Raoul's first reaction was absolute panic. He had no idea what to do with the sleeping girl in his lap, who was snoring lightly and had not so much as stirred at the sound of the knock on the door. Finally, he stood up, still holding Jai, walked quickly to his bedroom, laid her down on the bed, and walked back to his study, closing his bedroom door behind him. He opened the door, halfway expecting Vinson and Jai's father to be standing there. Instead, a severe looking woman with a sharply pointed nose wearing a maid's uniform stood before him. Raoul looked at her in confusion and said, "Yes?"
The woman pursued her lips, disapproval written all over her face. "I'm looking for my mistress, Lady Jaid. Her presence is needed soon if the family is not to realize that she is," the woman paused and looked Raoul up and down, before finishing, "occupied in pursuits that they would not approve of."
Raoul flushed instantly, but simply said, "I'm sorry. Lady Jaid is not here."
The woman managed to look even more disapproving. "Tell my Lady she had better be in her room as soon as possible if she doesn't want the beating of her life."
She dropped a disdainful curtsey and walked away without waiting for Raoul's response. Thoroughly shaken, Raoul went back to his room and shook Jai gently awake. Jai stretched languidly as her eyes fluttered open, her back arching and her arms reaching towards the headboard, briefly distracting Raoul from the words of the maid.
"Hello," Jai said softly, lifting her chin for kiss.
Raoul smiled and complied, before remembering why he had woken up. "A very terrifying maid just came to the door and said that you had better get back to your room quickly."
Jai laughed. "Hawk-nose?"
When Raoul nodded, she said, "That's Nana, my personal maid. She's taken care of me my whole life, and she's a little protective. What time is it?"
"Almost time for the dinner bell."
"What?" Jai screeched. "Oh Goddess. I am having dinner with the Genliths tonight and I need to change first."
Jai raced out of the room, pausing only to peek out the door to the hallway to make sure the coast was clear before she hurried off towards her room. Raoul didn't even get up from his seat on the bed. Her mention of the Genliths reminded him once again of the temporariness of their situation. He reached out and touched the pillow she'd been laying on and for the first time in his entire life contemplated how nice it would be to have a woman sleeping regularly in his bed.
Despite the rumors about his interest in men, he'd had more women in his bed then the court gossips knew. He'd always been adept at keeping his affairs quiet, and he was careful to only bed women as disinterested in marriage as he was. He'd sworn off court women since he was nineteen, but soon found there were plenty of other women out there who were looking for simple gratification over marriage. In truth, he'd been far less careful with Jai then with any of the other women. He'd broken all of his rules. He hadn't been careful about court gossips. He'd become involved with a court woman. He hadn't laid out the no long-term involvement from the first. He threw all of his rules out the window when it came to Jai, and he knew he wouldn't stop.
A knock came on the door between Raoul and Kel's suites.
"Yes, Kel?" Raoul called, getting up and yanking open the door.
"Are you going to dinner in the mess hall tonight my lord, or do you need my services tonight?"
"I am dining with friends tonight. Go eat with your friends."
After Kel left, Raoul headed over to Alanna and George's set of rooms. When he turned a corner, he ran straight into Buri. Grinning he helped her up from the floor.
"Good to see you, Buri. The dinners with the three couples are always slightly better when you're there too."
Buri grinned. "I heard you got back, so I decided I didn't have to lead the Riders out yesterday."
Reaching George and Alanna's door, Raoul knocked on it loudly.
Alanna answered the door. "The last two are here. Let's go birthday boy," she said, smiling at her husband fondly.
Raoul, Buri, Alanna, George, Jonathan, Thayet, Gary and Cythera all headed into the city, dressed in far less expensive then those they normally wore. Arriving at their favorite restaurant, the eight friends sat down to celebrate George's birthday. Soon the old friends were all teasing each other about past indiscretions and telling hilarious stories. A lull in the conversation came, and Buri looked at Raoul speculatively.
"You know," Buri said with a sly grin. "If you all really want a good story, you should ask Raoul about staying at Lady Jaid of Stone Mountain's fief."
"What?" came a chorus of voices as Raoul's cheeks turned bright red.
"I have no idea what you are talking about," Raoul said.
"Really? So I didn't hear Jai demanding a kiss from you in the middle of the night while you demanded she go to bed? And I didn't peak out my door to you standing with her at the doorway to her room while she was dressed only in a corset and a very, very light underskirt?"
Raoul put his face in his hands. "This isn't happening," he murmured, as his friends exploded into laughter.
Wiping tears from his eyes, Gary said, "By the gods, Raoul, what happened?"
"Nothing," Raoul exclaimed. "She and some of the men and the Riders had been drinking together. I caught them and took Jai back to her room. She was really drunk and a little ridiculous and I sent her to bed. End of story."
