![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dwgmI must point out that there is still more cute Harry & the Pirate-inspired fanart from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lolitalockhart, Harry and her brother, Weatherby, along with the notorious (and ubiquitous) Captaine Chevalle! *bounces*
Chapter Nine: Friends and Lovers
Harry slept later than she had planned, but by ten o’clock she was seated at the small writing desk in the drawing room, composing a note to be taken around to Anne’s mother. But she’d barely written two lines when there was the sound of a hackney coach stopping before the house. She jumped up and went to the window.
“Maggie!” she said aloud, with great satisfaction, and went into the foyer. The footman was standing ready to open the door, but she shooed him aside with a smile and opened it herself as Maggie reached the top of the steps.
“Harry!” her friend exclaimed, looking both relieved and worried.
“Come in! I was just writing to you, I slept far too late, but Tom… well, I’ll tell you in a moment. Geoffreys, will you ask Anatole and Louise to bring some refreshment for Mrs. Norrington and myself, tea and some of those delicious pastries Amelie brought in with my chocolate this morning – you must try them, Maggie! Louise is a genius in the kitchen with proper ingredients to hand – one of the advantages of being in London. She is having such an enjoyable time she vows it’s like a holiday for her.”
Geoffreys had bowed and departed as Harry led Maggie into the drawing room, closing the door against unexpected intrusion, and now they crossed to the far side of the room and seated themselves upon George’s elegant brocade-covered sofa.
Harry took Maggie’s hand. “First, how is dear Anne?”
“I doubt she slept at all last night. She looked wretched when she came down to breakfast, and while we were sitting there yet another bouquet of flowers was delivered – two dozen white roses. Harry, she burst into tears! I took her up to her room immediately, of course, and gave her a spoonful of Brown’s Cordial to compose her spirits, bidding her rest until this afternoon. But before she fell asleep she told me how very much she regretted going apart with Hartfield last night. She blames herself, and says it was due to jealousy of the attention Tom was receiving from so many of the young ladies in attendance.”
Harry nodded. “I suspected as much. Jack was very surprised – and disturbed – at the way word had spread of his new situation, but I was not, not in the least. At such a venue, rumor flies about unhindered.”
“Very true. And besides Jack’s inheritance, there is the fact of his illustrious and fascinating history as a privateer! It’s no wonder every lady at Vauxhall was a-flutter. It’s the next thing to being a pirate. And he and Tom are so extremely handsome.”
“They are,” Harry said, smiling. “But listen: Tom was out nearly all night, and though he had met some sympathetic gentlemen who endeavored to help him forget his troubles by way of cards and drink –“
“Harry!” Maggie looked horrified.
“Not to worry, he won a great deal of money from them, and got home safely, though he cast up his accounts, as they say, soon after he arrived and Jack and Alphonse had to put him to bed. I daresay he will be feeling quite horrid when he wakes and will have no trouble obeying Jack’s degree that he refrain from making a habit of such behavior. But before he went to bed, he clearly communicated to us his despair over Anne’s engagement. He loves her, Maggie, and I believe he is mature enough that it’s no passing thing with him.”
Maggie shook her head. “If he had only kept up a regular correspondence with her while you were gone. And Caroline’s words against him took root, I’m afraid. She has no opinion of privateers, or sailors in general, really, though her own brother is an Admiral!”
“She supports Hartfield’s suit.”
“Oh, yes. And I’m afraid she has Anne convinced that the die is now cast, and there is no turning back, though nothing will be announced for a month. Hartfield and his sister are giving a ball, and he told us he would like to make the engagement official at that event.”
“We have a month, then,” Harry said, with satisfaction. “A great deal can happen in a month. Maggie, you must convince Anne to come into Lincolnshire with us! She and Tom will then have the time they need to sort out this tangle.”
“She is coming with us,” Maggie said, firmly. “James is most annoyed over the way the affair was conducted, and he vows he will not leave Anne to gallivant all over London, as he says, while we are called away in support of Jack. Caroline was very angry, for he wouldn’t listen to her arguments which cited social obligation and the like. We were all most surprised that he was so adamant, for he has deferred to her judgment in Anne’s regard for years!”
“How good of James to choose this moment to come to his senses!”
Maggie laughed. “I’ll let him know you approve.”
“Do!” said Harry, with a grin.
There was a scratch at the door, and both ladies turned as it opened. But it wasn’t only the tea and pastries. Tom, looking surprisingly well, followed the housemaid in, along with another young gentleman in very elegant riding clothes and a bob-wig, his tricorn under his arm.
