With My Body

by Jo Briggs

  "I am not being stubborn; there simply is nothing to worry unnecessarily about. I have just been working hard over the past month or so, and it’s now taking its toll now that I have slowed down. "

  "I just remember how ill you were before, when you were getting this tired, and I don't want it to be like that again."

  "I was not ill last time Will; I was merely pregnant and grieving my parent's death." She stated in a matter of fact tone, getting rather irritated that he would not let the subject rest.

  "You know that is not strictly true.”

  Elle pulled a face, knowing William was right, but she loathed admitting it to him. She hated going to the doctor, and wanted to put it off as much as possible.

  "Seriously Will, you are overreacting." Elle rolled her eyes at him, as she made a move to stand up from the sofa and head out of the room.

  "Elle, please," He leaned over and captured her hand as she moved away from the sofa.

  Sighing, Elle stopped. "Look, I still need to go to Paris, no matter what. However, if I still feel this exhausted when I return, I will agree to see the doctor then. Is that acceptable enough to stop your worrying?"

  "Yes, as long as you try to relax while you are there."

  "Ok, I will, now, please stop nagging." With that, she left the room to get changed into her nightclothes, leaving a subdued William behind, to stare at her retreating figure.

  She realised he was just worrying about her, but she hated him trying to pressurise her in order to do something he wanted her to do, rather than letting her do it in her own time. She was not stupid; she would see a doctor if she felt she needed to, and not just for some silly tiredness, and the odd headache.

  21 April 2010

  The next morning, they stopped briefly at a toy store, so that Christian could pick a console game to keep him occupied during some of his stay with his father.

  Elle also selected some more educational reading material for him. She was seriously considering having Christian home tutored from the beginning of the next school year, now that she was more permanently based in the north, so William would be able to get to know him. She just needed the Charlotte problem dealt with by William’s lawyer, then she would feel more comfortable living with him permanently, and having her house used solely as design space for her team.

  They had not yet discussing living arrangements, but she imagined William would not want to live in two separate houses for too long, if they were truly going to make a go of being a functional family unit.

  Much to Christian's delight, they departed back to Derbyshire via William's helicopter. The helicopter landed in a clearing not far from the house, allowing Christian to view his father's house, and the stables, for the first time.

  He whispered something to his mother before looking towards his father shyly. "Be brave Christian, and ask, I am sure he won't bite." Elle teased, smirking at William, who raised a querying eyebrow at the whispering pair, as he looked up from some paperwork he had been browsing through, that Elijah Croft had couriered across before they left.

  "Sir-papa, can I go and see the horses, please," the boy asked in a quiet tone. Although he felt more relaxed around the tall formidable man, than he did initially when it came to asking him direct questions, he became shy all over again.

  William looked at his son with a softened expression. "Have you been around horses before?"

  Christian nodded positively. "I can ride quite well."

  "Ahh, well then, we shall visit the horses together, after the lunch, Mrs. Reynolds has organised for us." William replied. "Perhaps your mama will join us, too."

  Elle smiled at this suggestion, although her energy would deplete considerably by such an exercise. "I look forward to accompanying you both." She knew that going for a ride in the afternoon, rather than taking a preferred lie down while the boys went for a ride by themselves, would keep William from asking how she felt.

  Sometime later, as they settled down to lunch, Elle allowed herself to wonder more about the Charlotte problem. William had not mentioned it since their reconciliation, but she was aware he had received a few phone calls from Elijah Croft’s office, so it was obviously progressing.

  “Have you heard whether Charlotte has been served with that court injunction yet?”

  “Yes, she has been served with the injunction preventing her selling any further details about you, or me.”

  “And the statement about Christian?”

  “Well, I thought perhaps you would prefer that to be published once we have dinner with Jess and Charlie tomorrow night, since I imagine you would want them to hear it from us, rather than the newspapers.”

  Elle nodded. She was not looking forward to Jess finding out that she had been kept in the dark all these years.

  “What about your paternity test?”

  “I will organise that for when you are in Paris.”

  “I would like to discuss Lily’s future with us as a family unit when I return. I mean, if we are going to be a couple, then I need to start getting to know her more.”

  William smiled, secretly thrilled with the prospect. In an ideal world, he would love Charlotte to have nothing to do with Lily, and Elle to become her true mother. She would be a much more stable role model in years to come, than Charlotte ever could be.

  With the family of three full of their lunch, they set out for a brisk stroll to the stables. With Christian walking between them, they each held one of his hands as they strode along; playing a little game of lifting him off the ground by his arms, so his legs took large flying leaps, before he bounced down on the ground, and lifted into the next leap. Christian giggled with each leap, enjoying the wind rushing into his face, as he flew through the air in short busts, and by the time they arrived at the stables, his cheeks had become quite rosy.

  William spoke briefly to one of his stable hands, before leading his son, and Elle, into the large buildings that had been recently rebuilt to accommodate his expanding horse numbers, although, in the spring and summer months, the mares and their foals were kept out in several substantial fields.

