The Invisible Husband

by Cari Hislop

  “I wouldn’t…my father walled it up after Grandfather killed himself.”

  “Good! Come sit on the bed. You can tell me what you think of these dresses.”

  “I can’t. I look like a monster in candlelight; I frighten myself.”

  Eve snuffed out the candle next to the bed and threw her magazine on the floor. The light from the fire and the two small candle sconces either side of her dressing table mirror threw the bed into deep shadow. “I’m having a hard time hearing you all the way over there.” The curtain rings slowly rattled towards the wall as the shadow pushed the curtains back and gingerly climbed onto the mattress beside her. “Here, have a sweet…”

  “Ouch! That was my good eye.”

  “You will insist on having tête a têtes in the dark my Lord…your feet must be freezing. Here, you can share my hot water bottle… Those are my feet.” She could feel the shadowy man looking at her, not that he could see anything. “Have you eaten? My dinner tray is coming at six.”

  “I ate at five. My Lady…Eve…I came to…”

  “To kiss me?”

  Eve felt the mattress move jostling her against the headboard. She felt the shadow lean towards her and sigh against her cheek. “No, but…”

  “But you want to?”

  “Yes, but…”

  “But you can’t see me so you don’t know where my lips are?”

  “Madam you’re tormenting me!”

  “Am I? Are you in love with me?”

  Something hard whacked against the headboard causing the shadow to groan. Eve felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up as a long sigh warmed her ear and ruffled her hair. Invisible fingers reached out and jabbed her in the arm before lightly tracing their way to her face where they caressed her cheek. “You’re so lovely in every way.” She allowed a cautious arm to slide behind her back as more invisible fingers came to rest on her waist. He might be as ugly as sin, but his husky whisper and soft touch were causing the most delicious sensations. She consciously leaned towards him causing the hand on her waist to hold her closer. “My silly heart heard you speak and the stupid thing abandoned me to trail you like a dog. I had no say in the matter. It’s led me by the nose for the last six months. I’ve been a complete fool, but I…you must think me a wicked heartless oaf.”

  “Not exactly; more of a one-eyed demon who secretly reads ladies fashion magazines. I was frightened out of my wits until I spoke with you this morning. I’d have preferred to have had a say in who I was chained to for life, but I’d rather be chained to you than Lord Mulgrave. You don’t look like a rat do you?”

  “No!”

  “That’s a relief…”

  “Eve…”

  “Adam?” Her silent amusement seemed to discompose the arm around her waist.

  “Eve…I need to…”

  “Kiss me?”

  “No I need to tell you…Comment Diable! It feels so good to hold you…” Cautious invisible lips brushed her temples and hovered over her cheek.

  “What do you need to tell me Adam?”

  The fingers caressing her face paused as he exhaled into her ear. “Just because I want you as my wife doesn’t mean…” Three sharp taps on the door were swiftly followed by six soft chimes. He clutched her tighter as if he was afraid he’d never hold her again. “Blasted clock! There’s never enough time…”

  “My dinner tray…Come! I’m starving; you can tell me what you need to say while I eat. I must have walked five miles exploring the house and gardens…” Light spilled into the room as the door silently swung open. The demon’s hands retracted as he rolled off the bed and flung the pink and white striped bed curtains down the rail to hide his exit. He’d disappeared back into the secret passage before she could get out of the bed. Her husband certainly moved quickly for an old man. “I’ll eat near the fire…thank you.” Eve sat down at the folding table and lifted off the silver lid and inhaled the smell of roast beef and potatoes. The extra light was swept back into the hall as the servants closed the door behind them. She paused as she listened for movement in the secret passage. Would he come back or hide away in his room?

  Chapter 10

  Adam waited behind the secret door, his heart pressed against its cage in furious rage at being deprived her presence. He could still feel her laughing in his arms; he moaned as the rest of his body joined his silly heart in grandiose demands. Remembering the soft give of her skin under his hand made him feel faint as he imagined her returning passionate kisses. Was he losing his mind or had she leaned against him? Hissing curses on his ugly face he rubbed his aching chest and prayed his servants would hurry and take away their light.

