Hopeful Soul: A Phantom Story

Chapter Forty.

CHRISTINE:

I awoke to the sound of the train chugging along, a steady beating against my cheek. A soft, yet hardly noticeable pain in my lady parts reminded me of what had happened and I smiled. Turning my head to Erik, I realized my dear husband was still asleep - one of his arms wrapped around my waist and his other hand softly latched to my bosom. I smiled at his child-like happiness as he slept. Feeling something inside me, I realized we must have still been joined and looked down.

The blankets and sheets were tangled around our legs from the rather passionate romp and I let out a soft giggle, feeling Erik's sudden movement. I looked at his face again and found his eyes which slowly flickered open. He softened at my presence and pulled me tighter, a soft sigh escaping his lips, "Must we start the day now?"

I looked to the window again and saw the beautiful colors of the sun rise, "No. Let us lay for a few more moments."

He grinned, softly touching my lips as he gazed into my eyes. His golden eyes were sparkling with the sunrise and he briefly kissed me, "Is it true? Do you love me?"

His innocent question made me smile. Last night he made me feel like a woman. He treated me well - unlike the normal men who thought of me as nothing more than a beautiful piece of art, "I thought last night would be painful, like so many say, but the pain only lasted a moment," a grin had spread on my face - I was in loves glow, "You are unlike the others. You care for me genuinely and I feel that I can be free with you."

He smiled, stroking my hair, "I believe that women have just as many desires as we do. Though I do believe in a woman's proper place in the home, I would not mind at all if you wanted to continue your singing career," he was completely genuine and it made me feel happy, "Do you want to continue singing?"

"I am not sure. It shall depend on what happens."

A knock at our door interrupted our conversation and I untangled my body from Erik's. After being having my dressing gown tied, I opened the door to Meg. She greeted me with, but quickly covered her mouth, "I would say good morning, but you smell of nightly love. Please, bathe and meet me for breakfast in my room."

I replied with a laugh, "Of course, Meg. And I apologize for my scent."

She nodded and head off, so I closed the door. Erik, still bare from our encounter, had my back pressed to the door and kissed up my neck to my lips. Though I was supposed to give in, I pushed him off, "I have a day with Meg. And then you may kiss me and seduce me as much as you like."

"It is our honeymoon, Christine."

Though I felt bad for deserting him, it was customary to leave the husband daytime over the honeymoon. I certainly would not want Meg to be deserted and alone, either, "That, I know. But I promise you, we shall cuddle and kiss and be friendly tonight."

He smiled, "Alright. May I at least see you again before you bathe?"

With a sigh, I hung my dressing gown on the coat rack and he stared lustfully at my form, "You're even more glorious in the daylight."

"Alright," I laughed, grabbing fresh clothes from my bag, "Don't get any silly ideas. Besides, maybe I should stay clothed for a little while longer."

He let out a small pleasing noise before I went into the watercloset with a laugh. Hanging my garments, I drew the bath and looked at myself in the mirror - what a ghastly mess! My hair was ruined from our canoodling and my skin... oh goodness. A bath was more than necessary to be clean of this filthy state.

After a hot bath, with my skin smelling of fresh soap and my favorite rose water, my hair was brushed and pinned, my face clean and bright and my clothes straightened out perfectly. I wore bland colors in contrast to my stark wedding gown, mostly out of respect to Erik whom I did not want to draw attention to. Stepping out of the watercloset, I noticed Erik at the bed, now dressed, clean and looking rather glum. I looked about for a moment, then sat beside him and rested a hand on his shoulder, "Erik?" he gazed down to me, a soft smile forming on his lips, "Erik, what is wrong?"

"Oh, nothing."

He stood up, walking over to the window and wiping the steam off with a handkerchief, "Erik, please. I hate seeing you in such a sorry state."

"You know we did not have to bring her along, Christine."

I sighed - what a long day it would be. The last thing I wanted to do was argue on our first day of marriage. As a woman, I took a step back, "Erik, I am sorry. If you will tell me what to do to make it better for you, I will gladly follow your instructions," he shook his head stubbornly and I realized it would be harder than I thought to get this out of him, "I only want you to be happy."

"I am on this trip because of you, Christine, and I find it rather foolish of you to bring your friend along because of some tradition. What shall be next, she watches us mate?!"

I did not want an argument, but it seemed he was testing his limits. I gave into the fight and gathered my things, "Tradition, you say?! It was also tradition, what we did last night! Perhaps you didn't want that to happen, either!"

"Christine-"

"No. Good day, Monsieur. I shall see you when the train stops."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The tension... ugh! Haha, hope you like.

By the way, just wondering, would anyone like another 'fun time' chapter later. Perhaps when they move into their new home? Let know if you do and, as always, thanks for reading 😁