Surprisingly, spending some time in Newport with just Mother was actually restful. Rigel adored the cottage, although I found myself having to brush sand out of his coat at least twice a day. But what he loved more was the ocean, I had been nervous when he had romped into the surf and gone past the breakers. Charles had said that his breed was known for being good swimmers, but it might not apply to him.

I shouldn't have worried, for it soon became impossible for him to stay out of the sea. When I took a book down to the rocks, a wide brimmed hat shielding my face, he was there and seemed fascinated with bringing me pieces of driftwood to throw out for him. At least it exhausted him, for he hardly stirred at night after his meal in the kitchens. I think Mother enjoyed him too, for more than once she joined me down at the shore to play with him.

She even threw a stick for him, watching as he bounded into the surf. "My word, does he ever tire?"

"Sometimes I don't think so." I chuckled, watching as Rigel quickly swam to the stock. "I'm not sure he's been completely dry since we got here."

Mother laughed, her dress fluttering around her ankles. "And you've been well, with William being gone?"

"As well as I can be," I shrugged, "I miss him, but he'll be up here soon enough." Rigel, seawater shedding off him in a veritable deluge, brushed into me and dropped the stick at my feet. "Besides, I have this one to distract me."

"He is a handful." Mother reached down and ruffled his ears. She looked up, "I am glad to see you happy, Anastasia. Sometimes I worried that I would lose you." I was blinking away a sudden rush of tears when she took my hands. "But now, you seem so much better. William is devoted to you, and Mr. Keller says that you've been everything the company has needed. You're everything I could want in a daughter."

I squeezed her hands, "And I'm glad that you're doing better, Mother." Finally out of mourning and beginning to receive her friends again had improved Mother in any number of ways. Now when she saw a picture of Father she didn't tear up and excuse herself or turn the picture around, she might get a little choked up but she generally kept herself in check. I turned to Rigel, coming up with his stick again. "Perhaps you should get a dog though, Rigel is wonderful company."

That sent her into gales of laughter, "And have hair all over my clothes? I think I shall manage just fine without one, now, you left word for William to come and join us, correct?"

"I told him before he left, and the rail car is waiting for him in New York." I looked out over the ocean, the sun gilding the tops of the swells. "He should be here fairly soon after he arrives."

"And then he'll fall right asleep." Mother chuckled. "Poor man, all that travel must wear him out." I laughed with her, although for a different reason. More than likely Will would be the exact opposite of worn out, he'd be trying to haul me off the moment he got here. He'd insisted on multiple rounds the night before he had left, and I had hardly stirred in the morning when he had left. I couldn't imagine what two weeks would do to him, let alone the trip up here.

The Newport season was much calmer this year, I'd only attended two parties since I had come up and both of those had been little more than playfully batting tennis balls around while the younger girls flirted. Oscar had been my partner, not just in tennis but in keeping me company. Between him and Liz, I found myself being able to deal with Will's absence better than I had before.

My heart was still racing when I saw the telegram slip on the mail tray one afternoon.

Mother, a knowing smile on her face, raised an eyebrow as she sipper her tea. "Good news?"

"Will caught the morning train, he'll be here this afternoon." I folded it up and placed it on the tray. "With James, what do you think, should I call Liz?"

She shook her head. "Let him surprise her." Mother stood, considering me for a moment. "Although you may want to change, unless you'd prefer to meet your husband in your deshabille?" I felt myself flush and looked down at my rather flimsy robe over my nightgown. Mother turned me around, clucking. "Now, I know he won't be here until later but you should at least be wearing something a bit more when you come down for breakfast. I have been far too lax in allowing you to laze around like this."

"I have dressed properly every day!" I protested, although I was laughing as she herded me upstairs. Louise had made sure I had been appropriately dressed for every occasion, and she quickly had me in a swimming costume with a light wrap over it to protect the skin of my arms from burning. I collected a book, tied a hat onto my head, and set out to wait for my husband.


"The bloody benefit to this," James muttered as the train slowly chugged into the Newport station. "No one cares if you sleep the whole time."