  The faint closing of a door signalled his heart to increase its efforts. Adam pushed the button that released the sliding door and cautiously stepped back into his wife’s room. She was sitting at a folding table near the fire facing the flames. His heart sighed in relief and dragged him across the room. Stopping behind her, his heart ordered him to touch her hair. He silently commanded his inner organs to be reasonable; the woman was eating. She didn’t want her demon-husband playing with her hair. His heart sneered at the pathetic excuse for self-denial and leaned against its cage as if it could will itself against her. What if she chose an annulment? The possibility made his heart whimper in pain, as it panted, ‘Eve…Eve…Eve…’ After six months Adam knew his heart wouldn’t cease calling for her. If he lost her, his heart would slump in despair and pant her name until it expired. He stared at long golden brown rippling heavy and straight over her back half way to the floor. Juliet must have ensnared Romeo with similar hair. His hand reached out to touch it, but retracted as she turned her head.

  “I was hoping you’d return.” His heart sighed in ecstasy urging him closer. “What did you need to tell me? Shall I promise not to talk to snakes or eat any apples that have fallen from the tree of knowledge of good and evil?”

  Adam smiled at her teasing tone. “May I touch your hair?”

  “If you wish…” Adam carefully scooped up two handfuls of the ends and kissed them temporarily soothing his heart. He inhaled her scent and reluctantly released it, enviously watching it rest against her warmth. “Did you spend the whole day in your chamber?”

  “Yes.”

  “Will you leave your room tomorrow?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Will you come for a walk with me tomorrow after nightfall? You could wear your demon cloak. I can’t take another step this evening; my feet are killing me. What’s the matter? Why are you cursing your heart? What has the poor creature done now?”

  Adam’s heart sneered in triumph at having such a protector. “It hates me.”

  “Why would your heart hate you?”

  “Because of what I’m going to say…” Adam leapt back into the darkness as her whole body swivelled around in her chair with apprehension.

  “What are you going to say?”

  Adam gulped down his fears and ignored his raging heart. “It isn’t faire for me to expect you to accept this ridiculous situation, just because I want you to.” Even with her face in deep shadows he could see she was dismayed.

  “You’ve changed your mind? Have I said something to upset you?”

  “No, of course not! It isn’t faire to expect you to endure the weight of…marriage with a man you’ve never met. I’m not a brute. If you desire an an…” Adam groaned as his heart threatened to explode. “…if you desire…”

  “An annulment?”

  “If you desire one…you may have it.”

  “But you don’t want one?”

  “No.”

  “So you’d be happy if I chose to remain your wife?”

  “Yes! I’m sure you’ll need time to decide…”

  She appeared to pause as the clock chimed a quarter past and then turned her eyes back to his shadow. “I’ll stay.” Adam was struck speechless as his heart jumped for joy and dragged him back to her chair as she turned back to finish her dinner.

&nbs
p; Creeping up behind her, he ran his hand through her hair. “You will? Why?”

  “Why not?”

  “You must have a reason.”

  “You appear to be a decent sort of demon. If I must be sold off like chattel it might as well be to a decent madman. Who knows what I might feel in a few years; I may even become fond of your heart. The poor creature is certainly suffering neglect.”

  Clutching handfuls of hair to his chest, Adam kissed the top of her head as his heart purred with pleasure. “May my heart come to you tonight?”

  “Not tonight, I’m tired…” Adam grimaced as his heart theatrically drooped in disappointment. “…besides, I think it’s only faire that I know what my husband looks like before I allow him his conjugal rights. The footman could slip into my bed in the dark and whisper sweet nothings. How would I know he wasn’t you?”

  Adam groaned as his forehead came to rest against the top of her head. “I can’t let you see me. If you know what I look like before you love me, you won’t ever let me come to your bed; you won’t ever love me.”

  “Adam, you have a scar on your face, not three eyes and four noses.”

  “I’m not paranoid out of vanity; I know how ladies react on seeing…”

  “I disagree.”

  “You can’t disagree with my personal experiences.”

  “Yes I can; how do you know the ladies who rejected your face didn’t like how you smelled? Did you always bathe before searching for company? Did you wear too much cologne? Perhaps the ladies didn’t like your hair. Perhaps they thought you had silly legs.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with my legs or my hair.”

  “Do you have your own teeth?”

  “Most of them…I’m only thirty-seven!”

  “Perhaps they thought your breath bad. Perhaps you’d just eaten onion soup. You may have emitted a decidedly unpleasant smell. Perhaps they thought you were wearing a hideous coat. Perhaps…”

  “Ladies don’t share my bed out of charity.”

  “Perhaps they thought you were parsimonious.”

  “I paid what they asked!”

