Kate waved Hibou off and went to join Madame Allais and Charlotte, receiving an unimpressed glare from Charlotte. "We had a visitor - are you alright?"
"I'm sorry Charlotte- I should have sent a note. He came, we had words, and I sent him packing. It's fine."
Charlotte continued as though Kate has said nothing "What on earth was I supposed to think - Jean said you sent him to read the reports, his uncle was furious..."
"I'm sorry. He, I... " Kate's attempt to apologise again was lost in Charlotte's continuing tirade
"And I know there's no point in sending a messenger to you to ask you to call because you'll just fob them off and avoid everyone. I mean, for goodness sakes Kate - does it ever occur to you that we worry about you?"
Kate could feel the tension building in her shoulders as the onslaught continued and gritted her teeth. 'Polite, calm, courteous' she ran through the mantra in her head - it was worse than being in court sometimes. "Come in and sit down... we've just opened a new bottle of elderflower."
Athos rose from his chair - back to the windows and drink in hand as Kate walked into the library. "Are we hawking then? Oh.. Madame." He bowed courteously as Charlotte entered and Kate smiled to herself at his subtle indication, purely for Charlotte's benefit, that they had plans that were being interrupted.
She grinned quickly at him. "Not just yet - sorry, I have a visitor." She turned to Charlotte and Athos waited politely as Kate introduced them, made some inconsequential small talk, and then left the room.
Charlotte looked at Kate with a smirk. "So that's why you weren't keen to stay the night. I can see you'll have had more interesting things to do than making any social calls as well." Kate's answering blush made her grin with delight and she settled herself on a chaise, patting the seat beside her as a maid brought drinks in. "Well, tell me everything then?"
...
Athos was starting to consider whether to ride out by himself and wait for Kate at the pool when she finally returned looking resigned. "They're coming to dinner tomorrow night... Debts and obligations..." she sighed then shook her head. "No, that's unfair. They were friends of Phillipe's, they used to come to dinner every couple of weeks and Charlotte spent a lot of time here after he died, and again after... " He recognised the minute flinch as she recalled Albert's attack and its aftermath. "They've both been good to me. Apparently Charlotte always wanted a daughter, and I've been woefully neglectful of them since I went to Paris...." she shrugged "It's quite handy actually, Jean can check over the marriage contract and witness it if you're sure you're happy with it?" He shrugged, he wanted no part of his own property - let alone hers. As long as the contract made it clear that what was hers would remain hers, then he had no interest in the detail of the paperwork.
"So..." he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close "are we free of social obligations and pastoral duties for the rest of the day?"
"Yep, all done!" Kate grinned, then blushed at the look in his eyes before returning his kiss with enthusiasm, and running her fingers through his hair. "Let's make a break for it before anyone else gets any bright ideas about things I need to see to."
"Hmmm, speaking of things that need 'seeing to'..." He smirked and pulled her tighter against him as she rolled her eyes.
"Insatiable... come on, I'll need to get changed if we're riding." She pushed away and he followed her upstairs.
She walked through her bedroom to the dressing room, Athos right behind her. The second the door was closed she found herself spun round and pinned against it, momentarily stunned by the relentless intensity of his kiss.
"You did say..." his hands were pulling at laces, "that you needed to get out of those clothes...?" The bodice fell to the floor and he began to undo the buttons of the dress, then pushed her round to face the door, pulling the material aside to expose her shoulder, sliding a hand around to cup a breast, thumb teasing the nipple. She gasped at the feel of his lips on her neck - beard scratching and breath hot against her skin, his tongue leaving a wet trail down her upper spine, across the scapula and then her stomach lurched as he bit down on her shoulder.
He heard her breathing become increasing ragged as his hands roamed over her body, saw her hand braced against the door frame and brushed his lips against the back of her neck. Then pulled her round to face him again and pushed the dress off her shoulders and eased it down so it slid down to the floor. He continued the onslaught before she had a chance to draw breath, covering her mouth with his and smothering the involuntary whimper that escaped her as the full length of his body pressed against her, one thigh wedged between hers, keeping her immobile in his grip. Not, he reflected, that she showed any signs of wanting to move. She was returning his kiss with equal hunger - his own desire feeding into hers.
