~One Life, One Love, One soul the same~

February 1468, Fotheringhay....

Richard's fascination with her body was one that she found endearing; the way he worshiped and took joy in simply looking upon her. He had quickly refused her her nightgowns for bed, persuading her to lie naked with him which she was more than happy to do despite it being deemed a sin by the church.

The morning after they first made love, Catherine had asked to see his back, gently coaxing him onto his front before she explored the curve of his spine with her fingers. He had been happy to show her and she felt content in his trust, his confidence in her making her adore him more than she already did!

They became acquainted with one another's bodies in a way neither knew possible. They knew every rise, every fall, every curve and scar yet found each imperfection only made their love the other increase. To have such intimate knowledge, to know they were the only ones with such knowledge of one another, seemed to bind them together and they relished it.

In a morning they always woke pressed together, her back against his chest but it often seemed that Catherine was stirred from sleep because of her husband. His curious hands would wander, trailing over her skin to their hearts content until she would hum with the gentle thrum of pleasure that would wake her.

He would kiss her neck, murmuring endearments into her hair, which she found he loved to keep loose, cupping her breasts and sliding his fingers between her legs so that she would arch into him.

The fact that he seemed to want to make love to her every hour of each day made her laugh; chuckle to herself when she watched him at training and he would gaze at her with a look of lust-struck longing. He was such a serious thing, always brooding with a small frown on his face but when he was with her, he was almost a different person.

After he would brood and he would ponder, seeking her council for his numerous duties but when he wanted her he was consumed with new life! A new energy that made him laugh, made him smile, made him kiss and caress her, adore her with all he had.

While he sought his pleasure, he ensured hers was never neglected and Catherine found herself growing more and more pleased with the delights of the marriage bed, the twinges of pain she first felt when he entered her fading away into nothing. Her desire burned as bright as his and she began to feel a coil of excitement in her stomach during dinner when she knew that in just an hour or so she would be stripped of her fine clothes and in Richard's arms.

Pleasure, she had been taught, was sinful but now she had felt it, Catherine wondered what could be sinful about a feeling so wonderful. It seemed natural to her, the desire that ran between she and her husband when they looked at one another or their hands touched, when he took her hair down from its braids and sat her on his lap, it felt natural. And, if it was natural, then how could it be wrong?

As pious as he could be, Richard seemed to dismiss the thoughts of sin too, either telling her that if it was a sin then he really could not care less or he did not think that love between two people could be seen as sinful in God's eyes. He would murmur something like that before he pulled her close to kiss her, letting his hands roam her body as hers roamed his.

One bright February morning, they lay on their bed of rumbled blankets, a thin sheet wrapped around her body which she could tell Richard wished to remove.
"No" She giggled, slapping his hand away when he tried "I'm cold!"
"Then let me warm you, sweetheart"

With a playful huff, Catherine let him do as he pleased, allowing him to tug the sheet away from her body before he pulled her onto his lap and covered her with his own "There" He said, nodding "Much better!"
"Much better for you!" She retorted only to be silenced with a hot kiss against her lips, making her smile; settle into his embrace.

Leaning her head against his chest, she watched as he once more picked up the papers he had been reading, papers of importance.

Catherine was sure she had never felt so much joy as she did those past months. It was as if a new life ran through her veins brought on by the joy of possessing the power her younger self had so long craved!

Apart from her close kin, she had never had people look to her before, for orders, for command but now she had at least a hundred servants who did just that and the people in the village too! They welcomed her with open arms, just as Richard said they would, curtsying when she passed in the street after taking mass in church, bowing their heads in reverence.

Reverence.
The word made Catherine grin with delight every time she thought of it. To think that she commanded such respect, was held in such high regard by those around her, assured her of her position, of her power in the land.

A power she was beginning to tentatively explore. Little by little.
While Richard was their Lord, she was their Lady and he gave her every respect, in private and in public.

As the Lady of Fotheringhay, she took on a new role as his Duchess, becoming his partner as well as his wife. The study was intended to be a man's domain as a solar was a woman's but Catherine found herself often in Richard's, either seated next to him at his desk or (something which he greatly preferred) on his lap, one arm draped around her waist.

As their household was established, they poured over papers day and night, attending to accounts and orders, even petitions from the people occupying their land! Truly, both admitted they had never seen so much work in their life apart from on the desk of the King or their illustrious parents but now such work was theirs, forcing them to take another step into the world of adulthood.

A world they entered together.

Her husband valued her council and Catherine was glad to feel wanted, to feel needed, to feel she was an equal in their marriage rather than mere property as most women were. 'Together as we always will be' He had said when he presented her with her diamond shaped pendant the previous Christmas and he'd held fast to that. They both had.

