Chapter 45
Previously: The Rose of Whitby – Chapter 44
It’s a sound out in the corridor that wakes him- one he can hear very clearly, the door to the lab must be open, and that to the wine cellar, too… Why would…? Then he remembers that he did that on purpose, for exactly this reason, and scrambles up and out to check whether that’s Darcy and Gregory.
“Arthur-dear!” he hears Darcy chirp loudly the second he’s close by and then he gets barrelled over with a jump hug.
He oofs and wobbles a little- he definitely didn’t expect that! Thankfully, Darcy isn’t bigger than him. “Um… welcome back?” he offers, looks over her shoulder at Gregory, who gives him a grin and looks very pleased with himself.
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Bouncing against him a bit, Darcy pulls back to give him a look that just could be puppy eyes before she blushes and grins and whispers. “Missed you. And thank you for all the help and it was worth it. Gregory liked that I got him the deed for his parent’s house. Oh!” Letting go fully, she pulls a locket out from her dress to show Arthur what Gregory got her as a wedding gift. “Look, one for Pretty, and one for my demon, too!”
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Arthur blushes as well- he’s not sure anyone’s ever told him they missed him? It’s… maybe nice to be missed? “You’re welcome,” he tells her, hopes she can tell that he means that, then dutifully examines the locket.
Inside, there are three pictures, one for each of Gregory’s forms- and how he managed to have those taken, Arthur has no idea. “Um, very nice?” he offers- he’s not sure how to judge these things. People have lockets with pictures of people they love in stories all the time, so he supposes it’s a romantic thing?
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Clicking it shut again, Darcy grins at him, doesn’t even notice that her fangs are out until her parting lips press against them. Well, she hasn’t really eaten or drunk much so, well, anyway. “I should have them for all my family! Especially if another one of you runs after will-o-wisps and I have to team up with Llew, ew, to safe you!” She’s giggling rather than pouting at Gregory, but then her expression suddenly changes as the grin turns snarl. “They can’t have Gregory, he’s mine!”
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“Um… okay?” Arthur says. He’d be a bit freaked out by that mood swing, but Gregory looks pleased. “You ran after a will-o-wisp? Are you okay?” That sounds alarming- don’t those lure travellers to their deaths?
But Gregory only rolls his eyes at him, tells him: “I’m fine, Artie!”
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“I made sure he is, and that he wouldn’t run off again after the first time.” Darcy growls slightly, then shakes herself as if she’s trying to get something out of her hair and leans back in to press her cheek against Arthur’s for just a moment, before running on and calling for John and her papa.
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Nonplussed, Arthur looks after her, then turns to Gregory, offers him a smile, tells him he’s glad they’re back safe. Gregory only grins again and quips that he wouldn’t have minded staying longer, and then runs after Darcy. Well, since they’re back safe and sound… Arthur decides to go back to his nap. With the doors closed, this time.
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While Arthur goes back to his nap, her papa is apparently not up yet; at least Darcy can’t find him anywhere as she runs through the castle, partially on wolf’s paws. Also because she can track people better that way, well, their smells, and she’s pretty sure she has John’s scent. Oh, his lovely, lovely scent, she’s associated it with so many good things already! Nudging a door open she doesn’t think she’s been through before, she can feel her ears perk up before she is even fully in the room. Oh, that scent! Then she looks, and that brings her nose up, away from the floor and right into the airstream that’s going between the open window and her, the airstream that has a John right in its middle.
She very suddenly remembers why she was unsure about having him around at first. What can she do? He hasn’t noticed her yet. She shouldn’t see him like this, smell him like this: Shirt off and sweating where he is working with some weights. Her body reacts without her having any chance to so much as try to think if this is wrong. Her body knows what it wants to do with John. Her body… or is that her drac?, reminds her painfully of her enhanced dhampir libido. But no… no, she’s married! She can’t be bad!