Kate pulled at his clothes, dragging his shirt clear of his breeches. The pressure of his thigh between her legs increasing the urgency of her kiss without providing any release. Her fingers fumbled with his breeches and she found both her hands grasped in one of his and pinned above her head, leaving her utterly at his mercy as he broke the kiss to work his way down her neck again, his free hand pulling up the skirt of her shift - feeling her skin smooth and warm against his hand. He released her and stepped back, caught her as she stumbled against him and pulled her shift off before bending to lick and suck at her breasts - feeling their weight in his hands, nipples hard against his tongue. Then lower again as he knelt in front her, fingers and tongue exploring as she shuddered at his touch. She gasped his name with a plea in her voice as he buried his face between her legs and her fingers dug into his skin as she clutched his shoulder and struggled to stay upright.
Finally, as her legs threatened to completely give way he stood again, breeches and braies undone and pinned her back against the door again, working his way up via her breasts and neck, finally meeting her kiss as she raised herself onto tiptoe and he eased inside. They froze at the sound of voices in the room next door - someone calling Kate's name. "Shhh..." he grinned wickedly, finger against her lips, then took a sharp breath in as she locked eyes with him and took the finger into her mouth, swirling her tongue round and sucking it as he buried his face in her neck - nuzzling, licking, sucking and nipping.
He paused, braced against the door - revelling in the feel of his fingers in her mouth, of being buried deep inside her body. He wrapped an arm round her to pull her tightly against him, then kissed her again, tongues exploring and licking. Hands in each other's hair, her hands beneath his shirt, fingers running up his chest as she began to move against him, then down his back, working inside his braies and circling round his buttocks, pulling him further inside. He lifted one of her legs, wrapping it round his waist and thrust deeper, faster, until he realised that he couldn't hold back any longer, groaned her name against her neck as he made a last shuddering thrust and leaned heavily against the door. As his heart pounded he turned his head and brushed his beard against her ear. He could feel the tension still thrumming through her as she gazed at the floor, biting down on her lip. He nudged her again with his head. "Kate...? She looked up at him and he smiled, kissing her gently to start with, then harder, pressing her against the door again and moving his lips to her neck as his hands cupped her breasts before moving lower. He felt her shudder against him, kissed her again as her eyes lost their focus and she ground herself against his fingers, increasing the pressure; one hand braced against the door and the other digging into his shoulder until she tensed and then relaxed against the door with a sigh as she closed her eyes.
He leant against her, forehead resting on the door - felt her muscles contracting around him as the aftershocks ran though her - heart-rate and breathing slowly steadying as she recovered, then began to move his fingers again. Kate's eyes flew open in shock as he began to massage and rub - building up the pressure again. Dear God what was he doing to her - her brain struggled to produce a coherent thought as instinct and her body took over while his fingers teased and stimulated. He smiled - gratified by her reaction as he traced circles round her breasts with his free hand, dropped his lips to the nipples, beard adding more sensations as he felt her entire body shaking, driving and bucking against him. She clung to his shoulders, face buried in his shoulder as she whimpered, then gasped and swore against his neck, heat building inside and legs buckling beneath her as he pushed her against the door to keep her upright. She gave an incoherent cry as her back arched in ecstasy, heat rushing through her body, then slowly slumped against him, shuddering as he wrapped her in his arms and sank to the floor with her.
He ran his fingers idly down her side, resulting in a frown and muttered protest as she flinched away before she burrowed in against him and he smiled, amused. They were going nowhere for a few minutes at least. He dropped a kiss on her hair - tousled and pulled out of its braid by his fingers, then rested his head back against the door and closed his own eyes- content to just sit with her and enjoy the warmth of her body through his clothes, and weight of her head resting against his chest. Eventually he trailed a finger down her spine: she squirmed slightly and smiled, finally opening her eyes and yawning while she took their situation in. "I appear to be missing some clothes." She looked at the crumpled pile of material next to them on the floor. "How did you manage to keep yours?"
He smirked "I can ride in mine - you said you needed to change yours... it would have been rude not to offer some help... Besides, you were asleep when I got up this morning, then up and dressed by the time I came back. I wouldn't want you to feel neglected."
She smiled "I think we can safely say that you haven't been neglecting me..." she looked somewhat smug and nestled against him.
He shook his head in amusement and poked her ribs gently "Come on you - there's some very bored dogs waiting out at the stables for us." She sighed, then stood - slightly unsteady on her feet, to find some riding clothes.