'
It should come as no surprise that Rey dreamt of Lord Ren. In the one dream she remembered after waking, he had been chasing her again, only this time she was laughing and when he caught her up in his arms, it was for soft kisses and sweet nothings, lovingly whispering endearments into her ear. Wrapped up in his arms she felt lighter than a feather and as safe as houses, her laughter bubbling out of her as her heart swelled with an almost unbearable happiness.
'
When her eyes opened, she let out a disappointed sigh, staring at her bedroom ceiling, endeavouring not to worry her lip. It seemed she was going to be stuck with these dreams for some time. Still, it was worth it, to stay at Varykino.
If affection went unrequited, it didn't last, did it? It would fade away and leave her in peace, surely? All she had to do was be patient and wait it out, while trying not not to let it affect her duties.
At least this morning she felt well rested, hopefully it would mean that she could remain level headed whatever may occur.
'
As luck would have it, the day was uneventful, nothing remarkable happened whatsoever and the time flew by.
It was a welcome reprieve, as was the next day and the one after that.
Oh, her heart still fluttered and her cheeks would pink whenever she encountered Lord Ren, but as she had now resigned herself not to try and to fight it, to just let it happen, it didn't feel as distressing as it had previously. It gave her hope that it would run its course all the sooner for it.
While he didn't ask her to read for him again, he did often appear in a room just as she began cleaning, insisting she continue to work. Or quite often he would walk the gardens when she was helping Poe with the vegetables, his gaze on her back as warm as the sun but separate. He had done this before, however, and she dealt with it with as much equanimity as she could.
As promised, she worked through her afternoons off, instead baking or making the evening meal while Dopheld took some much deserved time to himself. She didn't mind overly much, she enjoyed cooking, (especially in such a lovely, well equipped kitchen) and had been accustomed to not having time to herself for most of her life, so it wasn't really a hardship.
'
During a hot morning, when she was cleaning the library, Lord Ren came in before his breakfast, which was unusual. Of course he made not the least particle of noise - he still delighted in either being exceptionally loud, or absolutely silent, but she could recognise his presence now, and turned to see him standing just inside the doorway.
Either her eyes were deceiving her, or he actually looked a trifle nervous.
"May I help you with something, Lord Ren?" she asked from her seat on the floor in front of the fireplace.
"I-" he paused as he stepped towards her, a hand hidden behind his back, "After the… incident with Snoke, I found this in the road." The hand behind his back revealed a hat, more specifically, the one she had lost as she fled that awful night, "It was a little damaged, but Mrs. Holdo was able to restore it."
Rey became aware that her jaw had unhinged and quickly snapped it shut. It was her hat, but changed, it had been repainted, a new, glossy, wide satin ribbon replaced the old, narrow one, tying in a generous bow at the back and the replacement feathers were shiny and thick. She stared blankly as he offered it to her, completely dumbfounded.
"Do you dislike it?"
Blinking, Rey remembered herself, "I... no, of course I like it, I am... I just don't know what to say." She realised that was horribly rude and amended, "Thank you." How much had it cost? Probably nothing to him, but it seemed frightfully improper to just accept it, "Please, allow me to reimburse you."
Lord Ren gently placed the hat on the occasional table nearest her, as she had continued to be too stunned to reach out and take it. Her eyes had been fixed on the hat but at the action she raised them to his face, only to swallow nervously at how intense his expression was.
"Don't be ridiculous," he murmured, slightly waving a hand, "I should have warned you about Snoke, consider it an apology."
Turning abruptly on his heel, he made a quick exit and Rey realised that once again, her jaw was hanging open.
With hands that shook a little, she reached out and picked up what was essentially a new hat. It even came with two exquisite silver hat pins decorated with elegant black glass beads.
