The hum of the family car arriving at the manor sounded in the distance.
“There’s Lois with your parents,” Carol said. “Are you okay, Alice?”
“I’m fine.”
“Good, because I have to go. Alice, I love you, I care about you, and you are the worst study partner ever. I need Lois if I’m ever going to pass my history class.” Carol stood up and ran to the car.
Alice and Jack laughed as they watched her go.
“She’s an amazing woman, isn’t she?” Alice slowly got up off the ground.
“Sure is.” Jack helped her stand.
“And funny.” She brushed off the dirt from her dress.
“Uh, huh.”
“And very pretty, too.”
Jack examined Alice’s face. “Uh…yeah,” he said slowly.
Time to come clean. Alice struggled to find the words. “Jack, I saw how you looked at her, and…”
Jack’s quirked a small smile.
“I just want you to know that I think Carol will be a wonderful companion for you.”
“Alice,” Jack shook his head. “What are you talking about?”
“Face it. She’s funnier than me, she’s prettier than me,…”
Jack laughed. “If I had a choice between you and Carol, it would be you. Hands down.”
Alice gulped.
“The way you get me riled up with all your flirting,” Jack smirked. “And seeing you last night…”
Alice blushed.
Jack gave a deep, throaty laugh. “I’ll remember that for the rest of my life.” His expression turned to a darker place. “But there’s no way a gardener could be with someone as upper-class as you. I just can’t afford to give you all the things you need.”
She felt dizzy. Was that why he never returned her advances? Because he thought he wasn’t rich enough?
“You really like me?”
“Are you kidding? I’ve been admiring you ever since you made me that celery soup when I was sick three years ago.” He smiled. “You said, ‘I can’t have my favorite gardener in bed all day. There are bushes to trim! Plants to prune! How will I get the chance to interfere with your work if you aren’t working?’ ”
A tear tickled Alice’s cheek. Jack used a thumb to wipe it away.
Alice giggled. “It was split-pea.”
He gently brushed her hair out of her eyes with his big hand, dirty from gardening. “But I’m not good enough for you.”
Alice growled. “Jack, I’m the one decides who I like, no one else.”
He nodded. It seemed like he was weighing her words. “You say that, but…” Jack looked as though he were making a decision.
“Jack. I want you and-”
“Good.” Jack stepped closer, resting his hands on her waist. His lips were upon hers, her body turning to soup. Of her favorite flavor.
This is real, Alice told herself. This is true. Not a dream.
Jack tugged her closer to deepen the kiss. His tongue tasted her lips. His big, firm hand massaged her neck.
Alice pushed away. “Wait,” she said. “What about Carol?”
Jack smiled and ran his fingers through her hair. “I don’t think Carol will mind.”
“But-”
“Follow me,” Jack said. He took her hand and led her to the front of the house.
Jack motioned for Alice to crouch down and keep quiet. They crept into the bushes by the front windows. Large, floor-to-ceiling window panels revealed the dining room. They inched closer to the window and peered inside. Alice saw Carol sitting next to Lois at the dining room table, facing out but not seeing Jack and Alice through the window. The way the dining room floor was waist-high to Alice and Jack, they had a clear view of under the table. Lois’s hand was exploring between Carol’s legs, and Carol’s hand lay on Lois’s bare leg.
“My sister’s a lesbian?!”
Jack smiled.
“How did I not know my sister’s a lesbian?” Alice grabbed Jack by the arms. “That is so cool!”
“Come on. Let’s go.”
“So that’s why Lois has been spending all her time with Carol!” Alice whispered.
“Come. Time for me to make you dinner.” He grinned. “Back at my place.”
Chapter 23
Jack lived in a small cottage, separate from the servant’s quarters. Alice knew that Jack normally ate his meals in the kitchen with the other servants. But tonight was different.
“Sit tight. I’ll be right back,” he said.
Alice sat alone on his bed and looked around the tiny room. The walls were bare, the floor naked. There was only a bed and a small, plain table and chair. A bedside table with a short candle and candleholder, and a deck of cards.
The sun set. The shadows grew longer and ran their fingers over Alice. She shivered. To pass the time, she turned the cards over to see their faces. It was a tarot deck with colorful illustrations of cups, swords, pentacles, and wands. Alice shuffled through and found what she was looking for. The hanged man. He was naked, except for the loincloth. She turned the card upside down. The face was too small to really tell what sort of face he had.
Alice set the cards down, and watched the door. There was still no sign of Jack. Darkness was beginning to slip in, but she decided to keep the light off.
She looked down at the bed covers and ran her hands along it. The coverlet wasn’t as soft as the covers from her own bed. She picked up the pillow. It also wasn’t as soft, but she supposed Jack was used to it. She checked the door again. No sound. Alice put the pillow to her face, closed her eyes, and inhaled. She could smell his musky male scent.
The door opened.
Alice threw the pillow to its place on the bed and blurted out, “Nothing!”
“What?” Jack asked.
“What?” Alice asked.
Jack stood still and stared. He looked bemused. He held a pot of food in each hand with a napkin tucked under his arm.
“Will I still be hungry enough for dinner back at the manor?”
“Don’t worry,” Jack said. “What I brought you won’t satisfy your hunger…for food.”
Alice laughed, butterflies in her belly.
Jack placed everything on the table and moved the table to Alice so that the bed functioned as her chair. He pulled the one chair over for himself.
Alice admired how his muscles rippled in his arms and chest as he set the table. He caught her admiring him. He smiled. She giggled. Her face felt hot.
Jack pulled matches from his pants pocket, reaching down to that place Alice often dreamed about. He lit the candle. The shadows recoiled to dance on the walls.
Jack picked up the napkin and climbed behind Alice on the bed.
“What are you doing?” Alice laughed.
“Keep your head straight and close your eyes.”
Alice did as he asked, and felt the fabric of the napkin blindfold her. Jack’s hands rested on her shoulders, massaging them. Alice dropped her head and sighed. He erased the tension in her neck and the worries from her mind.
But he stopped too soon. Then again, Alice guessed anytime a massage ends is too soon. She felt the bed quake and heard Jack climbing off the bed. Alice opened her eyes behind the fabric.
“No peeking,” Jack said.
She closed her eyes again. It didn’t matter. All she could see with her eyes open was down her nose.
She heard the chair scrape against the floor as though he were moving to sit close to her. The ting of a pot opened.
Silence.
“Open your mouth,” Jack said.
“What are you going to do?” Alice laughed again. Her heart sped up in anticipation.
“Trust me,” he said.
Silence.
Alice smiled and cautiously opened her mouth. She felt something cold at her lips and touched her tongue to it.
Chocolate!
Dripping from — she gently bit down — a strawberry.
The juices filled her mouth. She shivered, and bit, and chewed.
“Another?” Jack asked softly. His voice rumbled and warmed her belly.
“Yes. Please.”
Silence.