  In addition to the farm’s breeding stock, he kept his own horse, Fitz, which was named thus by teenaged Gina, and about ten others of varying sizes. He had the perfect horse from among these ten for Christian, a horse that he had decided not to sell as a yearling, as it seemed to lack the racing instinct, preferring to give its rider a more gentle and docile journey. The horse was just two-year grey colt, and stood smaller than most other of his horses of that age.

  William brought the horse out of its stall slowly, and led it out into the stable courtyard, so he could allow the horse and little boy to become acquainted.

  "What is his name?" Christian asked, timidly.

  "Storm," William replied, handing Christian some pieces of apple to offer the horse.

  Tentatively, the small boy stepped up to the side of the short horse, and began to lightly stroke it's mane in one hand, while offering an individual piece of apple with the other, which the horse accepted instantly. With each apple piece given in a similar fashion, the horse was soon nuzzling his new friend, in the hope of more.

  "I think we should go get him saddled up." William signalled for a nearby stable hand, to take Storm away, to get him ready him for their ride, along with Fitz and Pepper.

  The three of them set off at a steady trotting pace around the lake, and beyond, to a horse trail that skirted around the outside of a section of woodland. Stopping occasionally, William pointed out differing buildings that his ancestors constructed at various times, to start familiarising his heir with his family history.

  They rode out for about a half-hour before turning back; Elle tried to hang to the rear slightly, allowing William to bond with Christian as much as possible. Their son seemed to be more confident in conversing with his father knowing his mother was near.

  Since they had not had much time to themselves, since their start of their impromptu lovemaking had been interrupted, so
William asked Mrs. Reynolds to organise a memorable dinner for just the two of them, once Christian had gone off to bed.

  Before Christian's bedtime, the three of them spent time in proximity, just getting used to the familiarity a family often took for granted.

  With a storybook read out aloud by all three of them, Christian was content to go to sleep without too much resistance, leaving his mother and father with enough time to get cleaned up, and dressed for dinner.

  A table for two was laid out on a terrace outside, and decorated with candles; a couple of patio heaters, alight to offset the coolness of the spring evening, were placed nearby.

  Elle had dressed up in one of her creations, of a one shoulder dress coloured in a royal blue swirl print, that had a corset bodice that flared out at the hip into a full skirt, that fell to just below her knee. The corset pushed up her amble bosom, and made her waist appear even slimmer than it already was.

  William had changed into a smart pair of navy pin stripped trousers, and a light-blue open-necked shirt. His eyes flashing with hunger for his dinner partner, as she stepped out onto the terrace, their gaze drifting to the creamy, tanned top of her breast, before moving up to her face, and moving to greet her with a light kiss. "You look lovely, darling," His voice husky.

  "Thank you," she replied, blushing as she did a little teasing curtsey before him, causing him to chuckle lightly.

  They took their places at the table, and began to enjoy the first of three courses as the evening stretched out before them. The two of them discussed their plans for their days apart.

  Elle was to spend her time staying at the Pemberley hotel in central Paris, catching up with her sister, Cate, and dealing with a few problems in the Paris store.

  In addition to William’s doctor's appointment to get his DNA tested, he had several business meetings, to be held at the London house with Charlie, Richard, Evan and another of his Chief executives, to discuss a large venture he was considering taking on in Australia, to complement the hotel chain.

  With the third course of a light berry sorbet devoured enthusiastically, they adjourned to the library for coffee. They discussed at length, Elle’s idea to remove Christian from the school in London, and have him home tutored, while she wound down her involvement with the fashion label temporarily to commence on the costume drama, and the charity foundation, which would probably take up the next year or so.

  “How would you feel about taking up permanent residence here at Pemberley? I know you have only just completed your house in Harrogate, but I would like us to begin to live together as soon as possible.” William's eyes were full of anxious hope, as he watched her for any clue to what she was thinking.

  “Pemberley rather Winster House?”

  “Winster holds too many unpleasant memories from last time, and now that the renovations are complete, it could be a perfect time to move into Pemberley with Christian and Lily.”

  “Well, it could make sense to be here, rather than Harrogate, now that Philip Elton has agreed to use Pemberley as the location for the filming, and it could give more space at Harrogate, to have the design team, and any staff for the charity foundation.”

  “Does that mean you agree?”

  “Yes, it does, as much as it grieves me not to have spent much time there, after all the time spent with the architect and interior designer, but it’s logical to be here, rather than there.”

  With the talking done, their mouths were soon engaged in art of kissing as they snuggled close on one of the large leather sofas.

  "Do you think we should take a dip in the Jacuzzi" William suggested mischievously, as his weight on her body pressed her hard into the seat of the sofa as he leaned down to continue trailing kisses down her neck.

  It was past midnight, and William had already dismissed his housekeeper for the night, so he knew they would not be disturbed.

  "Ok," was all Elle managed to mumble, through a sudden gasp of delight.

