It would be an endless day.
***
That night, Erasmus tucked Thea into her bed while Amy handled Phin’s nightly feeding and negotiation into his crib, now back in his little nursery.
When Amy emerged from the room, Erasmus was there, still clothed. He felt awkward about rushing into his dressing gown; he wouldn’t want her to think he expected anything.
But he did expect things. How could he not after her letters unexpectedly sent his heart racing?
“Well, Mrs. Mangevileyn, it seems we are alone.”
“Yes, indeed. Did you enjoy the roast beef?”
“I did. Thank you for so expertly managing the household.”
“It was my pleasure.”
This would never do. They were behaving like two acquaintances at market day, not a just-reunited husband and wife!
“I have some lingering questions,” he said.
She was brushing her hair, having taken it down from its pins. He loved to see her use the silver-backed brush and comb as if she were to the manner born. If Erasmus had his way, Amy would want for nothing.
“What’s that?” she asked distractedly.
He tapped his coat, right over the front pocket. “I have some letters from you, and their meaning was not always clear.”
“You must understand: I am new to writing, and I lack the skill of a more experienced correspondent,” she said, catching his eye in the mirror, her eyes filled with mirth.
“Yet you have mastered the art of teasing your husband from a distance, my little minx.”
Amy rose from her seat, her hair now tied off with a pretty ribbon.
“And another thing!” he exclaimed. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed you adding lace to Thea’s dresses and buying Phin toys without putting it on our accounts! I’m of a mind to think that you’ve been using your own allowance for their things!”
She came near, her eyes shy. “I couldn’t use all of that money for myself. It’s an awful lot for one person.”
Erasmus couldn’t stand it any longer. His cock was fattening at his wife’s proximity and coyness, and his brain was strugglingto work. “Amy,” he groaned, taking up the end of her braid and gently drawing her closer.
She came into his embrace without hesitation, rubbing her cheek against his chest. Did she too feel a deep need to be close to him? What a miracle, forged from a happy accident.
“I should note that your head rests over some letters I received.”
“Oh, really?”
“Some letters from my wife. Letters that left me uncomfortably hard and longing for our bed.”
“She must be a cruel woman, your wife.”
“The cruelest.”
She hummed.
“She’s clever and kind and lovely no matter the time of day or what she’s wearing,” he said, cradling Amy’s neck to tilt her face up for an achingly soft kiss on those enchanting lips. “How I’ve missed you.”
She went on tiptoe to kiss him back. “And I you.”
Then, on the way back down, her hand brushed over his cock. Erasmus held in a whimper, but just barely.
