Beloved of Science

[PepsiNarcolepsy]

seek happiness in tranquility

After she left, Burton took a sip of the concoction. He cringed sharply against the bitter taste. Sitting back, he sighed, willing the drink to take affect. The mint was already clearing his sinuses and the coffee was at work waking him up. He would have a dull ache in the back of his skull all day, but at least he could try and make it bearable.
Today he needed to go into town. The next stage of the experiment required more research. He suspected he'd be spending most of his time in the bookstore, although he had the names of some doctors he may need to call on. By the end of the day, he would most likely have plenty of new resources and would need to bring a servant to help carry things.
There was a knock at the door. "Master, are you ready?" It was Mr. Harpshire.
"Come in," he replied. When the butler entered, Burton told him to run a bath, and prepare the carriage. It would be the first day out of the manor he'd had in four years.

[[she always leaves so quickly! he was actually going to be vaguely social xp]]

and avoid ambition

[animerider223]

Life is full of Beauty. Notice it.

Ms. Weatherbee went up to tell Mr. DeTamble that breakfast was ready and when she returned she seemed to Emma quite flustered.

"He says he is to go into town." She exclaimed. "He has not done such in... well, forever it seems!" She gave up trying to recall the last time the master of the house had gone away. Emma looked up, hearing the word town. Funny how she had just been thinking that she needed some things from town. The girls were excitedly talking of the news. "He requires some one to go with him, to carry whatever it is he is going there for." Ms. Weatherbee continued.

"Then perhaps the person who accompanies him would so kindly get me some objects." Emma spoke up above the girls. "I discovered I'm low on some art supplies."

"Why don't you go and get it yourself?" Ms. Weatherbee answered. The girls looked at her, making Emma feel like she was in the spot light.

"Me?" Emma asked.

"Me and the girls where going to pick some flowers for the vases today any way. Leaves you all alone here. That wouldn't be fun." Ms. Weatherbee said as she bustled to check on some bread she was making.

Smell the Wind. And. Feel the Rain.

[[ well if your character wasn't so bleh and wierd she wouldnt run off so fast, haha ]]

[PepsiNarcolepsy]

seek happiness in tranquility

After Mr. Harpshire had dressed him and left to alert the stables, Burton went to his study and gathered up some lists, resource books and his notebook. He arranged them in a carpetbag and hurried downstairs, running another mental checklist of what he would need. Plenty of medical books. In his past studies, he had intended on pursuing a career in chemistry, but now he had to teach himself the science of human biology, not to mention atmospheric science, and it wouldn't hurt to know some meteorology...
When he arrived in the foyer, Harpshire was waiting with his coat, hat, and cane.
"And who will be attending me?" Burton asked him, as the butler helped him into his coat.

and avoid ambition

[[maybe both atmospheric science and meteorology are redundant? oh well razz ]]

[animerider223]

Life is full of Beauty. Notice it.

Emma went to her room, outfitting herself in something besides her maids outfit. She choose a modest grey dress, with a plain bonnet and a thick shawl to keep the chill air out. She pulled out her purse, counting the little amount of money she had. Enough to maybe purchase one color. She'd have to improvise for the other colors she needed. She waited in the front room, not sure when Mr. DeTamble would want to leave, but she was ready. She noticed some small protraits on the fireplace, they were dark, as if they had gone through a fire. She had a hard time determining the figures, the pictures were distorted. She head Mr. DeTamble come down, asking the butler who would be attending him. "I will be, sir." Emma come out of the room, standing erect. She felt awkward and out of place. She had to admit, she'd rather not go.

Smell the Wind. And. Feel the Rain.

[PepsiNarcolepsy]

seek happiness in tranquility

Burton glanced at her as he straightened his collar and nodded. He topped his head with his hat and Mr. Harpshire moved to open the door.
Just then, Ms. Weatherbee burst through the door leading to the dining room. "Young man, are you going to eat what we made you before you leave?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips and abandoning formality.
Burton made a slightly pouty expression as he did up one last button. His headache had him slightly nauseous. "I'm not hungry."
She narrowed an eye at him.
"The staff can have it." He picked up his cane and turned as Mr. Harpshire opened the door. Ms. Weatherbee hmphed and headed back towards the kitchen.
Burton stood at the threshhold, staring out across the land. Yesterday's clouds were patchy in the sky, and morning sunlight shone brightly through. He squinted against the light and the crisp air. A great yawning space stretched before him, full of people and risks that were unknown to him. For a moment, he almost lost his nerve. He glanced back and saw the servant girl waiting expectantly.
Burton cleared his throat. What was it? Emily? Emma. "Miss Emma, my bag, if you please." He clutched his cane and continued outside.

and avoid ambition

[animerider223]

Life is full of Beauty. Notice it.

Emma silently observed Ms. Weatherbee's confrontation, noting the in-formality between the two. Mr. DeTamble asked her to grab his bag, which she conmplied to. She picked it up, finding it relatively heavy. She pulled it smartly to the crook of her arm, taking it to the carriage that waited in the drive. The driver opened the door for them, Emma entering after Mr. DeTamble. Such a gentleman... Emma placed his bag on the floor by her feet, sitting back in the seat. She sat across from Mr. DeTamble in the spacious vehicle. She looked out the window, sighing quietly as the carriaged rocked as the horses went foreward. She glanced at Mr. DeTamble from the corner of her eye.

Smell the Wind. And. Feel the Rain.