Paige had mentioned Mrs Holdo, a fine seamstress who had a dressmaking shop in Matterdale - it had been where Rey hoped to get another dress when she had saved enough money. Looking at the hat, she wondered if the shop may be rather more pricey than she had expected. Ordinarily, most of her clothes were bought second or third hand and altered either by her or a seamstress, Lady Solo however, had given her new uniform to wear, which had been a novel and exciting experience.
Why on earth had Lord Ren had it restored? Or, perhaps more pertinently, why had he gone back to the scene of the incident in question? It was most irregular.
After a few moments more of simply staring at the hat, she pulled herself together and continued on with her duties.
'
As she carried the hat upstairs later, she realised it smelled a little like him, his warmth lingered there with the new paint smell. Other than smelling unpleasant, she had never noticed a man to have a particular scent before. Sometimes on passing gentlemen in London she would be aware of a suffocating cloud of cologne, and while not necessarily objectionable, she didn't care for it.
With Lord Ren, she wasn't even sure that it was a cologne he was wearing, it was more as if that was just the natural redolence of his hair and body… at that thought she blushed deeply, recalling seeing him half dressed.
When she reached her room she had to sit on her bed for a moment, a little dizzy from the memory.
'
They had paused for a cup of tea together the next day, when Lord Ren appeared in the kitchen. Rey knew he had, because Dopheld went white as a sheet and froze and Poe opened and closed his mouth and quickly stood.
Rey copied him, waving her hand subtly at Dopheld to try and snap him out of his surprise.
"Miss Johnson," Lord Ren said, and Dopheld finally found his feet as Rey turned.
"Yes, Lord Ren?" what had she done now?
He produced a small bottle filled with red strands of saffron, "Hux informed me there wasn't any remaining, so I bought some from Penrith," he told her casually, as he offered it to her.
"Oh, yes," she took the bottle, which was larger than the old one she had found and must have cost a pretty penny. There were no local shops that sold such a commodity, though she hadn't expected to get anymore, just used up what was there before it lost its quality. Did this mean he desired more saffron buns?
Without knowing quite how to respond, Rey resorted to a simple, "Thank you."
A curt nod of acknowledgement was her reply, his eyes lingered on her a moment longer, then he took his leave.
There was a gusty sigh of relief from Poe and he sat back down, quickly taking a large swallow of tea.
"Why does he keep coming down?" Dopheld wondered miserably as he sank like a stone back into his chair, "He never used to!"
Rey shook her head, painfully aware of the bottle of saffron in her hand and how warm it was. Reluctantly, she let go of it and placed it on the table. "Should I make more buns?"
"Every day," Poe said immediately with a smirk and she rolled her eyes at him.
It seemed strange that Lord Ren hadn't simply given it to Mr Hux, but then he was, without doubt, a very strange man... An enigma, if she had to find a single word to describe him… which probably meant she was thinking entirely too much about him and needed to stop.
With a sigh, she sipped her tea, before asking Poe if he needed assistance in the garden.
She enjoyed working outside, though her face and hands had become a little tanned, even producing a scattering of unfashionable freckles across her nose and cheeks. It felt good to work with the earth, to see things grow and bear fruit, it was satisfying, and she would never grow tired of the fresh air and sound of birds. Perhaps this is what Eden had been like, before the fall.
'
After a hot and rather sweaty afternoon in the garden, Rey reserved the bath again, fairly disgusted with herself.
As she had before, she strew in a small handful of lavender, swirling it around in the water before slipping in with a happy sigh, indulging in lying there for a few moments before scrubbing herself with soap and flannel.
Feeling entirely more human by the time she got out, she emptied the bath then sat by the fire, drying her hair before neatly plaiting it and going upstairs.
There was no light from the library door and she decided to go and borrow the copy of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. It had been recommended to her by Rose, and she didn't think Lord Ren would notice it's absence as romance was hardly a male subject. If he questioned her about it, she felt he wouldn't be too upset by her explanation and despite her lavender bath, she was feeling rather wakeful.
