They had dinner with mother that night.

Maria and Rafael bought food from the kitchen so her mother wouldn't have to cook. She made sure her mother's house was stocked with food so her mother or Miss Shelley could prepare their own meals as they desired, but given how tired mother looked when they arrived, Maria was glad they'd brought food. Clearly mother had not yet completely recovered from her ordeal if something like a simple walk could tire her even after having most of the afternoon to rest.

Rafael looked awkward as they came into the house, but Rafael always looked awkward around Miss Shelley. The maid didn't exactly dislike her fiancée– at least, not anymore– but she did seem to disapprove. Clearly there was still some feeling there about Katarina's extended coma. Still, they got along well enough, if with an air of strained politeness. Still, Rafael seemed determined to get along with the woman, and Anne let him, being already much less cold that before, so Maria figured it was an issue that would sort itself in time.

There was a cozy air as they all sat at the table of the repaired dining room and kitchen. The damage the Almera woman had done had been repaired, though many pieces still contained obvious cracks and traces no amount of repair powder could conceal. The broken chairs had been a lost cause, and Maria had needed to commission new ones, whose appearance clashed with the old furniture, despite them being made to match. They still looked too new, and probably always would.

So be it. They'd reclaim their home the defilement that had infested it one day at a time.

Mother at least seemed comfortable despite the changes. Maria supposed she had Miss Shelley to thank for that.

"Lady Katarina finally returned from her trip today," Maria said as they ate. "She says she will be back to speak to you tomorrow."

"Ah. I hope my lady was well?" Miss Shelley said from her seat next to mother. Mother was able to eat by herself now, instead of needing to be fed by Miss Shelley.

"Lady Katarina appeared very Lady Katarina-like," Maria said, eliciting a chuckle from the maid.

"I suppose you'll have to leave soon," Mother said sadly, reaching over to place her hand on Miss Shelley's. Maria didn't comment on how mother was too casual. After all, Mother was a commoner, it was all right for commoners to be casual with maids. And they were friends, there was that too. Really, the thing that most kicked at Maria's sense of propriety was how Mother was keeping Miss Shelley from her dinner.

Years of being raised as the alleged son of a Marchioness, even that woman, had apparently made Rafael a bit sensitive, however, as he averted his eyes, looking mildly uncomfortable.

"Katarina said you'll have time," Maria said. "Hopefully mother will be able to adjust without you. Are you sure you don't want one of the other maids here to take Miss Shelley's place when she leaves, mother?"

"Yes," not only mother, but also Miss Shelley and Rafael said. For some reason, Rafael got a piercing stare from the other two, and he looked away, suddenly finding his dinner to be of great interest.

"I can handle myself well enough alone, Maria," mother insisted. "And if I need help, I'm sure there's someone nearby I can call on." Ah. So the discretely stationed people near the house weren't discretely stationed enough. Well, there was only one thing to say to that.

"Yes mother," Maria said, feeling sufficiently chastened and not at all having memories of Cainhurst, of being made to kneel naked, stick out her tongue and… nope, nothing of the sort came to her mind at all. "But please call for assistance if you need it. For heavy lifting, for example."

"Of course," Mother said.

Maria should probably get mother a backscratcher when Miss Shelley leaves, something to help her with those itches she couldn't scratch. Again, she felt her back get itchy at the thought.

Yes, she should probably get one for herself too…

Maria invited Rafael to spend the night with her.

"Okay…" Rafael said. "But no ravishing. And you wear that vegetable thing Katarina gave you."

Ah, the sacrifices she made in the name of her engagement.

Sadako, who had begged Maria on her knees for the job when Maria had started vetting the staff for a personal maid, saw Rafael was with her and bowed, turning to head for Rafael's room to inform his own maid that Rafael wouldn't be sleeping there tonight and to bring Rafael his sleepwear. Maria had tried to convince Rafael of the superiority and comfort of her own preferred sleepwear, but so far he was unconvinced.

She was still a little torn about employing the woman in this position. It just seemed... wrong, to free them only to use them as labor for her convenience. All she could do was try to be fair and just and to not abuse their trust. Since Sadako's example, more women had stepped forward, asking for work, and she had done the best she could to see them treated well.

Sadako soon returned with Rafael's own sleepwear, which he took to the attached bathroom to get changed while Maria's maid assisted her in getting undressed. She was still getting used to having someone do that for her, even if her preferred day clothes, a variant on the suits she'd worn at the Academy– all right, they were the same suits– were such she could don and remove them herself. It came with a distasteful feeling, for it reminded her of her memories of Cainhurst. The cold, the taste of heady blood, the feeling of a warm body cease struggling turning cold beneath her as she sated herself desires…

Yes, she had to get used to it again. Still, it was only a matter of time. Having a regular maid for longer than a few days was already turning out to be very convenient, since Sadako had learned her habits and preferences. As for the other… well, she had a fiancée now, so it was only a matter of time.

