Once Thessaly had brought him upstairs, Vitus wasn’t sure what to do with himself. “Sit, please.” She waved him at the sofa. “Or could you pull that table over, in the middle, so I can put a book or two on it? How long can you stay?”
“I have an early consult tomorrow morning.” Vitus said, regretfully. “An hour or so? I can get supper at home. Cook was putting something aside for me. My parents are out.”
“This might be a little distracting. Are you sure?” Thessaly flushed, rather prettily.
Vitus watched her, tilting his head. “Now I’m entirely curious. What sort of distracting?”
She brought over two books, with little to show what was in them on the spine or cover, both larger. “The sort of distracting like two weeks ago. And I don’t think we have time for too much more experimentation.” She sucked in a breath. “Aunt Metaia made it clear to me, when we were talking, not long before she was killed, that she might not have married, but she wasn’t an untouched maiden, either. I wondered if she had anything in her more private library, up here, that might...”
“Naughty books?” Vitus blinked. “Oh.” He took a deep breath to steady himself, not that it helped. “And you found some?”
“Naughty books. Naughty pictures. They have given me some ideas.” Thessaly settled down next to him. He was again suddenly aware of the fact she was not wearing any of the underpinnings beneath her tea gown that were a bit more like armour. He could feel her hip against his, then she leaned forward to open one book. The first pages were more or less innocuous, a man and woman sitting beside each other on a settee, much as he and she were right now.
Vitus said, before he could stop himself, “I have not found I needed a book for ideas. I’ve dreamt of you. Waking and sleeping, though I suppose the one is more a fantasy than a dream.” He’d permitted himself to indulge that fantasy at most once a day. There was far too little time in his life. And also, he found the idea of taking such things too far without her active encouragement to be a trifle uncomfortable.
“Have you, really?” Her hand moved, settling on his thigh, not entirely indelicate, but certainly tending that way. “I like that idea very much. I certainly have thought a fair bit about you. And the books encouraged me to, what’s the word...”
“Explore yourself? Touch yourself?” Vitus could hear his breath catching.
“That.” Thessaly said it precisely, though it was not at all prim. “Perhaps we might look and talk a little more about our respective desires, to give more shape, until we can find a proper time to enjoy them? When we can linger, no rushing.”
“Please.” It came out of him like a groan. The anticipation might well kill him, but it would be such a delightful way to go. As Thessaly slowly turned the pages, it became clear that she was interested in a great deal, much of which he had at least some experience with. She was unsure about anything that might cause discomfort, at least in a sense intended also for pleasure. But she was intrigued by the idea of charms for pleasure and sensation. And Vitus certainly had trained his skills at picking up enchantments cast with the fingers. Thessaly had as well.
The pictures - and the accompanying text - illustrated a range of positions. They seemed more or less agreed on which ones they wanted to try first. They both favoured those that allowed for freely moving hands and mouths and eyes— and those that didn’t. There was also an entire category of positions that seemed likely to require flexibility and strength Vitus was not confident he could provide. Thessaly was more optimistic about that set.
“They do say duelling is good for a number of things. Not, of course, that the men discuss that where I can hear, and the women I’ve duelled don’t either. Not while I’m unmarried, anyway. But there are whispers. I could consider that.” It would take a lot of strength in her thighs, Vitus thought, to ride him that way.
“I would certainly be delighted to try it, in due course. Once we’ve done some simpler things.” He slipped an arm around her waist, then. “And you were saying you wanted to pick up your duelling drills again.”
“I did.” Thessaly leaned her head against him, sounding contented. “Shall we save the other book for another time? I rather like just sitting here with you.”
Vitus liked that very much as well, the weight of her body against his and the warmth of her. And there was the scent of the perfume or soap or whatever it was that scented her hair and skin. He would, in fact, like to stay here for approximately eternity, except that of course he had obligations. He cleared his throat, and asked what she was up to with the rest of the house, letting her talk about how she was moving things around. She didn’t want to put things away, exactly, certainly she didn’t want to repaint or put up new wallpaper. It was more a matter of rearranging books and art and other smaller furnishings.
When she walked him back out to the portal, she kissed him once more, taking her time. “We’ll find time soon. Promise me?”
“Promise.” It was the easiest promise he’d ever made.
5
OCTOBER 17TH AT BRYN GLAS
The next two days passed in a flurry. After Vitus left, Thessaly had found it impossible to sleep. It wasn’t just the way she felt after looking at Aunt Metaia’s books. She kept being drawn to an anticipation of a future in which she and Vitus would explore more things that intrigued her. New ways of using her body and her magic. Most importantly, doing that with someone she actually cared for.
No, it was everything else. Thessaly had remembered that conversation with Magistra Hereswith and Cousin Owain, what felt like years ago, about how they didn’t know what Aunt Metaia had been working on. It wasn’t as if Thessaly were going out in public right now. It was no matter to anyone else if she was up into the wee hours, or sleeping until noon. Not other than Collins and the other household staff, and she left them notes making it clear sandwiches or something that would hold well on a tray were just fine.
Two days later, on Thursday afternoon, she was running her hands through her hair when Collins came in. “Reminding you, Mistress, that Council Member Powell intended to visit. In about an hour, if you want to wash up?”
Washing up was indeed probably a good idea. Her hair was tangling. She’d been into boxes in the storeroom, and was all over dust. Not that she expected to find anything current in them, but she had found some of the early records of Aunt Metaia’s investments, and set those aside for later. Thessaly put her head up; she’d been working on the floor. “Oh. Thank you!” She stretched, hearing a crack in her neck. “Bath, yes. And I’ll eat something while my hair’s drying.”
“I’ll just come back in half an hour then, to help you put it up. Shall I put out mourning dress or something else?”
Thessaly looked down at the gown she was wearing - worn linen, suitable for storerooms - then back up at Collins. “Something more sedate, but not mourning, I think. One of the medium blue ones?” That did not specify a great deal, given Aunt Metaia’s fondness for the colour. “And did I remember to tell you that Vitus will be by when he is done with his work?”
“You did remember that, Mistress. We were planning on supper at seven.”
“Thank you.” Thessaly divided what she had sorted into one empty box, covered both, and slid them out of the way by the shelves while Collins started the bath running. Five minutes later, she was undressed and in the bath. Twenty minutes later she felt clean and her hair was no longer powdered by dust. Terribly out of fashion these days, powdered hair. She was ready in good time to walk down to the portal with Emeline and meet Cousin Owain. She’d even had enough of a sandwich to hold her until supper. Collins and the other staff were being quite tolerant.
He was prompt, of course, and he nodded approvingly as Thessaly took the now-habitual precautions, showing him through into the library. Tea and biscuits were already waiting. Once they were settled, he looked her up and down. “I suppose I should begin with asking how you are feeling. Now, I have notheard scandal, so I assume you have not gone out like that.” Cousin Owain lifted his fingers. “I do not disapprove, but I’m curious about your decisions here. And I do have a particular question.”
