CHAPTER 15
Observation, Day Four
Subject demonstrated an unexpectedly advanced understanding of female physiological pleasure responses. His ability to elicit such reactions surpassed all previously recorded hypotheses and exceeded any descriptions found in literature.
Hypothesis: Such proficiency is unlikely to be accidental. It suggests prior study either through experience or deliberate exploration of a woman’s body and its sensitivities. This level of knowledge correlates more strongly with lust-driven behavior than with emotional attachment.
Data Collected— Subject identified and stimulated precise areas associated with heightened sensory response. My own reactions were immediate, intense, and beyond any theoretical expectation. The experience indicates that physical intimacy, when executed by someone practiced, can override rational thought entirely.
Preliminary Conclusion— Men capable of producing such effects are likely motivated by desire rather than affection. Their skill set aligns with behavioral patterns of individuals who pursue pleasure as a study, not a sentiment. (rakes)
Emotional Note (unscientific, but unavoidable): The subject’s actions rendered me momentarily incapable of objective reasoning. This confirms that physical gratification can mimic or be mistaken for emotional connection. Therefore, it cannot be used as evidence of love.
Further study required?
Theodora sat at her desk with her notebook open, and her quill poised. The ink dried on the last question. She had been staring at the same page for nearly an hour. She skipped breakfast and tried her best to ignore the gnawing thoughts Alexander planted in her mind.
He has befuddled me.
She knew what she had to do to conduct her research, but she was beginning to doubt her decisions and question her own motives. Theo had never questioned her intelligence before but with him, nothing made sense.
She was supposed to be writing down her new findings as well as documenting Rosalind’s progress. Instead, her mind kept drifting back to Alexander and the way he kneeled before her, low, and reverently, as though she were his queen and he was born to give her pleasure.
She pressed her fingers to her lips, remembering how his kiss alone could cause her to come undone so completely. Unhinged desire was not part of her experiment. And yet she could not think of wanting anything else as badly as she wanted him. She dipped her quill again, determined to force her mind back into order as she grabbed her second notebook.
Observation Day Two of Melancholy: Rosalind Hawthorne responded positively to?—
Her quill paused. She exhaled sharply and set it down, then uncharacteristically tore the page and shredded it.
This is useless.
She leaned back in her chair, rubbing her temples when a headache threatened to form. She had left Hawthorne House in a rush, telling herself she needed distance, clarity, and control. But she had not found any of those things.
She had found only a greater distraction and sisterly bond with a young girl she barely knew. And to top it all off, she felt a strange, aching warmth she did not know how to name.
Surely it is not love.
She was so lost in thought that she did not hear her mother enter the chamber until Lady Dowell spoke.
“You look flustered, darling.”
Theodora jolted upright and shut her notebooks. “Mother! I didn’t hear you.”
Lady Dowell smiled knowingly as she crossed the room. “Are you certain? You were miles away. I called your name twice.”
Theo flushed. “I was… thinking.”
“Mm.” Her mother’s eyes sparkled. “About a man?”
Theo sighed and rolled her eyes playfully. “No. Of course not.”
Her mother raised a brow. “You are a terrible liar.”
She looked away, heat rising in her cheeks. “It is nothing.”
“It is never nothing when a young woman looks like that,” Lady Dowell said gently. “You are practically glowing.”
Theo groaned and covered her face with her hands. “I am not glowing, Mama.”
