Wednesday...

Vicky shifted as she drifted out of sleep, relishing the warmth of being embraced in the early dawn’s light. The sudden recollection of last night caused her to snap awake, but no sight greeted her stranger than that of Brandon still asleep and with his arm around her shoulder.

She must have rolled toward him to escape the cold in her sleep, but God only knows what noises she may have been making. Shifting gingerly away from him, she grimaced at the decidedly unpleasant sensation between her legs and crept into the shower.

She must have been soaking last night and God only knew whether Brandon would have noticed or what he would have thought. And what the hell had she dreamt about?

Vicky recalled with a shudder the sensation of being weak, bound and utterly helpless. And yet, her body in her dream had responded when Helena had-

“No!” Vicky hissed at herself, trying to shake off the memory.

That was something else that frightened her. What part of her mind was so deranged as to conjure the voice of her grandfather’s nurse? Or to emulate so vividly the sensation of the young woman’s lips so delicately wrapped around her-

Vicky flinched away from the memory, almost losing her balance in the shower. The momentary panic of falling had dispelled… whatever it was she was feeling and she refused to dwell on it any further: Dreams were only dreams, and nobody needed to know.

Brandon was waiting to jump into the shower as Vicky left the en suite.

“Sleep well this time?” he asked.

Vicky searched his smile and found nothing but loving concern, and returned it as best as she could.

“Much better,” she said, which was true in a way. Despite the visions troubling her, she felt immensely refreshed. “I’m heading straight to the kitchens. I’ll see you there.”

A couple of extended family members were already preparing breakfast when Vicky arrived. Helena was supervising when she noticed Vicky’s arrival and gave her a warm smile.

Vicky felt the blood rush to her face and looked away, only to realise exactly how strange that would appear.

“Good morning,” Helena said as though not noticing, though to Vicky’s ears her voice had an unaccustomed purr that made her mouth go dry.

“Mor… um, *ahem*, good morning,” Vicky choked out before stumbling towards the cool room.

There wasn’t actually anything for the breakfast table in there, but the sudden drop in temperature cleared Vicky’s head and helped her think straight.

She was still shaken from the dream, obviously. That’s fine, but she couldn’t let it interfere with her life. Helena must know, Brandon mustn’t know and God be good, she would forget about it by the end of the day.

In the meantime, there was plenty of work to distract her.