Pearl woke after dawn, with the sunlight streaming on her face, this was getting to be a habit for her. She stirred, and realized where she was, and smiled. She looked over. Liam was still asleep, so was Jade, wedged between them. She settled back into bed and closed her eyes against the sunlight to rest again, she wasn't ready for this to be over yet.

Liam felt someone stir, though he didn't know if it was Jade or Pearl... a smile worked its way to his sleeping face. He was in bed, with Pearl... well, and Jade. Which was wonderful, and a little... Oh, well... He really didn't mind that they hadn't done anything the night before. His back felt worlds better, though his ribs ached a bit from sleeping on his side. That would pass, though, he knew. He took a deep breath, and opened his eyes, glancing over at Pearl, whose eyes were closed. He laid there, without moving, just watching her.

She felt him stir as well, but kept her eyes closed anyway. She felt him watching her and after a moment she smirked and glanced up him through her 'lashes, and then turned her face more towards him, with her eyes fully open. She wanted to get closer and lay her head against him, but she couldn't really, so she sighed a bit after wriggling around a little, and took his hand and looked at it, running her fingers across it idly. "How'd you sleep?" she asked quietly.

"Better," he replied in an equally soft voice. "Though somebody wiggles a bit in their sleep." He smiled, looking down at Jade again. Such a cute kid, chewing on a fold in the blanket, still sound asleep. Liam looked over at her, watching her sleepily, still not really awake. "What about yeh?" he asked her. "How was yer rest?"

"Yea, he a wiggler," she said, fondly, "and he sleeps like rock most of the time." She smiled at him. "I slept better last night than I have in a long time," she said, happily. "But I'm getting kind of hungry, and I think..." she said slowly, sounding pretty confident, "that I can make us all some breakfast," she said.

He nodded, preparing to get up. "Yeh want some help?" he asked, though he was pretty tangled up with Jade. It was doubtful he could get out of the bed without waking him.

Pearl shook her head. "Nope, you make breakfast last time," she said. She got up and turned back to him. "You can move him over so you can lay on your back," she said. "If he wakes up, he'll just go back to sleep," she said, in a tone that said this was pretty annoying most of the time. She slipped out the door, peeking back to say, "Bye," before she shut it quietly again, and walked freely into the kitchen to get started.

Now, this was not her first time cooking in here--she couldn't afford to eat elsewhere for every meal--but, admittedly, she didn't know her way around this kitchen very well. She snatched up her apron and put it in, smelling the faint odor of ash and flower oil, she'd have to wash it. She thought for a moment about what she would like to make and then started looking for the things she would need, quietly.

Liam did roll over, and Jade rolled right with him, his head falling right onto Liam's chest as he snored on. Liam smiled, seeing that he had an ear-print on his arm where Jade's head has been pressed up against him. Liam tipped his head back, and let his eyes drift closed again, perfectly content to lay there. His offer had been genuine, and, if he had followed her, he could have gotten to see more of her in that little shift of hers, but lying in bed was a mighty fine plan too. He dozed as Jade cuddled closer.

Pearl eventually found what she was looking for, and got to work. She could make pretty good porrage, so she decided to make that. She even had some honey that they could put in it. This was a familiar dish, and she wondered if she should add anything else, or if just porrage would be enough. She started to hum to herself, between Liam and his singing, and having to sing to Jade for all these years, she'd gotten over an inhabitions she'd had. But it was Liam's song that came into her head, she'd recognized it last night when he'd been humming it, and she remembered enough of it to idly hum it as well.

Halfway through making it there was a knock at the door. This caused her to pause. Who could that be? She set her spoon down and went to the door, peeking out first. Artemis! she thought with a bolt of panic. Artemis is here, and there's a man in my house. How am I going to explain this? But she was still too happy to be truly bothered. "Artemis!" she said. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, well," she said. "I haven't seen you for a couple days, I was just wondering where you were," she explained. "That smells good, can I come in?" she asked, brushing past her. She went over and sniffed the porrage and then turned to Pearl with a confused expression. "You're wearing my apron," she observed. She looked around some more and looked questioningly, seeing the soap. "I didn't know you could make soap, I want some," she said.

"You can have some then. We made it yesterday, and I got used to wearing the apron, so I put it on this morning. We're going to sell it today," she explained. She looked exasperated with her. "Don't look so dumbfounded."

"Oh, you an Jade?" she asked, plopping down.

"Y-yes," she said. "Me and Jade, and--"

"Good mornin'," Liam said, having heard the knock and the sound of an unfamiliar voice. Still dressed only in his thin pants, he carefully shut the door to Pearl's room behind him and walked across the way. He moved through the kitchen casually, nodding at the guest before walking right on by and towards the back door. His clothes were out there, after all, and he figured he needed to let Pearl explain this to her guest. Maybe he shouldn't have come out. Maybe the better thing would have been to stay in bed until the person had left, but he needed to take a leak, and he had to admit that it was a little bit fun to put Pearl on the spot. He refrained from kissing Pearl as he walked by, though he did slow and smile at her state of dress. "I'll go draw water," he offered, and then vanished out the door.

Pearl stiffened when he came out. Then she smiled guiltily at Artemis--whose mouth had dropped and was staring at him like a gaping fish. Pearl looked over her shoulder at him, catching him looking her over, and tried to look upset with him, but couldn't really manage it. She looked resigned to her fate, and the corners of her lips were twitching in a smile.

Artemis's mouth hung open until second after he walked out of the door. Then she turned to Pearl with big eyes. "Who," she asked excitedly, "was that?"

Pearl's lips twitched again and then she broke into a smile. "That," she said, her eyes dancing, "was Liam." She paused as if that was all that needed to be said, and all she was going say. But then she decided to elaborate. "He's staying here," she said.

Artemis ingested the name. Then she looked absolutely scandalized. "Here?!" she repeated, looking at the space he had just occupied and imagining him back in it. She found her lips trying to smile as well. She paused, trying to look serious again. "What about Jade?" she asked suspiciously.

Pearl turned her head toward her room and nodded. "He's in there. He had a bad dream, so he came and wormed his way between us," she explained. "He's perfect with Jade... It was a nice," she said, shyly. 

Artemis looked at her suspiciously. "Who are you?" she asked. "You can't possibly be the woman who came to my door a few days ago after spending a night in the stocks," she said, "After ripping a bar apart. Ring any bells?"

Pearl smiled at her. "Same person," she said. "It's me. Stop looking so surprised. I'm happy. Haven't you seen me happy before?" she asked, standing up and going to the porrage, knowing that was sort of a rhetorical question. She'd led an unhappy life for most of the time Artemis knew her.

Arty looked after her, her mouth dropping again. "No," she said, shaking her head. "Only with Jade... rarely with me," she said. She leaned on the wall and leaned in front of her so she could study her face. "You don't even look like Pearl," she teased. She paused a moment. "He's cute," she observed.

"He's wonderful," Pearl said, picking up the spoon again and stirring the porrage.

Which tipped Artemis off. She stood up and walked up to the pot/cauldron (you know, whatever) and looked in it. She gasped. "There's actual food in there!" she exclaimed.

Pearl smiled and then turned and looked at her tiredly. "Artemis," she said. She glanced at the door, expecting Liam to come back in any time now, unless he was purposefully waiting a respectable amount of time. She wouldn't put it past him. She smiled to herself, and her eyes flicked back up to Artemis. She was looking at her for help now. "I want this to be good, how does it taste?" she asked anxiously, scooping up a little bit and holding it out to her.

Artemis looked at her skeptically. Then she decided, "I have to try this," she said. She blew on the porrage a few times and took a bite of it. She chewed it a while, and swallowed. She nodded. "That was good!" she said. "Add some more flavor to it, and it'll be great!" She was staring at her. "I didn't know you could cook," she said. "Aren't you glad I got you that apron?" she said, but she'd bought it she meant it as a joke.

"Porrage is easy," Pearl objected. "It doesn't mean I can actually cook. And I thought we could add a little honey to it," she said.

Artemis was looking around as if viewing the place (and her) with new eyes. "Anything else I should know about?" she asked playfully. "You got another stud stashed somewhere or something? Can I have him?"

"Artemis!" Pearl shrieked, just stopping herself from gasping.

"What?!" she asked, going to the table with a bowl of porrage. "You're the one with the kid," she said evily.

Pearl flushed and turned back to the porrage. "Well, so I am," she said. She fixed herself a bowl and went to the table as well. She smirked. "And in answer to your question, no, you can't have him."

"Him who?" Liam asked, kicking in the door with his foot as his hands were laden with pails of water. "Anyone I know?" He actually hadn't been eavesdropping at the door, instead, he filled up Pernelle's buckets and placed them at her back door so she wouldn't have to go to the well. That is, he did that after he'd gotten dressed in something a little more substantial than his underwear. He smiled at Pearl, walking over and sniffing the porrage. "A little nutmeg would add a bit of flavor," he suggested. "Though it smells absolutely wonderful as is." He turned his head, kissing her lightly on her jawline just below her ear before moving off, pouring the water into another pot and setting it on the stove as well. "I thought I'd do some laundry before we went into towm, if that's all right..."

