Chapter 195: Bump in the Road

Too much wine and sore feet turned into bath oils and nearly falling asleep in warm water.

On their final night before going to Oues, they stopped in a nearby town called Villabois where they would use the inn to get themselves together to see Marquess Herbert and his family.

A large room had been prepared for the duke and duchess. Just as they thought they could settle in for the day, the reeve found Desmond and his wife found Leonor.

Rather than relaxing as expected, the two of them were separated and brought throughout the small town.

The duke’s purpose for being there truly was to inspect winterization and see what could be done if preparations were lacking, but he still became disappointed after being separated from Leonor. However, he wouldn’t show it considering he was upholding his duties. Those were the responsibilities he was burdened with when he accepted the title to gain more power and be someone who could protect Leonor.

The reeve’s wife was surprisingly spry despite being older than Leonor. She was never disrespectful and Leonor pretended to be interested when she suggested they walk around the township to get a bit of exercise.

Leonor, on the other hand, was certainly reliant on carriages and only strong when she had to be. Going on long walks wasn’t her idea of a good time, but short garden walks were fine with her.

The only way she found to cope as they visited each shop, restaurant, and residence was to have a bit of the alcohol they were offering. Not only would it keep her warm but her hatred for walking everywhere was dissolved and she began to have fun.

It was only when she was delivered back to the inn that she was able to hide herself away in her room and become an exhausted mess.

She requested a bath knowing there was a guard there and first put her sore feet into the warm water. When she adjusted to the temperature, she slid the rest of her naked body into the water and sighed as she settled into the bottom of the basin.

On a stand just next to her was oils and soaps she could choose from. Most of them were pine or floral but she found a sweet floral one that wasn’t too overbearing and decided it was good enough.

In her trunk on the carriage there was soap in case she was only given unbelievably floral options that she found didn’t suit her all that much.

After scrubbing her body off and not bothering with her hair since it was tied up on top of her head so it wouldn’t get wet, she realized the alcohol was hitting her hard and she leaned against the side of the tub.

Desmond had warned her multiple times before not to fall asleep in the tub considering she could easily drown herself if she wasn’t careful. However, she wasn’t feeling that logical and only leaning in to her wants at that moment.

That was how Desmond found her with her chin in warm water as she curled against the side.

As usual, Desmond didn’t care and lifted her out of the water even though iht got his sleeves wet.

"I’ve told you before not to sleep in the bath," he reminded her gently.

"Desmond," Leonor whispered into his neck as she cuddled close to him. "I think I’m a bit drunk."

As he placed her on the bed and began to towel her off, Desmond’s eyebrow lowered and his expression became dark.

"And you were left here by yourself?" he asked, trying to remain calm.

"It didn’t occur to me until I was in hot water that I drank more than I remembered," she uttered.

When he was no longer drying her off, Leonor fell backwards onto the bed with her naked body for the world to see as she got herself comfortable. She then rolled over, giving her husband a wonderful view of her back and backside.

As her feet stretched outwards, he noticed that there were bruises forming on her heels and her feet were generally more red than they normally were.

"Did you walk far today?" he asked her.

"All we did was walk," Leonor uttered. "Forever and ever and ever."

Desmond began at her feet, minding the blisters and rubbed oils into her skin as he tried to release tension from her already well-used muscles. Traveling was hard on her body already but it seemed she pushed herself even harder that day.

He could no longer blame her for being so exhausted. It was the reeve’s wife’s fault after all.

Despite the mess that Leonor was, she received a full body massage from her husband and he made her drink water a few times throughout the night.

His care was enough that she woke up the next day feeling refreshed, although extremely apologetic for what she made Desmond go through because she felt like drinking to take away her lack of desire to explore Villabois.

When Leonor made it out the next morning with her husband at her side and her hair and dress perfectly in place, no one was wiser to the fact that she had been such a mess before.

It made her more grateful for the man she married and the way she could trust him with herself at her most vulnerable entirely.

Not only was he the one her heart had chosen all those years ago, but he had become the person she needed as an adult.

There was a period of time as a child where no one cared for her who wasn’t paid to and it made her feel like such a burden.

He was slowly breaking down that feeling and healing what was damaged from having such an uncaring father who surrounded her with equally as uncaring people.

Before they could get into the carriage and go to the Marquess’ residence a short couple of hours away, Leonor grasped Desmond’s hand when she was sure no one was paying attention.

"Thank you for last night," she said. "I’m sorry I was such a mess."

Ever caring towards her heart, Desmond squeezed her hand.

"I’m the one who ought to, aren’t I?" he asked her quietly.

Since he didn’t want to do something overly extreme in front of so many people, he opted to bring her hand to his lips and gently kiss it.

There would be plenty of time for one another at the Marquess’ home where they would certainly be spoiled with the finest room and more maids to wait on them than they were used to.

The couple was off on another adventure again that would test the bounds of their relationship more than they knew.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read