The next installment. I'm not entirely happy with it but felt like I just needed to start writing again.
Disclaimer: I don't own them and this is obviously very AU now that the first couple of episodes of Series 3 have aired.
Charles tugged nervously at the collar he'd just changed. He had made his way from Elsie's cottage to the tea room with a minimum of fuss and had only run into one person. Unfortunately that one person was the one he would have least liked to see him. T hinking back to that incredibly uncomfortable conversation, he wondered if anything in his manner had given away his overwhelming joy at the fact that he'd not spent the night in his own bed. He certainly hoped not. No matter his age, there were still things he didn't want everyone to know.
He was in the kitchen boiling water for a second cup of tea when the door cracked open and Elsie's head peeked around the edge. He smiled to welcome her and smiled even more when he realized that she was alone.
"Beryl didn't come with you?" he asked as she stepped into the room and smiled at him broadly while she removed her hat.
She shook her head slowly and with a predatory gleam to her eye, "No, she'll be coming in later with Sally. They had to order some baking supplies. She's trying to teach the girl how to keep a kitchen stocked."
"So we have a bit of time to ourselves," he said, smile starting to widen, "How long?"
"An hour at least, and I don't see how we could possibly open until our cook is here," she said, taking a step closer.
Charles took a large step toward her, "I suppose we should use this time to inventory or maybe prepare the fro…"
She interrupted him by grabbing the lapels of his jacket and pulling him down to her level so that she could kiss him hungrily.
He smiled against her lips, "Or I suppose I could show you our furniture."
"That sounds like an excellent idea," she said, returning his smile while she pushed him backward toward the stairs. He stumbled only once, but quickly righted himself. "One fall while doing this is quite enough."
She laughed and reached up to unravel his tie while he tugged at her blouse. They had just entered his rooms with most buttons undone and hooks unhooked when he remembered the pot of water still on the stove. For a moment, he thought about just letting it boil over but decided that the smoke that might ensue would probably attract far too much attention. Somehow the idea of the volunteer fire department breaking down the door to the kitchen while he was entrenched in bed with his lover was not the most appealing.
He made it down and then back up the stairs as quickly as his hip would allow. When he reached the door of his rooms, he paused to catch his breath and to watch Elsie who was looking slowly around his room. She looked up from her scrutiny of the items on his dresser to meet his eyes in the mirror.
"I've never known you to smoke," she said, indicating the pipe.
He shook his head, "I never have except for the one time when I was ten and made myself sick. That was my father's pipe. I can still smell his tobacco in it, although it's faint now."
She ran her hand over an empty space on the left side of the dresser. "Is this where my things will go?"
"I had thought that, yes," he answered, stepping up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist, "Comb, brush, creams, whatever things women have."
She laughed shortly, "You make it sound like a great mystery."
"It is to me," he said, watching her eyes in the mirror before bending to whisper against her neck, "I have no idea what it will be like to live with a woman."
She scoffed and tilted her head to give him better access, "You've lived with dozens of women for years."
He snorted, "A gaggle of giggling maids behind a locked door is not quite the same as waking with a wife in my bed each day."
"Your bed?" she asked with arched eyebrow and turning to face him, "I thought it was to be our bed."
He arched his own brow at her, "That remains to be seen. You were to try it out first." Then he kissed her softly, running his tongue along the edge of her lower lip.
"Isn't that why we're here?" she asked, putting both hands on his chest and pushing him backward toward the bed.
"Is it?" he teased, "I thought I was just showing you our furniture. You haven't even seen my lovely desk over there."
She gave him another push, and the backs of his legs bumped against the bed causing him to sit down hard on the edge. In revenge, he pulled her with him, and they fell backward. Twisting so that they were on their sides, he bent his head to hers so that he could take his time exploring her mouth, nudging her lips apart with the tip of his tongue.
When she pulled away to draw a deep breath, he bent further so that he could lift her skirt. She protested, "Charles, it will be much easier to get my corset off if I stand up."
