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Darkfever [Goody + incendo]

-this time, she did jump a little in her seat at the swat to her hand. So wrapped up in the veiled but seething attention that was focused on Christinith that she hadn’t expected it. No sound escaped her at the swat, just the tiniest of jerks and her attention turned, blinking at Emery for just a second before the crimson heart of her lips blossomed into an amused smile, a chuckle escaping her before she teasingly let her fingers crawl against the back of his hand briefly.

Being a virgin, the implication of his words, whether he’d intended them that way or not, brought a faint blush to her porcelain cheeks. However, the less virtuous part of her cast a soft smirk in his direction as she glanced sidelong at Emery when he mentioned cleaning the cobwebs from all the nooks and crannies of her. That tickle of her earlier fantasy playing at the corners of her thoughts. Her sister would be mortified.-

“You’d be the only one allowed.”

-she dropped a soft wink before turning toward her plate. Unrolling her own napkin and setting it in her lap as her father drew Emery’s attention. She listened as she ate, glancing every so often about the table at the others, though most of her attention belonged to Emery. Listening intently as he spoke of Jekyll and Hide. Though she had read it, it was a first edition book she had yet to acquire, and she was fascinated, hearing Emery speak of watching it at the cinema.

Hearing him pose the request to take her to see it, the smile that began forming grew wider still as her father acquiesced. Despite the notable reluctance in his tone, she flashed her father a bright, excited smile across the table. Clearly happy that he’d agreed.

The smile faltered, dimming as she turned narrowed eyes on Christinith. Her dork softly clicking against the plate as she glared at her sister.-

“Oh stuff it, Chrissy. Father already agreed.”

-Prue huffed lightly, in that brief sound, sounding quite like her father. Though her sister wasn’t looking at her, she could see that look in her eyes, enjoying the fact that she’d gotten such a response from Prudence. She bit back the urge to continue, instead, as gracefully as possible shoving another bite of fish between her lips, not wanting to give her anymore satisfaction than she already had. She continued to quietly eat, listening to the exchange between Emery and her sister, idly wishing some deadly mishap, a trip down the stairs perhaps of her darling sister. A broken neck, yes that would work, though hopefully after several moments of bone shattering pain during her stumble.

She caught Adelaide’s raised hand from the corner of her eye and she was turning to address her father and agree that of it was an issue, one of her sisters, preferably Addie and her own beau would be more than welcome to accompany them.

Christinith’s stinging words brought her head whipping back in the eldest sisters direction. Dark eyes blinking before shooting daggers at her. In the brief silent pause, Prue turned back to her father and spoke.-

“Adelaide and Desmond could accompany me, if it’s an issue, Father.”

-her expression quite clear that if accompaniment was required, Addie and Desmond were by far preferred. Also quite present in her expression was the fact that if Christinith’s mouth got her chance to leave this house for a week, the chance to be with Emery for an entire week and away from this nightmare of her life inside this home, revoked...she would likely launch across the table at her pedantic sister and pluck her eyeball out with her fork.

Once the conversation started again, she faded into silence and Emery was the most important thing to her, if no one else. She was reaching a hand toward him, preparing to apologize for her bitch of a sister. His whispered words stalled her, drawing a soft smile across her lips once again. Her sister and everything around them pushed to the back of her thoughts.-

“And what exactly is ‘the word’ I’d need to say? Choose wisely, make sure it’s something you won’t ever get tired of hearing.”

-she grinned cutely as her hand came to rest against his arm. Though, despite her levity, it was evident she was straining not to lash out at the dinner table at Christinith, not completely.-
 
That wasn't at all what he meant but he smiled at her with pure, unadulterated adoration that she was so clever and playful. He could tell that she was bothered by the headbutting with her sister, the lines in her shoulders and neck tense and something wild and barely restrained glittering in her beautiful, black doll's eyes. For Riegler, it was regular sport, and he was more bothered by Christinith retreating behind her shield of propriety so quickly, robbing him of a truly malicious outburst. He'd be viewed as a true monster then, not that he cared, but it might overwhelm Poppy to learn of his true nature so abruptly, even if he revealed himself while taking down her worst enemy. Still, he didn't like to see her so stressed, especially when he felt relaxed, clearly like the massive, black feline and Christinith was the dwarfed field mouse batted around between his palms.

"Something I'll never get tired of hearing? ...My name," he murmured in a low voice, his tongue peeking out between his teeth as he gave her a charming, puckish little grin. "Preferably moaned...like a death rattle...or in the throes of ecstasy. I'm partial to the latter but I'll take desperate supplication as well. Begging, that is. Repetitive. Like a prayer." His hand came to rest on top of hers, warm and masculine fingers stroking her knuckles before moving to idly pinch and gently toy with her gemstone spider ring. Leaning close, his wine-hinted breath ghosting across her neck, loose black curls at her nape shivering with his exhales, he whispered for her ears alone, a devious smile lacing his deep words, "On your knees. At my knee. Breasts heaving. Eyes aimed upward. ...I am...the Dark God that will grant you anything...if you would say my name like you were dying."

When he pulled back, taking up his wine glass again for a pensive sip, he was giving Prudence a smoldering look that promised to scorch her skin right off. Unbeknownst to him, while conversation continued to flow around the table, Christinith glowered at the pair across from her, in particular Emery, her eyes not missing a beat of the private interaction. Because of all the voices at the table, she couldn't hear most of what he said but she saw the way he smiled, nuzzling her ear, whispering naughty things that brought color to her sister's pale skin, playing with her jewelry in an obscenely intimate way. If the little moments weren't so brief, Christinith would have put up more of a fuss; they weren't married! They shouldn't be touching like that! It was inappropriate and Christinith could see, the affection heaped upon Prudence was affecting her little sister to a dangerous degree. The poor, innocent dear! She had no idea the wolf that had blatantly strolled into their house!

Second course had a selection of either chicken or red meat steak, so, Emery got to eat that when the footmen came to serve. And third course was a light gelato, mint leaves fresh and cooling in the soft, creamy, frozen dessert. Afterwards, the women left together first while the men stayed behind to enjoy an after meal smoke. Emery's eyes were still smoldering, his smirk hungry as he watched Prudence leave with the other women, lighting himself a cigar as he relaxed in his chair at the table.

In a demure, polite line, the women proceeded to the music room down the hall, and Christinith waited until they were through the door to turn on her sister.

"I cannot believe you! What are you thinking???" she exclaimed in a huff of incredulous laughter. "Can you not see how creepy and gross he is!? I have all the respect I can muster for a duke. But that man is a filthy lech! I heard some of the things he has been saying to you tonight and they are things a 40 year old man of his nobility should not be saying to a young maiden your age. And at dinner! As a guest! In someone else's house!

"If you think you're not just another conquest for him, then you're sorely delusional! He's a philanderer and has shamed many women at court! You'd just be another score on his post, abandoned and left ruined afterwards. You need to stand up for your virtue, Prudence! I saw the way he was pawing at you, whispering to you, making you blush with his dirty, sleazy old man fantasies! The way you kept touching his arm! You're unwed! Stop it! Stop encouraging him!"

Panting, taking deep breaths to calm herself, brushing her dainty hands over her cheeks and mouth, Christinith shook her head in anxious sorrow as she closed the couple feet that separated them. "I fear for you this night. Duke Emery Riegler is the Devil come to squander your prospects and tempt your virginity away. You need to reject him so that he will go. You can reject a duke. Tell him you're not that kind of young lady and come be by me and Calvin and Mr. Tinning for the rest of the evening. Hopefully, father will ask him to leave soon and he will go without incident. You heard the way he spoke to me. He doesn't seem to want the opinions of anyone but you. Please, Prudence, tell this horrid man to leave. Just be sane and act decently for one night." She was begging her now, clutching Prudence's hands in both of hers, imploring her to see reason, her eyebrows etching in desperation.
 
-Eyes watched him in wide and quiet curiosity, lips parted softly as he delivered his answer, barely a breath seemed to exit, as if waiting on bated breath to hear what he had to say to her cute and clever little quip. Indeed she was actually, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips as her attention dropped to watch his fingers brushing in warm and alluring strokes against her knuckles. Her heart beat quickened and that restrictive tightness of her corset pressed against her breast again at the grin he allowed her, amidst the aching fire that ignited deep within at that touch.

When he leaned forward, she did as well, head still dipped and tipped softly toward his lips as he whispered. Even before his mention of her breast heaving, it was. The soft and tender mounds of flesh that just peeked and teased against the ruffled obsidian material that rested against them, rising and falling in time with her heartbeat, with an urgency akin to galloping horses.

When her gaze rose up to meet his, there was a burning desire all their own, as well as an unspoken burning question. Had he seen into her thoughts? Had he witnessed the fantasy playing out in her head earlier? Indeed there was a soft flush to her skin but it was far from as innocent as her sister might suspect.

She brought up the end of the line of women, the last to file toward the door but hardly as demure as the others. Emery would feel the faintest brush of her fingers and nails, sweeping lightly against the back of his neck. She loathed to leave him honestly. She caught her father staring at her, his brows pinched together in disappointment at her. She merely flashed him a soft smile as she scurried from the room with her mother and sisters.-

“Ohhhh, I know how wonderously creepy he is, which is hardly gross to me of all people.”

-she replied snarkily, with an exaggerated roll of her eyes as she closed the door behind her. Heaven knows, her sister thought she was creepy and gross, so what would make her think that she wouldn’t be drawn to someone so much like her? Christinith was delusional herself and refused to admit it apparently.-

“If he leaves me ruined, so be it. I suspect I won’t be disappointed in the least and the ruin would be worth it, two-fold. On top of enjoying the fall, maybe, just maybe you’d all stop trying to parade these suitors in front of me, knowing full well I want none of them anyways. And I have news for you.....”

-her voice lowered, though her mother and other sisters would hear her, even as she leaned closer to Christinith, a slow smirk sliding across her lips.-

“It wasn’t his fantasies that were making me blush.”

-she straightened and chuckled, her hands draping against her hips as she barely took a breath before she continued.-

“Are you jealous, Chrissy? Maybe if you’d stop worrying about me and focus on yourself and the man that actually wants you, wants to lavish affection and attention openly on you.....maybe if you actually let your husband give you a good pokeinstead of henpecking him and making him limp at every turn, you wouldn’t be such an uptight bitch!”

-she huffed, her eyes glaring a deathly stare at her sister. Her lips curling into a sneer as her sister grabbed her hands, fingers tightening but not in an understamding, sisterly type way. Tightening to the point Christinith might wonder if Prue’s intentions were to break her fingers. And oh the thought was there. Before she could make that fantasy a reality, she jerked her hands violently from her sisters hands.-

“I will not reject the guest that I asked to come, Duke or not. Should Father ask him to leave, you can all rest assured, I will be going with him.”

-her anger had been boiling since the first course of dinner and now with Christinith pouncing on her as she was, it was back in full force the more they exchanged words and where she bit back the urge to break fingers, she did not stop the urge to slap the look from her sisters face. The crack of skin against skin echoing through the room. The soft jostle of chain as the spiderweb against the back of her hand rattled with the force.-

“The last place I want to be tonight or any is beside a prudish, duplicitous wench, her poor lonely husband and an insanely boring lawyer that has nothing in common with me. I’d rather die, in fact, it would be a blissful reprieve from such atrocity!”

