Page 69 of Apt to be Suspicious
Pen let out a huff of breath. “Mum’s got a housekeeper who comes in and who helps with the cooking. And the laundry goes out. Such a bother, laundry when you can’t show the magic.” She considered. “It’s like how people are with the scouts in college, isn’t it? Some people mistreat them, but the place needs them to keep everything running. And doing a job well, I know a number of them enjoy it. Harris, though I suppose he doesn’t have the more annoying bits, dealing with people’s breakfasts and messes.”
“Mostly not,” Edmund agreed. Then he held out his hand. “Would you like to see my bedroom?” This time he had that earnestness Giles had mentioned, front and centre. “See what you think about the comforts of the bed.”
Pen nodded once. “I would. Can you explain what you’re thinking for the evening? Once we’re testing it, of course.”
It got her a warm chuckle, a formal escort to the bedroom door, and then the bedroom opened before her. It was smaller than the sitting room, with a door off to the right. “That’s the bath and water closet. Make use of them as you wish.”
Pen was rather more taken with the bed. It had four carved posts, though no hangings around it, lit by the window and some glowing charmlights. Here, everything was a deep green and the tawny brown of Owl House’s heraldry for accents, rather than the grey she’d expected. It was like being in an enchanted wood. Especially since the bedside tables rather evoked the arc of tree trunks and curving branches.
He squeezed her hand, and she went to sit on the bed, to find it plush. Not the sort of overstuffed comfort that meant sinking into the mattress and disappearing, but perfectly balanced and restorative. “Mmm. Your plans? Come sit, or whatever it is we’re doing. Shall I take my shoes off?”
“Shoes.” Edmund’s voice hitched as he went on. “More than that? We are quite private, I promise. Shall I go make sure of the warding and bring your bag in?”
Pen swallowed. “Is that you asking me to stay the night?” His eyes widened, like he hadn’t quite figured out how to put the words in the right order to form the question. He nodded minutely, and she went on. “I brought a change of clothes. Though I was expecting more, I don’t know. An inn or you’d said you’ve a family house in Trellech.”
She let out a slow breath and then dared to find the words for what she was feeling. “We haven’t done certain things yet, and I’m not saying we need to do them tonight. But being here, feeling what it’s like here? I am open to exploring that permutation of interrelationship.”
It could have come out sounding prim, but somehow it didn’t. It took all of what they’d been talking about in various ways all afternoon and brought it to a point. She had the joy of watching him inhale sharply, the little tell of arousal she was becoming vastly better at spotting. “I’ll check the door, then.”
He turned, disappearing back into the sitting room, giving her just long enough to stand again and begin to undo the buttons down the front of her frock. Edmund came back, gently setting her bag on the stool nearest the door to the bath, then turning to her, his eyes widening.
Pen let her fingers halt for just a second. “Would you rather?” They’d had time together, but not nearly enough that any of this felt ordinary. He’d undressed her before. More usefully, he’d demonstrated that he understood how women’s underthings fastened. Or rather, opened. She was not nearly so deft with his clothing, but she was certain practice would improve that. Now, he stepped closer, his fingers working on her buttons, while hers fumbled a little at his shirt.
Pen wasn’t too horribly slow, then she was shrugging out of her slip and brassiere. Edmund took a step back, his fingers running along her bare skin. “Mmm. I am delighted you said yes.” Before she had to think of what to say, he was bending to kiss her. His hands cupped around her shoulders before they moved and she could feel him undoing his trousers and stepping out of his clothes. The kiss took her breath away, but also her nerves.
Pen took a step or two back toward the bed. She bent to pick up her frock and things, and at least pile them by her bag, out of the way and tidy. Edmund turned away, one long flank of his leg visible, to do the same, putting them inside the door to the bath before he turned back. There was something entirely daring about seeing him entirely naked, aroused, eager, and stepping back to join her. “I’ll do my charm. Or there’s a potion bottle there on the side table. If you like that as well.”
They’d talked about that, though this was the first time it had been particularly relevant. She did not yet feel confident with the charm for such things— it was a little tricky. Now, Pen turned toward the table, blinking. “Just waiting?”
“There is also one in my satchel. More than one. Papa’s alchemists have improved the taste, rather.” He seemed more amused than anything by her reaction, when someone might reasonably have wondered how many he was likely to go through.
She wrinkled up her nose slightly. “I can come to grips with this house and having a staff, and horses. I am not entirely sure I can come to grips with knowing your father has alchemists who make contraceptive potions for you.”
“They believe in demonstrating the breadth and width of their skills? A professional pride in covering all the relevant services. Actually, they offered when I came of age? It’s not, um, personal to you? Though if you prefer to take a potion or pills along with the charms, they would consult and adjust to your preferences.” Edmund reached toward it, then looked at her. “Would you like?”
“Yes, might as well be sensible.” He leaned further, pulling it out of the holder, then presented it to her with a slight bow. It should have been ridiculous— he was naked, after all. But he made it graceful, that same awareness of what his body was doing that he had when clothed.
This time, it was not annoying. Fascinating, that was a better word for it. A puzzle that she wanted to spend a great deal of time understanding, certainly. She handed the vial back, and he slipped it into the holder, before she wriggled back on the bed. It was huge, expansive, and that felt like incredible luxury, the sort people didn’t talk about. A moment later, he joined her, settling on his side.
Looking at his face was, for the moment, easier than looking at the rest of him. Pen focused on that. “Um. The next— I—” Then she stalled.
“How about I dim the lights— there will be light from outside for a while yet.” This close to the solstice, she supposed there would. “Then we will do some of what we’ve done before and go from there.”
“That, please.” Pen managed the words before she felt herself blushing again. “I want to. I promise. It’s just, well.”
“It’s new, and this place is new, and settling will take a minute. Let me make sure a couple of things are handy.” He twisted, his back arching. She wanted to stroke along the line it made, but couldn’t quite yet. He pulled a larger bottle out of the bedside table drawer, set it on the table, and then turned back to her. “Shall we?”
Chapter 43
That afternoon
Edmund leaned on his elbow and considered how to go about this. Pen was nervous; he could see that. Feel that, for all he was not yet quite touching her. Margaret, his first lover, had been a woman of strong and extensively expressed opinions on a number of topics. The beginning of a seduction had been a regular one. Her first marriage had not begun as well as she’d wanted on that front, though it had apparently improved a great deal over time.
Now, Edmund adjusted the charmlights with a wave of two fingers and a little push of magic, then he watched Pen closely. “A kiss, a bit of touching. I may brush against you unless you mind. But you needn’t do anything about that. You needn’t at any point. Though if you decide you’d rather not, I’ll excuse myself at some point to the bath for a few minutes.”
Pen sucked in a breath, watching him intently. “That would be rude, wouldn’t it? Women talk about what men say.”
“Men can be quite rude about it. Pushy. I would never.” Edmund thought the fact that she was talking was good, though. “My current goal is mmm. To see how good I can make you feel. Whether I can bring you to forget yourself. I promise the sound won’t carry.” He didn’t much want his family to hear that either.
