Hilde #3
The room was dark, so it took her a moment to see him. He was lying on the bed, on top of the mussed bedclothes, sprawled out in an elegant, careless fashion that made her insides do a strange little lurch. At least he was mostly clothed.
Rollo was curled up in one of his armpits. He grumbled and jumped down from the bed as Elmwood shifted, pushing himself up on his elbows to squint at her in the doorway.
“Lady Croft?” he said, clearly baffled. “What are you doing here?” He looked her up and down. “And what are you wearing?”
She should have known the dress was a mistake. But even so, where did he get the nerve to poke fun, when he was wasting away in a cold, empty house like a youth rejected by their one true love in a ballad?
“What are you doing, lying here in the dark?”
“When I got back, Nimsby was gone and the house was a frightful mess. Do you know, I don’t think anyone changed these bedclothes. They smell horribly of other people.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Why are you lying on them, then?”
“I haven’t the faintest idea what to do about them. Do I rip them off and leave them in a pile? Are there more that are clean tucked away someplace?”
“I meant why are you lying in bed at this hour?”
He lowered himself back into a supine position.
“I can’t seem to find the will to do anything else, Lady Croft.
Now, will you tell me why you’re here? Otherwise, you are very welcome to go and leave me alone with my misery and dirty linens.
I had no particular wish to see you again. I thought I made that clear.”
Normally such a display of petulant whinging would have annoyed her, but for some reason, a swell of compassion filled her instead. She pushed it aside. Compassion was not the emotion she needed at present.
“If you get up, I will help you change the linens,” she said.
She knew that in theory, spontaneity was often a key element of seduction, but she wasn’t going to seduce anyone on dirty linens!
“Clean linens are so much nicer against the skin, are they not?” she added, hoping it sounded appropriately suggestive.
He sighed, which was not the response she’d been hoping for.
“It’s not as though I can be bothered to undress anyway,” he said.
Clearly, she needed to be more explicit.
“I could help you undress,” she said. She stepped farther into the room and set the candelabra on a table. “If you require assistance.”
He shook his head, rubbing his hands over his eyes.
“I didn’t know it was possible for my spirits to sink any lower, but the prospect of having you dispassionately strip me for bed is quite possibly the worst thing I’ve ever contemplated.
I now realize that there is always a new depth of despair to explore.
Thank you, Lady Croft, for showing me that. ”
Bother it all, why was he not understanding?
She stepped close to the bed, leaning over him.
“I had hoped my presence might make your spirits…um, rise.”
“I don’t know why you would think that, given the way we last parted,” he said, still covering his eyes with his hands.
Her nerves and patience snapped at the same time.
“Oh, for goodness’ sake, that was an innuendo, Elmwood! How is it that you assumed every innocent thing I said to you the first two times we met was filthy, and now that I’m trying my hardest to seduce you, you’re immune to the suggestion?”
His hands pulled away from his face then and he stared up at her, baffled.
“What?” he said, the sound of it almost a gasp.
Acting on impulse, and dirty linens be Charmed, she took advantage of the slits in her skirt to climb up onto the bed and straddle him, careful not to put her weight on his bad hip.
He was so warm beneath her, and a dizzying sensation swept over her as she stared down at him.
His hair had come unbound again, and he had such an unguarded, surprised expression on his face that a sudden onslaught of heady tenderness overwhelmed her.
She felt as though she were a well and someone had dropped a rock and sent it plummeting down into her depths from a great height.
Slightly panicked, she shifted forward to lean closer to him. The pale curve where his neck and shoulder met was exposed, his shirt open at the collar and pulling to one side. She bent, intent on putting her mouth on it immediately, before this overpowering urge fled and she lost her nerve.
His hands came up and stopped her short, colliding briefly with her hoisted bosom, then shifting quickly to grasp her upper arms.
“No,” he said.
“No?” she repeated stupidly, her heart pounding in her chest.
“No, thank you, Lady Croft,” said Elmwood, gently.
Embarrassment engulfed her. She flung herself off of him like he was on fire, stalking halfway across the room. What had she been thinking? Clearly whatever youthful wiles she had unwittingly used on Thorgoode were long since vanished.
After a few deep breaths, she glanced back at him. He was standing now, leaning against one of the bedposts.
“You’ve gotten me out of bed after all,” he said. There was a smile in his voice. How could his voice smile at a time like this?
“I thought you wanted me,” she said, her voice sounding hoarse in her own ears.
“I did, but…we are like two shattered vases, you and I. Separate events knocked us onto the floor beside each other, and I am afraid that if we continue like this, all our pieces will get horribly mixed up, and I don’t believe you actually want to be part of my vase.
Nor should you. I’m a terrible, ugly vase that leaks water everywhere. ”
She shook her head. “Speak plainly, please.”
“I mean that you have a plethora of ulterior motives and deep hurts and a strange generosity that I can’t seem to muddle through.
And I am, to put it plainly, completely fucked.
My life is a shambles. When I first thought you were propositioning me, it seemed like an uncomplicated amusement that might distract me from my troubles.
It has become clear that it would be very complicated indeed, so I must regretfully decline.
There, I have answered plainly. Now it’s your turn to answer a question, as per our game.
Tell me, why did you come here tonight?”
“To seduce you!” she snapped, wishing she didn’t sound so bitter.
“Yes, we’ve established that. But why, Lady Croft? What has changed and created this sudden ardent interest? I think we both know it isn’t that you’ve realized you have a burning desire for all of this.” He gestured to himself in a way that was somehow lewd but also self-deprecating.
She almost denied it, even though he was right. Wasn’t he? There was certainly no reason why she should find herself choking back a sob…Why was she constantly on the verge of tears when in his presence?
“It’s the Harrier!” she blurted out. “He’s coming here in two weeks and he’s going to turn out all of Croftholde’s tenants and replace them with soldiers if someone doesn’t stop him!
I need Thorgoode back. It’s the only way.
I thought that if maybe I gave you what you wanted, you might…
and the Harrier so politely pointed out that I’ve fucked my way to power and influence before, so why not do it again?
It’s just what grasping strumpets like me do! ”
She was breathing heavily, acutely aware of every huff.
“A thousand pieces, all over the floor,” said Elmwood.
“What?”
“My metaphor.” He seemed to consider. “I believe, Lady Croft, that we are both in need of a drink. The strong stuff. Will you join me? I think there’s something stashed in my father’s study.”
“All of your cups are dirty,” she said, rubbing her face with her hands to chase away the pricking sensation that kept pushing from behind her eyes.
“Then I suppose we shall have to abandon all remaining propriety and share the bottle.”