Chapter Ten
Rebecca“So he just went?”
Auden doesn’t look up from where he’s stroking Poe’s hair in his lap. It’s our first night down from London, and we’re in the library after supper. Poe has predictably fallen asleep, curled on the sofa like a cat, her head pillowed on Auden’s thigh and one hand twisted in the fabric of his trousers. Her fingers even knead and flex in her sleep, as if she’s afraid her owner will get up without her and she needs to reassure herself that he’s still there.
“He just went,” Auden confirms.
“Well?” I ask impatiently. “And then what?”
He finally does look up at me. “And then I m*********d with my tears as lube. Twice.”
His tone is dry, droll, flippant. Peak Auden.
“I can’t tell if you’re smiling because it’s a lie and you’re joking or because it’