“Good morning, Mama, Mrs. Norrington,” Tom said, with a bow. “This is Bertie Sandringham – Viscount Sandringham, that is – come to take me riding!”
Bertie bowed and said, “Deeply honored. A pleasure to meet you both.”
Harry inclined her head. “The pleasure is certainly ours. But Tom… I didn’t expect you to… to be awake quite this early.”
Tom chuckled. “Alphonse brought up Bertie’s card and a restorative draft that had me in good trim in no time! Will you tell Da I’ll be back this afternoon? He and I are to go down to the Pool on some business.”
“Yes, of course. But you’ve not had breakfast!”
But Bertie said, “Oh, don’t worry about that, ma’am. I want to introduce Tom to a little place I know – not in the best part of town, but the victuals are of superior quality. I happen to know the proprietess.” He colored.
Harry raised one brow. “Indeed.” She said to Tom, “Be careful, please.”
He came over and kissed her cheek. “I will.” He looked at Maggie as he straightened, and for the first time his good humor faltered. “It’s good to see you here, ma’am. Will you give Anne my regards, and my congratulations. I did wish her joy last night, but…”
“I can well imagine,” Maggie said, dryly. “But you will be able to tell her yourself. She is coming with us into Lincolnshire. We sail with you, on the Black Pearl, in only three days’ time I understand.”
Tom’s face fairly lit up. “That’s… oh, that’s excellent news!”
Bertie gave Tom a nudge. “Told you it’d be all right, one way or another.”
Tom flushed, and said to Maggie, “I fear I may have told Bertie—“
“—and Gussie,” the viscount put in, with a teasing grin.
Tom scowled. “And Gussie, something of the situation.”
Bertie said to Maggie, with great sincerity, “Silent as the tomb, ma’am. No need to worry about us blabbing.”
“Thank you,” Maggie replied, gravely, though her eyes smiled.
Harry, however, had no reason to suppose that the fresh-faced viscount was possessed of more tact than the young rattles she’d known in her youth. She said, to Bertie and Tom, both, “I beg we can rely on your discretion. The lady involved in the matter would be very hurt indeed to have her good name bandied about the town.”
“Not another peep,” Tom said, quite seriously, “And I’ll slit this fellow’s gullet if he breaks his word.”
“Ha! You may try!” Bertie said cheerfully, on his mettle. “Perhaps we should have a look-in at Angelo’s, for some fencing practice, later, just so we can see what you can do.”
Tom grinned. “Perhaps we should at that – though I’ll have to remember those Rules of Engagement you gentlemen are always on about. Son of a pirate, you know.”
*
Hartfield and his sister came to dinner the night before Anne and her parents were to leave London. Perhaps she had grown used to the idea of marrying him, or perhaps it was because he seemed so happy to see her, but it was all much easier than Anne had expected. Hartfield was a kind man, and handsome in his way.
He said all that was proper when it was time to say goodbye, studied her face for a long moment, as though memorizing it, and kissed each of her hands in turn.
When he had gone, Father said, “Well. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. Good night, my dear.”
Anne kissed him, and mother, too – such worried eyes – and her aunt, who was odiously pleased.
As she climbed the stairs Anne thought how glad she was to be leaving London for a time.
But when she was in her nightgown and sitting before her mirror, brushing her hair, her aunt peeped in, quite unannounced. “May I speak with you a moment, dear?”
“Of course!” Anne replied, though somewhat against her inclination.
Aunt Caroline came and stood behind her, watching her in the big mirror as Anne continued brushing. “I just wanted to have a little coze with you, before you are quite gone. How I will miss you!”
“I’m sorry you’ll be left alone,” Anne said, with real sympathy.
“My dear, don’t even think of that! I have many friends here in London, as you know, and I will contrive to keep myself occupied, never doubt it. No, what I wished to say to you was that, though I completely understand your reaction to the Incident at Vauxhall the other night, I feel your friend Tom was greatly at fault for breaking in upon you and Hartfield at such a moment.”
Anne stared. “Aunt, Tom thought Hartfield was… “ Her voice trailed off, and she colored.
“Yes, dear,” Aunt Caroline said. “You said the earl tried to kiss you after asking you to be his own, and your reaction was precisely what any gently bred female’s would be. But I daresay all would have been well between the two of you had you not been so rudely interrupted.”
“But I was happy that Tom interrupted!” Anne blurted.
