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Post by Mr. Darcy on Sept 3, 2008 16:37:37 GMT -5
Darcy did not ask what sort of scope she required to imagine meeting him in a good light.
"Indeed," he said. "I can well believe that of you, Miss Shirley."
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Post by Anne on Sept 3, 2008 16:48:39 GMT -5
"Anne's got a genius for finding trouble, that's for sure and certain," *said Marilla, causing Anne to blush, though she said nothing, thinking it might be rude to complain about it in company such as this.* "Once she dyed her hair green..."
*Perhaps not so very rude.*
"Marilla!"
"...after Gilbert Blythe called her Carrots."
*Anne groaned lightly, her hand flying to her flushing cheek.*
"Well, it's a good story, Anne," *protested Marilla.* "You've come a long way since then--and you even forgave that Blythe boy. Eventually."
"Though I don't think I'll ever be quite reconciled to having such red hair," *Anne said mournfully, though with good humour.*
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Post by Mr. Darcy on Sept 3, 2008 17:15:36 GMT -5
Georgiana's eyes widened.
"Why, I wouldn't call it red," she said. "Your hair is quite definitively auburn, Miss Shirley. And quite a tasteful shade, at that."
Darcy hid his smile at Anne's discomfort.
"It is a good story, Miss Cuthbert. I was telling Miss Shirley once, some time ago now, that she should write of such things."
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Post by Anne on Sept 3, 2008 17:34:02 GMT -5
"Wr-write about dying my hair GREEN?" *stammered Anne, though she smiled gratefully at Georgiana for her kind words.* "A-and that time I was stuck under the bridge on Barry's pond after the boat sank? Or when I forgot to put any flour in that cake?"
"Anne..." *Marilla tried to cut in nicely.*
"...or the time I told Rachel she was a fat, ugly, sour old gossip to her face within a minute of being introduced? Or when I accidentally got Diana drunk--"
"ANNE!"
"...yes Marilla?"
"What about some...nicer stories?"
"Well I though we were talking about good stories. The good ones always have some element of tragedy about them."
"I beg to differ, Anne Shirley--do you mind the time you saved Minnie Mae Barry when she had the croup? Or when you won those scholarships?"
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Post by Mr. Darcy on Sept 3, 2008 17:59:29 GMT -5
Darcy was smiling openly, now, his sister wearing a similar, though more timid expression.
He even laughed.
"All of them," he said. "Yes, those are precisely what I meant."
Privately, he thought Anne Shirley a far more entertaining--and unbelievable--character than any in her novel.
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Post by Anne on Sept 4, 2008 1:45:48 GMT -5
"Well of course people would prefer stories about the humiliation of others--it would make them feel better about themselves!" *Anne pointed out.*
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Post by Mr. Darcy on Sept 4, 2008 11:39:45 GMT -5
"Hardy," Darcy said. "Everyone has humiliations in their lives; it is helpful to know others have undergone the same trials. Sympathy, not schadenfreude."
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Post by Anne on Sept 4, 2008 12:53:49 GMT -5
"Oh really?" *Anne's eyes glinted with impish humour.* "And what humiliations might YOU have encountered, Mr. Darcy? If there have been any," *she added dryly.*
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Post by Mr. Darcy on Sept 4, 2008 23:07:58 GMT -5
Darcy turned his dark eyes on Anne, his tone not without humor but still quite somber.
"Miss Shirley, believe me, I have been humiliated quite enough for even your sensibilities to appreciate."
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Post by Anne on Sept 5, 2008 1:28:26 GMT -5
"In such circumstances as...?" *she prompted him, a gently teasing smile on her face.*
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Post by Mr. Darcy on Sept 5, 2008 10:25:03 GMT -5
It was impolite to speak of such things in mixed company--to implicate Anne in such events in front of others. But he could hardly turn mum.
"I once conducted myself in such a fashion as to display an excessive pride that was unbecoming to me," he said. "I was made to see the error of my ways, but it was not unpainful."
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Post by Anne on Sept 5, 2008 11:05:20 GMT -5
"Sound familiar, Anne?" *said Marilla dryly.* "I recall an incident involving the ridgepole on the Spurgeon's kitchen roof."
*Anne coloured.*
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Post by Mr. Darcy on Sept 5, 2008 23:59:05 GMT -5
Darcy smiled gently.
"Perhaps we are not so very different after all, hmm, Miss Shirley?"
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Post by Anne on Sept 6, 2008 4:26:22 GMT -5
"Perhaps not," *she said hesitantly.*
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Post by Mr. Darcy on Sept 6, 2008 10:52:28 GMT -5
He needed to change the subject, to take the discomfiting attention away from Miss Shirley, and he turned to Georgiana.
"My dear, won't you entertain us with a song? I have not heard you play in some time, but I'm told you've improved immeasurably."
Georgiana blushed, but she was accustomed to doing as Darcy liked and enjoyed his approval--as well as that of his friends.
"If no one minds...?"
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