Six Years Later
Cassandra ran her brush through her long, blonde hair as she sat at her dressing table before bed, dressed in only a simple white nightgown.
She didn't tie her hair after she'd finished, however, for her husband loved running his fingers through it and playing with it at night, saying it helped him sleep better.
It was a testament to how much she loved him because her hair would always be incredibly tangled the next morning, every single morning, because it was naturally rather curly. She didn't mind the extra effort, though, because every little sacrifice she made was worth it when she made it for him.
The six years they'd been married had been the best years of her life. Christopher Weston was, without a doubt, one of the three best things that had ever happened to her.
After he'd first proposed to her and she'd finally accepted, they'd decided to wait a few months before marrying. However, within a week after they'd all arrived at Somerhall, they chose to ignore this decision and wed a mere two weeks later. The only people in attendance were each of their siblings, Christopher's niece and nephew, the Smithsons and a few people from the village. To the rest of London society, it was practically an elopement but they didn't mind. All they needed was one another to be happy.
Kit, honourable as he was, refused to accept her dowry and so it was put into trust for their future children.
Cassandra had thought that her wedding day was the best day of her life, but it turned out to be only one of them because, two years after they married, they were blessed with little Juliette Emily Weston and, a year after that, Henry Peter Weston.
Needless to say, their life together was already perfect. They argued and fought many times but, at the end of the day, they always came back to each other.
"Come to bed, love." Christopher said from their bed, patting the space beside him. "Juliette and Henry wore me out today and I'd like nothing better than to go to sleep with my beautiful wife in my arms."
"And who told you that it was a good idea to take two young children, one still a toddler, to the farms? It's no wonder they made you carry and chase them about all over the place." Cassandra laughed, but set her brush down anyway.
She stretched as she stood, loving how Christopher's gaze was immediately drawn to her figure at the action. She'd been so self-conscious about her body after bearing two children, but he'd quickly put her doubts to rest by proving to her that he still found her desirable. She hadn't fully lost her figure, but she'd still become a little rounder.
She sat beside him, covering herself with a thick quilt. He instantly pulled her to him, so that her head rested on his chest, and pressed a kiss to her hair and then her bare shoulder, where the sleeve of her nightgown had slipped.
"And what did you do all day?" He murmured, and she shifted until she could splay her arm across his broad chest. "Did you enjoy the peace and quiet?"
"I read and played the pianoforte for hours. It was the calmest day I've had in so long." She confessed, playing with the sparse, dark hairs on his torso. This was something they did every day, talk before bed. Most of the time, they just told each other about their days and other times they discussed anything under the sun from the weather to politics. It was an essential part of their routine that they never missed.
"Do you want me to take the children off your hands like this once a week from now on?" Kit asked seriously, "You deserve a break."
Cassandra had refused to let her children be raised by a nanny or nurse. While she did allow the maids to help her now and then, she was insistent on doing most of the work herself. Kit was a very hands on father indeed and never shied away from any parenting tasks. However, he was away at the lands at least thrice a week and left early in the morning only to return late in the evenings, which meant that it was mostly Cassandra who cared for them on those days.
"If you think you can handle them then, by all means, take our little hellions away from me." Cassandra joked, making Kit chuckle. It was a low, husky sound that she could feel as it rumbled through his chest. She was still enthralled by his laugh after all these years and she was glad that his smile and touch too still affected her as they always had. The sparks had not faded in the least, which she was infinitely grateful for. She had seen all too many relationships crumble.
"It's settled then." Kit said. "I shall take them to the farms every Wednesday so that they don't drive their poor mother to an early grave. What would I do then?"
"Thank you." Cassandra said, reaching up to press a kiss to his jaw. "What did I ever do to deserve you?"
Christopher only grinned before leaning downwards to kiss her soundly. She shifted so that she was directly on top of him as they kissed, slowly yet with an insistent impatience. Kit tugged at her hair, and she groaned lowly. Before she knew it, he'd flipped them so he was hovering above her.
He looked at her heatedly for a second, with passionate eyes before bringing his lips to hers once more. His fingers entangled themselves in her hair, pulling at it, while her hands roamed up and down his bare chest. Even after all these years, their marriage had remained as.....loving as ever.
Somewhere, in the distance, thunder clapped in the sky and rain fell in torrents. Inside, however, they were living in their own perfect world, separate from all these outside disturbances.
"Mama? Papa?" A voice called.
Except for one, it appeared.
Cassandra squealed softly as she pushed her husband off of her, and he fell to the side with a groan. Both of them looked to the door, which had opened without either of them realising and, in the doorway, stood their daughter. She was clutching at her doll, a scared look on her face.
"Juliette?" Kit said, sitting upright instantly at the sight of his daughter's fear. "What is wrong, sweetheart?"
Juliette's lip trembled and she let out a little sob before racing towards the bed and throwing herself into her father's arms. Kit caught her, rubbing her back comfortingly as he held her close. It always warmed Cassandra's heart to see him with their children, and made him even more attractive to her, if that was even possible.
"The thunder." Juliette croaked, barely loud enough for both of them to hear. "It frightened me."
"Oh, dearest." Cassandra breathed warmly, scooting closer so that she could stroke her daughter's hair. "It won't hurt you, not when Mama and Papa are here to protect you. We won't let a thing happen to you."
"Do you promise?" She sniffled and looked up from Christopher's shoulder, her watery blue eyes meeting Cassandra's.
"We promise." Kit chimed in, rocking her from side to side.
After about five minutes of this, Juliette finally fell asleep and Kit set her on the bed in between him and Cassandra.
"Sweet dreams, then, love." Christopher said, giving her his usual dimpled smile that never failed to make her heart skip a beat or two.
"Goodnight, Kit." Cassandra said, about to settle into bed when another little figure appeared in the doorway. It was their son, Henry.
"Henry, what is it?" Cassandra asked, before noting the fear in his eyes as the sound of thunder rang through the air again. The storm had scared him, just as it had scared his sister.
"Come here." She said, shifting to the side and making place for him. Kit ruffled his hair as he jumped into their bed, and settling right against Cassandra, cuddling into her. Although he loved both his parents very much, Henry had always been his Mama's little boy from the day he was born, and Cassandra loved every bit of it, especially the fact that she could tease Kit about it.
"It appears we can only sleep tonight." Kit said, but he didn't seem to mind, not when it came to their children. He pressed a kiss to a sleeping Juliette's forehead before kissing Henry on his head, who squirmed at the affection. Cassandra teasingly tapped a finger against her cheek, and he laughed softly as he leaned across their children and pecked her cheek before making sure Henry wasn't watching. Once ascertaining that his son's eyes were closed and he was probably almost asleep, Kit snuck in a quick kiss to her lips.
Cassandra should have been disappointed that she had not gotten more time alone with her husband, but she wasn't. Seeing her husband behave so sweetly and gently with their children more than made up for it.
She turned her frame so that she was facing him, sleeping on her side. Once she had done so, she found that he was in the exact same position and was watching her with a soft smile on his face.
"I love you." He mouthed to her, careful not to make a sound that would startle the sleeping demons awake.
"I love you, too." She mouthed back, unable to help the broad smile that pulled her lips upwards.
And, as she was lulled to sleep soon after, she fell asleep knowing that she had found the one place that would always be her solace and that would always bring her peace, joy, love and happiness.