Jules took to laying low for a few days after the elopement, both for her sake and Flynn's, and really anyone else involved. Her family of course had already found her, and her brother had been seething when he'd taken to the news, according to Maria who had dared come and visit Jules. The rest of her family had severed all communications, and all real knowledge of Jules' very existence. Thankfully, her father had separated the accounts of her dowry and made special provisions for each of his children, and in goo planning that was. The funds were secured and her father's accountant was set to visit the bookstore in days. Everything seemed tidied up so nicely.
And yet Jules felt an unrequited feeling in her midst.
She ached in certain ways for Flynn that she hadn't deemed possible. Jules had once deemed herself to become a celibate old maid, but now...Flynn was very real, very masculine, and very hers. But the emotional attachment that she was even forming then frightened her terribly.
Jules found herself aching for a confidant, one that was not still bound to her family in such a financial way, and would turn her deepest secrets over if the situation were dire enough. But then again, she'd just made enemy to all the gentle society she'd even had halfway cordial relationship with in the beginning. Not that she minded. They were all of that fake variety of person, a mold of catty, egotistical idiots that thrived on gossip, parties, dancing, and drink.
Jules sank into one of the chairs in the bookstore-- her bookstore now, at least partially--and she picked up the tome of War and Peace. Something to distract her mind from the emotional imbalance that she was beginning to feel.
- Adrienne had spent days trying to find Juliet Farthingdale. She had asked friends who knew her and had even gone so far as to visit the other woman's home. There, she found herself shunned when asking questions of her friend, and they assured her that they had no idea where she was either. She had all but given up, and had decided a book would take her mind off of her worries.
She had ventured back to Wizzhard Books for find something new to add to her library. She had read everything of interest in her room as well as the library and was growing bored. Especially since now everything she did was restricted to a very staunch schedule to keep her from doing anything stupid between now and her wedding. She had nearly had to bribe her father to convince him to let her go to Hogsmead for an hour or so.
She wandered through the book store with measured steps, picking up a book that looked interesting here and there, skipping through the tombs until she found a back room full of what appeared to be muggle literature. A dirty little secret of her own, she loved muggle literature and began browsing.
She looked up after a moment to the only other occupant in the room, about to ask if they had seen a book when she recognized the figure. "Lady Farthingdale?"
Jules was lost in her literature until a vaguely familiar voice forced her to look up, and she was unsure for a moment on how to act. Jules closed her book in a slow act and looked at Adrienne, nodding her head to the other woman. "Yes," she replied to her no maiden name. "Well, somewhat. I am who you think I am, if that's waht you mean." Jules stood and wandered to Adrienne's side, dipping her head in a pleasant manner, though it was obvious there was a cautiousness about her.
Jules had enjoyed the company of Miss de Marque upon their meeting in the dress shop, and she had much enjoyed the freshness of attitude that she had found in her companion, but Jules was not all that certain the Adrienne would be so removed from caring for the public notion that she would want to freely endeavor to acquaint herself with a scandalous woman such as Jules. Jules gave her a measuring look.
"Who is asking about me, and why so?" Jules asked carefully, her hands finding employment in holding the heavy tome to her dress, her finger marking her place. Her icy eyes conveyed a sort of animalistic hesitance, making it certain that Jules was not totally sure of what to trust just yet.
- The caution in Lady Farthingdale's eyes surprised and some alarmed Adrienne. The woman across from her seemed almost afraid of the little French girl, and it worried her. Juliet had seemed very cordial on their first meeting, but now she seemed cold and distant.
"I've been trying to find you for days." She confessed softly. "I've got to everyone I can think of to find you but they all have said they have no idea where you are." Her voice was still very soft, to make sure they were not overheard. "Have you run away or have you done something to upset your family?" She asked curiously.
"Or...have I upset you?" This was a far less savory option. "Have you instructed your family to turn me away?" She continued. It broke her heart to think that the woman Adrienne had liked so much upon their first meeting did not feel the same about her. She licked her lips carefully, waiting for the other woman to reply on tenderhooks.
In that moment, Jules was quite aware that Adrienne was younger than she. The soft apprehension to her countenance and the almost nervous and anxious fear that Jules wished ill of their friendship made Jules' heart tug a little. She stood and her face softened a little as she set the tome down, taking care to mark her place so she might pick up where she left off.
