It didn't take long at all for Lady Dandridge to realize that the women who waited on her had caught on to her secret.
Dessi arrived at the slaves' dinner table about one week after their meeting in the kitchen with a bunch of books on childcare. In addition to breaking the news to the men of the house and swearing them to absolute secrecy, she had divvied up the books to Kyrie and Vivian. Even though Vivian would likely be the one that would be primarily taking care of the lady's child, it would still be useful for Kyrie to know the ropes as well. Dessi herself had a whole bunch of material on midwifing that she had to learn, and Kyrie had to admit that she was glad she wasn't the one tasked with that: learning all the intricacies of the animals in the menagerie was plenty of work already and taking care of a child as opposed to birthing one seemed more in line with her current workload.
Kyrie had crammed her head so full of information on how to take care of a child for pretty much every extra moment and as a result she felt completely burnt out. She and Vivian had to get through four books before the lady's pregnancy came to term. Not only get through them, they had to remember as much of them as possible to be able to take care of the baby well! It was a bit overwhelming, to say the least, so Kyrie decided that this evening she'd take a break from all that and just relax. To that end, she was outside in the garden under the light of the moon, sitting on a bench with a single candle next to her while her notebook lay open in her lap.
Usually she came out here to draw close to every night, but lately she'd been spending the time that she would be drawing reading the books that Dessi had brought them instead. She didn't just draw in the evenings because that was her only free time, really she did it because of old habits: in the house that she used to work in she would always be punished if she was ever caught drawing. Even though she was positive that Mae wouldn't mind the fact that Kyrie drew, her inclination was still to hide it.
In the time that she'd been out here, her eyes had been drawn to one of the higher level windows of the manor more than once, the one that she knew to be Mae's room. Ever since learning about Mae's pregnancy, her mind had often been drawn to this enigma that had gotten her master pregnant; under the cover of darkness there was a man that had come to Mae, and Kyrie found it endlessly romantic and fascinating. Who was this man? How had they met? Did the lady feel comfortable around him? As much as she thought about this, she felt rather guilty for having these thoughts that desired to pry into her master's private life. She just couldn't seem to stop them no matter how often she tried to think about other things though!
It wasn't long at all before her charcoal made it to paper as a result of these thoughts. The lines and curves that manifested there were turning into a rather vivid scene: Mae emerged on her bed, and she had her arms up holding on to what looked like dark arms across her chest from a shrouded man behind her. Lady Dandridge's eyes were closed, with her head tilted back just slightly and Kyrie had drawn this in such a way that the darkened figure of the man could easily be interpreted as being just a part of the bed. He was a trick of the light as much as he was a human being.
Time lost all sense to Kyrie when she was drawing, and she also tended to tune out most things when she was absorbed in her work. As a result, she didn't even hear the door to the stables shut and then footsteps as they advanced on her. It wasn't until there was a light touch at her shoulder that she practically jumped out of her skin. Letting out a gasp, Kyrie pulled her book towards her rather protectively as her head swiveled around to see what this disturbance was.
A soft chuckle resounded from behind her, and immediately she relaxed. This was a familiar voice, and one that definitely was not wholly unwelcome. Even though she was relaxing a little to know this was Isaac, another part of her was weirdly tense. She'd felt that way fairly often around him nowadays: it wasn't that she found him unpleasant or uncomfortable, but there was just something about interacting with him that left her a little breathless.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. I just saw your light as I was leaving the stables so I came over to investigate. I didn't know you frequented the garden in the evenings."
Kyrie gave a little shrug at this, wondering just how much he saw of what she'd been drawing; her picture wasn't exactly appropriate since neither of the people in it were wearing clothes, and it felt beyond embarrassing to have Isaac see that. Even though all the truly scandalous parts weren't on full display in the picture, she still felt a bit ashamed for having drawn it in the first place. Since he hadn't said anything about it, she hoped that meant he'd seen nothing. In an attempt to draw his attention away from her work, she responded fairly promptly.
