Chapter 6

Lucius arched a brow as Kitty returned to the table and pretended to nurse his drink as his companion settled back into her chair. Maddeningly, she started eating her appetizer, rather than meeting his gaze.

"Well?!" He commanded after a few minutes of contented chewing had pushed him to the edge.

"Well?" Kitty said in a composed voice.

"What did you talk about?"

"With Narcissa you mean?" The woman's bottom lip was curled into an elvish grin.

"Of course Narcissa." Lucius growled. "Who else would I mean?"

"She was charming."

"I know that she's charming." He spat, "What the devil did she say?"

"She said that every time she and Rookwood have sex she imagines it's you."

Lucius choked on his drink, spraying the bourbon back into his glass. Kitty thumped him on the back soundly and offered him a serviette before he looked up and noticed that she was laughing. "That's not funny." He snarled.

"On the contrary." She trilled. "It was extremely amusing. I wish you could have seen your face." In deference to his persistent frown, she relented, "We really didn't have time to say much. I introduced myself and we chitchatted a bit. I invited her out with us but she said she couldn't go. I'm hardly surprised. Rookwood would never go for it. He always was an old fuddy-duddy." She sighed with disappointment but then gave Lucius a sly smile. "She did appear rather relieved to learn that I wasn't here as your date."

"Oh?" Lucius's eyebrow quirked in interest. "How can you tell?"

"Lucius!" Kitty sighed, giving him a significant look. "Women know. In any event, she doesn't seem to be having a very good time."

"What makes you say that?"

Kitty inclined her chin toward to the left, and Lucius followed her indication just in time to see Narcissa stalking out of the restaurant while Rookwood stumbled after. "I knew I should have gotten an O in divination." She purred.

Lucius's knuckles tightened on the table.

"Well?" Kitty said with an exasperated sigh.

Lucius merely looked puzzled.

"Aren't you going to go after her?"

"She wouldn't appreciate that." Lucius said quickly, even though his eyes were still glued to the curtain that Narcissa had disappeared behind. "I'm sure that she and Rookwood just…"

"Decided to walk out on their bill?" Kitty finished with an impish grin.

Lucius rolled her eyes. "I'm sure she'll be all right. Rookwood wouldn't do anything to her." He met his companion's sceptical gaze. "Would he?"

"You know them better than I." She shrugged.

Lucius squirmed in his seat. He couldn't forget the pompous look on Rookwood's face as he had pronounced their challenge- or the possessive way that he had kissed her a few days before.

"Do you know, Lucius." Kitty said, not so subtly slipping something off her wrist and putting it into her bag. "I think I've lost my bracelet! The diamond one that Michael gave me. Would you look for it for me? It might be in the lobby- or maybe the sidewalk outside?"

It was all the pretence he needed. In a flash he was on his feet and heading back toward the door.

By the time that Lucius reached the lobby, Narcissa and Augustus were already gone. He spun toward the maitre d'. "Excuse me." He drawled, "But did you just see a young lady and a gentleman…?"

"Outside." The other man replied. "They've just gone."

Lucius tipped his chin in acknowledgement, and then hurried out the door.

It took him a moment to find them. He initially went the wrong way but, in desperation, he cast a finding charm and followed his wand tip around the bend.

He wished that he hadn't.

With the exception of Rookwood's previous presumption, he'd never had the displeasure of watching Narcissa be kissed by another man. He had not been eager to repeat the experience. Nevertheless, as he rounded the corner, it was the sight that greeted him first. Narcissa was pressed against the wall, her hands clawing feebly at Rookwood's back as he lavished her with an extremely energetic kiss.

He thought, for just a moment, that Narcissa was being forced, but then he remembered that couldn't possibly be the case. She was hopelessly infatuated with Rookwood, even if he was an arrogant arsehole, and besides, he remembered too well what had become of Remington Flint. If Narcissa so desired she could send Rookwood quickly on his way. It appeared that all she desired was more time in his arms- and perhaps a bit of privacy. It was just as well. Lucius couldn't bear to stay and watch.

Lucius drifted away, careless of where his footsteps led. He didn't return to Alchemy. No doubt Kitty's fiancé would be along in a moment, and he was in no frame of mind to spend the evening with a happy couple. He wanted to drink. He wanted to brood, and so he ended up at the Poisoned Apple, a dive bar on Knockturn Alley.

