She was indeed an angel sent to him by God to deliver him from the demons of the past that haunted him. Since the day he saw his mother's lifeless body floating in this river, he always thought of the body of water as evil.
It was funny how the clear, pure water of this particular river suddenly became evil simply because his mother had decided to take it as her final resting place.
Today, standing here with his wife, those dark memories were slowly being overpowered by new ones. Memories of sharing a passionate moment with his wife.
After this day, whenever he saw the river, he would remember the feel of his delectable wife's wet body in his arms, her beautiful smile, and the sound of her musical laugh.
"Thank you," he whispered into her ear.
"While I am not aware of the reason why you are thanking me, I am never one to pass on a chance to have you in my debt. So, you are welcome Your Grace."
He chuckled quietly at her response. He was so in love with this feisty woman he had married. So in love that it was ridiculous.
"I do have a question though," she said. Reluctantly, he released her so he could look into her face.
"Yes, my love," he answered, smiling down at her.
"Well, for someone who claims to hate water, you definitely seem to be at home in the water."
"I used to practically live in the water once, when I was very young. Before my mother died and everything changed. Sometimes I think she knew how much I loved the water and in her resentment, even in her death, she sought to destroy everything I hold dear. She is quite capable of that."
"I do not believe that a mother would go out of her way to scar her child so deeply with her death. I think she was ill for a very long time and the times she treated you badly, I think she was just grasping for a reason at all to survive, even if she had to blame an innocent person. It was quite unfortunate and cruel of her to transfer her hatred and dissatisfaction with your father to you, but at the core she was just a young woman in pain who had nobody to rely on. If you think of it that way, you might be able to forgive her one day."
Instead of responding to her, he gathered her into his arms, the feel of her body in his arms calming the storm that raged in his heart—a storm that she seemed determined to quench. But his demons had haunted him for too long, and they were never going to be vanquished easily.
With her beside him, he had hope that one day, he just might be free of them.
"What would I do without you, my duchess?"
"Frankly, mothing. Of course I am well aware of my value, and I am never shy to declare it."
"You are definitely not shy."
"I never pretended to be."
"I do not think you have a single pretentious bone in your sweet body. Your temper will not allow it."
"I do not have a temper!"
"Says the lady who never hesitated to tell me off, even though she was quite aware of the stories circulating thetonabout me."
"If I have a temper, you have an even more volatile one."
"How so?" he asked with mock outrage.
"Well , your temper was the reason you had a black reputation to start with -"
"Those are just exaggerated rumors."
"Says the man who stormed away and stayed away from the manor for several years simply because he saw me standing in front of an open window, convinced that I wanted to kill myself. As if I would kill myself because of a man."
"You were virtually hanging out of the window."
"I was admiring the flowers."
"You could have done so standing upright. You could have fallen over."
"I was in no danger of falling until you screamed at me."
