Cecilia came to work a few minutes early the following Monday. She felt the same sort of nervousness that she had felt on her first day of work. She felt as though Malfoy was a different person altogether now, since she had seen a slightly more human side of him at the ball. She had done up her hair and dressed in a pretty red dress all while trying to ignore the butterflies in her stomach as she did so. It was silly of her to be so worked up, but even after the calm weekend at home her mind was still in a tumult over the gentleness he had shown her.

A part of her couldn't help but understand that he had been planning on getting in her pants when he first hired her. There was no denying it now. The blatant stares at the beginning, though he seemed more at ease with her now and seldom made her blush so furiously as she had her first few days of work, made perfect sense now.

Yes, she knew he was a cruel man. That he had planned everything from the start. The tea, the bracelet, the dance...her mind lingered on the thought of his finger twirling the delicate tendril of her hair...

And yet, how could he, and indeed, why would he, have planned to confide his secret with her? Obviously Cecilia could see how the bond she felt with him after being exposed to his vulnerability could have been a part of that plan. Every man must know that the surest path to a woman's bedroom is through her heart. However, despite her reservations as to the genuineness of his character, she didn't see why he should have opened up to her when surely, given time and prowess, he would have had her without having to share his hurts with her. He must have known this. He had surely executed the maneuver many times on many women.

Her temper flared momentarily at that last thought, but she had to admit to herself that it was true. Even had he never shown his gentle side to her, if he had continued steadfastly to seduce her, she would have eventually given in. Even she, who's anger was fueled so often and so expertly by him, could not have denied that he was a handsome man. A strong man, with large hands and an intensity that few men posses. A man with considerable power and prestige.

Still, she was frightened. She resolutely refused to believe that he had any genuine feelings for her, let alone that he loved her. No, of that at least, she was absolutely certain. Was she the kind of woman who could cast aside her emotions for the sake of physical pleasure? He would obviously hurt her in the end. But was the consequence worth it?

She wasn't sure.

She walked into the familiar office. It was empty. She didn't know if she was glad or disappointed. After agonizing over thinking of him during the weekend, the office seemed to take a different shade to her. She breathed deeply and she could smell him, the same scent she had remembered from when he had held her so close in the ballroom. Every inch of the room was His and seemed to exude his influence. Her knees wobbled ever so slightly as she crossed to her small desk.

Lucius watched from an upper window as Cecilia crossed the grounds. She was earlier than usual. He was heartened that she appeared to have paid extra attention to her appearance that day. Her hair shone brightly in the morning light. And she was wearing a red dress. When she disappeared from his sight over the threshold he listened carefully to her dainty footfalls as she climbed the stairs and went quietly into the office. He took a sip of his third cup of tea that morning. It was good to have her in the house again. He had awoken quite early and welcomed the happy anticipation of seeing her again. She seemed a flower blooming in the dark hallways of the old stately manor. Still, it was best to keep her waiting. He sipped his tea slowly.

It was an altogether strange thing, this swelling of joy he felt at thinking of her. He was no sex-starved boy, after all. He had spent many an evening with one slutty gold digger or another. Easy women. Ms. Wells was, without a doubt, his most intricate conquest of recent memory. She was certainly attractive enough to be a harlot, but she seemed to have never figured out that she had grown into a beautiful woman. In her manner and in her expressions was a childish innocence that always caught him off guard. His feelings for her rapidly fluctuated between wanting to wrap her up in a blanket and protect her from the world, and wanting to ravish her fiercely until she bloomed into the sexual creature he knew she could be.

After finishing his tea he decided that she had been waiting long enough. He tied his long platinum hair with a black silk ribbon at the nape of his neck and left his parlor, crossing the long hallway to the office.

