Chapter 8: Memories

It was something Rhys was going to have to get used to – waking up with a naked, beautiful woman on each side of him. This time, in their new home, the bed was a little larger, but the women were still moulded to his body, hugging him as closely as they could in their sleep. Something was different this morning, though. He could sense Jade’s presence when she was close to him. Not only her physical presence, which was difficult to miss as she snuggled up to him in bed, but he could also feel her emotions, her intelligence and, sometimes, her thoughts, especially ones she wanted him to hear. It was something he’d gotten used to over the last few days. But today there was something else. He could sense Kat, too.

Even as Kat slept, he could feel an overwhelming sense of bliss from her. Last night’s lovemaking had been mind-blowing. The feeling in his brain when they’d climaxed together – it was like a mental bomb had exploded. He wondered what their new connection would be like when she awoke.

Perhaps something had leaked over their new connection because Kat started to stir in her sleep. Her eyes opened, and she looked at Rhys. She smiled sleepily at him, blew him a kiss and closed her eyes again. When they’d gone to sleep last night, they’d been lying on top of the blankets, but now they had blankets over the three of them; Jade must have covered them over when she came in after last night’s meeting. He smiled to himself; what a lucky man he was.

A thought entered his head. “Don’t forget Jade”. He didn’t know whether that was his subconscious reminding him he was in a throuple and not a couple, or whether it was something that Kat had pushed to him. Either way, it was a valid reminder. He mustn’t get so wrapped up in exploring his new connection to Kat that he neglected Jade. He twisted over to face her, Kat releasing him so he could do so, and kissed Jade gently on the forehead. She opened her eyes, smiled at him and blew him a kiss, just as Kat had done, before closing her eyes again.

Rhys took advantage of being temporarily able to move and wormed his way down the bed, emerging from under the blankets at the foot of the bed. He stood up and walked over to the bathroom, closing the door quietly behind him. He used the toilet, then stepped into the shower. He wasn’t one for steaming hot showers; hot water had been at a premium back in Solvstrom, and cooler water was ideal for him. After showering and washing his hair, he brushed his teeth, hung the towel on one of the hooks on the back of the door to dry, and then wandered back into the bedroom.

Kat had rolled over into the space he’d left in the bed, and Jade was now spooning her, both still asleep. He looked at them, his heart bursting with love for both of them. As quietly as he could, he found clean underwear and casual clothes, dressed and pulled on a pair of slippers. He gathered the pile of last night’s discarded clothing up and put it in the laundry basket before slipping out of the bedroom and heading downstairs.

The house was busy already. He could smell fresh bread cooking in the basement, so he wandered down the stairs to see what was happening. Mrs. Shaw, the cook, was tending the range, just taking fresh bread rolls out of the oven. Nell, her assistant and the kitchen maid, was slicing fruit. She must have seen his movement out of the corner of her eye as she looked at him with a squeak. That startled Mrs. Shaw, who narrowly avoided dropping the bread on the floor. “Mr. Niain!” she said, slightly disapprovingly. “What are you doing down here?”

“I’m just seeing what the team do to keep this house running,” he said. “I’ve never lived in a house with staff before, and I think I need to appreciate what you do. I mean that in both senses of the word; I need to understand and I need to be thankful for your work.”

Mrs. Shaw smiled. “Most heads of a house never come downstairs, let alone take an interest in what their staff do. Miss Kat and Miss Jade were down here yesterday, and we had a good discussion. We’re going to make some changes, but you may want to speak to Miss Jade and Miss Kat about those because they’ve been talking to the other staff members too.”

Rhys nodded. “I will, thank you. I don’t want to take up too much of your time as I can see you’re busy, but while I’m here, thank you both for everything you do. I’ve only been here a day, but I really appreciate your work.”

Mrs. Shaw nodded, and Nell smiled at him. Taking his leave, he went back up the stairs and went into the orangery. It was probably his favourite room. He loved the old-fashioned and cosy feel of the study, but it was quite dark and stuffy. In contrast, the orangery had large windows and lots of plants, giving it an outdoors-indoors feel that made him feel more at home. He noticed some breakfast things had been set out already, and he moseyed over to pour himself a cup of tea.

