He knew she was there before her horse sidled up against his-it was not at all unheard of to have ladies on the field, and protocol demanded she announce herself before meeting with the commander for that particular engagement.
Needless to say, he felt quite beside himself with frustration- he had explicitly told her to avoid travel as the child she was carrying was their first, but here she was, in a place where she did not belong at all.
Still, the moment she presented herself to him, he automatically reached over to take her hand and pressed her gloved knuckles to his lips. He dawdled for a brief two seconds- staring up at her and tightening his grip to let her know that he was displeased- before he let go of her hand and returned his hold to the collapsed spyglass.
"I didn't expect you to go to the front, dear wife. You have me at a disadvantage." Darius replied with a sideways glance and a little smile, sinking into their little game with very little preamble at all.
"You have my apologies, my darling husband." Elaine Dunwall broached as she looked at the valley below. "But they are quite a sight, your lads."
He turns his gaze to the field- his defense was very well arranged, the majority of his troops gathered by his right flank. There were many soldiers here- a full forty thousand men, arranged in neat little brigades and keeping to their posts like a herd of obedient sheep.
There was no action to be had yet- the nature of his posting here meant that he could never bring the fight to the barbarians. Given the defensive nature of his assignment, the fact that all was quiet across his section of the front was not at all a disappointment.
"La Bédoyère," Darius motioned his adjutant to his side. "I shall show the lady to her accommodations- would you kindly inform Lord White that he is in command in the interim?"
I need to disappear for an hour, maybe two.
"I shall pass the word, sir." The young man nodded knowingly.
He nodded and looked at his lady now. A glint crossed her eye- vexation, certainly- before she smiled back at him and nodded.
They rode further behind the lines, reaching the small village where the army had made its billet. He dismounted and helped her off her horse. Riding side saddle while she was pregnant- however small the bump was on her belly- hardly helped matters.
He had her on his arm and quietly escorted her into his chosen billet- only the very best, of course. It was a roomy, airy cottage and one of the rooms had been tossed up slightly to accommodate maps and twenty men. There were attendants here- no doubt making the entire place habitable for both the lord and his lady- but they kept their head down and their ears shut as they passed by.
Only when they were safely alone inside a bedroom that he turned, locked the door, and then stared at her in open anger.
"You have no right to be here." He hissed. "None at all."
"You have no right to tell me what I should and should not do, my lord." She stated plainly.
I do not care for your opinion.
If you should lose the child, I quite think I would become the laughingstock of the House.
"The child will be fine." She responded. "I am the one carrying it, not you."
You do not care at all about me, all you care about is the fact that you wish to have an heir.
He stared at her, allowing his frustration to bleed through his mask. "If you should lose it..."
You do not understand how important this is to me.
"I am yet young, I shall not." She placed both her hands on her hips and stares at him as if she expected something else other than the reception she had gotten.
I never knew you were such a difficult man.
He draws back slightly, stares at her for a moment before he lowers his head and sighs. His hands reach up to massage his face and he tries not to think of what would happen if she did lose the baby. His brother's wife was equally burdened, but he knew full well she did not leave the house to vex her husband.
Elaine Dunwall sighs and lets him think. This married life was not what she had thought it would be- even after two months of living together, he still seemed too distant.
He inquired after her health, provided for her and did not fail at all in what was expected from him, but there was a distinct lack of warmth in all things that he did, as if he did not actually love her at all.
She knew full well love was not a part of this marriage- it had been arranged since she was three- but that did not stop her from wanting it.
"Why are you here, Elaine?" He asked her finally.
What do you want from me?
"I am your wife." She said slowly.
I suppose I thought you would be happy to see me.
"Your duty, as my wife, was to stay behind."
You make for a bad spouse.
She felt a very great pain in her chest. All the stories her nursemaid had told her, the childhood tales she had treasured since she learned she would be married to him when she grew old enough... she had thought herself very lucky because he had been such a handsome man- still was a handsome man- but there was no love here, not like what she had been brought up to believe.
As the tears began to roll down her cheeks, he looked quite like a deer caught in a trap, his mask falling off his face to show what he actually felt: utterly confused and worried- for her or for him, she couldn't tell.
"Have I upset you?" He asked softly and sadly as he crossed the room immediately, reaching over to take both of her hands in his. She could detect a slight tremble in those palms.
For me, she thought. Or the child.
She felt all the more wretched, and as she could not bring herself to speak, she nodded mutely instead.
He wraps her in an embrace and she buries her face into the front of his jacket. It felt... right, but it hurt her, how she had to be in such a wretched state for him to show the slightest bit of concern.
This was not what her nursemaid's stories had told her marriage was like.
"Could you do this more often?" She whispers into his vest. It is as much a plea as any. She felt very petty and exceedingly pathetic for asking such, but she had been raised to be a good wife, and if she did not have all of his love, even a facsimile of it would do.
With time, perhaps, he would be kinder.
He takes a breath- she could hear his lungs and his heart, feel the latter beat faster through his chest.
"Whatever it is you wish of me, my dear." His voice is uncertain, childlike. He hesitantly pats her on the shoulder- even if they had consummated the union two months before, he clearly had absolutely no idea how to touch her at all.
They were both not very good- she realized this very slowly. Both of them knew very little about marriage. He had been raised to know that it was a duty, not a relationship at all, and she had been brought up to know that he would love her unconditionally.
There were many roads to disappointment.
"They will be looking for me." He said to her after a time, staring down at her golden hair and wondering if he was doing something right.
I have been here long enough.
"I am sorry to impose, my lord." She pushes herself from him and looks up at him with reddened eyes and a smile.
I did not mean to delay you.
He didn't know why but it hurt somewhat to see her face.
He had not been raised to make his wife cry.
"... It is no bother, my dear." He said slowly. He didn't know what made him reach up and place his hand on her cheek.
"I shall wait for you here." She said, tilting her head slightly to bring his hand closer to her face.
"I shall not be long." He returns as he uncertainly runs his thumb over her cheek.
