Page 23 of The Forbidden Love of an Officer
Mrs Harding…That was her name now. Her lips lifted a little as the novelty flowed through her.
A maid showed them to a room at the front of the inn. She walked across and closed the window’s shutters, blocking out the view of the dark street. The room contained a huge four-poster bed, carved in the Tudor style with garish-looking men and women, and oddly shaped animals and birds. Beyond the bed, two chairs stood before a small hearth. The candelabrum on the mantle spread flickering gold light, and a fire burned in the grate, doing its best to fend off the cold winter air.
‘Your dinner will be with you shortly, Captain.’ The maid bobbed a curtsy.
As soon as the door shut, Paul turned and held Ellen by the waist, then swept her off her feet and spun her in a circle. ‘My bride. My wife.’ He grinned broadly.
Her happiness burst into a smile.
‘I am in love,’ he said. Then he put her back on her feet and kissed her firmly, pressing his lips against hers then opening his mouth. It became a kiss like those they had shared in the carriage. Her hands rested on his shoulders as it continued and he pushed her back against the bedroom wall.
All the air left her lungs and a spiralling sensation twisted through her middle, tumbling down as her fingers slipped into his short hair. He plundered her mouth and she fought to keep up, yet she could sense his restraint as his hands held her hips in a stiff embrace. Her body longed to be pressed against his.
A knock struck the door.
He broke away with a sideways smile and a dimple cut into his cheek as his hair fell over his brow. He swept his hair back as he turned to the door and called, ‘Come in.’
A blush heated Ellen’s cheeks as men clothed in the inn’s livery entered, carrying Paul’s trunk and her bag from the carriage. A few moments later another man arrived with a small trestle table that he set up in their room. Then their dinner came.
Ellen stripped off her gloves and dropped them onto Paul’s trunk, along with her bonnet. This was Christmas Eve; her sisters would be at home in their beds missing her.
‘Sit down and eat,’ Paul said with a smile, pulling out a chair for her.
Ellen glanced at the bed as she sat down.Soon, they would lie together in that bed…
Paul sat in the chair opposite, then cut the pie. He put a piece on her plate.
‘Thank you.’
‘No need to thank me.’ He smiled. ‘Has anyone ever spoken to you about what will happen in our bed?’
The heat of a blush crept over her skin. ‘No.’
‘Then I will be mindful, Ellen, but you have no need to fear it.’
‘I know. You have been kind…’ Her words dried, not knowing how to express the things she longed for and feared at the same time.
‘A physical relationship between a man and a woman can be a beautiful thing. I think it will be beautiful between us.’
Her face grew warmer still; she must be as red as a ripe strawberry.
‘But I have said enough, have I not? Eat and then you will find out how beautiful it is.’
Now she could eat nothing, each mouthful was tasteless as she forced herself to chew and swallow.
He ate heartily, discussing America. After tomorrow they would travel to Portsmouth to meet his regiment and then catch a ship to Cork, in Ireland. Then from Ireland they would sail hundreds of miles across the Atlantic.
When he slid his empty plate away from him, Ellen ceased pushing the last of her food about her plate and put her knife and fork down side by side.
‘You did not eat much. Are you anxious?’
She was not hungry because she was so nervous and she could not smile.
He smiled. ‘I will have the inn’s staff clear the table. I will be back in a moment.’
When he had gone, anxiety hit her harder.
She stood up and turned to the window. She unfolded one of the shutters and looked out. Clouds had hidden the moon, it was so dark all she saw was her image reflected in the glass, with the light from the candelabrum.
