Careless Blue
Chapter 4
Author: Silent Moon
e-mail: [email protected]
Rated: R
Genre: Romance/Alt. Reality
Disclaimer: standard
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I did not notice the tear
Until it had slithered
Like a poisonous snake
Down my cheek
And splashed silently
Into the water below,
Sending my image
Into a dozen rings of sadness
Until the sky itself could be seen
Rolling away from me
With unbearable hatred.
alicia blade
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Darien was reluctant to go to breakfast the next morning. He forced his legs
to carry him to the kitchen and Molly pressed a muffin into his numb hand.
Serena stood in a plain dress with a shawl wrapped round her and for the first
time Darien could recall, she looked fragile.
Her back was to him, but her posture was sad and despondant.
The Count whisked through then, "Well everyone, I'm off! I shan't be back for
several weeks!"
He gave Serena a pat to the rump, "Take care till I come home!"
And he watched her shudder in pain, his fist squeezing the muffin to pieces.
Serena waited till the front door shut behind the Count before slowly, slowly
slipping off her wedding ring and saying oh-so-softly, "I'm not hungry. I think
I'll go for a walk..."
She started towards the door, slowly, limping as though in great pain and Darien's
dismay turned to rage. Molly watched it light in his eyes and he made to run after the
Count before she caught him, "Don't do anything foolish!"
He struggled and would have broken free if she had not added, "Go to her, she needs
your comfort."
He turned to see her limping across the field before collapsing to her knees, burying
her face in her hands.
He hurried out after her.
When he reached her he sank to his knees and reached over to gently touch her
shoulders.
She pulled away, "Go, I'm ashamed for you to see me this way...."
But he took her in his arms and stroked her back softly, kissing her forehead.
She cried into his chest, "He hurt me..."
He winced and held her tightly, willing her pain to be his instead. He was silent
a long moment as she cried with abandon into his warm arms. Then he lifted
her up in and carried her away towards the brook.
She looked wide-eyed at him as though she would speak but then buried her face in his
shoulders, arms about his neck, letting him take her.
Molly and the other Maid watched from the window, clutching each other, pale and
sad.
Overnight she had lost her girlhood....and she could never go back...she was a
woman now.
Darien carried her down to the brook and then stood her gently on her feet before
unbuttoning her dress.
She froze and pulled back, "No..."
He frowned at her curiously.
"I don't want you to see me...like this..."
He ignored her protest and gently pulled the dress down--and gasped. Her skin
was bruised...red marks on her arms and back...
He pulled her close once again and gently stroked her...lightly--so light she
couldn't believe how gentle he was.
Then she heard him suck in a sharp breath and realized...he was crying.
She looked up quite suddenly and caught the tears trailing down his summer-brown
cheeks with wonderment clear across her face...she gently brushed them with her
fingers.
Then he carried her into the brook, lowering her slowly as she winced at the
touch of the cold water. When she was in and laid gently over his arm, he
tore a piece of his shirt off for a cloth.
"Your shirt..."
"I'll get another shirt." He said with something never present in his tone before.
Something that made her silent.
He stroked gently at her, rubbing her arms and legs.
She watched his face. Just a week before they'd been laughing and splashing and
then he's said they weren't to do this anymore. But things were different now.
They had changed forever. And this wasn't about playing...it was about Darien
caring for her.
He slipped the cloth very cautiously down her stomach...and then between her legs,
watching her face carefully.
She winced and shut her eyes briefly, sucking in a sharp breath on a pained sound.
He softened his touch, lighter and lighter until it didn't hurt, but soothed.
Then he stroked her carefully as she kept her eyes shut tight.
Looking at her now, vulnerable and hurting in his arms he was filled with emotions
too strong to name. Emotions he hadn't known he possessed--or felt for her until
now.
He gathered her up carefully and helped her dress before carrying her back towards
the house. She struggled out of his arms though and walked most of the way, her
slender arm over his shoulders for support.
When they came within a few steps of the house though, she stumbled and he picked
her up again, carrying her in where Molly and the other Maid waited.
"Let us take her lad! We'll look after her!"
"No!" He said suddenly, pulling her away, "I'll take care of her!"
And there was fire in his eyes.
Molly touched his arm gently, "Lad, carry her into her bedroom....we have some
salves and creams that will make her feel better...they'll help."
He looked into her kindly eyes and she watched the pain threaten to overwhelm him.
