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Tweak says, "when come back, bring pie!"

Daphne Greengrass (dh_daphne) wrote in darkesthour_rpg,
@ 2008-02-05 18:45:00

Entry tags:

complete, daphne greengrass, draco malfoy, february 2008

RP: Secrets and Lies
Date and Time: 5 February 2008 Evening
Characters: Daphne Greengrass, Draco Malfoy
Private/Public: Private
Location: Malfoy Manor
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Mention of character death, sadness
Summary: Daphne returns to Malfoy Manor.
Completion: Complete

Daphne stepped out of the fireplace a beat before Getty and Linc. She still heard Lionel begging her to stay, but Anne gave him a tearful smile, promising Tante would soon return. Daphne and Anne had reached an agreement, the fruits of which lay in Daphne’s trunk.

The Manor was quiet, but one of Draco’s many butlers entered the grand sitting room as she brushed soot from her lavender robes.

“Ah, Miss Greengrass. You’ve returned.” The butler bowed and Daphne offered him a small smile.

Away from the French authorities and their eternal questions, she was allowed to relax. The butler, a huge man of strict Russian blood, motioned to take her cloak as she unclasped it.

“Is the Ambassador at home?” Daphne questioned, wondering if there had been any word from Marcus.

“I believe he is in one of the wings not yet refurbished.” The man told her carefully. Daphne understood immediately. Draco had only asked her one thing when she moved into the Manor, that she not go exploring on her own. It was simple enough, remaining her in suite, the dining room or the first floor.

“Ah, I see.” Daphne nodded her understanding. “Please inform him that I have returned. I would like to speak with him in regards to my brother’s disappearance.”

“Will you be in your rooms, Miss?” He questioned as Getty and Linc headed for the stairs with her things.

“Yes. And would you please get me a pot of tea?” She asked politely with her most winsome smile. “I fear our trip exhausted my Elves.”

“Right away, Miss.”

Daphne nodded, waiting until he bowed before stepping quickly up the stairs. Her rooms were hers alone, a place where she felt completely at peace. Draco, of course, was always welcome inside, as was Marcus.

Beau, Daphne thought, worrying her lip with her bottom teeth. Where have you gone? What kept you from Marseilles?

The evil voice in the back of her mind persisted. He’d grown bored, tired, had gone off to have fun while she suffered through the endless questions and veiled innuendo. Anne was confident neither she nor Daphne would be held as suspects, but that was no reassurance. Daphne made a mental note to contact her brother’s old attorney this week. There might come a time, of course, when she would need him.

Shrugging out of her robes in the solace of her bedroom, Daphne made her way to the loo. Getty had already run her a bath before retiring to her room with Linc. The poor dear felt guilty that something she’d done might have caused Lynus’ death. Daphne could not soothe her without revealing the truth.

That, of course, was impossible.

Sinking into the rose-scented water – piping hot as she liked it – Daphne laid her head back against the heavy porcelain edge of the tub, letting her hair drape over the side to prevent wetness. She shifted the new wand strapped to her thigh, this one of fine Rowan and her last remaining Mermaid Scales. Having used her beloved Ebony wand at Lynus’ murder, she was forced to destroy it, lest she be caught.

Hearing the outside door that led to her suite open, Daphne reached for the wand now submerged in the rose-scented water, splashing slightly with the sudden movement.

“Dmitry?” Daphne called, fingering her wand. “Draco?”

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dh__draco
2008-02-06 01:01 am UTC (link)

He had smelled the intoxicating scent of Daphne's bath oil as soon as he had stepped through the doors of her quarters. Draco's lips curled up into a slight smile, the image of Daphne's sultry body enveloped in luxurious bubbles.

Of course he could have waited until she had finished soaking in her bath, but Draco's voyeuristic tendencies couldn't allow that. Though, he couldn't very well be a voyeur when the subject is willing to be seen.

As he stepped up to Daphne's bathroom door, he heard the splash of water and two names called out. He knocked gently with two knuckles.

"It's Draco, my dear," he told her, then pushed the door open enough for him to step inside. "I am pleased you made it back home safely."

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dh_daphne
2008-02-06 01:17 am UTC (link)

Daphne waited until she saw his ace before releasing her hold on the wand. She laid back again, smiling invitingly as he stepped into the bathroom.

