When Harry Met Molly

Bunny rubbed Joan’s shoulder.

“It’s worse,” said Joan. She took a deep breath. “My sister has had to be mother to…my baby boy.”

Molly’s heartbeat quickened. “A baby boy?”

Joan gave a little cry and nodded.

Bunny rubbed her shoulder even harder.

“Is he Lumley’s?” Athena asked.

Joan shook her head. “A previous lover’s. But I would like to see him. And my sister.” She wiped at her eyes. “It’s why I have been so wicked this week—I mean, more wicked than usual. I can hardly bear being here. It’s torture to be so close and yet so far away.”

“Oh, poor Joan!” Hildur squeezed in between Bunny and Molly and gripped Joan’s hand.

Athena’s jaw worked. She appeared to want to help, Molly noticed, but she didn’t move.

“We must make a plan,” Molly said. “We must get Joan to her child.”

“If I could just touch him,” Joan said. “Even for an hour. To hold him in my arms.”

Hildur began to howl.

“Ssh,” Molly soothed her. “We don’t want the men to hear.”

Hildur sniffed loudly and rubbed her nose.

“But how can Joan leave here?” Bunny asked, her beautiful almond eyes filled with worry. “Sir Richard watches my whereabouts very closely.”

“The men have big eyes,” said Hildur, shaking her head sadly.

“We’ll have to make something up,” said Molly. “Any ideas?”

“She can’t take a horse,” Athena finally contributed, her manner a little less stiff than a few minutes previous.

“It will take me over an hour to walk the trail to the village close by,” said Joan. “And then another two hours to get to my sister’s village. If I leave early in the morning, I can stay until early afternoon. Then I can make it back by nightfall.”

“We still need a good story,” Molly said.

They sat and thought. But no one could come up with anything.

“Can you not tell Lumley?” Bunny eventually asked.

Joan shook her head. “Never.”

“He seems very kind.” Molly waited for a sharp retort.

But Joan was quiet. “He is,” she said eventually. “Which is why I don’t want to tell him. I don’t want him to have any excuse to”—she swallowed—“to get rid of me. He’s the kindest protector I’ve ever had.”

“I understand.” Molly sighed. “Now, today we’ll be doing other things, but don’t despair. Everybody will be thinking. We’ll come up with a plan for you to be gone tomorrow, all day.”

Everyone murmured their agreement and went back to work on their dramatic readings. The atmosphere was noticeably charged, yet it was also a happier one.

While Hildur practiced her pronunciations, Molly wondered how to get Joan to her baby.

“I have an idea,” Athena said a few moments later, her eyes sparkling. “Are you a good actress, Joan?”

“No. I’ve never done any acting.” Joan’s mouth drooped.

“Come now,” Athena said with a conspiratorial smile. “We all act every day, don’t we?”

“Whatever do you mean?” asked Bunny.

Athena chuckled. “Bunny, do you care deeply for Sir Richard?”

Bunny’s eyes widened. “Why, no, but—”

“Don’t you pretend…at certain times to be wild about him?”

Bunny’s face reddened. “Well, yes.”

“When I’m bored with a protector, I do the same,” said Joan. “Although I haven’t grown bored with Lumley.” She actually giggled.

“Captain Arrow is not like other men. He reads women like sea charts. He always finds his destin—” She furrowed her brow.

“Destination?” Bunny asked.

“Oh, yes!” Hildur said with a broad grin.

Athena turned to Molly. “How about you, Delilah?”

Molly could hardly swallow. “I—I”—she struggled to say something—“I don’t know what you mean,” she finished lamely.

“You act like a virgin, Delilah.” Joan chuckled. “Which men must find intriguing. You are a good actress, aren’t you?”

Molly nodded hastily.

But Athena would not be dissuaded from her question. “Have you not had some experience, Molly, with faking your pleasure? Every mistress must be adept at this skill.”

Molly had a small coughing fit. “No, actually,” she said. “Um, Lord Harry is my first protector.”

“That explains it,” said Joan. “You’re new to this. You are practically a virgin.”

Hildur leaned in. “So he is good?” She waggled her eyebrows.

Molly’s stomach was in knots. “He—he’s quite nice,” she said, remembering how she felt when he touched her. She got quite melty inside at the thought. “He’s an amazing kisser. I—I quite enjoy it. And we—we laugh a lot together when we…kiss.”

She blushed.

There was a big silence.

“You’re not in love with him, are you, Delilah?” asked Joan.

“No,” she said instantly. “Of course not.”

“I hope not,” said Athena. “That would be the worst thing for you.”

“I know,” said Molly. “I could be—”

“Abandoned,” offered Joan.

“At any time,” finished Molly.

“So don’t let your heart get involved,” Athena urged her.

Molly felt vaguely depressed, although why should she? She was only pretending to be a mistress. And she knew she and Harry would part after this week anyway.

“Which reminds me,” said Athena, “this whole conversation started when I suggested that you are more of an actress than you realize, Joan.”

“And?” Joan looked intrigued.

“You must employ some of those same acting skills to convince the gentlemen you’re ill.”

“Moaning and groaning,” said Hildur. “They love! Shrieking, too.”

Athena smiled but shook her head. “That would appear unattractive in a female—in this situation.”

Molly sat up straighter. She’d moaned when Harry had kissed her. And when he’d touched her. She’d thought that was a particular quirk—actually, a shortcoming—of hers. But perhaps the other women made…noises, as well.

She was afraid, however—and a little curious, she admitted—to contemplate in what circumstances shrieking would be considered appealing.

“We’ll tell them you’re indisposed for the day,” said Bunny to Joan.

“But I won’t be in my bedchamber,” she replied. “What if Lumley comes looking for me?”

“We can tell him we put you in the nursery,” said Bunny.

“Is there one?” asked Molly.

Bunny laughed. “Not that I know of.”

Joan laughed, too.

“If Lumley goes searching for you, we’ll tell him you need absolute quiet and that he should go have a brandy or two,” said Molly.

The atmosphere was much more congenial now. The women continued practicing their dramatic readings, each pacing about in her own little corner, except for Molly and Hildur, who sat together on the couch. But this time,