He sat on one of the rattan chairs, looking out of the windows and into the garden beyond. The weather was grey, and it looked like it had rained overnight. He could see Rosemary examining the beds containing herbs and vegetables, presumably looking for pests or weeds.

He finished his tea and wandered back upstairs, slightly at a loss as to what to do. Everything had been so busy recently, and now he had a little time to himself. He went into the main bedroom. Jade was there, sitting naked on the edge of the bed; Kat was obviously elsewhere. He moved over to her and sat down next to her. She looked at him, smiling.

“Thank you for helping to make Kat’s night special,” he said. Jade nodded and was about to speak until Rhys kissed her. “Don’t downplay it,” he said. “It was something you didn’t have to do, yet you did. It made me realise that we’re a threesome, a throuple, but we’re also three different couples, and we need to work on that aspect too. Last night was a Kat-Rhys date. We’re also going to have Rhys-Jade and Jade-Kat dates. And dates for all three of us together.”

Jade continued to smile at him. “You’re getting there,” she said, and leaned forward to kiss him back. It started as quite a chaste kiss, but quickly developed into a full smooch. It wasn’t easy to get too amorous sitting side by side on the bed, but they did the best they could. Eventually, Jade moved to sit astride his legs so they were face to face, and the kissing intensified. She pulled his shirt out of his trousers and put her arms around him, placing her hands on his back, under his shirt, running her hands up and down his spine, pulling them together. He could feel her in his head; she could feel him in hers. In that moment, that closeness, they were almost one.

A damp towel hit both their heads, and they broke the kiss. Kat had appeared in the doorway to the bathroom, dressed only in her bra and panties, and was apparently a mean shot with a towel. “Get a room!” she laughed. “Oh, you have!” She laughed again at her own joke. Rhys and Jade joined in her laughter, partly through delight at seeing her so happy and partly because Kat had an infectious laugh.

“Budge up,” Kat said to Jade, approaching. Jade moved to sit on one of Rhys’s knees, and Kat came to sit on the other. It wasn’t the most comfortable of arrangements, but needs must. “Thank you,” Kat said. “Both of you. For yesterday. It was perfect. I’ve been dreaming of what my first time would be like since I first became aware of sex. I knew I’d probably have no say in it, and I’m not sure how I managed to get as far as last night without someone taking advantage of me. Maybe being short and ugly...”

Jade slapped her. Not hard, not enough to turn Kat’s head, just enough to shock her and stop her talking. “Will you stop that?” demanded Jade. “You are most definitely not ugly. Trust me, you’re one of the most naturally pretty people I’ve ever seen.” She looked at Rhys for confirmation; he nodded vigorously.

“You don’t notice it,” said Rhys, “but people turn to look at you. When we came out of that boudoir in Miller Lane, so many people, men and women, stopped what they were doing to look. When you had that moment of inspiration in the bank, everyone in there, customer or employee, watched you. And, even if you’re not willing to believe that, the one thing you absolutely should believe in is that I find you beautiful, amazing, desirable and lovable. And I’m going to prove it. I’m going to kiss you. Are you ready?”

Kat nodded. Rhys moved in for a kiss, and they naturally tilted their heads to the side so their noses didn’t obstruct. Their lips met. Rhys brought a hand up to the back of Kat’s head; she did the same to him. Neither was pressing, just holding. Kat’s eyes went wide, and she pulled back, gasping for air. “I could see it in your head,” she said. “It’s true! You do think I’m beautiful!” Her eyes started to moisten and, as she had done several times before, she buried her head in Rhys’s chest. “In the bank,” she mumbled, “it was like I got a flash of inspiration. The knowledge of how to sign my name just appeared. When you’ve pushed a thought into my head during sex, it’s been the same. But now, it’s a real connection. I can feel you when we’re close like that. Is it the same for you?”

Rhys nodded. “Yes, it is. And it’s the same with Jade. When I’m close to either of you, and especially when we’re being intimate, as you say, it’s as though there’s a connection. Do you have the same with Jade?”

“Not that I’ve noticed,” Kat replied. She gave a small smile and turned to look at Jade, still perched on Rhys’s other leg. “We could always do an experiment, though?”

