Here's day three and almost caught up to the prologue. Hopefully no one will suffocate in the fluff from this fic. Just a warning, the rating may go up with the next chapter as I'm thinking there might have to be just a wee bit of M-ness.

Walking down to breakfast the next morning, Charles was feeling very confident and just a tad bit proud of himself. He was proud that he'd managed to surprise Elsie last night which was a very rare occurrence indeed. The best part of that little trick had been the distraction. That his kiss had apparently distracted her enough that she had not felt him slip the brooch between her breasts was what had him feeling so confident today. He had to admit that he was surprised and honored that she loved him, but he was absolutely flabbergasted that she desired him. She evidently saw a slightly different Charles Carson than he did when he looked in the mirror. He was not, however, going to question his good luck but take full advantage of it.

Thinking back to how Elsie had looked at him when she'd removed his tie and collar, he realized what a very lucky man he was. Then, taking a deep breath before he entered the servant's hall, he decided that he shouldn't dwell on those thoughts just before he had to sit beside her at the table. He was going to have a hard enough time maintaining his composure as it was. Entering the hall, he was a little disappointed to see that Elsie was not already there, until he heard her behind him.

"Good morning, Mr. Carson," she said, then, "Good morning all."

Turning, he let his eyes trail discreetly down her body, thinking of where the brooch had been last night and wondering where it might be today. He could also very clearly remember that red mark on the swell of her very white breast and found himself flustered at the thought. Realizing that he'd neglected to answer, he quickly said, "Good morning, Mrs. Hughes. Shall we eat?" pulling out her chair for her.

They ate their breakfast in companionable silence, listening to the bantering and bickering of the rest of the staff. Charles glanced over at her and saw that she was looking at him. He smiled at her questioningly wondering what she was thinking, and she smiled back in a knowing way that had him looking away quickly. He caught site of the scratch on his finger that now looked much better and tried to decide whether he could safely use it as an excuse to visit her parlor one more time.

Then Mr. Bates commented with a tiny half smile, "That scratch is looking a lot better, Mr. Carson. You should still have it looked at again, though. You wouldn't want infection to set in late."

Mentally Charles blessed the man and berated himself for ever thinking that he was anything but the finest valet he'd ever known, "Thank you for your assessment, Mr. Bates. I may have to presume on Mrs. Hughes' kindness one more time."

Glancing over at Elsie, he thought her smile was almost as smug as his own likely was.

Walking into her parlor mid-morning, he shut the door behind him and turned toward her smiling.

"God bless Mr. Bates," she said as she took his hand to look at the scratch.

"Amen," he agreed as he sat down in the chair beside the door.

Holding his hand in hers, she gently cleaned and bandaged the scratch again while he used the excuse to stare at her neck and daydream about the kisses he could place there.

He cleared his throat as she was finishing and said, "Actually, I have another small injury for you to look at."

Examining his right hand and then picking up his left to do the same, she asked, "Did it bite you again? I must say that it would serve you right after that trick you pulled. My corset, Charles! For heaven's sake."

He grinned broadly, still incredibly proud of himself for that little bit of sleight of hand and pulled his hand from hers so that he could turn and click the lock on the door.

She watched him quizzically while he released the knot on his tie and unbuttoned his collar. "It didn't bite me, but someone else apparently did," he said as he showed her the purple mark on the side of his neck.

Looking at it fascinated and a little proud, she traced it with the tip of a finger, "Does it hurt?"

"Only when I have something tight on it," he said grimly, "like my collar and tie."

Drawing his collar together to button it, she said, "I'm sorry. Next time I'll have to go lower, I suppose."

His jaw slackened enough that she had to push it up gently with her hand so that she could finish buttoning his collar.

He continued to stare at her appreciatively while she tied his tie. When she finished and looked into his eyes, he gripped the back of her thigh and drew her to him kissing her softly while tracing her thigh with his hand.

Placing her hands on his shoulders, she pushed herself away gently and asked, "I'll see you tonight?"

"Nothing could keep me away," he replied seriously and then after leaning forward for another soft kiss, stood to leave the room.

He'd unlocked the door and was about to open it, when she said quietly, "Charles, it's still inside my corset."

He was ashamed to say he actually groaned and gripped the door knob so tight he thought he'd break it off. "Round four to Elsie Hughes," he thought grimly.

The thought of the brooch inside her corset, and that he was going to be able to see it there dominated his mind for the rest of the day. He actually decided that he should probably avoid seeing her as much as possible just so that he could maintain some modicum of composure. He even ate a sandwich in his pantry instead of coming to luncheon. She had done that most deliberately and unfortunately very early in the day. As he was enduring this frustration, his competitive spirit was aroused amongst other things. Sitting at his desk after luncheon, he decided that he was definitely not going to take this lying down, and then groaned at the image that came to mind of Elsie on her sofa. That was certainly the wrong choice of words. All right, he decided he wasn't going to stand for this and then imagined himself pressing her against the wall of his pantry. He groaned again and decided that he needed to take a walk.

Fortunately and unfortunately, the family was dining away from home that night. It was fortunate in that Charles didn't have to prepare for a formal dinner, and the servants were able to have their meal a little earlier. It was unfortunate in that the younger members of staff always seemed to look at these nights as a kind of holiday and would stay up later than usual in the hall. From his pantry, he could hear William playing the piano while the others laughed, and he knew it was going to be a very long time before he could go to Elsie. Grimly determined to keep his mind on other things, he started to work on some accounts. As he was working, he decided on one thing; this was going to have to end tonight, or he would most certainly die from want.

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