Turning around to flee, she finds herself standing right in front of Gregory, and the way he’s looking at her, the way that look wanders over to John has her heckles rise. She pushes against him, pushes him away. No, this is wrong!
He leans down and whispers at her that he can feel what she’s feeling.
No! She turns back to her human form and goes so far as to pick him up to carry him further away, then starts to apologize furiously, only for him to shake his head. He’s trying to help her! She doesn’t get it and it must show, so Gregory reminds her that he told her before, her stubborn belief in her idea of being faithful is a flaw, it’s normal to notice attractive people, he does it, too. Not as if he doesn’t notice John. And he can tell that she really likes John, so hey, she doesn’t feel very inhibited right now, does she?
Uh… no? Did he… did he set her up somehow? It only now dawns on her, he hasn’t fed her in days… she’s ravenous, and doesn’t she behave differently when she is? She can feel her drac so close. Her body feels so much more vibrant, the world pushes so much more harshly against her skin and into her nostrils with everything. She’s standing a corridor away from John now and still, his scent seems to be dancing in her mind, his scent seems to be curling all around her body the way she wants to curl herself around his body.
When Gregory teases on what he imagines her to be thinking about, there is a flare of embarrassment and insecurity. He shouldn’t be saying these things! He shouldn’t… and she shouldn’t like them, she shouldn’t react to them.
And yet again he tells her that he doesn’t care.
She doesn’t understand. How? Why? Then she has Gregory’s hands on her back and he’s shoving her, physically shoving her towards John. Maybe she is doing it wrong again? She doesn’t want to be bad for him. He’s her husband, she probably just doesn’t know how to be a good wife. He’s the man, he’ll know better. So when he shoves her into the room fully and tells her that she could help John out with the workout at least by dancing, she nods at him. She said she’ll be an obedient wife, so even when she’s not sure, she’ll do it.
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This time John notices her and puts the weights down. Hey, why is she looking so confused? Well, and… um, not that John hasn’t always wanted a girl to look at him like that but, she’s freshly married! He’s over here half hoping to split his skull open with a dropped weight so he doesn’t have to think about just having seen the girl he’s pretty sure he’s in love with get married. Why is she now standing in the door and, there’s no other way to say it, undressing him with her looks? The way she’s chewing on her lip with a fang makes him nearly snort at yes, she looks about ready to eat him whole, but that might be a double meaning he didn’t intend. He might have no clue what’s going on, but she looks confused as well as horny and he’ll always, fucking always, try to be there for her.
So he gets up, tries to get at least his hands dry and… fuck, where even is his shirt? Oh, he’s a dolt! He’s half naked in front of her! This is his fault. Not that part of him doesn’t feel like hollering in triumph with the gender euphoria she just gave him, but no, fuck, he needs to find his shirt. Apologizing and turning his back, he looks around for where it might have ended up, only to jump startled when he feels her hands against his naked skin. This can’t be happening!
“I didn’t mean to interrupt your workout. Do you… do you want to dance with me?”
Does he want to dance? Fuck, he can think of a lot of things he’d like to do with her, and one is more problematic than the next, but when he looks over his shoulder she looks so… forlorn? Why would she look like that? What is wrong? Oh fuck it, if she wants to dance, he’ll dance with her!
Not like that! Abort, abort! Fuck! How did he end up with her cheek against his naked shoulder? That’s her face, nope, just got worse, her lips against his neck! Darcy! Please… and then he knows it’s too late. His body gives him away. Of course it does. What could he expect, he has his girl tucked tight against him, he can feel her against his naked skin and her breath on his neck and of course he can think, or try to think, pure thoughts as hard as he possibly can… but yeah, hard, that’s the problem.
