Mike & Karen Ch. 33

"Some of you are going to Lucerne, I am told, and this will be a great experience for you," Throckmorton pointed out. "Keep your minds open, and be ready to accept critique and correction of your methods. The field you are representing your advances in will be tough to-"

"Professor Gildersleeve?" Mike interjected, raising his hand in the air.

"It's Throckmorton," the man at the podium almost snapped before taking a moment to compose himself and then looked up at Mike. "You have a question, young man?"

"I was just wondering if you have as yet had a chance to go over our theorem about the correlation between Calabi-Yau Manifolds and the resulting Hawking radiation that corroborates their existence and function," Mike said, his voice carrying across the room, every person present hanging on his every word, except possibly Gildersle- Throckmorton.

The man smiled lightly, his tone somewhere between condescending and dismissive. "I know this is a big deal for many here at this fine institution, sir, and I am simply pointing out that all great scientific advances of the past must undergo peer review. Skepticism is never a bad thing in this field you all aspire to enter."

"Is skepticism the default state before a theorem is presented, sir?" Mike asked. "Curiosity, perhaps, but dismissive skepticism seems to spin the wrong way, if you will."

There were chuckles around the room and Throckmorton's smug smile faded. Marks had his hand over his face, shaking his head. Why did DeBourne have to be one of his two most brilliant students?

Karen looked back and forth between Throckmorton and DeBourne, her mind already calculating how this encounter would play out, and how it would affect future ones for the duration of Throckmorton's stay. The final equation looked... annoying.

"I know you consider yourself the architect of this new and exciting theorem everyone is worked up about, Mr. DeBourne," the professor said levelly. "But there are many great minds on this planet who know that science is rarely so linear, and they might take issue with these contentions of yours about improbable outcomes."

"After they'd read the theorem, of course," Mike added with a nod. "Great minds don't happen without reading, I'm sure we agree."

"I can assure you, professor, that we were well beyond diligent in checking our numbers, before, during, and after the experiments," Dean Marks said, stepping in now and hoping to defuse the situation. More than that, he couldn't be seen taking sides with Throckmorton after so loudly trumpeting the department's findings across the scientific community, could he?

"I've no doubt you were as thorough as possible," Throckmorton said now, turning his head to look at Dean Marks and nodding slightly. "But you are not the only ones who will be heading to Lucerne, Graham, and critical eyes will be everywhere. I am merely trying to make sure that your people are prepared."

"Of course," the dean said, trying to not turn puce. He was beginning to sweat as well. He may have wanted to blame DeBourne for starting this, but he had to stop Throckmorton from disparaging the findings without even (apparently) looking at them. "After this meeting, perhaps we can show you the-"

"That's fine," Throckmorton said, cutting him off. "Students need to be validated, of course. I just want them to understand that Lucerne will not spoon-feed it to them."

"None of us expect that, sir," Karen said now, drawing everyone's gaze. The hauntingly beautiful young woman made sure she was heard. "We've also been taught who to ignore, thanks to Dean Marks."

"Yes, I see," Throckmorton said while Marks gazed up at her in horror. "Perhaps, young lady, you'll be able to help us understand. You're the one with the superlative math skills, yes?"

Karen nodded, her unnerving golden eyes holding his. "As you say. I am even faster than DeBourne."

"As long as we remember that moving too quickly can lead to missed steps," Throckmorton pointed out, trying to sound firm. He didn't like being questioned. "But indeed I'll find time to get around to looking at the contentions. As for my actual purpose in being here, I'll be shadowing classes, taking notes to see how they compare to how we run things at Noddack, and other noteworthy institutions like Caltech and MIT."

He nodded and stepped back from the podium, allowing Dean Marks to take over. The shorter man cleared this throat. "Well, yes. As you can see, we've made a splash, and now it's up to us to stay on top of things. No time to rest on our laurels..."

A few minutes later...

"Can you believe the cheek?" Karen almost hissed as she walked alongside Mike, heading down the hallway. Her golden eyes were flashing with indignation. "He cast doubt on the theorem without even having read it! He would no doubt be outraged if anyone had done the same to him."

"I'm willing to bet it's the fact that two young upstart students are the one who blew this field wide open which has his dander up," Mike said with a nod, a gesture that always reminded Karen of Zeus confirming his will when DeBourne did it. "None too gracious, is he?"