He nodded and carried her in.
Then he left and crumpled to a heap on the floor outside her door, burying his face
in his arms.
Molly came out a while later and found him thus, she bent and caught him in her
arms, where he wept for the first time since he was a boy.
Neither said anything though. Words were inadequate.
She took him to the kitchen and got him a hot drink before sending him to bed.
But she found him later that night, sleeping on the floor outside her door
and could only cover him with a blanket.
Serena found him there the next morning and bent to wake him, smiling.
His dark eyes opened to meet hers warily and then he snapped to attention,
"How do you feel?"
"A little better."
But she was still limping and he carried her to breakfast.
"You can't carry me everywhere!"
"Yes I can."
And that was the end of that.
He carried her back down to the brook after breakfast and washed her again, gently,
carefully, as though she might break.
Then he carried her home and sat her in the library to read with him.
"What shall I read?" She asked as he sat her on the sofa and wrapped a blanket round
her.
"This one." He said turning around from his searching and handing it to her.
"Wuthering Heights?" She asked dubiously, reading the faded title.
"You'll like it." He said wryly.
Then he settled in beside her and read as she lay her head on his shoulder and
started her own book.
Molly brought them cookies and milk...and even sandwiches later so they didn't
have to move.
Then he carried her to bed and Molly and the other Maid helped her and gave
her salves to sooth her skin.
Serena lay silently that night as she listened to Molly argue Darien back to bed
and away from her door.
She stared out at the stars and thought deeply. She was a wife now, and her girlhood
had been ripped away by the Count. His drunken, heavy-handed love making had been
far more terrifying than what Molly had hurredly explained in the kitchen.
Could she never again run and play with Darien? Was that ended forever? And if so,
what would take it's place?
She finally dozed off fitfully.
Darien carried her down to the brook the next morning and bathed her gently, stroking
her still-burnt skin with a kind touch.
But as she stumbled away from the brook and fell into his arms, a wave of bitterness
washed over her, "I hate him." She muffled into his chest, "I don't want him to
be my husband."
And she meant it. It occurred to her quite suddenly however, as she looked up into
Darien's dark, serious eyes, that if she wanted anyone for her husband it was him.
And that was when she remembered their brief encounter...it seemed so long ago.
She made a decision as they hobbled back to the house. For she suddenly realized, that
if she were no longer a girl....than her love for him was no longer a child's love either.
Darien carried her down to the water everyday and washed her. He was very silent. He
carried her until she stopped limping altogether and then took her on careful walks,
watching her warily.
They read together and ate together, but there was no playing, or laughing, or even smiling.
And that broke her heart.
She waited until her body was her own again before acting on her decision.
The next morning, some two weeks after the Count had left, as they walked towards the
brook she stopped him.
"Darien?"
He turned to face her, "Yes?" His voice was so soft and she realized he'd barely
spoken at all these past weeks.
She took a determined step closer, "That day at the brook...."
She watched recognition colour his cheeks and continued, "W-was that how it's supposed
to be?"
His eyes met hers then, in a kind of tortured agony and sympathy and truth,
"Yes." He said hoarsely, knowing at that moment, how much he truly loved her.
Her eyes looked at him, bluer than they'd ever been, "Show me?"
She watched shock register across his face and he opened his mouth but nothing came out.
"Please?" She added, holding out her arms.
He looked at her a long moment, the question in his eyes. Did she really want to
betray her husband?
But her eyes were steady and assuring. And he remembered how she took off the ring.
Her hands were bare--as though she were free.
He took her slowly into his arms and held her a moment...a long moment....before shakily
undoing her dress...for once the action was paired with the forbidden act it associated
itself with.
He slipped her dress off gently and ran his hands softly over her back, her arms...
Then he pulled away a moment but she kept her eyes shut tight until he whispered softly
in her ear, "May I kiss you?"
Her eyes flew open in surprise and she opened her mouth to speak but lost her voice
at the sight of him quite naked. Her eyes widened but she managed to regain herself.
"Y-yes."
He smiled softly and then leaned in, pressing his lips against hers...uncertainly at
first and then, slowly, with more pressure, stroking and tasting her until they
both found what pleased them.
She wound her arms about him and he pulled her tight against him, murmuring something
in the back of his throat.
Then he pulled back, breathing heavily and bent to her neck till she could feel his
breath, "May I kiss you here?"
