was satisfied
orbs
believed in that love, now. It was like a pledge. Never again would she have to measure her life by how bad it might be. Only by how good.
There would be surprises in their life, she knew. Many of them, as they came to know each other. Some of those surprises would be unpleasant, of course. He would be petty at times; nasty; spiteful. Whatever. And so would she, at times.
No matter. There would be no surprises at the heart of their marriage. Of that, Gretchen was quite certain.
She stroked Jeff’s face, gazing into his eyes. The green orbs glowed, like the buds of spring in a springtime face. Soft, young, full of promise. Wet, warm, full of life.
Gretchen was very pleased with herself, then. She had kept her promise to the duchess.
She laughed. It had been so easy! She had expected years of toil and struggle.
So easy. It was just family, she now understood. That’s all. Nothing but the adoration which binds a family. Different in some ways, true. But every member of a family is different, and precious, and valuable. So to each one is d