Whatever inhibitions he possessed she clearly did not, in fact it would even be fair to say, according to William, that she was attracted to him. Fortunately for him, he was equally attracted to her although that did not stop him from being bewildered at how forceful she was being.
His belt came free and was soon exiled across the room with a carefree swing and the full intensity of what was actually about to happen finally clicked into his ordered and logical mind. As she finally invaded the final physical defences of his body he attempted to slow her down, not wholly uncertain if this was a good idea. His attempts, much like his desire to actually stop her, were half hearted and crushed with a swift slap on the wrist and a look that could kill. She was close to her prize, there would be no denying her this.
Before the final frontier collapsed she leaned over top of him, her breasts pressing against him while she kissed him deeply and he drank in her beauty in a way he never before realized. She smiled before whispering to him.
About half an hour later, the office smelled of tobacco and sweat. The floor was covered with scattered paper documents, clothes and porcelain fragments, all soaked in tea. William was endowed with scratch marks over his torso. Elizabeth was laying in his grasp with no garments but her black glove. They were laying on what remained of the table, as it had collapsed, both soaked with sweat and tea. Elizabeth had lit another cigarette. With regret, she was examining one of her broken nails.
You should have used protection, she nonchalantly rebuked William as if it was only his responsibility.
A rather bruised and scarred William thought she was joking, given her unconcerned tone, until of course he realized she wasn't. More to the point she was right, although had you asked him half an hour ago what his plans were, engaging in extracurricular horizontal recreational activity was probably the last thing he would have thought of.Well....neither did you.
If he was perfectly honest with himself he didn't really give a damn, he'd just managed to have what her personally considered to be the most unexpected and thus far the best sex in his whole life. He knew he should be concerned, but really, he wasn't the least bit phased.
What did concern him however was what his brothers would say. In fact as his senses slowly returned to him, he wasn't sure what this meant, not just for him but for her as well. So...what now?
With all the sweat and tea over her, she started feeling cold and she covered herself with her dress. For a while, Elizabeth was saying nothing, while ruffling William's hair and staring existentially at fine, twining plumes of tobacco smoke.
I will have a bath, and you, you will find me a room, she told William. It is best we talk tomorrow,
He responded her by hugging her tightly for a moment, planting a kiss upon her cheek, before releasing her and moving to his desk. The shattered remains of what was once a representative of order and efficiency lay before him, his books discarded, papers now crumpled and illegible and the photographs of his brothers now reflected the discord that she had wrought upon him not an hour ago. Slowly he regained his sense and ordered a bath drawn for his 'guest' in one of the upstairs estate rooms. He also made it clear both would be staying here instead of returning to the Steiner manor.
There was a growing voice of concern that lingered at the back of his mind, concern not of what just happened, but rather his apathetic attitude toward a potentially scandalous situation. Protection or no protection, this was a woman who knew what she wanted and was entirely dedicated to getting what she wanted, sex was likely just a means to an end for her and while normally that would not bother him, he was aware that by having him on her side, she could inflict catastrophic levels of damage upon the family if she wanted. Wrapping him around her little finger would likely be her plan. As apathetic as he was to this sudden development he also knew that with her on side, she could be a powerful ally.
Hypothetical scenarios raced through his mind as he calculated the pros and cons of having her around as a Ward, a Lover and even a wife. What was increasingly clear to him was that his position at the moment was at best, disadvantaged, at worse, compromised. Still, the discussion would be had later but that did not stop him from quietly sending a message to Victor, telling him what had happened, just in case. A servant ran a small silvery bell from outside the office door, indicating that the bath she requested had been drawn for her.
An old servant woman leered at Elizabeth behind her back. She must have already spoken with the servant from before, and what happened in Steiner's office wasn't exactly silent or inconspicuous. She resented having to do chores for her, but orders were orders, and among house servant circles it was considered a privilege and a generally relaxed job to work for the Steiners. Superficially, Elizabeth pretended to be a woman of the high society, and privately, she would convince herself that she cared about the common man, but in truth, after everything that had happened in the last few years, she was no longer sure what she cared about. She would certainly not care about this particular servant woman, even if she saw her. These were thoughts for bathrooms, pubs and national assemblies.
I will take a bath alone, I will dine alone and I will sleep alone. You need to sleep this over. It's best we talk in the morning.
Night has usually not been the domain of man, it has been ruled by monsters, shadows and thoughts that we would rather forget. Humans fight against the dark, but their victory is very rarely successful in the long run, for the night is shadow and no one can escape it. Once Elizabeth was ushered away and William himself had retired, the looming shadows of the night began to surround him and thoughts he had put out of his mind returned with a vengeance.
What had transpired less than an hour ago was now a source of considerable stress for the browbeaten bookkeeper, he fully understood the ramifications of his actions although that did not stop Victor from sending an angry message to him. More importantly, what was this to her? Was he a means to an end? was this all politics? He knew the answer to that but pretended he didn't, his faint dreams of finding a girl who actually liked him gone in a moment of lust. He sighed deeply, that was his mistake, no point in denying it. Still, the ship wasn't sunk, if he was to be a means to an end then he would have to protect the family position. That was his one job, above all else, no matter what. Protect the Family.
