Castles in the Air

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters since the Eloise movies and the characters are the property of Disney and Kay Thompson. I make no money from this work of fiction!

Nanny and Wilkes had spent very little time together after Christmas, so her dreams of a relationship between them besides casual acquaintances appeared to be wishful thinking, however much Nanny might wish otherwise. Still, being a persistent sort, downright stubborn about many things according to Kay, Nanny refused to stop dreaming. Often she found herself reliving their first kiss on Christmas Eve... when they had been alone in the hallway outside Nanny's suite after Kay had gone in to start Eloise getting ready for bed. That kiss had been so long awaited and dreamed about on her part, and it had not been a disappointment at all!

In a split second, the kiss had gone from tentative to incredible. A frisson of electric awareness had thrummed through her body, sung along every nerve and exploded in every cell, and from his immediate physical and emotional response, he must have felt the same. He had held her more tightly and had deepened the kiss, his hands smoothing over her back, the curve of her waist, the rounded jut of her hips even as her own arms had wound around his neck. She had been caught in the heat of a fire, longing flaming in her blood. All too soon his mouth had lifted from hers a fraction, lingered a moment, then eased away.

Nanny had stared at him, stunned by the passion that had flared between them. He had returned her incredulous stare with one of his own. Her heart had been beating crazily and by the sounds of his erratic breathing, he had been feeling the same. "Oh my sainted Aunt Fanny!" she had whispered, finally.

"Quite," was his faint response. Then he had pulled himself together and, like a true gentleman, had kissed her fingertips lightly, bowed and departed, wishing her a very, very happy Christmas in a very husky voice.

Gazing after him longingly, Nanny had waited outside the suite until she had been sure she could interact with Kay and Eloise normally. She had wanted to keep that moment private. Each time she had relived the kiss in the three months since had strengthened the sensations, the thrill of passion... and regretfully, her feeling of utter and complete isolation from the joy and happiness of all the contented couples so prevalent on the streets of New York City. Knowing she should have been perfectly happy as Eloise's most-companion hadn't helped. Deciding it must be her age catching up to her, Nanny had worked all the harder at trying to forget him. It had been made only marginally easier by the fact that he had gone back to England for the first three months of the year.

O o O o O o

Wilkes returned to the Plaza at the beginning of April for one month of work before heading back to England for the summer months when he hoped to make a definitive start on renovating his castle. The very first morning back in New York City, as he was heading to the office and walking down the corridor from his suite towards the elevator, he realized that Nanny was just coming to close the doors of HER suite... still in her nightclothes, and quite flustered indeed at seeing him after three months absence! Wilkes found himself plunged back into the emotions that had so haunted him following what he thought of as The Kiss, in capital letters. The Kiss, that is, that had effectively changed his life and his view of women, one woman in particular. Nanny.

He had relived The Kiss often. At the first touch of her lips on his, he had almost reeled from the sensations... sizzling heat and an unexpected measure of wildness beneath tightly banked control. A dizzying burst of need had licked down his spine and exploded in his blood, swamping him in sensation. It had seemed an eternity before he had managed to pull back slightly, regret sweeping over him when an expression of uncertainty had dawned on Nanny's face following the need he had seen first. It would have been easier if, after staring at him for a while, her lips still damp and swollen from his own, she had said something more than a whispered, "Oh my sainted Aunt Fanny!"

"Quite," was all he had managed to get out through his own lips. Then he had gallantly kissed her fingertips, wishing her a happy, happy Christmas and had headed for his own suite before giving in to his strong inclination to kidnap her and keep her for himself. What could possibly have gotten into him? He had never thought of himself as a pirate or a Casanova! He had been quite happy to be civil but no more to all the ladies who fawned over him when first hearing of his title, then ignored him once they discovered he was not exciting or charismatic or interested in living the high society whirl they craved.

Nanny, although obviously impressed and almost intimidated by his title, had never ceased to make him feel important and impressive even though all he had to do to achieve her admiration was walk past her door. Never having been considered special before, by anyone in his life, Wilkes found the experience highly erotic, and never more so than after The Kiss. So many emotions he had never dreamt of experiencing in these later years now kept him feeling younger and more vital than ever before.

It was all he could do now, a full three months after The Kiss, to acknowledge her courteously and keep walking. A lesser man would have ravished her on the spot, he thought rather grimly.

O o O o O o

Absentmindedly, Nanny continued to eat her bacon after seeing Sir Wilkes walking down the hall for the first time in three months. She leaned against the wall of the suite, daydreaming that it was forty years earlier and instead of politely raising his hat and greeting her with a soft word, he had swept her into his arms, declaring he could no longer be content with just a curtsey and a murmured greeting after a three month absence. Instead, he was demanding another passionate kiss from her 'delectable' lips...

She was jolted back to reality with Eloise's shrill voice. "Nanny! For Lord's sake, what are you thinking about now?"

"I'm just building castles in the air, pet," Nanny said rawther thoughtlessly.

"Castles in the air?" Eloise screwed up her face in puzzlement, then looked out the partially-open door to see their distinguished neighbour disappearing into the elevator. "Oh! Sir Wilkes is back! Is his castle really in the air? Is it on clouds like a fairy castle? Is there a sleeping princess in it? I'd absolutely love to go see it! Please? Please? Ple...?"

