5th June, 1891 — Padmore Park

In the end escaping from her family for the day had been embarrassingly easy. If she weren’t so excited then Gretchen might have been minded to find it slightly insulting but as it was her thoughts were far too full of who she was meeting and not on how casually Kris had shrugged off her saying she was going off on her own.

Perhaps he was meeting someone himself? It wouldn’t surprise her though she doubted her brother had the capacity to feel the giddy thrill that she was experiencing as she passed through the park, keen eyes searching for Mr Prewett wherever she looked. What if he had changed his mind? His mother had discovered them before so what if she had found their letters and put a stop to his coming? True he was a grown man but she doubted Mrs Prewett would let that stop her…

“Good morning,” she replied automatically when she was bid the same by a school acquaintance who would hopefully forget they had seen her here alone today. It was none of their business but people did have a horrible habit of poking their noses in and even a muttering of scandalous behaviour might put a serious blight against her name.

Then she saw Freddie Prewett hovering innocuously near a bush and he looked so handsome in the mild sunshine that Gretchen forgot entirely that she ought to be concerned for her reputation. As she approached he looked up and his blue eyes looked at her as they had before – as no one else had ever done so and in that way that made her feel deliciously unsettled.

“Hello,” she said when she reached him, a smile gracing her features and making her look as far from her family name as was possible.

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Holly Scrimgeour | Freddie Prewett

  

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Bee is tremendous, isn't she?

He really ought to be more responsible. It was a thought that had crossed his mind numerous times as he re-examined the letter she'd last sent him, dressed for the morning, and then a few times more while he took the stroll from Wellingtonshire to Padmore Park. He ought to be more responsible, but this was truly a terrible time to be figuring that out. Even with as much time he spent in his own head this morning he hadn't been able to convince himself not to go, and eventually the ominousness had become giddiness, because while standing in front of the rose bush it was all he could do to stop himself from picking a dozen of them to present to the girl upon her arrival.

If only she'd been of age—of proper age, because while she was certainly of legal age she wasn't yet a debutante, and it limited them to planned rendezvouses like this. If she had been a year older, he might have paid her a call. He might have been able to bring her flowers, might have been able to dazzle her own aunt with his charming smile until she was practically throwing Miss Lestrange in his direction. He could have decided to wait—it wasn't as though he had to worry much about her finding someone else in the meantime. While he knew boys found ways to do things with girls while at Hogwarts, such things were uncommon and he didn't think Miss Lestrange would involve herself in them knowing he was waiting for her.

And yet he couldn't stay away. He didn't want to, for all the logic and reason he'd considered. Finally he caught sight of her out of the corner of his eye, and when he turned to look at her he found that a smile was already on his face. And hers... He didn't think he'd ever seen her smile so brightly, at least not in the light of day, and it was all he could do to stop himself from stepping close and tracing the curve of her lips with his fingertips (and then, maybe his own lips...)

"Hello," he replied, uncharacteristically tender in his tone. He glanced around—subtly, of course, because nothing drew a crowd's attention like looking to make sure there was no crowd—and then nodded in the direction of the little path that led further into the rose garden, motioning for her to follow him.

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— set by mj <3 —

Around them the rose bushes were in full bloom and the scent rather snuck up on Gretchen as they began walking down the little path. She didn’t know where they were going per say but the garden was beautiful and she assumed Mr Prewett knew the way – he was older, after all, so surely he must know what he was doing, though admittedly nothing he had done so far suggested he knew any more than she did.

“Where are we going?” She asked curiously, a small hitch in her voice. When last they had met he had mentioned his house but surely…she felt a thrill shoot through her at the very thought. No one knew she was here – apart from Kris who didn’t care – and she wouldn’t be expected back for several hours, but what kind of girl did it make her that she was excited at the prospect of being so alone with a young man?

What would they do? What could they do?

  

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Bee is tremendous, isn't she?

”A short trip, don’t fret,“ he said, smiling down at her as they rounded the corner into the small maze that made up the garden. They were not completely obscured from outside view, with the little gaps in the bushes and the holes in the fencing where some of the flowers had weaved their branches around, but someone would need to be actively looking for them to be seeen and—well, he wasn’t intending to ravish her amongst the roses. (Although the idea did have its appeal.)

