North Marries South

Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Margaret managed to convince John to leave the hotel room, so after breakfast they started getting dressed. John was really starting to dislike the corset, and Margaret chuckled at his muttered complaints. She offered to call the maid up to help, but he was adamant that he could help his wife get dressed. She acquiesced with a smile at his stubbornness, and gave him a kiss of thanks when it was done.

After he got his suit on, she helped him tie his cravat, although it was admittedly hard to concentrate with his gaze constantly on her. It took her back to the train station, and she gazed back at him for a few minutes, remembering the feelings that he had elicited from her then.

They managed to keep their plan to leave the room, mostly because her corset was already on, and after taking all that time to get it there, he wasn't about to destroy the progress he had made. So they set out on their way, and she gave him a tour of her childhood hometown.

He loved learning about how she grew up, and listened attentively to all her tales. They ambled about without much direction, holding hands and stopping once in a while for a kiss. She took him through the woods at one point, and he gazed around at their beauty. The thought that she would choose to be with him in Milton rather than here struck him again, and he pulled her to him for a tender kiss.

"How can you live in Milton when you have seen this?" He asked tremulously, and she raised her hand to caress his jaw.

"Because you are there, and I would choose you over anything else." They gazed at each other, him in wonder and her with love. "I choose Milton because that's where my heart is. Besides, when I came here with Mr. Bell I realized that it was different than when I was growing up. It didn't have the same charm for me. I think that trip is what helped me to fully realize what I had lost when I refused you. It wasn't much after that when I realized how I felt about you."

"Then I thank Helstone heartily for nudging you in my direction," he responded with a smile, and bent to give her another tender kiss. His forehead met hers, and they stood that way for a few minutes, before starting back down the forest path.

They came upon a meadow, which Margaret remembered running through with Frederick when they were children. Grinning at John, she started running, yelling over her shoulder to catch her if he could. Surprised at first, he quickly got into the game and started chasing her. It didn't take too long, really, because the corset made it hard to catch her breath. He caught up and grabbed her, and they both ended up on the ground, with her on top of him. She looked up and saw that they were under the tree she had been laying under when Henry came to propose. She felt so different now than she had then.

Both laughing, he rolled them over so he was looking down at her. His expression changed, from playful to serious, and they lay that way, staring at each other, for a few long moments. He got that look on his face; the one that made her catch her breath, the one she had glimpsed when he was leaning in to kiss her for the first time. He wasn't asking permission this time, but looking at her like she was the only person in the world who mattered.

Slowly, he lowered his head and captured her lips with his, kissing her thoroughly. She whimpered, her arms winding around his neck, and kissed him back. His kisses deepened, and his arms made their way around her waist. She remembered their kiss at the train station, how slow and full of longing it was. This kiss felt the same way, but different. She felt like the longing was different, not just a longing to be together, but a longing to always be this way. To never lose this first blush of love.

He pulled away, and stared down at her again. She gazed up at him, and then drew him down for another kiss. They had nowhere to be, after all -- she was happy to do this all day, and she had the feeling he was too. They took their time, feeling the fires within them kindle, but enjoying the constraints their clothes put between them. At last they broke apart, breathless, their gazes heated.