She smiled, "Yes."
He pressed kisses down her throat and shoulder then stopped at her breasts,
"And here?"
She giggled, "Yes." Then gasped at the sensation.
He kissed down her stomach, "And here?"
She laughed outright now, "Are you going to kiss me all over?"
She heard him chuckle but murmur, "Mmmhmm."
He wandered lower and her breath hitched in her throat. What was this feeling?
She instinctively moved closer as his mouth pressed kisses to her legs and her
knees and then back up.
And when he pressed one careful kiss between her legs she felt a sudden sensation
of pleasure that made her eyes flutter shut and her breath gasp quite audibly.
Darien looked up at her face and then pulled her gently down to the sand, laying
beside her so their feet dipped into the cool water.
He moved over her and kissed her again, deeply, hands in her hair as he pressed her
back against the sand. She kissed him back but then pulled away,
"I'm afraid." She whispered, her eyes wide.
His eyes softened as he breathed heavily, desire threatening to overwhelm him,
"I-I've never done this before....but I promise I won't hurt you--Blue."
And he watched her visibly relax then and smile as she wrapped her arms around
him, "I know...I believe you. I trust you."
He came to lay over her and she parted her legs, wrapping them around his hips and
drawing him down--this was the part she knew.
He watched her face carefully as he pressed slowly in, reading her face for pleasure
or pain. She smiled and moaned softly but then suddenly gasped out in pain so he
stopped. And lingered. Partway in, stroking gently--feeling he'd die from the sudden
ecstasy of it--until she softened and he felt her legs relax.
And with a sudden moan of pleasure she took him all the way and his eyes fluttered
closed with the overwhelming sensation of it.
She opened her eyes and watched him, his face unguarded and alive with pleasure.
With every stroke that made her moan he felt it too. It made her smile
and caress his face gently.
His eyes fluttered open and met hers, he leaned down and kissed her, then breathed
softly into her neck, "I love you...Serena..."
Not Blue but her real name. Her grown-up name. She smiled, "I love you too..."
And she knew how much at that moment.
His staggered breathing became gasps, "...I..I don't know how long this is going
to last....I'm sorry...."
Sorry? She nearly laughed. This was bliss.
Instead she wrapped herself tighter around him and--feeling that he was holding back
from moving any faster--pressed herself against him with a rhythm of her own.
And she felt him lose control, let out a strange sound of anguish and joy mingled
together before his body shuddered in release. And feeling it from him was
beautiful.
She held him in her arms and savored it.
They lay there long moments afterwards, till they caught their breath--especially
Darien.
Then he pulled himself up on his elbows and regarded her with very tender eyes.
He kissed her gently, over and over and she giggled, kissing him back.
"Tell me again?" he asked softly.
She smiled, "I love you?"
"That's it..."
She laughed, "I love you Darien."
"I love you too." He kissed her neck and finally pulled away farther so he could
caress her body again.
She took the opportunity to tackle him over and lay on top, making him laugh.
The sight of his smile was wonderful. She pressed the corners of his mouth comically
with her fingers, "I was afraid you'd forgotten how!"
He caught her fingertips and kissed them.
Then he caught her up in his arms and cuddled her against him, with something of
their old comraderie and a newly awakened, sensual possessiveness.
They stayed that way a long time as it all sunk in. And when they finally pulled
on their clothes to head back, they were smiling. Really smiling again.
Darien leaned over and kissed her one last time and then took her hand to lead
her back to the house.
They seemed to come alive after that. Molly and the other Maid were heart-glad to
hear them bantering and laughing in the library.
And she never suspected anything. They were very careful.
But nearly every morning they slipped down to the brook and made love.
Carefully, tenderly, until they knew each other's bodies better than their own.
Darien would lay her back and touch her so softly, whispering in her ear,
"Is this nice?" "And this?"
And by the end of the first week he was seeing her through to the end--feeling her
softly shuddering body beneath his with a deep satisfaction.
Molly never wondered until the Count returned. But as she slipped the ring quickly
back on Serena's finger and watched the girl's lips and shoulders stiffen it was
Darien's nearly tortured eyes watching that gave him away.
The Count made no pretense and carted her shamelessly upstairs as she looked sadly
back at Darien.
He stood at the foot of the great staircase, his fists balled, before he turned
his eyes away--unable to meet her gaze anymore.
