Silence has filled the house after everyone went to bed. Everyone but Isobel, who stands by the window and looks out into the cold dark night. The snow has turned the meagre landscape around the house into a beautiful winter dream within a couple of hours.
The silence in her room is only disturbed by the cracking of the fire in the fireplace and the ticking of the clock on the mantle piece. Isobel doesn´t turn around when she hears the door behind her opening and closing. She doesn´t turn around when arms are wrapping around her waist. She doesn´t turn around when she feels Elsie´s warm body against hers. Both women have been longing for this the whole evening and they don´t want to ruin this moment with talking. They just stand there for a while and watch the snow fall. Both are determined to enjoy every moment of this special night. Savouring the gift that has been given to them tonight.
"I´ve been waiting for this since her Ladyship told me that you are staying," Elsie says into the silence, kissing Isobel´s temple. They have been lucky that nobody had paid any attention to the glances they have exchanged while Cora was going with Elsie through the sleeping arrangements. "Actually, I´ve been wishing for this since I saw how heavy the snow became during the day. That it would block the roads and you have to stay."
"What else is on your wish list?" Isobel turns around and is surprised that Elsie is wearing a robe and not her usual dress. "Oh, what is this? Is this the new housekeeper uniform?"
Elsie nods. "But I only wear it on special occasions."
"And I assume that this is one?" A rhetorical question, because for obvious reasons they can never be together during the night. It would raise too many questions if someone would find out. Questions, they could never answer without giving themselves away.
Isobel has opened Elsie´s bathrobe by now. "Is this the nightgown we´ve bought in Ripon? Do you remember the saleswoman, who went on and on how much your husband will like you in this?" Both giggle.
"That poor woman had absolutely no clue. She didn´t even notice that I don´t wear a ring."
"Yes, but I have to admit that I rather enjoyed this little scene. And to tell you the truth," Isobel´s finger runs over Elsie´s cleavage. "I always tried to imagine how you would look in this nightgown." Her hands are running up Elsie´s arms to her shoulders.
"And?" comes the shy question.
Isobel strips Elsie´s robe off her shoulders and lets it fall on the floor. The slightly cooler air, that has hit Elsie´s warm skin and the tender touches of Isobel´s fingertips made her shiver.
"Well, I can only speak for myself and not for your husband," Isobel grins, resting her forehead against Elsie´s. "But every time when I´ll look back to this night, I will remember how beautiful you looked. You look perfect to me, my darling," Isobel says, caressing her cheek. They kiss.
"But what about you?" Elsie steps away. "Do you always have a nightgown in your purse in case you have to stay overnight?"
"Cousin Cora gave it to me. I know, that she´s slimmer than me but I never expected her to be that slim. It´s a bit tight here and there. So maybe a nightgown in my purse isn´t such a bad idea for next time." Isobel smoothes her nightgown and looks at Elsie, whose eyes are slowly wandering over her body. This isn´t the first time Elsie is doing this, but for some reason it makes her blush this time.
Elsie steps forward again. "Do you actually know how often I have dreamed about this? Just you and me together in one of these rooms?"
"You weren´t the only one."
They kiss again and soon their nightgowns are joining Elsie´s robe on the floor.

At the same time on the other end of the corridor

For the hundreds of times Cora looks at the clock on her nightstand but the hands don´t seem to move. Cora rolls back and stares at the ceiling again. It´s the third night in row, that she has troubles to find sleep. She is reaching out for the space beside her but all her hand can find is the cool fabric of the untouched blanket. It´s the third night in row, that Robert isn´t sleeping beside her. No matter how often she´s told him that Mr Bricker came uninvited into her room, he simply refused to believe her. She doesn´t know what else to do, how could she prove him that his suspicions are unfounded? Cora sighs and gets out of bed. She stands by the fireplace and pokes listless in the glow of the dying fire. She puts the poker aside and looks back to her empty and cold bed that is waiting for her. Instead of going back to bed, she puts on her robe and leaves the room. A glass of milk has always helped her as a child when she couldn´t sleep or had a nightmare. Cora doubts that this will bring Robert back into her bed, but everything is better than laying awake the whole night and cudgel her brain.
On her way to the kitchen Cora has to pass Isobel´s room and just when she has passed it, she thinks that she´s heard a noise coming out of the room. Cora stops and listens. It did sound bit like a giggle to her. She makes one step back and leans a bit to the side. There it is again. Defintely a giggle and is Isobel speaking to someone? Just when Cora is about to eavesdrop at the door, the big grandfather clock in the hall chimes and makes her flinch. Cora exhales and continues her way down to the kitchen.

