Chapter 17 - Shakespeare in the Dark, a Search for Knowledge, and the Near Miss.
*****
Two hours later, Madison sat on her bed and fidgeted. The wait made her glance nervously at the clock. Fortunately, she had not been idle the whole time.
First, she made reservations at for Friday at 7:30 PM, which took longer than expected, as expected. Initially, the maître d'hotel informed her in his pretentiously nasal faux French accent that what she asked of him was simply "impossible, jeune femme". Absolutely no reservations were available for Friday on such short notice. He went on to snobbishly suggest that if she wished to dine at a fine and popular establishment such as Bistro Chardenoux on a Friday night that she be more punctual with her reservations but, given the urgency of her request, perhaps he might fit her in for the 5:00 PM sitting two Wednesdays hence at a table by the bathroom. Madison anticipated this reaction and let slip a not-so-subtle drop of Daniel's name. Miraculously the maître d' discovered that a table right by the kitchen had opened on Friday due to a cancellation.
Madison pouted appropriately and hinted to the maitre d', in the strictest of confidence of course, that they wanted to celebrate a great event and that Daniel might be severely disappointed if they weren't seated in an appropriate place, away from other patrons with as much privacy as possible. The maitre d' hemmed and hawed dramatically and then only just found a way to just squeeze them into the perfect place in the dining room. Madison thanked him profusely and lavished praise on him, while she politely implied that she relied on his discretion with regards their celebration. The maître d' assured her of his cooperation in that regard and, before he could change his mind, Madison hung up the phone with a grateful lilt in her voice, but a sour puss of distaste on her face. Despite Daniel's star power, this "favor" would require an extra generous tip to the maître d' and the purchase of some of the pricier items on the menu, but Madison had factored all that in. After all, it could be her last meal as Daniel's wife if this plan didn't work out, so it might as well be a spectacular meal.
Next, Madison sorted out her wardrobe for Friday evening. She had initial reservations about Deva's suggestion. A double slit maxi with no underwear would require a lot of concentration to prevent awkward wardrobe malfunctions, but after she sorted through her closet and gave it a second thought, she decided that was her best "come get me" dress. After she slipped on some black pumps, the mirror confirmed that she did look rather spectacular. It was just the effect she sought and after the job Daniel had done on Madison's feet, Ivy's suggestion of toe cleavage was a master stroke. She looked elegant, but also conveyed the kind of sexy that clearly signaled her expectation of all manner of sins. Now all she had to do was invite Daniel to dinner with her on Friday and for that Madison had a plan.
Her request for Friday's date was also the start of a nightly campaign of small romantic events that would culminate on Friday in what she hoped was the kind of sex Cassidy had described. Each night she planned to ramp up the sexual pressure on Daniel to get him to express himself and get their relationship out of the polite doldrums. If the subtle approach did not work, her last ditch was an all-out blitz after Friday's dinner, but tonight Madison planned to just put out a little bait and see if she could lure Daniel in.
To that end Madison had done a little quick research. Shakespeare had brought them together that night in the garden, so Madison hoped that some more Shakespeare would cast the same romantic spell. With a book in one hand, she tapped her teeth nervously with the other index finger. This was her opener and it had to go just right. She was so focused on the scene in her head that the first blow of the axe startled her. Madison hurried to the French doors and peeked out around the curtains. Daniel stood by the woodpile to split some firewood for the night fires.
"Showtime."
For tonight's performance Madison chose a white gossamer nightgown decorated with black lace around the low-cut bodice and the floor-length hem. Overall, this was to be a romantic presentation, but Daniel hadn't had sex in six weeks either and Madison was an orgasm up on him. It was a safe bet that Daniel had to be at least as horny as she was, so a little sexy edge to the romantic mood made sense. Madison figured she could use every advantage she could get, and although the nightgown wasn't a very practical selection given the autumn chill, it caught her hips and chest in just the right way and when she stood backlit on the balcony, it would give Daniel a translucently silhouetted tease of the grand prize.
Madison shivered a little and put it down to a bit of stage fright. After a deep breath of courage, she dramatically flung the French doors open before her and fluttered out into the Fall evening. Her bare toes patted on the chilly tiles and her nightgown swished behind her as she swept to the railing and posed in the twilight. When she cleared her throat, Daniel did a double take and the axe paused at his waist. Madison shot Daniel a veiled look and smiled a secret to him with breathy parted lips. Daniel immediately gave her his undivided attention.
"Bingo!" thought Madison happily as she opened the book and prepared to read.
"Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments.
Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O, no! it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved."
Her recital finished, Madison settled a sultry gaze on Daniel. The quiet of the autumn evening surrounded them and halted time. Daniel gazed up at her and smirked at Madison in a way that refreshed Madison's soul like a cool drink of water after a six-week thirst. For a moment the polite and crisply starched veil between them parted and tasty sexual tension vibrated in the colors of sunset. Daniel's attention warmed her against the fall touched air and his dusky green eyes sparkled in bright relief against the gloaming.
"Maybe that's what love looks like," Madison thought as a magic little bubble of solitude formed around them for the first time in what had seemed like forever. "The rest of the world pales in the presence of that one special person."
On cue, Daniel answered her.
"Betwixt mine eye and heart a league is took,
And each doth good turns now unto the other.
When that mine eye is famished for a look,
Or heart in love with sighs himself doth smother,
With my love's picture then my eye doth feast
And to the painted banquet bids my heart.
Another time mine eye is my heart's guest,
And in his thoughts of love doth share a part.
So either by thy picture or my love,
Thyself away are present still with me;
For thou no farther than my thoughts canst move,
And I am still with them, and they with thee;
Or if they sleep, thy picture in my sight