"I find it peaceful out here. The bedroom has the potential of being interrupted by two people, but out here it's usually just me and my thoughts."
Isaac's brow furrowed a bit now.
"Ah... Sorry... You come out here to be alone and yet here I am barging in. I'll wish you a good evening then."
He tilted his head towards her at that, as if tugging a hat down respectfully; as much as he wanted to stay out here with her, he didn't want to come on too fast. There was no reason to be like Renard: Kyrie didn't respond well to those kinds of advances. It was much better to take the method of making his way into her heart without trying to push her. It would seem that his efforts were paying off though, because before he was even able to turn, he felt a light tugging on his jacket sleeve.
"Wait--"
Almost immediately, Kyrie realized the folly of her action. Her reaction hadn't really involved any conscious thought; when she saw that he was leaving, she felt the overwhelming desire to get him not to go. If she had been thinking even a little, him leaving would be the preferred outcome. She wouldn't have to show him what she was doing if he'd left, but now it was undoubtedly going to come up in conversation.
He was patient with her as she looked up at him and seemed to be going through some inner struggle, and he made a real concerted effort not to just take her face between his hands and lean in for a kiss. She probably didn't even realize just how tempting she was being at the moment, and Isaac covertly pinched his leg to stop from thinking about it.
"Y-You don't have to leave. You're not really disturbing me."
At these words, Isaac's heart soared while Kyrie's knotted itself into a ball of nervousness.
"Are you sure?"
The only response he got was a shy nod, but that was invitation enough for him. Settling down onto the bench, it was Kyrie who ended up speaking first, mostly to try and delay his attention being turned to what she was doing.
"What were you doing out in the stables so late? I don't usually see anyone out here at this hour."
"It was mostly just forgetfulness on my part. As I was settling in for the night I realized I forgot the day's paper out in the stables."
Holding out the newspaper for her to see, Kyrie couldn't help but admire him a little for that. Isaac eagerly read up on current events and history so he was always well informed about the goings on both in and outside of town. Kyrie imagined that if he had been tasked with something like reading and remembering four books he probably wouldn't have much trouble with it. In fact, he'd likely relish the experience.
While Kyrie's eyes followed his newspaper, his eyes caught sight of the book that was in her lap. It was still open just slightly where Kyrie was saving the page, and the moment he noticed it she tensed up.
"What book is that? More about child rearing from the mistress?"
His eyes sparkled with a bit of a teasing quality to it, and while Kyrie could've just nodded along to it, she had never been any good at lying. Instead, she shook her head, but still didn't give an answer.
"No...? Lady Dandridge's notes on the menagerie then?"
Once again Kyrie shook her head, and now Isaac was filled with curiosity. It didn't have any title on the cover, or even on the spine from what he could tell. What he could see was evidence of charcoal on Kyrie's fingers though.
"Ah, is this your own book? One that you write in yourself?"
This was definitely the right answer, because she stiffened at that and didn't nod or shake her head this time. Once again he was letting out a soft chuckle, and he lightly pat her shoulder.
"No need to be embarrassed about keeping a diary! I can see why you come out here to write in it though. I bet Vivian wouldn't be able to resist a peek if she knew you had one."
If Kyrie was even a little more distant from Isaac, she might have been content with his conclusion. As it was though, a part of her actually wanted to share with him the fact that it was more a drawing notebook than a journal. It was nerve wracking though, the mere thought of showing someone something that she had hidden for years...
Trying to swallow the pounding of her heart, she leaned a little towards him, and Isaac had to suck in a completely silent breath and lean back a little to resist his own desire.
"Do you promise you won't tease or make fun of me?"
Confused by the question, that didn't really stop him from promising her.
