A Honeymoon Mystery or The Tie that Binds
Ever stubborn about his grand gestures, William swept Julia into his arms to carry her across the threshold into the Royal Honeymoon Suite of the Queen's Hotel.
At first the newlyweds were too busy laughing and nuzzling each other as William maneuvered them through the doorway to take note of their surroundings. Then William glanced up to get his bearings, and he almost dropped his bundle of bride. Thankfully, he recovered before Julia slipped through his grasp.
But Julia herself was no longer playing William's game of chivalry. She hopped out of William's arms, exclaiming over the riot of luxury, and proceeded to spin all around the opulent room. All William could do was gape.
"When Inspector Brackenreid said the honeymoon suite would be his wedding gift, I had no idea..." William hugged himself tightly as he watched Julia run light fingers over the over-stuffed velvet furnishings, the sparkling dining accoutrements, the gilded fire place, and a bed that might as well have been a castle draped in royal crimson satins and silks. William's gaze lingered on the bed.
"I always had the Inspector pegged as a romantic softie at heart." Julia returned to William's side, shaking him gently, trying to distract him from his state of shock. She pulled him over to a table teeming with exotic blossoms, sugar-paste sculptures, and an abundance of viands. Julia held aloft a crystal carafe, "This looks like a fine port. Care for a drink William?"
To her surprise, William nodded. He looked pale. However he had envisioned the first minutes of their honeymoon, this was not it. He seemed out of sorts, like he had lost control of the situation. Julia recognized this mood as a dangerous one to be averted by any means possible: it tended to lead to William closing in on himself, and shutting everyone, including Julia, out.
"Thank you, Mrs. Murdoch." William murmured, gazing at Julia fondly as he took the tumbler. He closed his eyes, and tossed the liquor back in one gulp.
Then he took a step toward Julia, tipped forward with a tentative smile, puppy eyes full of meaning, as if he intended to kiss her...and then his eyes shifted away. Julia grabbed him by the lapels and took the kiss from him.
"Wait-" William pulled away, "We haven't even shaken the dust from the road..."
"I'd like to change out of my reception clothes as well," Julia agreed, recognizing that in this night above all nights, William needed some time to prepare himself. She placed a kiss of promise on his cheek and whispered in his ear, "I won't be long." With a flick of her tongue, she kissed his tender ear lobe as well and was rewarded with a blush. Now the affectionate, pompous smile William had been wearing for their wedding vows had returned.
Then Julia flitted off to explore their accommodations further before William could make a protest at their parting. She had pressed her body firmly against his as they kissed and noted to her satisfaction that he wanted her. God, how she had yearned to weigh that prodding manhood in her hand over the years! She yearned for the moment William would finally fully trust her, and she would justify that trust.
"We have our own private bath, William." Julia shot William a seductive glance, hoping he saw the post-marital possibilities of that. His vermilion hue suggested he did indeed. "And the vanity in the dressing room is worthy of a doyenne of the grand opera." The vanity offered a tray brimming with lotions and perfumes. After a few experimental sniffs, Julia popped back out and made a sultry show of spraying Eau de Orientales Secrets into her cleavage.
To her disappointment, William wasn't watching. He had already retreated to a corner, where he was hanging up his suit jacket in an armoire with infinite care.
Sighing, Julia found her valise, gathered what she needed, and stole back into the dressing room. As she prepared her surprise with all the speed she could muster, she wondered what William's ritual preparations might involve. Did he just need time to shave and spruce himself up, to reassure himself that Julia wanted him? His jaw had acquired a little rough shadow toward the afternoon, and they had spent the day in the sweltering heat of Allan Gardens, entertaining guests at their reception. Julia hoped William had the benefit of a wash basin, since she had the bath.
What else might William have to prepare? Did he need to pray before consummating their marriage? Was that something he needed to do privately? Or perhaps he needed time to take certain Oriental herbs. He was a man of 40 after all - perhaps he needed to make sure that he would be able to perform when the time comes. Julia giggled out loud at the thought. Then she imagined William hastily leafing through various books for guidance. Or perhaps he was reading the Kama Sutra. Now Julia felt a warm surge at the thought. Or perhaps William had brought his copy of Kipling and was swiftly reading up on the law of the jungle. The thought of William transforming himself into the king of the jungle made Julia laugh out loud, and she covered her mouth, hoping William couldn't hear through the thin walls.
