Tehr let one hand reach behind him and caress her bare hip.  The simple intimate act of such a touch with a good friend, a good lover, thrilled him.  In a way the simple joys of having such a friend as Angelique excited him more than bedding down a queen or conquering a new woman's body.  He turned slightly towards her and grinned, "What makes you think that is not the type of massage I seek old friend?"<br/><br/>He chuckled but then moved towards the bath, pulling her along with him, but letting go of her hand before he entered the waters.  He would be content for her to join him, or to simply sit and talk with him while he bathed.  He enjoyed Angelique's company in a way that went beyond just being master and servant, went beyond lovers, and even went beyond friends in many ways.  They'd known each other since he'd been a babe, and while she looked younger than him, she was in fact older than him by a handful of years, courtesy of her half elven blood.<br/><br/>When he'd been a young boy, he'd of course had little to do with the willowy teenager.  But she and he had become friends after he had lost his virginity, and had decided that the company of women, especially beautiful women, was far more interesting than that of his family or his tutors.  It was also because the Hlaford boys that were around his age or maturity looked up to his older brother, James.  James had always been strong and brave and bold.  James was a true outdoorsman like their father, and the other boys would rather play at sports or hunt with James than chess or stones with Tehr.  So his friends became his books, his studies, his arts, and he found that he had a few true friends.  His mother, his sister, and of course Angelique.  There was something about her that always seemed deep, like she was a cool dark pond in a forest.  She seemed perfectly still, calm, but if you dived down, you'd run out of breath before you could find the bottom.<br/><br/>But she was passionate also, certainly a very enthusiastic lover, and one that was not shy with her body.  Tehr suspected that she'd taken quite a few lovers before moving to Londinium, but he'd never asked.  For some reason he'd never wanted to know.  Of course it was also possible that she had a lover or two here in the city.  But he'd had no clue about it if such was the case.  In any regard, any time he'd made advances towards Angelique since they'd moved here, she'd been open and receptive.<br/><br/>He knew that Angelique knew, or at least strongly suspected of the youthful indiscretions that Christina and he had shared.  But never once had the rumor spread throughout the house, and as such he knew that Angelique must have kept those thoughts carefully locked away, shared with no one.  In fact, she seemed to go out of her way to make Christina comfortable when she'd arrived.  Tehr had suspected that the quite large Hlaford clan had sometimes perhaps dallied with each other... it was said that elves were more liberal with their physical affections.  Might the same hold true for half elves?  In any regard, she was too bright a woman to not have caught the sexual innuendo to pass between Christina and himself.  But she said nothing about it.  In fact even her eyesight was in no way judgmental.  He looked into her eyes for a moment, trying very hard to see if it was true, that she accepted him, or if he just wanted that to be the case.  After gazing at her open and honest expression for a moment, he realized that she wasn't judging him... she accepted him.<br/><br/>She really did deserve better than a man whore like him.<br/><br/>He smiled up at her, shaking off the dark thoughts, and sighed, "I hope you understand how dear you are to me.  I have no wish to get maudlin or have you mistake my intentions, but along with Christina, you truly are one of the best friends I could ever hope for Angelique."  He added, "and one of the most generous and wonderful lovers as well."<br/><br/>Only after he said that sentence did he realize that it could be taken to mean that Angelique and Christina were both his best friends and lovers.