Bertie Pelham was happy. More happy than he had ever thought he could be.
...
It was in the middle of the night, and he had just woken up. At first he wondered where he was, but almost immediately he remembered. Because he had something in his arms - or rather someone. A sleeping naked Edith.
They were sleeping in her apartment and yesterday evening they had made love for the very first time. They were going to be married in two weeks, but somehow they hadn't managed to wait until then. So, here they were, warm and cosy, together under the duvet. And most likely they were going to make love again in the morning.
But right now he didn't want to wake Edith up. He sat up in bed, casting a loving glance at her naked form - she was so incredibly beautiful, in addition to all the other things he loved her for. Then he put the duvet around her so she wouldn't get cold while he was away. She sighed while he did that, but she also had a smile on her face. She was having happy dreams, he presumed. He would love it if they were about him, but it didn't really matter, as long as she was happy.
...
Bertie had promised Edith to be there in the morning, but right now he needed to get out of bed to go to the loo.
Bertie was as naked as Edith was and he didn't want to be cold when he returned to her. But last night he hadn't expected to stay over, what had happened was all very spontaneous, so he hadn't brought anything to wear.
Well, he had to borrow then. He took a dressing-gown from Mr Gregson's wardrobe. Edith had talked about giving Gregson's clothes away to charity, but she hadn't got around to doing it.
Right now Bertie was thankful that she hadn't done it. Your loss is my gain, he thought as he put on the gown.
...
Some minutes later Bertie went to the kitchen to drink a glass of water. He let the tap run for a while before he filled up his glass. He had just started drinking when he heard a strange sound.
There was someone at the door. Someone who was probably trying to break in. Bertie took up the poker and went to stand at the door, happy that Edith wasn't alone in the apartment when a thing like this happened.
The burglar was very quiet, it sounded like he was trying out a key. Probably he was using some devise to try to open the lock, Bertie thought.
Then the door turned open and a man who looked vaguely familiar stared at Bertie as if he had seen a ghost.
Which was exactly what Bertie thought he was doing.
AN: Thank you for reading! Please leave a comment!
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I'm better at starting new stories than finishing the ones I have already started, it seems.