-her words spit like venom out at her sister, scathing and unbidden as she turned and jerked the door open, glaring at her mother and Ophelia, both having looked on with smug expressions, clearly agreeing with everything Christinith had said. Her gaze softening only when she got to Addie, who seemed not to be taking either side really but looking on with a measure of empathy at her younger sister. A moment longer and the door was slamming closed behind her as she huffed and stormed off to the library. Her hands wringing in front of her as she paced near the couch, her gaze watching the grand rug and it’s pattern shift and change beneath her sweeping skirts as she paced. A small sniffle escaping her as she turned and paced in the opposite direction.-
 
Something had happened. Of course, after finishing their cigars, the men followed the women to the music room, and Emery immediately noticed the absence of the one dark haired maiden of the family. Nobody remarked upon it, so, his first thought was that she'd simply went off to the wash room for a moment. Then one of the sisters, the youngest one he guessed, was urged to play the harpsichord. After the first gay tune was delivered and five minutes had gone by, Emery was looking around whilst distractedly applauding the young lady for her skill.

By the start of the second song and Christinith leaned against the instrument whilst starting to sing, Emery was full of fitful agitation. What had happened? Surely something. Granted...he'd been extremely bold to Prudence during dinner, more bold than he'd ever spoken to a wealthy young lady at a bloody dinner table, for the Devil's sake. But he hadn't missed the way she'd touched him and huskily whispered his name before leaving the room, an obvious invitation. Pinching his lips in frustrated thought, scowling softly, he was trying to think if he was meant to follow her to her chambers or if she might eventually reappear. If he made the wrong move and was discovered having gone where he wasn't supposed to, the earl would likely make him leave this night. And he would be fully within his right.

Sighing, his frown strained from the horrible, boring peppy music and the perplexing absence of his lady love, he inadvertently caught the eye of the other sister a couple feet away. Staring straight at him, she shifted her gaze to quickly make sure she was unobserved, everyone currently fixated on the bright, loud performance of the eldest Mayweather daughter, before looking at him again and with palms together, like in prayer, she opened them flat from the middle. Like a book being opened to read. It took him barely a second, his eyes brightening in understanding, because of course, she knew exactly who he was impatiently looking for. And unlike the others who all seemed against them, there was something of a gentle advocate about her manner. Not rebellious but tender and charitable. Mouthing a grateful word to her, he took in her encouraging head tilt and smile before he slipped from the back of the gathering out one of the music room doors.

It didn't take him long to find the library, being the second door he tried down the same hallway. Relief and warmth filled him in a wash to find her there, seemingly just as agitated as he had been a moment ago, forced to listen to her abhorrent sister sing an uplifting, puke-worthy hymn about the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Prudence was obviously affected by something else, having been chased here by a foul run in with said same sister, most likely extending an example of the love and compassion from her Savior that she crooned so nauseatingly about.

"You abandoned me," Emery said in deep, silken tones as he entered, arms spread from his sides and a devilish smirk on his face.

Looking around the warm room, the fireplace gently crackling and a few candles illuminating the gold and red rugs and cherrywood furnishings, he immediately felt at home among the books and earthy tones. Almost every wall had floor to ceiling shelves stuffed with books, and although not a big collection, it certainly spoke of a well-read household. Sighing in contentment, his gaze tracing over the shelves, gliding over titles and spines, his dark eyes twinkled with amusement as he looked back at Prudence, several feet away.

"Adelaide," he explained with a tip of his head, his smile soft as he spoke of their mutual ally. "And of course, I find you here. It's always going to be like this, isn't it? Constantly fighting for your attention with this," he motioned breezily at the shelves nearby. "Except it'll be worse because you know mine is bigger than this, yes, I did mean it as dirty as that sounds, and there's barely anything not related to our mutual interests on my shelves at home. So, I likely won't see you for days, finding you on my loveseat, swimming in gothic romance and grotesque horror." He tipped his head again in acquiescence, pursing his lips over a sympathetic grin, ambling over to the shelves nearby, unable to help himself as he pulled a blue tome from it and gave it a thorough inspection. "Then again...it is my favorite room in Bromsgrove. Sometimes, I don't sleep in bed, so wrapped up I get in the latest morbid treasure upon a page. Instead of the garden, we'll find each other in the library."

Replacing the book on the shelf, he turned to regard her, murmuring, "I can't think of a better meeting of the minds. And the flesh. My rugs are soft and my couches are comfortable, almost as much as my bed, if you can believe it. Are you ready for your gift? Unless...you think you have enough...?" A finger indicated the books around them a moment before he gave her a crooked grin and motioned her towards him, pulling a small red book from within his suit jacket.
 
-she heard the faint sound of the door opening and she turned, watching as it swung inward. Her shoulders tightened, brow knitting together. Half expecting to see that Christinith had followed her, coming to continue their little tiff further, in the privacy of the library and away from the rest of the family. Which meant she was coming with poisonous lips.

However, when she saw Emery, everything about her seemed to relax. The rod straight of her back, the high, right lift of her shoulders, the balls of her hands set before her, everything relaxed.-

“I’m sorry, Em.”

-she sighed softly, glancing down at her hands as she rubbed the still warm and stinging flesh of her palm a moment before letting her dark eyes find him again.-

“I abandoned the music room before I abandoned my senses and strangled the life out of my pretentious sister, in front of witnesses.”

-a smirk twitched darkly at her lips. An expression that quickly turned into a truly warm and loving smile at the mention of her second oldest sibling. The expression remained as she listened, her head tilting softly. Brows lifting softly. The faint shift of her bottom lip said she was chewing it softly in contemplation but she managed to keep her eyes from wandering lower than his lips, watching as they formed around the words he spoke before drifting upward again.-

“Why, Em....are you asking me to come dust off your....big bookshelf? Seems there’s a lot of cobwebs all over the place, hmm?”

-she jested, falling into a soft chuckle as her tongue darted between her painted lips.-

“You know, a loveseat is meant for two....”

-of course he knew but she still let the implication rest on the air between them. When he motioned her toward him, she let her hands sweep against her skirts a moment before she finally swept the short distance toward him.

She was curious of the gift he’d brought her, indeed but a hand came to rest atop the crimson tome he drew from his jacket, to stop him for just a moment. Her other resting light but possessive against his arm as her head tilted to peer up at him.-

“I don’t believe it. You’ll have to show me, Emery.“

-she quipped boldly, a smile curling her lips as she let her hand lifting from the book, fingers instead tracing over the lettering in wonder, letting her attention fall against it as she peered curiously at it, reading the embossed title. It wasn’t one she’d heard of. Her gaze shifted back up to him.-

“One can never have too many of course. Is this how you plan to make me stumble?”

-she grinned, casting a side long glance up at him as she continued her inspection of the book with her fingers.-
 
There was something miraculous occurring, some dark magic that trembled through him almost every time that she spoke. It would have been intimate enough for her to say his first name, that honor really reserved for friends and lovers in high society. But Prudence, ever living dangerously, kept stopping short of saying it fully, cutting it down to this warm pet name. And every time she uttered it, a thrill crashed through him, electrified and chilled at the same time. "Em." He couldn't remember anyone ever calling him that. Not even his parents, nor his sister, all of them dead now. He'd never felt close enough to anyone for them to sweetly let down the walls between them, all titles, all restraint, all decorum evaporating to utter even such a simple syllable, as a term of endearment. By her act of independence, she liberated him.

"Ah," he huffed, his eyebrows bouncing in understanding. "Indeed. She's in that mode tonight, isn't she? Turns out, we left for the same reason. Not that I mind hymns, nor the morbid story of Christ. But I can do without Christinith singing about grace, when she has none, and doesn't extend an ounce of it to even the most precious people to her, such as her family. Hypocritical nonsense makes me feel like throttling someone too."

Another flutter struck through Emery's chest when she smirked like that, once again uttering that cute little pet name. "Is that what you heard?" he narrowed his gaze mischievously, shaking his head over her playful innuendo, even chuckling with a sunny grin breaking over his features. "I meant, I can envision you in my vast library, surrounded by books and shadows, getting fucked into the rich Persian carpet by me."

He paused, letting that register, his dark gaze direct, not allowing her to hide from the coarse, lewd words that came out of him. Cocking his head, the monster within him came alive, repetitively intoning through his mind, words it had never said in regards to anyone else.

Take. Claim. Keep.

As he traced over her delicate, pale features with dominant, penetrating eyes, a possessive iridescence flashed over them, like a faint reflection of purple light, there and then gone.

"Sorry. Do you prefer the naughty poetry? Clearing cobwebs, indeed. I'll be tolling that bell. Humping you senseless. I want...to be inside of you..."

He grabbed her quite suddenly, wheeling them around so that she pressed back against the shelves they stood beside. Emery's form, black and looming over her, pressed oppressively close, his desire palpable in the tense lines of his broad shoulders and slender waist. A little peek at the monster...just to see how she fared. It took some restraint to keep the massive bulk of the darkness at bay but he let her see it, in his eyes, in the jump of muscle at his jaw; he let her feel it in the bruising grip of his hands as he lifted her free wrist, chaining it above her head with the circlet of his fingers against a dozen book spines. Pressing close, he let her feel it in the demanding heat of him, the thick hardness below his belt, the beast that ached for her, barely contained by the power and will of the man, Riegler.

"Your sister was right about me," Emery purred smoothly, his gaze predatory now, full of heat and lust for this virginal maiden. "I'm a very bad man."

His other hand swept to the back of her head at the same time his lips collided with hers, passionately owning her mouth with a hot, dark kiss.
 
[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]“She’s in that mode every night [/BGCOLOR]and[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)] day.”[/BGCOLOR]

[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]-she snorted softly, shaking her head with a soft frown etching against her pretty lips. It was all she had to say of her sister, all she cared to say because it summed it up pretty clearly. There was no softer, graceful side to Christinith, none that she’d seen in many years, if even then. Besides, she’d seen that knowledge on Emery’s face earlier in the night at dinner, no more needed said.-[/BGCOLOR]

[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]“Mm mm...”[/BGCOLOR]

[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]-the sound murmured from her throat, as her lips [/BGCOLOR]curled at the corners[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)], a coy, playful narrowing of her gaze met his grin. The expression wavered, not out of fear or uncertainty of the next words from his lips. Direct and far bolder than he had been as of yet.[/BGCOLOR]

Her gaze met his, steady and bold.[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)] She couldn’t have looked away had she wanted to, captured, shackled by the dark orbs that held her captive. His words filling in parts of her earlier thoughts. Her chest heaved softly as her tongue whet her lips, pulling the plump bottom lip between her teeth briefly, letting it loose to hang softly open as her breathing grew deep. He could see the imagery playing over her thoughts without her having to utter a single word concerning what he wanted.[/BGCOLOR]

[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]Not that she’d have time to say anything as he grabbed ahold of her. A gasp escaped as he spun her around. A soft grunt followed as the shelves dug softly into her back as her head tilted to peer up at him, her chocolate gaze dancing over his darkened features but barely batting an eye, unafraid it seemed. Though her heart hammered like a war drum in her chest.[/BGCOLOR]

[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]With the faintest shift, she seemed to arch against him, though she’d barely moved, pinned between him and the tome filled wall.-[/BGCOLOR]

[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]“So she told me, more than once and yet...here you a.....”[/BGCOLOR]

[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]-her tone low, sensual but cut off as his lips consumed hers. Tentative at first, her lips responded in kind, growing more confident as he demanded more. Her unshackled hand moved from his arm, across the breast of his suit jacket, fingers curling beneath and into the lapel, drawing it tight against his shoulder and back as she pulled against it, pulling herself closer even as he held other hand against the shelf above her head. A soft, reverberating sound echoed gently from her throat.-[/BGCOLOR]
 
He kissed her like a man possessed, his lips laying claim to hers maniacally, as if at any moment, she might escape his spell and come to her senses. Unlikely, with the way she clung to him, moaning into his mouth, wordlessly begging him for more. It struck him with abrupt clarity how virginal and innocent she was, her body writhing beneath him, helplessly "YES" against the oppressive granite of him, yet blind in her searching for him to sate these exciting, dark cravings. As if she knew she wanted something from him yet either didn't know what exactly it was or didn't want to overstep the bounds within her parent's house. Emery had no such fears and he delighted in her hesitant grinding, desperate for him to lead. He could only oblige.

