“Me?” Thomas felt his eyebrows going up of their own accord. “What about me?”
Her blush deepened. “You’ll think it’s stupid.”
“No I won’t.”
“Aye, you will.” She took a deep breath. “It’s just that you’d been gone for four years. And suddenly you’re back and you’re… you were…” she hesitated, then let the words out in a rush. “You were new and exciting and you wore a sword and the first thing you did after four years away was to look at me like I’m pretty.”
Thomas felt his own blush rising. “You are.”
“So you said,” Eileen didn’t look at him. “But we all know how pure your motives are.”
Thomas sat there for a moment, then reached over and took her hand. Softly, he said, “You are beautiful, and if we were back home I’d court you properly. I’d even bring a gift for your parents and announce my intentions to them.”
Her jaw quivered slightly, and she still didn’t look at him. It took a long moment before she said, “Like as not, they’d throw you out on your ear.”
“Like as not,” agreed Thomas. “Would you come pick me up?”
She turned to him at last and met his eyes with her own. “Aye, I would.”
Thomas smiled, leaned gently forward, and kissed her lightly on the lips.
He meant to stop there, but when he leaned back, she grabbed his hand, pulled him closer. He leaned in again, kissed her once more. She kissed him back, gently at first, then with more fervour. Thomas responded with fervour of his own and soon their arms were wrapped tightly around each other’s bodies, their lips pushing hard against one another. Emotions that had been pent up in Thomas for the last two weeks broke free, releasing themselves in a burst of desperate passion. Eileen’s response was as powerful as Thomas’s own. Their breath grew short and heated. He kissed her harder, his fingers running through the short rings of her red hair while her hands traced a pattern on his back. One of them, Thomas wasn’t sure which, started leaning back. Together, they fell backwards across the narrow bed. Passion added speed to the movement and power to the impact as they hit their heads against the wooden ledge of the shelf with a resounding pair of
cracks!
Both cried out and swore with pain as they grabbed for their respective skulls. Thomas rolled up and came to his feet, realized it was a bad idea, and promptly sat down again. Eileen fell over onto the bed and lay with her face against the pillow, making some sort of muffled noise and shaking. Thomas, once he had sufficiently recovered, put a hand on her shoulder and asked, “Are you all right?”
She waved him away and kept on making the noises that Thomas slowly realized was laughter. He began to laugh himself, though not quite as hard. At length, she sat up, looked at him and gave him a push. “You idiot.”
“Me?” he protested.
“Aye, you. And me.” She rubbed her head again. “Just as well it happened though. I’d hate for George to have come in and found us like that.”
Thomas snorted. “Or Henry. We’d never hear the end of it.”
Eileen took a deep breath, let it sigh out and then took another. “What happened?”
“We hit our heads.”
“Before that, you goose.”
Thomas shook his head. “I don’t know. I’d say we were…” he lost any words he might have had. “I don’t know.”
“Too much strain?”
“Aye. Probably.”
Eileen got to her feet. “I need something to drink.”
“Wine?”
“Water,” she said firmly, heading out of the room. “Cold water. And you should have some, too.”
“I should take a swim in it,” Thomas muttered as he rose to follow her out of the room. She poured a mug of water, handed it to him and then poured another for herself. They each drank it down before speaking again.
“Eileen?”
“Aye?”
“I meant what I said. About courting you.”
“I know.”
“Good.”
She poured another mug each. They stood there, awkwardly, for a while. Thomas suddenly couldn’t stand it anymore. “Come on, I’ll show you the city.”
Eileen looked surprised. “Are we going out?”
“Aye, but not through the door. Come on.” He took her hand and led her back through the apartment to his room. He opened the window wide and began to crawl through it. “Come on.”
Thomas got outside and stood up, then held a hand out to Eileen.
She was staring at him, her mouth open. “You
are
insane.”
“Aye,” he agreed. “Now, come on.”
Shaking her head, she followed his lead and stepped out of the window.
***
An hour or so later, Thomas was sprawled on his back on the shallow slope of the roof above his window. Below the window, the roof stretched out flat, with a line of windows on either side to light the rooms of those who lived there. Above his head the roof peaked, then sloped down the other side to the courtyard below. Eileen was lying with him, her legs out to the side, her body leaning over his, his arms clasped about her and their lips together in a very long, deep, unhurried kiss.
