Camille nodded sagely, offering a wise smile Rapunzel supposed was intended to be comforting. "Of course! If you keep flinging yourself at him, he'll never want you like you want him. You need to make him fling himself at you."
Rapunzel couldn't imagine Eugene flinging himself anywhere, at anyone. He was the strong one, he was the steady one who caught her, as she was known to do quite a bit of flinging. And even if he did pick up flinging, could she catch him? What then?
"Sweetheart I see the wheels turning in your head. I'm speaking metaphorically here. He does not need to throw himself at you bodily. Justà make things a little more novel for him. Make him want you."
Rapunzel wanted Eugene to want her almost as much as she wanted him to love her, and that was a lot. She squared her shoulders. "What do I have to do?"
Camille tossed her hand as if it were the simplest thing in the world. "Let him make the first move, for starters. See how that goes. Then try dressing up! The smallest change can go a long way in the bedroom."
Rapunzel cocked her head. "Dressing up? Like for a ball?"
"No, Darling. Like something forbidden. Someone forbidden. Be something he can't have every day. If you have something every day you're bound to get tired of it. Be someone against the rules."
Rapunzel bit her lip, the sick feeling spreading into her heart. Eugene was tired of her? He wanted someone different? She had to be this someone?
Camille patted her hand. "Sex between committed couples can become a chore. But, be creative!" she said. "If one thing doesn't work, try another! The possibilities are endless. Which is a good thing, too, because marriage is forever."
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Rapunzel fretted about the castle all the following day. She paid polite attention at the Circle of Philanthropic Countesses brunch, and she read the closing meditation at the retirement of an accomplished warhorse, but otherwise her thoughts were consumed by Eugene and her utter failure the night before. Clearly, she had not been forbidden enough. She had to be more forbidden.
It couldn't just be any old act. It must be something truly out of his reach, something so new he'd be amazed and consumed by intrigue.
Which was why, when Eugene got home from another long day of meetings, Rapunzel was ready. She'd made a kind of shroud out of extra sheets and rubbed brown and grey makeup here and there. It wasn't perfect, but she thought it conveyed the idea.
Eugene eyed her warily, taking a seat on the edge of the bed and studying her. "Goldieà" he said, "What are you wearing?" His tone was carefully neutral. He was trying to be diplomatic. No need.
"I'm not Goldie," she whispered darkly. "I'm a leper."
Eugene blinked, frowned, then reached out a hand to feel her forehead.
"You're not allowed to touch lepers," she said, trying to sound ominous. "Leprosy is dreadfully contagious."
"That's true," he said, pinching a splotchy spot on her arm. "So it's a good thing this is eye shadow and not decayed flesh. What am I missing? Why are we dressed as lepers?"
Rapunzel huffed. "We are not. I am dressing as a leper." She pulled the shroud aside a little to reveal one long, slender, blue and brown leg. "So that you can have somethingà forbidden." She arched an eyebrow and dropped her voice an octave, hoping it conveyed her meaning.
Eugene leaned in, and she thought he would kiss her, but he only studied her pupils. Finally, he pulled back. "Soà you want me to have sex with you while you're dressed as a leper?"
Finally! She nodded enthusiastic ally. "Yes! I will actlike a leper, too!"
Eyebrows knit, Eugene took the tea from her bedside table and sniffed it, then poked the half pastry she'd left uneaten. "And what does that entail?"
Eugene's obvious skepticism starting to discourage her, Rapunzel shrugged. "I'll moan and groan a lot. I won't use the limbs that I've designated as rotted away. You can pretend you snuck into a leper colony and-"
"Why would I sneak into a leper colony for sex?"
"I don't know, maybe you wanted an adventure, maybe-"
"Do I come across as a guy who gets off on lepers?" He looked legitimately concerned for his reputation, so Rapunzel quickly shook her head.
"No, no! I just thoughtà I don't know, I thought you might want to try something different. You know, have something you can't have every day."
Eyes softening, Eugene bent down to push the shroud away from her shoulder and press a kiss there that tingled all the way down her spine. "Don't be silly," he murmured. "I married you because I want to have you," he punctuated his words with hot, open-mouthed kisses across her collar bone. "Every. Single. Day."
She moaned softly, arching up into his lips, and when his hand moved to rest on her exposed thigh, she jumped on her cue. "OH GOD!" She wailed, "NOT THAT LEG. IT BURNS!"
Eugene snatched his hand away and sat up instantly. "What's wrong?"
Rapunzel brought her hands together as if in prayer. "Dear Lord," She cried. "Why do you afflict me with this disease? Why must I be isolated from my fellow man? Must I never know the pleasure of flesh on flesh?"
Eugene stared blankly at her for a long time. Finally, he shook his head. "I'm going to take a bath."