The noise startled her so much that she could do nothing but stand staring at the door, utterly dumb-founded, for what felt like several minutes. A second urgent knock brought her back to her senses. The door squeaked a little, probably because she was opening the door half an inch at a time. Charles appeared around. Elsie shut the door hastily, plunging them into darkness except for the moonlight that cut squarely across Charles' face making him pale to the point of it being eerie. He wore an expression that Elsie thought showed every emotion she had gone through in the last few hours; timidity, uncertainty and embarrassment but not without a definite glimmer of hope there. In spite of this, when she opened her mouth no words came to her. They stood in a comfortably edgy silence for what f seemed to be an age.

Charles finally let out a chuckle.

"A right pair we make!" he commented.

He then seemed to consider his wording and stopped chuckling rather abruptly. Elsie couldn't help but smile at this.

"A right pair," she agreed ruefully and as an after thought: "Why do they put up with us?"

"Because they'd be lost without us."

"Yes," she conceded, "That is possible."

Silence, more tense than the last one. Elsie suddenly became very conscious of the fact that not only was Charles here in her bedroom, they were also both in nightclothes. She felt herself blush. He had obviously seen her worry and was looking at her with concern in his expression. Unable to stand it, she bowed her head and spoke to their slippers.

"Charles," she asked quietly, "Why are you here?"

A beat passed. His voice was gentle but uneasy.

"I should have thought that was obvious."

She looked up with so sharply that she felt her neck click. Their eyes met. His expression remained as before. She was not even dismayed with herself as she felt her mouth fall open slightly, she was simply too stunned. Her mind was blank; coherence was not coming easily to her.

"Why?" she asked stupidly, there was no need to; it was crystal clear to both of them.

He leant down and put his hands on her little shoulders. He kissed her quickly.

"Ah."

She turned away to hide the fact that she had become so breathless from such a brief kiss.

"Elsie?"

She stared out of the window, her hair draping over around her neck.

"Please say something."

She could not believe that she had suddenly come over so shy- well not shy exactly, but certainly dumb! Had she not been wishing for this not quarter of an hour ago? Slowly, she turned to face him, but still silent.

"Should I never have said anything?"

"As I recall, Charles, you haven't, strictly speaking, said anything at all."

He smiled uneasily.

"I know you know what I mean."

She smiled briefly as well to confirm what he said, then realised that this was rather a serious question.

"I know," she told him.

Tentatively, she reached up to his face and rested her hand on his cheek. His eyes closed. She reached up and kissed him back, as briefly as he had done her, but it was enough to answer him. He expelled a heavy sigh of relief then opened his eyes cautiously.

"What took us so long?" he wanted to know.

She couldn't have told him. Shaking her head she turned again to face the window. This time he closed the gap between them and wrapped his arms around her waist, his head resting on hers. She felt the warmth of his fingers through her nightdress: his closeness strangely both comforted her and scared her out of her wits.

"What do you want to do?" turning towards him to try to address him meant that she almost spoke the words into his neck. She had said them quietly anyway and was amazed that he heard her at all.

"Could we not just stay like this? Forever?" he asked her.

She looked up at him; he seemed serious enough.

"And sleep standing up? We aren't horses Charles!"

He laughed: she felt it across her back.

"No, my love, we aren't."

Silence. She turned in his arms to face him.

"What?" he sounded alarmed.

"Love?"

He waited a moment and then pressed a kiss into her hairline.

"Horribly," he told her "And unconditionally."

She did not kiss him this time, but smiled buried her head in his chest. His arms tightened a little around her.

"So," she repeated when they finally broke apart, "What do you want to do?"

"Sleep. With you," he replied.

Again, he seemed to evaluate his choice of words and feel more than a twinge of regret for them.

"Not like that," he added.

"Good!" Elsie could not help but be relieved.

Then she too realised that her turn of phrase could have been a little more well chosen.

"Not that I don't want to," she gabbled, "I mean, I find you attractive- excessively so. Sometimes at supper or even when we're working upstairs I'll not be able to think of anything else, but...-"

"We aren't married," he finished for her.

She nodded fervently. Waiting for him to say something else was a little bit like torture.

"I love you too, Charles," she told him.

He smiled earnestly.

"Sleep," he told her.

She nodded again in agreement. He took her hand and waited for her to lead him towards her bed. He wrapped her up in his arms again, legs entwining themselves naturally together. She liked the way his hands rested likely on her ribs.

"I'm glad you came to see me," she told him- half asleep.

"I know," he replied, "I'm glad you let me."

It puzzled her that even given the amount they had advanced tonight, their words should still be so shy.

A knock penetrated the drowsiness of the room. Elsie sat bolt upright suddenly alert. Charles saw the momentary flash of terror in her face. The knock came again, more urgently.

"Lie still," she whispered to him.

The door opened a crack. Elsie could only just see Anna's head against the bar of light from the corridor.

"Mrs Hughes," the girl said, before the housekeeper could berate her, "You'd better come quickly. Lady Sybil has gone missing."

Sorry it's taken me another age to update! Please review! : )