Feeling suddenly very foolish, I say, “Sorry. I know how you meant it. I just...feel bad that I haven’t been home enough lately. I can’t stand being away from you.”
“Well, you’ve got us all to yourself—I’m sure the babies will know your voice by the time we go back to Valcourt,” she says with a wry smile.
***
AFTER LUNCH, MRS. POTTSleaves so Tessa and I can have the castle to ourselves. Well, not entirely of course. There are guards stationed around the outside of the property, and Ollie is here, but he's an expert at making himself scarce so my hope for a wonderfully romantic weekend should come to fruition. Mrs. Potts knew of my plans, so she prepared what appears to be enough food for the Avonian Navy already, meaning I needn't stretch my culinary skills much past microwaving leftovers.
Tessa and I put on our coats and then go for a stroll around the moors surrounding the castle. We hold hands and walk slowly, and I stare down at her whilst she closes her eyes for a moment and lifts her face to the sun, drinking in its warmth. Something about really needing to get laid makes me rather poetic, doesn't it?
"This was a perfect idea," she says, smiling up at me.
I interlace my fingers through hers, and we walk along. With my other hand, I reach out and touch the tall grasses that line the path through the meadow. "We used to have cows here, you know?"
"Really? When you were a child?"
"No, about three hundred years ago. King Edwin fancied himself a bit of a farmer, so he bought a herd of dairy cows and let them graze all around the castle grounds."
"Apparently, he used to try to milk them without much luck.”
“He lacked the right touch for it?”
“No, it turned out they weren't actually dairy cows."
Tessa bursts out laughing, covering her mouth with her hand as she does. "Are you serious? What was he milking?"
"Just regular meat cows. But he loved having them. I'm told he spent most of his time at this castle, and his wife, Queen Anita, spent most of her time in Valcourt, in the chambers of her doctor."
"Well, I suppose she would, if she was playing second fiddle to a bunch of meat cows."
“So you're saying there's a justification for infidelity? A man who has interests other than his wife is fair game to become a cuckold?"
"Well, if he's going to live somewhere else and milk things..." Tessa bumps me with her shoulder, and it finally feels like we're us again. Not two overly anxious parents-to-be, not public figures who have to live under a microscope, but just us.
I stop walking and turn to face her with a mock intense gaze. "I promise you, I will never start ignoring you to go off milking meat cows."
Tessa stifles a laugh, then returns my bedroom eyes. "And I promise to never have an affair with Dr. Dropp.”
I lean down and give her a lingering kiss that starts out as a joke, then turns into something more. I reach up with one hand and cup her cheek in my palm. We stay like this for a few minutes until a slight breeze kicks up and brushes Tessa's hair across her face, causing us to break apart. I tuck the blonde lock back behind her ear, and she lifts one finger and touches my lips.
"This is nice. I didn't realize how badly I needed to get away."
"I think we're going to have to make this a habit because if we go too long without having time with just the two of us away from everything, I'm afraid it'll wear us down."
Tessa gives me an impish grin. "I don't know, it's not like my parents are going to live with us permanently."
"God forbid. Not that I don't like having them around, it's just that..."
"You don't like having them around."
"Yes, that's it."
She laughs for a moment, then says, "Have I thanked you lately for allowing them to stay?"
"Well, not properly." I raise one eyebrow.
Tessa laughs again. “Oh, I know. You must be absolutely sex-starved by now."
I give her a very confused look and then say, "Sex-starved? Whatever do you mean? Has it been a while?"
