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“Once my legs stop shaking, I’ll fetch you a washcloth,” he promised and collapsed back onto the bed beside her. For a few moments, there was nothing but his ragged breathing as his pulse calmed and his cock swooned against his thigh.

“Just how big is this sponge I’m supposed to insert between my legs?” Dora asked, breaking the merciful silence. His eyes sprang open, and he found her propped up on her elbows, regarding her stomach with interest. “Because—well—it seems like quite a lot to be absorbed.”

Clem regarded her speechlessly for a moment, then he let his eyelids drop. He wasn’t even feigning drowsiness. He was wholly unequal to such a conversation. A minute later, he rolled out of bed to fetch her that washcloth. “Just tell me one thing,” he said, pausing at the door to scratch his belly. “What the fuck is a cicisbeo?”

Dora chuckled. “Felix was clearly flustered. From my understanding it is a married woman’s lover, so he had that quite wrong.”

“You are a married woman though,” Clem pointed out. Then he ran up the stairs to the second-floor bathroom and fetched her that cloth.

SIXTEEN

Theo woke to someone moving around the room in the dark and, after a moment’s confusion, realized it must be Clem and that the gray light breaking through the curtains was morning. By the time she had sat up, he had already left the room and she hurried to drag on her dressing gown, some woolly socks, and her slippers and follow him downstairs.

He was busy with the stove by the time she caught up with him and greeted her with surprise. “Are you going to The Eagle?” She asked, reaching for the teapot off the dresser.

“Yes, but you don’t need to see me off, Dora,” he assured her. “It’s still early, no more than seven.”

“Can I not come in with you?” she asked, fetching the milk jug from the cupboard.

He paused a moment before answering. “What would you do there all day?”

“I could practice my act,” she replied promptly, “and familiarize myself with the place.”

Having lit the fire, Clem swung the stove door shut. “Have you organized a rehearsal time with your partner already?” he asked.

He knew full well she had not, and Theo hesitated before making a reply. “I asked for Lil to call on me at her earliest convenience,” she explained.

“If she calls today, while you were out, you will miss her.” Which was perfectly reasonable of Clem to point out, but for some reason, Theo had the distinct impression he did not want her to accompany him. He lifted a bucket of water and poured it into a pan to boil. “Do not forget you have Mrs. Cherwell coming today as well,” he said looking up. “You will want to tell her all of your news.”

She managed a smile at that. Suddenly, it occurred to her that maybe Clem also wanted to catch up his particular intimates at The Eagle with his new living arrangements. That would explain why he was so keen to shake her off. Jim and … whoever else he worked closely with. She did not exactly get to meet many of them on their fleeting visit the day before. The thought cheered her considerably.

“I’ll take you along on Thursday night,” he said rolling up his sleeves and walking back into the scullery to take a wash.

Theo promptly set down the tea caddy and followed him into the scullery where he had already lit the copper to heat the water. “To watch the acts?” she asked breathlessly. He nodded, and though it must be an effect of the gray light, she thought his expression looked rather grim. “I will love that!” she told him gratefully as he soaped his neck and face over a basin of what could be no more than tepid water.

“We’ll see,” he muttered, and Theo remembered he had reservations about resilience when it came to bawdy humor.

“Lil thought the same as you at one point,” she said impulsively, leaning her hip against the mangle.

“What’s that?” Clem shook his head.

“That I couldn’t tell a dirty joke to save my life.” He lowered his towel and subjected her to a long, hard look. A sudden rattling in the lock made them both start and turn their heads. “It must be Mrs. Cherwell,” Theo said, flying to the kitchen door.

“Mrs. Cherwell!” she cried, flinging the door open. “Welcome back! We have missed you!”

The older woman blinked at her a moment before bustling in. “Miss Theodora,” she scolded. “Whatever are you a-doing down here in my kitchen at this hour of the morning?”

“My husband is just off to work,” Theo told her, standing aside as the older woman removed her outerwear. She felt a little self-conscious referring to Clem as such. “So, I was attempting to be a dutiful wife and send him off with a cup of tea at the very least.”

Mrs. Cherwell peered into the scullery with interest. “He spoke the truth then,” she said lowering her voice to a harsh whisper. “That’s ‘im? The one wot you married?” Theo nodded, and Mrs. Cherwell looked her up and down as though re-evaluating her. “Well, you been as good as your word, I’ll give you that,” she said with a nod. “My ‘Erbert, ‘e said as you acted proper ‘andsome toward me.”

“I’m afraid I’ve made a fearful mess of all your duties,” Theo confessed. “The coal merchant no longer calls or the butcher. I messed up paying them and they struck us off.” To her surprise, Mrs. Cherwell seemed more gratified than not by this news.

She gave a dour smile. “I won’t say as I’m surprised, Miss Theodora,” she said, glancing around the kitchen with a jaundiced expression. “This whole kitchen needs scrubbing from top to bottom.”

“I should not wonder,” Theo agreed. “I’ve also made a wretched job of the laundry …” She did not get the chance to elucidate any further, for Clem emerged from the scullery at this point, towel still in hand.

“Clem, this is Mrs. Cherwell, our housekeeper. Mrs. Cherwell, this is my husband, Mr. Dabney.”