Ella - [COMPLETE]

Chapter 4

Cecil proved to be an earnest husband. He was perfectly doting, and careful, and admiring. No woman could ask for more. They had their time apart, of course. Cecil was more concerned with the matters of running the estate, the daily meetings, the occasional trips to the city, whereas Ella was expected to run matters of the home, to manage the servants, and so on. Ella cherished the way that she and Cecil talked about their respective duties. It seemed that they both wished the roles could be reversed. Cecil was always talking about how they could change the decor of the house, and Ella was always giving him advice in matters of the estate. They both blushed at these ideas, and they felt intimate and revolutionary, as if no one else had thought them before.

In the bedroom, Cecil left some things to be desired. For the first three months of marriage, the two repeated the exact same activity, in the exact same position every week or so. Ella found it tiring and uneventful, yet Cecil seemed to find it just as fascinating and lust-inspiring every week. She wondered if she could talk to him about trying something different, but when it came down to it, she didn't know what to say.

She met many people through her husband and her new family, but there was one who stood out among the rest. Much to her embarrassment, she found her eyes searching every inch of his body, wondering at his muscular figure. He was an esteemed knight, Nikola Langdon, and he had been a friend of Cecil's family for years. He seemed one of Cecil's closest friends, as there were a group of four of them who went hunting together every weekend. She was never invited on this trips, as they wouldn't be befitting of a lady, although she expected she could hunt a good deal more efficiently than Cecil himself. 

There was one weekend in particular when her attraction to Nikola found an opportunity to flourish. He had arrived for the hunt, the only one of the four friends who hadn't received Cecil's letter explaining that he had to cancel the hunt to take care of business in the city. He had taken a carriage all the way from his home in the Southern parts of the region and inquired with Ella if he could stay the night.

Ella's immediate blush may have given her thoughts away. "Of course you can," she smiled.

Nikola dined with the family, and afterwards when everyone retired, the two found themselves on the balcony, sharing an after-dinner drink. They talked of his role as a knight, and Ella showered him in envious questions. When she admitted that she had enjoyed sparring when she was younger, he seemed delighted, and asked if he might spar against her.

"I could show you what I know now," she grinned, tilting he head. "After all, I don't think the family would much like it if they saw me using my free time tomorrow to spar with you."

"That would be fine," Nikola said. "Sneaking off in the middle of the night for a match doesn't seem much better though."

"What they don't know won't hurt them," Ella said.

The two were full of giggles as they slinked off toward the area where Cecil and his brothers practiced fencing. The armory was unlocked, and Ella turned to flash Nikola a grin before opening it. He was so handsome, she realized, his smile so silly and childish.

"We'll want to be in proper clothes," she said. "Especially after that drink, I'm not risking anything."

"Of course," Nikola said.

She wasn't sure what came over her, but she gleefully realized that she would need to undress a little to fit into the proper armor. An exposed shoulder was all it took to make Nikola speechless, eyes widened. "I--" she hesitated. "Typically remove my corset. It makes it difficult to breathe."

He blinked, but didn't offer to move away. "Alright," he said.

She turned away from him slightly to undo the ties, but the after-dinner drink had made her fingers stumble. Though she was a broad-shouldered and masculine woman, she did have ample, perky breasts which she was sure Nikola had his hungry attention focused on. It was so clear that he was watching her, that she couldn't help herself. She knew she wouldn't be met with resistance when she said, "Could you help me untie this one?"