The swell of music was almost fitting, serving to remind him that there was a world beyond this bench. A world of politics, where nothing he did was ever going to satisfy his father because Rémi was content to live in England, rather than restoring France to her so-called former glory.
"My father forced me into this." He said, deciding it would be best to be blunt.
"Oh." She looked away, sounding disappointed.
He sighed, "I mean into marriage, not into marriage with you."
She glanced at him, frowning slightly, "What's the difference?"
"I like you." He said. "I didn't expect to be matched with someone with personality." He shook his head in an amused fashion, "I mean, knowing my father, I believed he would arrange a political marriage to a completely uninteresting girl in order to keep me concentrated on the job he wants me to do."
Rémi looked sidelong at her, "Instead, I got matched with you."
*Singer!! Post!!*
He had decided to live forever or die in the attempt. - Yossarian, Catch-22
Wide-eyed stupid.
If you're gonna rule the world, you've gotta get up early! - Joel S. Dickens
She stopped, pausing in the middle of the dance. Charles must have sensed her unease, because he lead her away from the dance floor, toward the large double doors that lead to the garden. They walked silently for awhile, until she sat near the great fountain, her great skirts billowing around her. She looked up to see Charles staring at her, waiting patiently.
What am I afraid of? she thought, takign a deep breath. She played witht eh end of her bodice before answering nervously.
"I guess I'm afraid of beign a disappointment..." she cut off, turnign away as a tear slid down her face. She never had that much confidence when it came to the male specimen. She had more confidence in rebeling against her mother.
He gave her a sympathetic look from behind his mask. He considered taking it off for a moment, then decided to. He reached up and grasped its chin, slipping it off as she continued looking away from him.
Charles sat down beside her, sitting the mask on his leg. He put a hand on her shoulder, gently turning her back to face him, smiling a little. "You don't need to be scared of that, Talithia." He said, "You're already more interesting than any of the girls my father introduced me to."
He had decided to live forever or die in the attempt. - Yossarian, Catch-22
Wide-eyed stupid.
If you're gonna rule the world, you've gotta get up early! - Joel S. Dickens
"Your already more interesting than the girls my fatehr introduced me to." She sighed.
"Really?" he nodded. Her eyes roamed his face, taking in the hard angles. His eyes were watching her with diliberate intnesity, makign her turn away again.
He leaned forward to look at her properly, not knowing what else to say. Every time he had tried to reassure her so far, she'd just become more nervous and turned away again.
Charles reached forward, slipping Talithia's mask off her face. She started a little, "Hey! What're you-" He kissed her, stopping her from speaking for a few moments.
Finally, he pulled back, smiling a little, "See, you're not a disappointment."
He had decided to live forever or die in the attempt. - Yossarian, Catch-22
Wide-eyed stupid.
If you're gonna rule the world, you've gotta get up early! - Joel S. Dickens
She stared blankly at him for a moment, then heat rushed to her face. Seh lowered her head and a wide smile lit her face. He placed a finger under her chin and lifted her face again, seeign the smile.
She cleared her throat. "Do you want to walk in the garden?" he asked, waiting on a reply. She nodded numbly, still smiling. He smiled and led her towards the garden.
Her mother appeared otu of nowhere, making her jump.
"Hello, Mother." Her mother ignored her and turned to her betrothed. She glared at him.
"Just exactly who are you may I ask?" She felt Charles tense beside her.
Oh my! What am I to do? she thought, looking helplessly between the two.
Mother? Charles looked from the imperious looking woman, so sure of herself, across to his fiancée, I would never have picked that. He shook his head, But who am I? What right has she to ask that?. He glanced across at Coey. He didn’t want to appear arrogant, but there was no way he was going to let someone talk to him like that – especially not someone who was so obviously used to getting her own way, who would so callously ignore a greeting from her own daughter.
He raised his head and looked straight across at the woman, “My name, madam, is Charles Greville.”
“Yes,” she said, starting to look a little sour, “But who-”
“I’m not done.” He said, holding up a finger to cut her off, “My father is Leopold Greville, and he holds the titles of Earl of Warwick and Brookes.”
