We took a quick nap before Leo woke me up and went for a more naked round two.This one slow and drawn out, a contrast to the quick coupling in the gaming hell.He was supposed to leave after that last time, after a quick cuddle.Where I was just going to shut my eyes for a minute to enjoy his body against mine.
But we both fell asleep and now it’s morning and there’s a knock at my door.I hope it’s Anne, who has been very chill up to this point.If it’s anyone else, I’m screwed literal hours before I was going to flee anyway.
“Leo!You have to leave.Now!”I shake a bit more vigorously this time.My voice raises, but still stays low enough so everyone doesn’t hear I snuck a boy in past curfew.
“Hmm.Perhaps we should stay for a few moments longer.”
“You don’t have a few moments longer.”I’ve moved on to outright pushing now, and he’s getting closer to the edge of the bed.He’s going to find out that the floor is a lot less comfortable than this bed.And getting there via a fall isn’t going to improve the experience.
Leo finally gets up, not as worried about getting caught in a strange woman’s bedroom.Of course he isn’t.He’ll get a wag of the finger and a congratulatory wink, and the label rake attached a little firmer on his name.Meanwhile, I’ll be completely banished from polite society.
To be entirely fair, I am already planning to self-banish from polite society, but it’s the principle of the matter.
“A peer of the realm always has a few more minutes for pleasure.”
I snort at the joke but keep pushing his chest that is puffed out in fake self-importance.“Whatever.You still have to go.”I’m so flustered by the urgency that I’ve given up worrying about introducing slang into the lexicon a little earlier than it should be.
I just need to find a cottage somewhere where I can be alone so I won’t have to worry about the timeline after I leave.I can write articles about people of color in the Victorian period just so people can find them later…and probably still ignore them.Despite it being a firsthand account.I still haven’t figured out how I’ll pay for this cottage or the food I’ll undoubtedly need, but that’ll be a tomorrow problem.
I do have some money now because of Leo’s gambling adventure.But that can only go so far.
“What…ever?”Leo asks.
I give the final push, which sends Leo over the edge.He lands with a grunt, but he was able to twist and stop the fall with his hands.It’s fine, there’s a rug on the floor and I did warn him about the urgency.
“No time!You get dressed and I’ll distract whoever is at the door.”
“There’s someone at the door?”
“Yes.That’s the source of the knocking that’s currently happening.That you’re ignoring.”I get up, wrapping myself in a robe, and move to answer the door before whoever it is gets reinforcements.It’s a good thing I remembered to lock it when we got in, or this morning would have been even more disastrous.
I unlock and crack the door open a little.
“Good morning.Shall I get you ready for the day?”Anne asks, apparently not wanting to talk about the fact that I ditched her yesterday and am acting suspicious today.
“Yeah.Um.Could you please coordinate a bath for me?”There.At least the palace has plumbing so multiple maids don’t have to haul heavy buckets of hot water up the stairs.But it should distract Anne enough that she goes away for a second while I figure out the guest in my room situation.
“Shall I get you clothes to change into?”Anne motions like she’s going to enter the room and I grip the door harder.
“Don’t worry about them.I’ll bring them when I come.”
“If you like.”Anne looks confused that I haven’t budged to let her in.
“Thanks.”She turns to get the bath coordinated.“And thank you for everything you’ve done to help me in the past few days.You’ve made this stay special.”Both in taking care of me and in hiding my more wild moments from Victoria and everyone else.
“Are you leaving soon?Should I pack your things?”
Bless her, I think she’s forgotten I don’t own anything.Well, nothing beyond a costume dress and some notebooks.“No.I just want to tell you that you are amazing at your job.”
“Thank you.”
I nod, and then flinch when I hear Leo drop his shoes from behind me.
“Oh.”Understanding floods her face.Whelp, she knows Leo is here.But will she keep that close to the chest is the real question?
Then she surprises me with a nod and a wink.“I’ll get that bath started for you.”
She might be cool with this, Victorian morality being a hang up of the middle class and aristocrats, but I’m also sure that everyone “below stairs” is going to know about this before the day is out.
