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Post by Marianne Desmarais on Apr 13, 2008 17:57:54 GMT -5
*She nodded, smiling shyly.*
"Thank you."
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Post by Daniel on Apr 13, 2008 18:01:58 GMT -5
"I'll be right back, then."
*He was gone for only a short while, not long after coming back with a couple of servants in tow. One of them--one who had encountered Daniel before (in Dorian's room)--kept throwing odd looks in his direction.*
"These ladies can help you."
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Post by Marianne Desmarais on Apr 13, 2008 18:06:18 GMT -5
*She nodded and meekly asked them to fill up the bath. As they did so, she sat on the very, very edge of the bed, biting her lip and curling a finger around a loose lock of hair and reading King Lear.*
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Post by Daniel on Apr 13, 2008 18:22:24 GMT -5
*He stood off to one side, out of the way, though the appearance of a book in Marianne's hands caught his attention*
"A Shakespeare fan?"
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Post by Marianne Desmarais on Apr 13, 2008 18:25:00 GMT -5
*She nodded.*
"My mother used to read it to me when I was little, to help me get to sleep. When she died, I suppose I kept reading it to remember her, but I developed a love for it myself along the way." *She didn't seem to deeply hurt about her mother's death; she'd coped with it well enough when she was small.*
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Post by Daniel on Apr 13, 2008 18:27:42 GMT -5
"You read more than just that one, though."
*He glanced at, well, the piles and mess of books all over the room*
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Post by Marianne Desmarais on Apr 13, 2008 18:32:45 GMT -5
*She laughed softly.*
"My step-siblings used to tease me for reading so much." *She said, before the maids came out and ushered her into the bathroom. They left her to her bath. She shut the door and slowly undressed herself before sinking into the bath with a contented sigh.*
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Post by Daniel on Apr 13, 2008 18:37:24 GMT -5
*To distract himself from the fact that she was naked behind that door, Daniel grabbed a book off of one of the piles, finding it a bit hard to pay complete attention to what he was reading*
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Post by Marianne Desmarais on Apr 13, 2008 19:24:59 GMT -5
*Marianne occasionally made some noise of contentment, lounging in the water for a few minutes before setting to washing her hair and body. She climbed out and allowed it to drain as she wrapped herself in a towel. Then, of course, she realized that she'd left her comb and clothing outside.*
*She tentatively opened the door and spied the bag across the room. Her curls were dark with water, which dripped down her back to the towel or floor and her face pink from the warmth of the hot bath. She calmly padded across the floor, though her cheeks became ever pinker (he could see a considerable stretch of leg above the knee, as well as everything above her cleavage), and grabbed the bag. She marched back into the bathroom, not meeting his gaze, and went to change into her nightgown and begin combing the curls by the mirror.*
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Post by Daniel on Apr 13, 2008 19:37:59 GMT -5
*Although it looked like his view of her walking by was obscured by the book he was reading, he was actually able to see her move past and then disappear back into the bathroom. To keep distracted, he bit his lip, hard enough to draw blood. The pain and blood helped him refocus*
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Post by Marianne Desmarais on Apr 13, 2008 19:47:30 GMT -5
*Marianne finally exited the bathroom in her nightgown, pale gold curls damp but no longer dripping. She set her bag back in its corner and took out the well-loved Complete Works of William Shakespeare. She sat down in a chair, tucking her bare feet beneath her, and set to reading King Lear, complete with annotations in her mother's embellished, beautiful handwriting.*
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Post by Daniel on Apr 13, 2008 20:07:20 GMT -5
*There was a quiet moment, when Daniel suddenly felt the hunger for blood strike him. All nochalance (though moving quite deliberately) he began to make his way to the door*
"I have some business I must attend to, so I'll be out for a bit."
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Post by Marianne Desmarais on Apr 13, 2008 20:09:03 GMT -5
*She nodded absently, turning a page and continuing to be wrapped up in the story and verse.*
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Post by Marianne Desmarais on Apr 13, 2008 20:27:06 GMT -5
**LATER**
*After he left, Marianne had continued to read until her eyes drooped. She tried to stay awake, but found herself drifting off, still curled up in the chair. Her hair cascaded over her shoulders and one sleeve slipped off, and her pink mouth was again partly-open; her head rested against the back of the chair and her book was wrapped in her arms like a treasured security blanket. Her eyes fluttered shut and she was out like a light.*
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Post by Daniel on Apr 15, 2008 18:47:46 GMT -5
*After enjoying the company of somebody rather willing to have a bit of fun (this time around), he returned to the inn, sated in more ways than one.
Stood near the sleeping girl for a moment, wondering about her. He'd thought it impossible for somebody to be as naiive and trusting as her, and yet here she was. He wondered how she'd ever lasted as long as she had out there in the world.
He lightly tapped her shoulder to wake her up*
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