“If Tom had not interrupted, the affair would not have been tainted by even the faintest whiff of scandal. Hartfield would not have gone beyond the line in such a setting! Intimate relations are such a distasteful business for any lady of sensibility, and particularly a maid untouched, but I have no doubt that you and Hartfield would have reached a… a compromise, given a little more time. And when you are wed, well, there are certain animal needs, common to all gentlemen, that one is required to fulfill. As the Bard said, the world must be peopled. But I have no doubt you will be prepared to do your duty, and will make an exemplary countess.”
“Thank you,” Anne said, faintly, as her aunt kissed her and took her leave.
Anne continued brushing her hair, but her puzzlement at her aunt’s words soon began to turn to annoyance. Hartfield had been prepared to go beyond the line. She would not else have felt that sense of panic and pushed him away. A distasteful business, indeed.
But Anne thought of Lady Harry and Captain Sparrow, and of her own mother and father, too, for that matter. Sometimes, when her parents had bid her goodnight, and Father took Mother’s hand in his, there was a look in her eyes that conveyed more about marital relations than Aunt Caroline could apparently imagine. And her sisters, Suzanna and Julietta, who were now happy wives themselves, had told her a few things that were even more to the point.
Anne grew rather cold, thinking of Hartfield in that context. She expected Aunt Caroline was correct about merely tolerating her marital duties, though perhaps love would blossom in time. But she feared that Hartfield would never inspire in her the longing and the frisson of delight that her sisters had agreed were essential to true marital bliss.
Feelings that Tom inspired with a mere glance, or the touch of his hand.
A few minutes later, when she was settled in her bed in the darkness, she thought of Tom. In that context. It was almost unbearable to know that she would never be free to love him, in every sense of the word, to wrap herself around him, body and soul; to shield herself within his arms, and warmth, and friendship.
Tears seeped from the corners of her eyes, and she rubbed them away, wondering that her life had taken such a turn. But it was her own fault that things had come to such a pass. She had made her bed and now she must lie in it. A chuff of laughter escaped her at the way in which that old saw was the barest truth.
She had a month. She would reconcile with Tom, and even if she could not have him as husband and lover, she would have him as her friend. The vision of his smile came to her again, and it calmed her.
“Tom,” she whispered aloud, and sighed, and allowed herself to dream.
Continued in Chapter Ten: Journey Home
lolitalockhart, Harry and her brother, Weatherby, along with the notorious (and ubiquitous) Captaine Chevalle! *bounces*Chapter Nine: Friends and Lovers
Harry slept later than she had planned, but by ten o’clock she was seated at the small writing desk in the drawing room, composing a note to be taken around to Anne’s mother. But she’d barely written two lines when there was the sound of a hackney coach stopping before the house. She jumped up and went to the window.
“Maggie!” she said aloud, with great satisfaction, and went into the foyer. The footman was standing ready to open the door, but she shooed him aside with a smile and opened it herself as Maggie reached the top of the steps.
“Harry!” her friend exclaimed, looking both relieved and worried.
“Come in! I was just writing to you, I slept far too late, but Tom… well, I’ll tell you in a moment. Geoffreys, will you ask Anatole and Louise to bring some refreshment for Mrs. Norrington and myself, tea and some of those delicious pastries Amelie brought in with my chocolate this morning – you must try them, Maggie! Louise is a genius in the kitchen with proper ingredients to hand – one of the advantages of being in London. She is having such an enjoyable time she vows it’s like a holiday for her.”
Geoffreys had bowed and departed as Harry led Maggie into the drawing room, closing the door against unexpected intrusion, and now they crossed to the far side of the room and seated themselves upon George’s elegant brocade-covered sofa.
Harry took Maggie’s hand. “First, how is dear Anne?”
“I doubt she slept at all last night. She looked wretched when she came down to breakfast, and while we were sitting there yet another bouquet of flowers was delivered – two dozen white roses. Harry, she burst into tears! I took her up to her room immediately, of course, and gave her a spoonful of Brown’s Cordial to compose her spirits, bidding her rest until this afternoon. But before she fell asleep she told me how very much she regretted going apart with Hartfield last night. She blames herself, and says it was due to jealousy of the attention Tom was receiving from so many of the young ladies in attendance.”
Harry nodded. “I suspected as much. Jack was very surprised – and disturbed – at the way word had spread of his new situation, but I was not, not in the least. At such a venue, rumor flies about unhindered.”
“Very true. And besides Jack’s inheritance, there is the fact of his illustrious and fascinating history as a privateer! It’s no wonder every lady at Vauxhall was a-flutter. It’s the next thing to being a pirate. And he and Tom are so extremely handsome.”
