then, wrapping their arms around each other, he drew her into a tender kiss. Chrissie sighed as his mouth grazed her lips, passionate, devouring.
Then the door was open and they were in the guest quarters, the fire still burning in the grate, the bed covered with a white linen cloth, warm and scented with strewing herb.
Blaine undressed her tenderly, leaving a little trail of kisses down her back that set her whole body afire as he undid the buttons down the back of her gown. Chrissie felt as if she would go mad if it didn't stop soon. It did. He stood up and wrapped his arms around her, drawing her against him.
“Lass,” he breathed into her hair.
“Your turn,” she said firmly. He chuckled, a little breathless, and she turned to face him, and then slowly lifted his tunic. She heard his breath catch in his throat as she pressed her naked skin to his chest and smiled, delighting in his longing for her. It matched hers.
He held her to him, a new tenderness in his embrace. She felt it and her heart melted. She unfastened his belt, letting the trews slide off his thighs. His loins pressed against her, stiff and firm, and she smiled, pressing her body against it.
They collapsed back onto the bed. He held her gently, ensuring she did not fall too hard. He kissed her, his tongue soft and gentle as it explored her lips. Then he sat up, discarding the trews, a smile on his face.
“I want you, lass,” he said, his hand moving over her body, stroking the soft skin of her chest, moving down to her belly. “But is it...I mean, can we..?”
She chuckled, then, and the laughter was tinged with tears. “Yes, dear,” she said firmly. “Yes, we can. We won't have to be so careful. Not for months, now.”
He smiled, then, relief in his big grin. She smiled back at him.
Still smiling, he lowered his body onto hers and he slid inside. They moved together, a gentleness that touched her deeply possessing him as he drew back and thrust, drew back and thrust. Each time was a little deeper, a little faster, and Chrissie felt her body respond, her toes tingling as he increased the pace, moving faster and faster and faster.
“Oh...oh!” She cried out as, sooner than she would have imagined possible, she felt the rise and rise and then the crest and fall as her release happened.
Blaine was still deep inside her, still moving, and she felt his body strain and shake as he, too started to climax.
“Oh,” he moaned, and then grunted in satisfaction and ecstatic climax.
Later, as the sun cast warm, early afternoon rays through their chamber window, they lay side by side in the bed, both recovering from their encounter. Chrissie snuggled close. He kissed her on the side of the head and she kissed his nose.
“I love you, Blaine,” she whispered into his ear. “Nothing will ever come between us.”
Blaine lay still for a moment, and Chrissie wondered if he slept. Then he drew in a breath and she realized he had been fighting to swallow his emotion.
“I love you too, Chrissie,” he whispered into her hair. He kissed the top of her head and then wrapped his arms around her, toppling her onto her side so that they lay together, bodies entwined.
They slept.