Chapter 60 - Scars

Mrs. Crouch herself came back up to help Delaney dress. The woman was not much for doing hair so after a few minutes, Delaney had just laughed and said it would be fine in a braid. Mrs. Crouch had smiled in relief and been on her way.

Now, when Delaney stopped to gather her courage before leaving her room, it was not to face her husband but now his brother. Stepping into the dining room she found the pair of them already eating. Vincent smiled when he saw her and pulled her seat back for her.

Miles's eyes went from her to his brother then back. He looked annoyed but Delaney couldn't tell if it was with her or Vincent.

Her hands were throbbing from the continued use so she gingerly held her silverware as she ate. Vincent also wasn't eating much and she imagined he must still not be feeling well from his night of drinking.

"Did that happen last night?" Miles asked her abruptly, gesturing towards her hands with a fork, "That happened when you went in to try to talk to him?"

He cast an annoyed glance at Vincent who looked guiltily at her hands.

Delaney tucked them in her lap and raised her chin to meet Miles's stare. "They're fine," she answered steadily, "Just a few cuts."

Vincent looked down at his lap. Delaney saw this and her expression turned to open annoyance as she stared back at his brother.

"That's more than a few cuts Delaney. They should be bandaged."

"They were. I took them off a bit ago."

"Why?"

"So I could touch your brother without them interfering."

Miles choked on the food he'd been chewing and looked at her, appalled. Vincent looked up at her, a smirk on his lips.

"You're fine with her talking like that?" Miles demanded of Vincent.

"She's the mistress in her own home," Vincent shrugged, "She can speak however she pleases."

Delaney couldn't keep herself from smiling at her husband, his eyes sparkling with amusement.

"Cora won't be speaking like that in our home," Miles snapped.

This made Delaney laugh outright, "Oh, and do you think you will be the one to tell Cora what she can and can't say in her own home? I'd like to see you try that."

Vincent laughed at this too and they both looked at the fuming Miles who was sitting back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest, glaring at Delaney.

"I'm sorry," Delaney smiled at him sincerely, "I know you came here to make sure Vincent and I were both safe and I truly appreciate that. I'm sorry for teasing you."

Miles studied her, "What's happening here? The last time I saw you both you nearly hated one another. You didn't want to get married. You were honestly both pretty miserable."

"I don't know," Delaney smiled studying Vincent fondly, "But I think it's good."

They all went back to eating, quiet then for the remainder of their meal. Once he was done, Miles excused himself to go look at the stables.

Alone at last, Vincent helped Delaney from her chair and kissed her deeply before they came apart and he looked down at her with a grin.

"Thank you for standing up for me my Lady."

"Of course my Lord. You will always protect me and this is sort of my way of protecting you."

A laugh rumbled from his chest and he kissed her again.

"Come on," he said, "I want Harris to rewrap your hands."

"Alright," Delaney agreed, "But then you have to go spend time with your brother. I feel bad we gave him a hard time."

He looked amused but he agreed, "If you say so."

In Vincent's room, Delaney was surprised to see it was already perfectly clean. Had half the furniture not been missing you may not have even known something out of the ordinary had happened here. Vincent looked around in embarrassment, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You certainly cause a lot of destruction," she giggled as she kissed his cheek.

Harris found them and sat on the couch beside her as he wrapped her hands. This time he left her fingers free just covering the palms which was where the worst of the cuts were. Once he was done, Delaney thanked him and sent him with a message for Mrs. Crouch.

"Now," she smiled at Vincent, "You go and spend time with your brother and I will learn what I need to do to be a proper mistress of this manor."

Mrs. Crouch came shortly after he had gone to join Miles outside at the stables.

The rest of the day went by much smoother than it had began. Delaney learned about the running of the house and Vincent was able to spend time with his younger brother, relaxed and happy for the first time since possibly even before the war.

When they came together for meals, Miles watched them closely but didn't try to cause anymore trouble. In fact, he actually joined in telling Delaney stories about the house and some of the adventures he and Vincent had had together there.

After dinner, Vincent was slow as he walked Delaney to her room, having been all around the estate with his brother without resting.

"Come to bed with me," Delaney had said when they got to her room and she opened the door. She didn't let go of his hand, pulling him in after her.

In her room, she held her hair while Vincnet undid the long line of little buttons running down her back, freeing her from her dress. She pulled his shirt out of the waistline of his breeches and up over his head.

When Vincent was again bare chested before her, Delaney stepped back and studied him as she had that morning, blushing but with eyes sparkling with mischief.

"You like looking at me?" Vincent grinned, "I like looking at you too but I want to change one thing alright?"

Delaney bit her lip nervously but nodded. Vincent walked forward and she closed her eyes, not sure what he would do.

He took her long chestnut braid in his hands and untied the ribbon from the bottom, freeing her hair. He ran his fingers through it until her long hair hung down her back and over her shoulders.

He stepped back then and sat on the side of the bed, taking in the sight of her.

"You know," he looked at her seriously, "I think you're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

Delaney blushed darker and smiled, looking away. All her life she had felt she was pretty but somehow hearing him say she was beautiful now was different. Suddenly she really did feel beautiful.

Vincent held out his hand, gesturing for her to come to him. She blew out the candles beside the bed and did so, taking his unnaturally warm hand in hers. He pulled her down against him, kissing her gently on her neck, her chin, and then her lips.

Delaney felt herself almost melt into him. He rolled on his side and pulled her in against his chest, her head resting on his arm. She looked into his green eyes flickering with the reflection of the fire in the fireplace.

She brushed one finger along his lips and he kissed it. Delaney studied his face, her eyes running along the red scars that so dominated one side of it. When her gaze came back to his eyes she found he was watching her closely.

Delaney moved her hand and hovered for a moment over the scars. Vincent looked away from her but didn't move to stop her.

Ever so gently she let her fingertips move, brushing lightly over the marks on his cheek.

The first thing she noticed was that they were somehow even hotter than his already overly warm skin. The next thing, was how soft they were. She had expected them to feel rough or hard because of how red and angry they tended to look but they were nothing like that at all.

So anxious about this, Delaney realized how tense Vincent was then. She smiled and moved, kissing him on his marred cheek, feeling the hot raised lines beneath her lips.

When she moved back his eyes were on her in surprise.

"W-why would you do that?"

Delaney smiled, "I like looking at you and kissing you. Your scars are part of you."

"But you're not.... you're not repulsed? They're ugly and..."

"You're not ugly," she interrupted him, "No part of you is ugly Vincent. Before we were married I... I was just being cruel because I thought I wanted something different. It was wrong of me."

He watched her closely as if he was looking for a sign it was a lie. Eventually after finding nothing he relaxed and even smiled.

"I'm glad we didn't break our marriage contract. No matter what happens in the future."

Delaney forced herself to smile but didn't want to think about their arrangement and the deadline he'd made. She wished she could go back and change how she'd behaved.

Now though she kissed the tip of his nose, "Me too."

Vincent kissed her then, the deep, dizzing kisses that made Delaney warm all over. They fell asleep with her head on his chest, an arm draped across him, no longer worried with avoiding his scars.