Raoul looked up to see George looking at him with an amused smile on his face. He quirked in eyebrow, clearly signaling he knew Raoul was lying and Raoul prayed to every god and goddess he could think of that George would stay silent.
"Sounds like you have quite the admirer," Gary said with a grin. "She's a beautiful girl."
"She's 22 and betrothed," Raoul retorted.
"So?" Alanna broke in. "If she knows what she wants, I don't see what the problem is."
"The problem is I don't want to deal with the Genliths and the Stone Mountains demanding Raoul's head," Jon said, interrupting Raoul's response.
"Actually," Thayet said thoughtfully, "That might solve a lot of our problems. They'd probably demand a duel with Raoul, and Raoul could kill them for us and we wouldn't have to deal with them anymore. So, Raoul you might as well oblige the girl. It'd be a service to the crown really."
"Enough," Raoul growled. "She's a sweet kid in an awful situation and she had too much to drink. That's the end of the story."
"No, but seriously. How did you get her to go to bed?" Buri asked. "She was pretty insistent sounding from what I heard and saw."
"You didn't see me get her to go to bed?"
Buri shook her head. "You both moved further into the doorway and you hushed her after she shouted so I couldn't hear."
"Right after she yelled I was able to talk her into going to bed. She was about to pass out anyways."
George smiled wryly and said, "Always the gentlemen. I'm surprised you could say no to an offer that tempting. I'd say she's prettier, and smarter, then Delia of Eldorne, but maybe less conniving, since no one has been dueling over her glove."
"Who dueled over Delia's glove?" Cythera asked, causing Gary to cough of the stew he'd just swallowed.
As the conversation quickly turned, Raoul shot George a grateful smile, eliciting a wink from George. The group spent awhile longer laughing and joking before returning to the castle. After they split up for the evening, Raoul walked through the gardens toward the Own's barracks, hoping to pick up some paperwork from a few of his sergeants. He paused when he heard Jai's voice float across the grounds.
"Vinson stop. We can't. Not until we're married," she said.
"Come on Jaid. There are plenty of things we can do until we get married. I'm your betrothed. Just let me."
"Let go of my laces. We're in the gardens. Someone could see us. Vinson, stop. STOP," Jai said, followed by the sound of stumbling. Raoul walked quickly to the sound of the voices, guessing what Vinson's response would be."
"Did you just push me into the bushes? I am your betrothed wench. You do what I say," Vinson growled, and Raoul rounded the corner just in time to see Vinson backhand Jai so hard she nearly fell over.
"What is going on here?" he said sharply, walking over to the couple.
"Nothing Lord Raoul," Vinson said. "Just taking a walk with my betrothed."
"That's not really what it looks like."
Vinson sneered. "She's my betrothed. We had a little misunderstanding. It's none of your concern, my lord."
Gritting his teeth, Raoul said. "In that case, why don't you go back to your duties, squire, and I will escort the lady back to her room."
Vinson opened his mouth to protest, but closed it when confronted with the thunderous look on Raoul's face. He nodded, then took a step forward and slid his arm around Jai's waist, kissing her the cheek. "Until next time, Jaid," Vinson said before walking away.
As soon as Vinson was out of sight, Jai smiled up at Raoul and said quietly, "You really shouldn't have done that. I had things under control."
"Under control? Your cheek is still red," Raoul said.
"Well, I lost my temper and pushed him. That's the first time he's actually had the courage to go for my laces. He had a lot to drink. Sober I can usually control him somewhat, and I usually make sure to be closer to people."
"He shouldn't treat you that way."
"Well, no he shouldn't, but he does, and I handle it as best I can."
"Why are you agreeing to marry him? Are you afraid of being disowned? You could manage. Whatever life you made for yourself would be better then a life with Vinson."
"There are other circumstances than those you know about, but enough about my betrothed," she said and reached up and kissed him. When Raoul tried to speak, she used his trick from earlier and kissed away his protests. Before long, Raoul was thoroughly distracted from thoughts about Vinson, focusing only on the girl in his arms. Pulling her into one of the more hidden corners of the garden, Raol continued kissing her, his hands moving to her already half un-done laces to loosen them further. Slipping his hand under her dress, he caressed her ribs, teasingly moving upward, slipping higher and higher, making Jai arch her chest towards him. Jai kissed Raoul's neck, biting down gently.
"We have to stop. Vinson will tell my father what happened, and my father will come looking for me. If I'm not in my room, I'll get in even more trouble," Jai said regretfully, pulling away.
Raoul sighed and kissed her forehead. "Good night, Jai."
"Good night, Raoul."
----
Hmm. I'm starting to get into this a little more. I don't have Squire with me, so I'm a little worried my timeline will get off. Let me know if that happens. If I remember right, they go on Progress after the trial and then go to the castle for Vinson and Joren's ordeal....then it's to scanra right?
