On the uses of a library

[Violet MacFusty]

Dated for October 1st, 1884

There had been many deaths that summer. Far too many, in her opinion, and nearly all of them had been unexpected. The latest one however, was so horribly tragic that she tried not to dwell on it for fear of sinking back into her depressed demeanor. Hamish had worked far too hard to pull her out of it than for her to give in again. She did not need to add anything else to his plate - with Rabbie having been killed by the dragon and his father now missing a limb - (not to mention Malvina having gone missing, though Violet personally thought it might have been for the better before the girl disgraced the family entirely. Such thoughts were kept to herself, of course) - Violet would not allow her own welfare to be the straw that broke the camel's back.

She had retreated to her place of comfort - the library. Curled up in the window seat with a tea trolley parked within arm's reach, she had one of her favorite books of poetry spread open upon her lap. She could not concentrate on the words on the page, though in all honesty, she had every word memorized long ago. Her gaze drifted about the library, and then out the window. It took her a moment to realize that she was feeling rather sad once more. "No," She said with gumption, "this will not do." Clearly, she needed something else to keep her mind busy - something more active.

It was then that she decided that she was going to rearrange the order of the books in her rather expansive library. Manually, so that it would require the majority of her concentration. She hopped to her feet - she must start at once! It only took her a moment to decide what it was she wanted to do. Then, she set about climbing up a ladder to reach the highest shelf. Her skirts were a bother when it came to that, so after a quick glance around to be certain that there weren't any servants present — they generally kept out anyhow — she scooped them up and tucked them over her elbow, revealing rather indecently her slender ankles and even a bit of her calves.

@Hamish MacFusty

  

[Hamish MacFusty]

Hamish very much wanted to take the year 1884 and leave it far, far behind. The summer had been miserable, claiming the lives of both his father-in-law and his youngest brother and it was making him grumpy; he hated being grumpy. Nobody wanted to be around him when he was grumpy and he certainly didn't want to be around his wife when he was feeling so vexed. He hid it very well (or at least he thought so) after Violet's rough time of losing her dad, the last thing he wanted was for her to slip back into that level of sadness.

Still, he'd grieved for his brother in private and now he was moving on. They worked with dragons, he should have known something like this would happen sooner or later. Hell accidents happened- Tor's first fiancee, Vina and Dunny, then Da and Rabbie. Damn dragons. Maybe it was time to move away from the family business... once things were settled. Da would need help over the next year or so and he couldn't just walk away now. Now though, he had a wife and hopefully a future family to think about, certainly, given enough time, his family would understand.

Trying not to dwell on the unpleasant, Ham wandered the house looking for Violet, though he really should have known to check the library first. It was nice out, so he'd thought she might be in the gardens, but in the end, the library it was; on the ladder, high up, skirts pulled out of the way to reveal just enough of those slender legs of hers to have his gut twisting in a familiar fashion. "And how's the view up there, Ghrá?" He said casually, leaning back against the large desk situated behind him.

  

[Violet MacFusty]

She hadn't heard anyone come in. The sound of a voice — which she would realize a mere fraction of a second later as his — had been so unexpected that she squeaked and spun around in horror to view whomever had caught her in such a compromising position. She relaxed visibly and even managed a smile, though her cheeks were burning, "Better than it was a moment ago."

She returned her attention to the ladder so that she could climb safely down it. Once she reached the bottom, she released her skirts. They fell to the floor with a swish. "Were you looking for me?" Violet asked curiously as she set aside the books that she had brought down with her. She brushed a stray piece of hair from her face absently.

  

[Hamish MacFusty]

She moved so fast that Hammy nearly expected her to fall off the ladder and he'd stepped forward in anticipation of the crash, but she very gracefully climbed down and now he looked silly. He held out a hand to help her off and as she dropped her skirts, he felt them swish flirtatiously against his legs. Sometimes Ham had to wonder if she knew what she was doing, or if she was oblivious. Maybe he was just overly sensitive... which was ridiculous. He was not about to attack his wife in the middle of the day.

But it was just the two of them in the library...

Reaching out, he brushed another stray strand from her face and tucked it gently behind her ear, hand lingering just a little longer than he meant too. "I was..." He trailed off pensively. "But now I forget why." An amused chuckle escaped as he was pretty sure she'd see right through him right about now and send him packing.

  

[Violet MacFusty]

"Oh, have you?" She asked in a manner that for Violet, could be described as almost playful. They had been married for nearly a year already. Though she would never admit it like the proper lady she was (mostly), she was fairly well versed in her husbands moods — especially the ones of that nature. Not that she minded it. She wouldn't even admit it to herself, but she enjoyed spending some intimate time with her husband. A proper lady was not to enjoy procreation. Then again, she was only mostly proper. Being a MacFusty, she could take some private liberties, so long as she kept them to herself.