Jade smiled back and stood. She held her hand out to Kat, who took it and also stood, facing Jade. Jade stooped slightly so that her face was level with Kat’s, and they kissed. Gently at first, but quickly evolving into something far more intense. Jade moved her hands down to Kat’s butt and took her weight. Kat responded by jumping up and putting her legs around Jade’s waist and her arms around Jade’s neck. Rhys marvelled, both at the sight of his two lovers being so close, but also at the sight of Jade’s naked body as she held Kat. Kat wasn’t particularly heavy, but he could see Jade’s muscles in her thighs, calves and arms flexing as she worked subconsciously to maintain the pair’s balance.

The kiss broke. Each woman looked into the other’s eyes. Each saw love in the other. Kat unwrapped her legs from around Jade, who lowered Kat slowly to the floor. Kat took her arms from around Jade’s neck.

“There was something there,” Jade said. “It’s not the same as I have with you,” she looked at Rhys, “but it’s definitely there.”

“I’d compare it to looking at Jade in a mist,” Kat added, “whereas with Rhys it’s a clear day, if that makes any sense?” Jade nodded her agreement. “I could sense Jade’s emotions, and I can still feel her presence while we’re close, but with Rhys, it’s more than that.”

“Same,” Jade added. “Like a river compared to a stream.”

The breakfast bell rang, and Jade and Kat rushed to make themselves decent. The three trooped downstairs and went into the orangery where Rhys had earlier made a hot drink for himself. Someone had renewed the flask of hot water, and there was a plate of Mrs. Shaw’s fresh bread rolls, a plate of sliced cheese and ham and another plate of fruit, together with fruit juices. The three ate.

Rhys had noticed that Kat was moving a little awkwardly and asked her about it. “I’m a little sore between my legs,” she said, feeling a little embarrassed.

“Healer, heal thyself!” he chuckled.

Kat looked at him, then she closed her eyes for a minute or so. When she reopened them, she smiled and walked around the room. “That’s better,” she said. “I didn’t think of that!” She went for more food and drink, then sat down in one of the rattan chairs. “But it did make me think of something else,” she continued, “and that’s whether we want to have children.” Jade and Kat both looked at Rhys.

Rhys was slightly taken aback. “To be honest,” he said, “I’ve never, in my whole life, given it any thought. But now we’re all sexually active, it’s a fair question. There are several caveats here, not least what you two want, but also that this is just a gut reaction on my part. My answer is yes, but maybe not yet. But if either of you wants children now, I’m open to that.”

Jade nodded. “It’s the same for me. I’m very aware we’ve only been together a week, but I think having children with you is in my future.”

“Agreed,” Kat said, also nodding. “I’m wondering if my healing talent lets me do something to temporarily prevent the two of us from getting pregnant. It’s another thing I’ll ask great-great-grandfather about.”

They finished their breakfast and stood together, looking out of the windows. The rain was falling lightly again, and Rosemary had disappeared, presumably into her potting shed or into the house somewhere. The clouds looked ominously like heavier rain was on its way. It was a day for rainwear.

“Plan for the day,” said Jade. “Rhys needs to go to the university outfitters and get his formal wear. Kat and I need to go to a jeweller’s because,” she reached into a pocket in her skirt, “I was given these last night.” She pulled out a small velvet bag, undid the cord holding it closed and tipped two small jewels into her other hand. Kat and Rhys peered at them. “The meeting last night was quite routine and nothing special – we can talk about it later if you want to know more - but, at the end, one of the Foundation members gave me the bag with the jewels in. All they would say is that if I were committed to having a long-term relationship with Rhys, I should have one of these made into some jewellery that I could wear all the time. They also gave me one for Kat, on the same proviso.”

Kat picked one of the jewels up and turned it round between her fingers – it was not much larger than a grain of rice - before placing it back in Jade’s palm. “It’s pretty,” she said. “If it’s a sign of a committed relationship, we should have it made into a ring in the same style as Rhys’s, and we can wear it on the same finger as he does. That’ll be symbolic that we’re all together.”

“I like that idea,” said Jade. “There may be a trade directory in the study. Let’s see if there’s a jeweller close to one of the university outfitters.”

They moved into the study, and Jade checked the shelves. “Here we are,” she said, lifting down a thick book. She started to flip through the pages, muttering “Jewellers, Jewellers” under her breath. In the meantime, Rhys had pulled the list of outfitters from his stack of university papers. Kat looked on, a little sadly, unable to contribute.

