January 1st, 1893 — Wellingtonshire
Beckett Longbottom

The pounding in her head was the first thing Melody noticed as she began to rouse. It was as though someone had taken a hammer to her skull and the light streaming in through the open curtains did little to help her. Then as she went to rub her eyes, she recognized the weight of an arm resting on her stomach. Had Ben and she finally crossed back into the realm of physical intimacy? No, she hadn't been able to find him-

She jumped out of bed as if the man — Mr. Longbottom, she remembered that now — was some sort of predator ready to attack her, shouting in alarm on the way and pulling the blanket with her. He wasn't her husband and she had never entertained the idea of an affair before. (Well, not in practice anyway. Back when they had nearly parted ways it seemed an inevitability. Or was that on Ben's side only? Her head hurt too much to figure it out.)

Her dress was carelessly discarded in a heap across the room, but Melody didn't dare head towards it while Mr. Longbottom was still in the room. What if he attacked her? Had he drugged her?! They were at a party drinking some ridiculously sweet drink, but his hand had reached for her glass first. Surely, he was more of a gentleman than this?! Surely, Mr. Longbottom didn't feel the need to resort to drugging married mothers in order to entice someone into bed?

Reaching for the nearest object — a frame — she held it as if poised to throw and asked in her most accusing tone, "what happened? How did we get here?!"

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beautiful set by mj

Beckett had been asleep. Asleep, asleep, the bone-tired, deep sort of sleep that only booze combined with a good romp could provide. A warm body next to him certainly helped too. Far more practiced in the art of drinking than his current snuggle buddy, Becks had yet to feel the after-effects of their night, but it would come in time.

That time just happened to be far earlier than he would have liked.

He felt the mattress shift and the blanket move, but it was her shout that truly woke him. Startled, rattled, Beckett shook his head, feeling a slight ache at his temples, but nothing some tea and breakfast wouldn't fix. Clearly he had other things to worry about at the moment. Fortunately she had only taken the comforter with her, and Becks was left with the sheet covering the good bits as he sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He ran a hand through his hair haphazardly.

It was then he truly looked at who it was that had just jumped from his bed as if it were on fire and a he got a sickening sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Fuck. Beckett flirted with married women but had never, ever crossed this line. Crouch may as well kill him. Her question was a good one and Becks tried to shuffle through the hazy memories of last night. They had accidentally gone for the same drink, some light flirting and then a closet and a desperate escape. Things had escalated quickly, but why?

"That is an excellent question," One that required more brainpower than he currently possessed. He ran a hand across his temple. "I can assure you that the weapon is most unnecessary." He motioned vaguely to the picture frame she held that contained a painting one of his nieces had done for him.

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RIP Bee for she has died by Stef!set

A thousand accusations flooded her brain to scream at him but each was quickly met with the startling realization that whatever had happened was something she had willingly partaken in. She didn't know why — she couldn't quite remember how they'd gone from discussing the waiters to here — however it was enough of a hesitancy for her to slowly lower her arm to her side. She still held the frame as she wasn't quite ready to have nothing to defend herself with, but she wasn't poised to throw it at him anymore.

Curling the blanket further around herself, Melody looked from him to her dress in the corner. She hadn't fought him on removing it. No, she distinctly remembered tugging on the laces as if to help him untie them. But why? Her head ached from trying to put the pieces together. "I was looking for Ben," she muttered, more to herself than Mr. Longbottom. Ben was going to be livid — he might even push for the separation now. Fuck.

Looking back over to him with a panic filled expression she asked, "what the bloody hell did we do?! I didn't - I never would have done this. What happened?!"

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Images of last night flashed through his head and Becks was starting to put two and two together, the question was, where had the catalyst come from. He hadn't had enough to drink to cause this. Drunk Becks was still smart enough not to sleep with married women. It had all happened quite suddenly, that much he remembered. Had they been jinxed somehow? Something in what they drank? He hadn't the foggiest.

"As stunning as you are," Because she was beautiful, even standing there in only a blanket with tousled morning curls and a look of concern on her face, only idiot would deny that, but no amount of allure was enough for Beckett to get tangled up with a married woman. "And as unscrupulous as my morals can be, I do tend to avoid married women." He assured her, though she honestly had no reason to believe him. "We must have gotten a push at the ball last night, somehow." Ugh, he was unsure of how he wanted to deal with this.

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RIP Bee for she has died by Stef!set

His compliment triggered an onslaught of memories: him repeatedly complimenting her, her insisting they leave the closet, the overwhelming feeling as though she loved him. That thought coupled with his mention of a push left her with suddenly wobbling knees. Had someone spiked their drinks somehow? What was there to gain from forcing her and Mr. Longbottom together? They barely knew one another!

"I don't - but why? Why us?" There were a dozen drinks on that tray, how could they have been explicitly targeted? "How am I supposed to go home now?"

