Chapter 152
Laura was sometimes afraid of his love. It was so big, so deep, so intense. Especially when he was consumed by passion like this, Ian seemed to want to devour her, as if he couldn't see or hear anything else.
But within Laura was an emotion that surpassed fear: happiness. No matter the shape or size of her husband's love, Laura could handle it all. Her way of loving was sincere and affectionate, but in terms of depth, it was no less than Ian's. The only thing she truly feared was him no longer loving her.
He called her the luck a man could have, but from Laura's perspective, Ian was that person. The most perfect husband a woman could have.
Laura knew that the world judged a husband's worth by his wealth. No matter how much he loved his wife, if he had no money, he was just an incompetent and irresponsible man. In that sense, Ian could be considered a good husband. He made Laura comfortable through his wealth, and thanks to his high-ranking family, most people residing in Yorkshire bowed their heads before Laura.
But Ian's conditions didn't mean much to Laura. The reason she had rejected his heart for so long in the first place was because he possessed so much. If he had been an ordinary man from the middle class, she would have been engaged to him within a month of meeting him. She wouldn't have felt presumptuous loving him.
As such, Laura considering Ian the perfect husband had nothing to do with external conditions. He was a special man in his very existence, and his love was just as special. No man could love his wife so delicately and perfectly.
In the two months before the wedding, he had cleared out two storage rooms in the Whitefield library. Once a spacious, sunlit space was created, he put up pretty wallpaper and arranged a desk, chairs, and bookshelves made of the finest wood. He had prepared a study just for her as a wedding gift. On the day she returned from her honeymoon, she received her own study as a gift and cried in Ian's arms. She was so grateful, so happy.
Ian was a man with sharp intuition. The intuition that had contributed to growing the family's wealth, he mainly used to make his wife happy after the marriage. He found gifts that Laura herself didn't even know she wanted, as if he were a ghost.
An expensive fountain pen for Laura, who was working with an uncomfortable quill, fresh flowers that filled the study with fragrance every day, a dessert cart that he personally pushed in during the afternoon when her concentration waned. A gentle massage to relieve her stiff muscles.
There was only one reason he knew her heart so well. It was because he loved her. He, who loved only one thing attentively, focused his sharp intuition on his beloved wife, peering into Laura's soul.
There was a reason why Laura prioritized his happiness over her own feelings. It was because she wanted to reciprocate the love he gave her. No, to be more honest, it was because she wanted him to continue loving her.
She wanted to be loved as she was now, forever. She wanted to be his one and only woman for life.
Excessive happiness becomes anxiety. This law applied to her as well. She was too happy, and Laura was sometimes anxious that his love would fade.
Clunk.
The gently swaying carriage came to a stop. Even while being kissed by him, Laura realized that they had arrived at their destination. They had arrived at the Parsonage.
She tried to pull her head back to break the kiss. But Ian, noticing Laura's intention, held her head even tighter.
She became anxious and tapped Ian's shoulder with her palm. But his lips wouldn't leave Laura's.
'This man, is he crazy!'
The sound of the coachman's footsteps was getting closer to the carriage seat. Her heart shrank. The coachman had been working at Whitefield for over 40 years. If he directly witnessed the young master and mistress engaging in PDA in a curtained carriage, it would be an utter disgrace.
More importantly, her husband's authority might be damaged.
'What to do! What to do!'
Laura grabbed his ear and pulled it wildly for the last time. Ian, as if it didn't hurt, still kept his eyes tightly closed and intertwined his tongue with Laura's.
'This man, he's doing this on purpose.'
Laura hated her husband intensely, if only for a moment.
'I have no choice.'
Laura used her teeth to bite down hard on his lower lip.
"Ugh."
Ian's lips fell away. While he was flustered, Laura pushed his shoulder hard to get him away.
The next moment, the carriage door opened.
"Madam. We have arrived at the Parsonage."
Laura, who quickly wiped her lips, nodded calmly.
"Lower the footstool and take out the box loaded in the back."
"Understood."
The coachman disappeared from view. Laura breathed a sigh of relief and turned her head towards Ian.
He was taking out a handkerchief and wiping his lips. Blood was flowing from his lower lip.
Laura glared at Ian.
"You're crazy."
"Yeah. I'm crazy. About you."
He smiled even while bleeding. He seemed truly crazy. Laura sighed.
