Dominic turned out to be a patient and kind man when it came to consumating their marriage. She was not yet ready to consummate their marriage, after talking about what happened with Eraldo when she was a child she was scared, and he made no complaint. Their relationship was far from cold: they had their moments of passion, and just when she thought she would give in to the emotionss, her body would shut down every time. She loved being held and caressed by him, and falling asleep in his arms, and every morning still in his arms. She knew that he loved her deeply and she felt bad for not being the wife she felt she should be. They were family now, she was just getting used to being part of a good family, yet she felt that any moment her world would come crashing down. After supper one evening, a week after they had been married, she lay drowsily in his arms, and thought that it was best to broach the subject.
"Dominic, are you awake?"
"Yes my love, is everything alright?"
"Yes, I just wanted to say that, well that I - I'm sorry . . . I'm afraid that I am not being a very good wife for you."
He raised himself up on his elbow so that he could look her in the eyes, "Alannah, what on Earth do you mean? You are the very best wife that I could have ever asked for, you are my best friend and I love you more today than I did the day we met."
Turning at least ten shades of red, she balled her hand into a fist to avoid the emotions that were welling up inside her, and continues. "Dominic, it's just that….well we haven't . . . we're supposed to . . . there are things that we should have done after we got married."
He smiled and, and putting his free arm around her, he kissed her forehead, "When you are ready, my love, it will happen, and it will be even more beautiful because we did it on your time. For now, you are not even used to being a Beringer yet." He chuckled, "Do you know that you have stumped both Mother and Maria? You come from a very powerful and wealthy family, yet you work hard like you have known poverty all your life. You do things around the house that our maids usually do, you help Patrick as though you are a hired hand. Not that I am complaining mind you, I have a beautiful wife who is not afraid to get her hands dirty."
She looked up at him, she knew he was teasing by the big smile he wore on his face, but she got a little defensive and said, "Dominic, how can I be a good wife to you If I donot know how to run a household? I can't hope to run a household without experiencing the things that make a household run. I don't give the staff orders, they are not cattle to be ordered around, I would rather ask them to do something for me, but if I am not willing to do it myself why should I ask them? You gain their trust that way. What if I were to ask Maria to whip up an elegant meal for a supper party, without first giving her time to prepare? Or if I were to demand that Patrick fix something without him first being aware of what is broken.