Mrs. Brandon: The Story of Christopher and Marianne

Chapter 15 - The Brandons, Complete

Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Sense and Sensibility! Please let me know if you enjoy!
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Mrs. Brandon responded to her husband's worried inquiry with total silence as her pain crescendoed.

"........My love?" Christopher asked as he furrowed his brow.

Marianne kept her hand clamped firmly to the side of her swollen abdomen.

The panic was plain on her fair face as she looked at her husband with wide eyes.

"My darling Marianne, what's the matter?!" Christopher urgently pleaded as he watched her draw in a deep breath as the pain receded at last.

Marianne stammered for words, desperate to deny her suffering, although she easily recognized the familiar sensation of oncoming labour, "I.....I just felt a bit-"

"-Are you in pain?" Christopher demanded.

"No....I....not now, it's over now." Marianne nodded quickly, "It only hurt for a moment, that's all."

Nervousness seized her as she watched the colour drain from Christopher's face while he contemplated the nauseating fact that he was alone with his pregnant wife in the middle of a snowstorm and she had felt......

Wordlessly, he rose from his seat and hurriedly knelt at her side.

"Really, Christopher! I'm fine!" Marianne insisted as she looked into his eyes.

For a man who had known such stressful conditions in his years as a soldier, the expression on his face was anything but stoic as he gazed at Marianne.

"Of course." Christopher nodded as he reached out and placed a cautious hand on the swell of his wife's womb.

Marianne nodded as she tried not to let her mind flood with panic.

"Marianne?" He asked.

"Yes, Christopher?" She pouted.

"Perhaps you should lie down for a while? It would be my pleasure to take you to our bed, my love, so that you may rest." Christopher offered.

"Yes, I......I think I would like that very much." Marianne nodded, "....Though I'm not certain if you can carry me like this."

"And why wouldn't I be capable of doing exactly that?" Christopher asked in his low purr of a voice as he scooped Marianne out of her seat and into his arms.

Marianne flashed him a smile as he brought her through the house, up the stairs, and across the threshold of their bedroom.

"........I'm a bit heavier now." She chuckled.

"A bit more lucious, I believe, is the correct phrase." Christopher nodded as he gently placed his darling in bed and covered her with the many blankets.

"Thank you, Christopher." Marianne nodded as she settled into the pillows, "Will you stay beside me?"

"I should hardly think of anywhere else in the world I would be." Christopher replied as he pulled a chair close to her bedside and took her hand into his.

Marianne smiled as she let her fingers rub her husband's knuckles while he did the same for her.

Outside, the snow continued to fall in a peaceful backdrop to the nerve-wracking moment.

Marianne felt relaxed, warm, and as if nothing were out of place in the entire world........until the next pain hit.

The ferocity of the evil cramp that began at the base of her spine caught her off guard as she lay in bed with her husband's hand in hers.