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September 19, 1201
"Can't say I'm surprised to see that you're looking ravishing." Marsden's kiss to Celina's hand lingered rather longer than was proper. Though it was still tame by her standards, she'd take any and all sensuality she could get today.
She was not looking forward to this wedding.
It wasn't like her to be jealous--if she enjoyed multiple partners, then why should she deny those she cared about that same opportunity?--but something about Nearina Tamrion inspired more hypocrisy in her than most. And it was stupid, as Celina had never had Nearina and probably never would, as Nearina was obviously smitten with Oswald and had never so much as glanced at anyone else so far as Celina had noticed. But... well, before she'd even bled, before she'd discovered she could change her body at will, Nearina had been the first girl she'd ever noticed. Perhaps she'd even been the first person she'd ever noticed, as the first boy was apparently so insignificant in the short term to have vanished from her memory entirely. Whether it had ever been a possibility or not, there was an undeniable notability about the woman who'd taught her that she liked women.
"Are you all right?"
"Mmm... still recovering somewhat from my exam yesterday." She didn't like to lie to Marsden any more than necessary, so it was a lucky thing that was true enough. "I have no idea why Nearina couldn't wait until after term was over to get married--and same with Honora, for that matter."
"Well, don't take my word for it--but rumor has it that Nearina and Oswald might have gotten something of a head start on their young family." Marsden winked; Celina must have done a better job at masking her disgust at the thought of Nearina with Oswald than she'd thought. "And then Honora probably thought that as the older twin, she ought to be married first."
"That's a bit ridiculous, isn't it?"
"I agree, but I suppose with neither of us being twins, we wouldn't know."
"Mmm. That's true." So considerate--so aware that his own heart was not the only one that felt, that his own mind was not the only one that thought. It was why Celina had come to love him. It was an invaluable quality.
And while the last thing she needed was to feel like even more of a hypocrite... well, if she were ever tested, she hoped she'd be at least as jealous over him as she was over Nearina.
"So... shall we see if anyone else is ready to head to Tetran? Or would you prefer a more private walk?"
NEXT CHAPTER:
May 26, 1200
More for appearances' sake than anything else, Celina had agreed to wait until the wedding night to consummate her relationship with Marsden. That said, not everything in the realm of the sexual was, by strict definition, sex. They had made good use of those technicalities thusfar and would continue to do so. Making out on Celina's bed while most of her housemates had classes? Not sex. Marsden lowering his braises or Celina lifting her skirts for a welcome hand--or a welcome mouth? Not sex. Sexual, yes--but not sex.
Besides, the technicalities only fell between the two of them. Celina was not so naive as to think that Marsden wasn't as prone to the occasional brothel visit as any other man his age (hell, she'd seen him at the nearest one once!), nor did she see much point in caring given her own activities. She doubted he suspected anything, but it didn't matter. She'd be a virgin on their wedding night.
A virgin with men, anyway. Or, if a bit of gossip she'd overheard about Congren Indruion was true, then a virgin with men as a woman.
"Where'd you learn to kiss like that?" Marsden moaned between partings of their lips. The scratch of his beard against her face was enough to make her yearn for it in a much lower region.
"Mmm... I'm a Kemorin." That, she justified as he dove into her neck, was true. "I come by it naturally."
His hand ventured from her side toward her breast, but stopped with the knock at the door. "The walls aren't soundproof, you know."
It would of course be the case that of Celina's seven housemates, the only one home at present was Dani del Marinos.
"Dani, it's not a small house!" Celina laughed as Marsden eased off of her, if only to mask her discomfort. "Surely there's some corner where you can't hear us."
"You'd be surprised--but I'm not here about the noise. You have a visitor."
"Really?" Gennie, perhaps? Somehow, she'd decided that the best way to figure out how to love Wolf was to learn to love the rest of his non-Dalston family. "Who is it? And you can come in, I suppose; the door's unlocked, and we're fully clothed."
"I don't know where you get the idea that I care," Dani muttered as she entered anyway, as if her suspicious amber eyes didn't answer her own question. The rest of the girls at Scorpio House thought Celina as ordinary as any of them, but Dani--whether she knew it or not--had an air about her that betrayed an insight to something unfathomable. "It's Mistress Ildaras. She's in the sitting room."
"Mistress Ildaras?" Neither Dani nor Marsden needed to know that Celina knew Aydelle any more personally. "My Aunt Leara's maid?"
"Apparently." Dani sniffed. Celina didn't blame her; who received social calls from their aunt's maid, after all?
But if the brothel excursions had a less obvious benefit, it was an increased ability as a liar. "Oh! I'd forgotten; my aunt had this new dress a while back, and I just adored the fabric. I asked Aydelle about it, and she'd said she'd see if she could get some for me."
"You must be out of luck, then; she's empty-handed."
"Maybe not, if she's sent it to my grandfather's keep and just wanted to tell me." Odd, maybe--but Dani didn't press further, and Marsden didn't appear to be so much listening as he was waiting for Dani to leave. "Well, if she came all the way out here, it would be terribly rude of me not to greet her. Marsden, do you mind waiting a few minutes? I'll make it worth it," she added to her betrothed with a wink.
Marsden smirked; out of the corner of her eye, Celina watched as Dani prowled off to wherever the hell Dani spent her free time. "I suppose I can manage a few minutes..."
She paid him one more quick kiss, then rose from the bed and hurried down to the sitting room. Sure enough, Aydelle was there, seated on one of the benches. "Aydelle?"
"Celina." The older woman flashed her a smile, then stood. "I hope you don't mind my dropping by."
"Not at all." It was a lie--she was eager to get back to Marsden--but it was the least she could do for her confidante. "What brings you to campus?"
"There's something I thought you should be aware of, and I think we'd both rather you heard it straight from me." Aydelle stepped around the back of the bench and approached, mouth held shut until she was only a few feet short of Celina. "I just came from a consultation with Arydath."
Arydath. The midwife.
Arydath--
--that midwife. "You don't mean--!"
"Relax. You're not... the only candidate. I'm just not sure if it occurred to you that it might be possible."
Well, it had now! "I--I had figured it was just--well, I don't know about anything internal--"
"Well, for all either of us know, maybe there's truth in that and you had nothing to do with this. But you did..." Aydelle improvised some gesture that involved a sudden flexing of the fingers. It wouldn't have been intuitive without context, but it was more than enough for Celina. "...you know."
"Ah--right." Shit. And here she'd thought her abilities had given her a unique opportunity to have her fun while still postponing motherhood for a few years yet. She hadn't even considered... fatherhood.
It would take quite the performance on Marsden's part to take her mind off of this.
"Obviously, even if I knew for sure it was you, I wouldn't expect anything. Acknowledgment, at least, would have to be out of the question."
"Yes, definitely." Acknowledgment to herself would be difficult enough! "But even if it's not... mine... let me know if you need any money or help or anything. It's the least I can do for your keeping my secret."
And for potentially having knocked her up. If Celina managed to think about anything else for one minute before she could see that baby for herself and whether or not any trace of her was in it, she'd count herself coping well.
And the next time she needed to let off some steam, she'd be going to Congren Indruion's instead of the brothel.
NEXT CHAPTER:
