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Vivian's New Start
message 51:
by
Raina-J.
(new)
Jun 28, 2013 08:20PM
"I didn't mean for that but so long as you're offering..." Vivian laughed, squeezing him.
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He turned around in her arms and hugged her. "I know," Joeri said with a soft laugh. "And as a man of my word, I said I would help."
Vivian smiled up at him and dropped a peck on his nose. "You might regret that," she laughed. "I've never put up wallpaper before!"
He grinned, his blue eyes bright with laughter. "Me neither. We'll just have to figure it out together," Joeri replied.
"Like we always do," Vivian said happily.There was a knock at the front door, and Vivian's face brightened even more. She rushed out to greet her brother and nephews, but was surprised to see not Bertrand standing there, but Amelia instead.
"Come in, come in," Vivian urged, standing aside.
"Hello, Auntie Vivian!"
"Mr Thomas is through that door. Go say hello."
As Timoth and Carlton scampered off in the direction of her finger, Vivian turned to her sister-in-law and noticed the look in Amelia's eyes.
"Is everything alright? Here, let me take your cloak and bonnet," Vivian said as she kissed her sister-in-law's cheek.
"No, I'm fine - I'm only here to drop off the boys, and then I must be on my way to do my social duty."
"I know you were expecting Bertrand, Vivian," Amelia continued apologetically, "but he's gotten tied up with the move and with some...some family affairs. He did so desperately want to come and see you today."
"That's alright," Vivian assured her. "What time shall I bring the boys to Northby Mansion?"
They agreed on later on in the evening, exchanged kisses once more, and Vivian waved her sister-in-law off from her doorstep.
That's peculiar.
((Oh, dear! What's going on?))Joeri knelt down to greet Timothy and Carlton, smiling at how energetic they seemed. He held out his machinated hand to give them a shake, knowing how much they admired it. "Good day to you two young gentlemen," he said.
"Good day, Mr Thomas," the boys chorused, shaking his hand in turn. When Carlton was done, Timmy grabbed it and inspected it closely.Vivian re-entered alone, smiling at the sight of her beau crouching down to eye level with her nephews, who were in turn taking a great liking to him. Carlton ran to her and clung to her skirts, looking curiously over his clutched hands at Joeri.
"Tim is apparently very keen on mechanics," Vivian laughed, easing Carl off her skirts and holding his hand.
He smiled and glanced at Timothy. "That is a good to be curious. My sister is the same. Did you know this arm is a special military design?"
"Father said you were a military man," Timothy said matter-of-factly. "But what happened to your real arm?""Timothy!" Vivian exclaimed, aghast.
Joeri nodded as he listened. "It's okay. He can know," he reassured Vivian. Then he turned to Timothy. "I was caught in an explosion during the Merthyr Rising of 1831."
Timmy nodded sagely, his brow furrowed in concentration as he committed the information to memory. "Auntie Vivvie, what's this fow?" asked Carlton, toddling over to the swatches on the coffee table.
"Those are examples of wallpaper I'm thinking of getting for this place," Vivian explained as she followed. She knelt down next to her nephew. "Do you want to help me put them up?"
"Yes, pwease."
She showed him how to peel the backing off the sticky edge and watched as he rushed to the wall and stuck it. Vivian laughed - it was now fastened very low on the wall, askew.
"Wike that?" Carlton asked happily.
"Yes, exactly." Vivian opened her arms to him and he toddled back to her, all smiles and cheeks.
Timothy was still scrutinising Joeri's hand. "Where was the...the...Myrtle Rising?" he asked.
He was patient and he let the lad turn his hand this way and that. "It was in the South of Wales. The working class was rebelling and some of the miners were unhappy with things the way they were," Joeri explained.((Fictional of course))
((What was fictional? The event?))Timothy nodded gravely. "It is good that you were able to get a new hand," he stated, "just like Auntie Vivian did after her accident."
((The explosion event, yes. At least, I assumed that it's fictional. The rising is real.))Joeri gave a small smile and laughed. "Yes. It would be quite difficult," he agreed. "Plus I wouldn't be able to do many things if I didn't have my hand."
Vivian smiled, watching Carlton pull off more backings and apply the swatches to the wall. "Thomas, could you help Carl?" she asked with a laugh, noticing an alarming number of paper squares stuck low and haphazard on the wall.
He looked up and nodded. "Sure," Joeri replied, gently pulling his hand out of Timothy's grip and moving over to the stack of swatches. "Would it be okay if I help, Mr.Carl?"
Carlton stared up at Joeri with his wide blue eyes, then nodded wordlessly as he handed him a new square of paper.Vivian mimed to Joeri the action of moving the low-stuck squares up farther, her green eyes twinkling.