"Americans," she muttered, shaking her head. "No manners."

Some seconds passed before she snickered and looked up at him while they walked, her lovely face beaming with amusement. "Did you really have to set him off by calling him Gildersleeve? Don't try to tell me that wasn't intentional, good sir."

"Okay, you got me, Gordon," he laughed. "Pretty sure we're gonna need to keep him distracted and off-balance until Lucerne, frankly, or he'll be bad-mouthing the theorem the entire time. Just doing my bit."

"As only you can, frankly," she said, patting his forearm. "He almost made it sound personal, his refusal to believe we had confirmed this principle."

"I'll look into it," Mike said with a shrug. "Check his record, see if he got stymied anywhere when searching along similar veins. That might account for him being salty."

"I think we can also expect to see him as a guest lecturer on occasion," she sighed, not liking the prospect. "Forget Dean Marks, the faculty all borderline idolize him."

"Groucho makes for a great sycophant, since he's shorter than anyone not named Heyman," Mike pointed out, making her giggle. They reached the foyer of the building and stopped, turning to face each other.

"We are having a small fête in my room later, p'raps you might join us?" she lilted, holding her books to her chest, as she was wont to do. With most women, this gesture came across as insular and defensive, but with Karen Gordon, it was a tease, due to the size of her bust. Which, when one was as tall as Mike, you couldn't help but see clearly. And she obviously didn't mind.

"I can look into the possibility," he said in a noncommittal tone.

"We have already invited most of the floozies you have a habit of sleeping with, so that excuse won't fly," she said with smirk.

"Is your friend the baron coming?" he asked. "He seems like a good sort."

Perhaps the twinkle in her eye faded just a fraction at the tart mention of Barone Trinci. "Alas, the barone will not be attending, he is indisposed on family affairs. And it would be bad form for you to accidentally step on him in any event. I expect you to attend, sirrah. We begin at nineteen hours."

She nodded to him and then turned and headed out the door, leaving him to watch her retreating form, the short skirt ruffling around her heavenly upper thighs. Mike sighed and then headed out, making his way to his own dorm on the other side of the green.

Exams, Lucerne, a clear message from his sifu to intensify his training, and now Throckmorton... it was certainly going to be an interesting end to the semester.

***

Blackwell Manor, Wednesday afternoon, the present...

"Becky, darling!" Jenny gushed as she swept her fellow blonde into a squishy hug, not minding at all who saw. "So good of you to come back so soon!"

"Couldn't stay away from the other two thirds of my Trinity now, could I?" the young teacher purred, making sure her large tits were squashed into Jenny's equally large ones. Aside from Nanu, nobody was currently in the foyer with them. They looked around for half a second and then pressed their lips together, sharing a deep kiss, moaning in pleasure at the sensations.

Nanu rolled her eyes and tried not to tap her foot impatiently.

The kiss finally ended, and they were still hugging, body to body, their noses almost touching. "Where's Lexi?" Becky asked in a breathy voice, her pussy still tingling from the kiss.

This led Jenny to giggle. "She is indisposed, rather against her will, and you will simply die laughing when I tell you why."

"I'm all ears," Becky said, taking the countess' hand and walking toward the kitchen. Theresa knew they were coming, and she had food ready for Nanu, including the ba-lo she craved so much.

"Hardly, lovey," Jenny purred, making Becky snicker. The moment they could get away with it, they were fucking, and that was how they wanted it. "Have you decided on your attire for the naughty housewarming?"

"I gotta admit, I don't know if I have anything that's suitable," Becky confessed as they walked down the Hall of Ancestors. They both took a moment to indulge the Blackwell women's tradition of flipping off one of the portraits as they walked by it, essentially sticking it to the patriarchy.

Nanu frowned when she saw them do it, but then she followed suit and stuck her middle finger up at Thaddeus Blackwell before continuing on.

"I don't keep a lot of kinky clothes," the teacher admitted. "I suppose I could run out to some costume or Halloween shop somewhere, try to find something for Nanu and myself, but I'd be worried about looking cheesy. This is a fundraiser, I'm told, and everyone else present is gonna be a zillionaire with an expensive outfit, right?"

"Tell you what," Jenny said, beaming her charming patrician smile. "Come with me next week when I take my boys out to find new togs that will suit them. While we are at it, we will bring you and Nanu along and find something incredibly racy to wear. I buy, and you pay me back by letting me see you in it. Sound fair?"