Both girls developed embarrassed looks after he came in. Pearl smiled faintly when he kissed her, and wished that Artemis would calm down because she was never going to be able to if she didn't. Where is Jade when you need him? she thought wistfully, shifting slightly in her chair once. "That sounds good," she said offhandedly. She shot Artemis a reproving look, and Artemis ducked her head slightly.

Liam looked between them, and then lifted an eyebrow. "Them there are pretty guilty expressions. Yeh wouldn't have been sayin' bad thin's about me behind me back, would yeh?" he asked casually, folding his arms across his chest and looking between them as he waited for a response.

Artemis lifted her head again and tried to look innocent. And Pearl got a hold of herself and smiled and went up to him, with her bowl, as if she were going to get seconds. She kissed him quickly and smirked. "Of course not," she said. "Actually... She called you a stud," she said, and turned her back to him, adding a little more porrage to her bowl, and watching him from the corner of her eye. Now it Artemis's turn to be embarrassed.

"Oh, ho!" he replied with a laugh, watching as color flooded the other woman's cheeks. "Yeh saw through my cover, eh? Well, I'll say me rates are very reasonable, though the pedigree is questionable." He grinned, sitting and leaning back in his chair, lifting his nose like a noble. After holding the pose for a moment, Liam laughed again, and let the chair fall back to all four legs. "I'm flattered by the compliment, but I think yer vision might be failin' yeh."

Pearl had expected as much. She came back to the table with two bowls. She set and put her arms around his shoulder from behind. "She's got perfect vision," she said quietly, and retracted her arms. She punched him on the arm. "That's for your first comment," she said, and headed to her room to wake up Jade.

Liam smiled, rubbing the spot where she'd hit him out of reflex; it really hadn't hurt. He picked up his spoon and looked over at Artemis. "I'm assuming yer name is Artemis?" he asked, continuing once she'd nodded. "Pearl's mentioned yeh've done a lot ta help her an' Jade out. I'm glad she has such caring friends." He smiled a little, scooping up some porriage and blowing on his spoon before eating it. It was bland, but decent enough. "Sorry if I offended yeh. I didn't mean ta."

Artemis shook her head, "You didn't." And after a moment she put her elbows on the table and her head in her hands and looked at him. "So, how'd you meet Pearl?" she asked, curiously, calmed by his manner. "She's totally different than I've ever seen her," she marveled.

It was Liam's turn to blush. "I... I, uh... well..." He dropped his spoon and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I tried to pull her into my lap in a tavern and she poured beer all over me," he admitted, not knowing a better way to put it. "We sort of started a pretty good brawl.."

Artemis looked amused, and she produced a surprised little laugh. "That was you!" she said, pulling away. "Pearl said--" she cut off. After a moment she just looked impressed. "My, how things change," was all she said, slightly wide-eyed. She started to eat again, and suddenly felt out of the loop. The last time she'd seen Pearl, she'd spent a night in the stocks--with him appearantly--and she was in a very bad mood. Now here he is, in her house, and there she is, happy. How did this happen? But she was excited for her friend.

Jade came running out of the room, toward Artemis. "Arty!" he cried happily. Pearl came to Artemis's house more than she came here, Jade was excited, and it was really what had gotten him out of the bed. Pearl came out after him. She was wearing pants and a white blouse. Her hair looked a little better, though it was still long and unruly in her opinion. She smiled at them all as she came out and took her seat.

Artemis turned to Jade with a happy smile and picked him up. "Hey, you," she said. She let him pull back and looked at him thoughtfully. "What are you gonna do today?" she asked him.

Jade thought about this. "Soap!" he said, turning to Pearl. "Sell soap?" he asked, moving away from Artemis and climbing into his chair.

Pearl smiled at him and nodded. "Yep," she said. "You can be our good-luck charm," she said.

Artemis smiled. "Wanna come to my house after?" she suggested. So Pearl and Liam can have some time alone... she thought.

Pearl's gaze flicked to Artemis and her expression shifted to admiration. Jade often went to her house, but she knew Artemis was giving her time to spend with Liam alone.

Jade nodded and started eating. He liked porrage.

Liam didn't mind falling into the backgound for the moment as he watched the women and boy interact. They were more of a family than friends, and he knew that if he was going to be a part of Pearl's life, Artemis would be a big part too. He was a bit surprised when Artemis offered to take Jade. Apparently, she didn't mind the thought of Pearl and him spending some quality time without the boy. He found himself looking forward to that proposition already, but he didn't say anything about it. He finished his breakfast and stood up, taking the empty bowl back to the kitchen. The water was hot by now, and he took it off the fire, opening the door, and moving out to get started on the laundry. "Is there anything else that needs a good washin'?" he asked, picking up a basket that was waiting at the door and carrying it over to the large wooden tub.

Pearl stood up and picked up the apron. "Want some help?" she offered. If she stayed in here with Jade now present, she would just be talking idly to Artemis. But Artemis was her friend. Though, she wouldn't mind having a few minutes to talk with him, and she didn't have to stay outside the whole time.

"Yeh could show me where the soap is," he noted, though he was quite certain he could find it on his own--considering it was laying around all over the place. He thought though that her offer might just be a tactful way of saying she wanted to talk to him, so he didn't want to prevent that. He went outside without waiting for her, filling the tub and swishing a skim of bubbles into the hot water. He dumped the clothes in, as well as his vest and stockings--the rest of his wardrobe that wasn't already clean. He glanced up at Pearl, rolling his sleeves up to his elbows. "Artemis seems like a really nice person," he noted, but then sighed slightly as he took up his vest, rubbing it against the ridged metal. "I'm sorry if I embarrassed yeh this mornin'," he said softly.

Pearl sighed to and started helping him. She wrinkled her nose. "You didn't," she said, taking a bit of his hair and curling it around her finger. "At least, not so much that I mind," she said. She disentangled her finger and started washing her apron as well. "Yesterday was nice," she said. She looked up at him. "And I meant what I said," she said firmly.

He glanced over at her and smiled, leaning to give her a soft kiss. "I know yeh did," he replied, though his voice was a little tight. "And I was thinkin' that... if yeh want me, I'll stay around for a while. At least, until yeh can't stand the sight of me." He finished scrubbing his vest, wrinsed it, and walked over to hang it on the line before moving back to the tub, and continuing to wash the clothes. "It was nice to wake up and see yer pretty face," he noted, scrubbing one of her skirts now.

Pearl smiled at him, and nodded solemnly. "I do want you to," she said, scrubbing at a stain. She smiled at his compliment, and decided not to say Thank you, but I'm not that pretty. "Nice waking up to you," she said, nudging him slightly with her shoulder--the one that wasn't bruised.

He just smiled and then concentrated on the task at had. The sooner they got this done, the sooner they could go into the market, and the sooner Jade could go home with Artemis, and they could finish what they had started before the beautiful boy had interrupted. That was reason enough to work, and he hummed softly as he did, occasionally whistling through his teeth.

Pearl smiled back at him and lightened with his mood. She was thinking much the same thing--she had wanted to stay on good terms with him. She fell silent as well and listened to him hum as they cleaned. He was nice to have around.

Especially when he did her laundry and cooking. With his strong arms, he scrubbed the clothes good, getting the green slime stain out of Pearl's shirt. "Seems ta me that yeh owe me dinner," he noted, recalling the bet he had mentioned yesterday at the river.

Pearl hung up the shirt she had been working on and took hers from him gently, and marveling at the removal of the stains. She nodded slowly. "Yep, but I would've treated ya anyway," she said standing and hanging up her shirt as well. She stretched a little and looked around at what was left of the laundry. "Mind if go get ready?" she asked, since there was hardly any clothes left and she didn't want to hold him up later. When he agreed she went back inside and changed, tempted to stick her tongue out at Artemis as she passed by, instead she made a face at her.

Liam finished the laundry, hanging the last towel up to dry. He went inside with Pearl, packing up the soaps in his napsack--emptied of clothes and odds and ends that he dumped in a chair: a small sewing kit, a flint and striker, a small pot with matching tin cup for meals he had to cook on his own. .. He put these on a chair, and most of the soap fit inside. Pearl uncovered another small basket from somewhere for the rest.



The soap sold quite well at the market. After he realized how much people wanted a good soap like theirs, he hiked the price from three silvers to five, and still they only had four or five balls left by mid-morning. Of course, he was a good salesman, and he'd encouraged Jade to go up to people and ask them to buy soap. The boy was very shy, but holding Liam's hand--and guided carefully by the older man's experience--he approached a half-dozen or so potential customers, tugged on their skirts (Liam purposefully chose mostly kind-looking matrons) and in a soft, quavering voice asked, "Would you like to buy my soap? I helped to make it." Those were their best customers, each buying three or four of the balls. At first, Jade had wanted to cling to Pearl's skirts and hide from the other people in the market, but Liams gentle urging and encouraging coaxed the boy into the open, and he got his part down pretty fast. A few hours before midday, they had sold their last ball-excluding the two he'd promised to the butcher and Pernelle and the one extra-large one that he'd set aside to shave up for Pearl's own use. Liam's napsack--though smelling sweetly--was empty of soap and instead heavy with coin. Artemis picked Jade up around lunch, and now it was just Pearl and Liam.