Once they reached a point where he was certain they could not be seen, he turned towards her and took a step closer. He didn’t dare touch her—not yet, and not without indication that she was willing to be touched in public—but they were so close, and he swore he could smell her perfume despite the aroma of roses that filled the air.

He reached behind her and plucked one of the roses off the bush behind her. His smile widened as he held it out to her, mentally patting himself on the back for being so romantic. Girls liked those gestures—that’s what everyone said.

“I’ve missed seeing you,” he said smoothly, “Somehow you get prettier each time.” And really, wasn’t she? He supposed that’s why parents did not yank their daughters from school to debut so early—they didn’t reach their peak until their schooling was almost over. Or maybe she hadn’t changed at all, and maybe he’d just been limited to the memory of her for too long. Either way, she was better than he’d remembered.

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— set by mj <3 —

Being handed a rose felt like something from a storybook – and not one that Gretchen had ever particularly enjoyed – but the gesture took on a whole new meaning when it was being done by somebody who otherwise made your heart race, she quickly discovered. She felt a blush tinge her cheeks, which was most unlike her under any circumstance except those which involved the man in front of her, and she felt altogether warmer than she had five minutes ago.

How was that even possible? It had happened before, on the boat and at Christmas both came to mind, but she still didn’t entirely understand it. She felt strongly as though she wanted to, however.

“And you get more forward with your words,” she quipped back, twirling the rose between her fingers carefully, not wanting to lose a petal or prick her finger on the thorns. “Though I think it’s probably obvious by now that I like it when you are,” she admitted, glancing up at him through her eyelashes as she had practiced. In the mirror it had looked like a fair imitation of the debutantes she had seen do the same and it made her wonder what on earth girls learnt at her great aunt’s school that they couldn’t work out for themselves…

Perhaps it was the art of what to do next? Or the discipline to not find themselves in secluded rose gardens with handsome young men? Her eyes dropped to his lips, then to his hands as her tongue darted out to wet her own lips, suddenly dry as she thought about how much she wanted him to kiss her again.

  

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Bee is tremendous, isn't she?

He smiled at her words. Really, he didn't think there was anything she could say that could make him frown. She was so pretty, so willing, so eager to let him have her—it was not nearly as difficult as Arthur had made it sound. He could see how other men enjoyed the art of seduction, because he even found himself wondering if other women would take to his charms as easily as she would or if he'd have to try another route. But he knew doing that would mean abandoning his pursuit of Miss Lestrange, and he was definitely not going to do that.

"I've never been the most subtle," he admitted, his gaze dropping to her lips, which looked so soft and kissable. He finally dragged his gaze back to her eyes, and realized with a pang in his chest that oh, she was looking at his lips with that dreamy, glazed-over look. "Not very subtle at all," he murmured, his gaze slipping back to her lips.

She wanted to be kissed.

He'd told himself he wasn't going to ravish her in the middle of the rose garden, and he wouldn't. He couldn't. He didn't think it would actually be possible, and even from where he was standing he could see people walking in the distance. But that didn't mean he couldn't kiss her...

So he did. He closed the gap between them, one hand wrapping around her waist. His hand sprawled out against the small of her back, while his other reached up and cupped her face. He kissed her softly and slowly, a shiver running from the top of his spine to the tips of his toes as he took in the feel of her for the fourth time. It was their fourth kiss, he realized. The first had been at the ball, then on the boat, then at Hogwarts, and now here—and yet it felt like the first time all over again, and he felt like a schoolboy all over again. Merlin help him.

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— set by mj <3 —

Gretchen tilted her head as though it were the easiest, most natural thing in the world to accept a kiss from this young man and perhaps it was? Perhaps that was another part of the world that was kept from the young so they couldn’t enjoy themselves too much? Certainly she was beginning to understand why the girls who were spoken about in hushed whispers as being ruined in some way did what they did.

Hadn’t his brother just ruined a young lady? Perhaps it ran in the family? But the new Mrs Prewett didn’t have it too bad did she? Still part of society, still with her comforts and now with a handsome husband that she must enjoy kissing as much as Gretchen did with Freddie because why else would she bother?

Gretchen’s head swam with questions, but most of them were forgotten the moment they popped into her mind as instead she focussed on the feel of him and oh, it was better than she remembered. Gentle but firm lips against hers, his hand just the right size to hold her waist and she rested one hand against his side, sliding it up innocuously, mostly oblivious to the pleasure she might be causing.

