Duncan grinned. “I am happy to oblige,” he told her.
This time there was no tenderness. Duncan plunged inside her and thrust with such force and speed that Eliza reached the peak of ecstasy in minutes, and slowly sank into the afterglow wrapped in Duncan’s strong but gentle embrace.
Their lovemaking had been sublime, Eliza thought, but in some ways this was better; lying here nestled in the embrace of the man she loved with his glorious musk in her nostrils, hearing him breathe, feeling the soft warmth of his skin against hers. This was exactly where she was meant to be. Then she remembered his injury.
“Your shoulder—” she began, concerned as she saw the bandage again.
“Stop worrying, Eliza,” he said softly. “If I was in pain before, I certainly am not now. I have not felt so good for a long, long time. Thank you for looking after me.”
Eliza’s only answer was to nestle deeper into Duncan’s arms and close her eyes. She fell asleep to the sound of his heartbeat in her ears.
16
Eliza woke to the weight of Duncan’s arm resting on her waist, and the warmth of his body surrounding her. She looked up into his amber eyes and saw him smiling at her. The light glinted on his new growth of red-gold bristles, and she raised her hand to rub her fingers against his face, loving the raspy, ticklish feel of it.
“What does it feel like to have a beard?” she asked.
Duncan laughed. “It keeps your face warm in winter,” he replied, rubbing his hand over his bristly cheek.
“Should I grow one?” Eliza asked, her eyes twinkling.
He laughed again, then kissed her, and for a long moment the air in the room was still, silent, and full of an almost palpable sense of love and peace.
Presently, Duncan sat up, then reached over to his bedside table and picked up a polished wooden box, which he gave to Eliza, watching her face carefully as she inspected it.
It was a thing of beauty, with engravings of flowers on its smooth surface, and a brass handle and lock with a small key in it.
“What is it?” Eliza asked curiously.
It was heavy, and when she shook it, it rattled.
“Open it and see,” Duncan suggested, looking at her keenly.
Eliza unlocked the box and lifted the lid, then gasped in delight. “Oh! Duncan! Thank you!” she cried.
The box was full of spools of thread in every colour of the rainbow and more, needles of every size, pins, scissors, an embroidery hoop and pincushion, as well as many other instruments that only a seamstress would have use for.
Eliza took the threads out one by one, tested the scissors by snapping them open and closed a few times, then looked up at him with a face that was suffused with joy.
“Oh, Duncan, how did you know?” Eliza asked.
“I eavesdropped on your conversation with Maisie at the market,” he replied, smiling. “You said that sewing makes you feel close to your mother. Was she a good seamstress?”
“She was the best,” Eliza said sadly. “She sewed most of our clothes when we were young, made us rag dolls and mended all of our dresses when we tore them, which was often. She knew that was a maid’s job, but she did it anyway, simply because she loved doing it for us. She did wonderful needlepoint and embroidery too. And she knitted all our sweaters, and the rest of our warm clothes for winter. I was never cold, and whenever I’m warm and comfortable I think of my woollen gloves and scarves. I still miss her very much, but we all have to die sometime, do we not?”
Eliza’s tone was light, and she tried to look nonchalant, but Duncan was not fooled. He could see the pain in her eyes.
“Don’t try to hide your sorrow from me, Eliza,” he murmured. “I understand what it is to lose a mother.”
They were both silent for a while, thinking of the women who had made them and shaped them.
“You never really get over it, do you?” Eliza asked, sighing.
“No, but the memories last forever,” he assured her. “We have become who we are because of them, and we owe themeverything.” He kissed her forehead, then he dispelled the mood. He pulled her closer, then whispered, “Will you obey me this morning as well?”
Eliza giggled. “Well, your wish is my command, and I am happy to do your will.”
They kissed, and for a long time, there was nothing to be heard but the sound of orders being obeyed.
