My Wife, My Rules – 13. chapter

First time here? Start with Chapter 1.

Morning sunlight woke Tess. When she rolled onto her side, she found Aiden propped on one elbow, watching her.

“Hello, my beautiful kitty!” he greeted her gently.

“Hello,” she smiled. “How was the visit? I was asleep when you came back,” she asked while stretching her arms and back.

“You were already asleep when I left for it,” Aiden chuckled. “I think I may have overdone it with the orgasms right at the start. I should probably ease you into it more slowly.”

“I don’t know if you, with your two orgasms, have much room to make fun,” she tossed out.

“Well, yes. I had hoped I would last longer than a few seconds after my first release inside you, but the odds were not great. You kept me aroused for far too long, practically all the time. Though luckily, with me, that is not much of a problem,” he winked at her.

“Uhm, yes. I always thought men needed… well, time, before they could go again.”

“Most do. If I don’t stop the stimulation, I can harden again right away for another round so fast you will hardly notice I softened at all. If I pull out of you, then yes, it would take longer.”

“Hm. So perhaps I can decide when I want sex after all?” she teased.

“I did not quite say even that,” he replied calmly. “But I understand your objection. Try to understand me as well. On the very first night, you offered yourself to me. It was clear you meant to endure it out of duty. I did not want that.”

She said nothing.

“You are my dream come true,” his voice softened again. “Don’t be surprised that I wish to give back at least what I can and see to it that life with me is good for you.” He leaned in and kissed her gently. Tess returned the kiss willingly.

“Is she tired?” he asked slyly, trying to slip his hand beneath the covers.

“Yes!” Tess cried with a laugh and pushed his hand away.

“A pity,” Aiden concluded. “Then I shall go to work.”

He rose and began to gather his clothes.

“What will you do?” Tess asked, only having a vague idea of how her husband earned his money.

“I must inspect the crops. And then figure out what comes next.”

“What comes next?”

“Usually at this time I go on the road to arrange sales. But now,” he stepped into the trousers he had found, “I cannot take you with me. It is a lot of uncomfortable travel and even more new people. You would not manage it. And I will not leave you alone. So I don’t know.”

“I can stay by myself. After all, I am at home,” Tess tried to solve the problem.

“When I think of what the maids did to you and how you could not put them in their place as lady of the house… You cannot defend yourself. So without me, you will not move a single step,” he said firmly, tightening his belt with force, as if to underline his words. She may have wanted to argue, but the severity of his look made her think better of it.

Aiden found his shirt beside Tess on the bed. He took it and pressed a kiss straight to Tess’s lips.

“I see only one way. I will invite the buyers here. We will have more visits at our house, but don’t worry. They will not inconvenience you in any way.”

“Do you have many visitors?”

“Do you mean outside of this? Quite a few. Sometimes I host, sometimes I go out. I keep rather acti…” He broke off inside his shirt, pulled the shirt over his head, then said, “I will cancel it. We will make things comfortable for you. I don’t need company.” It was partly a lie and partly not. He liked people and amusement, but what mattered more to him was making Tess feel comfortable.

“I don’t mind,” she protested. “I did not even know anyone was here yesterday.”

He looked at her, thinking. In truth, she was right.

“I will think about it,” he avoided a decision, finished buttoning his shirt, leaned one knee on the bed, swung himself toward Tess, and planted a kiss on her lips.

“I will try not to let it drag on,” he promised, and moments later he was gone.

Tess read for perhaps an hour before realizing she was hungry. With some surprise she noticed there was no food on the table, though there always had been. She waited a while longer in case someone brought it. No one did. She rose, smoothed her dress, and drew a deep breath.

No one stood outside the door, nor along the corridor, nor on the stairs. Only when she hurried downstairs as inconspicuously as possible did she meet people and see others outside. No one paid her any attention. All were busy with their work. Guided partly by guesswork and partly by scent, she found the kitchen. At first she only carefully stuck her head inside. Inside hung a damp scent saturated with flour, mingled with the sweet smell of curd and vanilla. In the corner, a large cauldron bubbled over the fire.