It was then that Molly first began to guess.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 4
Author: Silent Moon
e-mail: [email protected]
Rated: R
Genre: Romance/Alt. Reality
Disclaimer: standard
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I did not notice the tear
Until it had slithered
Like a poisonous snake
Down my cheek
And splashed silently
Into the water below,
Sending my image
Into a dozen rings of sadness
Until the sky itself could be seen
Rolling away from me
With unbearable hatred.
alicia blade
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Darien was reluctant to go to breakfast the next morning. He forced his legs
to carry him to the kitchen and Molly pressed a muffin into his numb hand.
Serena stood in a plain dress with a shawl wrapped round her and for the first
time Darien could recall, she looked fragile.
Her back was to him, but her posture was sad and despondant.
The Count whisked through then, "Well everyone, I'm off! I shan't be back for
several weeks!"
He gave Serena a pat to the rump, "Take care till I come home!"
And he watched her shudder in pain, his fist squeezing the muffin to pieces.
Serena waited till the front door shut behind the Count before slowly, slowly
slipping off her wedding ring and saying oh-so-softly, "I'm not hungry. I think
I'll go for a walk..."
She started towards the door, slowly, limping as though in great pain and Darien's
dismay turned to rage. Molly watched it light in his eyes and he made to run after the
Count before she caught him, "Don't do anything foolish!"
He struggled and would have broken free if she had not added, "Go to her, she needs
your comfort."
He turned to see her limping across the field before collapsing to her knees, burying
her face in her hands.
He hurried out after her.
When he reached her he sank to his knees and reached over to gently touch her
shoulders.
She pulled away, "Go, I'm ashamed for you to see me this way...."
But he took her in his arms and stroked her back softly, kissing her forehead.
She cried into his chest, "He hurt me..."
He winced and held her tightly, willing her pain to be his instead. He was silent
a long moment as she cried with abandon into his warm arms. Then he lifted
her up in and carried her away towards the brook.
She looked wide-eyed at him as though she would speak but then buried her face in his
shoulders, arms about his neck, letting him take her.
Molly and the other Maid watched from the window, clutching each other, pale and
sad.
Overnight she had lost her girlhood....and she could never go back...she was a
woman now.
Darien carried her down to the brook and then stood her gently on her feet before
unbuttoning her dress.
She froze and pulled back, "No..."
He frowned at her curiously.
"I don't want you to see me...like this..."
He ignored her protest and gently pulled the dress down--and gasped. Her skin
was bruised...red marks on her arms and back...
He pulled her close once again and gently stroked her...lightly--so light she
couldn't believe how gentle he was.
Then she heard him suck in a sharp breath and realized...he was crying.
She looked up quite suddenly and caught the tears trailing down his summer-brown
cheeks with wonderment clear across her face...she gently brushed them with her
fingers.
Then he carried her into the brook, lowering her slowly as she winced at the
touch of the cold water. When she was in and laid gently over his arm, he
tore a piece of his shirt off for a cloth.
"Your shirt..."
"I'll get another shirt." He said with something never present in his tone before.
Something that made her silent.
He stroked gently at her, rubbing her arms and legs.
She watched his face. Just a week before they'd been laughing and splashing and
then he's said they weren't to do this anymore. But things were different now.
They had changed forever. And this wasn't about playing...it was about Darien
caring for her.
He slipped the cloth very cautiously down her stomach...and then between her legs,
watching her face carefully.
She winced and shut her eyes briefly, sucking in a sharp breath on a pained sound.
He softened his touch, lighter and lighter until it didn't hurt, but soothed.
Then he stroked her carefully as she kept her eyes shut tight.
Looking at her now, vulnerable and hurting in his arms he was filled with emotions
too strong to name. Emotions he hadn't known he possessed--or felt for her until
now.
He gathered her up carefully and helped her dress before carrying her back towards
the house. She struggled out of his arms though and walked most of the way, her
slender arm over his shoulders for support.
When they came within a few steps of the house though, she stumbled and he picked
her up again, carrying her in where Molly and the other Maid waited.
"Let us take her lad! We'll look after her!"
"No!" He said suddenly, pulling her away, "I'll take care of her!"
And there was fire in his eyes.
Molly touched his arm gently, "Lad, carry her into her bedroom....we have some
salves and creams that will make her feel better...they'll help."
He looked into her kindly eyes and she watched the pain threaten to overwhelm him.