Certainly she could feel it in herself – she was beginning to recognise it now – and she had the distinct feeling that if they were alone it would be better. It had been before, after all. She broke the kiss, glancing around her nervously, though the thrill was still there.

“Someone could catch us.”

  

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Bee is tremendous, isn't she?

The kiss didn't last long, but it didn't need to last long. Even through the layer of his clothes his skin tingled under the touch of her hand as it trailed up his side. It was all part of the thrill—the thrill of being with her, of kissing her in public where they might be caught, of exchanging letters with her when at least one person knew about it. It was all very thrilling, and they'd hardly done anything at all.

He pulled back just enough to look her in the eye. "It's a good thing that I work in the Apparition Test Centre, then," he said, lowering his hand from her cheek to fish his wand out of his pocket. He tightened his grasp on her waist and held up his wand to their side. "Do you trust me?"

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   Marlena Scamander

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— set by mj <3 —

“Yes,” she replied without hesitation or consideration of the fact that she had no real reason to be quite so sure about trusting him beyond that she simply did. He was going to apparate them somewhere – Merlin knew where – and she was quite willing to let him take her there without question.

Wrapping her arms around his waist she smiled up at him as she felt the press of his body against hers closer than ever before and then they vanished together in a pop.

  

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Bee is tremendous, isn't she?

They appeared inside the parlor. It was the easiest room to bring her to—a door separated them from the rest of the house, but it wasn't as intimate as his bedroom nor as presumptuous as apparating into one of the guest bedrooms. Freddie kept his hold on her waist even when the disorientation of apparating faded away, but he didn't move to kiss her immediately. Instead he shoved his wand back in his pocket and put a few inches between their bodies, expecting that she'd want to get a good look at where he'd brought her.

"My home," he explained quietly, a smug smile on his face. "The parlor doesn't get much use." It was feminine and decorated with floral wallpaper, just as it had been when he'd moved in. It was really his sister's home, but he rented it, and although he could have made changes if he wanted to he didn't see much of a point—Freddie wasn't much of a host, so most of the rooms usually used for entertaining company went unused.

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   Elladora Black

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— set by mj <3 —

The haze of apparition soon dissipated – was she getting used to it or was he just far better at it than she was? – and Gretchen looked around the room with curiousity. She had never seen a bachelor’s home before and far from being the slovenly, unloved space that she imagined Kris would choose to live it was instead rather more charming than she had expected. Surprisingly floral really, which she definitely hadn’t expected.

“So… am I the only young lady you’ve ever brought here?” Gretchen asked, a small smile on her lips despite the question being a legitimate worry that plagued her in the long hours of the night. Did he do this all the time? Was she just the latest in a long line of girls who had fallen hook, line and sinker for his charm?

She didn't want to believe it. Or rather, her heart didn't want to believe the treacherous possibilities her brain was suggesting.

"I hope I am," she admitted gently, an unfamiliar sense of vulnerability washing over her.

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   Freddie Prewett

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Bee is tremendous, isn't she?

Freddie knew it wasn't common for men to bring their paramours to their homes. It was too intimate for most of them, which is why most of them went to brothels to have their needs met. He could say that, of course, because it was true: no unrelated woman apart from the maids had ever stepped across his home's threshold. But he didn't think that's what she was asking—in fact, he knew it wasn't.

She confirmed it a second later, but instead of feeling relief he felt... confused. No, maybe that wasn't the right word. It wasn't so much confusion as it was the suddenly realization that she was viewing their attachment from an entirely different perspective. She'd always been a little hesitant, a little bashful, and all that being so unexperienced would entail, but he'd never thought to consider that she might think he was far more experienced than her.

(And it wasn't like he could say he wasn't. He could already feel his cheeks heating up!)

"The one and only," he said with a grin meant to conceal his own nerves. "So I hope you won't judge my décor. I promise the rest of the house is not nearly as..." He made a vague motion to the furnishings—the floral, the embroidered pillow cushions, the framed artwork that looked like it was meant for the female gaze rather than his own.

"Would you like to see?" he asked, a hint of nervousness breaking through.