She took his hands into hers and pressed up to her tiptoes for a kiss, a smile on her freckled lips, "Perhaps you came to assist my library reorganization efforts." That was hardly the case. Though she knew that if she asked, he would do it without hesitation. Though it was one of those things that she liked to do herself. There was just something odd about having someone else find a home for her books.

  

[Hamish MacFusty]

Ham grinned a bit mischievously at his wife, amused to hear a teasing tone to her voice. He liked to think he had a bit of an influence on getting Violet to relax over the time they'd spent together, but sometimes it still amused him. His typical teasing demeanor had to be tamed when they'd first starting seeing one another, but now things were a bit easier, especially at home when it was just the two of them.

"Mmm. He answered lazily just before she pressed her lips to his. Ham was never overly pushy about maritals, though he did more often than not sneak into her room to snuggle. It was very hard not to let out an appreciative chuckle or to let his hands start wandering. Fortunately, she had those trapped in her own, though he wasn't entirely sure if that would last, given the moment.

The chuckle escaped at her next words, though now he had anything but reorganizing the library. Well, actually now he only had one thing on his mind. Slowly, he bent to lay a kiss on her jaw, just below her ear. "I don't think that was quite it..."

  

[Violet MacFusty]

She had a sharp intake of breath as his lips met her jawline. Violet did not turn him down very often, and today would be no exception. After all, he knew exactly what to do to make it impossible for her to even think of rejecting his unspoken request. "No," She murmured, eyes closed, "I think it was not." Whether that was his original intent did not matter in the least. In fact, he could have been reciting Babbity Rabbity to her and she wouldn't have even noticed so long as he kept his behavior up.

Her arms found their way around his neck, which coincidentally (or perhaps not so coincidentally) caused her body to press up against his. The look in his eyes made her weak in the knees, so the fact that she was wrapped around him was rather convenient.

  

[Hamish MacFusty]

Whatever witty remark he had to follow up with was lost at her little intake of breath. He'd be flat out lying if he didn't get a rise out of hearing that. Of course as she looped her arms around his neck, his hands were free and now the question was, what to do with them? They naturally found their way to her slim waist, though never landed there long. With her all pressed up against him, his mid was starting to reel in a pleasantly familiar way.

With one hand meandering on its own accord, Ham ran his fingers along Violet's neck to tilt her chin up toward his so he could plant a less-than-subtle kiss there. He remembered the desk behind him and gently pulled Vi along with him, pushing anything near the edge out of the way so he could hoist her up to sit on it. Really though, she weighed nothing, so it wasn't exactly hard. "I can honestly tell you I didn't have this in mind, but I'm certainly not complaining either." He chuckled between kisses. The library had definitely not crossed his mind for such activities, but nobody else ever came in here, so they may as well get a little adventurous.

  

[Violet MacFusty]

The sound of things being pushed off of the desk irked her slightly - though she knew Hamish had only meant to move them out of the way rather than off, but seeing as how he only had one hand and was quite preoccupied with other things, she couldn't begrudge him it. Besides, certain things were happening and she quite abruptly forgot such annoyances.

This was certainly new — and though she would never admit it — a bit thrilling. Daring could not describe Violet Ollivander, but Violet MacFusty, however, was beginning to be a bit more open-minded thanks to the patience of her husband. She took it upon herself to assist him in the nimble unbuttoning of important items of clothing upon his person. Being a woman, she could multi-task with kissing and taking productive steps toward the end goal.

  

[Hamish MacFusty]

Ham liked to think he had everything to do with getting Violet to come out of her shell a little bit, but even he would have never imagined that's she'd agree to something like this. This was adventurous for her, the woman who wouldn't even let him take off her nightgown when they were upstairs in the dark, unbuttoning his clothes in broad daylight in the middle of the library.

This was excellent.

He would forever be perplexed by the sheer number of layers a woman wore, but in reality, he supposed he didn't need to get all of them off in this particular instance. Ham had a very smug grin plastered on his features as he trailed a few kisses down his wife's neck while his hands wandered downward to get a solid grab of skirt. Really that was the most obnoxious obstacle and it was obviously the one most in his way, aside from those pesky drawers. Slowly he began to hike up her skirts, revealing those tempting legs that had set him in this mood in the first place.

With both hands and lips wandering Ham should have paused to admire his wife's multitasking, but apparently he was not the only one with more on the brain. He made quick work of her undergarments, pulling them off swiftly so he could press his fingers into the sensitive skin of her thighs. Ham skimmed his fingers over her soft skin shivering a little in anticipation as his lips found hers again.

