Ella - [COMPLETE]

Chapter 42

Mirabelle had refrained from visiting Colton at night ever since she started waiting around in the pond cottage for Cecil. She wasn't sure why she felt that she must do this, only that it seemed right and proper, since she already felt she had already lost a great deal of morality simply being involved in such endeavors. Still, she often caught glimpses of Colton in the servants halls, and saw the way that he looked at her, full of confusion and pain.

One day, she caught him by the staircase and pulled on his arm. "You were right, by the way," she said.

Startled, Colton allowed her to pull him out of view of the other servants, behind the stairs, where they always gossiped.

"I was right?" he asked.

"I think Cecil does see me in the very way that you described," she said.

Colton looked her over, puzzled. "I know he reassigned you," he said. "But doesn't that make it less likely--?"

"Yes, he did reassign me," Mirabelle said. "To the cottage by the pond where no one--and I mean no one--goes. Except the occasional guest."

"So you're to... take care of the cottage?" Colton asked.

"Yes, and Cecil drops by to ensure the cottage looks nice. Every. Day," she grinned.

Colton, however, wasn't smiling. "Huh," he said.

"I hope you aren't feeling hurt," Mirabelle said. "As this was our ultimate goal, wasn't it?"

"Well, only that he would keep you on," Colton snarled. "I thought that was our ultimate goal."

Mirabelle realized, with much anxiety, that perhaps Colton had had ulterior motives for teaching her the ways of romance. She recalled how desperately he had wanted her, how he said he had been waiting so long for a night like the one they shared. Mirabelle felt foolish and uncertain how to mend this.

"It was," Mirabelle said. "Oh, Colton. Have I ruined everything? I don't mean to have made you upset. You're my closest friend."

"You haven't," Colton said with his arms crossed. "You haven't at all. It was me who never should have offered to help."

Mirabelle pressed her hands to her face. "Goodness. No. I feel awful."

"It's alright," Colton said. "In the interest of your endeavors, though, may I ask you something? What exactly have you been up to with him?"

She leaned close and whispered in his ear, giddy as ever. "I've put him in my mouth," she said. "I love it."

"That's it?" Colton asked with a raised eyebrow. "A week and a half, and that's it? Maybe there's something more I can teach you."

Mirabelle laughed. "I doubt there's much more to learn," she said.

Colton was stunned, and took a moment trying to figure her out. "Do you want to impress him?" he asked.

Mirabelle's eyes widened. "Well, yes," she said.

Colton turned, as if to head back to work. "Then you may not want to be as naive as to think you have learned everything," he said.

Mirabelle could feel her excitement growing and she let out a nervous giggle. "Wait," she said, grabbing at his sleeve again. "Show me."

"Tonight," he said.