Breaking the kiss, he lingered, his eyes still smoldering as he dipped in repeatedly for tempered smooches. Releasing her hand, Emery reached down to inch her skirts up, pulling up the folds under methodical fingers until he had the hem. Holding her gaze, steady and dominant, his voice was that of a man used to secrets; husky and rough, yet black fire as the low tones stroked her ears and down her neck.

"I assume, of course, that you have kept your virtue, my dear, addictive Poppy?"

Warm fingers stroked at her bare thighs, her dress skirts bunching into the crook of his elbow as he delved ever deeper beneath. Gentle, slowly, never letting go of her gaze, his hand left the lacy hems of her stockings to find her frilled panties further north. Mischief twinkled like an actual light in his eyes as he felt her shift, his fingers gently petting the fabric before fully palming her through them. She was unbearably hot, even through the dainty undergarments.

"You have never known a man, not even as I now command your sinful, weak flesh. Have you ever known your own hand?"

Without permission, he tugged her panties down, leaving them loosely caging her thighs, right where her stocking hems ended.

"Have you ever given yourself over to the private exploration of carnal pleasure?"

His lips were hissing words against her cheek now, the trimmed hairs of his short beard grazing her as he planted sensuous kisses on her, trailing closer to her neck. Meanwhile, his hand, the fiendish appendage of shadow, slipped into the depths under her skirts to touch her virgin pussy. Kissing at her neck above her collar necklace, Emery's fingers stroked at her delicate labia, swirling circles as he blindly explored her. Grasping fingers gently pinched her short, clean curls, petting them, a smile gracing his lips at the mixture of softness and wiriness to these particular hairs. Fingers stroked deeper, sliding between her cleft lewdly, massaging her until he felt her growing slick and her clit rose up in blissful animation.

"When you're alone tonight...I want you to touch yourself, like this, and think of me."

At the apex of her cleft, her swollen clitoris stuck out like a hard, spongey bead, which Emery attacked with wicked preoccupation, the side of his thumb flicking over it in repetitive circles. Relentlessly, he swirled his sticky fingers at the aroused pearl, his lips continuing to utter his salacious commands, in between hot kisses against her throat and jaw. Other than his and her heavy breathing was the wet sound of her pussy juices rubbing against manipulated flesh, clicking with the harsh roll of his devilish touch.

"When you reach orgasm...say my name into the darkness...just as you did at the dinner table..."
 
-while many of the books around them had been acquired by the head of the house himself, there were some that had been given to the earl in boxes to fluff out his collection. Boxes he hadn’t personally gone through, merely instructed them to be used to fill in the gaps.

Prue had found and absconded with both volumes of the book. An act no one else in the Mayweather home knew of. Fanny Hill - Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure would be heavily frowned upon to be amongst the collection here, much more so if it was found to be hidden with in her chambers. It was the only story she’d eaten up that wasn’t some dark and depraved, monstrous novel. It spoke openly of sexual pleasure and showed that a woman could certainly find her rewarded happiness without being punished for venturing outside of the societal norms.

Her hand dropped when he released it, fire burning around her wrist still from the presence of his grip. Fingers stroking once again along the nape of his neck as the arm draped against his shoulder. Her gaze darting around his other toward the library door, confirming she indeed worried, at least a small measure, of overstepping bounds in her Father’s home. She made no move to stop him however as she felt his hands groping and pulling the material of her skirts up. Instead her gaze shifting back to him, steady and lost in the grip his had on her.-

“Yes.”

-she answered. No regret, no shame laced that single word but knowing her, he’d know in its simplicity, it spoke volumes. For if she’d wanted to give herself to anyone before now, she likely would have, with no more regret or shame than she currently possessed.

The stockinged flesh beneath his fingers danced beneath their passage, in excited spasms as warmth blossomed through her. He’d see the uptick of her breathing, nostrils flaring softly as the exploration left the material of her stocking and found the small patch of bare flesh before he’d reach her panties. She shifted where she stood, drawing her thighs apart softly, leaving an inviting gap to the further exploration of his hand as she answered with a simple gasp of desire as his hand cupped against her covered heat. Her hips shifting, pressing softly into his palm. Her lips parting but nothing more than a shuddering breath escaped as her eyes danced across his features. Indeed, she could have given herself to anyone she’d pleased, should the notion have ever struck but here he was, getting far further than any man had ever tried and she wasn’t stopping him.-

“Yes....”

-it breathed from her lips in a sensual whisper, an answer to both questions and again without shame, as her head tipped softly as his lips brushed her cheek, words breathing hotly against her skin as she offered the slender column into his path. Her hand stroking against his cheek, thumb sweeping the corner of his lips as they fell upon her neck.

A soft, heady groan escaped her throat, shaking softly against his lips as his fingers fell upon her hot and waiting center and again as he pressed deeper between swelling lips. A shudder rocked her close against him, her breathing heavy as it swept against his skin.-

“Who says I haven’t already?”

-she posed in a whisper, admitting that she’d been longing for him even in that night of separation. Her fingers scratched softly against his beard before falling away, trailing over his shoulder and along the length of his solid chest and further, until she found the restrained heat of his own between them. Her hand boldly stroking against him, teasing and yet quite certain of what she wanted.

Her breathing, as well as the soft stroke of her hand, grew heavier with each swirl of his fingers against the aching little nub buried beneath his control. Her small frame brushing and rolling against him as his dark ruin tempted her closer to the edge. As the soft moans began to steadily rise in volume, her head dipped, burying against him to muffle them, allowing him and only him to hear her.

Her head rose to peer up at him. Panting, porcelain cheeks flushed with color, eyes lidded and clouded with desire, danced over the shadowed features of his face above her.-

“Emery......”

-his name whispered from parted lips in a breathy groan as the very Devil before her pushed her viciously over that edge. Her thighs, silken and shuddering, tightened against his wrist and hand. Her own had risen and tightened against his side, gripping him to hold on as the pleasured release washed over her and his fingers.-
 
A smirk danced across his lips when she admitted to herself having been the only one to touch her delicate lady bits before he had, even going so far as to confide in him that she'd already masturbated to thoughts of him. A warm cascade of buzzing energy rippled through his flesh at the thought of her, having just finished a train ride with him, going home to stroke her petaled button in feverish need, so overwhelmed by the impression he'd made upon her. An even hotter wave of sensation crashed over him, a deep rumble of desire dragging from his throat when her hand began to rub at the bulging crotch of his trousers, tracing the thick outline of him with exploring, daring fingers.

However, Emery was not about his own pleasure this night, motivated entirely by the demonic darkness that was a part of his core being, to seduce this dark maiden completely. He had her mind, her heart, now all he needed to win was her body. And with her admission to entertaining herself in such illicit ways, it could be argued, he already had. Either way, as much as he appreciated her reciprocal stroking, Emery was focused on the tender jerking of her hips, her panting moans singing in his ear, and the twitch of her swollen flower beneath his persistent, hungry touch.

As climax struck her, Emery drew his head back to watch her, everything about her tightening up and drawing inward towards her center. Dark eyes traced over the elegant lines of her neck as she arched against him, clutching him to moor her as insanity crashed through her body, threatening to break her against the crags of reality. Drinking her in with a quiet, dominant serenity, his fingers still petting between her thighs, coaxing her through her orgasm, he watched as the glaze in her eyes cleared, her sight finding him again, an approving grin on his lips.

"La petit mort," he muttered in deep satisfaction.

Planting a kiss on her swollen lips as he tugged her panties back up and let her skirts fall to cover her once more, Riegler felt buoyant and alive inside, his eyes glittering darkly as he continued to regard her. Once her outfit had been righted, he stroked a possessive hand at her waist, the other smoothly gliding to cup at the back of her neck.

"You come so pretty, Poppy. And the way you say my name... If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were trying to break me."

More kissing followed, his lips far gentler now but no less domineering, owning her mouth as they smooched and petted in the dimly lit library. That's how they were found, moments later, locked in embrace against the book shelves, Emery's mouth engaged in a haunted dance with Prudence.

"I think they might be in here, with the stuffy old books--" Christinith's ignorantly loud voice entered the room before she came sweeping in with a rustle of her evening gown.

As she came to a stop in the middle of the room, her sharp gasp cutting through the air, no doubt signaling drama to the others who were following, Emery pressed his lips together, giving Prudence a priceless look. The entire dinner party followed her in a steady flood through the door, murmuring voices silenced as one by one, they were frozen in shock by the sight of the duke and Prudence together.

"Your Grace!" Atticus boomed in dignified yet irate astonishment. "What is the meaning of this!?"

With a reluctant sigh, closing his eyes in resignation, Emery turned from Prudence, slipping from her arms as he turned to engage the crowd of Mayweathers and guests. However, before he could offer any justifications, a very somber looking Joel stepped to a nearby endtable, setting his drink upon it with a heavy sigh.

"I thank you for your hospitality, my Lord, but I think it is time for me to retire. I will be leaving in the morning, I'm afraid." He hesitated, looking a mixture of wounded and disgusted as he nodded respectfully in Emery's direction. "Your Grace."

His manner was very dour, even as he seemed to hold his head up high, trying to retain some semblance of dignity in this awkward situation as he turned to the library door. Riegler felt no remorse for Joel, a pawn in the earl's power play, trying to exert control over a game Mr. Tinning was clearly unequipped to participate in, let alone had any chance of winning. He was glad to see him go. Maybe now, her family would abandon the delusion that anyone could possibly present as a rival for the dark and charming duke. The earl looked aghast, frantic as he turned back and forth, not wanting to abandon the current scandalous situation but fearful of losing Mr. Tinning entirely.

"Mr. Tinning, please! Wait! This is not a regular occurrence! Her virtue is still intact, I assure you!"

Joel was waving him off, shaking his head, licking plush lips as his brow furrowed in disagreement. "I have no doubt and mean no disrespect, my Lord. I just really feel that I should be going."

"But tomorrow! The picnic! There's still a chance!"

Even Joel seemed fed up being used like a tool, motioning at Prudence with a firm jab of his hand as he asserted to the earl in stern, unflinching tones, "She's made her choice! Clearly. Now, I would like to leave at 7, so, I best be getting off to bed. Good night. And thank you."

He seemed a little less than grateful to be so involved as he turned with a frown, finally exiting the room, humiliation burning in his cheeks. Christinith pressed her lips together, furious as she wheeled on the lewd pair.

"What were you doing?!" she demanded in a reprimanding tone, her glare directed at her sister. It was Emery who answered ahead of his delicious Poppy, standing just in front of her protectively.

"Kissing," he said with a glib shrug, as if that had been obvious. "It's not that dark in here, Christine."

Turning her menacing anger on him, having lost her composure, Christinith seethed as she hissed at the duke, "Ith! Ith!"

Emery had to restrain himself from bursting out laughing. As it was, he merely smirked at her oddly, his brow furrowing in mocking curiosity.

