“Well, of course,” he muttered gruffly. “You went through a very unfortunate ordeal this afternoon.”
The small smile trying to form on Beatrice’s lips immediately faded as she was reminded of what had happened earlier, and she looked back to the kettle.
“And if Alice were awake to make me something,” she said, trying to change the subject, “what would you have done if I had still been asleep? It is after midnight after all.”
Algernon smirked as he walked over to her with the pear in his hands.
“Well then I would have awakened you, wouldn’t I have?” he asked, drawing her attention again.
His eyes glittered with a rare mirth as he looked down at her, sending a delightful tingle down Beatrice’s spine.
“So, I ask you now, Beatrice,” he said, holding up the pear, “have you eaten?”
Trying to hide her smile, Beatrice drew her bottom lip between her teeth as she shook her head.
“No, I have not,” she replied.
“We will have to remedy that then, will we not?” Algernon asked, and Beatrice looked to his hands just in time for him to take the pear in both, and with a quick flick of his wrists, the fruit split in half, making a juicypoperupt into the air.
Beatrice laughed.
“How did you do that?!” she gasped, looking from the perfectly dissected pear to him.
“All it takes is the right pressure,” Algernon replied, his smirk growing into a grin as he held one of the halves to her lips. “Now. Eat.”
Beatrice blushed at his command, but she parted her lips and let him slide a bit of the fruit into her mouth. The sweet juice and tender flesh of the pear burst on her tongue, and it was only then that she realized that she actually was hungry.
They stood there in contented silence for the next few moments, Algernon feeding her the pear bite by small bite until nothing but the seeds remained. Then Algernon tossed them into the fire below the boiling kettle.
“Thank you,” she murmured then swept the last of the juice from her bottom lip with her tongue.
Algernon reached up, his thumb soft and caressing as he smoothed it over the very place her tongue had just been and drew it into his mouth.
“You are welcome,” he replied after he sucked the juice from his thumb. That and the deepness of his voice made Beatrice shiver once again. Feeling suddenly quite hot, she stepped away from the fire and busied herself with searching for a tea towel to remove the kettle.
“What are you doing awake, Beatrice?” Algernon asked, his tone more serious as she made her tea.
She could feel his eyes on her, watching every small move she made.
“Before you get all grumpy and commanding as you usually do,” she warned, and nearly laughed when he gave an indignant huff, “I want you to know that I did sleep. Quite a lot, actually.”
“But?” he asked quickly.
Beatrice sighed and turned to him as she waited for her tea to steep.
“But I had a nightmare,” she confessed, her arms drawing around herself for comfort, “A most vivid, awful thing that woke me. Even after, once I was awake, I could not convince myself that it was just a dream. I thought some more of Mrs. Sheer’s special tea and a bit of fresh air would help, so I came down here.”
She dared a glance up at him, expecting his usual demanding glare. Instead, he simply looked at her with a silent intensity, as if he was trying to look beyond her face and into her mind.
“Let us do that then,” Algernon said after a moment.
Her brows furrowed in confusion.
“Do what?” she asked.
“Have some tea. Get some air,” he replied and moved to pull the tea strainer from her cup.
“Oh, no, I did not mean that you had to come with me,” she said hurriedly as Algernon carried the cup to the back kitchen door. “You have enough to do, I am sure?—”