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His scent is so strong. She feels her body fall into unthinking rhythm after the first few steps. That doesn’t matter. It wouldn’t even matter if she got the dancing wrong, or if he got it wrong. She’s not dancing with her feet, she’s dancing with the experience of being enveloped in his scent, she’s dancing with the feeling of taking him in, with being so very close to him, and she wants more! His sweat against her lips only makes the sensation harsher, she can smell him, taste him, she wants to feel him, all of him! Oh yes, including that… she’s so flattered that he’d have that reaction from mere dancing. She can feel her drac dance along, she can feel her insecurity if this is wrong fall away. Her drac wants this, her husband told her to do it, this must be right.
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Wrong, wrong, wrong! He has to get away from her. Maybe she hasn’t noticed yet. Please, fuck, he kind of lost his faith, but if anybody up there is listening, he really tried to be a good man. He really tried so hard to not have uncouth thoughts about a woman he knows he can never marry, but she’s right here in his arms! Maybe he can still rescue this, maybe he can still avoid being driven away. He’s sorry! With her against his naked skin, he doesn’t even need to shift position, her temple is against him, so it’s easy to send her under for just a moment. He has no idea what to say, how to explain it. Did she faint? Would she believe that? In any case, he sits her down, takes a step away from her, and furiously tries to get his body to stop being so obvious.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. Get away, come up with something when he can think straight again. Only, fuck… how long has Gregory been there? He did that fucking invisible cat thing, didn’t he? That’s why that cat is suddenly there. Fuck, he has no way of knowing what Gregory saw. And now he’s standing here with a fucking boner and Darcy asleep. What the fuck does Gregory think he did to his wife? His hands lifted and clear of Darcy, he’s frantically trying to come up with an explanation when Gregory turns human with a grin. He tells him to leave everything to him. It’ll be alright. He’ll fix that little problem. Just he make sure to come to Darcy’s room in half an hour.
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Darcy wakes up in Gregory’s arms as he carries her down the corridor. It takes her a moment to realise where she even is, and then a few moments longer to puzzle out why she could possibly be waking up. That must have been John, he must have sent her under, and he can’t keep that up at a distance. But why? Gregory’s chuckling at her and telling her she spooked John, but not to worry. He’ll make sure John can’t be afraid of her, he got this all figured out.
Why would John be afraid of her? Oh no, did her drac do something bad? But John normally is so great with her drac… Now she’s only more confused and insecure, so she doesn’t object when Gregory gets something from that box of gifts. The ropes she’s not fond of, but he always pushes her to try out more. At least this time, he’s tying her up, tying her to the bed, and she supposes that if she scared John, maybe this is safer.
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John has no idea what to expect. He made sure to put on a new shirt after washing up quickly. He’s trying to look as if he didn’t just probably ruin his entire relationship with Darcy. He’s at least trying to look like he might still be able to apologize and promise that it’ll never happen again. He’s trying to script something in his head that doesn’t sound like he’s a predatory arse when he knocks on the door and enters upon Gregory calling him inside. Then he freezes before he even gets a single syllable of his apology out.
What the fuck is going on here?! He forgets about the apology after one look at Darcy’s tied hands and the way her dress is half open, worse, the look of discomfort on her face, worst, the grin on Gregory’s face.
Fuck everything! Nobody treats his girl that way!
With a roar, he leaps at Gregory to punch him, and only gets complete and sudden confusion back even as Gregory manages to dodge. “Hey, hey, everything’s fine! Calm down. I just made sure she’s safe for you. I saw you want her. You can’t deny that.”
No, of course not, but not fucking like this! John yells that at Gregory, ready to try again to punch him when he hears Darcy whimper. His focus on Gregory breaks, this isn’t about him. Fists sinking down, John exhales and apologizes after all. It was his fault, whatever Gregory saw. No, his wife did not cheat on him. It was all his fault. If this is meant to be punishment for her, then there is nothing to punish her for. He’s the problem, he’ll… he’ll leave and make sure to never make Gregory question her loyalty again.