"Well, what shall we do now?" Liam asked, shouldering the noticably heavier bag with a jingle. He'd already slipped twenty silver pieces of his own inside. "Yeh said somethin' about clothes last night?"

Pearl was still surprised by the amount of money they'd made. It would be very useful. She was a little uncomfortable with the idea of carrying around so much money all day though, especially on market day. 

Suddenly, she got a mischievious look on her face. She nodded at his question. "Much as I like having you in my living room with nothing on but a blanket," she said flirtily, "I think you could use a few more clothes." She looked around quickly. "It's this way," she said, leading him to the tailor's shop.

Liam smiled, and allowed himself to be led, keeping a close eye on his napsack. He knew what to look for in pickpockets, and glared at the few he saw. "Wonderful," he said teasingly. "But you're not going to let me pick out the ugly clothes, are you?"

"No," she replied teasingly, leading him into the store. She nodded at the tailor when they entered and practically dragged him over to the men's section. Then she let go of him and started looking.

Liam let her do the shopping part, feeling awkward. He'd never really been inside a tailor's shop--the clothes he had now were either stolen or picked up by the girls he had doted on in the taverns up north. He knew nothing about fashion, and his style was limited to leather-reinforced canvas pants of the brown variety and tunics of the white variety. Green vests apparently brought out the hazel in his eyes, and boots were boots, weren't they? He resisted the urge to slump down in a chair as Pearl picked things out for him.

Pearl came over to him with an outfit she'd picked out for him. In two sizes. "This size will probably fit," she said. "But if it doesn't," she handed him the other one. She smiled at him faintly. "You're as bad as Jade," she said. "You look bored to death!"

He took the clothes, but frowned at her. "Yeh expect me ta strip ta me skin right here?" he asked, looking alarmed. "I'm a might proud of the family jewels, but not quite that proud." He shook his head, realizing now why he didn't care for tailor shops.

Pearl grinned at him, and handed him the clothes in determination. She raised her eyebrows, "Fun as it would be for some of us..." she trailed off and pointed over his shoulder at a curtain. "I'll watch the money," she said.

Resigned, Liam took the clothes and went behind the curtain, stipping out of his nice, comfy clothes and into the first outfit. Pearl apparently hadn't realized exactly what his size was, because this outfit was a bit too tight. The pants showed every curve and dimple of his backside and the front... He pulled the shirt on, and it stretched a bit over his chest. Feeling rediculous, he stepped out. "I don't think this is right..." he said, very self-conscious.

Pearl was standing nearby, not near enough to peek around the curtain though. She almost started laughing, but instead she coughed. "Really?" she asked, wickedly, "Because I think it fits perfectly..." She looked him over briefly and then flicked her eyes back up to his face. "Try the other clothes," she said.

Liam sighed, mangaging with some difficulty to get out of the first set without tearing anything. The second outfit, though, fit much better. The pants were still a bit snug, but attractively so. Whatever the shirt was made of felt absolutely wonderful, and the color, even Liam had to admit, was nice. The light green fabric was loose and comfortable, and he felt much better about stepping outside the curtain this time. "How's this?" he asked, jokingly spinning around to model it for her. He'd left the shirt untucked, but it was more comfortable that way. The back of his hair was still caught by the shirt collar, and he tossed it free, letting it fall around his face in a silky wave of gray-spotted light brown.

Pearl looked up and her face softened. She took in his appearance slowly, noticing for herself how well the color suited him. She smiled faintly and nodded, blushing slightly. She moved over to him and touched the shirt fabric on his arm. "Nice, huh?" she said, making herself pull her naughty hand back before it got a mind of its own. He looked great. "This is a nice color for you," she said with a smile.

He nodded, smiling a little sheepishly. "Thanks," he murmured. He scratched his head, looking down. "So, can we go now?" he asked, adopting a childish voice. "Please?" he whined playfully.

Pearl smiled at him. "Pay for this outfit," she said, "and I'm just going to look for maybe two more." When he still looked like he was going to complain she added, "But you can try them on later," and went to look before he could complain anymore. "Need any boots?" she asked after a moment, "Because the cobbler shop is right over there..."

He shelled out the money, looking over at her. "Oh, no, not really," he said as the clerk folded up his new clothes and put them inside paper. "Why, do yeh need something?" he asked her, wondering how many more sets of clothes he needed.

Pearl shook her head. "Just wondering," she said. She held up another outfit for him inquiringly. It was a plainer color than the other shirt but there were subtle touches of green in it.

He shrugged at her. "Would yeh believe me if I said I was color-blind?" he asked, though his tone made it clear this was a lie. "Or fashion-blind at the very least?" He laughed gently. "I don't have ta look at m'self 'cept in the mirror. Pick whatever yeh want ta look at. It'll make things simpler," he suggested.

Pearl sighed in exasperation. "I guess I have to, don't I?" she asked. She turned toward the clothes. "Men," she muttered. "You'd think they'd want to look nice for us," she said wistfully. She quickly picked out one other outfit in the right size and towed him back to the counter. She smiled at the tailor, he was friendly with Jade, even when the boy was being as exasperating as Liam. She plucked some money from the napsack and payed for these two outfits.

"An' I'd think yeh wouldn't want me lookin' too nice, or I might get stoled from yeh," he teased, taking up the other two sets of clothing and folding them up in the paper before shoving them into the napsack on top of the money. It helped to quiet some of the jungling of the coin. His stomach growled, reminding him that the porriage had been quite a while ago. "Do yeh want to go find some lunch?" he suggested. "Pay me back for gettin' that stain outta yer shirt?" he teased, though he would probably pay the bill anyway, just to be annoying.

Pearl frowned at that. He had a point. If he started getting too much attention from the women around him she had a feeling she might get a little protective. She touched her stomach and nodded. "Yeah, I'm hungry too," she said. "The place we went yesterday is pretty close by." They exited the store and went back into the customary market-day fray. Their path took them through the square, where a crowd had gathered. Pearl frowned deeply. She tugged on Liam's sleeve and started cutting through the bustle toward the crowd around the stocks. She saw someone throw something, some kind of vegetable, and started to look angry. She was remembering their night in the stocks, and felt selfishly glad that it had only really lasted through the night and early morning, and had not been on market day. These people should be selling those vegetables, not throwing them at whoever was unfortunate enough to get stuck in the stocks, even if they deserved it.

Liam blew out an angry breath, and without a word, pushed his way faster through the crowd. He wasn't particularly sure what he was doing, or why the abuse of the poor fellow in the stocks bothered him so much. Silently, he mounted the platform and stood in front of the man. A rotten tomato flew towards him, and suddenly that ugly sword of his flashed, and the two pieces of the tomato flew to either side of him. The crowd quieted, and he turned, seeing that the old man was a poor old fellow. "Hey there, grandpa," he said, moving over and pulling a piece of lettuce out of his hair. "Whaddya in fer?"

Pearl pushed her way to the front of the crowd and stood in front of them definatly. She did not have her sword, but she had pulled out a daggar and was holding it meanicingly. She was facing the crowd, whereas he wasn't. A bit of her old flame had ignited, and the familiar melting-glass look was in her eye again. She caught another tomato with the daggar. It didn't slice through it, but it stopped it. She shook it off and it rolled away from her. "Go sell those vegetables or take them home to feed your families!" she shouted.

Liam glanced over his shoulder at her, and then grinned. What a woman.... The old man coughed, and Liam jumped down for a moment, moving to the well, grabbing a dipperful of water from the pail and taking it back up to him. The old man drank gratefully. "Demmed taxes," he cursed once he'd loosened his throat. "Can't pay... an' can't not pay..."

Liam nodded, glancing back again to see that Pearl had managed to scare most of the crowd off. "Would yeh like me sword ta chase the rest off?" he asked teasingly, and then turned to the old man. He was in the stocks that Pearl had only recently vacanted. "Here," he said, flashing a bit of silver before slipping it into the man's pocket.

"Why, sonny!" the old man said, amazed by the generousity.

Pearl climbed onto the platform. She grinned at him and sheathed her daggar. She put her hands on her hips. "Who needs a sword?" she asked. She turned to the old man and her smiled faded away. "We were both in here a few days ago," she admitted. "It is not something I'd like to repeat. How long have you been in here?" she asked the old man.

"Only since this mornin'," he explained. "But with bones as old as mine..." He would have shrugged if he'd been able. "Yer shore a nice couple, helpin' a poor ol' man like me."

Liam smiled down at him. "Our pleasure," he replied modestly. "Do you know when you'll be let out?"