  Barefoot, they made their way to the Jacuzzi, which was placed in a secluded part of the rose garden, with a trellis and a wall of climbing flowers surrounding it, bringing their remaining wine, and glasses, with them.

  With the Jacuzzi, soon bubbling away, the pair quickly disrobed to bare flesh, before slipping into the water, and getting lost in the naughtiness of a naked midnight dip. This time their lovemaking remained uninterrupted to an immensely satisfying conclusion. It was as if the previous seven years had melted away. He still could not quench his thirst for her once he started, so was soon carrying her off to his bedroom for a repeat performance.

  Family ties

  William had noticed Elle was unusually subdued for most of the day. Despite an early-morning continuation of their previous night’s amorous activities, he started to wonder if she were regretting recommencing their intimacy so quickly.

  Elle sat at his desk, busy drawing some design sketches, when he walked into the study and closed the door, to stop innocent ears hearing their discussion.

  She did not seem to notice his presence until he walked around the desk, and moved her mass of curls aside to kiss the side of her neck, “Mmm, that a nice distraction,” she said turning to smile up at him.

  “Are you ok? You have been quiet all day.”

  “Yes I am ok, just trying to concentrate on these, and rather apprehensive about how tonight might go.”

  William nodded understandingly, perching on the edge of his wide desk next to where Elle was curled up in his chair. “Do you want me to give Charlie a call and put him in the picture first, maybe he can soften the blow by telling Jess himself? It might be easier for her to hear it from her husband, and be easier on your nerves.”

  Elle sighed, “Won’t that not just seem as I am shirking my responsibility to take the blame.”

  “Well, maybe, but you did have your reasons, however, misguided they might seem in hindsight. Plus, I should hold my hands up, and take some heat too.”

  “We make a good pair, don’t we?”

  William leaned over and drew her from the chair into his arms for a kiss. “I will go call Charlie, why don’t you go have a relaxing bath. I will take care of Christian’s bedtime.”

  ~~~

  They arrived at the Bingham large residence just after eight. Jess greeted them in a pair of crutches, dressed in designer jogging hooded top and sweat pants, grumbling that her leg cast stopped from her dressing more smartly. Charlie, William, and Elle teased her good-naturally that they would expect her to buy a whole range of coloured coordinated jogging outfits to wear in the coming weeks. Jess was extremely particular about her clothing, and would never be seen dead out-and-about with something that did not colour coordinate perfectly.

  Their dinner fare was just a modest roast pheasant, with celeriac and bacon, cooked by Jess as much as possible with a usually banned Charlie allowed in the kitchen, to help Jess with the tasks that the crutches now made impossible.

  The guys went into the sitting room to pour out some predinner drinks, as Elle went into the kitchen to help Jess serve up, and so she could talk to her privately.

  “How are you feeling?” Elle asked.

  “Not too terrible. Charlie has been great. He has been running around getting the ingredients I needed, and doing the laundry without one compliant. I have spent most of the day sitting down with my foot up, but I truly wanted to prepare dinner myself.”

  “It must be driving you crazy, not being able to do everything yourself.”

  Jess smiled and nodded, before becoming serious. “So Charlie told me what Will called and told him. That is one hell of a secret to keep.”

  Elle braced herself for Jess’ criticism over her silence. “I know I should have told you, but it was easier not to correct your assumption that Christian was someone else’s child.

  Jess’ voice quivered as she spoke. “Did you not trust me to be quiet?”

  “Things were so tense between you and me since I had left Will; I did not want any more friction. At th
e time, I believed he did not want to have anything to do with the pregnancy, so I was angry, I didn’t want him to know anything about our life.”

  “I would not have discussed Christian with William if that was what you had wanted.”

  “You have to realise I was in a deep abyss of pain; with the miscarriage and break-up, and I thought you would be on his side, so would pressure me into giving him another chance. I could not have taken the pain of rejection twice.”

  “Does Cate know the truth?”

  Elle nodded, “If it makes any difference, she did try to persuade me many times to tell you, but so much time passing by, it became harder to explain to you.”

  “Charlie mentioned something about Charlotte having to do with all the mix-ups.”

  “Yes, she used her job to access his phone, and delete my messages when I tried to tell him. I did not know this for four years. I found out at the party the night before your wedding how wrong I had been.”

  “I did always wonder what set you off having to leave that night.”

  Elle explained all the conversation, she overheard that night between Charlotte and William, and how she could only think of protecting Christian from having a connection to William, if he were going to marry such a woman.

  “I cannot say I am not hurt to be the last one in the family to discover the truth. However, I kind of understand. He seems happy despite everything, though.” Jess observed begrudgingly, tilting her head to the loud cries of the two men shouting at the TV, which they had turned on to catch the highlights of a sports game.

  Elle smiled weakly, as she could hear the two men rumbling with loud laughter.

  “Are we ready to call them into dinner, or do you want to leave them to watch their program first?”

  “Yes, call them through; Charlie can just set it to record.”

  The meal was like old times; the foursome bantered conversation off each other, just as they did in the times when both couples had been dating years before.