Andie awoke at a more reasonable hour the next morning, even after her long past midnight rendezvous. She assumed she had missed breakfast given the rigid schedule they kept, but figured maybe she would have an opportunity for lunch today. She reached over to the table to check her phone and saw that it was just a little after 10:00 AM, pretty early by Andie's standards. Luckily the charger wasn't plugged in anywhere too inappropriate and had just been hidden behind part of the tapestry that hung near the bed. She was surprised to see such modern outlets in a house that had to be well over a hundred years old, and who was she kidding probably more, but everything was updated and new.
After a quick shower, she threw on whatever she found first in the least dressy end of the wardrobe and headed out to the hallway. If Cissy wanted dress-up horror games or however she put it the other night she could work with that. She knew her way to the library and figured she'd just start there and text Cissy if she didn't find her. Nothing seemed to be going on as she walked to the double doors and entered, but was surprised to see Divinity alone in the library at that time.
"Oh, good morning, Andie. So nice to see you during daylight today." Divinity greeted her houseguest with a little cutting sarcasm, which Andie fully appreciated and thought she deserved.
"Ha, thanks. Morning to you, too." Andie replied with a chuckle.
"Cissy isn't back down yet after breakfast, but she does have a full day of work to get through, so she should be shortly. Are you hungry? Is there anything I can get for you?" Divinity asked, offering a little more than food according to Andie's ears, and eyes. She wasn't sure if it was the lighting, or the choice of daytime outfit Divinity had on, but her skin had a very youthful and healthy glow about it. Andie felt a little relieved that there wasn't as much skin showing as during dinner, but it didn't change the fact that there was a very nicely filled out sweater clinging to the same frame. She had to give her credit, the woman knew how to dress to her strengths and then play to them even more. The long skirt was styled in the same general cut and length as the weapon of choice from their first meeting, and accordingly, it worked the same amount of magic. The slit was partly closed by the skirt having been tucked under as she crossed her legs, a skill Andie could never master when she was forced to wear dresses as a teen. She usually sat with a full manspread trying to stake out her two seats worth of space on the city bus, not the best plan for any type of skirt.
After running through her full analysis and hoping she hadn't stared awkwardly for too long, she shook off the usual charm she fell under with Divinity and formulated her response.
"I don't usually eat much for breakfast, unless I have some leftover takeout in the kitchen. No chance you have a slice of yesterday's pepperoni pizza or some ramen hanging around, is there?" Andie asked, seriously.
"You are truly something, Andie. I always assume Cissy is missing out on so much by not having many friends in her life. She has some online people she chats with from school and other things, but nothing real." Divinity responded, reminding Andie about something.
"Speaking of real, and life. I had one before the other day, or at least most of one. When can I let my boss at the game shop know I won't be in for a bit, or whatever?" Andie asked another question, this time fully serious.
"That's all been taken care of, nothing to worry about there. Your job is safe and we've made sure the shop can handle your missing shifts." Divinity answered as Andie started to wonder exactly what kind of pull, clout and resources Divinity, and by extension Cissy, had at their disposal. The look on her face as the wheels started to grind in her brain must have let on what she was thinking. "Don't worry, I just happen to know some people and can pull a string or two here or there, nothing nefarious going on."
Andie was relieved at that and hadn't exactly gone there yet, but started to, now that the thought had been planted. "Any idea how long you were expecting me to stay here, I mean, I did have some kinds of plans for my life or at least would like to try to have some of my own."
"That depends a lot on you and Cissy. You may not see it, but there's a chemistry between you two and it's exactly what Cissy needs right now." Divinity shared. "I think the two of you could have a very productive partnership if you just gave it a chance."
"I think Cissy would need to be the one to bother giving anything a chance, if there was any chance to be had. Why would you think it would matter though, or that I would be so inclined?" Andie asked, not really sure what conversation she was having.
"There's a lot I can't say, and a lot Cissy needs to come to naturally, but you've done better than the other most recent three girls that have come before you. For one, you're still here for your second day, that says a lot about you, and it also says a lot about how Cissy feels about you. Last night was a bit of a breakthrough." As Divinity finished Andie's mind raced all around trying to figure out which part of last night Divinity might be talking about, and hoping at worst it was dinner.
"But she left the dining room without making it through the meal, all because I asked about her art."
"You're the only one who has even thought about asking her. She's a bit shy about it, and was not as upset as she sounded. She was more upset with me and let it boil over to you." Divinity explained before going somewhere else. "I find you a very attractive woman, Miss Andie Hawk, and sometimes I get a little bit flirtatious, even at my ripe old age."
Andie couldn't help but laugh at Divinity's phrasing. While she was certainly much older than Andie, she was hardly old, and was growing on Andie too, which made the whole arrangement even more confusing, but she was willing to keep going with it to see where it ended up. As she was finishing her thought, the doors opened as Cissy arrived. For Andie, it didn't matter that the doors, the latches, the hinges and everything were so smooth as to be silent, she could tell when the air changed as the subtle fragrance filtered through and made its way to her nose.
"Oh good, I was just telling Andie about your full day and as such I will leave the two of you to that." Divinity rose from where she had been seated to show off the long sleek black floor length skirt with a slit that may as well have gone up to her neck as far as Andie was concerned. At least Andie understood why she took such care to tuck It under it as she crossed her legs, or else she might have caused a bit of a scene.
"If those were what old legs all looked like I might be changing my preferences soon." Andie thought to herself, then looked around to make sure she hadn't actually said it out loud. Aside from the smile Divinity had on her face there was no other reaction in the room. She had assumed Cissy would have already slammed her stack of work down on the nearest table and stormed out if she had, but instead she had the closest thing to a smile Andie had seen on her face. It wasn't much, but the crinkles by her nose and eyes gave away the slightest twitch of facial muscle movement.
"I see you made it out of your room before noon today, quite an accomplishment." Narcissa started.
"You have no idea. At home I have quite a few days like yesterday if I'm up late gaming or something." Andie replied casually, almost feeling like they were having an actual conversation.
"What do you mean, at home. You are home now, hasn't mother had that talk with you yet? The agreement?" Narcissa asked, surprised she even had to bring it up.
"We were just talking about a few things, but that wasn't exactly one of them. What do you mean by the agreement?
