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 Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2006 5:12 pm
OOC: It's semi introspective. Go ahead and skip to their date now.
Marcus heard a loud giggle and lifted his head with a grin. For a moment, he was repulsed. Arianna seemed to be wearing makeup, and he found it hideous at the moment. Her hair was too fair, and her skin too tan, and her features were...wrong. And her giggle was so annoyingly high pitched, and false sounding. He straightened, disappointed that he'd found so many things wrong with Arianna so soon. "I'm...going to fetch some water now," he said absently. Arianna touched his arm, and he retracted it immediately, as though burned by her touch. "Marcus?" she asked, her shining blue eyes worried, and eyebrows furrowed. "Are you alright?"
Marcus swallowed. "The duchess will be home soon. Perhaps it would be best for you to leave now."
She gathered her things, and made herself look presentable, and left without a word.
And later that evening, Marcus lay in bed, massaging his temples, and tried to figure out what was wrong with Arianna.
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Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2006 5:17 pm
((ooooo))
Terryn was currently sitting in the gardens. Her father was a small ways off, sitting in his coach and waiting to take the duchess to the cathedral, where the choir was having a special concert to raise funds for the church. They had planned on going there once Marcus had arrived, since it was not too far off but gave them their distance.
Terryn sighed, tucking her hair behind her ear as she tapped her foot on the ground. She had a crimson bodice and skirt on, her father insisiting she wore a color that stood out among the green foliage. After fighting for a while, she had caused her servants to give up on her and let her keep her hair down, as it was most comfortable, though she did agree to wear some jewelry, but only her mother's emerald necklace and ring, neither of which were over gaudy.
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Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2006 5:22 pm
OOC: Are you like your boyfriend, so 'oooo' means good?
"Why are you so quiet?" asked the duchess, prodding Marcus.
"I don't know. I'm tired," said Marcus, still troubled over yesterday's events.
The coach slowed, and Marcus nearly jumped out of it in an attempt to avoid any more questions. "There's the earl," he told her. "He's expecting you. I'll be in the gardens." And without any more words, he made his way into the garden.
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Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2006 5:43 pm
((yep!))
The earl noticed the carriage arrive and stepped out of his own, extending his hand to the duchess to help her out of her seat. "Good evening, m'lady."
Terryn glanced up just in time to see a figure walking towards her. It was darkening, so it was difficult at first to make out who it was. When she recognized the face, she couldn't help but smile, though she quickly regained control and kept the grinning to a minimum.
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Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2006 6:54 pm
"Good evening," said the Duchess royally, stepping down from the carriage. "It's so nice to be seeing you regularly now."
"Is this where you want to fall asleep?" asked Marcus, not noticing anything abnormal in Terryn's expression. Indeed, he was so preoccupied that he didn't notice much of anything at all.
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Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2006 6:58 pm
The earl nodded and took her hand, helping her as she stepped out. "I agree. It has been far too long since we last parted ways." He motioned for the carriage driver to go park with his own before leading the duchess towards the church. "How has Marcus been fairing?"
Terryn raised an eyebrow. "On a garden bench? I would think not. I figured in the carriage ride home might be more appropriate." She thought for a moment, her bright eyes looking off into the distance as the now shining moonlight edged her profile in a white light.
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Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2006 7:09 pm
"There's something a matter with him. He won't say. He seemed fine yesterday, but I suppose he's worried about his estates. He's unusually quiet. I'm sure Terryn will boost his morale," added the Duchess. Her words were always careful, meticulously chosen, and this was probably one of her better monologues of late.
"Right. Of course. I'm unthinking today," said Marcus distractedly. For the first time today, he looked at Terryn, and admitted to himself that she was particularly stunning. Now, if Arianna had maybe looked a bit more like that. Or maybe if she'd just been wearing red. Or was the light that Marcus viewing her in unfavorable?
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Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2006 7:11 pm
"Do you really think so?" The earl pondered this for a few moments. "Normally Terryn is the one to break a young man's heart and spirit."
Terryn caught sight of Marcus's gaze, causing her to suddenly snap back into reality, moving her head away from him with a somewhat pensive, somewhat embarassed look on her face.
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Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2006 7:22 pm
"Not in this case. Marcus returns from each meeting almost enraptured. Would you say the same of Terryn?" asked the Duchess shrewdly, although her voice was merely conversational.
Marcus looked back at his hands. He was resting his elbows on his knees, and leaning forward. The polite, gentlemanly thing to do now was initiate conversation, but knowing Terryn, any attempt at nonhostile conversation would be shot down. Besides. He didn't feel like talking.
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Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2006 7:27 pm
"Enraptured?" The Earl chuckled. "The day that Terryn is enraptured will be the day my wife stops buying jewelry that she doesn't need." Despite his joking, the earl was thinking very seriously. "However...she has been in better spirits these past few days. She even stayed with me and some friends last night at a dinner I had. Normally she holes herself up in her room."
Terryn blinked for few seconds, trying to think of what to do to break the tension. She turned her head and saw Marcus with a rather pensive and furtive expression on his face. "Are...are you alright?"
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Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2006 7:35 pm
"Better spirits indeed." The Duchess wondered how to phrase her next words. "It seems that every opportunity the two meet, better and better things happen. Perhaps we should do our part and encourage the meetings."
Marcus started, but Terryn's voice was cautious. "I'm not sure, to tell you the truth." He looked at her, puzzled. "The elders aren't here. There's no need to feign friendliness just now." A slight smile escaped him.
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Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2006 7:41 pm
The earl by now had caught on to his old friend's antics. He had slowed in his advancing years, but he remembered this particular trait of hers. With a grin he nodded. "Why yes, my dear, perhaps we should."
Terryn returned the smile half heartedly, looking away for a few moments at the rose bushes in front of them. She liked roses, mostly because her mother planted them when she was still alive. After a while, she glanced back at him. "It was not feigned." was all she said in an airy voice before standing up and approaching the rose bushes, leaning over to catch the fragrance of one of them.
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Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2006 7:48 pm
The Duchess merely smiled. Now he was catching on.
"When I was younger--when my parents were alive--I remember that whenever my father returned from a journey--even if it was just for a day or two--he would bring my mother red roses. I remember he brought back a rose in the dead of winter once. I always wanted to know how." Marcus rarely, if ever, spoke about his childhood. It was not an unhappy one, what with the Duchess and his cousins always running around like savages. But most of the people he knew did not want to hear about it.
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Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2006 7:54 pm
Lord Arvin chuckled. "It has been too long indeed. I nearly forgot about your wiles." He led her into the church and took a seat in the back row with her. "We shall discuss this afterwards."
Terryn straightened and looked at him slowly over her shoulder. "My mother had a rose garden. They were beautiful breeds, deep crimson, white, peach, there were even ones that looked as if they were made of black velvet." She closed her eyes, a rare placid smile lighting her face. "We would spend hours out there with the gardener, trimming those bushes." She opened her eyes and reached out to touch the soft petals lightly. "She always warned me about the thorns..."
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Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2006 8:01 pm
Marcus smiled. "My mother used his roses in vases, or even pitchers, or sometimes just lying on end tables. And when the house was scarce of roses, she'd always jest and tell my father to go bring back more. She was jesting; she was never pleased when my father had to go somewhere." He looked back at his hands. There was a small scar on the knuckle of his thumb that he hadn't really noticed before. "When they died," he said, in a very quiet voice. "I wouldn't let grandmother take away any roses. They were little more than black ash when she finally convinced me."
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