"Yes, I made it back without a scratch." She indicated for him to come in and close the door. "And with an interesting ally, in fact."

She had no qualms about being completely nude save for rose-oiled bathwater and a smattering of bubbles while Draco stood in the room. He had, after all, known all her physical secrets since she was fifteen. Beside that, the little flare of interest in his gray eyes made her want to preen like a well-fed cat.

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dh__draco
2008-02-06 01:25 am UTC (link)

"I apologize for intruding on your bath. I wanted to make sure you were alright," he reasoned with a small smile.

At Daphne's request, Draco closed the door to the bathroom, his eyebrow arched at her mentioning an ally. "Oh really? My curiosity is piqued. Please do tell," he requested softly.

Taking one of the Egyptian cotton towels from the rack, he draped it over the bathtub's edge and sat halfway on top of it. It gave him the perfect view of Daphne's ample bosom before it disappeared under water.

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dh_daphne
2008-02-06 01:33 am UTC (link)

Daphne waved off the apology. "Its all right and thank you for your concern." She shifted under the water, adjusting her head against the porcelain.

Her brow arched as he admitted to curiosity and said on the edge of the tub. Daphne lifted her knees to scoot up, so she might seem dignified even covered in bubbles.

"Anne," Daphne explained as though amused and confused at the same time. "When I arrived in Marseilles, we answered the questions for the authorities before she drew me off to Lynus' study."

Recalling the incident, Daphne met Draco's eyes, unflinching. "Though I would admit nothing, she told me that she wanted confirmation that her husband was dead. She allowed me to collect all correspondence between my brother and I. It has been destroyed."

Pausing, Daphne tilted her head at her friend, allowing him to see the confusion. "Anne had been planning her own little assassination. She has asked that I keep her secrets as she will keep mine. The benefits are obvious to us both."

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dh__draco
2008-02-06 01:43 am UTC (link)

He mentally sighed in disappointment as Daphne shifted so that her bathwater covered her treasures. No matter - if he wanted to gaze on her naked form it wouldn't take much convincing on his part.

Draco fingered a damp curl near Daphne's forehead as she spoke, his ears taking in every word. "So the wife was clearly tired of her husband and wanted a reprieve. I cannot say that I blame her."

He met Daphne's own eyes. "How do you know she won't betray you?"

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dh_daphne
2008-02-06 01:48 am UTC (link)

Daphne shifted again, this time folding her arms over the edge of the tub and laying her head on them. She listened while Draco spoke, enjoying the rumbling timbre she'd missed while in France.

"Nor do I," Daphne agreed at the assessment. "When Anne married Lynus she was strong and opinionated. He wittled her away to nothing and ensured their children were kept with nurses when she wanted them for herself." Her eyes fluttered closed as Draco's hand brushed her face while he played with a lock of her hair. "I never realized what he was doing to them until I saw the children playing."

Daphne fell quiet, thinking on Draco's words while their gazes locked together. "Fear." Daphne decided. "She knows of you and of Marcus. Should I be betrayed she fears revenge from the two of you. Anne, much to my surprise, is not an idiot."

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dh__draco
2008-02-06 01:58 am UTC (link)

"So he that which you yourself had been subject to under your marriage. The only problem, was that Anne could not defy him out of fear for her children," Draco deduced, then shifted his hands until they were on Daphne's damp shoulders.

His fingers kneaded the soft, supple flesh, massaging out the knots from Daphne's tiring trip.

"You mean to say the children did not play before?" Draco asked. "The poor little dears." He really had no caring for the brats, but he could tell Daphne did.

His thumbs went on either side of her neck, teasing at the cords there with soft pressure. Draco smirked as Daphne bluntly stated that Anne feared him.

"Be as that may, and as flattered that I am, her knowing of myself and Marcus could pose as a problem should she be pressured. What of the authorities in France?"

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dh_daphne
2008-02-06 02:04 am UTC (link)

"Mmm." Daphne hummed in agreement. "She lived in constant fear that Lynus would kill or dismiss her, leaving her children in his hands."

Daphne smiled, groaning a little as Draco worked knots out of her shoulders. She laughed softly as Draco commented on the children. "They had schedules. Music, art, language, science, but no, they never played. I had not noticed it until this past week, actually. They are still strangers to me."

