III
Victoria and I spent months hiding our affections for each other from our parents. I’m sure my mother knew very well what was happening, but I was terrified of what Madeline would think of me. If there was a place we could hide behind, my lips never left hers. If we were spared from supervision, Victoria’s fingers wandered to my skin- beneath my tunic, tracing every inch she could manage before she was forced to stop. When I could no longer take the hours of teasing, I offered a few days’ worth of translation work to the university library in exchange for a fair amount of coin. Enough for a good meal for Victoria and I…as well as a night at the inn.
In truth I was terrified to tell Victoria of my idea. But when I finally managed the words, her excitement exceeded my expectations. I a