Sometimes Malfoy hated his tolerance for liquor. The bar didn't close until three AM. In spite of a steady intake of neat scotch, it failed to make the buxom blonde who cozied up to him the moment he arrived look anything like Narcissa at all. He finally wandered back to the flat, and then laid in bed for three more hours. Greeting the dawn, he was still musing over what to do.

He was painfully aware that he was brooding- and that was a very unMalfoy thing to do. Malfoy's did not pout or sulk when they didn't get what they wanted. This was partly because that circumstance almost never occurred, but it was also a function of another fact: they were fighters, not quitters. Augustus hadn't married her yet- Lucius would simply have to work harder to see that he won!

It occurred to Lucius that he had, perhaps, been to subtle in demonstration of his regard. Convinced that Narcissa preferred Rookwood, uncertain of his own feelings and worried that she lacked experience around men, he hadn't plied his usual, highly successful technique. Now that he knew that he wanted her- and would stop of nothing to win her- it was time that he stepped up the charm.

Feeling better now that he had a plan, Lucius summoned an elf. With his wand, he conjured a list of things he wanted bought- after all, Christmas was only another week away- and then he bathed and dressed.

"Is Master staying here, sir?" the tiny, bathtowel-bedecked houseelf inquired.

Lucius shook his head. "I'm returning to Ravenseden for Christmas." He answered forcefully- there was no sense squandering his chief advantage: proximity to Miss Black. "Please have the things on the list sent over."

"Yes sir." The creature squeaked.

Lucius waited until it had scurried off before he took out his wand and apparated back to Narcissa's house.

He had to knock three times on the door before it was answered by an elf. The little creature looked decidedly worse for wear. He thought he heard human footsteps on the stairs, but by the time he looked up, there was no one to be seen. The front hall of Ravensden was deserted. This was unsurprising, but the house had an air of sudden stillness that Lucius found unsettling.

"Where is the family?" He asked tersely.

"Miss Black and Mister Lestrange is not returning last night, sir." The elf answered in a whisper, then took the liberty of ramming its head into Lucius's cane as punishment for tattling on Bellatrix.

"And Miss Narcissa?" He pressed.

The elf seemed to hesitate. "Weezy thinks Mistress Narcissa is…she is still sleeping, sir." It said in a feeble voice, and then whacked its head into the ebony stick again.

He'd expected her up hours ago, or at least for Bellatrix and Rodolphus to be at home. He assumed that no one had received the note he had owled over only moments before his arrival, and that was why it had taken so long for him to be admitted into the home.

Lucius didn't want to think about why Narcissa needed to sleep so late. He should be exhausted himself, but found that adrenaline was keeping him awake. "I think I'll just go upstairs to my room."

He waited to see if the elf would challenge him. Apparently, however, the creature was unaware that Malfoy had briefly quitted being their guest, and let him ascend the stairs.

Lucius's chamber was exactly as he'd left it, with the exception that the door between his and Narcissa's had been left ajar. The tactful, gentlemanly thing to do, of course, would have been to simply close it, and this is what he set out to do, but he hesitated with his hand on the door. He had decided to be bold, after all, hadn't he?

Stepping lightly, Lucius went into the room. Narcissa was lying on the bed, eyes closed, looking so perfect that he was momentarily struck by the impossible thought that she had arranged it.

She was lying on her side, turned toward Lucius's room with her hands tucked up by her face. She was wearing a periwinkle nightgown with a low-v in the front. The attire, coupled with her position, gave her cleavage that was highly distracting. After permitting himself a lingering stare, Lucius moved his attention to her face. Her hair, still gloriously golden and curled, was held back from her forehead by a blue satin ribbon. In spite of having weathered the night, it was still perfectly styled, lying flat and in perfect array. Her makeup charms had also lasted extremely well- unless her cheeks and lips were naturally so rosy and bright.

She really looked so much like a fairy tale princess that his next move took no thought at all. He walked toward the bed, leaned forward, and then pushed her into her back. She was starting stir when his lips descended onto hers: firm and searching, but brief. When he pulled away her blue eyes were fluttering and her cheeks were flushed. "Good morning, sleeping beauty." He drawled. "Isn't it about time you were awake?"