She tried not to think about what else was only a matter of time.

Maria stepped into sleepwear Katarina had gifted her. She had to admit, it was very soft and comfortable, and would certainly be preferable to her usual sleepwear in colder climes. Since summer was here, it was NOT colder climes, and even though it was temperate for now, it would soon not be. If it came to a choice between wearing this and potentially luring Rafael to ravish her, or sleeping in her preferred garb…

Well, she'd been celibate for years too, what was a few months more.

Maria closed the buttons shut, settling the attached hood around her head as Sadako adjusted the placement of the rest of the garment around her chest and hips. Her maid had very gentle, deft hands as the stroked the material to fall smoothly over her vials of blood and posterior, diligently doing so many times to ensure it hadn't bunched anywhere.

"That's enough, Sadako," Maria said, and her maid smoothly withdrew to stand at the ready once more, standing with hands folded at her waist. She wore one of those robe-like garments the Ashina women preferred in the black of the estate's maid uniform, but had a white apron on top of it, denoting her position as Maria's maid. She also had a frilly white band on her head in imitation of Anne. Less standard were the knives she had up her sleeves, tucked into the sash around her waist, on her calves, and likely other places as well. Maria allowed it, for it hadn't affected her performance of her duties, but she hoped that one day the woman would feel safe enough that she wouldn't have a need to be constantly armed. "Please turn down the bed."

When Rafael finally exited the bathroom, wearing his own sleepwear, he found Maria sitting in bed, waiting patiently for him. She found it very adorable how he held his ministry garments in a ball over his waist as he approached the bed. Sadako smoothly stepped forward to take them from him to be laundered, and he hurriedly slipped under the covers as he sat with his back to the headboard. Maria couldn't help the amused smile at all his nervousness, especially how he took one of the pillows and placed it on his lap.

Well, it that's how he was doing it…

Maria moved closer, and mischievously– mischievous! Her!– lay her head on his lap pillow, staring up at his inverted face.

"So," she said as she stretched out and intertwined her fingers over her stomach, "how was your day?"

A Rafael Interlude

Another night, and Rafael remained 'unravished', to put it in Maria's preferred terms. She always insinuated that he was going to suddenly ravish her, and… all right, she had a point too, but still. Even after being engaged for all these weeks and months, no ravishing by either party had yet occurred.

…

Sometimes Rafael had to ask himself what in the abyss he was doing, perpetuating that.

It just… didn't feel right yet. It might have something to do with how they hadn't even been engaged a year yet. Or how her mother lived in a house about a bowshot away with his probably-going-to-be-stepmother-in-law. How he didn't want to just give in to his, admittedly considerable, lusts, no matter how much she teased and encouraged it. How he felt that while he loved her and she loved him, he wasn't yet… deserving of what she offered?

Or it might have to do with how Maria's maid was standing in the dark staring at them while they slept– well, Maria slept, Rafael took a while getting over the intent stare. The woman obviously nurtured strong feelings for Maria. Most of the people in estate did, and that included some of the maids from the nearby town, the armsmen, and the children. Rafael was used to Maria being surrounded by admirers. He was even used to her having lustful admirers.

It just took a bit of getting used to when one was in the room you were sleeping in and had a lot of knives on her person.

That the women admired Maria in a non-platonic fashion was almost easy to understand. After all, Maria had rescued them from a terrible fate, and even in Ashina they had stories of women being rescued by dashing knights and falling in love, the whole 'Sophia's latest romance novel fixation' experience. And most of the time, you didn't even have to squint that hard to see her looking very manly and dashing. Rafael would be an absolute hypocrite to not understand how you could fall in love with the one who saved you.

He just really wished they wouldn't look at him like they wanted to kill and replace him. Good grief, was this what the Third Prince felt like all the time when he was around the rest of Katarina's, let's not kid ourselves, harem?

He'd start being nicer to the man if he didn't think Mary Hunt might think that meant he was supporting him and have Rafael 'significant-pause' dealt with.

Ugh, and Katarina was back, and she'd start visiting again, meaning they'd all be here playing their Katarina games, and with the women learning from the children they'll finally understand what's being said and oh no, they might learn from the idiots…

Rafael finally drifted off, his mind a turmoil of worries, and dreamed of the Third Prince in an Ashina-style maid uniform, which was very disturbing. In the dark, the maid watched, waiting…