A loud whistle brought the kiss to an abrupt end. Eileen sat bolt upright and Thomas came with her. Henry, standing half-in half-out of Thomas’s window, was smiling broadly. He leaned down and called into the apartment. “I was right! They’re here!”
“Stop right there!” Thomas called, reaching to tuck in his shirt. “Have you got dinner?”
“Of course.”
“Well, go get it and bring it out here. Are the other two there?”
“Yes.”
“Tell them to join us. And bring my map, would you?”
Henry stood there, smiling at them.
“Well, go!”
“I will,” said Henry. “And I’ll take my time so you two can get straightened up for company.”
He ducked back inside and Thomas and Eileen both followed his advice. It had not gone much further than kissing, fortunately. The strong, dark passion that had grabbed them both in Thomas’s bedroom was still too fresh in their minds to allow for much more. Still, even kissing could leave one a bit rumpled, and they hurried to put themselves together. True to his word, Henry took his time, and from the sound of the voices inside, was making George and Benjamin take theirs. Thomas grabbed another quick kiss before Benjamin, George, and Henry made their way out onto the roof, bringing the results of their respective searches with them. Thomas attempted to appear nonchalant, and Eileen emulated him. Judging from the expressions all around—especially from George—they weren’t fooling anybody.
“I’m hurt,” Henry declared as he stepped out. “Here we were, out risking our necks, while you two…” He sighed.
“Very funny,” said Thomas.
“Very,” echoed George. His brows were together, and while he wasn’t obviously angry, Thomas found something in his expression quite disconcerting.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Eileen said to her brother. “It was only kissing, and we weren’t doing much of that.”
“No more than an hour or so,” said Henry.
“Shut up, you,” Thomas put enough heat behind the words that Henry momentarily quieted.
“It’s not like he’s the first boy I’ve ever kissed,” Eileen said, her eyes still on George.
“I know,” George’s expression hadn’t changed. There was worry there, and disapproval mixed in with other emotions Thomas couldn’t read. “It doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.”
“Enough for now,” Henry said, putting a large cloth sack down in the middle of them. “Dinner!”
“George,” Thomas began, but George waved him off.
“Don’t bother.”
“It’s not something I planned.”
George didn’t bother answering. He turned to Henry. “What did you buy for dinner?”
Henry had bought roast chicken, bread, fresh berries, and a jug of ale to wash it down. “Because you didn’t say, ‘no ale,’” said Henry before Thomas could protest.
They ate quickly. Thomas was very aware that George’s expression did not change at all during the meal. Henry, who was pretending to be oblivious to it all, told them what he had found at the Academy. True to the bishop’s words, there were now guards at every entrance, even the ones that were rarely used, like the narrow gate they’d snuck in and out of earlier that day.
“Wonderful,” Thomas muttered. “Well, we guessed we’d have to go over the wall.”
“This might make it easier,” Benjamin said. He reached into the large bag that he and George had returned with and came up with a length of rope.
“Good thinking.” Thomas spread out his map. “I think we’d be least likely to be seen if we went through the cemetery.”
“Oh, of course,” said George, his already dour expression souring even more.
Henry raised an eyebrow. “You don’t like graveyards, then?”
Eileen answered before George could open his mouth. “He never has. Hates walking through them at night. Thinks the dead will rise up and get him.”
George glared at his sister, and began to turn red.
“The dead don’t walk,” said Benjamin hastily, doing his best to sound reassuring. “The dead are with the High Father.”
“Not dead professors, I’m certain,” remarked Henry, earning a glare from both Benjamin and George.
“The cemetery is the only part that isn’t in sight of a gate,” Thomas said, attempting to steer the conversation back on course. “We should be able to get in without any guards spotting us.”
Benjamin looked over the map. “It’s a bit of a walk from the cemetery to Theology. How do we get there?” “I hadn’t thought of that,” Thomas admitted. He looked at the map again. “What’s the closest building?” “The church,” said Henry. “After that we’re equidistant from the dormitory,
the library, and the gymnasium.”