Isaac watched as she flipped through some of the pages; she removed her fingers from the spot she'd been keeping and was soon fixing her sights on a pair of pages. Turning her body and the book so that he could see, he was at first stunned. On one of the two pages was a realistic rendering of the manor, as if someone was looking at it from a nearby hill, and on the other page was Mae's favorite pet: Teru.
Kyrie's hands shook a little as the silence stretched on. Did he hate them? Was that why he wasn't saying a word about them? Just about ready to retreat her hands and close the book, he reached a hand under the book to let his hand rest over one of hers.
"Kyrie, these are amazing! Your drawings are so detailed and beautiful!"
While his hand firmly held onto hers, his other hand pulled the book, and consequently Kyrie, a little closer to be able to get a good look at it. While he stared in wonder, Kyrie could feel her eyes tearing up a bit. Out of all the reactions her mind had possibly imagined for him to have, this was the one that she never would've presumed it to be.
When he turned his eyes back up to look at her, he was startled to see that she was blinking back tears. The drawings immediately forgotten in his concern, he moved his hand up to cup her cheek. This didn't seem to help though, it actually made the tears begin falling.
"What's wrong?"
Kyrie was rather slow to respond to the question, and a bit alarmed now, Isaac did the first thing that came to mind: he pulled her in close for a hug. He lightly stroked her head as she buried her face into his shirt, and this action made her book fall open into her lap as she clung to him.
"I-I'm sorry I just... I've never shown these to anyone and I never could've imagined... Your reaction, Isaac. It just makes me feel... Well, really good."
She tried to laugh a little at her lack of eloquence, but just ended up choking on her tears and burying her face further to try and wipe the tears away.
Isaac's entire demeanor relaxed to hear that these were happy tears, and he looked down at her with a smile. Soon, he was leaning in to kiss her forehead, which left a very distinctly warm spot lingering on her face where his lips had touched her skin.
"Well I will say it again as many times as you'd like! You're an excellent artist Kyrie, and I feel honored that you've graced me with even a glimpse of what you've done."
Kyrie's cheeks burned now from both delight and embarrassment, but she smiled up at him nonetheless. Isaac grinned back down at her, and brushed his thumb along her cheek to wipe away the wetness there. Both of their smiles faded slightly, but only because they were suddenly aware of just how close they were. Kyrie could hear her own heartbeat drumming in her ears, and she could swear that Isaac was hearing it too.
If he did hear it, he paid it no heed and instead moved his face slowly closer. Despite the nervousness and anticipation she felt she didn't look away from him. Instead, she closed her eyes and embraced the coming sensation.
She'd always longed to know what a kiss felt like; so often it was romanticized in art and writing, but did it really live up to all that?
His lips were soft against hers, a light touch, and before she could even really begin to register it, the feeling was gone.
Her eyes fluttered open as she looked at him a little breathlessly. A part of her was thinking "that was it?" with a bit of disappointment, but another part of her wanted another. The kiss had been brief, but his lips seemed to fit so well against hers; the warmth had been unfamiliar and strange but also incredibly desirable. She wanted another. She wanted a better chance to really feel it.
Trembling enough to easily be felt by Isaac, she slowly, almost painstakingly slowly, leaned up towards him to give him another light kiss. Now that it was initiated by her, Isaac took this as an invitation to press into it a little more. Pulling her up against him, he more firmly pushed his lips against hers, causing her to let out the softest of hums. That single little noise sent a spike of desire running through him, and he knew that this needed to stop before it got too out of hand. Going from not even a kiss to sex immediately? That was probably a bit much for Kyrie.
With great effort he pulled away from her, and the expression of want that she gave him as he leaned back caused a shiver to run up his spine. Instead of indulging that look of hers until he reached her line, he instead rested his forehead against hers; breathing softly on her, he could feel her own warm breath tickling his exposed neck and face.
"I love you, Kyrie."
It had slipped out, to be honest.