Jade took Rhys’s list and cross-checked it with the list of jewellers from the trade directory. “There are none in the same street,” she said, “and I don’t know Chatamor enough to know where all these backstreets are.”

Rhys peered at the trade directory. “That one,” he said, pointing at an entry in the list. He looked at his list of outfitters. “And that one,” he said, again pointing.

Jade looked at him. “Are you sure?” she asked.

“No, not really,” he replied with a sheepish grin. “They just felt right. I could be completely wrong and they could be on opposite sides of the city, but if we’ve no other way of choosing, why not go with my hunch?”

Jade looked at Kat, who shrugged her shoulders. “I suppose,” Jade said, “we have to start somewhere, so why not?”

The trio went back upstairs to don rainwear, then headed out of the house, up to the junction with the main road and hailed a Hansom cab. There were fewer people about today, and those who were out were wrapped up against the drizzle, heads down, some with umbrellas. There was more traffic about, especially more cabs, and the horse-drawn omnibuses were crowded. Rainy weather looked to be good business for public transport. It did, though, make progress through the city traffic a lot slower.

After almost an hour, the cab dropped them outside a shop called “Jewellery by Ljusberg”. It was on a side street off one of the major arterial city roads. The area wasn’t as stylish as Miller Lane had been, and there was noticeably no street lighting. Rhys paid the driver, and the three lovers stepped down from the coach. They hurried into the shop to escape the rain, which had been steadily increasing in intensity.

A bell tinkled as they entered the shop, and they saw a young man standing behind a series of display cases. The cases were made of glass with a metal frame and a fine metal mesh that seemed to be incorporated into the glass. Rhys wondered if the contents were especially valuable or if they’d had problems with their goods being stolen.

“Can I help you?” asked the young man.

“We’d like some custom rings made,” Kat told him.

The assistant nodded. “I’ll fetch the master jeweller,” he told her and moved through into a back room.

A moment later, an older woman entered and approached Kat. “I’m Mrs. Ljusberg,” she said. “Henrik says you want to talk about some custom rings?”

Jade came up alongside Kat. “We have some stones,” she said, “and we’d like to set them into rings. One for each of us two women. Our boyfriend here,” she indicated Rhys, “already has a ring and we’d like a simple ring in a similar style, if that’s possible?”

Mrs. Ljusberg nodded. She turned to Rhys. “May I see the ring, please?”

Rhys held his hand out. Mrs. Ljusberg produced a magnifying eyepiece from her pocket and moved close to inspect the ring. “Well, well,” she said, “it’s been many a year since I saw a ring like this. Where did you get it?”

“I wish I knew,” Rhys said wistfully. “I’m told it belonged to my father. I never knew him, and it was handed to me as an heirloom when I turned eighteen.”

Mrs. Ljusberg looked at him for a moment. “From your father?” she asked. Rhys nodded. “Can I hold it for a moment?” she asked. There was no logical reason for him to say no, but he very much wanted to. He didn’t want to take the ring off his finger, but his curiosity as to what it was and what it might say about his family was intense. He slipped it off the ring finger of his right hand and dropped it into her palm. He suddenly felt cold and somehow diminished, as if his posture had dropped. Kat and Jade looked at him with concern.

She turned it in her hand, feeling its weight. She examined it closely with her eyepiece, including the inside of the band and each of the small jewels set into its head. She made notes on a piece of paper. She brought a small set of balance scales up from beneath the display of necklaces they were standing by and weighed the ring. She noted the weight on the paper. She brought a tiny jug up onto the countertop and filled it with water. She dropped the ring in, much to Rhys’s alarm, and the ring caused some water to run out of the jug, which she also weighed and noted. She examined each of the jewels in turn, touching each lightly with her finger. Finally, she dried the ring and handed it back to Rhys. He quickly slipped it back on his finger, and he was immediately back to normal.

Mrs. Ljusberg did some quick calculations on her paper, then looked up at Rhys. “Firstly,” she said, “the ring is not gold. It is not heavy enough for its size. That means it’s an alloy, gold mixed with other metals. I can’t tell precisely what, as there are far too many permutations. The important thing is that it has no scratches or marks on it, and any ring that’s been worn for any length of time will pick up tiny marks. This has none. That would usually indicate that the metal is phenomenally hard, but it would also make it brittle. There is no sign of any stress fractures in the ring either. So it’s a hard metal and fracture-free. I’ve never seen that before.