Sleep did not come easy that night for William Steiner, many emotions long dormant rushed him and his normally calm mind struggled to maintain itself until he finally fell into a deep sleep. Stars wheeled overhead and time slowed, Cambridge appeared to be frozen in a dark moonlit limbo until the faint glow of the sun shattered the illusion. Soon the cocks were crowing and the servants began preparing breakfast for the unlikely couple. William awoke to another angry message, this time from Edmund, he ignored it and got dressed. He arrived at the table before she did and so helped himself to a slice of toast while he waited. It was only then he realized he didn't have an appetite today. In fact if anything he felt rather dead inside. Footsteps above indicated she was on her way, and he dismissed the servants, lest they be caught in the crossfire of foul tempers.
The bath was lukewarm. The servant woman may have made it that way on purpose. But, Elizabeth didn't mind. Most of her life had been a marathon over ice and embers and a bit of lukewarm felt good. Every time the Universe dealt her a hit it was where it hurt the most, and it seemed that every time she gained something, it was so she could lose it. Her intentions in these circumstances indeed were pragmatic. She was winning, she thought, and she was afraid of it.
When Elizabeth was 12, she lost her twin sister. It was a genetic disease, and for her entire life since then, she knew she carried the same code, if not active, then hereditary. That is why she promised herself, she will never have children. She will leave a mark, but her legacy will be different. She worked hard and sacrificed her comfort, her body, her morals. Three years ago, a young woman called Alexandra Ward appeared on her doorstep. Soon she knew, Alexandra was her half-sister, and she thought, that was what happiness felt like. Besides her mother, Alexandra became the only person she could trust, so Elizabeth sent her on a confidential assignment. Alexandra was killed and Elizabeth was aware it was her own fault. But, that was not what struck her, what struck her was that she didn't feel anything. Then her home planet was destroyed, but she was not filled with sorrow, she was overcome with hatred. Recently, Elizabeth witnessed herself eject an old friend out of an airlock because he had betrayed her. It was murder, she was a murderer, but she felt as if someone else was in control and she was only watching and accusing. She rose from a lady of the night to prime minister, but her term was a painful string of backs and forths, and her fall was a national disgrace. It was not worth it, she knew, half of her life was an unshapely mass of mistakes and consequences, and she knew what was the only thing that still kept her going: now it was too late to change course.
Now, Elizabeth was about to marry a man she didn't love, for personal gain, and to be frank, she doubted she could love anyone any more. That was the plan, but it sounded better than it felt. By this time she knew she was a monster, and she could not feel compassion, but she still understood, rationally, what is right. William was a good man, by reasonable measures. For once in her life, she could be the knightess she had always wanted to be, and save the world from monsters. She was the driver of her runaway trainwreck of a life, steaming towards a crowd of people like William. Decisively, Elizabeth pulled a lever down -- a pair of scissors in reality -- and watched the ungainly thing start slowing down. The bath water turned the colour of excitement. What a convenient way to die, Elizabeth thought, after a wild bout of fornication. She faked it, but William didn't know. Elizabeth's former profession made her good at faking.
For some reason, William kept a yellow rubber duck. It was a happy duck, exaggeratedly happy, with an imposing, orange, smiling beak. Vertigo had just started taking over her mind, and Elizabeth noticed the duck grinning at her. Mocking her. There she laid, helpless, a quitter, a pathetic pool of self-hatred in a pathetic pool of her pathetic blood. She kicked the rubber duck and it made a pathetic squeal when it fell on the floor. She wanted to kick the bath tub too, but that would have attracted unwanted attention. She got up and wrapped her cut forearms with William's towels. "No one will smile while I die!", she told herself. "But many will laugh after I am dead", she promised herself.
Universe -- 1000, Elizabeth Hall -- 1! There was a long way to go, but this was the first big treat she snatched from her archenemy's ravenous mouth. She was aware it was a battle lost in advance, but now she knew why keep fighting: to spite! The Universe will get the last laugh, eventually, but Elizabeth will make sure it laughs without teeth. She will live out of spite, she will marry William out of spite, she will use him out of spite, she will give him children out of spite -- not new playtoys for this sadist of a Universe, but more soldiers to spite it!
She tidied after herself, removed what evidence she could, and went to sleep. She put on a dress with long sleeves before breakfast. And a fake, but imposing smile, mocking the yellow metaphor the Universe had mocked her with yesterday.
Good morning!, she exclaimed exuberantly. I hope you've got some good rest? Oh, there are such exciting things to talk about today!
Perhaps he should have been alarmed about her cheerful attitude but he was more relieved that there wasn't a storm cloud on her face as she sat at the table, Nevertheless, chipper though she may be, he thought it prudent to at least try to talk to her about what happened last night before moving forward and forgetting about it.
I'm glad you slept well. I'm afraid, however, we need to discuss last nights....meeting. His mouth was going dry under her smile, he pulled himself together to finish what he needed to say, albeit barely. I think, perhaps, we may have let our more....primal...sides get the better of us. I'm sure you would agree that such a thing is...not appropriate for people in our position, and I hope I was not taking advantage.
It was the tip of the iceberg of what was really bothering him but nevertheless, it was a start. Why he found it so difficult to simply speak his mind all of a sudden he couldn't say. Perhaps he was still trying to process what he had done. He sighed deeply before drinking down a glass of milk.
Oh, my poor Willy! She snuggled his hand. I am so terribly sorry, I must have hurt you with what I said after! You know, I... I've changed my mind. Actually, I think it's time I become a mother.