Now her motto was carved next to his in the panes of gold and the precious necklace lay on a cushion on her dressing table.
"What are you thinking about, ma belle?"

Catherine looked up at the sound of her husband's voice, running a hand through his dark curls.
"You" She replied, tilting her head "About how much I love you" Richard smiled, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips while she picked up one of his papers, scanning the lines of ink black writing "More honours from the King? Really, my love, does he wish for you to drop down dead of exhaustion?"

An amused laugh answered her and Richard leant back against the headboard, one hand caressing her waist. It was true, Edward had begun to send offices and duties in his direction, forever writing for his council, but he found he didn't mind. He would never resent Ned's attentions, they made him feel important and he'd sought after his elder brother's approval for so many years, it was a great victory to feel he had finally achieved it!

An important Lord of England at 15! That was an achievement in itself and one his Father would certainly smile upon.

"My brother trusts me!" He explained "I may be young but he thinks I have a keen mind and wants to give me positions he thinks I'm worthy of!" Catherine nodded, laying down the paper she held to relax into her husband's warm embrace. Personally she thought it would be much better to hand such important duties to one who was older, such as George, despite thinking he did not have much of a mind for politics, though she would not say that.

It was not that she thought her husband incapable, simply that she thought him young and not deserving of such pressures as were placed upon his broadening shoulders. With a small sigh, she made to move.

"We must dress, we have mass to attend, my love"

Richard groaned, trying to pull her back as she left the bed, throwing back the covers and picking up her robe from where she had let it fall to the floor the previous night. A smirk lit her lips "God knows we have a lot to atone for!"

꧁꧂

Kneeling before the alter in Fotheringhay's chapel, their faithful household behind, Catherine and Richard kept their heads bowed as their priest painted the sign of the cross over their heads. He was bathed in rays of multicoloured sunlight, courtesy of the stained glass set in the nearby arched windows, making the jewels on his robes glisten magnificently.

His face was stoic, and words stony as they left his thin, chapped lips, a never ending drone of devotion to the Lord. As of late, both the Duke and Duchess had taken to avoiding the old man's all-seeing eyes, certain that he would be able to see the sins they had committed together.

How many sins was that, Catherine wondered to herself while she clasped her bejewelled hands in prayer. How many sins had she and her husband committed throughout the past two months? Too many to count, of that she was certain. There had not been one night where she had not attended Richard's bed, not one night where they had not both cried out in pleasure, not one night where they hadn't fallen asleep in one another's arms.

She blushed at the thoughts, at the things they had discovered, at the things they had tried to find the highest realms of pleasure. She thought of the times where she rode him, where he coaxed her to straddle his lap and he would hold her waist while she rocked her hips back and forth.

It was a position they found they both loved, the way Richard would watch her as she rose up and down on his cock making her almost shiver with desire there and then. She was glad the veil she wore to cover her hair helped to conceal her burning face too.

"Et spiritu sancti"

The preist's words broke her from her sinful thoughts and Catherine felt herself turn a deeper red, glancing to the side to see the statuesque figure of her husband. His eyes were closed, his strong hands devoutly clasped and she could not help but wonder what he was thinking. Was his mind consumed by her? Or was he truly repenting their acts of pleasure?

Something in the way he glanced at her when the two finally rose to her feet told her he wasn't. Quite the opposite in fact as he took her hand with a small wink. Catherine shook her head playfully, suppressing a small laugh while walking out of the chapel with her head held high, their servants bowing low.

"One day he will see you do that!" She whispered, nudging him when they entered the great hall to enjoy breakfast. It smelt of charred wood, of bread freshly baked and toasted above an open flame until it's top was hot and golden, awaiting a layer of melting butter. Richard chuckled, helping her to her seat before he took his own "I don't imagine he shall think you such a devout Lord then!"

"I am devout!" He protested, signalling over his good shoulder for wine "I attend mass, I say my prayers each night as my Lady Mother taught me and I keep a rosary at my belt! Only I sometimes feel I am more devoted to you than I am to God!" He grinned at her gasp "Blasphemy, yes, I know"
"Don't let your Mother ever hear you say that!"

The pair smirked at one another, looking contently out over the great hall while their food was served, great slices of ham and cheese laden upon their plates.
"Here" Richard offered, spearing a piece of venison on his dagger and grinning as she took it between her teeth, relishing the taste of the meat on her tongue.

They often went about their meals this way, offering each other a morsel of food or a sip of wine from the goblet they shared. It was a way of displaying their affection for all to see without causing gossip and Catherine found the innocent intimacy pleasing. The true union of a husband and wife she knew they appeared and was glad that!

"Do you love God, Richard?"
Richard raised his eyebrows, taking a short sip from his newly filled goblet and almost sighing at the trickle of fine wine that ran down his throat. Mass always left him rather parched.