"They told me until noon. Do you have the time?" Liam shook his head and glanced over at Pearl.

Pearl looked up at the sky. She'd learned to judge the time pretty well from looking at it, years ago. Her stomach was a pretty good judge of the time too. Seemed to her to be after noon, but not greatly so. She forced a smile. "I'm sure they'll be letting you out soon," she said with a nod. "The trouble is it being market day, they need all the guards they've got today to be watching for disturbances..." Like this... She looked around at the people selling on the street. She turned back to the old man. "Think you can eat anything if I feed you?" she asked. "I see someone selling bread..."

He looked at her, shaking his head. "Now, I know a pretty young couple like yourselves have better things to do than nurse a sick old man in the stocks," he protested.

Liam smiled. "If he can gab that much, it sounds like he can eat," he told Pearl, nodding for her to get the bread. "As fer us, we ain't got a single thing better ta do than visit with a fine young feller like yerself." He sat down at the edge of the platform, swinging his legs like he was twenty years younger.

Pearl hopped down from the platform and went to get the bread. People could be so cruel. She'd been a bitter person for what seemed like her whole life, but she had never thrown food at people just because they'd been locked up for doing something. But that probably came from being rebellious herself. She paid for the bread and yanked off a bite for herself. She really was hungry. She climbed back up and leaned on the stocks. She broke of a bite-sized piece of bread. "Here you go," she said.

The old man took it, chewing carefully as he didn't have many teeth left. Liam smiled, and then his eyes widened. "Pearl," he said warningly as a trio of guards moved over.

"You!" the one at the point of the trio yelled. "What are you doing?"

Liam moved down. "Taking care of my father-in-law," he growled. "What did you think you were doing, throwing a man in for a little thing like a tax?" His tone was so hostle that the guard was a little off-put and started to stammar an explanation. Liam glanced back at Pearl for support, knowing she would go with the story. The old man apparently was slightly deaf, because he hadn't reacted.

Pearl touched the man's shoulder gently. She spun around with that fearsome look on her face again. "Do you have any idea what it's like to come to visit your father and find out that he's been thrown in the stocks? That people have been throwing food at him?" she asked them vehemently. She felt a twinge in her heart, that leant to the believeability of the story, at refering to this man as her father. "Have you come to let him out?" she demanded.

"Why... uh... well..." the leader blubbered. "He hasn't paid his taxes..." Liam growled, crossing his arms over his chest. "But yes. He's... yes. Yes." He waved one of the others up, and he climbed up onto the platform. He nodded to Pearl, and then hurried to unlock the stocks.

"But..." the old man protested, confused. These weren't his children, why were they saying so...?

"No arguement, Pap," Liam said gently, walking back to the platform and looking up at the old man. "We'll take care of everything now." Liam returned to glowering at the guard. "How much does he owe?" he demanded hotly. The guard stammared a figure, and Liam pulled out the silver to pay him.

Pearl glared at the guard until he unlocked the stocks, and then helped "her father" to stand up. "Let me help you, dad," she said, feeling that sad part of her showing on her face again. She slipped an arm around him to help support him. Then she glowered at the other guards. "You should be ashamed of yourselves!" she told them. She looked at the old man again with concern.

He looked up at her in amazement, finally understanding what they were doing. "It's all right," he murmured at the woman, though he was grateful for her arm and her concern. The guards, sensing they had an exit, nearly fled the scene, and Liam moved up.

"How are yer legs, 'Pap'?" he asked with a mischevious tone to his voice.

"You two shouldn't get involved with a bum like me," he said softly, though his legs were shaking badly enough that he had to accept Liam's arm when he moved over to help Pearl with him.

Pearl shook her head. "Nonsense," she said. She glanced at Liam and smiled a bit. "We know what it's like," she said truthfully. "Though we didn't get food thrown at us last time." Her face clearly showed what she thought of that. She smiled at the old man. "And I tell you what else," she said, "We were on our way to lunch. How would you like to join us at the tavern?"

"I couldn't," the old man protested. "You saved me from the rabble, paid my tax bill... I couldn't possibly..."

Liam shook his head. "Of course yeh can. In fact, we insist. And since we're the ones holdin' yeh up, I wouldn't refuse, if I was yeh." He smiled. "I'm sure a pint of summat with a kick would take the stiffness outta them ol' bones of yers..." he suggested.

The old man's lip twitched, and he smiled finally. "You two are more caring than my own children," he noted, but then shook his head. "I don't even know yer names. I'm Roger."

"Liam."

"Pearl," she replied, with a smile. She would've said she was sure his children would've done the same thing, but she wasn't, so she didn't.

Roger smiled, and nodded, letting them lead him away from the stocks. His own children were the reason he was up there--always taking what little money he could scrounge up. His legs ached, but the movement was helping. "Where are you eating?" he asked.

Liam looked over. "Do yer legs hurt? Would yeh like to sit somewhere?" he asked.

Roger shook his head. "I'll be fine," he said, though his lips were rather tight.

Pearl noticed this. She sighed and shook her head. Men she thought. "Well, I would like to sit down. I've been on my poor feet all day long selling soap, and buying clothes for that exasperating man over there," she said, though her feet were fine and she liked Liam--even though he was exasperating. She smiled at Liam to show him she was teasing, though it wasn't the first time she'd called him exasperating. "So I would like to sit down over there on that bench, if you don't mind," she said, in mock-irritation.

Liam nodded, and helped the old man over, sitting down and helping the other to sit. "Now that's better," he said with a sigh. He wasn't really tired, but that napsack with all it's money inside weighed a ton. "Feel better?" he asked.

Roger nodded, his breathing starting to slow a bit. "Much," he agreed, coughing a bit.

Pearl removed her arms and made a show of rubbing her legs a little, but they really were fine.

It was about this time that a certain dowager was exiting a store. She had a basket of fruit, and a few other odds and ends, on her arm. Her observant eyes were flicking around for anything interesting, with which to gossip about to her girl friends. It was then that she spotted Pearl, and that nice man Liam who was too good for such a scandalous girl sitting with an older man. A handsome one at that. She reached up and patted her hair, making sure it was alright, and then approached them. She waved. She also smiled, but it wasn't a very attractive one. "Liam," she gushed. She glanced over. "Pearl," she acknowledged with disdain. "I heard your soap sold very well today," she said.

"That it did," Liam replied, reaching into his napsack and pulling out the ball he had saved for the old lady. "But not well enough that I'd forget ta give yeh that what I promised," he said, holding the ball up to her.

Roger looked up, and his jaw dropped ever so slightly. She was old, mind, but still quite a pretty lady. "Ma'am," he said politely, touching his forehead even though he was too poor to have a cap to tip.

Pernelle took the soap and tucked it away in the basket. "I wouldn't expect you to," she said, putting the slightest emphasis on the word 'you.' She then turned her full attention to the handsome fellow in front of her and smiled, a more attractive smile (at least for him). She inclined her head.

Pearl watched this, and barely managed to keep a look of disgust from completely appearing on her face. Her lip curled slightly though. Then her face cleared and she smiled, she had an idea. "This is my neighbor, the Dowager Pernelle," Pearl explained to Rodger suggestively, raising her eyebrows encouragingly.

"I'm Roger," the old man provided, still staring at her.

Liam glanced over at Pearl, and then smiled. "Yeh know," he began thoughtfully. Wouldn't it be fun if the two of them managed to hook up. "Pernelle darlin', do yeh think yeh might join Roger here an' us for a bit of summat fer lunch?" he suggested. "We were headin' over ta the tavern, though I must say, their cookin' is nothin' compared ta yer own. Why, what was it yeh were cookin' yesterday when I happened by? It smelled absolutely delicious. Yeh should have smelled it, Roger," Liam continued. "This lady here can cook, boy howdy can she cook..."

Roger didn't take his eyes off the beauty standin' in front of him. "That so?" he said shyly. "You know, I haven't had a good home-cooked meal since my wife died ten years ago..."

Pearl grinned, and quickly reduced it to a smaller smile, not that either of these two love birds would notice. Realizing that, she beamed at Liam for his contribution. Pernelle would be dying to know how he knew them, and she knew he would insist that Pearl was a wonderful girl.

Pernelle smiled again. "Why, thank you, Sonny," she said. She was staring back at Roger. "I'm sorry to hear that," she wasn't. "You know, I haven't had anyone to cook for besides myself in a long time. I was acutally headed back home. I just came to buy a few groceries," she was rambling, "I was planning on making some stew... Stew goes a long way toward feeding two people if you want to join me for lunch..." There was the faintest blush creeping into her cheeks. She was starting to feel like a young girl again. But she knew it was up to her to offer the invitation.

"Why, I couldn't think of anything better in the world," Roger said, getting to his feet without assistance. He looked down at Pearl and Liam. "Thank you both for what you've done. I'd be well blessed to have children as loving as you."

Liam smiled at him. "Don't yeh mention it at all," Liam replied, grinning up at him. "But yeh two behave, mind," he scolded. "Wouldn't want the whole town ta be up gossipin'."