"By the way, is it such a disgrace to be caught kissing?"
"What did you say?"
"We're a married couple. What's wrong with a married couple kissing? It's a natural thing."
"There's such a thing as decorum, Ian. You have to show an image befitting the master of a great family. Acting in a way that earns respect in the community is also the duty of the head of the household."
Laura was dumbfounded even as she spoke. To have to tell such obvious things to her husband, who was a year older than her. It wasn't even the first time she had said it, nor the second. In the year of their married life, she had said the same thing over thirty times.
Ian's love was like a volcano. Once it erupted, it didn't consider the situation or the other person's position. He wanted to hug Laura, kiss her, and touch her.
Laura also didn't dislike skinship with him, so she could respond as much as he wanted. That is, when they were alone.
But Ian often ignored that simple prerequisite. When he felt like expressing his love, he whispered to Laura.
'Can I kiss you?'
'I want to hold your hand.'
'Shall we go out for a bit?'
It was good to ask for her opinion in advance, but it was bound to be difficult if he asked these questions when it was not the right situation at all. He had asked her that during Sunday worship.
Instead of answering, Laura quietly pinched the back of his hand. Then Ian became quiet as if he understood. For about five minutes. But soon he couldn't stand it and poked Laura's knee with his finger.
Do it. Do it. Do it. Let's do it. Huh?
To make him stop, Laura had to pinch him harder.
Not only in church, but also at formal dinners at Dunville Park, tea time with the farm owner's family, and even at funerals, he couldn't restrain himself. Even if she pleaded with him to maintain his dignity, it was only for the moment. When it came to matters of affection, he was as stubborn as if he had Big Ben Clock Tower in both ears.
Laura continued to persuade him.
"Intimate things between a couple should only be done in the bedroom. It's not like I'm refusing in the bedroom either."
"When you're next to me, I forget not only day and night but even where I am."
He raised the corners of his lips, took Laura's hand, and drew stars and hearts on her palm. It was a ticklish touch.
"If you give food to someone who is starving to death and then tell them to eat it at night, how do you think the hungry person would feel?"
"Don't compare your wife to food."
Laura retorted coldly, pulling away her hand. Ian, undeterred, gently hugged her shoulder and pulled her closer.
"Of course, you're not food. But when we share love, you're as sweet as a tropical fruit and as soft as soup. Even lamb freshly taken from the fireplace isn't as hot as you. I always want to eat you."
Laura's face flushed.
"To say such lewd things in broad daylight, God would be ashamed and turn day into night."
He grinned like a prankster.
"I'd be grateful if you did. We could go to the bedroom right away."
"Really, Ian! What kind of thunderbolt-deserving words are you saying in front of the Parsonage in broad daylight? Keep your dignity!"
Laura shouted.
"Know that I won't give you even a piece of my body until you learn some manners!"
She jumped off the footstool and strode towards the Parsonage.
"Laura. Laura. Laura."
Flustered, he followed his wife, who was holding a parasol.
"Are you angry?"
"......"
"You're angry, aren't you?"
Laura was silent. It would be a lie to say she wasn't angry, but saying she was angry somehow hurt her pride.
Ian hurriedly turned Laura around. Laura looked up at Ian with a sulky expression.
Ian was embarrassed. He realized only then that his expression of affection had gone too far and upset Laura.
He couldn't stand Laura being upset. She was the woman who had come to him overcoming so many obstacles. The woman who had given her heart to him, breaking her beliefs. To him, Laura's heart was more valuable than a thousand pieces of gold.
Ian held Laura's hand tightly.
"I was wrong! It's all my fault!"
"What did you do wrong?"
"I kept kissing you even though you signaled me to stop. I talked back to your advice. I made you uncomfortable with lewd words."
He was an accurate poet. Laura's anger was half gone.
"I won't forget decorum in the future. I won't forget for a moment that it's my duty to act in a way that earns respect."
"......Really?"
"If I ever flirt with you in the wrong place again, you can cut off my hand."
Laura frowned.
"How can I do such a barbaric thing?"
"It means you can do anything to punish me. You are my master. If I don't listen to my master, I deserve to be punished."
Laura chuckled. Her anger had completely dissipated. His face brightened at Laura's smile.
Laura turned back towards the Parsonage.
"If you do it again, you'll be sleeping in separate rooms."
He laughed.
"How can you be so harsh? I really have to be careful."