"Of course" He replied, setting the silver down upon the velvet tablecloth "We are all taught to love God, are we not? And you?" He paused, waving the servants away while she thought. The two had always loved to indulge in one another's thoughts and then seemed like a prime time to do so.

Catherine nodded, albeit rather slowly, rolling her words carefully over her tongue before speaking.

"We are taught to love God" She conceded "although I suppose we are told we must love him because of all the things he had gifted us! I have always found that love needs to be earned, not expected and despite being allowed happiness under God's eyes with Georgie and with you, I...."

A small sigh passed her lips and she shook her head, beginning to push her food around her plate. What she thought was blasphemy, what she knew in her heart was blasphemy but blasphemy or not, it was true "I cannot forget that he let me suffer for so long when I was so young....I have never felt true faith nor love for him since then" Richard's hand gently covering hers summoned a wry smile to her lips and she looked up, sighing a second time.

"Well at least I know one thing for certain" He murmured, brining her hand to his lips and she tilted her head.
"And what might that be?"
"I will never love God as I love you, ma belle"

Catherine's smile widened and she cast her eyes to her lap, a gentle blush staining her cheeks.

"Just as I love you, my....." The scent of cooked apples suddenly steamed through the hall from the kitchen and the taste, usually so sweet, turned bitter in her mouth. Her smile faltering, she placed a hand to her belly as her stomach churned and her vision blurred slightly, making her lean forward.

Richard's eyes filled with alarm and she heard him call for Margery, moment's later finding herself being raised from her seat by her trusted Lady's maid.
"Take her to our chambers!" His worried voice ordered and it took not a second for him to be obeyed, only silence following the Duchess as she was whisked from the hall.

꧁꧂

"But I don't understand!" Catherine complained as Margery once more kept her from leaving the bed that evening. After being restrained to her covers the entire day, the young Duchess was most disgruntled and frowned to herself. She felt perfectly fine!

It was true, the sudden bout of sickness at breakfast had caught her by surprise but it had since passed and she had wished to go riding that afternoon! That had been forbidden to her, by Margery and by Richard, both of whom voiced concerns for her health. Catherine had refused to let them send for a physician but still her faithful Lady stayed by her side, keeping a close eye upon her.

"I feel well!" She continued "I feel in perfect health!"
"But you did not this morning!" Margery murmured, slowly settling herself beside her young mistress and trying not to grin at her put out expression "Tell me, my friend, how many times have felt like that? After all, you were sick when you returned to your chambers! And twice after that!"

"But in quick succession!" Catherine retorted curtly "I am sure I have simply eaten something bad and my body disagrees! True, it has taken longer than I thought to recover but I was not sick yesterday!"
"And you were the day before?"

The young Duchess flushed a bright red, remembering the three days prior, during each of which she had found herself retching into a chamber pot in the early hours of the morning. A slice of bad beef or a sip of bad ale did not usually have such effects but she did not know what else it could be, so dismissed it!

Her friend was clearly not as eager to wave away the mysterious illness and watched her closely, raising an eyebrow until she was forced to answer.
"Yes" She admitted grudgingly "Now can I leave? I must dress for dinner and I want to be by Richard's side!"

She tried to rise but Margery's gentle hands pushed her back into the covers once more, the tip of her tongue gently swiping her lower lip in thought. Deep thought that pricked Catherine's nerves.
"What? What is it, Margie?"

Without answering, her friend gently peeled the sheets of the bed away from her body, revealing the thin shift she wore before settling the silk at her waist. Margery's eyes lingered on her stomach for a moment, a hesitant question in her eyes that almost burned upon her lips.

Her mistress had been sick the past three morns, the strange nausea caused by the smell of apples of all things! She had not asked for her rags that month and had complained more than once that she needed new gowns for she felt the ones she owned were hurting her breasts....

"Cat?"
The young Duchess looked up, innocent worry now clouding the defiance of mere moments ago. She visibly swallowed.
"Margie?"

"How long has it been since you last bled?"

Catherine's eyes widened and her lips slowly parted, only no words left them, not for what seemed like an eternity. She blinked, a slight frown creasing her brows as she tried desperately to think, to remember "I...." She shook her head "I don't know....I do not....It must have been" Blue and brown eyes met across the coverlet "Before Christmas"

"Before Christmas" Margery breathed, the question on her face fading, giving way to a gentle joy that made her take up Catherine's now trembling hands. Kissing them one by one, she placed them on top of her shift, a soft, tender smile curving her lips as she nodded "I think that you are with child, Cat...."

Catherine's eyes stared up at her, unblinking, unmoving as shock slowly seeped it's way into her blue irises. She pressed her hands a little firmer to her belly, glancing down at the soft flatness beneath her shift while her head slowly shook. Her? With child? No, it could not be....it simply couldn't be....