At Draco's question of authorities, Daphne couldn't help but giggle. She covered her mouth to hide it, recalling her own shock when she learned of Anne's plotting. "Draco, I did not believe Anne had a brain, much less a Slytherin one."

She winked, leaning her head so Draco could stroke a particular point on her neck. "For months Anne has been circulating rumours that Lynus was going mad. Of course, she is the social lioness in Marseilles, so everyone immediately began whispering." Daphne giggled again, completely amused by her sister-in-law's cunning. "By the New Year, everyone in town assumed he'd gone completely mad. The French government is positive he's stark raving, wandering the countryside somewhere. They know he Floo'd to England, but even Mr du Barry commented on his "odd behavior"."

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dh__draco
2008-02-10 07:04 pm UTC (link)

"Most women of her kind usually do," Draco commented sourly. He didn't remember Narcissa ever living in that fear, though he had seen others mothers who did. Draco would rather have a strong woman by his side than one who cowered in constant fear. Not that a woman shouldn't fear him, but that fear should only be evoked when necessary.

"Now, perhaps you'll get to know your niece and nephew better. Help Anne teach them the reality of their world," he told Daphne, then smiled at Daphne's assessment of her sister-in-law. "Never underestimate anyone, Daphne. Everyone is capable of deceit and betrayal - and survival."

He moved his fingers to the area which Daphne wordlessly requested, feeling the cord of her delicate neck. Draco chuckled low in his throat at hearing of Anne's scheming against Lynus. "Excellent. This is precisely my point - had Lynus been more cherishing of his wife, his demise might not have been pulled off so cleanly," Draco mused, then bent his head and kissed Daphne's neck where his fingers had been.

"A raving lunatic. How appropriate," he murmured against Daphne's ear.

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dh_daphne
2008-02-10 08:02 pm UTC (link)

"Mmm," Daphne hummed as Draco stroked her neck. She shifted her legs under the water, making little waves with the movement. "Fortuntately my fear never rebounded onto my former husband. He irritated rather than frightened."

Daphne chuckled lightly. "Oh, I know. That was a terrible oversight of mine. But it has been taken care of, I assure you. Anne has the instincts of a survivor, she and I are alike in that respect."

"Isn't it just?" She teased, humming again as Draco kissed hr neck. Warm and safe, she leaned her head back for a kiss to her mouth. "My brother a raving madman, I do feel vindicated."

Daphne reached for a loofa and handed it to him, leaning forward so he could wash her back. "And how were things here whilst I was gone? Has their been any word from Marcus?"

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dh__draco
2008-02-10 08:13 pm UTC (link)

When Daphne tilted her head back, Draco rewarded her by capturing her lips with his own - a gentle, insistent pressure and his tongue flicked over the seam of her mouth for a moment before he withdrew. "Mmmm," he murmured with a grin. "As well as you should, my dear."

Taking the offered loofa from Daphne's elegant hand, Draco found a thick liquid soap infused with essential oils which he poured over the washing implement. Creating a luxurious mound of suds in his hands, he then began to run the loofa over Daphne's feminine shoulders, enjoying the look of the suds white against her own pale flesh.

"I'm afraid nothing has been heard from Marcus directly, though I understand he had to leave town on business. I've been trying to find out when he'll return, but nothing as of yet. He is very good at hiding his tracks," Draco told Daphne with grudging approval.

"But what about me, my dear? Have you not missed me all this time?" he asked in a low, purring voice.

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dh_daphne
2008-02-10 08:24 pm UTC (link)

Daphne licked her lips as Draco released her, taking the taste of him from them. His kisses always made her toes curl, it was not surprising that five minutes in his company with such ardent attentions made her want to yank him into the water with her.

Letting him stroke perfumed bubbles down her back, Daphne enjoyed the scrape of cloth against her skin. She felt the anxiety of her week fall away, though worry nipped at her for Marcus.

"I bet that hurt to admit," Daphne chuckled, looking at him over her shoulder. "He will return when he is ready, I am sure." Though it bothered her that Marcus had not contacted her when she was in France, she tried to not be angry.

When Draco asked if she had missed him, his tone darkly seductive, Daphne turned. Facing him, she rose up slightly on her knees - bubbles and all - to wrap wet arms about his neck.

"Of course I missed you, comrade." Daphne purred in response. "I was terribly lonely without you, terribly neglected."

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