'
After lunch, Poe was dispatched to Dockray for the butcher and Rey went with him, in the hopes that she would be able to buy some chocolate.
Haysian, the Tico sisters little dog, eagerly ran to meet her as she entered the shop. Smiling, she knelt down to greet him, stroking his silky brown fur as he jumped up trying to lick her cheek.
"Hays! Silly dog, get down!" Paige laughed as she entered the shop from the back room. "Good afternoon, Rey, are you well?"
Rey stood, much to Haysian's disappointment, "I am, thank you, though Lord Ren is less so, do you have any chocolate? I was hoping to make him something that may lift his mood a little."
Paige shook her head with a fond smile, "You treat him better than he deserves, truly. And you are in luck, we do have some chocolate," she gestured to one of the shelves, "But we only have one variety, M. J. Jefferies' Rock Chocolate, will that be suitable?"
"I am sure that will do very nicely, thank you. Are you and Rose well?"
"We are," Paige said as she wrapped up the chocolate bar, "Rose is out running some errands at the moment. It would be lovely to see you again, soon. The steamer ferry would be a wonderful way for you to see more of Ullswater and Rose and I haven't been on one for some years. Perhaps one Sunday afternoon, now it is warmer and the evenings are longer?"
Rey had observed the boats moving up and down the lake and rather hoped to take a turn one day. "Oh! Yes please, that sounds delightful!"
Paige smiled and clapped her hands together, "Oh, splendid! We could even take a picnic tea!"
As she thought about how much work she had to do on the parlour room and how ill-tempered Lord Ren was at the moment, her smile fell a little, "Perhaps next month? Things are rather busy at the moment." She would need to be sure she had enough money for the fare, also.
"That will probably suit better as the weather will be much finer, I am sure," Paige supplied, and Rey smiled.
"Indeed, do forgive me, I must go and find Poe, this was meant to be a quick visit. Please give my warm regards to Rose and tell her I was sad to miss her."
"Of course," Paige said as she took Rey's coins and gave her the chocolate, "We shall look forward to seeing you again."
'
"So," asked Poe as they rode back to Varykino, "What are you cooking up for us today then?"
Rey feigned confusion, "Oh! This is something special for Lord Ren," (he wasn't her master) "I do not think there will be enough for anyone else."
She laughed when she saw Poe's face fall, and he shook his head, "Nothing but mischief I see."
"You will just have to be patient, good things come to those who wait."
Poe clucked to Bee, rolling his eyes at her, "You're naught but a tease, Miss Johnson!"
Rey smirked but clasped her chest, "You wound me, Mr Dameron!"
They carried on with gentle ribbing the whole way home, as they came into the courtyard, Poe volleyed his final jape, "Do you know why a blushing woman is an anomaly?" Rey shook her head, "It's the only time she is admired for her cheek!"
Rey gasped in mock horror, declaimed, "Impudent rascal!" then dissolved into giggles, hiding her mouth with her hand as she went to climb out of the trap.
But she froze instead, disconcerted to find Lord Ren standing silently a few feet away, dark eyes glittering in the sunlight.
Both she and Poe had instantly fallen silent, Lord Ren merely stared at them a moment, then stiffly walked forwards and offered his hand to her. It took Rey a moment to understand that he was offering to help her down from the trap.
Could she decline without seeming ridiculous? It was just a hand, nothing more.
It was something more.
She knew it as soon as they touched.
Having forgotten to wear gloves out, it was skin to skin, his hands huge and warm, dwarfing her digits and making them look so delicate, so breakable. She was surprised to feel calluses, roughness that indicated he was not as soft as she would have expected from those of noble birth... though considering how he had joined in fixing the stable roof, she ought not to be as surprised as she was.
Her hand tingled at the contact, it spread up her arm, along with a flood of warmth, and she had to look down, away from his eyes, her cheeks hot but a shiver stippling over her skin.
Lord Ren let go as soon as her feet were on the ground, but somehow she could feel a ghostly impression still on her skin, almost an echo, that persisted in lingering.
"It looks like rain," Lord Ren stated flatly, "Put Bee and the trap away, Dameron, you know he hates to get wet," with just that, he strode away.
Rey looked up at Poe, who was frowning at his masters back, then shook his head, "Best get to it, then," he said, shrugged at her and turned towards the stable.
It was a most peculiar exchange and Rey couldn't understand it.
As if on queue, rain started to fall in a light mist, and Rey hurried herself indoors.
'
While the chocolate pudding she made was simple, Mr Plutt had greatly enjoyed it and she hoped very much that everyone at Varykino would too.