Much thought had gone into this evening's attire. Julia had employed all her powers of imagination, not to mention cunning and strategy, into promoting the arousal of a man that had known her for almost a decade. But mostly she was keen to avoid another Zipper Incident. She still cringed every time she thought of that time after Tannhäuser when she lured William to her home, and got him so drunk on Cointreau-infused punch that he had well-nigh tossed her onto the dining room table to have his way with her...when he discovered her zipper. The first zipper he had seen embedded in a lady's dress. He became preoccupied with playing with it, and of course it got stuck, which ruined the mood. And William soon recovered himself and quite resented her attempt to trick him into spoiling her. Spoiling her, he called it!
Well tonight was the night. Their honeymoon night. William had better be ready to do some despoiling tonight. Julia applied some more Eau de Orientales Secrets in the general direction of her privy parts for good measure.
By the time Julia emerged from her ablutions and special primping, William had once again retreated to the distant corner to unpack his clothes and arrange them in the armoire, but he had evidently also spent some time setting the stage for romance. He had dimmed the lights and lit candles around the room. A famous Parisian chanteuse crooned chansons d'amour from the gramophone. As far as she could tell, though, William had only removed his hat, travel coat, and suit jacket. Not that Julia was disappointed: William always cut a dashing figure in a vest. But he remained a tad overdressed for the occasion.
William seemed to be under the impression that they would be having supper. And perhaps engage in some dancing. Did he think he had to woo her even now that she wore his ring and vowed herself to him for eternity? Did William harbor some lingering uncertainty about her even now?
Julia crept up to William and whispered his name as she brushed his arm. He startled violently and grabbed the fireplace mantle for stability as he took her in.
At first glance, the floor-length white peignoir and negligee seemed bridal and demure, but Julia artfully paused before the candlelight so William might be able to get a hint - just barely - of the scandal swathed behind so many layers of sheer silk and swirling chiffon: her scarlet satin corset and bloomers set! But yet it was difficult to be sure - her stockings were wedding white, and the gold slippers that occasionally peeked out from the frothy hem of her peignoir provided no clue. The peignoir featured elaborate ribbon ties and clasps for William to puzzle over, and solve with his deft fingers. The material was light and floated around her on the slightest waft of air.
William released the breath he had apparently been holding for over a minute and blinked rapidly, "You're the most beautiful woman, Julia." He held out one hand slightly as if imagining placing it on her hip. His hand was shaking.
"I'm yours, William." Take me, William.
William turned toward the fireplace. "Does the fire need stoking?"
He was stalling! Did this fire ever need stoking. Starting a fire with William was like trying to start a fire with kindling and a piece of flint. In the rain.
Despite, or perhaps because of, his eternal calm demeanor, Julia had long nursed a suspicion that William had been saving himself for marriage. In all the years they had been intimately involved, he had never made a move on her beyond kissing, albeit William had become adept at conveying fathomless depths, almost desperate depths, of passion with a kiss - especially after he had regained Julia from Darcy. Perhaps he would always be competing with Darcy's shadow.
In any case, Julia was also certain that in all the years she had known him, William had gone no further with any other women. As far as she knew, he had never so much as loosened his tie in a woman's presence. Did he have any experience at all beyond his doubtlessly thorough book research? Would their marriage have to start with her guiding him through an awkward first sexual encounter, as if they were teenagers? She didn't like to think what lasting effects that might have on his self-respect.
Julia went to William, and felt the fine vibrations of the nervousness he was trying to hide as she pulled him up to her.
"Let me take care of the stoking." She said and boldly made a play for his manhood, but William rapidly intercepted her hand and held her by the wrist and he stared at her with the oddest expression of internal struggle, verging on exquisite pain.
What are you afraid of, William?
She could feel waves of heat pouring off of him. Normally William's body heat ran a few degrees warmer than hers, and Julia found herself making the most ridiculous excuses to snuggle up against him on chilly days. But now he was radiating enough heat to spontaneously combust.
Without a change in his stoic expression, William started to extract the pins and combs from Julia's hair, ruffling her hair a bit as it fell about her shoulders.
One hand slid down to cup Julia's face, to draw her in for a kiss.