“They are,” Harry said, smiling. “But listen: Tom was out nearly all night, and though he had met some sympathetic gentlemen who endeavored to help him forget his troubles by way of cards and drink –“
“Harry!” Maggie looked horrified.
“Not to worry, he won a great deal of money from them, and got home safely, though he cast up his accounts, as they say, soon after he arrived and Jack and Alphonse had to put him to bed. I daresay he will be feeling quite horrid when he wakes and will have no trouble obeying Jack’s degree that he refrain from making a habit of such behavior. But before he went to bed, he clearly communicated to us his despair over Anne’s engagement. He loves her, Maggie, and I believe he is mature enough that it’s no passing thing with him.”
Maggie shook her head. “If he had only kept up a regular correspondence with her while you were gone. And Caroline’s words against him took root, I’m afraid. She has no opinion of privateers, or sailors in general, really, though her own brother is an Admiral!”
“She supports Hartfield’s suit.”
“Oh, yes. And I’m afraid she has Anne convinced that the die is now cast, and there is no turning back, though nothing will be announced for a month. Hartfield and his sister are giving a ball, and he told us he would like to make the engagement official at that event.”
“We have a month, then,” Harry said, with satisfaction. “A great deal can happen in a month. Maggie, you must convince Anne to come into Lincolnshire with us! She and Tom will then have the time they need to sort out this tangle.”
“She is coming with us,” Maggie said, firmly. “James is most annoyed over the way the affair was conducted, and he vows he will not leave Anne to gallivant all over London, as he says, while we are called away in support of Jack. Caroline was very angry, for he wouldn’t listen to her arguments which cited social obligation and the like. We were all most surprised that he was so adamant, for he has deferred to her judgment in Anne’s regard for years!”
“How good of James to choose this moment to come to his senses!”
Maggie laughed. “I’ll let him know you approve.”
“Do!” said Harry, with a grin.
There was a scratch at the door, and both ladies turned as it opened. But it wasn’t only the tea and pastries. Tom, looking surprisingly well, followed the housemaid in, along with another young gentleman in very elegant riding clothes and a bob-wig, his tricorn under his arm.
“Good morning, Mama, Mrs. Norrington,” Tom said, with a bow. “This is Bertie Sandringham – Viscount Sandringham, that is – come to take me riding!”
Bertie bowed and said, “Deeply honored. A pleasure to meet you both.”
Harry inclined her head. “The pleasure is certainly ours. But Tom… I didn’t expect you to… to be awake quite this early.”
Tom chuckled. “Alphonse brought up Bertie’s card and a restorative draft that had me in good trim in no time! Will you tell Da I’ll be back this afternoon? He and I are to go down to the Pool on some business.”
“Yes, of course. But you’ve not had breakfast!”
But Bertie said, “Oh, don’t worry about that, ma’am. I want to introduce Tom to a little place I know – not in the best part of town, but the victuals are of superior quality. I happen to know the proprietess.” He colored.
Harry raised one brow. “Indeed.” She said to Tom, “Be careful, please.”
He came over and kissed her cheek. “I will.” He looked at Maggie as he straightened, and for the first time his good humor faltered. “It’s good to see you here, ma’am. Will you give Anne my regards, and my congratulations. I did wish her joy last night, but…”
“I can well imagine,” Maggie said, dryly. “But you will be able to tell her yourself. She is coming with us into Lincolnshire. We sail with you, on the Black Pearl, in only three days’ time I understand.”
Tom’s face fairly lit up. “That’s… oh, that’s excellent news!”
Bertie gave Tom a nudge. “Told you it’d be all right, one way or another.”
Tom flushed, and said to Maggie, “I fear I may have told Bertie—“
“—and Gussie,” the viscount put in, with a teasing grin.
Tom scowled. “And Gussie, something of the situation.”
Bertie said to Maggie, with great sincerity, “Silent as the tomb, ma’am. No need to worry about us blabbing.”
“Thank you,” Maggie replied, gravely, though her eyes smiled.
Harry, however, had no reason to suppose that the fresh-faced viscount was possessed of more tact than the young rattles she’d known in her youth. She said, to Bertie and Tom, both, “I beg we can rely on your discretion. The lady involved in the matter would be very hurt indeed to have her good name bandied about the town.”
“Not another peep,” Tom said, quite seriously, “And I’ll slit this fellow’s gullet if he breaks his word.”