Will, sitting up from one of the cushioned benches where he had been laying, could only agree. "Aye, hopefully it means we won't fall asleep in the carriage." Ana's, well partly his, damn it, their private rail car had been waiting for them in New York when they had docked. The floors had been polished, the pillows fluffed, a plate of fresh pastries and a pot of hot coffee left for them. They had made free use of everything in the car, although Will could only chuckle as James tried to set everything to rights. "You don't have to do that, the station has staff that will see to everything."

"I just feel like I should." James muttered, setting the pillows just so on the bench. "My mother well, step-mother, taught me that I should clean up after myself." Will smiled at that, seeing that there were things even courting a Vanderbilt couldn't break. The brakes squealed outside, and after the cars shuddered to a stop, he opened the door. James dragged the trunk they'd split between the two of them over, and each took a handle. To say the coachman was surprised when they loaded it on the back of the carriage themselves was an understatement, but Will didn't have too much time to ponder it before he and James were inside.

He vaguely remembered the houses they had passed on their way to the cottage last year, enough that when the carriage rolled by the massive gates enclosing the Vanderbilt estate, he pointed it to James. "You know that's their house here, right?"

"I did not." James gulped, looking out the window. "I have not had the fortune to call on her while they've been in Newport."

"She's rubbing off on you." Will teased the younger man. "That was quite eloquent."

"Liz speaks so beautifully, sometimes." He blushed, looking away from the window. "I just wish I could do the same, so I've been reading a lot of the books she likes."

"That's a very kind thing of you to do." Will settled back in his seat, switching his gaze to the coastline. "I can see why she likes you. How have things been between you two?"

"Very well, her parents have allowed me to come over for dinner several nights a week while I'm in New York."

"That's a good sign."

"They've even allowed me the privilege of sitting next to her in the parlor after, sometimes without their presence."

"I would assume Oscar is still there?"

"Yes, but he's relaxed since before."

Will smirked a bit, "And how was the car ride to the Reichster reception?" The way James blushed made him grin even wider. "Oh come now, did she steal a kiss?"

"No," James shook his head, his eyes on the floor. "I did, many times."

"And I take it she enjoyed it?"

James glanced up, "Yes, but I should not have done it. But she was so beautiful, and so close to me and after she told me how much she had liked it." He sighed, dropping his head. "I worry that I may try something and her parents will catch us and throw me out."

"You just have to be careful." Will reached over, patting his shoulder. "Don't try it in her parents's house, or if Oscar is around. If you want, I can help find you little moments to steal her away."

The next words he practically spat out, "I would appreciate that sir, I find I miss her quite a bit now that I know more of her." He shook his head, "I know I shouldn't, that I should restrain myself."

"Ah, don't be too hard on yourself, it all comes with falling for a woman." Will knocked his foot against his. "So buck up, it just means the two of you are well matched." He was just glad James didn't ask him to share stories of what he and Ana had dine while courting. He highly doubted James would be quite so willing to throw Liz's skirts over her head and pleasure her with his fingers. They rode along in silence for awhile, the only sound being the waves crashing against the rocks. After awhile, he drew James's attention. "Now look, here's a much finer place to lay our heads than that rail car."

The Dalian cottage really was a pleasant retreat from the city, white walls and dark blue trim along the roof and stairs. They hadn't overly landscaped the yard of the house, instead encouraging the local plants to grow which made it seem all the more natural. Footmen were already waiting to take the trunk, and Peggy and Mr. Rigby quickly had them settled inside. Will inhaled the clean scent of the house, a wonderful smell, but it wasn't what he wanted the most. "Peggy, where is Ana?"

"Oh, out in the cove." Peggy gave him a smile, "Waiting for you, no doubt." Her voice gave him pause when he reached for the doorknob. "Mr. Murdoch, I would remind you that you will have a separate room during this trip, and that we have guests."

He held back a groan. "I understand, Peggy." He could read between the lines, he wan't to have a go at Ana while they were here. The thought of not sharing a bed with her was maddening, but not seeing her was worse. The back lawn was more more landscaped, and he quickly strode across it to look over the cove. He could see the boathouse and the Dependable, looking just as he had left her last year. The pale sand of the beach marched perfectly down to where the waves broke over it, but it was on the rocks where they lashed and foamed that he saw what he wanted.

