The reverberation echoed around the house as the last wedding guest vacated the premises. The large door slammed shut, cutting off Fidelma’s escape. Not that she wished to escape.

She was a married woman now, her new husband’s strong arms encircling her in the emptiness of the vast Colonial hall. Her handsome, new husband stood tall and erect, his dark skin gleaming with a patina of sweat. He was unused to such restrictive clothing, his wedding suit, and yearned to divest himself of it, as did Fidelma.

She shivered slightly with anticipation, and Oswald, misinterpreting her movements as a sign of fatigue, whispered to her in his beautiful Southern brogue, these tempting, salacious words,

“Time for bed, Ma’am, would you accompany me”

Would she!

She had been living for this night, dreaming of forbidden passion as she strained at the invisible leashes binding her to the convent.

Slowly, she slithered round in his arms and sighed.

“Yes, bed, my sweet honey. I can feel your need and it compliments me so.”

With adoration and deep desire shining from his eyes, Oswald dropped a soft kiss on his wife’s bare shoulder, swept her up in his powerful arms and climbed the stairs to their honeymoon room.

There the constraints, denials and frustrations of years past broke forth and they loved with complete abandon. All senses heightened, all touch intensified, all taste enhanced, they explored each other. They came, again and again, to know each other in many , many ways and with the knowledge came realization. They had each found the right one. Their waiting had not been in vain. They had been waiting for each other.

As the night slowly lightened to day, our lovers lay entwined as one, totally comfortable with their nakedness and each other. Sated, satisfied and so completely happy.

They were joined as one and would remain so for the rest of their incomparable days.