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 Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2012 10:06 am
Chloe actually allowed herself a soft, amused laugh as Andrus spoke. He was different for sure, or at least she imagined that he was. She had not spoken with many other nobles in truth, so how was she to know how every other one reacted? Perhaps the fact that he would talk to her at all was what made him so different. He seemed indeed to have come straight from one of her novels, full of romance and compassion that most real men were lacking. It was at the back of her mind that she had better not develop any further affectionate musings or flights of fancy to best keep her heart safe. There was no use even entertaining the though or some sort of pursuit. She laughed again at the notion.
"That, Lord Kinross, is because you are an odd duck," she smiled, her eyes unmoving from the task at hand, "I must say that I agree. My father could not tell a peony from a dandelion, but my mother loved them anyway. I thought perhaps you would be like her." Only then did her eyes raise to the young nobleman, a smile still curling her lips.
"Not that, Sir. We doing the jobs understand being scolded to work faster. It's how the upper classes work, no? I'm sure you were quite late, but it wasn't your voice that startled me, it was your presence. You stood out so starkly from the background, from the other people." She began gesturing then, motioning for the trees and the street beyond and all of the pedestrians in the park. "It was almost as if I had seen you before, like you were some important figure in my current life. Then again, it may have just been the book enacting a clever trick of atmosphere." Come to think of it, that had probably been the reason. Good, now she had some kind of meaning behind his striking appearance. Still, the rather fantastical ideals were much more interesting and enjoyable to entertain. They had danced together, after all. There was some romance in this noble yet... and judging from the apparent general acceptance of arranged marriage and loveless courtships, that made him an odd duck too.
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Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2012 10:31 am
Her laugh was a welcome sound, so genuine and soft and pure, nothing forced about it at all. It was tempting to think that he had truly amused her; it was rare enough that anyone he interacted with, nobles and servants alike, laughed purely out of amusement. Most of what he heard was polite laughter, and that he never appreciated as much as he ought. Enjoyment was supposed to come from the heart, like the enjoyment he felt when he was out on a horse and racing a sly red fox across the hills.
"A duck is a duck, no matter how odd," Andrus said. "I suppose we must fly, one way or another." Ah, the concerns of winged beasts. It was an apt enough description of him, he supposed; his mother was always complaining about the vast amounts of time he spent in sport. Apparently much more than a regular young nobleman, if his mother was to be believed, but there was something so exhilarating and appeasing about working up a sweat.
"Oh, I love all flowers, Chloe, I do," he reassured her, catching her gaze and holding it until he couldn't help but smile back. "Even if it is because I don't know enough about them to love some and not others."
He thought back to that day in the park, and might have agreed had he not remembered that he may have unjustly misdirected some of his frustration at his coachmaster. It wasn't the man's fault that the wheels had broken and fixing them required time that could neither be bought nor hurried. Still, he supposed, he ought to have thanked those broken wheels. This conversation may not have happened without them.
"Ah! you see, but now I am an important figure in your current life," he said brightly, seizing the opportunity. "Your book must be prophetic, but I'm terribly glad we're all now on the same page."
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Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2012 4:40 pm
Chloe laughed yet again, shaking her head at the nobleman's pun. It had clearly been meant intentionally, but whether or not the man knew how terrible it was was not immediately apparent. She would give him the benefit of the doubt, this time. How boring it must be to interact with the upper class, she thought. Andrus seemed so have opened up in a whole new way at the utterance of a joke that had barely been a joke at all. Did noblewomen generally not partake in humor? Certainly she had seen a lord or two laughing with one another. Maybe it was all in her head.
"I'm sorry to tell you, then, that that particular book is finished," the maid nodded, still grinning between bouts of words, "If it was something prophetic, it's barely living up to itself." All inklings of the cold outside were gone and there was only the lord and herself in the entire manor, she was sure of it. There was something bright and warm abut Andrus' presence, although what quite spurred it on was lost on Chloe.
There was a part of her that was disappointed at the young man's response to her somewhat emotionally-charged offer. It appeared that she had not made the same mark on Andrus as he had upon her, but he had been busy at the time. It wasn't something to hold against him, and her side of the story would remain a positive note.
"Tell me, Lord Kinross. How are you an important figure in my current life?" There was still a joking air to her tone, but she was curious. If he imagined his own importance... where was it? What did he have planned, exactly?