“The jewels; I don’t know for sure what they are. There are also no scratches on those, and apart from diamond, jewel stones of that supposed age would also have tiny scratches on them. I can guess at what some of them are. The red one looks like a garnet, although, as I said, it isn’t scratched enough for its age if it is a garnet. The purple one resembles an amethyst, but with the same note of caution. The clear one that I thought was a diamond; I now don’t think it is, as it feels warm to the touch. I don’t know what it is, though. The cloudy one, the black, blue and green ones, I don’t know. I will say, though, that they’re all tiny but seem to have no defects in any of them.”

Rhys thanked Mrs. Ljusberg for the information. She turned to Kat and Jade. “Can I see the stones you want incorporated into your rings?” Jade produced the velvet bag again and emptied the two tiny, almost-transparent jewels into Mrs. Ljusberg’s hand. She looked at them with her magnifying eyepiece and sighed. “Where did you get these?” she asked.

“I was given them last night,” Jade said. “My employer gave them to me, and I don’t know anything about them before that. Is there a problem?”

“Not a problem,” Mrs. Ljusberg replied. “A mystery, however. They seem identical to the clear stone on your gentleman friend’s ring. He doesn’t know where that came from; you don’t know where these came from. The fact that we now have three identical stones with no provenance is very suspicious.” Jade started to speak, but Mrs. Ljusberg cut her off. “I don’t mean suspicious in the sense that they’re stolen or they’ve come from any unscrupulous source,” she said. “It just raises more questions than it answers. It reminds me of a story my master jeweller told me when I was an apprentice, many, many years ago. It was a similar story with similar stones. It may be a wild coincidence, one way or another, but in that story, the jewels were fragments of a moonstone. I don’t know whether that has any significance, but my master always told me that the customer was a well-known public figure, highly regarded in society. It was rumoured that the stones gave him some sort of advantage. What type of advantage and in what area of life, he didn’t know.

“Anyway, back to the business at hand, setting these in a ring will be straightforward. The young gentleman’s ring is made of a hard gold alloy. If you want them to look and feel similar, I’d suggest a titanium and gold alloy ring. You can opt for more traditional gold and silver or tin alloys, which would be cheaper but more prone to damage. I can make them look almost identical to his ring, although ladies normally prefer their rings to be less solid than his is.”

Kat looked at Jade. “Can we look through your displays and see what the possibilities are?”

The three women went through the display cases, examining ring styles before finally settling on a design that Jade and Kat liked, and that was reasonably similar to Rhys’s ring. Mrs. Ljusberg cautioned that the band and shoulder of the ring would be the same, but the head would be different, as their stones were long and thin compared to the rounder shape that the display ring had.

There then followed a discussion about the price, along with some haggling, before Jade, Kat, and Mrs. Ljusberg agreed on the total, including an extra payment so that the rings would be a priority and would be ready by noon the day after tomorrow. Jade paid the deposit.

Rhys asked Mrs. Ljusberg about the location of the university outfitters he’d chosen at random from his list. It turned out it was only two streets away from Mrs. Ljusberg’s shop, about a ten-minute walk. The trio stood in the jeweller’s window, the rain now steadily falling in the street outside.

“Do we get a cab, or do we run?” Rhys asked Kat and Jade.

The two women looked at each other, grinning. “Run!” they said at the same time. Rhys grinned back. The three ran out of the jewellers, up the street, turned right onto the main road, crossed the next side street, avoiding the traffic at the crossroads, turned right again and ran down that street. “There!” shouted Jade, pointing. The three charged, whooping and laughing, into the outfitters’ shop, skidding to a halt in the shop entrance. They formed a group hug, laughing and chattering like small children in their soaking wet rainwear. Then they looked at the shop they were in.

Rhys had expected the university outfitters to be like the tailor’s shop he’d peered in while browsing in Miller Lane. Dark with wood panelling and older shop assistants wearing measuring tapes around their necks like badges of office. But this was as different as it was possible to be. The shop was painted in pastel colours, and its wares were displayed around the walls and on stands arranged throughout the shop. The shop wasn’t lit with candles or oil lamps that cast yellow light like everywhere else he’d seen – including their new house – but with light fittings that gave out a brilliant white light on such an overcast day. The shop was bright and airy and full of young women.