Julia stopped just short of the kiss to gently blow on his lips. She reached up with one hand to rake her fingers through William's hair as well, noting approvingly that it was soft and pomade-free. She continued her campaign of blowing tiny breaths and issuing the lightest of kisses around his face and neck. As she teased and distracted him, Julia stealthily loosened his tie. William attempted to mirror her and respond to her games in kind, but Julia was having none of that. She ducked his every tender move and tormented him like the dame sans merci.
Then she ripped his tie off with a snap.
With a roar William snapped as well, attacking her with feral lips, tongue, and teeth, his hands mauling Julia everywhere. She offered herself up as joyous prey to his anarchy.
As they skirmished with lawless abandon, William toyed with the clasps and ribbons of her peignoir. His single-handed facility with complicated fastenings suggested experience with women's garments, but then he did have nimble fingers. Julia had always relished the infinite detail of William's attentions, reminiscent of the techniques of a watchmaker accustomed to working with delicate instruments. His special talents did not fail him now. As soon as her peignoir had slipped to the floor in a pool of silk and chiffon, William expertly steered her backwards toward the bed as his lips ravished her from her neck down to her bosom. Experienced or not, William had taken charge, and Julia wanted nothing more than to surrender.
William pushed Julia onto the bed, and hovered over her, breathless and looking lost for a minute. His skin glistened with perspiration as he tentatively molded the outline of her body beneath her negligee with one hand. He was disinclined to tear the fragile fabric.
Julia raised her head slightly to whisper in his ear, "Solve the puzzle, Detective~"
That broke the spell. William chuckled, blinking rapidly as if that helped him run through the succession of possibilities. Julia giggled and teased as he shamelessly manhandled her, turning her this way and that, until he saw the solution and pounced. "Ah ha!" He cried in triumph, as he pulled a ribbon through a series of eyelets with a satisfying zzzzzzt sound. William unwrapped layers of pure white silk like a cellophane candy wrapper until he reached the Scarlet Surprise hidden in the center.
William froze. Time froze.
"What in the world, Julia...," He sputtered, studying the Scarlet Women he held in his arms, unconsciously pawing at the slick satin as he did so.
"Having second thoughts about marrying a Woman of Scandal, William?" Julia lifted her chin in challenge, licking her lips.
"Not in the least!" William grinned and tousled her hair. Then his eyes obtained a hooded, seductive look that he had never bestowed upon her before.
Suddenly he was kissing her with such a ferocity that Julia knew that the last barrier had fallen. William had finally forgotten that she was a tea and crumpets lady floating somewhere above his class.
At last, the law of the jungle, Julia wanted to scream from the mountaintops as William assaulted her with a frenzy of lips, tongue, and teeth to the point of eliciting her shrieks of ecstasy. At the same time his crafty fingers had unlaced her corset, and now he somehow pilfered her bloomers as well. Julia hardly had time to think how absurd it was that William was still dressed before he pushed deep into her core with a single, violent thrust.
"Ju-lia," William's voice broke, almost as if he were crying but not quite. To finally have her after so long a wait, perhaps he was crying.
"I love you, William." Julia promised. And she reveled in the weight of him as he pressed her down into the bed, his lips locking on to hers as he established his rhythm.
...
As they lay afterward, surfeited, undone, and already half-dreaming, Julia nuzzled into the crook of William's neck, which was rapidly becoming her favorite vulnerable spot on his body. He was now as naked as she, and she squirmed about trying to find a way to touch as much of him as possible. William remained perfectly still, boneless, and strangely cool to touch, as if he had given Julia everything he had to give. Julia inspected the fine spray of freckles about his temples that you could only see close up. She imbibed his scent, the natural aroma of manhood that had always accompanied her attraction to William combined with a slight unidentifiable fragrance that evoked the spice stalls of Chinatown.
All the possibilities of what William's secret "preparations" might have entailed again rippled through Julia's head unbidden. She managed to stifle her amusement by nibbling on William's ear.
Julia could not hold back the question anymore. "William, would you tell me if I was the first...I mean if you had saved yourself for marriage?"
William tensed perceptibly, his grip on her fierce. "Did I hurt you?"
"No no...you made me feel like...the most adored woman on this earth." Julia reassured him, and William relaxed, satisfied, as she nibbled his ear. "I've just always wondered, since I could never pry that confounded tie off..."
William gathered Julia closer, and he smiled at how she easily fit next to him. "The mystery makes things more interesting, don't you think?"
...
Secret moral of the story from a book in William's library: kaya indriya siddhih asuddhiksayat tapash