"Not quite," Becky replied, smirking. "Nanu and I also get to pay you back by licking you into a coma, my lady. Deal?"

"We have an accord, lovey," Jenny laughed brightly.

They reached the kitchen and Theresa received the rather eager Nanu warmly. She led the tiny Egyptian girl into the kitchen, and they heard Nanu squeal with delight at the fare that awaited her. Theresa laughed happily, since Nanu was really good at getting rid of leftovers she was having trouble finding use for.

"So now," Jenny said, still holding Becky's hand as they turned and walked along another hallway, avoiding the disapproving stares of the Blackwell patriarchs. "Shall we join the others in Dunsany? It is my understanding that Kat just harvested some buds from a strain that she and Michael developed themselves."

"That sounds dangerous and fun," Becky mused with a smirk. "Knowing those two, though, it has a wacky name. Whatsit called?"

"Oh, Kat told me, and I'll butcher this, but..." Jenny said, drawing a breath. "Kisiwipaýiw kîwêtinohk. It means 'Fury of the North' in Cree, I believe."

"Yeah, that sounds like something the Prof'd come up with," Becky laughed. "Sounds like that Cree language he speaks."

They stopped in the stairwell on their way to the third floor, and Jenny pinned Becky to the wall with her body as the two blondes kissed deeply for some seconds, hands gently fondling one another's breasts. Trilby came down the stairs and kept going, barely giving the pair a glance while she carried sheets to the laundry room.

The women then resumed their ascent, emerging onto the third floor ('The Penthouse', according to the staff) and heading for the Dunsany Lounge. They heard women laughing gaily, talking about the upcoming festivities.

Everyone called out and waved as Jenny and Becky entered the room. Jenny had volunteered to go and get the new arrival, since she was a fellow member of the Trinity. Millie had rejoined the group since Percy had been cranky and was having a nap. Becky introduced herself to Ashley, whom she'd never met before, giving her a warm hug and then sitting with the Penrose sisters on one of the long chesterfields. She accepted a martini from Valentina, who was serving the soiree, as she settled down into her place.

"So what were we cackling about just before I arrived?" she asked, the tingling in her pussy finally having subsided, for now.

"The guest list for the housewarming," Karen explained as hostess. Since Alexa was otherwise occupied, Jenny was second host, as was proper. "A few of us are apparently still star-struck when mere celebrities show up at an event, so that no doubt accounted for most of the racket you heard when you were coming down the hallway."

"Not to mention a few people with posh titles," Janet quipped, smiling wickedly as she took a sip of her beer. "See if anyone's in need of being cuffed, y'know?"

Jenny cleared her throat rather loudly. "There is a widowed and readily available countess in your midst, my dear."

"Yes, but I'm not lez, your highness," Janet said dismissively. "Despite what you might've heard about Bresc'n me. Maybe this Bolingbroke dude needs a wife, or at least a mistress. Any other titled dudes makin' an appearance, Princess?"

She was about to answer when Mike came into the lounge, towering over everyone. Quite a few of them resisted the urge to stand respectfully on instinct. Becky got halfway up before sitting herself back down again. Lisa, Janet, and Mona snickered at her.

"There you are, my lord-husband," Karen said cheerfully. "Still hard at work while we plebs play about?"

"Seeing you at ease before this weekend is all that matters to me," he replied with a nod of his head while looking at her. Several other women restrained dreamy sighs. "Just popping in to say hi to everyone before hitting the task list again."

"It feels unfair that I am doing next to none of the work," Karen seemed to lament.

"We're celebrating you, so it makes sense you're doing next to none of it," Mike pointed out.

"Just what we need, all of us doin' work while Princess sits back on her bed with earphones on, listening to opera," Janet sighed, shaking her head. "Eyes closed, dreamy smile, moving her feet, silently singing along..."

"Hold up," Mike interrupted, his brow creasing as he thought about what Janet said. "Gordon hasn't worn headphones in decades. You're thinking on something a long way back."

"Okay, and?" Janet wondered. "I mean, at least she was keepin' the opera stuff to herself. She did it all the time back at uni, you may recall. We went into her room one day, and she was just sittin' propped up in her bed, holding her earphones in place and mouthing the lyrics."

Mike thought for another moment. "April seventeenth, back in '87, her and Red's room. I remember coming in with you."

