Lord Theodore's Favorite Ritual
Chapter 44: The enchanted husband

Chapter 44: The enchanted husband

Late Evening.

Outside, The Barons Manse.

Critic Arley, Critic-Ishire.

***************

Theodore stood confident, magnificent and cold under the night sky waiting for his bride to come out of the manse that had been keeping her away from him all day, he could simply barge in and have her away but he would not be the man to take what his wife want away from her. So he waited and just as he began to think something must be happening wrong he saw her, no, he felt her and then her black as-night dress came into view before her

Theodore’s blue blue eyes lit up as he caught sight of her face under the moonlight, she looked ethereal and everything his. He couldn’t help the smile that gleamed in his eyes but the frown that settled on his lips. "Gooseberry, Sweet wife I have longed for your warmth since the second you stepped out of our mansion" he growled in complaint as she neared him, making her smile but still holding on to reasonability. "How long have you been out here, Theo, it’s cold this night" she pointed out with a small smile

"How can she keep her husband in this cold and still scold him for staying outside" a whisper reached the couple by the cart making Lydia flinch

Another added "I guess she refused to learn the ways of a lady" and low mumbles erupted.

The couple had the attention of all the exiting ladies, some wore a frown, others a scowl of disdain and the majority were ashen from fear.

"Come here," Theodore said as he pretended to be ignoring the crowd but he shall be back, she wasn’t close enough to him, she seemed to be taking her time walking and had stopped at an unreasonable distance in his opinion.

Lydia shook her head "Let’s go home, I’m tired"

"Gooseberry, come to me" he growled impatient and concerned. She sighed lowering her head as she reached him.

He snaked his arms around her waist, and tipped her chin up before he dropped a kiss on her forehead turning her beet red from the tip of her ears to the tip of her nose, what is he doing?

"You did a good job staying here till the end" he whispered into her ear, dropping a kiss there too and inhaling her intoxicating scent.

She giggled "You don’t know what you’re saying, women endure worse than this" Her point

"My wife should not endure half of it if I can take away the pain" he argued gazing into her beautiful soulful eyes.

She placed her left palm on his chest, the other on his upper arm "But I have to as the wife of the Lord, Let’s get inside before you get seen" she told, slightly tugging out.

"How does my Gooseberry know I’m in hiding?" He asked darkly

She shook her head "You’re not in hiding husband, you’re merely being a loner" Her reply was smooth.

"Now my pretty little wife is supporting me, I told you you’ll never be able to leave me if you keep being so sweet, I guess you don’t want to leave" he dropped a kiss on the tip of her nose.

"I don’t intend to leave Theo, the crowd is gathering" she added, refusing to look back but hearing them anyway.

Theodore who has missed his wife like missing his heartbeat could not Let anything part them now that he finally has her in his arms "Let them watch, I shall show them how-"

"And risk you becoming a more known physical figure?" She cut him off

He looked at her for seconds too long "You’re correct, let’s go" he pulled her and into the carriage they went.

They sit and suddenly Theodore is miles away in the carriage, as though he is avoiding her somehow, she frowned but she wouldn’t be an irresponsible nagging wife, she would be supportive and let him have space whenever he needed it but he was the one who had come here to pick her up why then is he facing the other side?

She turns to him abruptly but he is still lost in thought, making her frown, did she do something wrong? Does he find her a nuisance now that he has come for her? She sighed looking at her fingers.

********

They got to the mansion late at night "Welcome back Lady Theodore" Blanc said as he stretched his hand for her to take to help her down the carriage, she smiled through unease

"Oh Blanc, I barely saw you earlier" she confessed

"I know you did not, our lord here was being..." he trailed off making her smile despite having a dampened mood from Theodore’s strange behaviour.

Theodore reached her and then took her left wrist and calmly walked them inside, she looked at his side view but he looked straight ahead.

The moment they entered the warm mansion he let go of her wrist and led himself to his office, her heart dropped to her lower belly now.

Something is wrong.

"My lady, how was the party?" Dorathy’s strong voice interrupted her train of thought she turned to her with a slight unconscious frown on her face behind Dorathy was Joyce waiting patiently for Lydia’s answer.

"Did you enjoy it?" Joyce added her question

She nodded, Lydia "I... I did, it was lovely" her soft voice said otherwise

"I know you’re tired and probably want to get out of this dress but you might also want to talk about your experience, No?" Dorothy asked handing her a cup of tea, Lydia shook her head.

"You are right in your first observation, but your second assumption is wrong, I do not enjoy the idea of talking about my day," Lydia told them as she left them behind and headed for her room.

"Something is definitely wrong, the Lord went to pick her up but it seemed like they fought"

"Did you not see he was still holding her wrist when they stepped inside?"

"You are right but they could still be on bad terms, I tell you" Dorathy said suspiciously hating her lady being sad, she needed to do something.

Joyce helped Lydia get ready for bed after eating breakfast alone in the sparse dining hall and for some reason, Joyce paid a lot more attention to her today during the night ritual while Lydia was having a conflict in her head, she was absentminded all through the process until she had looked in the mirror when she was left alone to meet a different version of herself, she was sad but she could appreciate her beauty still, the lacey material was transparent and short, it had a stringey iron under her breast that helped push it up making them look bigger and more attractive maybe if Theodore sees her like this he would stop being so cold and impassive.

She smiled brightly when she felt a soft hairy nudge on her left foot, she bent down and picked it up, it purred holding her gaze with its pure black ones, she nuzzled him under her breast as she walked to the bed.

"Did you miss me too, Red?" she asked the white cat, it meowed nudging her palm that was massaging his head

"There is no mistake you did, You missed me enough to come to look for me" she added nodding

"But suddenly you lose your little light and ignore me?" She accused, Red growled as though trying to announce I didn’t do that! Then he started to wiggle in her arms

"Yes, I understand" She dropped it to the ground and sighed "Off you go" She looked out through the balcony and it was looking so dark outside she squirmed backwards, where did the moon go?

Theodore after getting ready for the night in a room that was not their bedroom, sighed and commanded his feet to the room he felt ashamed to step inside, Lydia had done nothing wrong but be his and he had shunned her the moment he felt inadequate, she needed her husband, her protector to defend her earlier but he was not ready to jeopardize his anonymity for that, he had comfortably chosen himself first and that was unacceptable, he had been thinking of ways to punish whoever talked about her all through the ride and only after Dorothy came to ask what happened to their lady for her mood to turn so sullen did he realize his change of attitude must-have affected her reaction, he needs to rectify that.

The wooden doors creaked open as he pushed it but he stopped shocked to his core when he saw her standing in front of the mirror in some flimsy material that showed him everything underneath the prim and proper Lydia, he took in a sharp breath.

She met his gaze and the uncertainty in them undid him, he stalked up to her and abruptly picked her off the floor, and she squealed in surprise and delight.

Her husband is back and she has a feeling tonight would change everything.

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