The nephews and Joeri made quick work of the swatch set meant for the living room, and Vivian decided to save the other sets for later. She still had to do the dining room and sitting room and the bathroom - that was all she and Joeri had looked for that day.
"Auntie Vivvie woves gween," Carl said - the first thing he spoke out loud to Joeri.
"Mr Thomas, what is your favourite colour?" asked Tim.
Joeri glanced down at them after he gave the wall a once over. "Well, that's a tough question. Though I like green, I would say blue is my favorite color," he said.
"Mine too," Timothy said happily. Vivian made a mental note of that as she closed up the satchel and brushed Carlton's reddish-brown curls out of his eyes. "And what's yours, Carl?" she asked.
"Bwoo, too," Carlton responded immediately, pressing his face into Vivian's skirts.
She shared a smile with Joeri, hoping that the boys were winning his heart as much as she'd hoped they might.
He grinned and nodded. "That's wonderful. Did you know my uniform was blue before I was reassigned?" Joeri couldn't help but smile so much, glad to see such happiness in the boys and hoped that he proved to meet their expectations.
"Auntie Vivian, may we see the rest of the house?" Timothy wanted to know."Yes, you may."
As the boys scampered off, Vivian turned to Joeri, one hand on her hip and a smile on her face.
"I think they like you," she said. "I know for a fact that Carlton loves red."
They laughed together, and Vivian sank down onto one of the chairs again, one finger absentmindedly tracing her alabaster cheek as she contemplated the wallpaper. After a moment she looked up at Joeri and asked, "I'm in charge of those two little devils until this evening. Any ideas?"
Running his hand across his chin, Joeri could only think of the battle games he played with Anne with little gadgets they found and the games be played running around on the streets. "I'm not sure. We can always take a walk somewhere or visit the museum, since all the games I've played are in the rough-house category," he commented.
"Boys do need to be boys," Vivian reminded him. "I'm sure Timmy and Carl would much rather appreciate slaying dragons in the park than being quiet in the Museum."Grinning devilishly she added, "Of course, you would be the dragon."
Vivian got up from her chair and went up on tiptoes to kiss Joeri briefly. "I love you." She walked out into the hall and called her nephews down.
"What's going on, Auntie Vivian?" asked Tim as he galloped down the stairs. Carl followed at a slower pace, clutching the rails.
"We're going to the park."
"With Mr Thomas?"
"Yes, with Mr Thomas." She smiled over her shoulder at Joeri, who stood in the doorway to the parlour.
***END OF SCENE***
Late the next morning, sitting in her front room with squares of wallpaper swatches for company and a cup of tea, Vivian read the note from Liam. She had just finished rearranging some furniture and had started sketching out room plans for when she had more than just the bare basics, but she was curious to see what on earth Geoffrey's head groom wanted to write to her about.Dear Lady Vivian,
Lord Northby asked me to inquire as to whether you wanted to keep Dulcinea here at the Mansion, or if you would prefer to have her transported to and boarded - at the cost of the estate - in one of the stables nearer to your new townhouse. Also, for your friend Mr Walker's benefit, his lordship has offered the same for Samson.
If you would like to have them both stabled near you, my father owns a public facility not too far from where you live. Please let me know, and perhaps we can make the necessary arrangements if you decide to keep them there.
Dulcinea is a very sweet horse, and I hate to see her leave. She's been very lovely to take care of here at the Mansion. Samson, too.
I hope your new home is to your liking. We all miss you here, too.
All the best,
Liam F. McCann
"Lovely boy," she murmured to herself. Having Dulcinea nearby would indeed be lovely, but who would she ride when she went back to Northby Mansion to visit? The other horses were either for the carriage or too large for her to ride.
I suppose I could always ride over there on her myself, she decided, folding up the letter and tucking it into her pocket. She'd write to Liam later.
Ben was supposed to drop by, as he'd promised her the night before, and she wondered when he would.
Making his way back to the townhouse where he had dropped his sister off last night, Ben strolled up to the green door and knocked.
Vivian opened the door and smiled up at Ben. "Hello, you," she said brightly, going up on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "Welcome to my new home." She ushered him in with pomp and circumstance, taking his hat and coat to hang them up in the hall closet.
"Well?" Vivian asked expectantly as he observed his surroundings.
Ben nodded in approval. "Very nice, Vivian. I love it," he grinned.
Vivian glowed under Ben's approval and took his hand to bring him through to the rear terrace. "Do you think I could learn how to plant things the way Mother taught me...and manage to keep them alive?" she said with a laugh, remembering how she had managed to kill a pot of mixed herbs as a child and had been scolded by her mother."I don't understand, Vivian. Mint, parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme? How could you kill these?"