Jade had noticed the number of women, too, and was looking around with a smile on her face. Kat was also looking around, but with an amazed look on her face. She had never seen anything like it in her life. A female shop assistant approached them. “Are you new students?” she asked Kat and Jade.

“Not us,” replied Kat. “He is, though,” indicating Rhys.

The assistant laughed. “I’m sorry, ladies, I shouldn’t have made an assumption. It’s just that we go out of our way to provide a great experience for female students. There aren’t many of them, mostly in the school of education. For some reason, Reilander parents like women teaching their children. The school of medicine offers courses for midwives too and accepts female students to train as gynaecologists and in related female-focused fields. There are also women enrolled in other courses, but they’re usually from affluent, liberal families, and they have to be headstrong, independent, and resilient. Or they’re foreigners who are also headstrong, independent and resilient. Anyway, I’m Linnae and I’m pleased to meet you.”

She turned to Rhys and held her hand out. He took it and shook, saying, “Hello, Linnae. I’m pleased to meet you, too.” He realised that this was the first time since he’d been in Rieland that a woman had shaken him by the hand. Normally, they curtsied. Kat and Jade had curtsied up to now. There was something different about this shop, and not just the décor and the lighting. Linnae was talking, so he paid attention.

“Are you here for your fresher’s year?” She asked. Rhys nodded. “Good,” Linnae added, “which school will you be attending?”

“Erm, I’m not entirely sure?” Rhys admitted. “I’m doing a ‘General Studies’ course?”

Linnae laughed a little too hard for Rhy’s comfort. “Oh, I’m so sorry,” she said. “Every time someone says that, it makes me laugh. As though giving a course a non-descript name like that hides what they’re teaching there. You’d have to be pretty green behind the ears...” She noticed Rhys blushing furiously and Kat and Jade trying not to laugh. “I seem to be getting a little ahead of myself,” she said. “I’m sorry if I’m embarrassing or upsetting you.”

“No, it’s fine,” said Rhys. “I am a little green behind the ears, I expect, not being used to the country, or the city or the university. You carry on.”

Linnae smiled. “You’ll be in the School of Humanities,” she added. “Don’t worry about that, though. There’s no perfect home for a course about magic, and you may find you have some non-humans on it.” Rhys’s eyes widened at the prospect. “Anyway, what can I do for you?”

“I’ve been told to get some formal wear,” Rhys said.

Linnae nodded. “Follow me,” she said and headed further into the shop. She stopped by a display of formal trousers. Do you have anything already that you want to use, or are you looking for a complete outfit?”

“A complete outfit,” Rhys replied.

Linnae nodded again. “Can you take your jacket off, please?” she said. Rhys did so and handed the wet garment to Jade, who held it by the hood. Linnae produced a tape measure from her pocket, bent down in front of Rhys and wrapped the tape around his waist. Rhys started to blush at her proximity to his genitals, which, in turn, caused Kat and Jade to walk away from him, hands over their mouths, so they wouldn’t burst out laughing. He’d been measured for clothes before, but always by a man and in a fitting room, never by a woman and on a public shop floor. Linnae went on to measure his inside leg, which caused Rhys more embarrassment and Jade and Kat more amusement at his reaction. She also measured the height to his shoulders, his chest size and the circumference of his head. She noted the figures down on a small card.

“What style are we looking for?” she asked.

“What styles do you have?” Rhys replied.

“Looking at your measurements, you’ll probably be fine with some of our stock items. You can have custom ones made, but I couldn’t, hand on heart, recommend that given the number of times you’ll wear them. It’d likely be throwing money away, and you don’t look like the sort of person who needs to make a statement by having fur-trimmed robes or gold braid on your cap.”

Jade and Kat reappeared. “He’s got an athletic body,” said Kat. “I think we want to highlight that. So something that emphasises his physique would be good.” Jade nodded her agreement.

Linnae led the trio around the shop, selecting a pair of close-fitting trousers, a white slim-fit shirt, a purple necktie, a black gown, a sky blue stole (the colour for the Humanities school) and a black mortar-board cap. Linnae had a specialist measure and fit him for shoes. He chose a pair of black leather shoes, shiny with no adornments or frills, lightweight, and featuring a low heel.