15 - Here and Back Again

[ambitious-woman.livejournal.com]

[and after a great many months, someone is appearing much more as they should. Hair artfully arranged, and in a gown of burgundy velvet the previous three months might never have happened to the less than discerning eye. She is reclined on her favorite settee, and on an adjacent table rests a decanter of wine. With an amused smile she is reading the latest of Voltaire's scribblings]

Comments

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

[the Doctor is in the middle of eighty-five kinds of horrible things happening, but he of course has time to say 'hi'.]

Velvet? Wintertime in France, is it?

[ambitious-woman.livejournal.com]

[Which, of course, she appreciates. She smiles.]

It is, yes. And it is especially frigid this season, it seems.

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

I'd love a good holiday back to France. See the world in the snow. Or a beach. Been meaning to go to a beach for a while, now.

[ambitious-woman.livejournal.com]

[her brow knits briefly as she considers his words]

Is there any reason you cannot. She can take you anywhere you wish, the TARDIS?

[savagestime.livejournal.com]

[The Master sits at the edge of the settee, not smiling - not amused. Still, he can't resist his favourite Frenchwoman. Absently, he drums on his lap, waiting for her to finish.]

[ambitious-woman.livejournal.com]

[But of course, in observing his expression, she cannot bring herself to finish. Still, he is like her if far too many ways, and she knows she would not appreciate any great show of concern. So instead, a compromise. It is at the conclusion of her chapter that she sets aside the book and giver him her full attention]

Wine?

[savagestime.livejournal.com]

Yes, he does often.

[despite the remark, he nods]

[ambitious-woman.livejournal.com]

Hardly a flattering habit, I think.

[with practiced hands she fills a glass from the decanter and passes it to him]

[savagestime.livejournal.com]

[he accepts with a nod]

Your reading?

[ambitious-woman.livejournal.com]

Merely the work of a dear friend.

[she refreshes her glass, pleased at the prospect of shared wine and conversation]

Your day?

[handysparehand.livejournal.com]

[not in the best of moods, he might seem a little distracted, but he comes over anyway, leaning over the back of the settee to see what she's reading]

So, what's that then?

[ambitious-woman.livejournal.com]

[there is a slight lift to her chin, her shoulders. Reinette is not one to twist round in her chair, of course. But were he to see her expression there was a definite pull to the corners of her mouth. One that suggests relief]

Merely the latest musings of a friend. He often allows me to read them before he sends them along to his publisher.

He was not well pleased when I informed him it might take a day or so more than he was accustomed. That I had a another gift I needed to finish first.

[handysparehand.livejournal.com]

[small grin and he moves around to sit on the edge of the settee]

How did you like it? The other gift - whatever it might have been.

[ambitious-woman.livejournal.com]

[it is definitely relief, and her smile grows]

It was a secret. The delicious kind. And so I enjoyed it thoroughly. Was it his best work? Perhaps not. But that makes it no less remarkable.

[handysparehand.livejournal.com]

I suppose I was sort of the same after I found it in the bookshop. The fact that it existed was exciting enough, as is. Although, the ending was a bit predictable, though. I was a little disappointed in that.

[shrugs]

Then again, predictable Shakespeare is still better than the best of most other writers.

[a-pretty-fire.livejournal.com]

[Pretty dresses draw Drusilla like a moth to a flame, and she actually likes Reinette. (As much as she likes anyone, anyway.) As far as the vampire is concerned, the woman is no different to the birds she likes to catch and keep. She hasn't found a suitable cage yet, but there's no need to rush. The stars have told her that they have plenty of time.]

You forgot to bring your library with you. You can't keep a book on it's own. It gets lonely.

[ambitious-woman.livejournal.com]

[Reinette will always appreciates a woman that appreciates fashion in turn. Even if there is something somewhat -- ethereal? Otherworldly? Strange? About the one before her. There is a great deal to this place that remains unknown. She smiles]

I keep every book I read within my mind. I assure you it will find great company and conversation there.

[a-pretty-fire.livejournal.com]

That's a very clever place to keep them. Can they ever escape?

[ambitious-woman.livejournal.com]

[the question is both astute, and amusing. And so Reinette laughs]

Only if I allow them to do so.

[a-pretty-fire.livejournal.com]

It must be hard to keep them prisoner. Thoughts are always trying to flutter away, and books are even worse. Such clever little things. I don't like them. All those words, but you can never tell what they're thinking.

[shatteredqueen.livejournal.com]

[because Lucy loves her some Reinette, she takes a moment out of her very busy and hectic schedule to see to her favourite French woman]

Reinette.

[ambitious-woman.livejournal.com]

[unknowing of the busy and hectic schedule as it stands, Reinette merely smiles and sets aside her book]

Lucy.

[shatteredqueen.livejournal.com]

[and she doesn't much like to show her own uncertainty about things, so she smiles in return] Anything interesting?

[ambitious-woman.livejournal.com]

[Reinette is quite familiar with masks]

Just the musings of a friend. He wishes for my opinions on them.

[shatteredqueen.livejournal.com]

[as Lucy would expect, but she does not drop hers for it]

And your opinion, is it favourable?