"Probably with Bridget's help you could," Ben grinned.
Vivian grinned back as she perched on the low wall dividing what she planned on being an outdoor sitting area from the part she wanted to turn into a proper garden terrace. "Of course, you're welcome to visit whenever you please," she told him, "once it's all done, obviously. I was choosing wallpaper yesterday, and I'm hoping to get some new furniture pieces in too. But," she added breezily, "I know all that bores you to death, so in other news Liam has offered to help me arrange to have Dulcinea and Samson stabled nearby. Apparently his father owns a city stable not very far from here."
"Oh?" Ben said as he strolled around, absentmindedly admiring all of the space that they were standing in. "That sounds like fun. Where will you ride the horses then?"
"The stables have grounds leading into the parks, I think," Vivian replied. "And then instead of having to hire out a coach I can always just ride Dulcinea out to visit Northby Mansion...or your home."
"Sounds like a plan," Ben grinned. "Although, unfortunately, I think I'm stuck at the Grand Hotel for another month. Evidently we won't be getting that house until then."
"A whole month?" Vivian exclaimed. "Even I've never managed to hide away at the Kaylock Suite for a month."Her record had been two weeks before her father had come to drag her home - fortunately not by the hair or scruff of the neck, as he sometimes was inclined.
Ben laughed. "It's not as bad as all that, I suppose. Although it's quite the commute to my office which means I have to wake up earlier," he shook his head ruefully.
"You'll just have to leave your office earlier and get started sooner at the pub," Vivian suggested, her eyebrow arched mischievously.
Ben laughed heartily. "Speaking of which, where's my drink?" he grinned. "Aren't you supposed to be putting your hostess skills to use? If you want to run your own household and all."
Vivian rolled her eyes, but she hopped off the low ledge and disappeared for a few minutes. She came back with a tray, upon which she had placed a bottle of Ben's favourite and two glasses on top of a lace doily. She set it on the ledge, poured him a generous shot, and handed it to him before pouring a slightly less generous portion for herself."I won't tell if you don't," Vivian said conspiratorially. It wasn't even one in the afternoon yet, but then again, Vivian had gotten into some of her worst scrapes - and best memories - with Ben rather early on in the day.
"Cheers to that," Ben said, clinking his glass with hers as he downed the liquid. "Good stuff," he grinned.
"Speaking of your office," Vivian mused, "you haven't been back to work at all since you and Bert first came to visit me." She looked at him, bemused. "You really are one hell of a lawyer, aren't you?"
"Ah, yes, I really should go in," Ben mused as he sipped his drink. "I sent my intern on a case and I really should check up on him and see how it's going." He shrugged then. "Tomorrow."
Vivian smiled wryly over the edge of her glass and surveyed the bedraggled, nondescript vine curling around one corner of the overhanging trellis."Amelia brought the boys over yesterday. I think they're besotted by Thomas," she said.
Ben raised an eyebrow. "You know that that means the seal of approval, right? If the kids approve, it's a done deal. Cheers, Squirt," Ben raised his glass again to Vivian, grinning.
Vivian's grin could have lit up half of London as she raised her glass and drank to Ben's toast. "He's going back on duty in a few days," Vivian said forlornly after a moment, "but when he gets leave again he'll be staying here with me instead of at the Inn down at the docks." She smiled wistfully at some nondescript corner of the terrace. "I'm so happy he was re-stationed to London. If he'd had to go back overseas I would have been utterly desolate."
She looked at Ben again. "I'm so happy everyone I love dearly is back home. Except now for Geoff of course but he'll be back soon enough. But you have no idea now much I missed you, Ben," she said seriously.
Ben walked over to her and hugged her. He kissed the top of her head and then mussed up her hair. "I missed you too, Vivian."
"Did you really?" she teased. Then she laughed, "I forgot - I wanted to say thank you for teaching me how to drink. Your wisdom helped me get out of several situations when you were gone."
"What are big brothers for?" Ben grinned. "So, Viv, Walker is leaving? When? And for how long?"
"In three days," Vivian said sadly. "I...I think he'll be on duty for a few months. He'll get leave again of course, and I think in his new regiment he'll get a nice long one at that.And he mentioned he'll have days off here and there."
She sighed heavily, her green eyes dejected. "I've gotten so used to him, you know?" she said with an attempted laugh.
"Will he be close enough for you to visit him?" Ben asked sympathetically, rubbing her back.
"I'll have to ask him. I don't know how all the rules work for his regiment," Vivian replied. "I suppose I won't have too much time to dwell on his absence though," she said after a moment. "I'll be busy taking care of this place, and I'll have to find employment soon too. I can't do what I used to do, after all, to earn money."