She blinked at him a few times, the innocence in her eyes almost tempting him to steal another kiss- a temptation that grew even stronger when her mouth curled into a brilliant smile. "Good morning, Lucius." She said, sounding completely awake. "I thought you weren't coming back."

He winced at this reminder, but made a nonchalant gesture to cover the lapse, "My plans have changed." He said lightly. "I couldn't miss our lesson, could I- and I have to hear all about your date."

Actually, the less he heard about Rookwood, the better, but he wanted to be polite. Besides, if she did feel the need to enlighten him on every aspect of the evening before, he could pick apart his rival's technique.

"Oooh! Are we having lessons?" Naricssa gave a completely atypical squeal.

"Yes." Lucius said firmly. "Provided you find something to wear."

Narcissa jerked the blanket up to her chin, a deep flush darkening her cheeks and Lucius smiled at her, though he respectfully turned away. "You've missed half the day." He teased.

"Well. I did get home terribly late last night."

"That's no excuse." Lucius hoped that the tension in his voice wasn't obvious as he quickly stood to leave the room. "I'll meet you downstairs shall I?"

Narcissa nodded her head.

Lucius hurried down the front steps and into the ballroom, cursing the elves from his London flat and the things they were meant to send him which hadn't yet arrived. He wanted things to be perfect- which wasn't meant to suggest that he had an actual plan. He hadn't the faintest idea of what he intended to teach Narcissa today, apart from the fact that it was meant to be perfect, and to encourage her to fall as hopelessly in love with him as he was beginning to fear that he was with her. That must be the case. There was no other way to account for how pathetically sentimental and soft that he was feeling of late- not that he particularly minded.

It wasn't long before there was a flurry of footsteps on the stairs. Without meaning to, he held his breath as the door was flung open. Then she stepped inside.

Narcissa was wearing a dress almost the perfect colour of her eyes a shifting, shining blue that reminded him of Caribbean seas. She bustled into the room in a burst of fierce, unexpected energy that took him by surprise. Her features were less composed than they had been when she was sleeping. She looked almost…angry? But as soon as she noticed him watching, her lips twisted into a smile.

"Well, here I am." She said lightly and spun around so that her skirts lifted off of the ground. "Presentable?"

"Quite." Lucius answered. He gestured toward a seat.

Narcissa settled into it and stared up at him expectantly, reminding Lucius of nothing so much as a little schoolgirl waiting to put on the Sorting hat.

"Er…did you have anything in particular you were hoping to learn today?" Lucius asked, more out of habit than any expectation that she did- which is why he lifted an eyebrow when she merrily answered. "Yes."

"Oh?"

"I thought we might revise."

"Er?"

"On my date, with Mr. Rookwood, I realized there must have been some omissions in my earlier lessons." Her blue eyes were still guileless, but she seemed nervous now. She was squirming in her chair.

At the mention of the date with Rookwood, Lucius's features flushed, but he forced himself to growl. "Oh? And what was that?"

"I think there's rather more to kissing than you let on."

It took a moment for her words to sink in, but then Lucius felt his face darken automatically. "Well, if you think there's something lacking in my technique I'm sure Mr Rookwood would be only to happy to instruct you in future." He snapped and turned to go, but Narcissa caught his shoulder, her full lips curled into a playful smile.

"I wasn't speaking of deficiencies Mr. Malfoy, but omissions." The hand that had been on his shoulder curled around his back as she stepped in front of him and lifted her chin. It was really impossible to be cross with her when she was melting into his arms. Lucius was grateful that all thoughts of Rookwood seemed to vanish when she was curled against his chest. "You didn't tell me what to do with my hands." She chided gently, her own delicate fingers roaming aimlessly over her back. "You didn't tell me what to do with my tongue."

"Well, let's rectify that, shall we?" Lucius whispered against her skin just before his lips met hers.

Narcissa sighed as his mouth covered her, the raised ridges of his skin passing over hers with a shiver of friction that she felt all the way to her toes. No, kissing Rookwood had been nothing like this, she though, relishing the heady, lighter-than-air feeling before she reminded herself of her mission and firmly yanked her feed back onto the ground.

None of this was real.

Lucius wasn't kissing her because he wanted her, and that certainly wasn't why she was kissing him. Oh, she wanted to kiss him well enough- but not as badly as she wanted revenge…did she?

