The day arrived for Mary and Francis to leave for the chateau near Paris. They bid farewell to their friends and then they loaded everything into the carriage that they would need. The chateau was already staffed, and they were already preparing for their arrival. Mary carried Merida and Francis helped her into the carriage. Soon they were off and Francis visible relaxed as the further they got away from the castle. "Are you sure the kingdom won't fall apart while we're gone?" Francis said after an hour of being on the road. Mary took his hand and squeezed it in assurance. "Bash will take good care of it. Besides we'll only be gone for a month at the most. He should be able to handle it." Francis nodded and looked at his sleeping daughter in Mary's lap. "I love you both so much."
Their first night at the chateau was a little short with Merida not used to a different place, but the next day they spent most of it reading and having chess tournaments and going for walks on the grounds with Merida. Mary's baby bump was growing more visible with each day and Francis was starting to notice she grew tired sooner at night then she had before. Most of her energy went to keeping up with Merida when she wasn't with the nanny. He decided that this time away was as good a time as any to discuss how the next 5 months would be. One particular day they made their way into the garden and laying a blanket on the grass Mary and Francis sat down letting their daughter crawl within reach of them. Francis watched as Mary would stroke her stomach once in a while as she talked and played with Merida. "We've planned out most of Merida's future for her, but we haven't talked about the immediate future when her little brother or sister is born." Mary glanced at him. "Most likely she will need to be weaned so there is enough milk for the baby. She'll be close to a year old by then and won't be needing her mother's milk as much." Francis nodded. "True, but if you still want to do most of their rearing yourself you'll be a very busy Queen." Mary smiled and leaned close to him. "Well I do recall right after Merida was born asking for a little more time between babies." Francis smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Oh, so I'm the one to blame? I don't recall you doing much to prevent anything." He pulled her close and held her hands, so she couldn't get away. "I recall you liking it very much though." Mary giggled as he let go of one of her hands to tickle her side. "Don't Francis! That tickles...What about Merida?" she said in between giggles. He glanced over, and their daughter was making her way to them to see what was going on.
When Francis stopped his tickling Mary noticed Merida was watching intensely, smiling and clapping her hands. "Is papa making you laugh?" Mary said. Merida waved her hands and cooed. In between the blubbering and the cooing, she formed enough syllables to Mary and Francis delight to say something that was really close to papa. "Did you hear her?" Mary said. Francis nodded and scooped his daughter up in his arms. "Papa's right here." A few seconds passed and then she said it again a little bit clearer. Mary laughed and kissed her on the cheek. "That's my girl!" Francis said tossing her into the air and catching her making her giggle.
Meanwhile back at the castle things were running smoothly for Bash and he was getting reports in of the villagers and farmers helping each other get their fields planted. He made sure to keep any real important letters or reports in a specific spot, so Francis could look over them when he returned. Leith was doing an excellent job at keeping the law in the surrounding towns. Lola spent most days with Kenna watching Alexander grow and catching up with her close friend.
That evening Francis had Merida's nanny keep the little girl after her supper. Then he asked Mary to wear one of her nicer gowns for the evening and he ordered for the best the cook had to be served. "I thought you deserved a nice evening since we haven't had one just for us. Besides it was your idea for us to get away for a bit and its one of your greatest ideas yet. I feel refreshed already and we still have a few more days left." Mary smiled as she ate the delicious meal. "This is lovely Francis and it is refreshing to be at a nice dinner without having to engage in any politics or fake niceties." He chuckled and raised his glass. "To a night free of politics." Mary lifted her glass of water and toasted with her husband.
When the meal was finished Francis led Mary into the slightly bigger sitting room and she noticed that there was a clear space in the middle of the room. Francis took her hand and bowed over it. "May I have this dance?" Mary smiled then curtsied. "You may." Though there wasn't any grand band playing music one of the older gentlemen that lived on the grounds played the violin. Mary thought it very romantic and they waltzed for a quite awhile lost in each other. As the night grew later Francis noticed Mary grow somewhat tired so he took her back to their room. "Thank you for tonight. It was really wonderful." She said placing a kiss on his cheek. He stroked her cheek and kissed her softly. "It was my pleasure." He said kissing her again.
Mary's sleepiness seemed to disappear as Francis kissed her. Instead it was replaced with something much more potent. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. A few kisses and a trail of clothes later and she was being carefully lowered to the bed. She was amazed at how differently her body responded to his touches and caresses when she was carrying a child then when she wasn't. He was a little gentler with her and the care he took with her made her want more.
Francis had been secretly hoping this was how the night would turn out, but he'd begun to doubt it when Mary looked so tired. He was pleasantly surprised when his kiss seemed to give her some kind of energy and she'd asked for more. He took care in ridding her of her clothes and he kissed her slightly swollen stomach a few times before continuing his focus on her. He'd helped her in ridding him of his clothes and then he'd carefully laid her on their bed. He noticed the slower he took it the more she asked for as though her body was impatient. He loved the way his heart would race every time his caress would elicit a sigh or a groan from her lips. He loved the way his body tingled wherever her lips touched, and her hands stroked.
Mary knew Francis was purposely keeping her from getting overly worked up for the sake of the baby. He was keeping her in a constant state of heavenly bliss as he displayed how much he really did love her. She gave a deep sigh as he caressed up her leg to her thigh and along her hip to her protruding stomach. He reached her chest and then leaned down to place kisses along her neck. She gained enough control over her hands to pull his face upward, so she could capture his lips in hers. She kept one hand on the back of his neck and using her leg she intertwined it his, so she could position herself and then using her free hand she caressed him causing him to groan and then give her what she wanted. She sucked in a sharp breath then groaned as her body moved with his. Francis groaned her name and she breathed his. "It's ok." She said before kissing him again. He pushed further, and her hands dropped to the sheets gripping them as she felt herself reach her peak. Francis felt it too as he was not long behind her. He removed himself and rolled to lay beside her both breathing hard, but happy. Mary knew that soon there wouldn't be too many more times for them to make love and Francis was making sure they got what they needed before that time came.
Too soon it was time to leave the chateau. The last week was filled with many lovemaking sessions and picnics in the garden. Merida was saying papa more clearly now and there were a few mama's every once in a while. They soon arrived back at the castle and were greeted by a few of their subjects and their close friends. Kenna commented on how much Mary was glowing and how big Adi seemed to get in just a few short weeks. It seemed Lola was much happier and embraced Mary long and hard. Francis left the woman to catch up as he walked with Bash to the library to discuss the things that had happened in their absence.
Summer went by in a flurry of parties and balls as well as monthly visits to keep up morale in the surrounding towns and villages. The closer it came to Mary's shutting in the more time she tried to have with Francis and Adi together. They managed a few picnics here and there and as the weeks went by Adi learned to walk and even saw a few more words like horsey and more milk. She even learned her aunt and uncle's names and even Lola's. Every time she would call for them it would make the adults chuckle at the cute way she mispronounced them. Bash was "ash", Kenna was "enna" and Lola was "ola." Catherine enjoyed the time she could spend with her granddaughter. Her mind was failing, but she seemed to be the clearest minded when Adi was around. Alexander was right behind his cousin in talking and walking even though he was two months behind her. As many times Mary saw Alexander in the care of his nanny she wouldn't be surprised if he would have a little brother or sister coming along soon. She decided she wanted a little more time between this baby and the next, so she researched a few safe ways to lower the chance of pregnancy and put them away until they were needed. Every day she was thankful Francis seemed to have no reoccurring problems since his fall and every day she grew more and more ready to meet their baby. She was reaching the stage of being done with being pregnant.