"You're blind and you have a lisp? What are you saying, my dear girl?"

With a huff of frustration, Christinith tossed her head to the side, arms flopping at her waist, preparing to gather herself to further explain when Atticus finally stepped forward, returning to the situation at hand.

"Alright, that'll be enough. You have brought shame to my daughter and scared off my guest."

"She shouldn't be ashamed. She's a lovely kisser. And I would know."

Emery cast a pointed look at Christinith, grinning smugly all the while, especially when the eldest daughter narrowed her gaze, clearly itching for another chance to air his dirty laundry. Too bad she hadn't taken his offer at dinner. Joel might have left sooner if he'd been truly aware of the sexual prowess of the man he was up against.

"You've had your fun. I think it's about time you took your leave as well, your Grace. It's been a pleasure to have you but it really is quite enough now."

A tingling started in the middle of his back, a subtle ache as he felt his permission to be on the property being tugged from his grip. It didn't force him to leave right at the moment when someone said that he had to but once he was "kicked out" it became unbearably uncomfortable to stay. Rolling his shoulders, taking in a deep breath, Emery thought quickly on how best to salvage the situation.

"I heard you were having a picnic tomorrow. Since you seem to have a free spot in your party, I thought I might join you. That is...if I'm invited?"

Turning smoothly, his dark gaze latched upon Prudence, her lips still reddened from the bruising kisses they'd heaped upon each other, like frenzied beasts. Raising an expectant eyebrow at her, he waited for her response, even as an ugly grunt dragged from Christinith's throat over the ridiculous prospect.

"You weren't. And if Mr. Tinning is indeed leaving in the morning, then likely as not, we shant be going at all. In fact," she turned blazing eyes upon her father, searching his features for some depth of sense. "I daresay, after such a scandalous scene, it seems very inappropriate for your Grace to stay for the night in the same house as Lady Prudence."

Obviously, she was waiting for her father to restore some order and honor to the evening, to finally banish the dirty old man who had come in to sully their home and the reputation of her sister. But Atticus was waiting for...Prudence. He offered a solemn look to his wife, taking her opinion into account but ultimately, his eyes fell upon his dark haired daughter. He didn't like it, finding his daughter in the arms of a man she was unwed to and he feared what any sign of encouragement from him might give her further license to do. But Dahlia had informed him of the fight between their daughters and the ungrateful assertion Prudence had made to flee should the duke be told to leave. At this point...with the duke so persistently interested...and with suitor number 7 having been dissuaded from further courting due to such an indecent display happening right before their eyes... He could only hope that the duke of Bromsgrove would be suitor number 8 and that someone, anyone, would seek to love and wed his poor, hopelessly morbid daughter.

So, the earl waited, concern etching the lines in his face as he looked at Prudence for a response to the duke, resigned to the fact that no matter what, he likely wasn't going to win. With gossip sure to spread of this evening, there was no one likely to come with Atticus's summons now, so, the duke may as well have her if he truly wanted her.
 
[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]-fingers rose to caress over the damp, plump of her bottom lip as he drew away, her lips curling as a soft, silent chuckle escaped her. Heat still blazing in her eyes even as they laughed as well as she watched him in the silence as her family trickled in behind her sister. Her lips pursing together briefly, her hand dropping to pat gently against his chest as her father bellowed upon seeing them.[/BGCOLOR]

[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]The smile she offered the lawyer was soft but certainly not apologetic. Her fingers wiggling a goodbye in his direction even as he pointed out to her father that she had in fact made her decision.-[/BGCOLOR]

[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]“Goodnight, Mr. Tinning.”[/BGCOLOR]

[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]-she purred from beside Emery. Her fingers were still lifted and faintly flailing in the air when Christinith turned on them. Her fingers curled into her palm and the smile disappeared, a dark glare met her sisters, the faint light of the room casting a soft glint against her chocolate orbs as [/BGCOLOR]a smirk twitched[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)] at the corner of the stoic line of her lips.[/BGCOLOR]

[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]Her gaze shifting from her sister to Emery as he shifted to stand partially in front of her. Her lips curling fully into a beautiful smile. He’d feel one hand slide against the dip of his lower back and the fingers of her other lingering against his side as she stepped closer to him, though not so much to hide behind him from Christinith. They’d all hear a huffed sound as it escaped her nose, her lips pressed together, inwardly as a chuckle bubbled from her throat at the entire exchange between her dark beau and her insufferable sister. Her father’s reappearance caused the amused expression to falter as he spoke up.-[/BGCOLOR]

[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]“I’m not, in the least.”[/BGCOLOR]

[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]-she quietly interjected between both her father and Emery. When her father continued, her expression fell away completely, her brow furrowing, her eyes narrowing and casting a look upon Christinith that could make a strong man wither beneath its [/BGCOLOR]deadly, angered glaze[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]. A look that could only mean she wished death upon her sister in that instant.[/BGCOLOR]

[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]She stood stone still, her hands clutching lightly but angrily against Emery’s shirt and jacket. So still in fact that as he turned, her hands still didn’t move, only shifting as he himself turned to face her. Once he faced her, her deathly glare released her sister to turn to peer up at him. She had no time to answer before her sister was spouting angrily once again. She cleared her throat and cast her attention back toward her sister again.-[/BGCOLOR]

[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]“I [/BGCOLOR]daresay[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)], Chrissy....that this is no longer really [/BGCOLOR]your[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]house to make decisions concerning and Emery is not [/BGCOLOR]your[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)] guest. So. Shut. Up.”[/BGCOLOR]

[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]-her gaze flicked to her father, catching the look shared between her parents. Her chin rose softly as her father looked back to her, waiting for her answer, her jaw ticked softly as she forced the smirk to not form. She knew someone had told father what she’d said.[/BGCOLOR]

[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]Only as she turned her attention finally back to Emery, any anger in her eyes fled as they fell upon him softly and his expectant expression.-[/BGCOLOR]

[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]“He [/BGCOLOR]will[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)] stay the night, as I’d [/BGCOLOR]very[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)] much like him to join us on our picnic tomorrow.”[/BGCOLOR]

[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]-[/BGCOLOR]a smile curled against her lips[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)] as she held his gaze quietly, ignoring any strangled sounds coming from her family. Her mother sniffing, her heels clicking as she turned and started toward the door.-[/BGCOLOR]

”He sleeps in the West Wing.”

[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]-the elder woman’s voice, while adamant and strong, held a note of disappointment at her daughters decision but she would not otherwise over rule her husband’s decision. Ophelia was still gaping over the entire incident but she followed not far behind her mother, scurrying to catch up to the older woman, asking if she was really going to let this stand. Addie lingered, leaning back against the wall beside the door, just watching in silence.-[/BGCOLOR]
 
It was easy to ignore the scoffs and huffs of disturbance and complaint from the gathered party, Emery being fixated on the sensation of relief that spread through his back, the itching urging him to leave vanishing as the final word was uttered between her smirking lips. Riegler himself was so captivated by Prudence, a secretive smile shared between them, he hardly heard her mother's snotty declaration of where he'd be staying. He also didn't notice the grumbling as Christinith and Calvin made their exit, instead, lifting Prudence's hand and brushing his lips against the back for a gentle kiss.

"Thank you, Poppy. I'd be delighted to stay and go on a picnic with you. And your family."

That last was added as an afterthought, his eyes widening sardonically in a private expression of amusement between them when her father cleared his throat loud and gruffly.

"Your Grace, if you're in need of any clothing during your stay, I am sure--"

"I packed a bag," Emery said smoothly, turning to face the earl, ever the regal gentleman as he ambled closer. "I heard Mr. Tinning was going to be staying for three days, so, just in case the opportunity came up, I packed a bit of luggage in preparation for just as long a stay."

"Ah, well...very good then," Atticus murmured stiffly, awkward for a moment before he moved towards the door, holding out his arm to allow the duke to go first. "Well, I'll have the footman retrieve your belongings from your car and show you to your room."

"Thank you," Emery said with a charming grin. As he walked with the earl, he stopped before leaving the room, turning to incline his head in reverent acknowledgement of Prudence. "Goodnight, Poppy. Rest well, my macabre sweetheart, and try not to stay up too late reading."

He motioned at the book he'd given her, set hastily aside on the arm of the couch when their passion had erupted. But his subtle wink and playful smirk hinted at something entirely different that might keep her up. In short order, the duke found himself in very fine and richly furnished rooms in the West Wing, feeling at least well-tended to in that regard. However, despite the late hour being midnight, of course, he was unable to sleep, so, spent much of the evening awake on a lounge chair reading by himself. It was hard to stay focused on a book, especially after the passionate intimacy shared with his morbid lovely and although he'd told her to pleasure herself, Emery was not the undignified sort to give in to such depravity. He would have his Poppy soon enough and abstaining from self-indulgence helped to spur him on, motivating him to solidify his claim upon her. Even still, Edgar Allen Poe was a lovely distraction from his illicit fantasies.

At 4 in the morning, he finally decided to try to get some rest for the day ahead, already feeling exhausted by the prospect of being awake with the sun. Whether as a guest or in his own bed, the duke slept like the dead, his breathing stilling to practically nonexistent and his heart beat fading to a slow thump every once in a while. Still, just as at home, when his bedroom door was opened, he immediately rose to consciousness, his eyes opening with predatory alertness.

"You've got to get up,"

Jim's Scottish brogue welcomed him, the clink of porcelain and polished silver signaling a tray in his hands as he walked across the room, the scent of food wafting up from it heavily as he set the whole thing on the bedside table. Sighing heavily, Emery already felt the pounding behind his eyeballs from the oppressive weight of the hideous, bright orb in the sky. But add insult to injury when Jim dusted his hands off and shoved the curtains open, a harsh golden light suddenly slapping across the duke's face. Even with his eyes closed it hurt like a stake to the skull and Emery grunted in irritation as he turned his face, rubbing it into his pillows to alleviate the pain.

"I mean it. Stop pissing about. Get up. Don't make me dump your breakfast tea on you."

"What time is it?"

"Just about noon," Jim huffed with amusement. "I'm serious. Get up. Everyone's asking about you."

Turning his face towards Jim and lifting slightly onto his elbows, Emery was still groggy but the clouds were clearing fast. "Poppy?"

"Is that the black sheep one?" Jim asked, glib as ever as he took an apple from the tray and began to cut slices from it with a balisong, casually chewing as he conversed with his master. "Aye. She seemed to be havin' kittens."

Emery had no doubt. Just as he'd grown concerned over her absence after dinner last night, he couldn't imagine she fared much better, waiting for him at breakfast and never seeing him arrive. Through the growing headache, he wondered if she was okay, or if Christinith had given her a hard time during his morning vacancy. He asked Jim such but the idly chewing butler shrugged lazily, taking up a biscuit from the tray and nibbling lightly on it.

"Meh. Pretty one though, eh? In a funeral, sad sort of way. Then again, lookin' in, I immediately thought how that was so you. You bein' dead and her lookin' ready for mourning."

"Stop eating my breakfast."

A brightness entered Jim's dark eyes, his smirk taunting and playful. "Oh? Yer gonna hafta get up and makeme."

Emery was truly not in the mood, already fatigued from his lack of full rest, his skull splitting open like a cracked egg making his temper short. He stayed still a moment, head resting on his hands as he rested on his elbows with his bare shoulders hunched. Then, lightning fast, the duke lashed out, lunging towards the edge of the bed, his arm swiping heavily through empty air as Jim bounced backwards. Sunlight made Emery slow and the pain made him sloppy but either way, the butler was not scared of the man. Half-eaten apple tossed aside, butterfly knife held up to the side, ready for a strike if his master should come for him, Jim looked absolutely mad with delight at the prospect of Riegler attacking him.