He nodded and carried her in.
Then he left and crumpled to a heap on the floor outside her door, burying his face
in his arms.
Molly came out a while later and found him thus, she bent and caught him in her
arms, where he wept for the first time since he was a boy.
Neither said anything though. Words were inadequate.
She took him to the kitchen and got him a hot drink before sending him to bed.
But she found him later that night, sleeping on the floor outside her door
and could only cover him with a blanket.
Serena found him there the next morning and bent to wake him, smiling.
His dark eyes opened to meet hers warily and then he snapped to attention,
"How do you feel?"
"A little better."
But she was still limping and he carried her to breakfast.
"You can't carry me everywhere!"
"Yes I can."
And that was the end of that.
He carried her back down to the brook after breakfast and washed her again, gently,
carefully, as though she might break.
Then he carried her home and sat her in the library to read with him.
"What shall I read?" She asked as he sat her on the sofa and wrapped a blanket round
her.
"This one." He said turning around from his searching and handing it to her.
"Wuthering Heights?" She asked dubiously, reading the faded title.
"You'll like it." He said wryly.
Then he settled in beside her and read as she lay her head on his shoulder and
started her own book.
Molly brought them cookies and milk...and even sandwiches later so they didn't
have to move.
Then he carried her to bed and Molly and the other Maid helped her and gave
her salves to sooth her skin.
Serena lay silently that night as she listened to Molly argue Darien back to bed
and away from her door.
She stared out at the stars and thought deeply. She was a wife now, and her girlhood
had been ripped away by the Count. His drunken, heavy-handed love making had been
far more terrifying than what Molly had hurredly explained in the kitchen.
Could she never again run and play with Darien? Was that ended forever? And if so,
what would take it's place?
She finally dozed off fitfully.
Darien carried her down to the brook the next morning and bathed her gently, stroking
her still-burnt skin with a kind touch.
But as she stumbled away from the brook and fell into his arms, a wave of bitterness
washed over her, "I hate him." She muffled into his chest, "I don't want him to
be my husband."
And she meant it. It occurred to her quite suddenly however, as she looked up into
Darien's dark, serious eyes, that if she wanted anyone for her husband it was him.
And that was when she remembered their brief encounter...it seemed so long ago.
She made a decision as they hobbled back to the house. For she suddenly realized, that
if she were no longer a girl....than her love for him was no longer a child's love either.
Darien carried her down to the water everyday and washed her. He was very silent. He
carried her until she stopped limping altogether and then took her on careful walks,
watching her warily.
They read together and ate together, but there was no playing, or laughing, or even smiling.
And that broke her heart.
She waited until her body was her own again before acting on her decision.
The next morning, some two weeks after the Count had left, as they walked towards the
brook she stopped him.
"Darien?"
He turned to face her, "Yes?" His voice was so soft and she realized he'd barely
spoken at all these past weeks.
She took a determined step closer, "That day at the brook...."
She watched recognition colour his cheeks and continued, "W-was that how it's supposed
to be?"
His eyes met hers then, in a kind of tortured agony and sympathy and truth,
"Yes." He said hoarsely, knowing at that moment, how much he truly loved her.
Her eyes looked at him, bluer than they'd ever been, "Show me?"
She watched shock register across his face and he opened his mouth but nothing came out.
"Please?" She added, holding out her arms.
He looked at her a long moment, the question in his eyes. Did she really want to
betray her husband?
But her eyes were steady and assuring. And he remembered how she took off the ring.
Her hands were bare--as though she were free.
He took her slowly into his arms and held her a moment...a long moment....before shakily
undoing her dress...for once the action was paired with the forbidden act it associated
itself with.
He slipped her dress off gently and ran his hands softly over her back, her arms...
Then he pulled away a moment but she kept her eyes shut tight until he whispered softly
in her ear, "May I kiss you?"
Her eyes flew open in surprise and she opened her mouth to speak but lost her voice
at the sight of him quite naked. Her eyes widened but she managed to regain herself.
"Y-yes."
He smiled softly and then leaned in, pressing his lips against hers...uncertainly at
first and then, slowly, with more pressure, stroking and tasting her until they
both found what pleased them.
She wound her arms about him and he pulled her tight against him, murmuring something
in the back of his throat.
Then he pulled back, breathing heavily and bent to her neck till she could feel his
breath, "May I kiss you here?"
