𝑺𝑨𝑵𝑰𝑻𝑨𝑻𝑼𝑴

lady christine korby longed for a night-in, on the other hand.

longed for an excuse to stay inside the big old house roger had shut her into at twenty-three with the library he loved showing off to his guests. she was never there long enough to crack a spine, and when she was, oh, there were things to be done, her own events to plan and host, and a proper wife does not need to be reminded of these things, christine, how hard is it to host a simple dinner?

her thoughts took her husband's voice, and she followed the sound of laughter, over dwight's shoulder, to find him. he was deep in conversation with stratton, each with a drink in hand, and she'd bet her right leg neither of them were listening to each other.

they'd be at it for hours. it was why the offer rushed out of her lips. she'd been at the knife's edge all week long, searching for an escape, and when she had to strain to listen to hear dwight describing an article he read - a proper medical article! - the words just came tumbling out.

" i wouldn't dream of saying anything of the sort, lady korby... " he replies, taking a step after her as she backs away. he can't quite bite back the smile on his lips. he shouldn't indulge in the question, or allow himself to be led inside... but that would take a stronger man to resist. and experience has taught him that he is not nearly as strong as perhaps he ought to be... besides, wouldn't it be rude to brush off a perfectly innocent offer so unceremoniously?

he doesn't quite convince himself with the argument, but he takes another step towards her anyway. he follows her gaze and glances back over his shoulder - and his stomach gives a sudden, uncomfortable clench. her husband. a tiny flare of guilt sparks in his stomach before he can smother it. what is there to feel guilty about? it's only his secret, barely formed crush that make their conversation anything less than appropriate....

that argument doesn't quite convince him either. but he looks away from lord korby - and with her in sight again, the man is quickly forgotten.

It took Morwenna blinking a few times before she was able to draw herself out of her thoughts. Looking up into the sunlight, she smiled a little tightly as she observed the familiar face before her. "Doctor Enys," she replied, hand cradling her belly. "How nice to see you."

She could put on a brave face, despite her worries and woes. She had been able to do so in far worse circumstances than she found herself in now. But Dwight Enys had often been able to see through it all, even whenever she was at her most desperate. She did not know, that day, whether she wanted him to see through it all again, or leave her in peace.

it did not escape him that her smile did not quite reach her eyes - that there was something underneath the soft pleasantry she offered. but she was not his patient any longer and to press for a confidence she did not offer was a delicate business. one he was not certain he ought to attempt. " i've just seen my last patient and was on my way home. " her comment, kindly meant, made him laugh slightly. " i confess, i prefer to be kept busy - i fear i would not know what to do with myself otherwise... "

his smile widens and he ventures a step further into the garden sanctuary. the sounds of the party have faded, further dampened by the noise of the sea that roars not far away. it is, to his own mind, a far preferable sound - one he would happily trade the forced sallies and empty laughter of the company inside for. it is a preference that his new acquaintance might possibly share... " i see you already have the measure of me, ma'am, " he says with a light laugh. " though i would not claim there is much to decipher... "