"Oh ho! It's been a while since we fought, aye? If ye go for it good, you might almost convince me you're not actually hungry."

Arm dangling off the mattress, scowling with light cascading over his surly features, Emery finally released an exhalation of defeat. He didn't want to delay any longer with this insufferable preoccupation. Although beating Jim for being a puckish little arsehole would bring him satisfaction, it wouldn't be true relief. No. Other than sleeping, there was only one thing that would make suffering the daylight truly worth it. Even before he spoke, Jim saw the change come over the duke, standing straight again and tucking his knife closed as Emery gave his resigned orders.

"Get my suit out."

"Aye, sir."

Some time later, Emery was dressed and downstairs and the family got ready to go on their afternoon walk and picnic. Emery's suit was a dark charcoal grey with white pinstripes, his vest matching, and he had a deep, obsidian black shirt on underneath. Much darker colors than most gentlemen wore altogether unless they intended to attend a funeral. And of course, Christinith and her blonde sisters wore bright pastels and elegant whites for the summer day out walking, while Atticus and Calvin both wore slate gray suits with colorful ties. A servant attended the family in their outting as they walked, carrying the basket for their lunch and following close behind the small entourage.

His headache had not left, even with eating what breakfast Jim had left for him but he was able to push the pain aside as he ambled sedately beside his gorgeous Poppy. Passing a field of wild flowers, the estate growing small beyond the trees behind them, they neared a beautiful pond where swans glided over the water peacefully. Nearby, the spires of an old church could be seen over the trees and everything around was vibrant and green. Linking arms with Prudence, Emery strolled near the edge of the reflective water while the servant prepared the picnic for them upon the manicured lawn beneath a large tree. Within sight of her family, it didn't afford them much privacy, although they were enough feet away to not be overheard as they walked together.

"How did you sleep?" he asked Prudence in a charming purr, peering at her through a pair of dark shaded spectacles. "No nightmares...? Also...sorry for my tardiness this morning. Poe and his Telltale Heart had me up late, although, if I'm honest, sleeping in is actually pretty regular for me. I much prefer the quiet stillness of the night."
 
-her fingers stroked over the red cover of the book where it lay, her eyes fluttering up to greet his wink. A mildly salacious smile twitched against the corners of her lips.-

“Goodnight my dearest Em. Thank you and I’ll try not to but you’ve tempted me so.”

-lifting the book from the arm of the couch, she curled it against her stomach, no more meaning the book than he did except for her appreciation of the gift.-

“Goodnight, Father.”

-she offered him a soft and gracious nod of her head as she stepped from the room not far behind the two men and bustled away, with a tender sway of hips, in the opposite direction. Pausing at the turn in the hall, she cast a quiet glance over her shoulder, watching Emery being escorted away, likely to the farthest room. As far from her and her chambers as possible of course.

In her chambers, she set the book at the end of her bed, the red color stark against the white bed covering. Quickly getting out of her corset, gently rubbing her hands against her ribs and beneath her breasts before she finished dressing for bed. It was well past two when she finally couldn’t keep her eyes open and focused on the book Emery had given her. She fell asleep sitting up, buried in the small mountain of pillows behind her, the book laying open about half way through, in her lap. Dreams plagued her but none she could or would complain about.

She bathed and dressed for breakfast, anticipating the morning meal would finally be as amusing as dinner had been with Emery in attendance. Her brow stitching softly when he wasn’t there. Her agitation growing as the end of the meal came and he still hadn't made an appearance. Christinith wasn’t helping matters, making snarky little digs. Even suggesting that maybe he’d realized she herself had bested him, proving her right that he’d only been after her darling sisters most sacred possession. Maybe he’d come to his senses and realized shewouldn’t allow him to sully Prudence, even if the girl herself didn’t care. Adelaide had rolled her eyes and pointedly put Prudence somewhat at ease by pointing out that the Duke had in fact not left, his car and his butler were both still here. It earned her a look from the eldest sister but Addie just shrugged and went back to her breakfast.

She remained tight lipped and ignored Christinith as much as possible. Only snipping back at her sister twice before she resigned herself to the knowledge once again that it was no good and refusing to let her sister get under her skin. Instead she went and changed and then escaped out into the gardens with her umbrella and new book to finish reading it.

It was Adelaide that found her and let her know that Emery had joined them and that everyone was ready. Handing off her book to one of the servants, she followed her sister back into the house, a smile curling her lips as she swept into the room. Her eyes lighting on Emery as she drew in a soft breath.

She was the day to his night, the strips of black in her dress smaller than the white and yet she still managed to thoroughly embrace her usual darkness as well. In the smoke of her eyes, the dark of her lipstick and the ornate black bats clipped in and holding her obsidian hair up just above her ears, wild curls resting languidly against the nape of her neck and seemingly threatening to tumble loose at any moment. Accentuating the slender column and the ornate silver necklace, with its onyx and moonstone gems resting against her skin. And of course her black umbrella, resting at her side and closed inside the house. During their walk, she lingered behind her family, strolling along side Emery, umbrella opened protecting her pale skin from the sun and casting shadows over her.

When he linked her arm through his, she drew closer, letting her hand rest against his arm just at the wrist. She cast a sidelong glance at him at his questions, a smile tugging at her lips. She skipped his first question entirely at first.-

“Me too, though I rarely get the chance to sleep in here, it’s not the ‘proper’ thing to do, you know.”

-she rolled her eyes as she mocked Christinith in an over exaggerated squeak of her voice. The uptight expression she mocked as well falling fairly quickly from her pretty features as she laughed, her head shaking softly.-

“And no. No nightmares. Quite the opposite actually, once I fell asleep. This morning though....”

-she pointed toward Christinith, her nose wrinkling softly as she sniffed and momentarily frowned.-

“The waking nightmare presented itself in all her ugly glory. I should have stayed in my chambers, would have had far more fun.”

-her brows lifted softly as she grinned before turning away to peer over at her family. Noting her mother watching the pair of them like a hawk. Prue turned to face Emery, putting her back to her mother, the umbrella obscuring the elder woman’s line of sight further.-
 
If a day could be anything other than pure, malicious hell, then it was heaven, standing at the edge of the pond with Prudence. Her beauty cut through the discomfort in his head and body, the mere touch of her, pressed into his side with their arms linked, soothing him in a way that actual opium could not. There was something whimsical and stark about her clothing choice, like the negative in a photo of himself, yet the both of them coming across as eerie and gothic in their paired attire.

"Proper. Pfft. I'm a duke. If anyone's the authority on proper, it'd be me. Unless I'm staying at someone else's house, there's no need to get up before noon. My staff are all used to serving me breakfast at 4 p.m."

Of course, the one damper on the playful mood was learning that indeed, Christinith had been giving her a hard time that morning. He felt bad and it showed in his soft wince and the sympathetic wrinkle in his brow. She'd been downstairs waiting for him and he hadn't come, leaving her to suffer at the hands of her sister. There were no specifics but he didn't need them to know Christinith had likely been preying upon her sister's insecurities. It wasn't lost on him the way she turned, her umbrella casting a cooling shadow upon him as well as she put her back to her family. Giving her deep, aching looks, Emery reached forward, his fingers, featherlight stroking at the loose curls on her nape.

"Well...again...I apologize, my sweet Poppy," he murmured, sounding genuinely remorseful for his lack of duty, even as he brushed tenderly at her cheek with the backs of his fingers. "I know your strength and I respect it but I suspect my presence and my interest encourages a certain level of vindictiveness from your hideously ugly sister. So long as I am able, I will be sure to do my best to stand between you. She can't hurt me and I'll be soul damned if I let her continue to try to harm you."

Staring deep into her eyes, he felt the stirring of darkness within him. Take. Claim. Keep. If she could see past the dark color of his lenses, she might have caught the depth of hunger and desire that swirled within him, the monster that he was, wanting nothing more than to grab her and flight her back home, where he could own her fully forever. In a flash it was gone, a smirk replacing the possessive expression on his face as he cleared his throat.

"I love the bats, by the way. There's a graveyard in a section of my garden and a small crypt. It's infested with a family of bats. Sometimes, I like to light the lamps out there and sit on a bench, watching them eat the fluttering critters that come to bother the lights. Anyway, they look good on you. You make me think of my garden. Speaking of places I'd like to see you naked, how did it go last night? Your alone time."

A lewd smirk spread on his lips, voracious and hungry for details of her pleasuring herself. Leaning dangerously close, he huskily whispered in her ear,

"Tell me, what did you think about? What naughty little fantasies danced across your mind's eye as you brought yourself to another little death in the privacy of your bed chambers?"
 
“Noted. I won’t bother you before 4pm then, hmm?”

-she chuckled softly, a small tingling brushed along the back of her neck and the backs of her shoulders as his fingers toyed with her hair. Her gaze danced sweetly over his features as she listened to him. Her heart filling with adoration at his adamant promise. She could see his eyes and that they were unwaveringly upon her, though not the full depth of the look he cast upon her behind the shades. Regardless, a kaleidoscope of butterflies took flight in her belly as his dark orbs held her. There was always a vague predatory look lingering it seemed just below when he looked at her and she loved rather than feared it. The exhilaration that swept through her with each look. She drew in a deep breath, her free hand capturing his as her head turned, lips pressing warmly against his fingers.-

“No need to apologize, I’m quite used to Chrissy. Still, I can’t wait until she goes home.”

-she offered a soft shrug. Not that it was all that much better when she did because Ophelia and her mother made up, quite often, for Christinith’s absences.-

“But yes, your presence and interest specifically makes her worse. However, I don’t care, yourpresence and interest outweighs her spitefulness and makes it tolerable.”

-she pressed another soft kiss to his fingers once more before releasing him. Her attention shifting back to him with a pretty smile at his compliment. A spark, curiosity peaking in her dark eyes at the mention of a graveyard and in his garden no less. A crypt, bats, and Emery’s dark and handsome presence there as well, indeed she could imagine her heart residing there.

Her brow lifted softly, her chin lifting a touch as her head tipped slightly.-

“There’s a reason it’s called ‘alone time’, my dearest Mr. Riegler.”

-she quipped, by all appearances quite seriously and as if she were going to promptly shoot him down for any details but he would just see the smirk forming at the corner of her lips as he leaned forward.-

“You. And how your beard would feel as it brushed across the tender and waiting flesh of my thighs. Whether your tongue would do as well a job as your fingers did. You brought several little deaths upon me and then, I’d return the favor.”

-she whispered, her breath sweeping warm against his skin and just before she drew back, she nipped at the lobe of his ear, letting her teeth scrap softly from it as a small growl emanated her throat.

As she stepped back, her eyes met him boldly. Her heart shaped lips curling into a vibrant grin as she awaited his response.-
 
A soft huff of playful complaint left him, his lips quirking at her in disappointment as her original denial was put forward. Emery simply couldn't believe that after all of their dirty talk and illicit touching, suddenly his little Poppy would become so close lipped about this. Especially when it was something that so fascinated him and tantalized him. He knew what he would do to his lovely, dark maiden but he had very little, other than hinted innuendo and lewd metaphors, what she desired him to do to her.

So, it was with great pleasure that he listened to her paint the risque picture, his body stiffening with heat as the images fluttered across his own mind. Not simply envisioning the fantasy she'd had but also thinking about her in her room last night, fingers sticky and wet between her folds, humping at her own touch as her mind was whisked away to a place where he owned and dominated her body. A soft groan hummed from his throat as her lips captured his earlobe for one teasing moment, the scent of her so close, it threatened to overwhelm him.