Talithia’s mother visibly paled at the name. While an Earl was technically below most of the other peers, the Earl of Warwick had always been a very highly regarded title, and Leopold Greville commanded considerable influence within the court.
Charles looked the woman up and down, “And what would you be, madam? Anderson, yes?” He searched his memory, “I recall mention of a Viscount Anderson, but no woman by that name was ever mentioned by my father. So, by my estimation, you’re not exactly important. You asked who I am? I am the man who has been matched with your daughter, and I would thank you to refrain from directing such an accusatory tone towards me in the future.”
He turned to Talithia, a caring look on his face again, “Would you like to go back inside, or shall we continue our walk?”
**I'm going to be away for a few days, but go ahead and post, and PM me so I remember to post again when I get back. I'll try and think of something to get people back to this in that time.**
He had decided to live forever or die in the attempt. - Yossarian, Catch-22
Wide-eyed stupid.
If you're gonna rule the world, you've gotta get up early! - Joel S. Dickens
Coey barely restrained herself from laughing at her mothers paled expression. She turned her attention to Charles.
"I would love to continue this interesting walk." Charles led her past her still bewildered mother, towards the gleaming fountain in the center of the garden. They sat down, with the water to their backs.
"So, tell me more about your self." Charles looked at her, caught off guard by her question.
"Well....I'm...." he paused.
"Your...what?" she asked, waiting. A smile slowly lit her face as she watched him.
Hey, Singer. I can't really post anything until my partners post, because I've posted so many that It's been kind of one sided. So that is why I haven't been posting.
Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cake hole. -Dean, Supernatural
So he thinks I'm interesting. I smiled at that. Rémi looked sidelong at me, "Instead, I got matched with you." At those words my cheeks were flooded with the brightest of all reds and I raised a fan to block my face.
"My, Remi, you have such a way with words...."My voice trailed on as I could feel him gently lowering my fan.
"How many words can I babble for your mask to come off, Miss Sunny?" He asked, eyes serious, and his face merely inches from mine. His fingers reached toward the back of his head and came away with a string and then his mask tumbled into my lap. I glanced down at it, shocked before looking at him.
"Sunny,"I corrected,"Just Sunny...and my mask is part of my outfit, if I were to undo the tie i-it wouldn't look nearly as-"
"Please." Remi cooed, sliding ever so closer. My heart was pounding. He was so handsome and we were all alone, what was the worst that could happen? His face was so...perfect. Strong cheekbones, perfect eyes, tan skin.
"I suppose...it couldn't hurt,"my voice was gentle, innocent, timid even and my fingers shook as I brought them to the strings at the back of my head to undo the ribbon. My fingers fumbled and I struggled for a second until the mask loosened and Remi lifted it from my face. I peered at him and he smiled.
"The mask is lovely, but..."His voice drifted away echoing through my head as he drew even closer. Then I felt his warm hand cup my cheek, my heart jumped. His eyes were fixed on mine as he leaned in. Our lips were mere milliseconds away and then-
*It's up to you Billy. I hope this was okay..*
If I can impact one person, just one, with my writing before I die, then I've lived a great life
Charles let out a laugh at her prompting. Oh, how things had turned around. A minute ago, he'd known exactly what was going on, he'd had control of the situation. Even when Coey's mother showed up, he'd been able to deal with her. But a question about himself?
"Well, to begin," he said, smiling, "I've never been asked that before, so I'm not sure how to start." He thought about it for a moment, still smiling, "Well, I guess if you asked my father, he'd tell you I was a terrible flirt."
She giggled, "No. Really?"
Charles nodded sadly, though still smiling, "Really, and to an extent, he'd be right. Although, my...less than chivalrous behaviour of that time was really just in competition with Rémi."
"Rémi?"
He looked surprised for a moment, then shook his head, "Right. You don't know him. He's the son of a French Marquis, who was obviously pushed out by the Revolution. Rémi and his father have lived with my family for as long as I can remember. He's practically my badly-behaved little brother."