It was served warm, with a splash of cream for the staff, and a small jug sent up with Lord Ren's serving.
Silence whilst eating, she had found, was either a sign of approval or a sign that no one was willing to admit whatever it was they were consuming, was awful.
Judging by Poe's blissfully closed eyes and Dopheld's happy smile, however, the pudding was a success.
The chocolate, although she had never tried that variety before, had been high quality, which was very important for this particular recipe as the rich taste was the hinge of its success.
The wonderful thing about it was that it was good hot or cold, tomorrow, she would serve it sliced and cold with tea, it's versatility making it a very useful dish indeed.
'
Lord Ren's plate came back scraped clean, though they usually did - the man certainly had an appetite to suit his size, though the amount of meat he consumed made him appear more like a bear than a man.
Yet he wasn't corpulent, his body was… firm, muscled, even. Her cheeks heated a little just from thinking such a thing as she washed up and put away the dinner things before retiring to her room. Although the flush could be attributed to the hot water she had her hands in… hands, another thing she would rather not contemplate at that moment.
'
Taking a cup of Maz's tea up with her, she lit her oil lamp so she had enough light to attend to some mending, her mind too lively to contemplate sleep quite yet.
As it was a full moon, she left the curtains open as the sky was clear of clouds and the silver light was ethereally beautiful.
'
At perhaps a couple of hours after she was abed, her ears picked up sounds inside the house. Movement, creaking and the sound of footsteps. The hair on the nape of her neck rose as she set aside the shirt she was mending and slipped out of bed, avoiding the boards that would betray her as she stepped carefully to the door, barely breathing as she gently pressed her ear against it.
Although she stood still and silent for a long time, the noises never came again, and after a good while, she straightened, scoffing at her foolishness and padded back to bed, suddenly sleepy.
'
The wolf was nearer in this new dream, sometimes he would be to her right, and sometimes the left, appearing and disappearing silently without warning as she walked through the woods. As time went on, her bare feet cold and wet with dew, she thought she saw a light up ahead. As she came nearer, she could see a break in the trees and she started to run towards it.
A howl broke the cool, calm silence of the forest and Rey faltered to a stop, spinning to see the wolf five paces away, muzzle aimed at the canopy overhead as his voice carried above it, and everything went dark.
'
Rey sat bolt upright as her eyes flew open; she had forgotten to close the curtains and the room was bathed in silver.
Another howl sounded, it was as if it was directly below her window and she distractedly tried to untangle herself from the snarl of her blankets.
Once more the howl came, identical to her dream wolf's, yet when she reached the window, she saw no sign of any creature and her tense shoulders slumped in disappointment.
This was madness, she had asserted to herself just last night to have no more of this foolishness. How quickly she had forgotten! She would go and see Maz this Sunday and put all this nonsense behind her.
With a sigh, she shut the curtains and got back into bed, rearranging the mess of covers. She was wide awake, but considering her dreams, a Penny Dreadful would be unwise. She lay in the dark for a little while, eyes staring blankly at nothing, before getting up again and lighting her lamp. The bible seemed like a safe bet, so she occupied her mind with the old testament, and soon her eyes were drooping.
Snuggling down with her lavender pillow, hoping the familiar scent would ward off further strange dreams, she closed her weary eyes.
'
It was again with great reluctance that Rey entered the parlour the next day. It was perhaps a vain hope - that once it was clean and bright and things mended or replaced, it would be a welcoming space once more. But she didn't know if whatever lurked beneath the surface could simply be cleaned up, or washed away. Briefly, she wondered whether they ought to entreat a priest to perform an exorcism, then shook her head in disgust, it wasn't truly haunted… was it?
Doubt set in, despite how she prided herself on tending to think rationally. Could there be a restless spirit occupying the space? Was that what had broken the ornaments and torn the cushion and wall paper? She took a sharp gasp in, hand going to her throat as her roving eyes fixed on the chaise lounge, on the… on the blood.
With a terrified yip, she walked backwards until she reached the door, scrabbled for the handle, and let herself out, unintentionally shutting the door with a bang. She stood staring at it, breathing deeply as her heart hammered in her chest and her less than rational side screamed at her to leave this house and never come back.
Some secrets weren't worth knowing.
"What is wrong?"
The frantically spoken words took her completely by surprise and she let out a small scream, almost levitating as she turned, only to clap her hand over her mouth when she saw it was Lord Ren.