Drawing back to look at her, he was stopped from uttering a gracious comment by the look in her eyes, a smirk curving at his own lips. "You filthy little liar," he muttered pleasantly, bold and playful as he confronted her.

He loved her for her salacious creativity, even though he suspected that she hadn't touched herself at all last night. And why should she have? After all, he'd already taken care of it for her. Chuckling and shaking his head, Emery peeked beyond her umbrella at the family beneath the tree. Most everyone was seated now upon the blanket, preoccupied and chatting as the servant helped pour tea and served the packed lunch. Cradling Prudence's elbow in his hand, Emery urged her to follow him as he started walking away from the pond and further from the picnic.

Surprisingly, they slipped away without incident, drifting among the trees towards the spires of the nearby church. It was just a small country cathedral but still rather large. Even still, Emery and Prudence didn't even make it near to the grand building before they stumbled upon the small graveyard next to it. A myriad of stones sprawled out from where they walked, knee high and shoulder high monuments of death, lines up in manicured rows. A peace settled over him as they walked amidst the rows, finally afforded some privacy, her family out of sight and the church quiet and empty for right now, everything still around them. He imagined the graveyard in the stillness of night, but during the day, it held a certain serenity as well.

Shadows from the trees overhead dappled over his shoulders and features as they walked, Emery finally turning to her in earnest, removing his shades and tucking them away. "If I were to propose to you...right now, what would you say? Is it too soon for you?"

Weaving their fingers together, Emery shook his head faintly, amused at himself and how quickly everything had fallen into place for him. It was a whim really, to offer it to her. But once the words came out, they felt right.

"I'm not just feeling romantic because we're in a graveyard. I have been smitten with you...from the first moment I saw you reading such an unladylike book on the train. It's been a day but it feels like I've known you forever. Thinking of all my places at home, all the things I wish to show you...they feel like your places. I can make all the promises I like to stand between you and your family but in truth...I cannot. There will be other suitors. Unless I press my claim to the earl and shut everybody up. Then...it won't matter all the silly things Christinith might say. There will be no doubt as to my intentions then.

"I want this. I want you and every moment, I want you more. I never dreamed that I'd get to share the rest of my nights with somebody and the longer I wait the more ridiculous it sounds. As if there could be anyone else. ...please, Prudence..." Slowly, he eased to a knee in front of her, his dark eyes held rapt to her face, like she were some succubus goddess of death and blood towering over him and he was ready to worship. "Please, will you be my wife?"
 
[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]-[/BGCOLOR]A coy smile spread slowly over her lips[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)], her gaze holding against him. Her head tipped gently, brows bouncing up softly as a soft chuckle escaped her.-[/BGCOLOR]

[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]“Ok, you caught me. What are you gonna do? I mean, you did the job first and quite well enough, wore me out to the point I barely got through half of the book you brought me.”[/BGCOLOR]

[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]-she winked softly, confirming that she hadn’t touched herself, as she stepped a bit closer. Her hand sliding tenderly against his chest, alongside the buttons of his vest as her head tipped to keep her gaze on him.-[/BGCOLOR]

[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]“I [/BGCOLOR]did[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)] dream about it though.”[/BGCOLOR]

[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]-a single, soft nod, the truth written beautifully across her features. No she hadn’t pleased herself but [/BGCOLOR]he[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)] had, first physically and then further, in her dreams.[/BGCOLOR]

[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]When his hand cupped against her elbow, she cast a brief glance behind her as she let him guide her away and until they disappeared from view, she’d been expecting one of her family to stop them. Once again, she slid her arm through his. She didn’t question what he was doing or where he was taking her, it didn’t matter to her. With him, she knew, whatever it was, it wouldn’t be boring and contrived, unlike if they’d simply joined her family for the picnic.[/BGCOLOR]

[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]Once they entered the small graveyard, she drew away, only to read over some of the stones. Names and dates. Idly wondering aloud about the rotted bones beneath their feet. What the people they had once been had been like. Idle chatter, quiet as not to disturb the serenity of the deathly garden too much.[/BGCOLOR]

[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]She watched as he tucked his sunglasses away, her gaze instantly drawn to the darkness that always held her so captive. The words that came were the last she’d had expected. Her heart fluttered like a lost bat inside her chest and the swarm of butterflies had returned to her stomach. She blinked softly at him. In quiet shock. Nothing of her features said she was upset by the question, simply momentarily struck speechless.[/BGCOLOR]

[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]The answer on the tip of her tongue, though not quite yet forthcoming. She too had been quite smitten and taken with him from the moment he’d approached her in the train car. A man so dark, mysterious and bold as to approach a woman alone. Most would have carried on to find another compartment, to be proper. Never mind that she was like no other woman around. She adored his boldness. His dark mystery. It had only grown by leaps and bounds the more they’d talked and shared. Even in the simple, few hours until they disembarked and had gone their separate ways. At home, she’d never truly felt [/BGCOLOR]home[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)] not for quite some time in fact. The black sheep, the only thing keeping her tethered to the Mayweather estate was the blood running through her veins but she’d never truly felt part of the family. When she and Emery had parted upon the platform, she longed to be in his presence again, a feeling she’d seldom experienced when leaving her home and returning. With him....she felt at home and she mourned his absence when she wasn’t ‘home’.[/BGCOLOR]

[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]She stared quietly as he spoke, a gentle flush of color rising against her porcelain skin. Her fingers warm against his, stroking softly between them. She swallowed softly as he lowered to his knee, her gaze lowering in awe, with him. It was a moment longer before she gently extracted her hand from his, setting her umbrella down, upside down beside them. Her freed hands cupped against his jawline as she leaned forward, to his upturn face. Her lips brushing softly against his as her answer left her lips, whispered but with all the boldness and confidence as if she’d shouted it to the heavens above them.-[/BGCOLOR]

[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]“[/BGCOLOR]Yes, Emery.[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]”[/BGCOLOR]

[BGCOLOR=rgb(25, 49, 66)]-she pressed her lips fully against his, in a warm and loving embrace, a soft hum singing against his lips. Clearly, by her answer, she did not think it too soon. Nor did she give much thought to Christinith’s first warning in the garden, nor her second at the dinner table, about what kind of man the Duke of Bromsgrove truly was. If all he wanted was to use her and send her on her way, ruin her as Chrissy had spat at her, he would have done simply that as he’d done to any others that might have preceded her.-[/BGCOLOR]
 
An exhalation left him, his eyes shining, a second before a smile burst over his features, crowding into the impassioned kisses she was giving him. He couldn't help it. Emery was elated, beyond oblivion, beyond the sweet promise of death, beyond any cannibalistic desires he occasionally indulged in. She was life and magic and terror and love. Returning the dance of their lips, his hand drifting up to stroke over the back of her hair, fingers delicately cradling her gem bats.

"Have I died? My heart literally stopped. Is this what heaven is like?"

As he stood, his voice came out in an excited, airy rush, holding her wrist and moving one of the hands cradling his face to touch at his neck to feel his pulse. It hadn't stopped, no, that was just hyperbole. But it was beating so fast, it could be argued that distinct beats were hard to determine. Emery felt as if he were hot and cold at the same time, his eyes electrified and his mind zipping around. If ever Prudence wanted to see him confounded and rattled, it was here, now, his composure gone with a simple yes to this question.

"If I believed in heaven, that is. You read half of the Hodgson book? How are you liking it? Very bleak isn't it? An old favorite. Not just for the atmosphere and the monsters but also for the bit of romance. It made me think of you. The journey aspect, I mean. Not the grim hopelessness. Oh, cripes, what am I even talking about? You said yes."

Again, he smiled, looking around at the gorgeous day, the sunlight no longer bothering him. "You said yes," his fingers cradling her jaw as he bent to nuzzle noses with her, kissing her sweetly. "I cannot wait until you are mine. Totally and completely."

Briefly, as he drew back somewhat to look into her eyes, he sobered. Take. Claim. Keep. The darkness wanted to wrap her up, in a shroud of shadows, burrowing deep into the earth with her. But immediately he realized this wasn't as easy as a man loving a woman. She had no idea who or what he was...and if they were together, it would become harder, nay, impossible to hide it from her. It was one thing to be morbid, to have grotesque interests. It was quite another to give herself over to the undead monster that he was. He thought of her claimed preferred way to die, spoken of at dinner, and he felt a tremble of fear at the prospect that it was all just a game to her. That she didn't really mean it and might change her mind once she found that it was real. Could he let her go then? Would the monster let her leave?

Shaking off his grim train of thought, he gave her a reassuring smile, pulling her hands up to kiss the knuckles of her fingers. "Come...my dearest Poppy. Let us give everyone the good news."

Linking her arm through his after she'd retrieved her umbrella, Emery walked with Prudence back towards the pond and the picnic. The meal was in full swing by the time they made it back, plates mostly empty of food stuffs and tea cups on final helpings, which was both a relief and yet an insult that no one had waited for them. As they approached, conversation was lilting pleasantly, sisters laughing and Atticus smoking a pipe, while sitting reclined against the tree trunk, having finished his meal. Christinith spotted them first, pausing in drinking her tea to speak to them but her husband diving in first to hail them in a friendly voice.

"There you two are! Off smooching again?"

"Dear God, I hope not," Christinith muttered around her teacup.

"A little," Emery admitted smoothly, coming to stand at the blanket the picnickers were all sitting and kneeling upon, his hand stroking over Prudence's possessively.

"Well, maybe next time, we can just vacate the library and let you two kiss in there rather than forcing everybody to go on a picnic you didn't bother to attend." Christinith gave Emery an insincere, strained smile and shrugged apologetically. "I mean... It's just rude."

Emery narrowed his gaze at her, his half-grin borderline sinister. "Wait...are you saying I'm being rude by not staying put for lunch? Or are you just trying to make yourself feel better for not leaving us any? Be honest, Christine, how many tiny sandwiches did you really have? Was it enough to be embarrassed about? I'll be rude, then, it's fine."

The harsh clink of her teacup on the plate signalled that he'd hit his mark as Christinith set it down abruptly and gave him a level look, obviously gearing up to say something snotty. Emery was not having it though, huffing an amused snort, and dismissing her with a vague hand wave.

"Anyway, I'm actually too excited to eat, so, I'm glad to see it's almost over. We have some news..." Emery cast his eyes to the gorgeous dark beauty beside him, adoration swelling within his dark gaze as he opened the floor for her.
 
-her plush lips blossomed into a broad smile, her nose brushing softly against his briefly as she straightened when he stood. Her head tipped back softly, her dark gaze dancing warmly over his features even as he drew her hand to rest against his neck. Her fingers curled around it, feeling the deep, rabbit like thud beneath the tips of her fingers and palm. A beat that nearly matched her own as her heart tapped happily in her chest.

She took in everything, listening as his words filled with breathy wonder as they rushed from between his lips. A bright and amused laugh bubbled from her throat. Both hands falling to rest against his chest as she leaned close against him.-

“Yes, love. I have actually read more than half and I love every word of it. And it made me think of you. My hero. My...dark knight.”

-she winked, the apples of her cheeks flushed and rounded from the smile that still brightened her pale features. Her head tipped, eyes fluttering softly as her jaw pressed into his hand. Her own coming up to hold against his wrist as their noses swept together and he consumed her lips so warm and sweet. Gently she pulled his hand to rest against the bare flesh of her chest just beneath the hanging moonstones.-

“I already am...”