Ana, in a swimming costume and a wrap, sat happily on a rock and was letting the waves break over her feet while she read. Her blonde hair blew over her shoulders in the breeze, and Will could almost smell her. Warm, salt on her hair and the scent of Florida water coming off her skin. Will felt himself grin as he headed down the beach, distracted only by the loud barking that drew his attention. Rigel, soaking wet and covered in sand, was barreling towards him. Will held out a hand, "No, no!"

His warning did nothing, and Rigel leaped up onto him. Will tumbled back onto the sand, feeling Rigel determinedly sit and begin to lick him. He was cursing the damn dog, the attack had ruined his plan to sweep Ana up into his arms. Now he was covered in sand and dog spit, and he no doubt looked a fool. He heard Ana laugh, a wonderful sound, and getting closer. She knelt by him, "Welcome home Will, I think Rigel missed you."

"He bloody well did." Will grumbled, shoving the dog away to sit up. "And did my wife miss me?"

She rocked her head to the side, "Perhaps, did my husband miss me?"

"Every day." He lunged upward, pulling her down to him and peppering her face with kisses. Ana squealed as he bore her down to the sand, but her hands curled in the lapels of his now dirty suit and she was wiggling against him in a most delightful way. For a moment Will thought it was unintentional, that she had no idea what it did to him, but he knew his wife too well. She knew exactly what she was doing, and at a certain point she wrapped a leg around him. Will pulled back at that, "Temptress."

"It's mean to call your wife names, you know." Ana chided, and Will wanted her even more when he saw her like that. Her hat was askew, her hair haloed around her, her brown eyes sparkling and her lips slightly swollen from his attention. The flush on her cheeks made him almost forget himself. Her fingers were on the back of his neck, "Will?"

He shook his head, "Sorry, I meant to come see you but someone ruined it." He settled back onto his heels, letting his wife sit up and wrap her arms around Rigel. The damn dog looked far too proud of himself, then shook and sprayed sand over the both of them. Will angry gestured, "Away Rigel, go on." With a happy yip the dog trotted back to the surf, snapping at waves foaming around his feet.

"He's been insatiable," Ana laughed, standing and shaking her costume to dislodge the worst of the sand. "Swimming all hours of the day." Will rolled his eyes, coming to his ffet and doing his best to slap the sand off himself. He was still shedding little streams of it when they gained the house, and he spent a few extra minutes trying to get all of it before going in. Ana smiled at him, "I could always have Reggie bring you a clean suit down."

Will shrugged, "I'm planning on changing when I get up anyway." With one last stamp of his feet, he felt clean enough to go in. He hopes that he wasn't trailing sand upstairs and into his room. God he loved his room here, all pine floors and light blue linens. Not a hint of gold or dark wood, in his opinion there was no better colors for a summer retreat. Reggie had left a suit out for him, and Will gratefully shrugged out of his old suit and into the new one. It was while he was sitting back up from tying his shoes that he noticed the painting of the clipper ship they'd acquired in Paris had been hung just so beside the door. He sighed to see it, "Ah, Ana."

"Yes?" His wife poked her head around the door, a smile on her face. "Did you need me?"

Always, Will thought. "I just saw the painting, it was very thoughtful of you."

"Oh, it was nothing. Some of the others came up too, but I thought we could bring that one back with us. It would look nice in our bedroom, don't you think?" Ana sat beside him on the bed, leaning on his shoulder as she looked at the painting. "Or the sitting room."

Will slipped an arm around her. "The bedroom would suit it better." He pressed a kiss to her cheek, "You know, I can't wait to get you back to our bedroom."

She shrugged, "We have our bedrooms here, those should suffice."

He pursed his lips, "Ana, you know James is staying with us. As is your mother, and these walls are not exactly thick." He paused, letting the sound of one of the maids humming in the other room come through to emphasize his point. Ana's face fell, but he let his hands tickle along her ribs. "And you my wife are awfully loud in our bedroom at home."

