A Rafael Interlude
For the first time in his life, Rafael stepped out of the bath feeling dirtier than when he'd gone in. He didn't bother putting on a robe anymore, because what was the point? There was food waiting for them in their room, and Rafael had to wonder who'd brought that in when Sadako had been in the bath with them…
Ah, there was the point. The food was hot, so they needed the robes, just in case. There was also less flirting as they ate, as they were both famished—that had to have been the most tiring bath ever—although Maria's bare feet still managed to lightly rub against his as she sat next to each other. Rafael was feeling torn between looking at her and looking away, and focused on his food as he snuck little glances sideways. Once or twice he caught her glancing at him as well, and he didn't know whether to smile, blush, or stop eating, push her down and—
Okay, he did blush then, turning to focus on his food.
Eventually though, plates empty, and Rafael leaned back with a sigh, pleasantly full as Sadako began taking away the plates. She was once more immaculately dressed in her blue Ashina garment with the white apron and frilly maid head band, most of her face hidden behind her hair. Rafael self-consciously made sure his robe was closed, although at this point it was a pretty much pointless gesture when it came to preserving his modesty in front of her…
How was he not dead yet?
Maria leaned against him, and such thoughts were mostly swept aside as he felt her pressure. Her warmth, which he'd become very familiar with recently, was blocked by two layers of robe.
"I…" she began, and just the word made Rafael's ardor rise slightly. It was just the way she said it."…am full right now Rafael. Can we hold off any more ravishing until we aren't likely to waste the food we just ate."
Rafael chuckled, reaching an arm over to pull her to him. "I'm perfectly fine with that," he said, his ardor's rise tempered, but only just. He could feel what had been a hurried climb becoming a comfortable stroll.
For a moment, they just sat there.
"Do you want to go to your office and do paperwork together?" Rafael said.
"Yes!" Maria exclaimed, far too quickly. She blushed.
"I'll handle the estate things, you handle the—?"
"Dear Rafael, please stop talking before I lose control." Little wisps of Dark Magic were floating up from her head again, like smoke from lingering embers, and he was reminded that this was Maria Campbell, who was unlike any other woman he'd ever met, and clearly far superior to Katarina Claes in every way, even if no one seemed to see that.
…
Well, only Rafael, her maid, and a lot of women she'd rescued seemed to see that.
"Lady Maria-dono," Sadako said immediately, and Rafael had to keep from jumping in surprise. She was in the room. Of course she was in the room, she'd never left… "Your clothes ready." Next to her, a red-faced Lasciel was also laying out Rafael's clothes on the bed and when did she get there? Oh dead gods, had she heard them last night? She heard them last night, hadn't she?
Well, at least Rafael's strolling ardor had died by jumping off a cliff, and it would take some time before it could go beyond death in front of a bonfire.
It was with embarrassed tranquility that Rafael got dressed after Lasciel fled from the room, taking the used plates and cutlery with her. Sadako was still there, also helping Maria get dressed and, to his suddenly aware eye, subtly copping feels here and there and how long had that been going on?
Rafael felt as if eyes were opening inside his head as he seemed to see things for the first time, and should he be indignant about this? Maria obviously seemed to mind but maybe he should, as her fiancé... Except Sadako might choose to take action of some sort, and he wasn't quite confident enough to temp that…
Feeling strangely confused, embarrassed, tranquil and roused—oh look, ardor had come back to life again, even if they were now only sort of shuffling towards the top—Rafael allowed himself to be led to Maria's office.
They managed to work until midafternoon before Maria suddenly put down her pen, neatly set her papers aside, stood and very quietly asked him to please undress.
The carpet was very comfortable.
They finally deigned to come down to dinner, where he and Maria were crowded by concerned children asking why they hadn't shown up for breakfast and lunch, had they been sick? Shana even very seriously offered to heal them with her Light Magic, which Maria kindly turned down.
"I'm sorry for making you worry, children," Maria said, kindly patting the heads closest to her hands. Rafael was amused to note that children were rotating out after getting their heads patted to let other children get close to have their heads patted as well. A few were also insistently presenting their heads for patting, and her complied lest they grab his hands and put it on their heads themselves. The few who came to him seemed genuinely happy he did. "I was occupied today, and will likely be similarly occupied for the foreseeable future. Please do not worry, and I will still see you at dinner."
The children appeared mollified at that, as did the women who were not that subtly standing nearby listening, and occasionally receiving a translation of what was being said from one of the children. Some of the women shot him looks, but they were always doing that. A few were glancing toward Sadako inquiringly, but she either ignored them with tranquil poise and simply shook her head if it was someone, he assumed, that she was particularly close to.
