Page 98 of Magic Touch
"I don't recall asking you to change." He brushes strands of hair away from my cheek and tucks them behind my ear.
"Men often have expectations of their wives. We should have had this conversation before we committed for all time." I don't know what could have gotten into me that I would leap into a marriage without laying down my own needs.
A deep frown and the ache of his disappointment settle hard in my heart. He takes a breath. "Esme, our vows to each other were made many lifetimes ago. Of that, I'm sure. However, let's address your concerns. I don't wish to change anything about you other than my being in your life. I never dreamed you would leave your shop, only your apartment above."
Simon jumps on the bed and stretches long between us.
"I hope you will wish to stay here, but if you dislike this house, I will give it to my mother and live with you above the shop. The only thing I'll not compromise about is our being together." He scratches Simon's ear, and the cat calms his growing worry.
"Then you don't want a wife to stay home and have babies while managing kitchens and nannies?" I lean forward and press my cheek against his chest. I know these fears are my mother's warnings and have nothing to do with us, but I need to hear him say it.
William pulls me in tight, displacing Simon, who curls up at the end of the bed. "If that were the kind of wife I wanted, I would not have fallen so thoroughly in love with you. I want a wife who drains a pond to save me from drowning, then breathes life back into my lungs. I want a wife who cares that Mrs. Bates' son has a rash and likes a certain skin cream. I want a wife who is so beautiful inside and out that she takes my breath away every time I see her."
"I want a husband who sees me as I am and loves me anyway." I breathe him in like a drug, and all my worries float away.
"Oh, sweet Esme, not anyway. I don't love you in spite of who and what you are. I love you because of all you are." His lips find mine, and I know the decision to marry William was the best of my life.
Chapter
Twenty-Five
WILLIAM
It's midday before we rise, and even then, it’s hunger that drags us from bed. After a hearty meal with Esme, I find Mother in the parlor, writing at her desk.
"May I interrupt you, Mother?"
She puts aside her letter and smiles at me. "Of course."
I sit in the leather chair with thick wooden arms at the side of her desk, and pull a bundle of papers from the pocket inside my coat. "I have made some arrangements should anything happen to me before a legal marriage can be arranged between Esme and myself. I would feel more at ease if you would assure me these things will be done."
Mother frowns but takes the papers. She reads for several minutes. "I will see to it should the need arise, but you must know I would have seen to Esme without this letter."
My heart is so full I don't know how to express it. For a moment, I stare at my hands in my lap. Finally, gathering my self-control, I'm able to look up. "Then this would only make it easier for you. Thank you, Mother." Rising, I kiss her cheek.
Simon runs into the room, screaming out a loud cry. His tail is fully puffed out, and the hair on his back is standing straight up. He jumps on the back of the sofa, looks at me, and cries again.
My heart pounds. Dark magic presses in, and I feel fear and pain that is not my own.
"William!" Esme rushes into the parlor. "Something is wrong."
"I feel it, too."
Henry rushes into the room. "Shall I get the carriage?"
I look at Esme for some course of action, but her eyes are wide and seem to be searching inward.
The panic flowing through me is neither Esme's nor my own. We have to move fast. "Just my horse. We'll ride to the coven house."
Nodding, Esme picks up Simon. "He feels it too, and will wish to follow. Mrs. Meriwether, try to keep him here, please."
Mother takes the cat and clutches him to her chest. Fear etches lines in her face. "Be careful."
Running out the front door, I take Esme's hand.
Henry leads a bay and my black to the front. No saddles, but he did take the time to put bridles on.
I jump onto the black's back, and taking Esme's hand, lift her up behind me. We ride hard through the streets with Henry on our heels. It feels as if time is speeding by, and we are moving too slow to stop it.