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Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2012 2:19 am
The humor was, of course, quite a welcome touch to their conversation. If flattery was supposed to be the way to a woman's heart, then perhaps humor was the way to a man's. Andrus had never managed to dislike a person who had made him laugh, and really laugh, not the false chuckles of one man being polite to another.
"Of course it's barely living up to itself," Andrus declared. "What were you expecting, the part where he whisks her away in the dead of night? We're hardly there, Chloe. We've got a few hundred pages to go yet." His gray eyes danced with devilish delight. He had managed to glimpse the cover of her book that day in the park, and it had taken him hours of poring over titles and weeks to track it down. But track it down he had, and read it in a matter of days. It wasn't something he might normally have picked up, but he had found it entertaining enough all the same. Why exactly he had been so intent on finding it, he couldn't have said at the time, but now he knew. It was because it had meant something.
He shot her a sideways glance and pretended to frown. "And here I thought you'd read the book," he admonished, shaking his head with mock disapproval. "Apparently, I'm the only man who's made consistent appearances in your life recently. I believe that makes me plenty important. It says so on page forty-two, you should read it more closely." He managed to suppress a laugh long enough to study her face for a reaction.
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Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2012 10:17 am
The maid gave an appreciative, melodic little spout of laughter and shook her head again. Andrus would say something like that, wouldn't he? He had no idea just how accurate that little statement was, she was sure, but there had been a point where the young maiden found herself in the arms of an older man. It was a fairly common nuance in such things, though. It had been a lucky guess.
Chloe turned up to face the noble again and her expression turned curious. Of course she had read the book! It had been a rather good one at that and-- page forty-two? The girl's eyes narrowed and her brow fell, her lips parting slightly. She remained that way until Andrus let himself go with a laugh and she laughed with him. She could remember nothing about any page forty-two, but the flighty part of her told herself to check when she got home. If nothing else, she could counter the young lord's point the next time they met. ... she was sure that there would be another time. That was how these stories went, right? Of course, when it didn't end up that way only reality was to blame, and reality had never particularly been a hamper of Chloe's imagination.
"What does the countess thing you are doing, hmm? I'm certain that you've been gone at least fifteen minutes. What will she think?" It was not that she wanted her company to leave, but she didn't want him in trouble with his host for tarrying with the maids. A young man who went against his word and wandered the estate was not particularly one a countess would like for her daughter. No flighty little things. Then again, maybe Andrus would like it that way.
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Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2013 6:55 am
"An incredibly lengthy bathroom break, I imagine," Andrus answered, reluctantly remembering where he was and why he was here in the first place. He had a responsibility, after all, and even though he was keen on avoiding any sort of engagement to the Countess' daughter, he had agreed at least to be in attendance at her homecoming celebration. If that demanded a certain level of involvement beforehand, he would fulfill that too. "I did say I needed to freshen up. Which I suppose I ought to do." The Countess would no doubt notice if he reappeared looking just as windswept as he had when he left for the bathroom.
"I don't suppose there is a mirror in here," he added, glancing about the room. There didn't seem to be any bathrooms down this corridor either. He had spotted many a room walking down, but nothing that resembled a place where someone could imaginably refresh himself from a long ride.
Most certainly, the Countess would not be able to guess where he had spent fifteen minutes of his time. She would guess and attempt to puzzle it out no doubt, but the fact that he was talking to one of her hired maids was likely far outside her imagination. So they were safe, at least in that.
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Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2013 9:54 am
The only logical response to that was a little chuckle and a deep shake of the head. Her brows furrowed, Chloe looked to the young lord and gestured for him to follow her as she stood.
"Come with me," she offered, leading Andrus out of the room and down the corridor. Here they were exposed; anyone could simply turn a corner and see them chatting if they were partaking in such a scandalous interaction. There could be no joking and no friendly banter, only a pleasantly neutral expression and a stiff posture.
Chloe always made it a point to explore a home from top to bottom shortly after acquiring employment with them. Most of the highest class had no interest in allowing a lowly orphan to wander their manors without a chaperone (or at all), but the girl found that it was fairly easy to sneak around when it was simply assumed that you were doing your job. She knew this place to nearly every corner, locked doors aside, and now led Andrus around a hall to the nearest powder room, intricately decorated as it was. She offered a delicate curtsy once he had entered and might have been disappointed to go back to her tasks if she wasn't certain that they would meet again.
"If there is anything else you should find yourself needing, milord, feel free to ask any of the staff," she offered politely, and then murmured: "I'm certain we'll be seeing one another again, if my novel is to be believed."
With that she turned to begin back down the hall to her work, smiling softly.
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