Ana sighed, "I suppose you do have a point, I wouldn't want to drive James from the house." A smile appeared though, "We could always have a little fun and send him packing to Liz's for the next two weeks."

Will pressed his lips to her ear, whispering. "We may not be able to use the house, but there are plenty of places around here to have a moment together."


That night, after dinner and bidding Mother and James good night, I let Louise change me into my nightgown and sat at my desk, planning. Will was right, the walls here were far too thin to allow for our usual lovemaking. A new location was needed, and I had just the one in mind. The boathouse was secluded, warm and hopefully unlocked. I spent five minutes praying that it was unlocked, because otherwise my plan would fall apart.

I shrugged out of my nightgown, laying it across my bed and picking up my dressing gown. It was nice and warm, it would be enough to keep me warm and decent until we were ensconced in the boat house. Once we were there, Will could peel it off me and decency was hardly my concern then. So I belted it around my waist, opened my door slowly, and stole across the hallway to Will's door. I turned the knob slowly, my voice a whisper. "Will?"

"Ana?" He kept his voice down, the lamp by his bed still lit and a book in his hands. "What are you doing?"

"Seducing you." I couldn't help but snort, "So put on a dressing gown and come with me."

He sat up, his head cocked. "Where?"

"You'll see." I let my bare leg slip out from my robe. "If you come with me." I wrinkled my nose at his pajamas. "And leave those, you won't need them." I withdrew briefly into the hallway, hearing him moving in his room before the door opened again and he slipping out next to me. We moved quietly through the house, and Will slipped his hand around mine as we took the stairs.

It was only once we had gotten outside, with Rigel rushing past us, that Will spoke up. "Where are we going?"

"The boathouse." I giggled, tugging on his hand to speed him along. "I remember how much we enjoyed that hammock last year."

He chuckled at that, "Then let's hurry." We loped across the beach, both of us already picturing what was to come. It would hardly be anything to undress each other, and the boathouse was far enough away that we could be as loud as we liked without anyone hearing. Rigel kept pace with us, his tongue lolling out as he bounded alongside. The worn wooden steps up to the dock were a welcome sight, and Will was already tugging at my sash when I reached for the door.

My heart dropped as the door didn't move. "Oh no."

"What is it?" He'd given up on the sash and had instead slipped a hand inside my robe to begin fondling me.

I hummed slightly at his touch. "It's locked."

"Well don't you have the keys?"

"No, Mr. Rigby has them and I wasn't going to go to his room and ask for them."

"Well, where else can we go?"

I sighed, "There's always the beach."

"And get sand all over us?" Will chuckled, pulling me to him. "I had enough of that earlier, thank you very much."

"Then perhaps somewhere with no sand." I wiggled in his arms, untying my sash. "A midnight swim?"

I could feel his hands tighten on me as realization dawned. "Without swimming costumes? Oh, Ana, that sounds divine." His hands left me to begin working on his own sash, and quickly both our dressing gowns had been folded up and left by the boathouse door. The night was beautiful, clear and brisk with the only disturbance being the moonlight and the beam of the lighthouse making its regular rounds. I skipped down the dock, diving into the moonlit water and swimming a bit away from it. Will took a minute to stand at the end of the dock, staring. "Ana, my God."

"What?" I shook my hair away from my face, "Come on Will, it's not cold at all."

He didn't dive in, simply sliding off the dock and swimming to me. "I know it's not." He wrapped an arm around me. "It's just, I've had this nightmare where I saw you, back then." I moved closer to him, pressing my head to his shoulder. I knew what he meant, the night of the sinking. His arm tightened around me, stroking my back. "And you were in the water, bleeding and now I see you here." He pulled back, his hand brushing my cheek. "So beautiful, and alive and in my arms." I gave him a smile, and he gave me a quick kiss. "It's given me much better things to dream about."

"Oh Will-" I was about to reach up for a more intense kiss when Rigel began barking. Loudly. I turned, looking around the shore. "Rigel, hush!" But he didn't listen, barking all the louder now that he heard me. I looked to Will, "He must not have seen us get in."