"Good morning Ms. Wells." He said kindly as he entered. She looked up from her work and returned his greeting. He was well pleased to see a slight flush on her cheeks as he locked eyes with her. He watched as she gently bit on her lower lip, apparently not sure what to say. The tension between them was now even more unbearable than it had always been. Both of them were remembering the ball, and both of them remarking on the peculiarity of seeing the same person in the same old room, but having their perspectives of each so changed. Lucius was not immune to the awkwardness of the moment and after a few agonizingly long moments, having not come up with anything to say himself, he sat down at his respective desk and worked silently.

Soon it was noon, the morning having passed in general silence, though with no lack of meaningful glances at one an other. Lucius so longed to hold her petite body again that at length his longing seemed to be a physical ache. He saw that Cecilia was straightening her work, preparing to go to lunch. He took the chance to speak up.

"Off to lunch then?" He asked

"Yes, if you don't need me to do anything for you before I go."

"No, nothing." He said, his mind racing trying to come up with a fast plan to keep her at the manor for her meal. Just as she was crossing the room to leave he said, "Cecilia..." The name caught in his throat, he had said it on accident and the name sounded strange on his lips after calling her Ms. Wells up until that moment. She turned her head with eyebrows slightly lifted. "Cecilia, where are you going for lunch?"

"Nowhere interesting. I might get a sandwich at a shop nearby. Or I might just go home and eat." She smiled "I'm never really certain until I get there."

"You know you are welcome to eat with me here." He said, making it sound as if the offer had always been there.

"Oh?"

"Yes, of course. There's less of a chance of you being back late if you don't leave in the first place."

"Oh." She repeated, her eyes dropping. Lucius noticed the disappointment in her face and sought to rectify it in a hurry. Cecilia was a sensitive woman, he vowed to make a greater effort to protect her feelings.

"I'll have a house elf prepare the dining room. It should be duck today. Do you like duck?"

"I've never really had it." Cecilia responded, rather shocked at the fanciness of his lunch plans. Did he always have roasted duck for lunch? She tried to imagine him eating a bologna sandwich. "But it sounds lovely. If you really don't mind, I mean."

"Of course not." Lucius said in an overly polite tone as he rang one of the small bells that hung on the wall behind his chair. Cecilia heard the small twinkling noise reverberate through the manor. "It should be ready soon."

This statement was followed by yet another awkward pause, Cecilia biting her lower lip again. Lucius frowned, he was growing ever more frustrated at the shyness of this conquest. What would he have to do to get her to come after him? Would he have to freaking serenade her?

"Would you like a proper tour of the manor while we wait?" He asked in the most gallant tone he could muster. Cecilia's trepidation vanished into a broad smile.

"Yes!" Was her quick response.

Lucius grinned and offered her his arm. She took it with familiarity, welcoming that same sense of calm that she had felt while taking his arm at the ball. The tour began on the second floor. He showed her it's principal rooms, the library, several beautiful but unused bedchambers, his parlor which he told her was where he usually took his breakfast. He even gave her a glimpse of his own bedroom, which was as sumptuously decorated as all the other rooms but had been imbued with a sense of warmth and use which the other rooms lacked. Cecilia was somewhat surprised to see that the bed was unmade, but then she remembered the state of his schedule when he had first given it to her. Apparently his stateliness did not cross over to the more private aspects of his life. She was glad. Though she still couldn't quite imagine Mr. Malfoy cuddled up in the bedspreads dreaming. Do aristocrats dream at all? A part of her wanted to ask, though of course she didn't.

Downstairs he showed her into the grandest living room she had ever seen. The floors were carpeted in a thick, plush crimson, as in almost all other rooms the drapery was heavy, but today they had been open wide and the sun shone directly in. She had seen many fireplaces already, but all of them paled in comparison to the one here, it was nearly as wide as the left wall and she could have easily stepped inside it. Various curios were displayed tastefully about the room and she wanted to examine each of them. There was a large globe that rotated slowly on it's own accord, a golden birdcage in which flitted about some tiny birds that she couldn't identify, stacks of ancient books placed precisely on elegant side tables...It was almost too much for her to take in at once.

"If I were you, I would spend every minute of the day in here!" Cecilia exclaimed as she bent over to inspect the complex carvings on the legs of one comfortable looking upholstered chair.