  

[Violet MacFusty]

It wasn't much longer before things began to happen. In a flurry of kisses, hitched breathing and other unmentionable things (for reasons), the couple exerted themselves. Neither were aware of how much time had passed - or that Hamish had left the door ajar. Just as things had begun to wind down, Violet happened to glance over her husband's shoulder.

A pair of eyes met her own.

She emitted a curious noise - one that could be described as both a yelp and a squeal. This was followed by simultaneous attempts to push herself away from her husband, dive behind the desk, and pull her skirts back down around her legs for her own modesty. Her undergarments were on a heap on the floor for all to see, but that was less important, given the situation at hand.

She was half successful with all three, which made her top half tip backwards off of the desk. Due to Hamish's weight, the rest of her was pinned to the desk. She was essentially upside-down with her skirts tangled up in their legs, revealing a good deal of her pasty-white thighs. "Hamish!" She squealed in horror.

  

[Malcolm Macfusty]

Mac was never dropping in on one of his brothers semi-unannounced - apart from a vague intention of visiting soon - and was pretty sure that he was going to have to obliviate himself because he had just seen his brother in the act.

Clearly it was their butler's fault; he had told Mac that Hamish was probably in the library!

Now he had seen more of his brother and his wife than he had ever wanted; Mac's face was screwed up in a sort of horrified expression though it was not

Mac - as soon as his mind had caught up enough to realize that he should get the hell out of there - swore loudly and whirled around, slamming the door behind him with a flick of his wand.

It was probably too late to pretend that he had never been here.

Mac stood outside the doors to their library, eyes as wide as saucers. Why. Seriously, why. What had he done to deserve this?

  

[Hamish MacFusty]

It didn't take long for things to progress in a very agreeable nature and Ham would be the first to admit the thrill of getting caught added to the excitement.

Until they actually got caught.

Things seemed to happen in slow motion, first Violet's screech, then her attempts to shove him off and cover herself left they both in an awkward position as she tried to escape. Ham hadn't seen who had walked in, but he didn't have time to wonder while he tried to keep Vi from breaking herself in half. Hauling his wife back up to a a vertical position, he deposited her on the floor to settle her skirts while he made himself presentable again.

Ham wasn't sure if he was amused, annoyed or a mixture of both, but a smirk of satisfaction was what displayed itself on his face, though he was pretty sure his wife did not agree. "Who was it?" He asked, wondering just which of the staff he was going to have to pay extra to keep quiet again.

  

[Violet MacFusty]

Her husband's lack of concern and the obvious absence of an appropriate amount of shame made her far more panicked than she had originally been. She sorted herself out whilst sitting on the floor, exclaiming in disbelief, "Your brother, Mr. MacFusty!" After a moment, she realized that he had several brothers and that was not nearly specific enough. "Malcolm! Oh, Hamish! He saw us! He saw me! How will I ever face him again?!"

Quite near to hysterics, she buried her reddened face in her hands. She wanted to curl up and hide. Having to endure the utter humiliation that all future family functions would undoubtedly hold was a terrifying thought.

It was all her husband's fault! And he wasn't even sorry. Not one bit! He'd gone and seduced her. Well, not quite. But still! It made her feel a bit better to think that the situation was not entirely her fault.

"You could at least try to look appropriately grieved," She whimpered into her hands.

  

[Malcolm Macfusty]

Mac, who had tentatively decided that he probably could not get away with apparating away and pretending that this had never happened, was currently face-palming outside their library door. Perhaps if he used this to make fun of Hammy, he could trick himself out of being embarrassed?

No; there was no getting over that, at least not now. Mac groaned loudly. Hopefully they never came out of there. Hell, maybe he'd just get struck by lightning right now and he would then have far bigger problems on his mind than what he had just seen.

He did not feel in the slightest like he was being melodramatic.

  

[Hamish MacFusty]

Mac, of course it was Mac; why wouldn't it be Mac? Ham was pretty sure he could look his brother in the face after this, but one of the staff might have been a different story.

Vi looked positively horrified and Hammy tried to feel just the tiniest bit sheepish, but he couldn't' muster the same level of mortification. Of course, Mac was probably on Vi's level at this point in time, which just served to amuse Hamish even more. "I'm sorry Love." He could at least look embarrassed, even if he didn't feel it right about now. He had a ton of brothers, really there was little left to his imagination after thirty-one years on this Earth.

"I'll take care of him." He kissed her forehead, pretty sure the mood was ruined for the rest of the day, With a little bit of the smirk remaining on his features, Ham turned toward the entrance of the library to see if his brother even had the guts to stick around.