[PepsiNarcolepsy]

seek happiness in tranquility

Burton fidgeted nervously, shifting in his seat and fingering the end of his cane. He tried to occupy himself with the view outside but the fast moving scenery soon began to unnerve him. He tipped his head back and leaned against the carriage wall, closing his eyes against the dull pain of his headache and focusing on breathing slow to quell the nausea. Remembering that he wasn't alone, he tried to think up some small talk he could start. It would at least make things less awkward. The only members of the staff he was truly familiar with was Ms. Weatherbee, Harpshire, Arnold the groundskeeper and Lorne, the head chef. They had been around the longest. He hadn't really gotten to know the younger staff like Ms. Weatherbee's nieces and the stableboy. Come to think of it, he got along best only with the ones who had been around the manor since before...the accident. It seemed that he didn't tolerate change well.

"Mm...Miss Emma," he mumbled, eyes still closed and head leaned back. "How do you find my manor, as of your second day?"

and avoid ambition

[animerider223]

Life is full of Beauty. Notice it.

"I find it agreeable." Emma nodded, avoiding looking at him. She admired the pretty scenery outside, noting the trees as they passed the invisible fence that the trees did not grow past. "Though I must confess I find the state of the manor surprising. It rather looks like a haunt for ghostly beings." She told him, in a rather blunt tone of voice. She finally looked him in the face, trying to look like she was interested in this conversation. She studied his face. She had to admit it was some what handsome, topped by a mess of hair. He looked every bit like a rich gentleman, arrogant and self centered.

Smell the Wind. And. Feel the Rain.

[[ ack, a small paragraph X P ]]

[PepsiNarcolepsy]

seek happiness in tranquility

He nodded slightly, the gesture akin to a small shrug. "I don't entertain often. My relations have long since passed away and I've recently been too focused on my work to mix with the social circles." After a moment, he added, "The building is very old."
He tapped the decorative knob of his cane, pausing as he tried to think of what else he could say. What were young women interested in these days? He honestly had no idea anymore. He had no idea was anyone was into these days. He pondered what new, "in" things he would find in the shops that weren't around 4 years before. Burton coughed a little bit and elected to let her continue the conversation.

and avoid ambition

[animerider223]

Life is full of Beauty. Notice it.

Mr. DeTamble did not seem like the kind of person to have ever been in a social circle, at least not the man sitting with her now. But he must have been, with the money that was supposedly left in his name. Hearing his cough Emma guessed the direction of the conversation had been given to her. She had a lot of things she was curious to know, but suddenly she had an empty mind. She pulled out the first thing...

"What is this work that is so important to you that you allow your relations to drift?" She asked.

Smell the Wind. And. Feel the Rain.

[PepsiNarcolepsy]

seek happiness in tranquility

"Oh. Well, um...It's actually rather confidential as of now." Truthfully, he didn't hold much value in relationships with others of his class, or really anyone for that matter. He knew that any fondness for or mutual attachment with another person wouldn't compare to what he'd known before. "It's something I've been working on for quite some time though...I'm at a stage in the process where my constant attention in required- I'm actually the nearest to the point of fruition than I've ever been, and really I'm just anxious to see it through-" Burton suddenly stopped himself. Yes, he was excited but for no reason should he be telling people about it. He may have already said too much; she may get curious and pry some more. The last thing he wanted was for anyone to find out his real purpose of this "project." But, he figured, after so many months of hard work and planning, it was hard not to want to share the excitement with someone. He warned himself to be more careful.

"I...Well, I can't say much about it right now," Burton finished. "But I'm going into town with the purpose of acquiring some resources for my project." Resuming his tapping on the nob of his cane, he tried to change the subject. "Mm. What pastimes do you enjoy, Miss Emma?" he asked.

and avoid ambition

[animerider223]

Life is full of Beauty. Notice it.

Emma found his tapping to be irksome. "Drawing and read, playing the piano, those sorts of things." Emma answered his question. "And you, sir, do you have hobbies that you enjoy, or do you widdle away your time with this project?" She asked bluntly. His answer to her first question rather left her feeling looked down upon. Did he think her intelligence too inferior as to tell her the purpose of this project he was working on. Or maybe that's how all rich gentleman treat their servants and outsiders. But his answer really answered nothing but left her for want to know what this "project" was.

Smell the Wind. And. Feel the Rain.

[PepsiNarcolepsy]

seek happiness in tranquility

There was a brief moment before Burton caught her tone. He gave her a vaguely surprised look, not expecting such a bold response from someone not yet familiar to him, much less a servant. He wondered what reason she would have to be so blunt with him. So far he had treated her as fairly as an employer could treat his staff.
He decided not to read too much into it. "This project is my hobby at this time, yes," he answered. "Science is my passion...There is not much otherwise I enjoy whiddling away my time with." Scratching his head, he thought back to her answer to his last question. Maybe it would be better to discuss something that interested her. "What do you enjoy reading? Any particular writers?"

and avoid ambition

[animerider223]

Life is full of Beauty. Notice it.

"I absolutely love Ann Radcliffe's writings, particularly her book The Romance of the Forest." Emma gushed. Nothing excited her more than picking up one of Radcliffe's books. Luckily for her the headmaster at Cross had been good friends with Radcliffe and Emma had read every one, up to date. The characters in the book had everything Emma wanted in her life, adventure, love, mystery. For however long Emma was delving in a book her life could momentarily had those. "And you, sir, enjoy reading?" She asked, turning it over to him.

Smell the Wind. And. Feel the Rain.

[PepsiNarcolepsy]

seek happiness in tranquility

"Oh, recently Pravost and Batelli... Michael Faraday, Nikola Tesla... Charles Darwin. Some interesting theories he's got," Burton replied. He hadn't heard of Ann Radcliffe. It had been quite a while since he'd done any reading unrelated to his research. In fact his purpose today was to collect even more resources for studying. Maybe it wasn't technically recreational but he did enjoy learning new things. Especially since it would go towards the success of his experiments.

and avoid ambition