At that, Roger leered secretively at Liam for just a moment, but then put on a gentleman's smile as he offered his arm to Pernelle. "May I take your basket?" he asked as he prepared to lead her away.

Pernelle smiled when he accepted her offer. She gave Liam a look that Pearl interpreted as 'They wouldn't dare gossip about me' and smiled at Roger. "That's very kind of you," she said, giving him her basket. She took his arm and looked over her shoulder. "We'll se you two later," she said.
She looked at Roger. "So how is it you know Pearl and Liam?" she inquired, never one to let a good bit of gossip go buy, even though she was now involved in it.

Pearl had moved to Liam's side. She'd missed Roger's look, but she'd caught Pernelle's. "Well, that went well," she said with a smile, looking rather triumphant. "You're quite a good matchmaker, Liam," she said, patting him on the shoulder.

He perked up for a moment, grinning. "Ain't I, though?" he said lightly, and then slouched back on the bench. "So, lunch?" he suggested. "Since we seem to have lost our third wheel?" He said this soft, so the departing couple couldn't hear.

"Oh, they're the best of people," Roger said, and then launched into a vivid retelling of the morning's events, emphasizing the heroism and nobility of the actions of Liam and Pearl as they headed to Pernelle's home.

Pearl sat down too. She listened until she couldn't hear anymore. She wanted to make sure things were going to get better for her with Pernelle, not worse. But she was pleased. She nodded at Liam's question. "Yeah," she said. "One delay after another." She looked at the napsack. She could probably carry it, but not for very long at all. "Next time, I'll bring a bag too and we can split up the money so you don't have to carry it all," she said.

Liam shook his head. "It ain't that heavy," he replied, not able to add that he normally toted around a bag filled with silver and gold that was a lot heavier than that one. He leaned over, resting his head on her shoulder. "Funny, it's barely noon and already I want to sleep." Head still on her shoulder, he looked up at her, smiling. "Maybe some food'll perk me up a bit, eh?" he suggested. He stood back up, re-shouldered the bag, and offered a hand down to Pearl. "Let's find some food," he suggested.

Pearl nodded about the bag. "Okay," she said. She let him put his shoulder on her and realized she was kind of tired to. But the innuendo behind his words did not escape her. She felt her stomach lurch. And suddenly she was even more determined to get some food. She took his hand and let him help her up. "Yes, let's do that," she said with a smile.

Liam wandered towards the place where they had eaten the night before with Jade, and they sat at a booth in the back. Pearl's leg brushed his as they sat, and he bit his tounge. Her touch felt like a static shock. He ordered his usual ale and a special, and then stared over the table at Pearl. "Sellin' that soap should keep us financially fine for a while, at least until one of us finds a steady job," he noted, taking a sip of the ale when it arrived and then licking the foam off his lips, making him remember that he'd forgotten to shave that morning.

Pearl nodded and laughed quietly. "Yeah," she said. "That's the hard part." She sipped from her mug as well, trying to distract herself. Her thoughts had fully diverted to two things. Nourishment for their stomachs... and later at her house with no one else at home. She tried to look at him without staring. He really did look nice in that color, it brought out the color in his eyes. The gray in his hair was noticable, but it wasn't something that bothered her. She sipped from her glass again and tried to look like she was thinking about lunch.

Liam knew she wasn't, though, because he wasn't either. He took another swallow, let it tingle on his tongue for a moment, and then swallowed it. "Yeh know, not having Jade around, we could go out to the countryside," he recommended. "It's a beautiful day. Perfect for a nap in the sunshine." He felt neutral about this suggestion--inside or out didn't make any difference to him. He wanted to find a way, though, to approach the topic they were both thinking about without coming right out and saying it. The food arrived, but Liam found that his appetite had waned since he arrived. He ate anyway.

She nodded slowly. "It is," she agreed, looking at him again. She looked away a second after he caught her and started eating. She ate a bit more naturally than he did. "Artemis said she wouldn't mind keeping Jade until tomorrow," she said casually, glancing at him sidelong.

"That's a lot of time alone," he replied evenly, though his heart started hammering. "I can think of a few ways to spend it." He continued to eat, though he was growing too excited. Calm down, ol' boy. You're the one that chickened out last time and was so grateful Jade interrupted. Keep your head, now. "Do yeh have any plans? Any specific things yeh want to get done?" he asked levelly, glancing up at her and realizing yet again how pretty she was. There was a strand of inky black hair that fell down in front of her eyes, and he let himself reach over the small table and push it back to join the rest of the curly throng. His fingertip brushed her forehead lightly, and he smiled, but then suddenly looked nervous. "Yeh had a hair in yer face," he explained, and then hastily took a sip of ale.

Pearl was watching him. She nodded, wishing they could transport themselves elsewhere. "It tends to do that," she said with a smile, and a light laugh. "It's annoying most of the time," she said. She wanted to scoot her chair a little closer but she couldn't work out how he'd react to it. So she purposefully brushed his arm with hers as she picked up her mug and drank from it. She wanted to encourage him. She didn't like the egg-shell walking they'd been doing lately. He'd slept in her bed the night before, and he'd flirted and kissed her in the morning. But the awkwardness had resumed since then. Her heart was pounding. It was bringing a flush to her cheeks that had nothing to do with embarrassment.

"I think it's beautiful, just like the rest of yeh," he replied, feeling her encouragement, and reaching over to take her hand, holding it gently in her own. "Yeh are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," he murmured, rubbing his rough thumb over her comparitively softer fingers. He looked down at his half-eaten meal, not wanting to finish it. He had another appetite that wanted fulfilling. He pushed his plate aside and took another sip of the ale, watching her.

Pearl felt a rush of heat filling her body. She squeezed his hand, to make sure he wasn't going to pull it away. She was staring at him now, and she wondered if her heart was as loud to him as it was to her. "And I think Artemis's comment was an understatement," she said truthfully. She slid her plate away as well, but she didn't look away from him.

Liam blushed then, and tore his eyes from her. "Let's get out of here," he suggested, fishing into his purse for a handful of silver to leave on the table.

Pearl stood up, and dragged him up with her. She wanted to yank him out the door, and find a dark alley for them somewhere, since this place didn't have an inn attatched to it. But that wasn't very romantic and she really liked Liam. Besides, she didn't have many memories like this that she could think back on fondly. She wanted this to matter. So she let him put down the silver and pick up the bag. She held his hand out the door.

Liam felt a boost of confidence that she seemed as anxious as he was, and he freed his hand so he could put an arm around her waist as they walked.

She let him do so and leaned on him slightly, looking up at him.

His nostrils were filled with the sweet smell of her hair, and he quickened his step. He thought about heading back for her house, but they were on the other side of town, and the rolling, grassy hills were closer. "Let's go this way," he recommended. It would have been better if they'd had a blanket, but Liam figured that between his shirt and Pearl's skirt, they would manage just fine. Liam took them out, away from any road, and down around the hills. He scouted the area like he would scout houses to steal from, only this was more urgent and personal. He only kept them walking for a short ways, but then stopped in an isolated valley that was padded with thick, fragrant heather. He stopped then and looked at her. "I am goin' ta kiss yeh," he warned, and then swept her up in a passionate embrace.



Be warned: Got some PG-13 stuff here...

Liam gave a happy sigh, keeping his eyes closed to protect them from the sun. The sun and wind had dried most of the sweat from him, though he wasn't cold. Pearl was curled up next to him, either asleep or dozing, her head pillowed by his arm. He glanced down at her spendid form, his eyes being drawn to the beautiful swirl of color he'd discovered on the right side of her stomach. He'd met one or two women with tattoos, but never one so beautiful, showing the amazing eye at the top of a peacock's feather, and trailing down a ways with whispy tendrils from the main stalk of the feather. Smiling again, he reached over with his other hand, trailing a finger over the lovely tattoo, tracing the finely inked lines.

Pearl had always been a light sleeper, and rarely did she slip into any kind of deeper trance. His gentle carressing caused her to stir. She opened her eyes slowly and looked up at him, and smiled in a beautiful, sleepy way. She wondered what he thought of the tattoo he was tracing on her stomach, it had proved to be a distraction at first, which slightly bothered her, but if it gave him another excuse to touch her... She leaned her head on his chest again and looked up at him still, and sighed peacefully.

Liam smiled, kissing her forehead. "How do yeh feel?" he asked, still rubbing her belly lightly. He was ever the gentleman, and was genuinely concerned. He'd been a little rougher than he'd intended, mainly because Pearl excited him so, and he wanted to know if she felt as wonderful as he did. It was absolutely splendid to lie there, naked in the sunlight like this. He never wanted it to end.

Pearl grinned at him and caught his lips in a kiss. "Wonderful," she said, her eyes filled with pleasure. He may've been rough with her, but she'd had a hard time controlling herself as well. She had been cautious since having Jade, and it only made her more lustful. She was euphorically pleased, and she never wanted this to end either.

