a london visit, and the guests arrive
Jan. 16th, 2011 05:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tom_lefroy"My nephew has devised a plan of metropolitan amusement."
A cheerful laugh.
"Pleasure is, as you would say - madame - his forte."
Jane's cousin, Madame la Comtesse, joins in obligingly.
Behind them, Tom finds Jane's fingers.
The touch is light, like butterflies wings.
*
It had been far too long since Tom last saw her face.
The instant the door opened and Miss Austen and her company had arrived, Tom remembered that night beneath the stars, hidden in the shadows of trees.
Letters hadn't been near enough to bridge the gap between them.
And now ... how foolish he feels, how stupid those words seem - useless to convey just how much he missed being in her presence.
Once they are directed towards their rooms, Tom's uncle, the Judge, leaves them to the afternoon, promising a most satisfying dinner in his company, but he had a couple of pressing engagements he simply couldn't ignore.
"You must forgive me, Madame," he says.
"Of course, sir. I would not dream of inconveniencing you."
Henry Austen makes excuses to help the Comtesse with her luggage, leaving Tom quite alone with Miss Austen in the hallway by the stairs.
Suddenly he feels like a school-boy, almost shy and most certainly tongue-tied.
"Ah - Miss Austen," he says, "shall I help you with your things?"
A cheerful laugh.
"Pleasure is, as you would say - madame - his forte."
Jane's cousin, Madame la Comtesse, joins in obligingly.
Behind them, Tom finds Jane's fingers.
The touch is light, like butterflies wings.
*
It had been far too long since Tom last saw her face.
The instant the door opened and Miss Austen and her company had arrived, Tom remembered that night beneath the stars, hidden in the shadows of trees.
Letters hadn't been near enough to bridge the gap between them.
And now ... how foolish he feels, how stupid those words seem - useless to convey just how much he missed being in her presence.
Once they are directed towards their rooms, Tom's uncle, the Judge, leaves them to the afternoon, promising a most satisfying dinner in his company, but he had a couple of pressing engagements he simply couldn't ignore.
"You must forgive me, Madame," he says.
"Of course, sir. I would not dream of inconveniencing you."
Henry Austen makes excuses to help the Comtesse with her luggage, leaving Tom quite alone with Miss Austen in the hallway by the stairs.
Suddenly he feels like a school-boy, almost shy and most certainly tongue-tied.
"Ah - Miss Austen," he says, "shall I help you with your things?"
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-01-17 12:21 am (UTC)"They can take care of themselves, and if they so choose - each other," he says.
That, if anything, he's sure of.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-17 12:23 am (UTC)She allows herself a smirk as a maid stands at the door ready to help Jane unpack.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-17 12:26 am (UTC)Ah.
Blast.
Casually (and a little disappointed, to be honest) he starts off towards the door, allowing the maid permission to enter.
"Well, Miss Austen. I look forward to seeing you at dinner with my uncle, then," he says.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-17 12:28 am (UTC)"I look forward to seeing London with you, Mister Lefroy."
no subject
Date: 2011-01-17 12:31 am (UTC)Then, with a bow and a polite, "Miss Austen", he exits.