"You needn't take your corset off for what I intend," he said with a leering grin and pushed her skirt around her hips. He found the ribbon of her knickers with ease and had them down her legs in a moment. Frustrated when he reached her boots, he worked at the laces for a moment before getting them and the knickers successfully off.
Looking up at her with a satisfied smile, he tossed the knickers to the side before returning to his original goal. Hands on her knees to push them apart, he kissed her center softly and was pleased at her sharp intake of breath.
"Charles, is that prop…" The rest of her question was lost in a low moan as he nudged these lips apart with the tip of his tongue as well. He had every intention of exploring this part of her just as thoroughly as he had her mouth. Experimenting with slightly different strokes and varying depths, he listened carefully for the sharp intakes of breath or soft moans that indicated her pleasure. Soon, her thighs were trembling, and her hands were clutching at his shoulder and hair. She tensed and cried out his name. Continuing for a few more gentle laps at the swollen nub, he stopped when he felt her hips sink back to the bed.
Rising over her again, he smoothed the strands of hair that had worked their way loose away from her face. He laid his head on her shoulder and enjoyed the rapid rise and fall of her chest as her breathing gradually slowed. She toyed with the curls on the back of his neck and said, "Don't you want more?"
"I will always want more of that, love," he answered and smoothed his hand down her side, "but we've a moment to let you rest. Do you think this bed will do?"
She smiled against his cheek, "I think we need to give it more of a proper trial."
"I thought the way to try it out was to not be proper at all," he said, rising on one elbow so that he could look down at her. He leaned forward to press his lips to hers and shifted so that his knee was between her thighs. Just when he was ready to start pushing his unfastened trousers down, he heard a loud banging sound. Puzzled, he pulled back and tried to think what could be making such a racket. Then he remembered his conversation of this morning and realized with a start that it was not a what but a who.
He jumped out of bed and winced when his hip caught. Elsie sat up straight and watched him with a worried frown as he stood leaning on the bedpost and catching his breath, "Charles? What on earth?"
"The vicar!" he said, "The bloo…," he caught himself before saying something he shouldn't and then explained in an irritated tone while he struggled to get shirt buttoned and scanned the room for his collar and tie, "It's the vicar come to talk to us about our wedding. I thought he'd come later today. Where's my… There it is!"
He scooped up collar and tie off the floor by his dresser and stepped over to the window to confirm that it really was the vicar at the back door.
"Why would the vicar be discussing our wedding now?" she asked, voice muffled while she looked for her boots and knickers.
Charles sighed. He should have told her this when she first walked through the door, but she had been distracting. "He saw me leaving your cottage this morning." She stopped her search and looked at him with wide eyes, no doubt remembering the goodbye she'd given him this morning.
He shook his head at her unspoken question, "I have no idea how much he saw, but we walked together for a bit. The conversation ended with me asking him to read the banns and him promising to come by later today to discuss the details with us."
By this time, he had his collar and tie on and was almost ready to go downstairs. He took another quick peek out the window to see if the vicar was still there since the knocking had ceased. His eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw the man try the knob and then enter.
"For heaven's sake, the man's coming in! Didn't you lock the door?" he turned around accusingly and stalked over to the mirror to check that he was presentable. Quickly, he ran a comb through his hair and splashed water on his face to wash away Elsie's scent.
"Coming in? What right has he to do that?" she asked indignantly as she struggled into her boots.
Now was not the time to argue that point so he leaned toward her and hissed, "I don't know. Why don't you come down from my room with your dress unbuttoned and knickers in your hand to ask him?"
"Charles!"
He paused and took a deep breath, "I shall take him into the front room, and you can sneak down in a few minutes. Pretend you're just coming in for the day."
"Without my knickers in my hand, I suppose?" she asked.
He turned back to glare at her from the top step, "Preferably." A fter going down one or two more steps, he came back to say, "For now at least."
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