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beautiful set by mj

This situation was considerably more complicated on her end and Beckett felt guilty about that. His staff were paid to be discreet, not that he remembered leaving the room at all last night either, but still. He had nighttime visitors often enough that they knew to avoid his rooms. She had a husband, a family to worry about and even though she hadn't been able to locate her husband before they had snuck out last night, didn't mean Mr. Crouch was unaware of her absence last night.

"I don't know," If it had been a targeted attack Becks would be concerned, but he wondered, if perhaps this was just a chaotic luck of the draw. "Do you have a friend who could provide an alibi?" He didn't usually need to help come up with escape routes, but he did feel bad. Merlin, this morning might be a coffee morning.

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RIP Bee for she has died by Stef!set

An alibi? Lying about this wasn't an option, not when they were trying to make things work and inching their way towards happiness. Melody couldn't live with this lie forever and that was if Ben didn't figure it out for himself first. She couldn't lie, she couldn't go home, Melody was trapped. More than that, she couldn't explain any of her thoughts to Mr. Longbottom without exposing her sham of a marriage.

"I can't lie about this. He and I ... it's complicated, I can't lie to him." She explained as she took a few steps towards her dress. "I'll figure it out, I should be going anyway. Nora will be looking for me."

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beautiful set by mj

Well then. Becks had to admire her dedication, but it left an unsettled sort of dread in his gut. If she was going to be honest with her husband, was she going to tell him with who. Beckett was absolutely sure he didn't want a pissed off Ben Crouch on his doorstep any time soon.

Sighing, Beckett reached for his wand on the nightstand and summoned his robe from the closet. "It is indeed your choice Mrs. Crouch, but please keep my reputation in the back of your head." What could he really do? He didn't like it, but then again she had a lot more at stake, he supposed. Beckett swung on the robe easily. He would go in search of his coffee and leave her in peace to redress the situation. Carefully he stood up, expertly keeping the robe in place for her sake. "And let me know if you need anything." He added as he reached the door, giving her a pointed look.

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RIP Bee for she has died by Stef!set

His reputation hardly meant more than her marriage, but still Melody nodded in agreement. Unless Ben pushed the subject — which he undoubtedly wouldn— Melody would keep his identity to herself. Besides, she hardly wanted Ben to challenge someone else to a duel. He was injured after the last one, who was to say what kind of duelist Mr. Beckett was?

She was reaching for her torn underthings as he walked out but froze. There was no denying what they'd done, however she hadn't considered the possible consequences until that moment. If she was pregnant (a likely scenario considering the two times her and Ben had been physically intimate had led to pregnancies) Ben would immediately know the baby wasn't his. They hadn't so much as kissed in months, a confession of adultery followed by a pregnancy would be the final straw for their marriage. "Mr. Longbottom," Melody called out, still clutching the blanket tight around herself. "If I'm pregnant, he'll know it's not his. What would you prefer I do?"

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beautiful set by mj

Beckett hadn't been thinking about the possible long term consequences until Melody brought them around to his attention. Beyond potentially ruining her marriage and his image, there could very well be some more permanent consequences that would impact both of them.

Sighing he removed his hand from the door handle where he'd had every intention of letting her be, but the guilt and the unease settled into his stomach once more and he didn't have the heart. She seemed to be handling things about as well as could be expected, but he had a feeling she wasn't quite so calm and collected underneath it all.

Crossing the room slowly toward her, he stayed a respectable distance away from her, in stark contrast to the closeness of last night, but well aware that he needed to respect her boundaries right now. He looked her in the eye, weighing his options quickly, but Beckett knew what was expected of him and what he thought was right and so he said, "I would, and will, be there for whatever it is you need from me." His tone was earnest and he held her gaze without looking away. There were options certainly, but he was not about to tell her what to do, no matter what he thought she should do. This may have been a one-night accident, but he was not so selfish as to think he could get away unscathed and without taking responsibility.

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RIP Bee for she has died by Stef!set

Were they more familiar with one another, Melody might have hugged him for how genuine he appeared. However, she didn't know the slightest thing about him aside from the long scar on his shoulder and the strength of his thighs. Where she might - might- be able to explain last night as some drug induced hysteria, any sort of physical intimacy now (especially while naked!) would be inherently wrong. Hell, she wasn't even sure if she could address him by his given name even with how sticky her thighs were.

"Thank you." She replied genuinely. Keeping the baby would be out of the question, but it was reassuring to know she'd at least have the finances to buy the potion if need be. Melody wanted more children (at least two more these days) but she wanted them to be fathered by her husband, not some random man she drank with at a random party. "I'll write to you, if that's okay? After I tell Ben and if there are any issues."

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beautiful set by mj

Ironically this was not the first time Beckett had been faced with such a choice and he had long ago decided that it took two to make these decisions and so it could take two to fix them. He wouldn't shy away from any responsibilities that came out of this one night.

He shrugged lightly, what else could he do? He was already well aware she had more to deal with than he did. "That would be appreciated." He passed her a lopsided smile. "Good luck, I'll give you some privacy." Becks backed toward the door again and slipped out, knowing he was going to have to get drunk today to drown all of this heaviness out.

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RIP Bee for she has died by Stef!set