He smiled, and bent to accept her kiss, relieved. He smiled, gently pushing on her hip to reveal all of the tattoo. "Is there a story behind this?" he asked, running a finger down the length of it. "I was going to ask earlier, but..." he grinned mischeviously. "Had other thin's on me mind."

Pearl laughed quietly. She looked down at it and ran her fingers across it as if she could feel the texture of it, as she thought about what to say. "Have you ever seen a peacock?" she asked him, looking for an answer in his face. "I saw one once, on some great lord's property. He imported it. And I've seen tapestries with them in it. Their tails are full of these feathers. They raise them up, and spread them out like a fan, and strut around to attract mates," she lifted a brow at him suggestively. Then she went on, "They're so beautiful it's easy to forget that they're birds at all. And they are very proud... My family used to joke with me, and say I was 'as proud as a peacock,' when I was younger," she was blushing now, "So went I got older and learned about tattoos I found someone to do it and picked something from my childhood. I could've gotten a sword, right now I'm thinking I should've." She seemed a little embarrassed. "But I like how it turned out," she said.

He smiled. "I love it," he said honestly, and then sat up to bend over her, placing a kiss on the eye of the feather. Since he was already up, he shifted around to rest his head on her stomach, curled happily on his side facing her head, though he could only see her breasts, which wasn't a bad view. "I was thinkin' about gettin' m'self a naked lady just here," he teased, lifting up his arm so she could see and pointing to his biceps. "I met a man once what could make his tatt jiggle her jugs if he flexed it just so." He laughed a little, wishing he could see her expression. "Yeh think I could get yeh ta model for me?"

Pearl smiled. She let him look at second from his angle and then propped herself up on her elbows and raised her eyebrows at him and smirked. "Hmm... And who are you going to get to draw me, that you wouldn't mind seeing me like that. Hm?" she inquired.

"Oh, I'm sure we c'n find someone," he said, resisting the urge to reach up and play. "I think he should draw yeh from this angle. Quite a lovely view," he teased, smiling up at her, looking around her breasts to see her face. "Makes me a bit hungry, though," he noted, knowing he was asking for it now.

Pearl shook her head, pulling her legs out from under him. She shoved him lightly at his last comment. But she wasn't mad. She moved on top of him and kissed him quickly, running a hand through his hair. "I'm afraid no one gets to see the goods but you for now," she said decisively.

He ran his hands down her sides, resting them lightly on her buttocks. "I mus' admit, I ain't got no problem with that," he said, staring up at her. "Though yeh should be careful sittin' up there, Featha'. Somethin' unexpected might' arise..." he teased, happy to have found a nickname specially for her.

Pearl's eyebrows shot up at the placement of his hands. Then a devilish thought occured to her. "Featha', huh?" she asked, as she started tickling him.

Liam gave a terribly unmanly squeal, trying to curl up, though she was sitting on his hips. He laughed a bit painfully from the broken rib, but that didn't keep him from squirming around, and then trying to grab her hands to keep them away from his sides. He'd always been awfully ticklish, and he finally managed to snag one of her hands. "Quit!" he yelled at her playfully, staring up at her with a pouting expression.

She fought him for a second, but she wasn't determined. She quit tickling him and smiled. "You made that too much fun," she warned. She moved off of him, glancing down at him as she did and smirking. But then she looked up and noticed that the sun was setting. "Oh," she murmured, her face softening as she settled next to him. "Turn around," she said, seeing that the sun was setting.

He turned, slightly disappointed that Pearl got off, but the sunset was worth it. The sky awash with deep reds fading into violet. Low-lying clouds were glowing orange, and as they watched, a flock of black birds passed, silhouetted by the sun. "It's lovely," he said, putting an arm around her. "Though not as lovely as yeh." He reached up, toying with her beautiful hair, letting it slide between his fingers. He picked out a blade of grass out of the ebony cascade, and then swept it to the side, kissing her shoulder. "Can we just stay here, like this, forever?" he asked quietly, hugging her a little as he buried his face in her hair. "I don't want this day ta end."

Pearl looked out at the sunset for a long moment, her lips parted slightly, feeling herself swelling with happiness again. This was perfect. She looked over at her shoulder at him. She leaned her head on his, feeling him clinging to her slightly, and felt a little sad at the thought of it ending. "Yes," she said quietly, though she knew it would end eventually. "I don't want it to end either."

He shifted a bit so he was sitting nearly completely behind her, wrapping her up in both arms, crossing them over her chest. "How about we stay here until parts of us freeze off then?" he suggested playfully, hugging her close. "I'm sure we'll find some way ta stay warm..." He pulled her back as he fell to the ground again, pinning her to his chest. "Won't let yeh up. We've got ta stay here until the guards come and throw us in the stocks again," he teased.

"Oof," she murmured. "Hopefully we won't get thrown in there like this," she said. She tried to twist around, but he really wasn't going to let her up. "Yes," she agreed, "I'm sure we can find someway to keep warm." She glanced at him from the corner of her eye.

He smiled, but at that moment, a cool breeze cut across them, and he shivered. "Okay, maybe not," he said, letting her up and rolling to his other side. "The cold and me don't agree. Do yeh see me knickers?" he asked. With the fading light, it was a little tricky to see their clothing, hidden among the heather as it was. He found her breast-band first and held it up. "Here we are," he said, pretending to try to put it on.

Pearl got to her feet and found her underwear first (bloomers or whatever >_O) and then noticed Liam and went over and snatched the band from him. She put it on and stretched exaggeratedly. She turned and looked for the rest of her clothes, and found his beautiful new shirt and her dress. She picked up both and walked back over and gave him the shirt.

He took the dress from her instead. "Aw, thank yeh," he teased, but then gave it back to her and kissed her cheek. "Bad night vision, remember?" he said, grabbing his shirt and pulling it over his head with a shower of leaves and grass. He shook them out of his shirt and moved over, picking his dark colored pants out of the gloomy undergrowth with no trouble at all, though he did worry just a bit as he bent down in front of her, showing his stark white rump. After all, it wasn't his fault that that part of him never tanned. It wasn't like he normally laid in the sun without clothes. There was actually a pretty good line where his pants met his back, above it being quite tan and below it quite white.

Pearl started pulling on her dress, as she walked up to him. She slipped her arm through and gave him a slap on his rear as she passed, along with a mischevious smile. Then she stuck her other arm through and shook out the leaves as well, plucking a few out of the folds of the fabric. She fumbled with the strings at the back of the dress.

Liam jumped a bit, turning to glare at her. He looked at the dress, wondering how she had ever gotten into that thing on her own to start with. "Here," he said, walking over once he'd gotten into his pants. He gently pushed her hair to the front, and then took up the laces, weaving them in and out of their holes with surprising ease, though he didn't bother to pull them very tight. Pearl was thin and pretty enough as it was. He finished, and then placed his hands on her shoulders, kissing the back of her neck where the hair was out of the way. "I love yeh," he whispered softly, surprising himself with words he had never said before to a woman, ever. It wasn't the sort of thing he normally would say, but he found that he meant it with nearly painful intensity. Thankfully, his blushing confusion was safe from her eyes as he stood behind her, nuzzling into her neck and kissing her there, just below her ear.

She let him tie the strings and reached up to run her fingers through the hair he pushed over her shoulder. She paused at his words, and wondered stupidly if she'd heard that right. She worked through a knot in her hair as she thought quickly, and felt him kissing her. He liked that spot, she did too. She turned and looked up into his face, wishing she could see it better. Her heart swelled with the same emotions, but she wasn't sure she could say it yet. She put her arms around his shoulders and and hugged him tight. Then she pulled her head back a little and rested her cheek on his, as if she might whisper back to him. Then she caught his earlobe in her teeth and tugged it gently, playfully.

Liam growled softly, taking her up and holding her tighter, feeling his blood heat again. "Featha,' yeh better stop that," he warned, "Yeh just got them clothes back on, after all." He didn't pull away from her though, a shiver coursing through him.

Pearl withdrew, but she gave him a 'peck' on the cheek, as she pulled away. "You have a point," she said. And then covered his face with quick kisses, pulling away from him slightly to do it. When she stopped she was smiling. She looked around, and sobered. "Guess we better be getting back," she said kind of sadly. Then she smiled again. "But it's not like we've got different beds to go to."

He nodded. "So true," he agreed. "An' yeh did say Jade was stayin' the night with Artemis?" he noted, his tone somewhat mischevious, but not overly so. He didn't want to push her too far. Actually, his thoughts centered on sitting in front of a fire, snuggled up, maybe reading together or just enjoying the company. He sat down to put his boots on, and in just those brief moments away, he felt the absence of her touch. Admittedly, he was a touchy-feely type of fellow, but the want for physical contact had never been this strong. "Jus' not touchin' yeh, I feel like a part of me is missin'," he noted softly, standing again and immediately moving to take her arm, lacing his rough, broad fingers through her softer, thinner ones as he reached down with his other hand, scooping up the napsack again.