He'd been wanting to say those words to her for a while but he hadn't really been entirely sure when or how he would say it. As a result he'd often pondered how the conversation might come about. He had planned things, he had thought that when he did finally say it to Kyrie, he would've known it going into the moment. That hadn't been the case at all though; he hadn't known he was going to say he loved her when he saw it was her on the bench this evening, and yet it had come out anyway. All that thinking about his confession that he'd done had ultimately been for nothing.
At these words of his, there was a silence from her that caused little pinpricks of discomfort to run along the back of his neck, but the breath against the front of it didn't disappear which was an immense comfort. Instead of the rejection that he feared, she reached up to touch his cheek.
"I love you too."
It was a soft murmur on her part, but to him the words may as well have been yelled from a mountain top. Finally he had found someone despite being firmly in Renard's shadow, and Isaac was going to hold onto her for as long as he possibly could.
Snaking an arm around her so that his hand was resting comfortably on her waist, he shifted a little so that they were both facing forward once again instead of at each other. Kyrie had no arguments about this move, and she nestled her head on Isaac's shoulder. Her heart was still pounding hard enough for her to be able to hear it, but it was slowing, shifting to this more comfortable pace rather than the heated one they'd just shared.
She did find herself missing the touch of his lips though, and she felt like her own lips tingled in his absence.
"Where'd you learn to draw like this?"
With her attention effectively drawn away from sensual acts with Isaac, she blinked a little slowly before coming up with a reply.
"I didn't... Just whenever I'd be outside at my previous jobs I would draw in the dirt all the time. I got punished a lot for daydreaming because of it though. I put more of an effort into hiding my drawing after that, but I didn't stop. It was one of the few joys I had before being employed by Lady Dandridge, and it gave me a reason to want to keep getting up every day. Every once in a while I'd smuggle away some paper and something to draw with, but this is the first time I've ever had my very own book."
As she spoke, her fingers lovingly stroked the cover of her book before bringing it back up to her chest.
"It's nice not having to hide as much as I used to."
"You don't have to hide at all, you know. I'm sure the rest of the house would sing your praises if you ever showed them your work."
Kyrie blushed a bit at that and shook her head.
"I don't draw to get recognition; I draw because I like it. It's enough that I can share it with you."
Nodding at that, Isaac gently kissed the side of Kyrie's head. Before he could even ask to see some other pictures, she was already opening it back up and flipping through them. She didn't show him all of the ones she drew of him, and she didn't show him any of the potentially embarrassing ones either (namely the ones she'd drawn when thinking of Mae and her secret lover), but he delighted in what she did show. If he knew that she'd skipped some pages, he had the good sense not to comment on it, and Kyrie was thankful for that.
By the time she made it through all of them, the hour was getting quite late. They'd spent so long sitting against each other that both of them were definitely going to feel it in the morning; despite working in a much more lenient household with better hours, the hours were still on the early side. Even in the face of lack of sleep, they were reluctant to leave the comfort of the other.
It was Isaac who eventually stood up first, though he helped Kyrie up as he did since he didn't quite want to move his arm from her waist. The fact that they'd both confessed their love to one another still felt unreal to him, and as a result his hands were lingering. As if continuing to confirm that she was indeed his and his alone.
"I would love to stay out here with you longer, but unfortunately it's much later than I'd intended to be up."
His expression said it all to her, and she looked down, once again being struck by a bit of shyness. He wanted to be with her even longer, just as she wanted to stay in his presence. They both had work to do in the morning though, so Kyrie returned the comment with a small nod.
"Me as well."
She paused for a moment as she looked over towards the house, then braved a look into his eyes as she spoke once more.
"I'm out here most evenings though. You're welcome to join me whenever you have the time."
A brilliant smile was given to her at that, and Isaac leaned down to give her one last kiss to the cheek.
"I will definitely have to take that invitation. You'll likely be seeing me out here much more often in the coming days."
Kyrie blushed at that comment, but gladly took Isaac's offered arm as the two of them retreated from the garden to the manor.