This one is short. But I thought I'd end the AndithFest weekend with a little something for Fascination. Everyone's response to Through the Ages was so amazing it was a quite an inner battle to not jump right back into that one. But I need to finish this first. Not too much more to go, I think. But sometimes Edith and Anthony take control and I have no say in the matter. Anyway, happy reading. And Happy AndithFest. Thanks and Kudos to all who have participated!


Anthony stood uneasily just inside her room while Edith located another pair of shoes and exchanged them for her ruined ones. With a moan, she inspected the damage done and tossed them into the bin. There was no saving them. "Those were some of my favorite shoes," she lamented.

Taking a few steps closer, Anthony glanced into the bin. "Are you going to tell me what happened?"

"I was on the pavement and some scooters, or fellows on scooters, rode by and one of them threw something at me. Apparently it was acid."

"Oh my god, Edith!" Anthony was next to her, his arms reaching for her and pulling her into a tight embrace. "Oh god, are you alright? Did any get on you?"

"I'm fine. And no, not on me, just the shoes. Most of it sizzled a hole in the pavement."

"We must report this," he said as he unclenched her and gently took stock, seeking to assure himself that indeed no damage had been done.

"Already done," she replied. "Your friend Celeste…. Whatever her name is…. And another friend were nearby and saw it happen. Her friend called the police."

"Celeste?" he asked nervously.

"Yes. It seems she is mourning that you've been taken off the market. They both were worried about Aunt Rosamund. And they mentioned another woman, erm…. Something Wilkinson." Looking up into his unsettled blue eyes, Edith smirked. "Just how many women are going to despise me for snagging you, Anthony?"

Anthony frowned. "I… I never really considered myself on the market. After losing Maude and our boy, I just couldn't…. everything seemed so hopeless and useless. Those women offered a night of comfort here and there but I never saw it as anything more. Most of them are quite boring, actually."

Apparently the Wilkinson woman thought you were engaged, at least according to Celeste."

"Engaged? Heavens no. Wilkinson, you say? That must be Imogene Wilkinson. She's erm… well, let's just say hers is a fantasy world of her own making. I never, I mean we never even…well, I found no comfort in her arms, shall we say. Beautiful woman but quite batty."

"Well, with your reputation I expect half the women of London to be angry with me," she teased.

"What? No. Edith, while I certainly have not been celibate these past few years, there weren't that many women that I actually slept with. Oh, I kept company with quite a few, and not just in London but wherever my travels took me. But my reputation far exceeds my accomplishments."

Edith looked into his twinkling blue eyes and knew two things. First, he was being honest with her and second, he was enjoying this conversation. "So not quite up to the standards your reputation implies, then?" She watched in amusement as his bubble of male pride burst.

After a moment, he recovered. "Touché," he declared. Then eyes sparkling again, he grinned wickedly. "I'll let you be the judge of what I am capable and whether I am up to the standards," he teased.

"Oh Anthony! Does that mean everything is alright and we can…?"

"Not yet, my dear. The doctor found no obvious signs of problems but he collected some…. samples and it will be a few days until the results are back. We are cautioned to not engage in activities until we have the results of the tests. Besides, I would still like for you to reach your wedding day a maiden, if you will recall."

"Oh Anthony, you are so very Victorian. Besides, I told you about the men I've been with."

"And I don't believe a word of it. You may have dated those men but you have not slept with them, or with anyone else. You, my sweet, are still pure, unsullied by man. And when I take you to bed on our wedding night, that's how I wish to find you."

"But why?"

"Because, as you say, I'm very Victorian," he teased. "Besides, I want the satisfaction of having a virtuous wife, of not having my reputation and misdeeds sully you."

"But people will think…."

"People will believe what they wish to believe. But we will know the truth. You will come to me pure and I will come to you, well…. Having not even looked at another woman since that day we met in the graveyard. I need this time, Edith. I need to cleanse myself of the obscenity my life has been these past few years. And when we come together on our wedding night, there will be no immorality, no debauchery, no impurity about it. We will be husband and wife, married, two parts making a whole. We will truly be as one."

The sincerity of Anthony's expression weakened Edith, turning her insides to jelly and her knees to rubber. "I… I'm sorry; I didn't understand," she stammered. "I hadn't thought of it like that, about any of it…. Like that."

"Of course you hadn't. You haven't lived as I have, wandering and alone, seeking solace wherever it could be found but never really finding it. But in you, my sweet, I have found a home, that solace I craved, and I've found hope; a reason to live and not merely exist. Please, let's not spoil it on a whim, Mmmm?"

Tears sat in Edith's eyes as she stared at her man. "No, let's not. Anthony, I didn't realize… I mean, I knew you were lonely but….I didn't realize."

"Well, you do now, my love. And so we'll have no more talk of early exploration? And we'll try to be on our best behavior?"

"I don't know about best behavior but…. Right, no more pushing for early exploration, no more attempts to sway you on that. But I warn you, Anthony Strallan, I will be ready to explode by othe time our wedding night arrives."

"And I shall be there, participating in the fireworks," he replied, obviously relieved. "Actually looking forward to the night with eager anticipation." And then he kissed her, a sweet lingering foretaste of how things might begin on their wedding night.

The kiss concluded, he straightened up and smiled. "Shall we embark on our afternoon plans then?"

"Yes, I'm starving after all the excitement," Edith asserted.

"Oh, I do hope you are referring to me as the source of your excitement and not the events earlier today," he teased as they walked out the door.

"All of it actually," she said lightly. "But the last few minutes have been the most exciting."

"Glad to hear it," he said as he guided her down the hall toward the lift.