One woman. That, at least, she could endure. She stepped in slowly, only then wondering what she meant to do. Before she decided, the cook noticed her.

“What are you doing here? Don’t you have work to do?” the woman blurted sharply. Tess was startled and searched too long for words.

“Wait. You are not one of ours,” the mature woman narrowed her eyes. “Sorry, but we take no new hands. Go!”

Her voice sounded hard, yet goodness and curiosity shone plainly in her eyes. Her hands were covered with dough, her hair twisted into a knot, flour marking both her face and apron.

Tess silently cursed this foolish excursion and turned to leave.

“Wait,” came from behind her, and she turned back.

“You are terribly thin,” the cook grumbled. “Are you hungry?” Her tone softened.

“…yes,” Tess nodded uncertainly.

“Sit,” the woman barked, nodding toward the bench by the table. Tess reconsidered everything. This was certainly not what she had planned. But what damn plan had she ever had, anyway?! She obeyed. Moments later, a plate landed before her with the largest slice of curd cake she had ever seen.

“Thank you,” she attempted a smile. No sooner had she touched the food than a jug of milk appeared beside it. She thanked her again and began to eat.

“Can I help with anything?” she asked cautiously between bites.

Why did I say that?!

The cook eyed her with suspicion.

“And can you do anything at all?”

“Hm… I learn quickly,” Tess assessed her real options.

The cook rolled her eyes, added eggs to the mixture, and commanded, “Knead the dough.”

Tess set the cake aside, stood, quickly took a drink of milk while already on her feet, and set to work on the dough. At first her hands trembled, flour clung between her fingers, and her heart beat against her chest. But the cook’s movements were firm and calm. There was something soothing in their rhythm.

A young man burst into the kitchen, younger than Aiden. He snatched a piece of bread from somewhere, and when the cook began to scold him, he planted a kiss on her cheek.

“Hi, new girl?” he asked Tess, winking at her roguishly. She did not manage to answer, because the young man preferred to flee from the cook’s scolding. Tess realized the quarrel had been very friendly, and she found it sweet. The whole scene felt strange, as though she had stepped into another world. Ordinary, loud, yet somehow safe.

From the corner of her eye she noticed the cook step close. Before she could react, she felt her hair being caught. She cried out in fright and leapt back several steps, bumping her backside against the sideboard. The cook stared at her with wide eyes and frowned a little.

“I did not mean to do that.”

She handed Tess a ribbon she was holding in her hands.

“Tie your hair. It falls into the dough.”

Tess took the ribbon, closed her eyes for a moment, and tried to calm her panicked heart with slow breaths. It did not quite work, but she began tying her hair and noticed the worry on the cook’s face.

“No one here can hurt you, girl,” the woman said more gently, trying to soothe her. “There are only good people here. Hardworking folk. And they care about one another. I might try to find you a place, but I promise nothing. People don’t leave this house easily. The master is a good man. He pays. He provides.”

Tess did not answer. She finished the dough and gladly let the cook explain how to portion it and fill it with curd and plum jam for more cakes. She could not truly relax. Every part of her body remained alert to each and every movement in the room. Yet, within her limits, she felt unexpectedly well. She had no idea how long she had been there.

It smells like home in here. Maybe.

She could not be certain. She had never had a place anywhere that she wished to go to. Only places she wished to flee.

The second round of cakes was baking. Tess kept filling more cakes. Some sort of noise rose elsewhere in the house, then after a while turned to shouting, which no one in the kitchen paid any heed. The young man who had come for bread returned to the doorway.

“Listen, girl. Who are you, really?”

“Why?” Tess brushed him off without interest, keeping her attention on the cakes.

He jerked his thumb behind him.

“Because his lordship is running through the house like a man out of his mind, looking for his wife.”