The room was empty and she took her candle over to the shelves to locate the book in question. The library was arranged by subject and then alphabetically, so she found the author quickly, discovering that there were six novels available. For now, she just stuck with the one Rose had suggested. It was bound in red cloth and decorated with a floral gilt pattern and looked as though it had been well read, but was still in a good enough condition that she didn't think she would damage it.
Absently she flicked through some of the pages, finding some illustrations.
"What are you doing?"
With a gasp, Rey dropped both the book and the candlestick. Even as she frantically grasped for the candle, a huge hand shot out and caught it before it hit the floor, the book was not so fortunate and landed with a small thud.
Rey turned slowly, eyes wide and heart rattling around in her rib-cage like a panicked bird.
The sight that met her eyes only served to set a faster pace and she wondered if she was going to faint.
Lord Ren towered over her, he was dressed in loose trousers and an unbuttoned nightshirt of black silk, covered by an unfastened robe with a jacquard floral motif in black and red. His hair was tousled, and he looked like a man who had been pulled from sleep too soon, or who hadn't been able to sleep at all.
"I… I…-" Rey stuttered, seemingly unable to make any words as her eyes glued themselves to his exposed chest.
Lord Ren placed the miraculously still lit candle on a table, then crouched down at her feet to collect the book she had dropped.
"Pride and Prejudice," he huffed a small laugh, "I think you will enjoy it."
He was still on the floor, and Rey realised she wasn't breathing, which was a rather necessary function.
With the return of her breath, her ability to speak returned, "I beg your pardon if I disturbed you, would it be acceptable if I borrow it? I am sorry I didn't ask first, I just, I am rather wakeful and am tired of Penny Dreadfuls and the Bible."
He laughed again, it was rich and warm and against her wishes she found it was a sound that she very much liked.
"You may borrow any book here, especially if it means you do not read any more of that rubbish."
How could his voice be so low and deep? It was singular, and always seemed to make her feel flushed and funny.
"Thank you. I'm sorry I dropped it, and thank you for catching the..."
As she spoke, he stood once more and she lost her train of thought as she once more became aware of his state of undress.
"Candle?" he supplied, voice going a little deeper, and she nodded. "You startle so easily, Miss Johnson."
That was unfair!
"Perhaps, but only with you, Lord Ren, most other people make noise when they move."
His full lips curved slightly, eyes warming as he stared down at her and she blushed, remembering she was in her nightdress, (which was too short and showed her ankles) and her shawl was draped loosely in the crooks of her arms.
"You always seem so far away," he murmured lowly, a hand coming up to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
This was absolutely improper, but she couldn't make herself move away, all she could do was restrain herself from leaning slightly forward. She shut her eyes, hoping it would help gather her wits, only to snap them open again when she felt the lightest caress graze her cheek, skin tingling in its wake.
Taking a fortifying breath was a mistake as she once again filled her lungs with his scent.
There really was no winning here, she had to pull herself together!
"I should, ah, really leave you in peace," she told him as calmly and as diplomatically as she could, "Please excuse me." She did one of the most awkward curtsies of her life, grabbed her candle and stepped around him.
Just as she reached the door, his voice stopped her, "You forgot your book, Miss Johnson."
Wincing at how foolish she must appear, she turned around and went back to him, the light of his lamp throwing his face and chest into dramatic, chiaroscuro relief.
"How silly of me, thank you, Lord Ren."
Doing another curtsy felt redundant so she took the book, tried her best to ignore the brief brush of his fingers against her own, and made her escape.
'
Rose was absolutely correct, Pride and Prejudice was vastly enjoyable. Though the Mr Darcy character was most disagreeable.
It appeared reading a proper book wore one out more than something like Penny Dreadfuls, for it wasn't long before she found herself drifting and so blew out her candle and settled down to sleep.
'
'
A/N: So, yeah, I recycle plot devices. (Obviously Rey will grow to like Mr Darcy.)