Pearl took the moment to put on her shoes as well. She didn't mind walking barefoot out here but she didn't want to step on anything (or in anything) once they got back into town. "Yes," Pearl said, matching his tone, "And I'll have to thank her profusely for it." She squeezed his hand when he took hers, and leaned on him again as they walked. "What did you have in mind?" she asked, her face turned up, looking at him.

He smiled, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "I got no plans," he told her, his smile quiet and only slightly suggesting as they continued back towards town. "Just as long as we're together." The napsack seemed to have gained weight since he last put it down. "We could count yer money and think of ways to spend it," he suggested, reaching up with one hand to rub his neck. "I could clean out yer firebox, make a nice, glowing fire and cuddle in front of it." A thought stuck him. "Could take the last of that flower oil and give yeh a proper massage."

A smile for second comment, she wanted to be together with him too; a less happy smile for the money comment, they could do that any time; a nice smile for the fire idea; and a longing expression for the last idea. "A massage sounds nice," she said. "If that's really how you want to do this evening..." It would give him an excuse to keep touching her, but cuddling would keep them close, and she already felt relaxed. After thinking those thoughts she said, "But I already feel relaxed. I like the idea of sitting by the fire... We could put some blankets down, and sleep right there, if it won't hurt your back too much," she said, nudging him a little. She laid her head on his arm/shoulder, depending on his height.

Liam stopped walking then, turning and taking her jaw in both hands, urging her lips apart with his tongue and kissing her deeply and passionately, his fingers twisting carefully through her hair. When he pulled away after a long moment, he was panting slightly, and he smiled. "Yeh should know, Featha, that when I'm with yeh, I don't feel any pain." He took her hand again, and started back for town, though his knees felt a little wobbly. That was just excitement, though, and he smiled at the man on the wagon that passed them as they walked back onto the road.

The older man looked at Liam, who smiled back jauntily, and then shook his head. "Too old for that..." a muttered reply trailed after the man and Liam couldn't help snickering a little.

Pearl put her arms around his shoulders to pull herself closer as they kissed. She looked away when they broke apart, panting as well, but quickly looked back at him and smiled too. For a second she looked like she might want to do that again, but she smiled at his words and nodded, and walked back with him. Pearl smiled at the man and the mutter too as they passed. She knew they must be glowing--she knew she was--so much so that it was a wonder it was dark around them at all. This was something she would remember. And it wasn't over!

Liam nearly felt like skipping home, and he didn't mind at all that they were getting a few looks as the road became more crowded and they neared town. Liam looked thoughtfully at the market vendors that were packing up. "Let's find something quick and easy for dinner while we're out," he suggested, heading towards a seller with dried meat, bread, and bottles of whisky. He laughed, pointing to the selection. "Everythin' the body needs," he said lightly, squeezing her hand.

Pearl wouldn't have minded skipping home with him, and she didn't care about the looks they were getting either. She still felt like she was floating. But her hunger was a tether to the Earthly world. "Good thinking," she replied. She nodded at the vendor, enthusiastically. They hadn't had much of a lunch, she was starving.

Liam reached into his purse, not about to mention the fact that he'd paid for lunch, and pulled out some silver, happy he was made of money. He pointed at a sweetbread, and the dried meat, and then lifted a bottle. "Mind if I sample?" he asked, and when the vendor shrugged, he took a swig. It was actually rather good, so he picked up two of those as well. "Anything else?" he asked Pearl. "We still have pears at the house..."

Her eyes lit at that. "That's true," she said. "But just a few, me and Jade were eating them." She looked around at what wasn't packed up and shook her head and smiled at the vendor. "Thanks," she said. The vendor gave them something to carry everything in, except the easily-breakable bottles, and Pearl accepted it and one of the bottles, since Liam had the heavy napsack to worry about and the other bottle.

He slid the bottle into the already quite-full napsack and handed the man his money. "Home then?" he suggested, sliding an arm around her waist as they walked. A thought struck him, and he snickered. "Do yeh think Roger and the Dowager are still at it?" he asked. "Takes longer for older folks, yeh know..." he said lightly. "We could peek in her windows..."

Pearl gasped and her mouth dropped. "Liam!" she said. "I do not want to think about Pernelle doing that!" She shoved him slightly. "I'm never going to get that image out of my head!" she said mournfully. Though it vaguely registered in her brain that it would be very good blackmail if Roger was still there, or a least a very good discouragement for Pernelle towards gossiping about her!

Liam raised his eyebrows. "Aw, now..." he teased. "Yeh shouldn't be selfish, Featha. I mean, don't yeh want Pernelle ta be happy? If she gets a little action herself, she might leave yeh alone a bit," he suggested, echoing her thought. He leaned over, nibbling at her ear. "At least they won't hear us," he whispered suggestively, licking her. He hoped she'd never return the favor. While being bitten was a thing to itself, wetness plus ears gave him the willies and normally resulted in unmanly squealing.

Pearl still had a disgusted look on her face. But the nibbling was distracting, her face smoothed out. She shivered. "Oohhh, you're going have to stop doing that," she said, "or we might not get through dinner."

"I think I can find some things to nibble on," he said softly, though he did back away once the house was in sight. The Dowager was nowhere to be seen, and Liam let go of Pearl so she could unlock the door. "I'll tend to the firebox," he offered, setting the heavy bag on the table. "Though I think I should take this off," he noted, stripping out of his new shirt. "No sense in getting it dirty the first day I own it, right?" He took the ash pail and went into the other room to clean out the box, whistling merrily.

Pearl bit her lip at that comment. She watched him walk away. Then she set down the groceries and the bottle and unlocked the door and went inside. She set the things down again on the table and started going through them, she also got the pears and brought them to the table. She started snacking on what she could, and leaned against a wall. "Amazing," she murmured to herself. "He is amazing." She wished she'd met him years ago.

Liam cleaned out the firebox, then went to fetch some fresh wood, and struck up a fire without undue difficulty; he still had a few practical skills after all. Then he walked back into the kitchen. "Should warm up for yeh in a few minutes," he reported, tearing into a loaf of the sweetbread, though he didn't move to put his shirt back on. He sat at the table, watching her, leaning over against the wall. He was entranced again by her easy grace. One wouldn't think that leaning against a wall could be done well--or poorly, for that matter--but Pearl made it look terribly sexy. He blew out a long breath that was almost, but not quite a sigh. Maybe a fire wasn't such a good idea... it already felt a bit warm in here. His shoulder twinged again, and he reached up, rubbing it as he worked his arm in a circle. Vaguely, he could remember a time when various parts of his body hadn't ached with age, but those times seemed a long while ago.

Pearl's eyes had opened when he came in, and she'd been casually watching him, feeling her body's response to his presence. She saw him rubbing his shoulder and frowned slightly. She walked behind him and gently rested her arms around him. She leaned forward so she could see his face. "How about I give you a massage?" she offered. "You might have to tell me what to do though," she said, pulling back. She frowned slightly at the scars on his back, they were small, and criss-crossed like... She shook her head slightly and refrained from tracing the scars with her fingers. "Sound good?" she inquired instead.

"Sounds wonderful," he said, lowering his chin to kiss her arm and then standing. "Other room," he noted, and then grabbed the blankets that had been piled on a chair and tossed them out. Then he dropped to his knees and lowered himself down to his stomach with a grunt and a sigh. He rested his arms at his sides, and then said. "Just go ahead and sit on me arse, and think of it like kneeding bread, only less violent," he instructed, letting his eyes drift closed.

Pearl nodded, she knew massages could be a terrible relief, and she wanted to help him out. Kneading bread wasn't the best example for such a non-cook as her, but she knew what he meant. She hiked up her dress and sat on him lightly, her knees on either side of his body, and put her hands on his back. She resisted the temptation to turn this into anything more than a massage and started working on the muscles in his back. She didn't have the muscle mass she used to have--since having Jade she'd stopped working out as much and muscle had been replaced by fat (but just a little fat)--but if he needed her to press harder in certain spots she would still be able to.

Liam moaned gratefully. Sure, she wasn't experienced at this sort of thing, but he didn't care at all. "Push harder lower," he directed, and then moaned as some of his vertebrea popped back into place. "Laud, that feels incredible," he told her. "Fists on either side of the backbone and just press firmly." More bones cracked at that, and he could feel his whole body relaxing. It was a little awkward for her to be sitting on his rear and pressing him firmly into the floor, but he could ignore that discomfort. "Could you scratch, just there? A little up, to the side... ahh..." His back arched like a cat's and if he could purr, he would have.

Pearl smiled a little. She kept wondering about the scars on his back and decided to ask about them. She'd known very few people without scars in her lifetime, and she'd seen some similar to this before too. The criss-crossing, and the thinness, they had to be whip-scars. She had been locked in the stocks before a few days ago, and she'd been locked in a cell once or twice for a night as well, but (excluding the scar on her own back) she'd never really gotten in much trouble due to her lifestyle, she'd certainly never been whipped. She'd gotten off easy, her parents died because of becoming rebels, and their reasons were more honorable than her own. "Liam," she said questioningly, "How'd you get these scars?" She didn't stop massaging him as she asked, she could multi-task.

