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Post by Liam on Apr 19, 2008 17:08:59 GMT -5
*He shrugged.*
"We could go to the village and get anything we need."
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Post by Sorcha on Apr 19, 2008 17:11:09 GMT -5
*Sorcha shrugged.*
"If you like," *she said.* "How far is it?"
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Post by Liam on Apr 19, 2008 17:12:12 GMT -5
"Only a half-hour's walk, and the scenery is lovely this time of year."
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Post by Sorcha on Apr 19, 2008 17:23:47 GMT -5
"Excellent. Let's go!"
*Sorcha quickly got dressed and pulled on her boots.*
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Post by Liam on Apr 19, 2008 17:25:39 GMT -5
*They headed out the door, onto the road across the moor before reaching the small but busy village.*
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Post by Sorcha on Apr 19, 2008 17:36:20 GMT -5
*Sorcha happily bartered with the marketplace vendors, though Liam had more than enough money to buy the entire market, it seemed. She still felt bound to try for a bargain--it was almost expected, and to pay the first asked price for anything would, she felt, brand her a fool. Thus for much less money than one might have expected, they were soon loaded down with fresh loaves of crusty bread, farm cheeses, fresh eggs, vegetables, early fruit, wine, a smoked ham, and a bar of lemon-y scented soap for Sorcha. Before the went back to Wilcombe, she browsed happily in an old bookstore for some time before purchasing a small volume of poems, taking the money from her own small, rather ragged purse, meticulously counting out the carefully-saved coins from her wages from Manderley, as well as the allowance Micaela had given her for Oxford--though she'd sent much of that home as her "wages" so her mother would not suspect she was idly studying rather than working in some grand house. Slipping the precious book into her pocket, she took some of the supplies they'd bought from Liam to help carry them back to Wilcombe. They sauntered along sunny country lanes for some time, laughing and chatting until they reached the great old house.*
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Post by Liam on Apr 20, 2008 10:36:29 GMT -5
"I feel like a packhorse." *He teased, nodding to all the packages he was carrying. It was then that the groundskeeper, a tiny, bent old man with a spade in hand, approached them, obviously not seeing them well but seeing them well enough to know they weren't supposed to be there.*
"Who are you?" *He asked accusingly. Liam took less than a second before answering,*
"We're renting the house from the de Winters."
"Don't look like renters."
"We're here for the summer."
"What're your names?" *The man asked, scowling.*
*Liam blanked. He hadn't counted on that.*
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Post by Sorcha on Apr 20, 2008 16:55:11 GMT -5
"Mr. and Mrs. Gaylord Farleigh," *said Sorcha quickly, plastering on an overbright smile and hugging Liam's arm.* "We're newlyweds. You can call me Hester, though. Mr--?"
"Folks 'round here call me Jack and not much else," *harrumped the old man.* "You can do the same, Mrs. Hester."
"Well, Jack--I just love the way you've cared for the place. It looks so lovely...right at the end of spring and everything beginning to bloom before the summer heat gets too withering. It's divine!" *she cooed, charming the old man in the blink of an eye.* "Did you design the gardens yourself? They're magnificent! I just love flowers--those roses by the gate are EXACTLY like the ones I had in my bridal bouquet, though I think yours are quite a bit larger, and with a stronger scent...why, my flowers pale by comparison! We're on our honeymoon--do excuse me if I seem a little silly. I've a sensible head on my shoulders when Himself isn't within ten feet," *she said rolling her eyes at Liam. Jack chuckled and waved them on with his spade.*
"Well enjoy yourselves, then. Ahhh you put me in mind of my Molly when we were first wed--she were but the scullery maid up in the big house and me only an undergardener then but she'd a pair of eyes like a fairyring of bluebells and violets together. I've not seen a thing like them since and I shan't until I see her eyes smiling back into mine when I join her in heavenly rest," *he sighed, shaking his head and waddling off amidst sighs and memories of his dear Mary--or Molly as he had always called her.
When he was out of earshot, Sorcha beamed at Liam.*
"He bought it," *she whispered.*
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Post by Liam on Apr 20, 2008 16:58:25 GMT -5
*He kissed the side of her head as they walked in.*
"You're brilliant, you know that?"
*Then he blinked.*
"... Gaylord?"
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Post by Sorcha on Apr 20, 2008 17:11:35 GMT -5
"It's a name," *she said, shrugging innocently.* "One that popped into my head. And I'm HESTER, so you can't complain because I sound like an adjective for some kind of musty old rug or possibly a seeping wound."
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Post by Liam on Apr 20, 2008 17:12:43 GMT -5
"Well, you sound like that or like you should be pregnant and wearing a giant red 'A' on your blouse."
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Post by Sorcha on Apr 20, 2008 17:13:47 GMT -5
*She laughed.*
"But Jack believes I'm an honest woman!"
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Post by Liam on Apr 20, 2008 17:15:09 GMT -5
"At least our last name isn't Prynn. Then we'd be in a pickle, Mrs. Farleigh." *He teased.*
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Post by Sorcha on Apr 20, 2008 17:16:46 GMT -5
*Sorcha pinched him.*
"Cheeky. A pickle would be if I WERE pregnant."
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Post by Liam on Apr 20, 2008 17:19:31 GMT -5
"Are you saying I wouldn't make an honest woman of you?" *His voice was still light but there was an underlying seriousness.*
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