“All of which will be locked,” Benjamin said, “except the dormitory.”
Thomas sat back on the roof. He took a sip from his ale, let the liquid roll around in his mouth while he thought about that. “All right, so we need to get from the cemetery to the dormitory—”
“The door to the baths is closest,” put in Henry.
Thomas nodded and kept going, “—and then from the dormitory to Theology, then into the room with the witchcraft books, all without being spotted. Any suggestions?”
They were all silent. At last George spoke up. “There are too many of us. We can’t sneak five people in. Someone will notice.”
“What if some of us were already inside?” asked Eileen. “Henry needs to be inside anyway, to get the key. He can meet us at the cemetery, and Benjamin could be at the dormitory.”
Henry nodded his approval. “Why is a girl as clever as yourself wasting her time with him?” he gestured to Thomas with a thumb.
“Keep your mind on business,” Eileen snapped, “not on things that you can never have.”
Henry attempted to look hurt. Benjamin laughed. George’s expression stayed the same. Thomas waited for the moment to pass before asking, “What will be your excuse for being in the dormitory?”
“Michael Pasternac,” Henry said promptly. “He’s one of the wardens for the young ones’ floor. He owes me money.”
“Michael knows me, too,” said Benjamin. “I can make sure that the door to the baths is open while Henry gets the keys.”
Thomas thought the plan through. It was simple enough, which meant there was less that could go wrong. “I’d say that we’re ready, then. Nothing to do but wait.”
“Until when?” asked George
“I was thinking midnight.”
Benjamin shook his head. “The Master of Keys does a turn around the grounds at midnight.”
“After the first night bell,” suggested Henry. “Most of the people around here will be inside and asleep by then.”
“If you’re not in by the second bell, we’ll assume you’re not coming,” said Benjamin. “We’ll meet back here in the morning.”
“Right,” Henry pushed himself to his feet. “I’m going to get a nap.” He headed for the window, adding over his shoulder, “And I suggest that you lot do the same.”
“I think I’ll nap here,” Thomas said.
Eileen, who was just getting up, looked at him and, with a twinkle in her eyes, said, “What a good idea. Me, too.”
“Not likely,” George rose, dwarfing his sister. “I’m not leaving you alone with him.”
“Don’t worry,” said Henry, smiling at Thomas. “He does this with all his girls. Takes them on the roof, feeds them, shows them the sunset. They feel sure he won’t do anything, what with all those windows, there.” He pointed to the other side of the roof where a half-dozen windows, exactly like Thomas’s in size and shape, were looking back at them.
“And this should make me feel better?” asked George.
“George!” Eileen snapped. “I am staying out here, with Thomas. Now go inside and pass out our cloaks so we’ll have something to lie on.”
George’s expression turned mule-ish. Benjamin stepped between them. “Don’t worry about Thomas. He’ll behave himself,” he fixed Thomas with a glare. “On his honour.”
Thomas nodded. “If it will make George feel better. Yes. On my honour.”
“It will be all right, George,” Eileen said, her voice soft. Her big brother met her eyes, and she gently touched his arm. George bit his lip, then nodded. Eileen smiled suddenly, and mischief danced in her eyes. “If he tries anything, you can throw him off the roof.”
The thought obviously cheered George up. He nodded. “All right,” he said. He raised a warning finger at her. “But don’t you go trying anything, either.”
He and the other two clambered back inside, leaving Thomas and Eileen alone. Thomas was about to breath a sigh of relief when Eileen pinned him with a glare. “All right you, what other girls was he talking about?”
Fortunately, George tossed the cloaks out just then, and Thomas had time to formulate a reply while getting them.
Chapter 21
Four hours later, as the sun began to creep down, Thomas took Eileen to the peak of the roof to watch the sunset. They had slept, though probably not as much as the others had. Still, the kissing was quite refreshing in its own way. Clouds had come in over the course of the afternoon, though no rain had fallen. The evening sunlight burst through in shafts of red and gold, streaking across the buildings of the town, and making the stone walls shine with a brief, warm glow until the sun vanished beneath the horizon. It would be a dark night, Thomas realized; easier for creeping about without being seen. As long as it didn’t rain, they would be fine.