She felt hopelessly muddled. It was oh-so-easy to despise him when she was alone in her bed, crying herself to sleep thinking of how he had wronged her. She had trusted Lucius, believed in Lucius, let Lucius trick her into believing in herself, only to find out that it was all a game! Yes, he was loathsome. Except, when his arms were wrapped around her waist, and his tongue was slipping restlessly against her own, it was so much harder to remember that she didn't want to be played with. Even that was better than being ignored!

Narcissa thought that this must be what drowning felt like. The awareness that she was slipping under made her want to kick and scream, but as soon as she surrendered, as soon as she admitted that giving Lucius everything he wanted was as inevitable as night following day, she felt at peace. If she didn't think about it, she might even feel happy.

With determination, she stilled her mind long enough to savour the remainder of the kiss. Malfoy didn't rush things. She had somehow expected him to be the type who would press an obvious advantage. With her, at least, this was not the case. He kept an even, steady pressure against her mouth and the strokes of his fingertips down her back were light and reverent.

"Narcissa?"

Bellatrix's voice burst into the room a moment before the woman herself. Lucius and Narcissa had barely enough time to jump apart and smooth their clothes before she rushed in, trailing Lestrange behind her.

She didn't speak, but the expression of triumph on her face was so strong that she could have been shouting.

"There you are!" She said, throwing her arms forward toward her sister's face. She waved her hand in an unnecessary circle. "We've been looking all over."

Narcissa's vision seized on an unexpected flash. She captured her sister's hand, and then let her lower lip drop in awe at the exquisite pear-shaped diamond sitting on the third finger of her hand. "Bellatrix!" She gasped, flinging her arms around her sister as the men looked on uncomfortably.

"This is a surprise." Lucius drawled sarcastically.

Rodolphus shuffled his feet. "I didn't want to wait." He muttered under his breath.

Ignoring him, Narcissa squeezed her sister's shoulders and then dragged her to a pair of chairs. "Congratulations!" She said, truly happy for her sister. It was joyous news for the entire family. Between her cousin Sirius and her sister Andromeda, the Blacks had been short of things to celebrate. Narcissa was pleased that her sister had the sense to choose someone right-thinking, like Lestrange. "I wondered why you didn't come home."

"We went to see father, of course." Bella said as if this was obvious.

"To South America?" Narcissa was astonished.

"Yes, of course. Rodolphus had to ask his permission." She smiled smugly and, if possible, her fiancé went even pinker. "He said yes, of course."

"Of course!" Narcissa echoed, never thinking for a second that Orion would be anything but overjoyed.

"He said that we can announce it at the Rhys-Boomslang ball!"

"The Rhys-Boomslang ball?" Narcissa frowned, but that's this weekend! Father won't be home yet."

"Of course he will, silly." Bellatrix said with a sigh, "He took the international floo with us. He's at the office now, but…"

"He's at the office?" Narcissa paled, horrified by the thought of Rookwood alone with her father. If he told how she had behaved, her father would kill her! Augustus was hardly the prime catch she had pretended him to be as a lovesick girl- in hindsight she thought that a woman would do better to throw him back!- but her father had always thought he would do well enough for Narcissa. He'd be furious if he thought she had snubbed a potential pureblood mate, no matter what his status. "You didn't tell father that I was going with Rookwood did you?" She asked slowly. In her nervousness she reached for a strand of her flaxen hair and began twirling it around her index finger.

"No." Bellatrix answered abruptly, as though she would very much like to get back to admiring her ring. Narcissa's features relaxed, but her relief was short lived, "Rookwood told him himself. Father said he 'asked his permission to court you'. You know how Rookwood is." She sighed and rolled her eyes, unknowingly displaying Narcissa's own revised opinion of what a pompous boor he was.

"I know." Narcissa said, frowning.

"Well, it was bound to come out eventually." Lucius's voice seemed rather tight.

Narcissa didn't have the presence of mind to notice, or to revel in this little sign of triumph. She was still too concerned- and confused. "But father only got back this morning? When did Rookwood speak to him?"

"At breakfast." Bellatrix said. "He met us at the furnace." She scrunched her nose, demonstrating her opinion of international floo travel and the large, industrial boilers it required. "He jabbered on about you all morning Cissa- your little self improvement plan…" Her tone was notably mocking, "…must be working."