Eventually, the children let Maria pass through to the dining hall, Rafael trailing some distance behind. Alice and Anne were already waiting there, the former looking concerned, the latter looking concerned for the former. Rafael thought Anne was starting to like him more. Her blank, disdainful glances when she saw him were getting shorter. In a two more years, she might actually forgive him for putting Katarina in a coma. He was actually surprised it was Anne who had the longest lingering dislike for him. Mary and the Third Prince seemed to have forgiven him and like him well enough…
Unless they were both hiding it while secretly planning to kill him in a way Maria couldn't connect to them and Rafael chose not to think of that, he had too many possible sources of impending death to think about already, and they really just weren't as immediate a concern for him…
"Hello, mother," Maria said happily. Alice looked surprised when her daughter suddenly hugged her. Not the fact that Maria hugged her, they hugged regularly now, but because of how sudden it was. "I'm very happy for you and Anne. I wanted you to know that, since it occurred to me I haven't said it enough. I'm glad you found someone whose company you enjoy." Anne was definitely surprised when Maria suddenly hugged her as well. "Anne, I'm glad you make mother happy. Please continue making her happy all the days you have together. May they be without end, no matter who I must stand against to ensure it. I would be honored to have you as my stepmother."
Anne's eyes were wide and Alice was blushing and oh dear.
"Rafael?" Alice said, glancing at him. "Is Maria…" He could see her trying out the words 'all right', decided they weren't appropriate because there wasn't exactly anything wrong with Maria, and settled for, "drunk?"
"No, we only had juice for lunch and breakfast," Rafael said. Must not blush, must not blush, must not blush, must not use what he now knew to imagine his future-mother-in-law naked—
Hex it!
No, no, that wasn't his mother-in-law, that was what he projected Maria looked like when she was older! Yup, that was it exactly! Whew, close call there. Yup, that was definitely Maria, not... That was definitely Maria!
Why was Anne looking at Sadako? Anne, why are you raising your eyebrow like that? Sadako, why are you nodding?
Rafael found Anne raising an eyebrow at him, and tried not to blush horribly as she gave him a nod.
"Shall we have dinner, then?" Anne said smoothly, prompting Maria to stop clinging to her mother.
Maria's under-the-table flirting was the same as usual over dinner, which Rafael was glad for. He wasn't sure he could keep a straight face if she escalated. She even stopped at just his thighs as she spoke to her mother and listened to Chiharu reporting about what had gone on while she had been 'occupied' (and now Rafael heard the lewd double entendre and he had to eat intently to keep from blushing all over again, how was Maria doing it?), listened to Ghirardeli reporting on the same, listened to the children and graciously accepted the tests and things they'd made at school (Rafael was pulled into this as well, and he made sure to look at what he was given intently and praise the child for the inevitably good marks or the drawings no matter how rough, the way Maria was. He even meant what he said), spoke to her accountants about the finances, and other little things.
Apparently there was a new rush of servants trying to get into the property to try to get to the kitchen, though they were far more polite about it than the would-be thieves of the secrets of black powder. And the thing they were trying to get was the recipe for ice-cream. Maria told her master-of-arms Colin that these polite people were to be informed that the recipe was one developed by the Claes family, and that they should try their luck there, but they were only to be informed of such if they remained polite. Rafael wasn't sure how polite it was to make so many people Duchess Claes' problem, but Maria would know better than he would…
He and Maria even told the children a story that night. It was 'The Entanglement of Rampion, the Sun-Child', and Maria seemed particularly enamored by it, making excitable gestures. Rafael had to gently remind her that the idea was to get the children sleepy, not leave them excited. He was promptly handed the book to do it himself, and Rafael proceeded to read in a calm, gentle voice, reading slowly and carefully enunciating the words. There was absolutely no reason to feel smug that most of the children were asleep well before the end of the story, which at least allowed him to gloss over how Rampion was implied to have killed her parents and conquered the kingdom with the power of Light Magic. For all he knew, he was just very boring when he read it.
They snuck out once everyone was asleep it their beds—it took a lot of carrying, and he pretended to ignore how Maria was letting him carry all the smaller children—and the two of them walked hand in hand towards their room, Sadako a silent shadow at Maria's side.
Then they got back to their room and started pawing each other like animals in heat as Sadako calmly closed the door behind them and began turning down the bed…
