All the Wrong Reasons

Part 33

Chapter 33

Colin watched his wife scurry around the house looking lost.  He almost felt bad enough to ask her what she was doing, but the sight in front of him was to comical to give up.  She glanced about before grabbing an empty vase and sighing with relief.  Tipping it upside down, thick brown water splashed to the ground. 

Colin looked at it with disgust before taking a step back.  "What are you doing?"

She jumped and glanced up at him with a surprised expression.  "Where did you come from?"

"I have been standing here for quite some time now.  What I think needs to be settled is what exactly you are doing."

She looked down at the vase in her hand before glancing back at him.  "My mother likes flowers."

"Yes," he said with a nod, "many mothers do.  This still does not explain your actions."

"I am trying to make your home more welcoming for when my parents arrive.  Now, will you stop with the questions and help?"

Colin took a good look at her face and noticed the worry lines around her eyes.  He noticed how she fidgeted as if standing in one spot to long made her nervous.  How did he not notice that his wife was worried that her parents would come?  Taking a step forward, he reached out and grabbed her empty hand.

"Cassandra, your parents do not care about the state of my manor.  The only thing they care about is you.  If they come here all the way from London, it is because they are worried for you."

"I know," she whispered, "but I want them to love my new home.  What will happen when Father wants to take me back?  Did you not think of that possibility?  His first reaction will be to get me out of harm's way."

"You think that making my manor look in living condition will sway your father's decision?  I do not think that he is a man easily fooled."

She took a step towards him.  "It is not that.  I want him to realize how happy I am here.  I want him to be proud at how much I have made this a better place."

"He will notice," Colin said while wrapping his arms around her.  "He may not even travel this far."

He felt her body shake in his arms.  Pushing her back quickly, he expected to see tears running down her face.  He did not see any tears as he realized she was laughing.  He pulled her back into his arms with a smile on his face.  "What is so amusing?"

"You met my father," she chuckled.  "Do you think he would stay in London if he heard about any kind of danger towards me?"

The smile that was once on his face slipped off.  His luck must have been down.  No matter how much he tried, Colin could not find time with his wife.  There was always someone there.  "Your parents can stay in the chamber with your things in it."

"That is the room I will be staying in," she said with confusion in her voice.

Colin loosened his grip.  "I thought you would be staying with me.  It is what you have been doing since you arrived."

"It is improper," she mumbled.

"Does your mother have a separate bedchamber?" She nodded into his chest as he continued, "Does she sleep in it?"  There was a small hesitation before she shook her head no.  "That is what I thought," Colin told her.  "How could your parents think it is improper when they are culprits themselves?"

"It is different," she started but Colin never allowed her to finish.

"It is the same.  We are husband and wife just as they are."