"Well shut him up before he wakes the whole town!" Will started swimming for the shore, calling out. "Rigel, here!" But nothing seemed to stop the dog, although I could see him running into the surf, while barking his damn head off. I followed Will, trying to add my voice to his but Rigel was far too loud. It was as I stopped next to Will that I heard him curse, "Damn, Ana, get behind me."

I peeked around, seeing what had upset him. The lights in the house were blazing, and I could see figures moving past the windows. "Oh no." There was little we could do but keep calling for Rigel, what little good it did. Rigel had at least made it past the breakers and was making his way toward us.

A lone figure in a dressing gown made it's way to the beach, "Whatever has set him off?"

I felt Will flinch. "I'm sorry Mrs. Dalian, I felt like a night swim and he must have followed me."

"Hmmm," Mother's voice held a grin, "A swim alone?"

"No," I spoke up from behind him. "I'm out here too, Mother."

"I figured given that both of your doors were open." Her hands moved to her hips, her long hair braided down her back whipping in the wind. "And that your nightclothes were left behind. I'm going to assume the two of you aren't dressed for swimming?"

"No." Will's voice made me figure that his face was beet red. "But we can come in now. I'm sorry about the dog."

Mother laughed, "Don't cut your swim short on my account. Let me make some arrangements." With that she turned back to the house, and Rigel had finally reached us. Will and I could barely get a word in edgewise between the way he was licking and swimming around us. Half of the time we spent swimming seemed to be focused on dodging his tail. I had just resurfaced after diving to avoid him when I heard Mother again. "I've left a basket by the boathouse, so at least the two of you won't be cold all night. You're welcome to come back inside in the morning." With another laugh she headed back in, and the lights slowly died out.

"Well, should we keep swimming?" I tried to make things a bit lighter, tugging on Will's hand. "It is rather fun." Will grumbled out an agreement, and seemed to enjoy swimming after me and letting his hands ghost over my skin. It was rather thrilling to have the water glide around my bare skin, even with Rigel trailing us as we swam around the cove. After awhile though, we both started to pull for the dock. Will helped me out, the water dripping off of both of us.

He turned to the basket, opening the wicker lid. "Your mother has strange ideas about what can keep us warm." He tugged out a towel and passed it to me. "Blankets and pillows, but a bottle of whiskey?"

"I wouldn't mind a drink." I dried myself off, pulling my dressing gown back on. The breeze had picked up and and I could feel goose pimples rising on my skin. "Did she include the key?"

"No," Will had set everything out from the basket and was running his hands all over it. "No key, are we supposed to sleep on the beach?"

"Well," I knelt to help him repack everything. "There is one place that's always unlocked." He stood, drawing his dressing gown on before grabbing the basket. "The lighthouse, we could spend the night there."

"I suppose." He offered me an arm, and we made our way down to the beach. Rigel followed us, occasionally jumping into the surf and swimming ahead of us. The stone steps of the lighthouse were cold under my feet, and Will quickly threw a blanket over the floor once we got inside. The bottom of the lighthouse was relatively empty, aside from a table and a couple of chairs, so there was plenty of room for us to set up a small nest.

I hummed when I cuddled up next to Will under the blankets. "This isn't so bad."

"Not at all," He murmured against my hair, taking a swig from the bottle and offering it to me. "Here, keep your strength up. Who knows when your mother will let us back inside?"

"She will." I shrugged, gasping after I finished my drink of whiskey. "She didn't send the good stuff either."

"No, but it does the job." Will took another pull, setting it aside and beginning to trace his fingers through my hair. "Mmmm, perhaps we should do this more often." I didn't answer, instead closing my eyes and leaning into him. I didn't protest when he worked my sash open, and wriggled against him to shed it. I could feel him beginning to rise against me, and sent my own hand to begin caressing him. He groaned slightly, "That's nice."

"It is." I let my other hand open his sash and disrobe him quickly. "And we can be as noisy as we want here."

"Not quite." Will's eyes opened briefly to look over to Rigel, flat out asleep against one of the walls. "We can't have him waking everyone up again."