"Yes, this room harbors many happy memories." He replied, a bit listfully, his fingers resting atop a delicate writing table. "When Draco was still very young we would all come into this room to open his gifts. Of course when he got older he wanted to spend his holidays away from home, at some idyllic location or another. You may think I am a cold man, Cecilia, but my one salvation has always been my son. I hope that one day he will spend Christmas in this house again." He paused, Cecilia was staring at him with obvious respect and warmth, but he didn't see her. His eyes were firmly trained on his fingers. "However, as you can imagine, once one has invited the Dark Lord into their home, he never truly leaves."

He looked up to find poor Cecilia's eyes wide in fear, her color draining. "Relax, Ms, Wells. It was meant metaphorically. Of course he isn't here now. He's gone." He crossed the room and took her hand "Come now, I shouldn't have said anything, let's go eat, hm?"

Cecilia let him lead her to the dining room, but her mind was elsewhere. Until that point she had managed to put her employer's past out of her mind, he had repented and, though severe, he was not evil. But still, the sudden thought of being in the same house, the same rooms, standing on the same floor that death eaters and worse had stood upon, was momentarily debilitating. He pulled a chair out for her at the fine table and took his seat across from her.

"Honestly, Ms. Wells. You needn't be so wide eyed. I'm sorry I mentioned it. Please let's go back to how we were?"

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry. I just...hadn't thought of it until now."

"Well, let's not think of it anymore. I can assure you that it is just as unpleasant for me as it is for you." There was a pause when a house elf in a clean suit came and served them their lunch. Cecilia knew that the elves had not long been paid employees at the estate, but she appreciated Malfoy's kindness in that respect.

They began to eat the meal, Cecilia a bit unsure as to the quality of her table manners. Lucius seemed not to notice though and said nothing for several minutes as he ate. Suddenly he put his fork down and looked straight across at Cecilia, she looked up and was caught off guard by that piercing gaze.

"Do you think that I am evil, Ms. Wells?" He asked.

Cecilia gulped, but then said playfully, "Maybe a little, sir."

Lucius raised an eyebrow, irked a bit by her cheekiness, but at least she was behaving lightheartedly again. Cecilia smiled weakly at him, apparently going through great pains to lighten the mood herself. He smirked in reply.

The remainder of the work day was spent in it's normal fashion. Cecilia took down dictations and replied to letters, Lucius hurried about to various small engagements and complained, and it seemed that a bit of the tension between the two had passed for the time being.

Despite appearances, however, Lucius was more agitated than ever. He had been making such good progress, she had definitely been seeing him in a more positive light, then had had had to go and ruin it all. He beat himself up over mentioning the Dark Lord. How fucking foolish he had been. She'd never warm up to him with THAT in the back of her mind. Still, she did seem to be more casual with him now. He noticed that she had been checking herself more often, which meant that she had been letting herself lapse into familiarity more often as well.

Showing her around the house had had an effect on him that he could not have foreseen. He realized in hindsight that it was because he had never had liaisons with his other women at his own place. It was strange to have a woman walking about in his home. Strange and unexpectedly wonderful.

At any rate, Lucius Malfoy was loosing his patience.

It was almost time for Cecilia to go home for the day when Lucius returned from a meeting.

"How did it go?" She asked cheerily.

"Slowly."

Cecilia laughed. "It's about time for me to leave." She said, melting red wax to seal the last letter of the day. Lucius nodded as he leaned back against his desk, watching her as she finished up and gathered her things.

"Anyway, see you tomorrow!" She said as she began to cross the room. Just as she was heading out the door Lucius caught her by the wrist.

"Wait." He said gruffly. He pulled her to him, wrapping one arm around her small waist and holding her there. With the thumb of his other hand he gently traced the outline of her lips. "Cecilia..." He whispered low in his throat before meeting her lips with his own.

Author's note: It's about time, am I right? Haha. Please leave a review, they make me so very happy.