Free Reads!! Wednesday Briefs – Innocence & Carnality Part 20

Welcome to the next part in my Wednesday Briefs flash fiction serial, Innocence & Carnality! Each chapter has to be between 500 and 1,000 words and this week I didn’t use a prompt because they were all holiday related and none of them fit. Didn’t want to skip an installment over that, now would I?

Vivian’s chat with Nathan brings out some unexpected information.

Click here to start from the beginning

Part 20

“Are you planning on tinkering with that clock for much longer?”

“It’s what I do. I’m almost done.”

Rother gave me an impatient sigh. Sprawled out naked on the bed, he waited for me. His erect member flagged, the indecent stroking having ended some time ago. In all fairness, I would have completed fixing the clock if I hadn’t continued to take sideways glances at his efforts. Even after all the carnal things we’d shared, his frank hedonism unsettled me.

“A hobby may be useful for you to spend your time, but I don’t prefer to come second to it.”

“You act as if there’s nothing more between us but physical relations.”

A crease formed over the bridge of his nose as he rolled onto his side. “The real world will force its way in soon enough and we won’t have the opportunity to indulge ourselves like this very often.”

Setting down my tools, I exhaled. “I know. You’re right.”

“What’s bothering you?”

I froze. Since I came back inside, I’d been fiddling with the broken clock to little success, which was not like me. Delicate machinery would usually dance with me, calming my rough edges, but I struggled to make it work.

“Why do you ask?”

“I can see your agitation through your Victorian veneer.”

Either my skill at maintaining a facade was slipping or Rother’s uncanny ability to read a man surpassed it. I wasn’t happy with either prospect. “I had a run-in with Vivian in the hallway.”

“Yes. I think you handled yourself brilliantly.”

“You heard us?”

“I heard voices. I made a point to listen. The walls aren’t that thick.”

The altercation’s offense was now dwarfed by the knowledge that all my uncontrollable noises during our active lovemaking could be heard by any passersby.

“The whole incident disturbed me.”

“Don’t let it bother you. Vivian has a habit of believing everyone wants to hear every random thought that escapes her skull.”

Vivian said many things in an effort to undermine my new marriage, and she succeeded to a point. Repetitious venom echoed in my head refusing to be silent. With what little I knew of my husband, I couldn’t throw out her crass words as lies.

“Does she tell the truth?”

Rother shrugged as he rolled onto his back, looking at the ceiling. “I suppose her version, anyways.”

“She made improper comments about you.”

“Of course she did.” Rother snorted. “Vivian wishes I would rekindle our brief yet lackluster affair.”

My stomach dropped at his admission. I couldn’t disguise my disappointment as my breathing quickened. “You’ve been with her?”

“It was a number of years ago.” Rother’s tone was dismissive, but it didn’t improve my mood.

In her destructive manner, Vivian had told me as much, but I’d chased it away, clinging to a thready hope it was false. Yet, somehow, I heard the truth when she spewed it over me. Memories of all the new intimacies Rother taught me were now mixed with images of Vivian. No matter how pretty she was, how could anyone find her attractive enough to share such things after spending more than five minutes with the vacuous harpy? I felt unclean thinking of what they shared.

“How could you? With her?”

Rother sat upright and slung his feet over the edge to the floor. “I don’t appreciate your tone.”

“I’m not sure I like the idea of living in the same house as your scandalous indiscretions.” I couldn’t believe the standards in Francine could be so lax this scenario could be found acceptable.

“That’s enough,” he snarled.

Rother stood tall, his aura of command undiminished by his lack of clothing. The flickering light from the fireplace sharpened the shadows on his skin, giving his face an unexpected hardness. I, however, was too offended to cower.

“Just how many others are under this roof as well?”

With a growl, Rother squared his shoulders, his mouth drawing thin. “I will not dignify that with a answer. Nathan, I realize you were raised to see all physical relations as obscenity, but I will not sit back and be taken to trial for my past by a man who has none.”

“That is not my fault.”

“Your past, no, but your endless judgments are all yours. Judgments you learned from the very people who locked up your honor. Remember, without me you’d still be wearing that damned chastity belt. I think the least you could do is show me a little gratitude.”

I gasped at his audacity. “Like all the other virgins did?”

Rother said nothing, but his whole body tightened, radiating his displeasure. I hadn’t missed Vivian’s ranting including intentional remarks about many others—all virgins—and I needed to know. There was a theme emerging here I found disturbing. My inexperience was a requirement for our marriage contract and I held a naive fantasy over why a successful lord would make such a request. Especially from a land and culture as permissive as Francine. Perhaps I blocked it out, overwhelmed with all the changes in my life.

I watched Rother step over to the wardrobe and pull out a fresh outfit. He dressed himself in casual shirt and breeches as the silence drove needles into my spine. There was a pretense of ignoring me, but I knew his attention was primed for me to say even one more thing he didn’t like. The tension in the room would have given off a harrowing chord if a bowstring could be run across it. I couldn’t bring myself to be the one to end the impasse, or if I should be.

With his collar left open, Rother strode to the door, speaking over his shoulder as he turned the knob.

“I always knew I’d marry a man, but men with too much experience complicate relationships. I admit, Nathan, your spirit makes you more interesting than anyone else I’ve been with, but there is always a point where being demanding becomes tedious.”

Check back next Wednesday for the next installation… Be sure to take a read at the other briefers free reads this week here: Wednesday Briefs