"Then maybe we should practice." I threw a leg over his hips, bringing him close to me. "We can be quiet, I'm sure of it." It took some strategic maneuvering, neither of us wanted to lose the warmth of the blankets, but eventually he slid into me. I forced myself to not let out the gasp that he always drew from me, and I saw him clench his jaw in turn. Tempering my panting as he began to thrust was the hardest part, and I found a moan creeping out of my throat.

"Agh," Will grunted, his eyes cutting over to Rigel who was still asleep. "Quiet, Ana. We might be able to be together in the cottage if we can be quiet." I didn't have the heart, or the peace of mind, at the moment to point out that what would betray us in the cottage would be the sound of the furniture no matter how quiet we kept ourselves. Instead, I drew him down closer to me and began thrusting my hips in time with him. That made him hiss, burying his face against my hair as he kept pumping.

I wanted to moan, to curse, to tell him how the feeling of him sliding against my flesh was driving me wild. But I couldn't, I had to keep quiet even when the moment of release came upon me when he set his hand to teasing me. Instead of crying out, I muffled my cries against his shoulder by biting it. I at least made sure to not hurt him, only using it to gag myself, but it still tasted of him and I almost moaned at the taste. The salt from the ocean and his sweat, the warmth of his body and the musk of sex was fascinating and I dropped sloppy kisses against his shoulder to keep tasting it as he finished.

I looked to him when he rolled off me, dropping his arm to my waist. "Quiet enough?"

"Hardly." He chuckled, running his hand down my thigh and back up. "And I thought I married a woman, not a lioness who likes to bite her mate."

"How else was I supposed to try and stay quiet?" I pressed a kiss to his lips, both of us settling against the pillows. In the silence that came after lovemaking, I was acutely aware of all the noises around us. The slight rush of air from Rigel, the groan of the machinery up above us that kept the lighthouse lit and rotating and the crash of the waves against the shore. It was peaceful, and for a brief moment I fantasized a life where Will was a lighthouse keeper and we kept a small house at the base of it. I pressed my lips to his skin to silence my giggle, it was absolutely absurd. Still, it was a funny thought to fall asleep to and my dreams were quite pleasant.

A benefit of the thick stone walls of the lighthouse was that sunlight couldn't wake us up too early, although Rigel eventually needed to go out and we wound up packing up our makeshift bed while he attended to his business. Hand in hand, we made our way back up the cottage, Rigel happily barking and running with us. We had just gained the backyard when I froze. I could see figures through the windows, Mother sat with Oscar, Liz and James. With a startled yelp, I pulled Will to the side of the house. The servants were rather surprised to see us using their back stairs to get up to our rooms, but Reggie and Louise were all smiles as they helped us into some fresh clothes.

"How were we asleep long enough that they've come calling?" I said as I hurriedly powdered my face while doing my best to avoid dirtying my tea gown.

Louise, folding up my dressing gown, smirked. "Your mother called the Vanderbilt house first thing this morning to invite them over, she though Miss Vanderbilt would like to see Mr. Moody." It took everything in me to not curse my mother as I hastily closed the tin of powder and hurtled out of the room. I caught up to Will on the stairs, he was still straightening his tie.

"Ah, there you are." Mother grinned as we came into the parlor, and Oscar rose from his seat to give us a slight bow of welcome. James was far too concerned with holding Liz's hand to to bother. "I hope you enjoyed your night camping out in the lighthouse."

Will spluttered. "Mrs. Dalian, we-"

"Camping?" Oscar grinned, sitting back down. "Sounds delightful, coffee?"

Mother broke in before Will could speak, "Oh yes, they are so thoughtful. William wanted to take Anastasia out on a moonlit stroll along the beach with Rigel, but he was worried about waking everyone up coming back in so he set them up the most adorable little campsite in the lighthouse." She raised her eyebrow as she offered him the coffee that Oscar had poured. "Didn't you William?"

"Yes," He took the mug, greedily inhaling it. "I didn't want to disturb anyone."

"It was very sweet," I agreed, enviously looking at his drink. "However we haven't had a chance to eat yet. Is there any breakfast left?"