Charles paused another second, "Of course, you'd only get flirtatious and all my bad qualities if you asked my father. If you asked the Marquis, on the other hand, he'd say I have the right balance of ambition and relaxation, and that I'm really a better version of Rémi. Of course...he'd probably also say that I'm a little too fond of duelling. Or a little too concerned with my honour."
Rémi
Her shyness was beautiful. Like Charles, Rémi had noticed that more often than not, the young ladies of Warwick, in their desperation to marry into the upper class, were almost obscenely forward. Even by his standards. But her...nervousness. Her fear of taking off her mask, and her excuses to try getting around it. She really was far more interesting than any of the girls from Charles' town.
He slid his hand up to cup her cheek lightly, leaning in, her eyes fixing on hers and holding them. He'd done this before, he was used to it, but there was sincerity this time. Their lips met, and hers were perfect. His fingers ran up the side of her face, stroking her hair lightly as she seemed to relax a little against him.
"Rémi." A sharp-toned, heavily accented voice reached them. After a moment, Rémi pulled back from Sunny with an apologetic look, then looked across at the intruder whose identity he already knew.
"Yes, father?" He asked.
The Marquis gave Sunny a slightly disapproving look through his mask, then looked back to Rémi, "Whether or not she is your betrothed is irrelevant, my son."
Rémi was surprised that he was actually speaking in English, for a moment. Then he realised what his father was doing, He's deliberately trying to hurt her feelings...he wants her to hate me!
He took one of her hands in his, trying to let her know that what his father said didn't mean anything. The man continued regardless, "She is but a minor English noble, merely a way for us to influence the court towards supporting the dishonoured nobility we are meant to represent. You should not waste any more time on her than you did on any of those other girls."
"How dare you say that!" Rémi shouted, shooting to his feet and switching to French, "You don't have the right!"
"Don't tire me, Rémi." The Marquis said, still in English, "You can stop acting as though you care about her now, your charade is over."
He had decided to live forever or die in the attempt. - Yossarian, Catch-22
Wide-eyed stupid.
If you're gonna rule the world, you've gotta get up early! - Joel S. Dickens
I was shocked into silence. What was the Marquis talking about. Remi was acting? My face blushed a horible crimson and I brought the mask back up to my face. "Sir Remi, is this man telling the truth?" I asked switching back to my cold exterior.
"Of course, I'm telling the truth. All of you British are the same, but we French meret ourselves for the truth!" Remi's father answered for him and Remi just looked at me with those eyes. The same eyes I had looked into so longingly only seconds ago, but were now somehow pleading. He was telling the truth.
I didn't have time to tie my mask as I rushed past Remi. He gently grabbed my wrist, but it was too late, I shook him off. It wasn't just that I was angered, I was compltely humiliated. To think that I thought he was actually sincere. He kissed me! Was I just another girl to him?
Too many times had I been played a fool. "Sunny!" Remi tried to follow, but I saw his father stop him from going back into the ballroom as I glanced over my shoulder. I scanned the throng of waltzing people in search of my father. It would be too hard to run with such a long dress so I swooped up the front of it with my hands in a very unlady like fashion. Looks like my mother won't be the only scandal.
Some time after shuffleing around person after person, I realized why most of them were staring at me. It wasn't due to me picking up the front of my dress. My mask, I had dropped it without thinking.
"Sunday Rose, what on earth are you doing?" The familiar, raspy voice called from behind me and I turned into my father's arms, tears already starting to sting my eyes.
"Father, can we leave," My voice cracked and he looked at me with something of concerned confusion, but nodded. He threw his fancy jacket over my shoulders and rushed me toward the doors. People turned and stared. My father would be enraged about the whole situation later.
My feet climbed the giant golden staircase to the open front doors and I heard Remi's voice rise above the music. "Sunny!" his voice was far away and I never even looked back as my father ushered me into our carriage.
If I can impact one person, just one, with my writing before I die, then I've lived a great life