Twenty minutes later. After a huge glass of milk and a biscuit she has stolen out of Mrs Patmore´s pantry, Cora is on her way back to her room. She slows down her steps when she has reached Isobel´s room. Again she can hear noises coming out of the room and yes, Isobel is definitely talking to someone. She looks down the hall way before she leans at the door, feeling the cool surface of the door on her ear. She can only hear fragments of what they are saying. And what was this? Did... did someone moan? Surely not. But she is sure that the other person in the room is a woman. Cora wonders who this might be. Isobel is the only guest and who should visit her at this time of the night? Cora gets more and more curious. She grabs the handle of the door but hesitates. "I know this is wrong," she says and looks up at the ceiling ", but I´ll take just one tiny little glimpse and close the door immediately. I promise."
Cora inhales and carefully opens the door, trying not to make any noises. After all she doesn´t know what is going on behind this door, but she never expected to see this. She freezes when she sees what has caused the noises she´s heard, her eyes widened. Isobel is leaning against the bedframe. Naked. Her right foot placed on the little bench that stands in front of the bed. And yes, there is no doubt that the other person in this room is a woman, because she is naked as well. One of her hands caress Isobel´s thigh, while the other one rests loosely on Isobel´s hip. Cora can´t see who the other woman is because she is whispering into Isobel´s ear, but something tells Cora that this isn´t the first encounter between these women, they seem to be very familiar with each other. Isobel laughs and wraps her arms around the other woman, pulling her closer.

After Cora has digested the first shock she leans forward. She has to narrow her eyes a bit because the fire in the fireplace is the only source of light in this room and casts clouds over both women. Cora gasps when the other woman looks at Isobel. "Mrs... Mrs Hughes?" and her hands fly to her open mouth. She steps away from the door into the shadow of the hallway, hoping that they haven´t heard her. When no reaction to her discovery follows and her heartbeat is back to normal, she dares to make a step forward again. Cora knows that she should shut the door and forget all about it, but she can´t. Her eyes are magically drawn to the scenery in front of her. By now the housekeeper´s hand has wandered from Isobel´s hip down between her legs. Isobel´s hands wander over Elsie´s back. Cora´s eyes are following their coordinated movements, leaving no doubt that this isn´t the first time are intimate with each other. A thought, Cora finds rather exciting when she lets it sink in. Isobel has closed her eyes and Cora can see that she is enjoying every second of Elsie´s touches. And so does Cora, if she would be honest with herself.
Suddenly bewilderment is shown on Isobel´s face and she opens her eyes when Elsie makes a half step backwards. Before Isobel puts her foot back on the ground, Cora can see the swollen pink flesh between her legs. A heat wave hits Cora.
"Not now, Isobel," Elsie says," we have the whole night."
Isobel expression softened when she hears these words. "Say that again."
"We have the whole night, mo leannan."
"The whole night, my darling," Isobel repeats, smiling tenderly at her slightly younger lover.
Cora hears every word and she sees Isobel´s look, which is full of desire and longing, love and trust for Elsie. And Cora is certain that the housekeeper is looking at her in the same way. A faint feeling of envy is rushing over her, when she thinks about how Robert used to look at her like this but that was a long time ago.
Isobel leans forward and her wanting lips are meeting Elsie´s. Soft moans are filling the room when their tongues meet. A sound Cora has already heard earlier through the door. Cora´s eyes are following Isobel´s hands down to Elsie´s lower back. She can nearly feel how Isobel is pushing her knee between Elsie´s. The heat in her body that was about to fade away is rising again. Her own hand moves automatically over her thigh between her legs and she can feel the dampness between her legs through the fabric of her nightgown. Her hand moves shyly over the damp spot, slowly imitating the movements of Isobel´s leg. With every thrust of Isobel´s knee and with every arching of Elsie against Isobel´s leg, Cora can feel the dampness between her own legs growing and her hand gets more eager. Her heart starts beating a little faster. Her eyes are traveling upwards to Isobel´s mouth, following Isobel´s lips down to Elsie´s shoulder. The tip of Isobel´s tongue is brushing against Elsie´s flesh, drawing little circles. Isobel looks at Elsie when her hand disappears between their naked bodies. Cora can only guess by Elsie´s reaction what Isobel´s hand is doing to her. They kiss again. Cora´s mouth gets dry and she can hear the blood singing in her ears now, her hand still between her legs.
"Iso... please..." is the only thing that Elsie is able to say when she ends the kiss.
Cora wants to see Isobel´s face when she pleasures her lover. But when Cora looks at her face, she is staring right into Isobel´s eyes.

... to be continued... ?