A/N: Short update, but hopefully good nonetheless. There is a great chapter to follow in the future. Please do enjoy my chapter and review if you feel obliged, I'd be happy to know what you think about it. I also want to thank my gorgeous ladies who reviewed, and a special welcome to Miss Artemis who joined us in this adventure last week. Now then, on we go...

Till next time,

McFadden-

Chapter Six

Kathryn was the only one to ever be at the theater before noon, and this morning was no different. Each step she took, her feet seemed to grow heavier and heavier. God she didn't want to do this! She had taken off for a few days in hopes that she wouldn't come in contact with Wilmot. After what happened nights ago, she couldn't promise that if she looked at him that she wouldn't kill him. When he left, she became so acrimonious and resentful that she locked herself inside her house and wasted away the time trying to rationalize the whole meaning of all of it. She gave up in the first twelve hours and spent the rest of the time wallowing in her own self pity. The bad thing was she knew that he would come to look for her the next day to just rub it in. Indeed he had been there. She could even smell his sandalwood scent in the theater. Her sanity was much of a debate right then as it was, she didn't need this intoxication to remind her.

When Kathryn retrieved her sewing for the day from the wardrobe closet, she went to the backstage area to work. Reaching the corner she saw the deep glow of light. Too much for it to have been a candle light, but it flickered like a flame would. Did someone leave a lamp burning? That was such a dangerous thing to do overnight. Usually the skeleton staff were so good about double checking things like that. A breathing lump caught her eye from the shadows and light dancing on it. She saw who was almost unmistakably responsible for the melted wax and little bonfire. Kathryn saw his languid body stretched teasingly on the sofa. Even in sleep he managed to look like that, only less threatening. How could he manage things like that? As far as she was concerned, he deserved what he had coming to him in the next second.

With a clunk, the Earl's eyes ripped open when he was rudely and harshly struck in the back of the head, causing John to unceremoniously fall off the sofa. He had been slapped, and hard. His skull now had a pulse. There was someone else there with him. The blurry outline that was currently standing over his body began to come into focus as he stared at familiar figure that was Kathryn. His heart skipped a beat momentarily and he smiled until it registered that the look he was being given was a little less than pleasant.

"You stupid miscreant!"

Yes, it was her...He rolled over and pulled himself to his feet. Sarcastically remarking.

"There's my lovely turtledove, where have you been?"

She bent over, hastily gathering her fabric sheers and panels of cloth that were laying next to his smoking stack of wax candles. John knew exactly where she had been, and now he wanted to hear it from her own lips.

"Fuck you, John! The only reason I'm here is because for some insane point, the King himself said that if I didn't return to work immediately, I'd be fired. He even sent a lovely young gentleman to give me the message and be my escort. But, you wouldn't have any idea about that now, would you?"

So that's where Billy played into the equation! John felt so much relief lift from his shoulders. He would have to apologize later for mentally murdering the boy numerous times over. John smiled at her liveliness and he smiled in secret. King Charles had pulled through or him brilliantly! He had even fallen for the plan. John was happy to see his scheme worked. He was more thrilled to see her though. It had been four days. He smiled impishly catching her foul language she just spoke to him.

"Oh I love it when you talk dirty to me Sweetheart..."

Before John knew what was going on, he was back on the sofa as quickly as he had gone off of it. She apparently pushed him back down for his retort. His eyes looked at her oddly, Why was she so angry with him anyway? He didn't know what he could have done to her whilst he was sleeping.

"You could've burned down the entire theater with your candles Genius!"

Except that...So that's what this was about, candles. Yes, he let them burn all night, but he hadn't meant to. John attempted to get up again, and when she didn't make a move to push him back, he walked closer to her. Circling her once, his eyes traveled down her body. He noticed the goose bumps rippling across the flesh of her shoulder. Smiling to himself, out of her view, his hand caught a lock of her hair, letting it slide through his fingers until the length ran out as he came to face her again. As he leaned needily into the crook of her neck, his voice dropped to a low purr, drifting over the sensitive skin there like a silk sheet.

"I missed you terribly while you were gone. Don't do that to me again."

She hadn't realized it, but while this was going on, he was slowly backing her up against a wall. The Earl then did something that Kathryn didn't expect. His warm lips pressed up softly against her collarbone. Feeling his mouth part, she shivered openly at the feeling of his tongue licking the delicate junction of her neck and shoulder. She knew he was smiling against her skin. A moment later, he pulled back and looked at her with soft brown eyes.

"I'm sorry."

It was barely a whisper, but she heard it. The Earl never apologized to anybody...A nervousness went through Kathryn when he did that. Maybe it was the way he said it, or the fact that she knew he really meant it. John Wilmot actually apologized to her. She looked at him slightly apprehensive. When she replied her question could've been hard to swallow and her voice sounded weary but John found that it wasn't cruelly laced with mean intentions.

"Am I to believe you actually have a heart then?"

His hands went up to the sides of her face as his fingertips caressed her pale cheeks. He spoke dangerously close to her, so reminiscent of their last encounter together, but this time all she saw in his gaze was pure truth.

"Of course I do, Love. Most people just can't get to it without being seen."

Both of them could tell that the frigid demeanor between them had been melted somewhat and John was finally getting his hopes up. She had been so close to kissing him. But apparently his little kitten wasn't through just yet. Kathryn had one point to make, and it was good enough to possibly end this fantasy he was having.

"You left me remember? You had me right there, and you just left."

Oh he knew that darling, he knew, but have a heart! He just wanted to save this moment for a little while longer. It had been so long since he was actually happy...

"I know love, and after these last few days I realized just how terrible a mistake that was."

If she had asked him to crawl, he was pretty sure he would've done it at that point.

"Perhaps if you were so diligent with your real manners as you are with your false ones, someone might actually believe you meant that."

She had gotten him again. Touche, right in the chest. John was about to come up with some surely pathetic retort when the both of them were interrupted by someone calling out for Kathryn. He turned and looked at her perplexed. Who would dare impede on their privacy. Whoever it was, had gotten his turtle dove's attention. She just headed past their confined space and turned around to face him. It wasn't angry, it was heart-wrenching.

"It's my turn to leave you this time."

If he wasn't John Wilmot himself, he would've sworn that his conscience had materialized in Kathryn's form right in front of him. She didn't even stop to see his reaction. He didn't even know if she could have. Whatever the case was, she was sure hurrying to meet with that voice. The Earl was infuriated. He'd be damned if he was going to take this! John was in the right mind to go follow her and haul her off over his shoulder, kicking and screaming if he had to. At any cost, he must see who this fiend was and memorize his face, because he was going to be the last person to see it before tearing it to shreds. He peeked out of the curtain just in time to see Kathryn smile brightly and be swung around by a nicely dressed gentleman. Only a flash of his features could be seen before covering her with kisses as she laughed. It was enough for John though. He didn't need to memorize those cheekbones and mouth, they were all too familiar already. No friends would just kiss like that. Kathryn's mystery lover was none other than Billy Downs. This was something he may never recover from. That image was now burned into his mind. All of his bad deeds were finally coming back to haunt him.

John suddenly felt this salty, strange sting scraping the back of his eyes. He gripped at the wooden beam beside him and slid slowly to the floor. Before he knew it, The Earl of Rochester was crying.