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— set by mj <3 —

Gretchen wanted to see everything he had to offer though naturally, being a proper young lady, she did not have a full grasp of the extent of what the whole of Freddie Prewett might include. For the moment she wanted to see his house, yes, but it was entirely because it was an extension of him - it was him she wanted to see more than anything else and as a result her brain barely took in the décor. (Though later she would recall that it looked like his mother had chosen a number of items – she would not hold this against Freddie.)

“Perhaps later,” she replied, taking a rather bold step closer, though they were already close enough that decency had long since gone out of the window. And now they were here. Alone. (Or she assumed they were for why else would he have brought her here if they were not?)

How was she supposed to say the next part though? That she wanted him to kiss her, that she wanted to put the parlour to use (and that she felt a thrill that she might be the first young lady to be here), without it being abundantly clear that she had thought more about this moment than a proper young lady ought to?

Gretchen, for the first time, pulled him closer for a kiss, this one quite a bit deeper than the last. Her palms cupped his warm cheeks and she thought she could feel him blush – or perhaps it was her? Standing on the tips of her toes to reach him she stepped closer and felt the front of her body brush against his; it sent an electric current through her, made her feel as though she had been asleep for years and was finally coming to life.

How had she come this far in life without ever feeling like this?

  

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Bee is tremendous, isn't she?

He'd gotten so used to get going along with whatever she suggested, which was sometimes nice but other times brain-wracking, because he was inexperienced yet didn't want to seem so. But this... this was new. Different. Exciting. She stepped forward and his heart skipped a beat, and when she reached and pulled him closer his feet followed before his mind could even process what was happening. He leaned down into her kiss, his cheeks burning against her warm palms, his arms snaking around her waist to pull her closer.

Sweet Merlin she was something else. He dared to let his hands drop lower on her back, inching down until they slid along the curve of her bottom. This was an experiment as much as it was an escapade; most of their stolen moments had been short and always with the risk of being caught. Here, though, alone in his home with only the servants puttering around above them, there was no one to catch them. No one to tell them to stop. What could they get away with? What could he get away with?

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— set by mj <3 —

A small moan of pleasure broke free from Gretchen’s chest as everything seemed to intensify all at once. Everything in her life felt more intense since she had met Freddie Prewett; before she had been mostly placid, content if not happy to remain (in her estimation) the most level-headed on her siblings and be a useful if unspectacular ornament on the vast expanse of their family tree. She would never be the brightest and best but she had thought that being respectable and having a secured place in the world would be enough.

Now all of that seemed a dull, distant nightmare that had never come to pass. Freddie Prewett had pursued her, was doing so now, above all her cousins or siblings and rather than making her feel the dutiful girl she had always been obliged to be he made her feel alive. Made her feel wanted for herself.

She slipped a hand against his chest, revelling in the strong muscles she could feel under his shirt. And he was warm. Warm like the lazy heat of sunshine coming through glass, the kind that made her feel limbless and luxurious.

“What do we do now?” She asked, lips inches from his and leaning into his every touch. Gretchen did not know what she wanted exactly but everything so far had been delicious: how could more be anything but?

  

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Bee is tremendous, isn't she?

As far as he was concerned, she wanted exactly what he did. Her moan brought a rush of warmth to his face, turning his ears a bright pink, and he leaned down to brush his lips against her jawline so she wouldn't be able to see. He wasn't embarrassed—not necessarily. She didn't give any indication that she thought him lacking, and in fact seemed to be making all sorts of noises while she squirmed against him in a way that could only indicate her approval. Rather, it was his own inexperience, and how his mind kept repeating over and over again, don't do anything stupid, that made his face go red.

It was hard to focus on his own insecurities for long, however. Like him, she'd taken the liberty of letting her hands wander, and his skin tingled under touch despite the layers of clothes that separated her hands from his chest. He squeezed her tighter and pulled back so he could meet her eyes as she spoke.

In a haze, he wasn't sure how to put into words the lascivious thoughts that swirled through his heard, certain that if he tried to voice them aloud she might turn redder than him—or worse, pull away and tell him it was all too much. Instead, he leaned forward to kiss her again, only pulling back once he'd figured out what to say. "Would you like to see the bedroom?" he asked, his brow arched in a way intended to communicate what he'd left unspoken.

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   Marlena Scamander

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— set by mj <3 —