You're about to answer me - I can see it in your eyes, that soft wonder, the way you're still catching your breath - when three sharp knocks rattle the study door.
We freeze. Footsteps in the hallway. Voices, low and conspiratorial.
"Hide," I whisper, already moving. The desk - ornate, heavy, with carved legs and just enough space beneath. I pull you with me, dropping to the floor and sliding under the mahogany frame just as the door handle turns.
It's cramped. Impossibly so. You end up straddling my lap, your dress hiked up, my back pressed against the carpet. Your hands find my shoulders. My hands find your waist. We're nose to nose in the dim space beneath the desk, the lamplight filtering down in thin gold lines.
The door opens. Two sets of footsteps - a man and a woman. The door clicks shut. Locks.