There’s another whimper from Darcy and it breaks John’s heart. No, he doesn’t want to leave! He’s screaming on the inside at the thought of never seeing her again, but if that’s what is needed to keep her safe… Then he sees Gregory’s lack of comprehension, and he dares turn to Darcy. She’s broken out of the ropes (he should have known she probably could) and, what’s that look on her? He oofs as she throws herself at him, her hands tight in his shirt, as Gregory starts to laugh and tells him that he said everything’s alright, didn’t he? He doesn’t care! It’s normal to want other people!
It fucking is what? Gregory is just back from his honeymoon! The night at the pub pushes itself back into John’s memory uncomfortably, the way Gregory was making merry… who he was making merry with. Did he have the wrong worry? But then why would Darcy need to marry him? He looks down at her again, but of course, he can’t just ask, sure as fuck not with Gregory there but… the way she’s looking at him, she… fuck, she really wants him and her husband… John always thought that Gregory was a selfish arse, he knows that Gregory is probably getting himself blackmail material so that Darcy can’t say anything about all the affairs he plans to have.
Wouldn’t it be the right thing to walk out and not give Gregory that advantage? But… Darcy is clinging to him. If he walks out now, he’s leaving her alone with Gregory and… no! Fuck no! He never meant to be a homewrecker. He never meant to be a married woman’s affair. But the way Darcy is looking at him, she’s so lost, so unsure, and so very much longing for him. Is he sure it’s more than lust? No. But even if that’s all he can ever be, the affair, the friend she’s horny for, anything is better than leaving her to Gregory. Anything is better than having to look at her and see those hurt and confused eyes!
He really, really doesn’t want Gregory to be here, but fuck it, there is nothing in the world he cannot do for his girl. If that’s what he has to do, fuck it, Gregory can watch how a real man treats his girl! So he leans down and whispers right against Darcy’s lips “I got you, culver. You’re safe with me,” before he kisses his girl for the first time.
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And there’s yet another package. Ugh, Darcy really hopes it’s not one more thick envelope with an overly long congratulation about her wedding from a person she has to research so she answers correctly and without a political faux pas. Although, this one looks really very thick. Maybe somebody actually sent her a book as a gift? Her excitement is short-lived when she realises that any books people would gift a baroness are going to be terribly boring.
However, when she unpacks the book, her eyes start sparkling. It looks like a fairytale book! Bound in leather, all detailed and decorated, and oh yes, old book smell, that’s just the best! The card isn’t very helpful. Yes, it’s a wedding gift, but it’s not signed! How is she supposed to thank the only person who sent something she likes? Oh no, this is going to be trouble yet.
But for right now, she tries to make out the title, then gets stumped. That’s not any language she knows, but there’s the word ‘dampiri’ in it. It’s daylight, her mother isn’t up, she can’t ask her. But that looks kind of like Latin, so, with the book clutched to her chest, Darcy rushes out of the study and down the stairs to Arthur’s lab. Knocking on the door, she finds her voice trilling with excitement. “Arthur, could you please help me with a book if you aren’t too busy?”
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A book? The knock on his door made Arthur expect the worst- another crisis of some sort, that’s why people usually come to find him in the lab. But a book sounds interesting. Darcy seems to think so, too, because she’s almost bouncing when she comes in and puts the book on the table. He takes a deep breath to make sure it’s safe, but he can’t smell any magic on it. The language, though, that isn’t Latin. ‘Cu privire la arta povestirii pentru dampiri’ is what it says, and he agrees that it looks kind of like Latin, but he doesn’t know what ‘povestirii’ is supposed to mean- something related to power? ‘Poves’? But the declination isn’t Latin. So all he can guess is something about art and dhampirs?
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Deciding that maybe it’s one of those mixed language books she’s seen before, Darcy barrels on and flips to the first page, and, out of long habit, reads the first sentence out loud, well, best she can. It doesn’t help her to understand it, but then Arthur yelps and his hand darts for the book before the world goes black around her.