Too well, it would seem. Narcissa felt sick with worry. What was Rookwood thinking? Hadn't she made it clear that she didn't want to go out with him again? Then again, if she confessed- if Lucius discovered that she no longer had Rookwood in her sights, their lessons would come to an end. She wasn't ready for that to happen either.

"Anyhow, I'm sure that father will tell you all about it himself."

"Tell her what?"

Narcissa and her sister both spun around in unison at the sound of Orion Black's voice.

"Oh, there you are, papa." Bella said, holding her arms out to him in what might have been a gesture of welcome, but which was probably just another excuse to show off her ring.

He was completely blanking her, however. His gaze was locked on her little sister.

"Narcissa?" He said. His voice was obviously shocked. She couldn't help but feel a little pang. Her daddy, at least, was always meant to have thought she was beautiful. Her father seemed to remember this, because the expression on his face softened to hide his surprise. "That's a lovely dress, darling…and…you've changed your hair?"

There was an unspoken question in his voice: Why? But he had the grace not to ask it, and Narcissa was glad. Momentarily forgetting about her audience, she swept across the room and rushed into her father's arms.

Narcissa had always thought, no matter what happened, as long as she had her father, she would be okay. He was her absolute ideal of perfection. He had the classic Black looks. In his early fifties, his hair was already grey, but his face was still ruggedly handsome and his body was still full of power. Even more than his physical appearance, Narcissa loved the image he projected: silent, unshakable strength. Although his unbending will could be a terrible thing at times, his daughter valued it just the same. She knew that he loved her, and would stand between her and anything that wanted to harm her…almost.

Narcissa bit her lip to cover a frown as a worrying little thought fluttered into his mind. He had loved Andromeda too- and now it was as if she didn't exist. He never even spoke her name anymore although Narcissa had caught him looking at pictures. Anytime someone else mentioned her, his eyes were distant and sad. She supposed that Black pride was the one thing more important to him than family love. It was regrettable, but still something she understood. Hadn't she been raised the same way? Hadn't she cut Andromeda out of her own life as well? Orion Black would support her through anything but a family scandal. He would not go through that again- none of them would.

"Why do you look so sad, poppet?" He said, hugging her close and whispering to her as if she was a little girl, "I felt certain that I'd find a smile on your face."

"Yes." Narcissa backed away and intentionally forced her lips to curve. "I'm so pleased for Bella."

"I meant about your own news." He said, arching a brow, "I understand you've brought Mr. Rookwood around at last- heaven help me if I'm meant to pay for two weddings this year!"

Narcissa laughed nervously. She was grateful for the distraction when her father looked past her toward Lucius. "Young Mr. Malfoy." He said formally and extended his hand for a shake, "What brings you to Ravensden today?"

Narcissa's heart clenched in panic when she thought of Lucius's luggage in the room beside her own. Bellatrix might be forgiven for any indiscretion with Rodolphus. Their sins were washed away now that they were engaged- but her father would lock her in the dungeons for a week if he knew what Narcissa had done. She parted her lips, mind racing for an explanation, but Lucius managed to be the one who spoke first.

"I came to congratulate Rodolphus." He lied easily, "He's certainly landed quite a prize."

"He has, hasn't he?" For a second, it seemed that Lucius's distraction would work, but Orion's legal training had made him acutely aware of suspicious omissions and flawed logic. "But how did you know? Rodolphus has been in South America with me."

"It's been in the works." Lucius replied with a shrug. "Not meaning to imply that Rodolphus lacks subtlety," He dipped his chin toward his friend, "But it seemed unlikely that he'd travel so far, at Christmas, with Bellatrix to meet her father if he wasn't ready to pop the question at last."

Mr. Black finally seemed satisfied. He smiled warmly at the younger man. "Very clever of you, Mr. Malfoy." He considered for a moment, "There isn't any chance that we could wrestle you away from your father, is there? The Wizengamut could use more young minds that actually bother to think things through."

"Thank you, sir." Lucius answered politely, "But I enjoy the world of business."

Orion shrugged dismissively, "Ah, well- it takes all kinds. For my part, I'm glad there are agents to handle that sort of thing." He nodded his head at Lucius again in a gesture that was meant to end the conversation. Then, sliding his arms around the waists of his daughters, one on either side, he ushered them out of the room.