Once more, she was forced to look at him half dressed. His dark hair looked as if it hadn't seen a brush yet today and he was just in trousers and shirt, the shirt was only halfway buttoned up and his pale, chiseled chest was on display.
She had been right - firm.
As she stood frozen, he closed the space between them, eyes searching her face, as he asked roughly, "Are you ill?"
Rey came to understand that there was a place beyond mortification, there was no appropriate word for what she felt in that moment.
"I-" she cleared her throat, voice hoarse, "I am sorry if I disturbed you, Lord Ren…" she tapered off, endeavouring to find a plausible explanation that wouldn't make her sound absolutely ridiculous. All she could come up with, however, was - "There was a spider." Instantly, she regretted it and hastily added, "A very big one."
Lord Ren's dark eyes studied her and she could read their disbelief, and remembered, with another flood of horror, the time he thought she'd lied to him. Now she really had.
She swallowed thickly, suddenly desperate for a cup of tea and for her eyes not to be staring at his bare chest.
His lips parted for a moment, eyes narrowed, then he shook his head, and stepped back a little. "Tell Hux I'm ready for breakfast," he ordered.
Rey watched him as he walked back up the stairs, only just now noticing that his feet were bare. What must he think of her?
'
Mr Hux was in his office, and was clearly surprised when she made Lord Ren's request, and upon reflection, he was certainly up a lot earlier than usual.
Once duty was served, she collapsed in a chair in front of the fire, and sipped luke-warm tea from the pot left over from breakfast.
What, on earth, had possessed her? Where had all her good sense gone? Her priest mentor had once told her with great conviction that the only real ghost, was the holy ghost, and she had no reason not to believe him.
There were no ghosts, there were no wolves in England, no truth in dreams and no good reason to be thinking about Lord Ren's bare chest. These were all absolutes. The only mystery here, the only one that mattered, was what was happening to her.
'
Clearly, today was not a day to tackle the parlour. There was, however, any number of things she could be doing.
As Lord Ren would be taking his breakfast in the dining room, now would be a good time to nip into the library to dust and sweep and lay a fire if Mr Hux hadn't yet done so - sometimes their duties overlapped and it was difficult to tell when or where that would be.
It was still odd, to her, how up and down her routine was, how she was permitted to almost govern herself and her duties. Most of the time she liked it, but today, she knew she ought to be moving on with her task of setting the parlour to rights, and yet…
'
The library door was half open, which was unusual, but she was still startled to find Lord Ren standing by the window, the now familiar red chenille blanket pressed to his nose as he made strange chuffing sounds.
Silently, Rey backtracked, let herself into the morning room, shut the door and slid down it to sit on the floor.
She felt like she may be losing her mind, or that what she had seen was perfectly normal behaviour for rich people and was simply something she had never come across before, but was completely ordinary.
Or she had gone quite mad.
Every time her path collided with Lord Ren's, her brains seemed to scramble like eggs.
Maybe she should write to Lady Solo, maybe she should leave this blissful, wonderful, mysterious place and go back to the smoke and stink of London. Maybe she didn't belong here.
Maybe, and why and what if.
It was impossible to think sensibly here.
With a sigh, she got up and quietly left the morning room, heading below stairs and out of the back door, down to the water's edge and out of sight of the house.
Her mind was clearer here, the cool calm water a mirror that quelled the rebellion in her head and enabled her to think with some clarity.
What she had considered while sitting by the fire earlier, was sound, she needed to get a grip, impose more of a routine on herself, read the bible every night before bed and visit Maz for a more effective tea. A walk everyday if she could manage, as fresh air and exercise were beneficial and good for the spirit. She was better than this, stronger than this, she would prevail, and nothing, not even Lord Ren, would stop her.
Stop what, exactly, she didn't delineate.
'
'
A/N: *gasps* OMG they touched hands! Thanks so much for all your reviews ^_^
'
Authentic Victorian Chocolate Pudding
INGREDIENTS
225g chocolate
150g breadcrumbs
1/2 pint milk
150g butter
120g caster sugar
3 eggs
'
METHOD
Melt the butter and chocolate together, and then add the breadcrumbs and the milk. Keep stirring it over the heat until it becomes thick. Separate the eggs and cook up the yolks with the sugar, then combine this with your chocolate mix. Whisk your egg whites and then fold them into your chocolate batter. Line a pudding bowl with butter, and pour in your mixture. Add a circle of baking paper on top, and secure some cloth over the top using twine. You can bring up the edges and tie them into a handle. Place it into a pan and fill with water until it reaches halfway up the bowl. Steam for about an hour.
