love is blindness Who: William and Emmeline. What: A lazy day prior to supper. Where: The new home of the Rothschilds in Brooklyn. When: 1869. Warnings: None. Progress: Gdocs, complete.
At thirty-one, William had settled into his job at a new law office where he shared the limelight with another lawyer. Together, they took each case by storm and raked in money quicker than they had ever done before.
Emmeline was also becoming quite the starlet in her own right as she was invited from one party to the next, showcasing her talent to commune with spirits. Together, the couple were able to gift one another extravagantly for their fifth wedding anniversary: a brownstone townhome in the developing area of Brooklyn. It was a huge house compared to the small apartment they previously lived in but a beautiful example of how their fortunes had blended together to give them the life they had both dreamt of.
It was half a year into living at the brownstone that William began to find himself more stressed and a little less agreeable than he previously was. He knew that anything that went up would eventually come down and for his career to progress so rapidly after the war, it was only a matter of time before it began a downhill descent.
With the end of the Civil War, law was changing. Lawyers were becoming more aggressive and it wasn’t quite as easy for a smart lawyer to simply win cases. By late August, William had lost more cases than won during the course of the year and it was beginning to hang heavily on him. Emmeline continued to succeed, which he was proud and grateful for, but he was left in her dust and feeling sorry for himself. They had always worked better as a team and he didn’t want her to share the sole responsibility of bringing money to their home. It made him feel guilty and as though he were a failure, both to himself and to Emmeline.
But Emmeline's presence continued to cheer him and time spent at home with her always chased away his demons. He particularly enjoyed days such as this, with the tall windows of their second floor bedroom open to the late summer air, curtains blowing back, and the pair of them naked in bed far too late into the day.
“How much longer can we lay here,” William murmured against the curve of Emmeline’s neck. They were due at the Smith’s home for supper that evening, something William found himself looking forward to -- he enjoyed the comradery of Patrick Smith, Emmeline being able to speak with his wife, and the Smith’s small children running about underfoot -- but it had been a lazy day and he found it hard to pull himself away from Emmeline, particularly after another lost court case just the day prior.
"For the rest of the day, and into the evening, if you'd like," she replied, her fingers lazily massaging his head, tangling in his hair. He was warm, warmer than the air around them, and they lay in the mess of sheets their lovemaking had left behind. William's recent losing streak had turned into Emmeline comforting him in the best way she knew how, and she had to admit that there was a perverse sense of enjoyment that she got from seeing him morose. Her other hand was thrown back against the pillows, her chest exposed to the air. "We don't have to go over for dinner. Maybe have something delivered instead?" She turned her head, pressing her nose into his dark curls.
"Patrick might only want to talk about the court case anyway. It involved another officer, didn't it?"
“It did,” William replied after a moment. He fell silent again, the weight of what Emmeline said seeming to keep him quiet, then moved slightly to rest his head more properly on her shoulder. He moved his hand up her stomach, just barely touching her pale skin. “But I can’t discuss the case with him. He surely already knows all about it, but legally I can’t share any information with him. A conflict of interest and all that.”
He sighed, his cool breath rushing over Emmeline’s breast, hardening her nipple. His fingers trailed over it lightly, causing goosebumps to rise on her skin; she squirmed slightly under his touch, but not away from it. “But I do want to go to their home for supper. I enjoy it, don’t you? Their company is lovely and the children are sweet.” Despite being married for five years, the pair had yet to have any children of their own. Emmeline didn’t seem interested and William wasn’t quite swayed by the idea either. They both were so busy that it seemed pointless. But William did enjoy his brief moments around Patrick’s children. He particularly liked being able to leave and return to his quiet home without the cries and complaints that came with parental duties. “And Mrs. Smith makes such wonderful chicken dumplings. Plus, I suppose it’s best to get out of the house and see the light of day, even if it’s for a small bit.”
He fell silent again, his fingers growing still on her breast. His hand lowered and covered her chest lightly. Emmeline's hand resting on the pillow descended to cover his, pressing it down harder on her flesh.
"If you want to," she replied, the slight lilt in her voice displaying a pout. "If you'd rather do that then stay here with me. I guess I must bore you."
William spread his fingers out over her breast then moved them back together, pinching her nipple slightly as he shifted onto his free arm and looked at his wife. “Hush, love,” he said with a smile. He quickly kissed her pouting lip, his hand pinching at her nipple again. Emmeline moaned softly against his mouth. He was spent; they'd already made love twice, after sleeping off their late night interactions. Gone were the awkward days of attempting to maneuver around William’s injury. They had become accustomed to one another’s bodies, and William was able to support his weight on his leg again -- at least in bed. “We have tomorrow as well, or do you have another ghostly party to attend?”
Emmeline sucked on her lower lip for a moment, shaking her head. "No, I'm free. But the next night I'm at the Lawson's, and the Society for Paranormal Research has asked me to sit in for a survey. I've got a few more engagements the next week, though, so I don't think we'll see too much of each other." She chewed her lip, eyes growing worried. "You're not...upset, are you?"
William sighed in a way that indicated he certainly was upset. But as he looked at Emmeline, there was feeling in his eyes. “Not with you,” he admitted, pulling his hand free to cup her cheek. “More so with myself than anything. I’m frustrated by all the lost cases and I feel… I feel that I’m failing you. Thank god you’re bringing in a small fortune, but I’m not pulling my weight. I’m not doing my husbandly duties and I can’t for the love of God figure out how to get out of this series of losses.”
Emmeline frowned, her hands moving into and threading fingers through Will's hair.
"You're not failing me, at least not in the ways that are important to me," she said, pulling his face toward hers. She pressed a kiss to the side of his mouth. "I mean, three times in about a day isn't bad. Those are the husbandly duties I care about." Her nails lightly raked his scalp as she studied his face.
"We'll be fine; and if it comes to it, I'll take care of you. Would that be so bad?"
“No,” William admitted, although his heart wasn’t fully into it. “I think I would go insane if I didn’t have something to do though. I’d follow you around to all of your readings like a loyal dog and drive you insane as well. But if you cared for me, it wouldn’t be all that bad. I know most look down upon us for both working, but I have to admit I somewhat like it--your independence. It makes you all the more fascinating.” He quickly kissed the tip of her nose; she scrunched it in response, a smile beginning on her mouth. “But for our sanity, I hope work picks up for the better, and soon, otherwise you’ll have plenty of other days like this with multiple romps in the bedroom.”
His grin was wolfish and he shifted on the bed to roll on top of Emmeline and pressed his lower half against her naked skin to indicate how completely fine he was with that particular idea. Emmeline squeaked in surprise, before her hands pulled his mouth down to hers once more. She did not care to think that far into the future, content instead with the present moment.
"If you keep this up, we're going to be late for dinner," she said as she kissed him again, her slow motions giving no sign that she was truly worried about missing the event.