She smiled, "Yes."
He pressed kisses down her throat and shoulder then stopped at her breasts,
"And here?"
She giggled, "Yes." Then gasped at the sensation.
He kissed down her stomach, "And here?"
She laughed outright now, "Are you going to kiss me all over?"
She heard him chuckle but murmur, "Mmmhmm."
He wandered lower and her breath hitched in her throat. What was this feeling?
She instinctively moved closer as his mouth pressed kisses to her legs and her
knees and then back up.
And when he pressed one careful kiss between her legs she felt a sudden sensation
of pleasure that made her eyes flutter shut and her breath gasp quite audibly.
Darien looked up at her face and then pulled her gently down to the sand, laying
beside her so their feet dipped into the cool water.
He moved over her and kissed her again, deeply, hands in her hair as he pressed her
back against the sand. She kissed him back but then pulled away,
"I'm afraid." She whispered, her eyes wide.
His eyes softened as he breathed heavily, desire threatening to overwhelm him,
"I-I've never done this before....but I promise I won't hurt you--Blue."
And he watched her visibly relax then and smile as she wrapped her arms around
him, "I know...I believe you. I trust you."
He came to lay over her and she parted her legs, wrapping them around his hips and
drawing him down--this was the part she knew.
He watched her face carefully as he pressed slowly in, reading her face for pleasure
or pain. She smiled and moaned softly but then suddenly gasped out in pain so he
stopped. And lingered. Partway in, stroking gently--feeling he'd die from the sudden
ecstasy of it--until she softened and he felt her legs relax.
And with a sudden moan of pleasure she took him all the way and his eyes fluttered
closed with the overwhelming sensation of it.
She opened her eyes and watched him, his face unguarded and alive with pleasure.
With every stroke that made her moan he felt it too. It made her smile
and caress his face gently.
His eyes fluttered open and met hers, he leaned down and kissed her, then breathed
softly into her neck, "I love you...Serena..."
Not Blue but her real name. Her grown-up name. She smiled, "I love you too..."
And she knew how much at that moment.
His staggered breathing became gasps, "...I..I don't know how long this is going
to last....I'm sorry...."
Sorry? She nearly laughed. This was bliss.
Instead she wrapped herself tighter around him and--feeling that he was holding back
from moving any faster--pressed herself against him with a rhythm of her own.
And she felt him lose control, let out a strange sound of anguish and joy mingled
together before his body shuddered in release. And feeling it from him was
beautiful.
She held him in her arms and savored it.
They lay there long moments afterwards, till they caught their breath--especially
Darien.
Then he pulled himself up on his elbows and regarded her with very tender eyes.
He kissed her gently, over and over and she giggled, kissing him back.
"Tell me again?" he asked softly.
She smiled, "I love you?"
"That's it..."
She laughed, "I love you Darien."
"I love you too." He kissed her neck and finally pulled away farther so he could
caress her body again.
She took the opportunity to tackle him over and lay on top, making him laugh.
The sight of his smile was wonderful. She pressed the corners of his mouth comically
with her fingers, "I was afraid you'd forgotten how!"
He caught her fingertips and kissed them.
Then he caught her up in his arms and cuddled her against him, with something of
their old comraderie and a newly awakened, sensual possessiveness.
They stayed that way a long time as it all sunk in. And when they finally pulled
on their clothes to head back, they were smiling. Really smiling again.
Darien leaned over and kissed her one last time and then took her hand to lead
her back to the house.
They seemed to come alive after that. Molly and the other Maid were heart-glad to
hear them bantering and laughing in the library.
And she never suspected anything. They were very careful.
But nearly every morning they slipped down to the brook and made love.
Carefully, tenderly, until they knew each other's bodies better than their own.
Darien would lay her back and touch her so softly, whispering in her ear,
"Is this nice?" "And this?"
And by the end of the first week he was seeing her through to the end--feeling her
softly shuddering body beneath his with a deep satisfaction.
Molly never wondered until the Count returned. But as she slipped the ring quickly
back on Serena's finger and watched the girl's lips and shoulders stiffen it was
Darien's nearly tortured eyes watching that gave him away.
The Count made no pretense and carted her shamelessly upstairs as she looked sadly
back at Darien.
He stood at the foot of the great staircase, his fists balled, before he turned
his eyes away--unable to meet her gaze anymore.
It was then that Molly first began to guess.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~