"Naow, Eloise," Nanny said wearily, interrupting Eloise's litany. "It's just a phrase, for Lord's sake. It 'as nothing to do with Sir Wilkes' castle, even supposing 'e 'as one, nor princesses, sleeping or otherwise."

"Of course he has a castle, Nanny! I mean, he's a knight! If a castle in the air isn't Sir Wilkes' castle, what does it mean, then?"

"Aoww, it's like, well, like daydreaming...thinking about something you're not going to ever be able to 'ave, no matter 'ow much you might want, want, want it." She sighed, thinking that in THAT respect, it was certainly true of her and Wilkes. Then she straightened up and tried to shake off her melancholy mood. For some reason, she had been feeling more lonely in the last few months than she ever had before in her life... in spite of all the activity in the Plaza around her!

O o O o O o

The next morning, as he was walking down the hallway, Wilkes overheard Nanny scolding Eloise in their suite. "I don't know where your manners are, young lady! William will knock when 'e comes, for Lord's sake! There is no, no, no need to leave the doors wide open!"

Surprised by the instant jealousy that arose in him, wondering who William was to come visiting so early, Wilkes found it more difficult than ever to merely greet Nanny as usual when they arrived at the open doors at the same time. His hungry gaze slid over her night attire, even as she clutched the edges of her robe together convulsively. Unbidden, he imagined sliding his hands over the lush satin-clad curves of her hips and up to knead the voluptuous mounds of her bosom... Instantly he hardened to the point of exquisite pain, and felt a flush rising to his cheeks even as he abruptly halted his progress.

"Hallo, Sir Wilkes!" Suddenly Eloise was between the two.

"You're up and about early today," Wilkes said, forcing himself to pay attention to the child when he would far rather continue his illicit daydreams about her companion.

Eloise excitedly questioned him about his time away and when he had gotten back 'home' and "do you have an absolutely divine castle in the air with a sleeping princess in it and...?"

Concentrating with difficulty, Wilkes said that yes, he had a castle, but it was NOT in the air, nor, unfortunately, was it absolutely divine. Yet. He said he would tell her about it and perhaps show her some pictures sometime when he had more time, and yes, he could probably spare some time before next week when Eloise's mother was coming home... Finally he was able to escape Eloise's endless questions and continue on his way, albeit a little more stiffly than usual, vowing to keep his mind off Nanny and her alluring charms.

The next morning, having spent the previous day breaking his vow and wondering who 'William' might be, Wilkes decided that if he was going to be thinking about Nanny all day anyway, he might just as well have another chance to see her and greet her. So he hovered inside his own suite with the door cracked, waiting until the door of Suite 1627 was flung open as it was most mornings, it seemed. Then he hurriedly stepped out of his own suite and marched nonchalantly down the hallway, arriving at the door of her suite just when Nanny did.

"Na..." he began to say, but then his voice quit working. Again his body had betrayed him when he saw her so scantily clad! He stopped in his tracks, thankful he had merely brought a letter to mail and would be able to escape back into his own suite in order to relieve himself. This is ridiculous! I'm a grown man, not a young lad, and I should be long past this nonsense!, he grumbled inwardly, but the thrill of seeing her like this heated his blood and made him long for even more.

"Sir Wilkes..." Nanny murmured faintly, again holding her robe together with clenched fingers at her throat. Was this going to happen every day again, just as it had happened last fall? She must, must, must start dressing before leaving her bedroom!

Just then, the elevator pinged and soon Bill was trundling his food cart down the hallway. "Morning, Sir Wilkes!" the young man said cheerfully. "Welcome back to the Plaza!"

"Thank you, Bill. I'm very happy to be back," Wilkes returned, very relieved that his voice didn't crack.

"Morning, Nanny! I've brought your breakfast!" Bill grinned.

Nanny smiled back at the waiter brilliantly. Wilkes was dazzled by the sight, and remembered she had smiled like that at HIM the night of the Debutante Ball. He had forgotten...

"William..." Nanny acknowledged Bill.

Wilkes beamed. Mystery solved! No more need of jealousy! Then, as Nanny moved back to allow Bill to enter their suite, she released her hold on her robe, and it swung open, revealing more of her curvaceous body and the lavish swell of her ample bosom almost overflowing the constraint of her satin nighty. Wilkes sucked in a breath, impossibly he hardened even further and, extremely conscious of the probable tenting in his trousers, he quickly turned away, stuffed his letter into the mail chute and scurried back to his own suite.

Almost slamming the door behind himself in his haste, Wilkes leaned against it, trembling. He might have to either return to England immediately in order to try to forget Nanny, although he was certain that was quite impossible, or he would have to make a concerted effort to woo the woman. Yes, that was the ticket! She would make a magnificent wife indeed! Right! He would woo Nanny, with every intention of making her fall as much in love with him as he was in love with her, and then he would wed her! Although, he really should fix up his castle first, but considering he had had it for forty years and had not accomplished much, he doubted that his body or mind would survive intact should he decide to wait until the restoration was complete before marrying. To begin his wooing, he would invite Nanny for tea again... or better yet, ask her for a walk in Central Park to see the spring flowers in bloom... or they could even, he thought daringly, share a late night toddy in the Oak Room...

O o O o O o