-she whispered against his lips as he drew back. With curiosity she watched the faint shift. Could he be worried, as she was, what her father would say? Would he allow it? It mattered not if he did or not, she’d already said yes and she had no intentions of saying otherwise. She let her fingers brush against his chin and nodded in soft acquiescence to share the news with her family. Not that she didn’t want to, oh how she did and she wanted them to be as happy and excited as she was but would they be?

She offered a beautiful smile and stood on her toes to press a quick kiss fully against his lips before righting her umbrella and letting it rest against her right shoulder as she linked her left arm through his. Despite the worry she felt, there was a lightness to her step and a twirl now and again of her umbrella as they made their way back to the picnic and her family.

As they stilled, she rested close to Emery. Even Christinith’s snark filled statements could do nothing to falter the smile that rested not only on her lips but in her eyes as well, as she let her gaze dance over her siblings, Calvin and then her parents. It was not Christinith she was worried about, she knew her sister would likely buck against the news but it wasn’t she that mattered. Prue cast a smile at Emery and nodded. Indeed they had some news. Turning her gaze down to her eldest sister, she cast the smile upon her as well.-

“Since I’m not allowed to concern myself with your husband, Chrissy dear. You are no longer allowed to concern yourself with my husband-to-be.”

-she stared pointedly at her sister a moment longer before lifting her gaze to her mother and father, her tongue dancing nervously against her lips for the briefest moment as she waited for their reactions to the news.-
 
It took a minute before it fully clicked, expressions registering puzzlement before finally opening in astonishment. Atticus, Lord help him, sat up off of his tree, teacup and plate being haphazardly shoved aside as he turned to give them both a narrowed, discerning look.

"You mean...? Are you certain?"

Emery took it as a positive bout of skepticism, because even as he finished asking, the earl's lips were fighting a hesitant curl at the ends. "Yes, absolutely certain. I wish to marry your daughter, Prudence. I asked her among the field of stones and she passionately agreed. Hence, the small bit of kissing, previously mentioned."

Rubbing a soothing hand over Prudence's resting on his arm, Emery looked into her eyes, his chest puffed up, his smile proud and filled with adoration. Planting another chaste kiss upon her lips, making it brief and innocent, for her family's sake, he beamed as he turned back to regard her family. Atticus was shocked but chortling in joy, his small almond eyes bright and full of cheerful hope.

"Congratulations! I'm...I'm very surprised but I am pleased nonetheless, your Grace. When we get home, we'll have to bring out the champagne and have a grand dinner to celebrate. Prudence, my dear, I'll have Mrs. Harvey cook your favorite." His happiness was contagious, quickly spreading amongst the others as his regal, deep tones came out in rumbling, astonished laughter. "My daughter is getting married! Oh, happy day!"

"You kissed in the graveyard?"

Everyone stopped, turning to look at Christinith, who sat staring at the couple with a small frown, her brows pinched. "Did I hear that right? I know you two have this silly, creepy thing going on, but that seems a bit much, doesn't it? It's sacred ground. People's family members are buried under your feet. People who died. And you just propose, like their tragedy is something romantic or exciting for you to exploit. Not only that but you kissed there? Standing overtop of rotting corpses. That's disgusting and disrespectful."

A huff of frustration came from Emery but he was going to try his best to not let Christinith ruin his good mood. "Well, obviously, I didn't do it to be disrespectful to those people, so, I'd watch my tone when bandying around accusations regarding my motives in choosing that location for my romantic overtures. We have different priorities and perceptions of the macabre and death. I think, you might be better served to simply keep that in mind, rather than just going around assuming that anybody who sees beauty in a different light than you is somehow evil or being mean-spirited. And also, nobody cares what you think, Christine, so, shut up."

Typical of Emery's manner when on the defensive, the dignified rebuttal came out in a rapid fire flow, both eloquent and sardonic in delivery. There was a warning in his voice and the rest of them heard it clearly, both Atticus and Calvin stepping in to try to smooth the tension out of the situation. The earl addressed the duke while Calvin leaned close to murmur soothing words into his wife's ear.

"Apologies, your Grace. I'm certain that my daughter, Lady Cleary, meant no offense in expressing her concerns."

"Honey, please, just drop it. Let's not make a scene."

The look of fire never left Christinith's eyes, her plush, pouty lips frowning with determination. Even as her husband tried to calm her, she wasn't listening to him, instead, getting to her feet with a rustle of pretty white skirts.

"You've known her for a day!"

All conversation came to another abrupt halt with her impassioned shout, staring the duke down balefully from across the picnic blanket. Then she huffed an unhappy laugh, casting a brief look around, searching for support as she flopped her hands at her sides. Facing off against the duke again, she shook her head faintly in disbelief.

"This is ridiculous! You can't propose to somebody you've just met--!"

"Can and did," Emery corrected her glibly.

"It's absurd. A couple of conversations about books and a few illicit encounters are not good ways to start a relationship. Father, please," Christinith tilted her head to Atticus, imploring him. "I feel it is unwise to move things so quickly, especially when Prudence's virtue and reputation are at stake. Betrothals get cancelled all the time, even after a few months of engagement. I think encouraging this rash behaviour will only escalate the passion these two clearly feel for each other. And who knows what damage might be wrought by the time marriage declines in appeal."

Clearly, shots had been fired. She didn't come right out and say it, but the implication was loud and obscene: Emery Riegler could not be trusted to stay invested long-term and was being singled out as a predator. Dark eyes narrowed at the blonde sister and finally, all bets were off on how much dignity he retained once he was through with her.

"What exactly is your problem, Christinith?" Emery snapped, an ugly edge seeping into his voice. "I'm trying to figure it out because your mouth says one thing but moment to moment, your actions contradict. It feels like you're defined by pure opposition to your sister. Don't you want her to be happy?"

"Of course I do! I love my sister!" Christinith even dared to turn sympathetic eyes upon Prudence, as if they had some sort of emotional connection.

"Then what the fuck is your problem?" Riegler snarled.

Christinith flinched as if she'd been struck and several of the women gasped in horror at his vulgar language. Atticus got to his feet, hoping to step in, even as Calvin mimicked him, muttering a gently chiding word in defense of his wife and the sensibilities of the women present. But Riegler no longer resembled himself, the monster fully wearing him as a skin-suit, darkness flickering in his gaze and an arrogant dominance filling his presence.

"At every turn I have proven my interest. I have pursued her far harder than a mere sexual conquest would deserve, unless I were some sort of hedonistic maniac. My rival has been chased away. My claim has been staked upon her lips, repeatedly. And when I seek to solidify my presence here, to let everyone know in the most explicit way possible that I am not going anywhere, it's still not enough for you. I have the title, the money, the prestige, everything she would possibly need to be looked after. What are you worried about?"

It was a rhetorical question, yet still, his eyebrows bounced in sharp challenge, the lines of his body tense and full of barely hidden violence as he shrugged at her in petty goading. "I'll tell you what I think. You want to make judgements, throw rumors around like you know me or know my character? Well, I know you. You're a mean little girl. And you are little. Not only is your jealousy excruciatingly transparent but you're small-minded and cruel. You've been operating under the assumption that your sister will never get anything better than a lawyer or a fucking tradesman in the county. I'm literally throwing my lands and my heart at her feet. And I don't want to wait. I want her in my life now before you guys shuffle her onto somebody else like a burden to be disposed. To deny her this... You really need to shut up now. Because everything coming out of your mouth reeks of a deep-seated, personal unhappiness. And the true absurdity? You frame your attempts to inflict pain and misery upon others as altruism. If I were you...I'd be ashamed."

At varying degrees, his hot silk of a voice came out fierce and bold and then quiet and cutting. And clearly delivered with the right precision because Christinith pouted angrily, her nose and eyes reddening with barely suppressed tears. Riegler, still possessed by the shadows that lived within him, smirked in quiet, cruel pleasure. Not just in taking down a perceived enemy but in full, sadistic delight over wounding the pretty young woman, breaking her down in front of everyone.

Voice cracking with emotion, tears finally fleeing down her cheeks, Christinith spoke in hateful vehemence, "You're an...awful man."

"Didn't I mention? Nobody cares what you think." The cutting reply offered in deliberate, quiet tones.
 
-a flutter of worry creased her brow at her father’s initial reaction but her smile held as her voice mingled with Emery’s in answer.-

“Yes, daddy.”

-she nodded, her voice bright and happy to deliver the news. She cast a bright and loving smile up at Emery as he continued, her fingers shifting softly beneath the brush of his hand. She returned the brief but no less warm kiss and turned to peer at her mother, sitting just next to Atticus. Despite the smile she wore, Prudence could see the faint lines of worry etched across her mother’s forehead. She offered her a small tilt of her head and just as bright a smile as she’d given her father in an attempt to put her mother at ease. Ophelia sat looking on, to their mothers left, hands fidgeting before her, lips pursed as she muttered.-

“Great. We’ll have two weird family members and however many children they have. At least someone wants her though.....”

-the apathetic tone barely noted beneath the soft squeal that came from Adelaide as she rushed toward her sister and new fiancé. Prue wriggled her arm free momentarily from Emery’s arm to wrap her sister up in a return hug.

Prudence stiffened in Adelaide’s arms, a soft sigh escaping as she pulled away, straightening to turn her attention to Christinith when she spoke up, sliding her arm back through Emery’s to stand proud next to him. Adelaide turned to peer at the eldest sister as well.-

“Christinith......”

-Addie’s voice held a soft clip of warning but when Prudence spoke up, Addie fell quiet as she stepped protectively closer and slightly in front of the younger girl.-

“Memento Mori, Christinith. We all do, eventually. And is marriage not a sacred thing as well? So there is nothing wrong with where, when or how he asked me.”

-a soft huff escaped her as well, her gaze shifting to her father as he approached.-

“Unwanted concern, Father.”

-she murmured softly, drawing her other hand over Emery’s arm, clasping both of hers together against his forearm. In the silence following her sisters outburst, she let her gaze travel between her father, her fiancé and her sister as she sputtered at first. Then Prue turned to stare at her sister across the blanket as her sister sought their father’s help in putting an end to what she wanted.-

“And yet you were more than ready to marry me off to Mr. Tinning after only a few hours and the promise of a lovely little bookstore in the shire with children’s books.”

-she shot back vehemently at her sister before continuing.-

“And let me reiterate, sister dear, if he ruins me, so be it. At least I’ll have lived the way I please and I highly doubt I’d be unsatisfied.”

-she shrugged her shoulders and smirked at Christinith. The expression faltering, her eyes flicking to the side briefly toward Emery at the snap in his tone, a little surprised to hear it but she knew the feeling, how many times had she snapped at Chrissy herself? She laid no blame upon him, merely letting her gaze set stoically on her sister. An uncaring roll of her eyes at her sisters proclamation of love toward her, the sympathetic look tossed away with a lift and wave of her fingers from against Emery’s arm.

Listening, shifting softly on her feet next to him, despite the shift in his demeanor and the sheer dark and angry energy coming off him, next to him she stayed. It wasn’t that she didn’t love her sister, she did but everything Emery said was, point in fact, truth concerning Christinith and she would not defend her against the truth he spoke.-

“Awful? Why? Because he tells the truth instead of hiding it in veiled attempts at concern and love? I’d rather be at home with a truthful man willing to accept me and make me happy than here any longer with a deceptive bitch who does the opposite every chance she gets.”

