Free Wilful Impropriety by Ekaterina Sedia

and forced herself to wait for the giggling, excited crowd of other girls to finish fixing their appearances. The moment the door to the main corridor closed behind them, she pressed her hand to the crack she had glimpsed in the flowered wallpaper. More female voices were coming down the corridor. She rushed headlong into the darkness before they could arrive.
    Warm, ungloved hands caught her, and pressed the hidden door shut behind her.
    “You came!” Isobel said.
    “You waited,” said Agatha.
    “I’ve been waiting for an hour,” Isobel said, so softly that Agatha could barely hear her. “I had to take off my gloves after the first half-hour—it’s so hot in here. Mrs. Stanhope probably thinks I’ve run away by now. I suppose it was silly to hope you would really come, but—”
    “I hope you will run away from Mrs. Stanhope,” Agatha said. “I mean . . .” She stopped, gathering her breath. Her corset laces might be loose, but she still felt lightheaded. She was gasping for air. She could feel Isobel only inches away; could feel their heavy skirts brushing against each other.
    She had never been so frightened in her life. But she couldn’t give up now.
    “I’m going back to Tremain House,” she said. “I hoped . . . will you come with me? Please?”
    There was a pause. Agatha couldn’t see Isobel’s face, couldn’t guess at her expression.
    “When you say I should come with you,” Isobel finally said, “do you mean as a companion? As I am to Mrs. Stanhope?”
    Agatha swallowed hard. “If you want,” she said. “That is, I could do with a friend, and a companion. I think I’ve spent too much time alone. But also . . .”
    She closed her eyes in the darkness.
    She had sworn never to humiliate herself by asking for what she couldn’t have. But she had also made a vow to never hide again.
    Agatha leaned forward, holding her breath.
    Isobel’s lips were soft and full.
    Magic sparked between them.
    A long time later, Agatha drew back. She was breathing quickly now, flushed with a warmth that left her unsteady. She wanted to laugh, or cry, or dance in the darkness. She forced herself to hold perfectly still instead as she waited for Isobel’s reaction.
    “Well,” Isobel said consideringly, “in that case . . .” She laughed suddenly, and her voice was bright with joy. “Yes. Yes, yes, yes!”
    “Really?” Agatha caught hold of the rough wall to support herself as her legs turned limp with relief. “You’ll really come? You really want to . . .”
    “Well,” Isobel said teasingly, “as a committed naturalist, you know, I can’t take any of my first observations on faith. So perhaps . . .” Her warm, bare fingers curled around the nape of Agatha’s neck, her words whispered against Agatha’s lips. “Perhaps I ought to repeat the experiment one more time, for Science’s sake. And then again, and again, and again . . .”
     
    •   •   •
     
    Even Sir Jasper seemed pleased, in a vague sort of way, to learn that Agatha had brought Miss Cunningham home for good.
    “Good for a young girl to have someone to talk to, isn’t it?” he said. “She seems like a very decent companion for you, my dear. Very quiet. Doesn’t bother a fellow in his library. Understands that it’s the right place for a man to take his meals.” He beamed, settling more comfortably into his armchair. “Thank goodness Clarisse gave up and took herself off, so we can all be comfortable again. Did she go back to Vienna, did you say? Or was it Paris this time?”
    “Somewhere warm, I believe,” said Agatha. “I’m certain she’ll be happier now.”
    “Yes, yes,” Sir Jasper said. “I’m sure you’re right, my dear. But you brought back a set of animals from London, too, you say? What on earth did you do that for?”
    “Only two animals, Papa,” said Agatha, “and they won’t bother you, I promise.”
    “Oh, no,” Sir Jasper said, sinking back into his book with relief. “No, I am quite