"It's not....." Her breaths trembled "It's not possible, Margery....it cannot be that simple...." Margery's light chuckle filled the room and she leant forward, pressing a gentle kiss to her Mistress' forehead.
"Oh but it is just that simple" She whispered "It only takes once and I know for a fact....you and his grace have partaken in the act many more times than that!"

Catherine flushed a deep red and she bowed her head, the memories of their lovemaking as fresh in her mind as if they had been lived mere moments ago. She was sure there had never been such love amongst two mortals before and now, from that love, there had been created a child.

Her child.
Richard's child.

A babe created not by duty, but by passionate adoration.

A soft laugh left her lips and Catherine found her eyes filled with tears, happy tears that flowed down her cheeks with the smile of infinite wonder lighting her young face.

"My child!" She exclaimed, and Margery chuckled again, watching the young Duchess' expression turn from one of shock to incomparable joy. Her hands ran over her belly, over the linen of her shift, as if looking for the slight roundness that would not appear for months yet! Still, she sought it, fingers eager for evidence of the life within her "My child!" She said again, now beaming with happiness and suddenly pulled her friend into a firm hug, squeezing with all her might to that Margery might share in her what she felt.

A new warmth filled her heart, her soul as if the rays of the sun had seeped into her body and set her life aglow with new light.

She was with child! Another life had been crafted from she and Richard's love, a life that now lay snugly in her womb, waiting to grow "How far along I am?" She demanded, trying to calculate the date in her own head despite her mind having room for naught but joy. Margery smiled, already having that particular answer summoned to her lips in anticipation.

"About two months I should say" She told her warmly "It may even be that this baby was conceived the first night you and his grace lay together!" Catherine beamed all the more, quickly counting on excited fingers before she let out a merry laugh.

"September!" She declared "My baby will be born in September!" Her voice softened somewhat and she placed her hands atop her belly once more, feeling her heart leap at the gentle contact. Just the thought that her own little love stirred beneath her fingers was enough to set her heart aflame. She would love this child, she would adore them with all her heart and never once let them go. Never "My baby....."

"My love?"

Her eyes darted up at the sound of her husband's gentle voice to see Richard was lingering in the doorframe, thumbs tucked into the belt at his waist and a tender smile adorning his lips.

"That will be all, Margery...." Catherine breathed, squeezing her friend's hand before acknowledging her curtsy with a small nod. Not once did her eyes leave her husband's.

Not as Margery left, not as she shut the door, not as Richard wandered to the hearth, stoking the fire while he watched her. Their gaze did not even break when he approached the bed, the mattress dipping slightly beneath his weight as he perched beside her.

"Are you well my love?"
He spoke in earnest, his voice anxious in a way that made her heart flutter in her chest. He cared for her, loved her, so much and that fact only made the news she had to share more joyous.

Catherine nodded, her soft smile returning as he brushed a kiss to her cheek.
"More than I ever could be"
Richard arched an eyebrow at that, gently placing one hand to her forehead just like his Mother would do when checking for a fever.

"More than you could ever be?" He repeated quietly,  "What do you mean by that, sweetheart?"

"I mean, my love, that I have news to share if you would stop your fussing!" He flushed an embarrassment red and allowed her to take his hands, halting their worried checks on her so she could place them gently against her belly "I have news" She repeated, rather softly and Richard's gaze flicked to where their hands lay intertwined before moving back to her eyes, her cheeks, made rosy with happy colour. "I....I am with child, Richard...."

Another shaking breath escaped her and she waited, watching Richard's expression turn to one of stunned disbelief.

"With....child?"
She nodded, smiling again when she saw his eyes fill with abrupt tears that glistened in the candlelight. Happy tears that conjured a return of her own "You are with child?" He asked again, almost breathless and suddenly, he smiled, a smile of such pure joy that Catherine was not surprised when he let out an exultant cry.

Jumping from the bed, he stared down at her, shaking his head while his shoulders shook with laughter. He paced back and forth beside the bed, almost dancing across the chamber floor and pausing each time he came to her side. He marvelled at her like a magpie did a jewel, grinning from ear to ear before finally dropping to his knees.

Gathering his hands in hers, he kissed her fingers, over and over, one by one, while she grinned down at him before his kisses descended to her belly, pressing against the place where their child grew.

"You are with child!" He laughed "Our child! Our baby, Cate!" His eyes shone and he suddenly felt the need to kiss her lips, her cheeks, to show her how much he adored her, how proud he was of her "Oh, my love!" Pushing himself onto the bed, he pulled her close, crushing her lips beneath his while she wrapped her arms around his neck.

They did not sleep that night, not for one second. Instead they lay intertwined, joy in their voices and hearts as they marvelled over the child within Catherine's belly.

Their child.
Their baby.