Down at the Cove

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When Sidney barged through the door of Trafalger House, he ran straight into Tom's study. He was still drunk. But he has to tell him that his friends were leaving. Tom wasn't there, but Miss Heywood. Sure she was there to see him in this state.

She looked up at him with her doe eyes and blushed incredibly. Like a very young woman. He starred back at her, and suddenly the image of her, he had tried to get out of his head the damn whole night, was there again. Only her thin chemise separated her breasts from the cold glass of her window to which she pressed herself.

The image was branded in his mind. Eyes closed, lips slightly parted. Did she have put of "his"....stockings? Not his, of course, hers, but the ones he'd put on her? He would have loved to see her doing it. Her blushing, her gasping breath...

Oh, no, no, no, no, no... He really didn't want to end up like that again...

After all, that was Miss Heywood!

An innocent, honorable young lady. She did not deserve to be the object of his dishonorable thoughts. But he could not help himself. Their encounter yesterday down at the cove had thrown him completely off course. He wanted to touch her again. He could still feel her soft warm skin under his fingertips. Her trembling was so strong that she literally vibrated. His mouth get dry, as she licked absently her lower lip. Oh, how desperatly he wanted to kiss her!

Sidney and Charlotte were both relieved and annoyed when Tom stormed into the room.

„Sidney, Charlotte! Good to see you both together, great great."

„I was just leaving" both said at the same time and then looked at each other somewhat confused. Charlotte tried to leave the room, but Tom hold her back.

With his everlasting good mood, which Sidney normally admired, but found only annoying at the moment Tom pursuaded them to stay and took a look over the new planes.

First they stood as far apart as possible. But after Tom had gone back and forth excitedly and brought in other plans, they suddenly stood next to each other. Her shoulder touched his arm. Charlotte could smell the smoke of cigars and whiskey. And also something fresh, like peppermint. And something else, something she had already perceived yesterday when he was standing naked behind her. Oh, no! Now her thoughts wander back to his body! The body of a Greek god. Surrounded by water. His warm big hands on hers. His fingers...

„Charlotte?" Tom asked, and she looked nervously to him and smiled. She hadn't realized what Tom wanted from her, but she noticed Sidney beside her stiffening a bit. Looking up to him, was a mistake. She knew it in this very moment. His teeth were clenched, chin twitched. She really would love to crawl through his stubble with her fingers.

„What?" she asked hesitantly, with a rough voice.

Sidney looked down to her. He seemed...angry. Yes he was angry with her. But why he was angry with her? Why?

„You seemed a little distracted Charlotte, are you alright?" Tom asked.

She blushed even more, as she felt Sidneys eyes on her. Her heartbeat was fast, her fingers trembling.

„I am not..." she told him, slightly smiling.

„Never mind Charlotte! Everyone has a bad night, sometimes. I caught you wandering around the house last night."

„I was just...I was just.." she couldn't tell the men why she wandered around. It was because she wished Mr. Parker, Mr. Sidney Parker would come home. But instead she said

„I was just hungry, and eat some smal meal in the kitchen."

„of course." Tom said, „after you didn't eat as you went home from your walk."

Sidney suddenly coughed.

What was he thinking? Of course it would cost her sleep. She had most likely never been touched before! He was surely the first one, who had touched this delicate skin of her thights. A thrill run through him.

„Yes, erm, are we done? Good, I guess I have to....go." She didn't wait for an answer and literally ran out of the room. Sidney couldn't say anything, just shrugged and starred at Tom.

„Hmm, odd," Tom explained, „she's been like this since last night...she didn't eat, was up half the night and wandering around the house. Maybe she's getting sick."

After Sidney told Tom, his friends had to leave, he briefly thought about leaving too. But he had to apologise to Miss Heywood for his behaviour yesterday. Though he didn't know exactly how to do that.

The rest of the day they constantly ran into each other. He was just leaving Georgianas room, when he ran right into Miss Heywood. Although it was the briefest of moments, he registered quite a lot about her.

Smelling like oranges today, her hair was shiny and soft, he would have liked to touch it.

Since she was so much smaller, her bosom pressed into his chest for a short second, and he almost had his right arm around her, but could still control himself. Why he then talked to her in a reproachful tone, he could not explain himself. He looked into her pale, confused face, hesitating to say anything to him and avoiding eye contact made him simply leave her standing and leave the house directly.

Later, when Mary called them both to dinner and they sat opposite each other, the tension was almost unbearable. Even the children seemed to notice something because they were nervous and tiring. Charlotte herself was agitated, wasn't listening properly, was distracted and so eager to avoid his gaze.

Tom talked and once again he didn't notice anything of his surroundings. Sidney with straight back, every muscle was tense, could hardly turn his gaze away from Charlotte. Which in turn drew Mary's attention. She looked back and forth between them. But Charlotte just stared at her plate, pushed the food back and forth, and when she was asked something, she clung to her glass and drank in small strokes to gain time. Most of the time, she got away with it. When Mary got up to put the children to bed, she immediately offered to do it instead of her, and as soon as she said it, she was out of the room with the children.

She didn't come into the drawing room that evening.