“Ha! You may try!” Bertie said cheerfully, on his mettle. “Perhaps we should have a look-in at Angelo’s, for some fencing practice, later, just so we can see what you can do.”
Tom grinned. “Perhaps we should at that – though I’ll have to remember those Rules of Engagement you gentlemen are always on about. Son of a pirate, you know.”
*
Hartfield and his sister came to dinner the night before Anne and her parents were to leave London. Perhaps she had grown used to the idea of marrying him, or perhaps it was because he seemed so happy to see her, but it was all much easier than Anne had expected. Hartfield was a kind man, and handsome in his way.
He said all that was proper when it was time to say goodbye, studied her face for a long moment, as though memorizing it, and kissed each of her hands in turn.
When he had gone, Father said, “Well. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. Good night, my dear.”
Anne kissed him, and mother, too – such worried eyes – and her aunt, who was odiously pleased.
As she climbed the stairs Anne thought how glad she was to be leaving London for a time.
But when she was in her nightgown and sitting before her mirror, brushing her hair, her aunt peeped in, quite unannounced. “May I speak with you a moment, dear?”
“Of course!” Anne replied, though somewhat against her inclination.
Aunt Caroline came and stood behind her, watching her in the big mirror as Anne continued brushing. “I just wanted to have a little coze with you, before you are quite gone. How I will miss you!”
“I’m sorry you’ll be left alone,” Anne said, with real sympathy.
“My dear, don’t even think of that! I have many friends here in London, as you know, and I will contrive to keep myself occupied, never doubt it. No, what I wished to say to you was that, though I completely understand your reaction to the Incident at Vauxhall the other night, I feel your friend Tom was greatly at fault for breaking in upon you and Hartfield at such a moment.”
Anne stared. “Aunt, Tom thought Hartfield was… “ Her voice trailed off, and she colored.
“Yes, dear,” Aunt Caroline said. “You said the earl tried to kiss you after asking you to be his own, and your reaction was precisely what any gently bred female’s would be. But I daresay all would have been well between the two of you had you not been so rudely interrupted.”
“But I was happy that Tom interrupted!” Anne blurted.
“If Tom had not interrupted, the affair would not have been tainted by even the faintest whiff of scandal. Hartfield would not have gone beyond the line in such a setting! Intimate relations are such a distasteful business for any lady of sensibility, and particularly a maid untouched, but I have no doubt that you and Hartfield would have reached a… a compromise, given a little more time. And when you are wed, well, there are certain animal needs, common to all gentlemen, that one is required to fulfill. As the Bard said, the world must be peopled. But I have no doubt you will be prepared to do your duty, and will make an exemplary countess.”
“Thank you,” Anne said, faintly, as her aunt kissed her and took her leave.
Anne continued brushing her hair, but her puzzlement at her aunt’s words soon began to turn to annoyance. Hartfield had been prepared to go beyond the line. She would not else have felt that sense of panic and pushed him away. A distasteful business, indeed.
But Anne thought of Lady Harry and Captain Sparrow, and of her own mother and father, too, for that matter. Sometimes, when her parents had bid her goodnight, and Father took Mother’s hand in his, there was a look in her eyes that conveyed more about marital relations than Aunt Caroline could apparently imagine. And her sisters, Suzanna and Julietta, who were now happy wives themselves, had told her a few things that were even more to the point.
Anne grew rather cold, thinking of Hartfield in that context. She expected Aunt Caroline was correct about merely tolerating her marital duties, though perhaps love would blossom in time. But she feared that Hartfield would never inspire in her the longing and the frisson of delight that her sisters had agreed were essential to true marital bliss.
Feelings that Tom inspired with a mere glance, or the touch of his hand.
A few minutes later, when she was settled in her bed in the darkness, she thought of Tom. In that context. It was almost unbearable to know that she would never be free to love him, in every sense of the word, to wrap herself around him, body and soul; to shield herself within his arms, and warmth, and friendship.
Tears seeped from the corners of her eyes, and she rubbed them away, wondering that her life had taken such a turn. But it was her own fault that things had come to such a pass. She had made her bed and now she must lie in it. A chuff of laughter escaped her at the way in which that old saw was the barest truth.
She had a month. She would reconcile with Tom, and even if she could not have him as husband and lover, she would have him as her friend. The vision of his smile came to her again, and it calmed her.
“Tom,” she whispered aloud, and sighed, and allowed herself to dream.
Continued in Chapter Ten: Journey Home
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-01-09 06:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-10 03:35 am (UTC)