"I... yes?" Janet answered, confused by what he was on about.

"She wasn't listening to opera," Mike stated rather plainly. "She was listening to the Zeppelin song 'Kashmir'. I saw how she was moving her head back and forth, her feet keeping rhythm, and she was mouthing the words. No, it wasn't opera, it was Zeppelin."

"You've known all these decades," Karen sighed, looking up at him almost worshipfully, her golden eyes shining while everyone else just seemed various grades of stunned. "Quite possibly the least relevant detail in existence, and you picked it out and remember over thirty years later."

"You two still freak me out after over thirty years, that's what I know," Lisa mumbled, drinking her supposedly kosher wine.

There was no doubt about it, the bar for epic relationships was damned high around this place thanks to these two.

***

Down on the bel étage...

"Hey, there you are," Alexa said, walking up to Alex, Freja, and Jeanie. She still had Trinian locked onto her, and it seemed as if nothing short of the Jaws of Life would change that. "So what's up after dinner?"

"Oh, Alex is comin' back with us before that, to work on our laptops," Jeanie said while Freja squatted down to say hello to Trinian. It was nice to have someone shorter than her around, and who wasn't as obnoxious as the countess' grandson. Or that mean Nanu girl, who was probably lurking around somewhere. "We need stronger VIPs or something."

"VPNs," Alex translated for his aunt-wife. "Gonna get them behind barriers that'll drive NORAD crazy. I don't want people targeting them to get at-"

"Oh, Alex, you can't do that on your own," Alexa reasoned, stepping forward and somehow disengaging her hand from Trinian's for the first time in what seemed like hours. "You're not good enough at programming to do that, you'll need my help, a hundred p."

Alex frowned. "Pretty sure I'm the computer whiz here, Alexa, I know my way around-"

"Alex," she said in a low and firm tone, stepping in now and taking hold of his hand. It may have looked normal to an innocent like Trinian, but the way she was holding him somehow felt like how a girl would hold on to a guy's nutsack that she meant to crush if he didn't comply. She squeezed as she spoke.

"Stop being unreasonable. You're not that good, you need me to help you set up those VPNs. Don't let your male ego get the better of you."

"Oh, uh, yeah," Alex said, smiling rather nervously. "You're right, of course, I got ahead of myself. I'll need your help for sure, Alexa. VPNs are often beyond me, right?"

"Cool, Lexi can come too," Jeanie added, beaming happily. "Peg and Shana are already there, so we can have a great big f-"

"Yndling, of course you are happy to watch and learn about how to work the VPNs," Freja interjected, looking away from Trinian and up at her wife, her hazel eyes making it abundantly clear that Jeanie was not to finish that sentence. "Peg and Shana, they are also at our place to learn as well."

"Oop, right," Jeanie agreed, finally cluing in and smiling down at Trinian. "Boring adult computer stuff, no fun to be head there, right?"

Alex just shook his head while Alexa turned and knelt down to speak to her miniature doppelganger. "Gosh, Trinian, I'm sorry, I know we wanted to look at pictures and have a party with stuffies, but Alex needs my help, and this is important."

The younger girl assessed her for a moment and then sighed. "Fine, I guess. But you won't be long, right?"

"Oh, it's hard to say," Alexa mused, sounding very uncertain. "VPNs can be very complicated, and-"

"We'll have her back tonight, Trinian," Alex said with a grin. "There's a lot to do here, after all."

This earned him a withering stare from Alexa. He ignored it while Freja and Jeanie both restrained their smirks.

"Alexandra shouldn't have to do anything," Trinian announced, taking her hand again. "She's Aunt Karen's sister, after all."

"What, so I have to do stuff even though I'm Karen's one and only son?" Alex asked.

"Boys don't count," Trinian stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Yeah, boys're stupid, throw rocks at 'em," Jeanie laughed. "Don't worry, Trins, we'll have her back."

"Guess we'll leave now, then," Alex said, slapping his hands on his thighs. "I'll go tell Theresa we're missin' dinner, four less spots at the table. Then I'll tell mom and dad."

"Better tell the undertaker while you're at it," Alexa grumbled, giving him another sour look. "In tantis es angustiis, nepos..." she said in Latin, telling her nephew he was in trouble. "C'mon, lemme introduce you to Morgenmuffel, and your mom can come get you when she's done in Dunsany."