  “How do you know they didn’t expect twice as much as you paid?” Adam clenched his teeth as he looked down at the serene head of hair beneath him. Was she trying to upset or comfort him? He was too irritated to tell as her face turned to the side outlining her profile against the firelight. “How do you know they weren’t feeling ill and were desperate for any excuse for an evening alone? You can never begin to know why someone decides to do something unless you’ve spent time as a fly on their wall and inhaled their most private thoughts. You’re my husband. If I think you the ugliest man in the world I may insist you come to me in the dark, but I wouldn’t deny you my bed; I find your touch quite pleasant.” Adam’s heart lurched to its feet in celebration as he flushed with pleasure. She found his touch quite pleasant? Merciful heavens, he could almost feel her lying in his arms returning his kisses. “Wake me in the morning. Open the curtains and let me see your face.”

  Adam moaned as his heart begged him to take the gamble. “How will you fall in love with me if you see my ugly face?”

  “How will I fall in love with you if I never see your face? How can I know who you are without seeing how your words match your expressions? Imagine how you’d feel if some ugly woman you’d never seen fell in love with you and paid all your debts in exchange for your hand in marriage, but afraid of being found repulsive she refused to show herself. Could you fall in love with her?”

  “I don’t know…”

  “Exactly.”

  “My situation is totally different!”

  “How?”

  “I’m a man.”

  “You never debated at College did you?”

  “There’s no point debating. I know I’m right.”

  “Are you sure you fell in love with the right woman?”

  “Yes.” Adam watched over her shoulder as she wiped her mouth and drained her glass and wondered if he dared give in to his heart’s latest demand that he kiss the hollow where her shoulder met her neck.

  “Do you trust me?”

  “Why?” His wary lips paused half way to their desired destination and kissed the edge of her ear.

  “When the clock chimes half past, I’m going to close my eyes for about a minute. You may kiss me on the lips and then leave for the night. Do you trust me to keep my eyes closed? How badly do you want to kiss me?”

  His lips pressed against her shoulder, but his heart was no longer interested in unresponsive flesh as it hammered its cage in excitement. “Are you taunting me?” The hoarse words were squeezed from a throat tight with longing.

  “No, I’m daring you.” She started pushing the small folding table holding her tray off to the side of her chair. He automatically reached out to help revealing his hand. “I see my demon-Lord has taken human form. You have a very nice hand. What colour is your hair? It looks dark.”

  “Black…I wear it cut short. I used to wear it long, but it has an obnoxious wave that makes people think I’m some sort of idiot poet. Combined with the eye patch…”

  Her shoulders shook with laughter as she turned her profile to reveal her smile. “Combined with the eye patch you look like a poet-pirate? Have you ever written poetry?”

  “Only as a school boy…there was this girl. She laughed at me when I read it to her and that was before I had to wear an eye patch. I was quite…”

  “Handsome? She was probably nervous.”

  “No, she told me I was a silly fool. She’d set her sights on an older boy; horrid wench!”

  “You wrote her poetry and not me? I’m jealous.”

  “You wouldn’t be if I allowed my silly heart to mash up its most tender sentiments and carve them into a piece of paper. You’d laugh yourself sick; my heart couldn’t bear it.”

  “I’m glad to hear you take some care of the poor creature. The clock is chiming six-thirty.” Adam froze, agonised by indecision. If he kissed her she might open her eyes. His first kiss might be his last, but if he didn’t kiss her he wouldn’t be able to sleep.

  He tentatively inched around the chair until he was looking down on her smiling upturned face. Her eyes were closed, but for how long? “Are you going to kiss me or stand there warming your backside?” Adam could hear his heart panting for the offered privilege. Giving in, he took hold of her face and lent over to taste his wife. Coming into contact with soft warm skin, his heart firmly took control. He could smell mulled wine. Then he could taste it as her lips freely parted accepting his tender kisses causing his heart to press flat against its cage in ecstasy. His aching back was silenced by propping a knee beside her on the chair allowing him to wallow in bliss.

  Releasing her parted lips, he hovered inhaling her breath until a curious hand touched his leg resting on the chair. Did she want another kiss? His heart was quick to oblige as her other hand climbed up his coat collar, up over his cravat and came to rest against his cheek. “Adam…” The word was whispered against his lips roasting his inner organs; she liked his kisses. He pressed his lips to her cheek and inhaled the scent of heaven.

  “Yes?”

  “It’s a quarter to seven…”

  “Is it?” Adam’s senses focused on worshiping the left corner of her mouth.