"Hmm?" he asked, glancing back. "Oh." He went quiet for a moment. "Well... I... That is..." he said, his voice very serious. "It's kinda hard to talk about..." He sighed then, feeling the snorting laugher trying to build up inside him, but he swallowed it down, doing his damnedest to appear serious. "You see, in my hometown, we had this priest. Mean bastard. Cruel. Thought smackin' the bum with a cane was a good way ta save a lad's soul." He took a deep breath. "So one day... me an' me brother Sean, we snuck inta the chapel an'... See, he had these fancy clothes what he only wore durin' Mass. Well, me an' Sean put fleas in his fancy robe box, so when he was leadin' the Aves... well..." The laughter bubbled up then, and he didn't bother to hide it. "Pap found out, naturally, an' told us that doin' some such weren't the way fer good Christian boys ta act, so he handed us over ta the guards fer assult on the Priest. He had us flogged in the town square."

Pearl may've been able to multi-task but her hands still slowed down as she listened, and paused. And then she laughed with him. It was those kinds of things that made her wish she'd had siblings, though the punishment didn't sound too fun of course. She touched the scars lightly with her fingertips. "Figured," she said quietly. She started rubbing him again, realizing she'd stopped. She was smiling to herself.

"Well, yeah, the gettin' flogged part weren't much fun, but it was great afterwards. We were the heroes of the kid's in town. 'The Dempsey brothers what have one more Stigmata than the Priest!'" he laughed again, but then fell silent. "I miss Sean," he admitted. "We were closest in age--less than a year. Grew up raisin' hell tagether." He smiled sadly. "Dem good times."

"What happened to him?" she asked cautiously. "Did he move away or..." She let the rest of that sentence trail away, starting to rub his back in circles.

"Nah, he stayed home," he replied. "We had a bit of a fallin' out, ten-twelve years back. Said some thin's we prolly shouldn't have," he sighed, though he didn't really care to elaborate, moaning again. "Dem, Pearl, yer really good at that," he told her, his eyelids feeling a bit heavy as his body relaxed wonderfully. "Yeh might put me ta sleep, though..." he warned.

Pearl nodded and took in this information. Seemed almost strange to her that he still had a family that was alive. Artemis didn't even have family, though she did have a distant aunt. She hesitated in her massaging at his words. "It'd be alright for you to sleep," she said in a soothing voice. She wouldn't mind going to sleep too, but she wanted to cuddle next to him tonight, and she was pretty determined to eat first. But she waited for his response.

He smiled, and then rolled very carefully over beneath her so he could look up at her. He took her hands, placing them flat on his chest. "I want to do whatever you want me to do," he told her with a smile. "I want to make you happy." And I want to do it for the rest of our lives... he thought, but chose not to add, remembering how she had responded when he had blurted out his affections earlier.

A big smile for that. She slid her hands up to his shoulders and kissed him. "It's easy for you to do that," she said. "And I'm glad I could help you with your back." After a moment she said, "Let's eat," and pulled him to his feet along with her.

"Food it is then," he agreed, standing. His back did feel much better, and he followed her to the table, taking up the dried meat and sitting, gnawing at it. It was dry, but not too bad. "Hmm," he said, moving to stand back up. "Want something to drink?" he asked, moving into the kitchen. He was thinking of water, or maybe a tea... they could break into the whisky later. His head itched, and he reached up, knocking another thin grass leaf from his hair. "Sweet heavens," he muttered, looking at it. "Going ta be pickin' leaves outta me for a week..."

Pearl laughed. "I think I am too," she said, though there were only tiny particles left in her hair. "Anything would be fine to drink," she said. God, she was starving. She took some of the meat for herself and started eating it as well. Next time I'm going to make myself eat lunch she thought.

He nodded to her, filling a second glass full of water and taking it back to her. "Hungry?" he asked, seeing that she had a pretty good appetite. He sat beside her, very intentionally bumping her leg, and then resting his against hers. This way, he could still touch her while shovelling food into his face with both hands. He let the coversation dwindle as they ate. Food was important, after all, and physical exertion did take a surprising amount of energy. A thought struck him, and he sucked a tooth. "I don't suppose yeh have any honey, do yeh?"

Pearl smiled at him when he put his leg by hers. If he hadn't she would've eventually found something similar to do. She looked up from her food and nodded. She swallowed. "It's... over there, somewhere. On the counter. I had it this morning..." She stood up and retrieved it and set it down in front of him, putting her leg up against his again and smiling at him slightly.

He looked at it, and then smiled. "I think I know what we can do for desert..." he suggested with a grin. But first, the rest of the food. He ate his meal and finished off the drink, feeling better that at least one appetite was appeased. "I need to go check the fire in the other room," he told her, taking his glass to the washbin before going over to poke at the firebox and throw another log on. He stood there in front of it, watching the bark catch and send up sparks. He wasn't really thinking of too much, just watching the fire burn. Fire was such a clean thing, such a pure thing. But dangerous too. Rub a stone against steel, and you've created something that can cook your food, warm your home, and kill you, all at once. He was still musing when Pearl walked over.

Pearl sighed as she walked up to him. She'd finished eating and cleaned up a little, though she hadn't bothered to wash what few dishes they'd used or anything. "I think I know where you were going with this," she said, the honey in her hand. She looked at him curiously and poked him in the side. "What are you thinking about?" she asked, looking at the fire with him, lowering the hand with the honey.

He looked over at her, and smiled as he moved to take her up in his arms. "Nothing really," he replied honestly, resting his cheek against the side of her head as he hugged her. He looked down at the honey, and he smirked a little. "Let's let dinner settle a bit before dessert," he suggested, looking over at the couch. He walked that way, finding it a bit too warm that close to the fire, and then he stretched out in a reclining position, holding his arms out for her to join him. It would be a bit snug to fit the two of them on it, but he seemed to intend for it to be that way.

Pearl bit her lip and set the honey down, sucking a drop off her hand where it'd leaked on her, and then licking her lips. She walked over to him and snuggled up with him.

He put an arm around her, staring into the fire again. It was wonderfully quiet for a moment, and he let the silence fall around them like a warm blanket. After a while, that blanket became a little stuffy, though, and he decided to sing again. It was how he passed the time--his family had been quite a musical one, after all.

I know a valley fair, Eileen aroon
I know a cottage there, Eileen aroon
Far in that valley's shade
I knew a gentle maid
Flower of a hazel glade, Eileen aroon

Who in the song, so sweet, Eileen aroon
Who in the dance so fleet, Eileen aroon
Dear are her charms to me
Dearer her laughter free
Dearest her constancy, Eileen aroon

When, like the early rose, Eileen aroon
Beauty in childhood blows; Eileen aroon
When, like a diadem
Buds blush around the stem
Which is the fairest gem? Eileen aroon

Is is the laughing eye, Eileen aroon
Is it the timid sigh, Eileen aroon
Is it the tender tone
Soft as the string'd harp's moan?
Oh! it is truth alone, Eileen aroon

When like the rising day, Eileen aroon
Love sends his early ray, Eileen aroon
What makes his dawning glow
Changeless through joy or woe?
Only the constant know - Eileen aroon

He ended the soft, sweet love song, toying with her hair again.

Pearl listened to him peacefully and smiled. It was not a song she knew, but she liked it all the same. He was wonderful to listen to. She closed her eyes to rest. And when he finished she was smiling. She opened her eyes and peeked up at him. "I love listening to you sing," she said, nodding slightly at her own words.

"Dem, looks like I put yeh ta sleep," he teased, tickling her side lightly. "An' I had such plans fer that honey too..." He kissed her ear, and would have been perfectly content if she said she just wanted to sleep in his arms and do nothing more. Well, maybe not perfectly content, but content enough not to complain. 

Pearl bit back another yawn. "I would've been tired anyway," she said, squirming away from his tickling and then hugging him. She felt stronger now that she'd eaten, and if he wanted to do more, she'd be able to. But she was sleepy... "Let's just," stifling another yawn, "rest for a while," she suggested. "Just a little while," she added quietly.

He hugged her back, letting his eyes drift closed, feeling wonderful. "Sounds like a plan," he replied, not bothering to hide his yawn, since he was behind her line of sight anyway. He let his head turn to rest against hers, and couldn't help but feel himself start to doze. He could feel her heart beat, and without meaning, his breathing had aligned with hers, slipping into the same deep rhythm. His imagination worked overtime, and unsurprisingly, he dreamed of Pearl as she had been that afternoon, shining with sweat and filled with pleasure. It was a happy dozing dream.

Pearl drifted off as well. She fell into a deeper sleep than she was usually reached, one that would leave her feeling more rested when she woke up. Her sleeping mind centered on much of the same thoughts, she had committed this day to her memory. It would be fun to wake up and continue it, but she didn't need to. They would have other chances.



Continues at Pearl and Liam 4.