-she huffed at her sister, her brow furrowing deeply even as she turned to face Emery, her hands coming to rest against his chest as she peered up at him. A hand rising to brush against his jaw.-

“It doesn’t matter what silly things she has to say....remember? Everyone else is accepting and nothing she or anyone else says will change my answer, Emery. The answer is still yes.”

-she lifted on her toes, a soft rustle of her skirts as she moved and placed a kiss square against his lips, in front of them all.-
 
It was a bad time to kiss him.

Malevolence still swirled within Emery, filling up the space of his being, putting him on the offensive now that he smelled blood. And indeed, Christinith had shed quite a lot, even admitting defeat as she broke eye contact with him, turning away from the group and the picnic, to be consoled by her husband just a couple feet away. Of course, she wasn't above being a victim in this situation but Emery didn't want to let it go, even once it was clear that he'd won. He craved more weakness, more wounds out of her, to incapacitate her until not only would she never think to attack Prudence again but she'd hesitate to be cruel against anyone else for the rest of her life. Emery wanted to fucking traumatize her.

Sensing the volatility in the situation, Atticus stepped forward, his deep baritone awkwardly coming out in a firm manner as he looked between all parties and gestured soothingly. "Well...I..I think maybe we should all get headed back to the house. It's very exciting news and we all need just a little time to adjust on our own, I think. Besides, we should get back and tell the staff so they have time to get things ready for dinner later."

Emery was barely listening, watching the way Christinith was actively manipulating her husband and little sister who had come to coo and pet her as well. He couldn't hear what they were saying but occasionally Lady Cleary would glance at Emery and Prudence, her tears glittering on her beautiful, blushing cheeks and soft, feminine sobs accentuating her voice. Even when Prudence was close to him, touching him and speaking to him soothingly, Riegler barely heard her through the haze of bloodlust. Finally, he looked down at her with soulless black eyes, the monster looking out from his face, unhindered by the man he exhaustively tried to pretend to be.

As she planted a kiss upon him, Emery hesitantly let himself be coaxed by it, his hand coming up to cradle her face as he warmly deepened the kiss. Then a ferocity took over, his other hand quickly grabbing ahold of her, abruptly pulling her flush against his granite form. Grinding his lips against her heatedly, possessive and controlling, the duke let her feel the monster in all its hideous desire, the way it made him crave her vulnerabilities, itching to tear into the softness of her. There was a dark hunger in the movement of his lips against her, threatening to consume her completely and a disturbing sexual threat and magnetism that pulled at and repelled her at the same time. Right there, in broad daylight, in open air, in front of her family and the servant they'd brought for lunch, Emery gave Prudence a wicked and sensual kiss to make even a whore blush.

Ignorant of the hush that had fallen over her horrified family, Emery began to pull back but not before dirtying the luscious kiss by licking Prudence's swollen lips with a vulgar stroke of his tongue. Shadows still lived in his gaze as he gave her a crooked, smug grin, and they stayed there, shining with baleful promise, even as the picnic was then packed up and everyone began the hike back to the estate. Christinith seemed to have calmed, keeping her distance from the duke and her sister, talking quietly with her mother now at the head of the entourage, about the whole awful, tragic ordeal. And Emery started to come down from his high as well, realizing, as he slowly came back to himself, how much of the shadows he'd let loose in his fit.

Too much. It was too much. It worried him and at first, as the monster went back to sleep inside him, his daylight headache returning, he avoided Prudence's gaze, merely brooding to himself as they started the walk back. But then, he couldn't help himself, drawn to check her reaction, wondering what she thought of him now that she'd gotten to see...and taste, the real him. Exposed, undiluted, his mask not only having slipped, but the entire cloak removed for everyone to see the bloodthirsty animal he became when no one was watching.
 
-when he finally peered down at her, she met the gaze cast upon her with a soft flare of her nostrils as she drew in a sharp breath and a blink, followed by the slightest rise of her chin as she swallowed thickly but she did not retreat from the black and angry look. While the predatory feel she’d noticed before was there and amplified, tenfold, she did not feel threatened by it or him personally in that moment.

A soft hum sounded against his lips as he deepened the kiss, her heart fluttering softly beneath her chest, then jumping erratically as he jerked her against him, her lips momentarily gasping open before he gained control of them again. A throaty sound, a mix of uncertainty and deep yearning, floated on the air between them. She was scared and drawn in at the same time, confused by the crashing of the mixed emotions. By the noticeable difference in his possessiveness, as if something had taken over him, some deep, dark void that threatened to consume her as well as him and while she gently pressed her hands against his chest, she found herself not fighting much more than that against it or him.

Another gasp escaped at the salacious lick of her lips, her cheeks pinkening softly as her words and thoughts from earlier sprang to mind. Lips pursing inward, she stared at him in quiet curiosity, her eyes wide, blinking and looking away from the darkness that stared back at her only when she heard her mother clear her throat and instruct their servant to begin packing up.

She was not far from Emery as they made their way back but she did let him have his quiet respite as Adelaide walked beside them. The two sisters speaking quietly, the older by far more interested in hearing about the proposal than Christinith had even thought about being. Her sister excitedly chatting away about things to come, putting the intense encounter at the back of her mind and looking toward her sisters future instead. She was still rooting for her sister and her dark beau.

Addie quieted and tipped her head in Emery’s direction, drawing Prue’s attention up as he glanced at her. He knew good and well she’d seen it, tasted it and felt it. The differences. That predatory darkness that had threatened to eat her alive and....still she offered him a tender smile, lips still pink and plump, burning with the heat from the monsters demands. Still she returned her arm to his, letting her fingers search out his own to tangle together as they strolled the rest of the way back to the Mayweather estate. Adelaide stroked a hand against her sisters arm and gave Emery a nod as she picked up her pace to join her father for the remainder of the walk.

Perhaps she didn’t fully understand what she’d seen, regardless, without speaking so much as a word, she spoke quite clearly. She stood beside him and with him. Because if nothing else, she did fully understand what kind of cruel monster her sister was and could be. Christinith had gotten everything she’d deserved in her opinion. And she was fascinated to a dark degree by what she’d seen and felt. He hadn’t hurt her, momentarily scared her, yes but otherwise intrigued and excited her further.-

“Hope you like lamb in mint sauce.”

-she said softly as she drew in close against him once again.-
 
It was really all he needed. That warm little grin, the light of interest twinkling in her eyes. But further, her hands were on him again, no hesitation, not recoiling in horror. She wanted to touch him and be close to him. And it set him at ease, his cool confidence returning in the regal set of his shoulders, his hand warmly flexing as his fingers were woven with hers.

"Is that your favorite? I'll have to make note of it. I don't mind lamb, although, rarer is better."

The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent in chaperoned relaxation. Whether they wandered the gardens in the twilight, or whether they retreated to the library to talk about all the books he'd read that she hadn't and the literary treasures she'd found that he hadn't, there was always someone with them. No wonder why after the blatantly erotic kiss he'd given her. He was certain, everyone had in mind a certain standard of boundary in the kisses that had been interrupted in the library the night before. After the picnic kiss? Likely everyone was secretly amending their imaginings of the library kiss to be a bit closer to what had actually happened. In the gardens, Addie joined them, eventually urging them inside once it became too dark to see any of the flowers. Then in the library, Jim stood with Atticus's butler, keeping an eye from door on the passionate couple.

Dinner too was a glorious celebration. A wonderful feast with champagne poured and lamb served with mint sauce, everyone discussing plans for the wedding. Rudimentary plans placed it in Fall, when the trees started to turn and a chill entered the air, despite Lady Mayweather's obvious misgivings about such a late season ceremony. No doubt, if she had her way, Prudence and Emery would extend their engagement until next year when Spring returned, despite it being just early summer now.

Christinith seemed restored to herself by supper, even extending an olive branch by being willing to talk over churches. There was momentary tension when Emery and Prudence offered up churches they knew of with large cemeteries nearby but rather than rising to the bait and arguing with either of them, Christinith merely let the conversation change to something else. It felt like peace, with how often she could be silenced, her attention suddenly diverted to her meal or her champagne glass, whenever something controversial came to the discussion. Even so, Emery felt no compassion or kindness towards her, in fact, every chance he got, interjecting with yet another morbidity, just to watch her squirm with the innate urge to say something. It would have been a perfect night if he could have repeated his performance at the picnic and destroyed her emotionally forever. But as it was a joyful celebration, Emery wouldn't sully it by attacking first.

After dinner, Christinith sang a song with her sisters, even coaxing Prudence to join them, for the duration of the song pretending that they were all a lovely, warm family. Afterwards, Emery played a melancholy tune upon the piano, the grand instrument throbbing with the depth and emotion in the notes. even the duke himself became part of the performance, playing from his heart, eyes closed as he was lost to the music and the tremble of despair it inspired. Finally, almost at midnight, it was time for bed once more, and Emery made sure to keep all such illicit promises between them, held squarely behind his eyes as he gave Prue a kiss upon her hand good night.

At almost 1 in the a.m., a secretive knock came to Prudence's chamber door. When finally she answered it, standing upon the threshold in the empty, gloomy hallway, with a dim lantern in his hand, was none other than Jim, Emery Riegler's butler. Dark eyes looked her over with a bold curiosity, and even though the man gave her a cheeky, knowing grin, his manner was cautious and clandestine. He even stopped mid-sentence at one point to glance down the dark hall, wary that his quiet whispers might be overheard by the women in the nearby bedrooms.

"Sorry, ma'am, for the late hour," Jim muttered in a Scottish brogue that seemed more pronounced in a hissed whisper. "My Master requests you attend him this evening. I'm to take you to him but...you'll want to dress warmly because we'll be going outside."
 
-despite the accompaniment of family and servants, she took great pleasure the rest of the evening merely being in the company of Emery as well. She’d even enjoyed Christinith’s company at dinner, when she wasn’t goading away at the black sheep, her sister was somewhat humanly pleasant to be around.

The song after dinner took some coaxing indeed but once her mother and sisters had gotten her to join them, she threw herself into it despite the light and uplifting tone of the tune. When Emery settles in at the piano, she did not join her sisters on the settee to enjoy, instead she stood nearby, leaning softly against the instrument. Letting the vibrations of the music sweep her up as much as the music itself and watching as he played, spellbound.

When time for bed, she offered a mere brief sweep of her fingers against his chin and bid him a sweet goodnight under the watchful eye of her family. Bidding her sisters a tired goodnight before they all disappeared into their chambers for the night.

Changing into a black silk and lace chemise, with every intention of slipping into blissful sleep, she instead found herself too excited from the day and became wrapped up in the climax of the book she’d been reading.

She had just finished, setting the book aside when she heard the tapping at her door. Her brow furrowed softly as she slid from her bed, slipping into her black dressing gown, she padded to the door. Expecting, hoping even to find Emery boldly standing beyond.

A look of disappointment fell across her eyes in the faint lantern light and then worry when she saw who it was in fact. Why would Jim be standing outside of her chamber doors at this hour?

In his pause, she too leaned and peered into the hallway before he continued. Curiosity replaced the worrisome gleam as her head tilted slightly. A small smile tugging at the corners of her lips as she nodded.-

“Give me just a few minutes.”

-she murmured before stepping back into her room. Idly wondering just what her husband-to-be was up to. She slipped on a pair of shoes and draped her black velvet cloak over her shoulders, the blood red lining the only spot of color in her ensemble. Turning off the lights in her room, she returned a few minutes later with a nod and a smile.-

“Lead the way.”

-she said softly as she stepped from the room, softly closing the door behind her and turning to follow Jim.-
 
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