Chapter 1.4- Shadows moving in the dark
Lord Booth followed her into the water, stretched his arms and told her to lay back. She calculated the movement and, leaning back, stretched her body, laying backwards, hesitantly. Lord Booth's hands held her by the shoulders and urged her to stretch her legs leaving the safety of the lake bed. She did as he asked trusting him absolutely. Her body floated to the surface of the water. She laughed- not a giggle, this time, but a rasp sound that echoed through his body. His hands on her shoulders were acutely aware of her body heat. He wanted nothing more than to touch her, her undergarments clinging to her still juvenile forms in a tantalizing manner. It took all his will power not to. She was a child. And him, a married man. Gently, he motioned her out of the water.
"Time to go home now, Temperance"
"I always wanted to know how ducks do it." She smiled softly. He wanted to touch her face so badly it hurt, each of her freckles beaconing him to her
"Well, now you know how. And you've done it yourself. Experience is the mother of all knowledge" He put his clothes on and, once she'd done the same thing, took Jupiter's reins and climbed up. He stretched his hand to her.
"I'll take you home, Temperance" She took his hand and he pulled her up in one swift movement. She was captured between his arms and had never felt so safe in her whole life.
Lord Booth rode towards the manor with Temperance in his arms. He was inebriated by the scent of lavender that she exuded, the heat of her body reaching him through wet clothes. The memory of her joy in the water would never leave him from that day onwards. He was drunk with her presence, with her eyes and her voice, drunk with her words and her curious mind, drunk with her trust. A deep joy, violent joy tore through his body, through his soul. It cannot be, he thought. It can never be. And yet it was. It simply was.
He directed Jupiter towards the stables, dismounted and then took Temperance in his arms to help her down.
From a high up window, Lady Rebecca observed the scene with a dangerously frowned eye.
In her rooms, Lady Rebecca turned to Tess. The command passed between the two women unspoken. Tess, her expression as closed as her mistress', marched towards the servants' quarters and entered the cubicle where the two girls had their bed. She occupied the only stool in the room and waited in the permanent near darkness that was that room. When Angela made her way in, closely followed by Temperance later that day, she was startled by the shadow that moved silently, her fanciful mind quickly taking stock of all possible ghosts. As their eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, a feeling of foreboding took over their hearts. Tess stood, her body small and dry, with a horse whip in her hand. She closed the door behind the girls and took Temperance by the arm, tossing her against the closest wall. The whip flew in her hand against Temperance's back hitting her mercilessly. Angela flew in defence of her friend, trying to get in the middle, but Tess was surprisingly strong. She was pushed away with a swift movement that tossed her against the stool with a thud of her head against the wood. Angela lost consciousness. In her own world of pain, Temperance curled like a puppy, trying to protect as much of her body as she could.
"A master should never associate with servants!" It was all over the same way it had begun: a shadow moving out of the dark, dingy room in silent devastation.