"Your worry for me is most endearing, Miss Adrienne," Jules answered softly, the icy defense in her eyes melting away a little bit. "And I should assure you that you of all people have upset me the least lately." Jules bent to pick up a stack of ledgers that Flynn had left about. One day as Mrs. Donovan and she was already lamenting for her husband's organizational skills, or lackthereof. Perhaps she'd be of some use to him afterall.
"I have done nothing to my family other than exist I suppose," she replied with a roll of her eyes. And then she shot a fairly pleading glance to Adrienne. "Though you shall eventually here the whole of it when the papers break. I am...married." Jules' face flushed slightly and she laid her hand out so that the modest set of rings, the beautifully cut ruby and gold set, could glitter int he light. "To Mr. Flynn Donovan. Owner of this bookstore." She didn't have to explain the fall of social rank that would entail. Not to Miss Adrienne, a lady of her class. Or rather, previous class.
Jules' eyes became cautious again, wondering quite how the young girl would take to the news. Afterall, Jules had been so cynical in the dresshop. Would Adrienne believe such a tale that Jules had fallen in love? Or could she perhaps trust Adrienne to vent the truth of the sordid tale?
- Adrienne could not help but sigh in relief upon hearing that Juliet was not angry with her. It would absolutely destroy her to know that she had upset the other woman so much by a one time meeting. She smiled softly, keeping her face passive. "It's good to know I'm not the cause of such grief."
When the other woman said she had gotten married, her eyes widened and she clasped her hands over her mouth for a moment in shock. After the other woman's skepticism of marriage upon their first meeting, it did surprise her. The ring was beautiful, humble but beautiful none the less. She took Juliet's hand in her own so she could see the ring better. "Oh, it's lovely, Juliet!" She exclaimed.
She moved as if to hug the other woman, delighted to see her has happy as she appeared to be, but stopped short. She did not know her well enough to embrace her so intimately, and she did not want to push her luck too far too fast.
Jules offered a tight chuckle and did look fondly at the ring. "It certainly is. Not grand, but demure and pretty enough." Jules sighed and sank back into her chair, distracted from the scene.
"Scandalous to be sure. He is, quite below my rank. And below my family's expectations of me. But I hardly think I should care," Jules offered. She knew she was leaving gaping holes in the story, and yet she was unsure as to how much to tell Adrienne. Of course, Jules wanted a confidant. She wanted to spill out the truth of her marriage and the idea behind it, and the lust she felt despite of her choices.
Jules was ill-equipped to handle such a situation.
"We eloped the night of the ball. It was all very hush hush, as surely you understand." Jules gave the younger girl a cautious and measuring glance. "And what sort of confidante might you prove to be, Adrienne? I wouldn't think you would be a gossipmonger. But then again, I have been wronger about character before, and with less reason." Jules wasn't being cruel or sharp, but the tone of hers was that of a woman full scorned before by intimate acquaintances.
- Adrienne smiled before taking a seat as well, looking across at the other woman. "I'm very happy for you, Juliet." She confessed honestly. looking over at the other woman. "As long as he's good to you, I don't have to kill him." She teased, smiling slightly and crossing her legs beneath her skirt.
She then arched her brows, smiling slightly. "I am, and will always be, whatever manner of friend you will have me, Juliet." She spoke, her voice soft and sweet, and very sincere. "I like to think you're a kindred spirit to my own, and you only find one of those in your lifetime. I would hate to lose such a friendship."
She reached over and took the other woman's hand comfortingly, locking their fingers together and looking down at the ring again, almost enviously, before speaking again. "So tell me all about him." Se continued, smiling as sweetly as ever, dark eyes sparkling delightedly. "Everything, from what he looks like to how he is between the sheets." She teased.
Jules' sighed a sigh of relief. She wasn't sure what she had expected, in truth, but she was relieved to find that Adrienne seemed wholly invested in the friendship that had blossomed between them. As Adrienne took her hand she blushed fiercely, diverting her eyes.
"Honestly!" she exclaimed in a shaky, stricken voice. She chuckled and brought a dainty hand to her lips, biting her full bottom lip gently. "He is odd, Adrienne. So very odd. He respects women a great deal, and he is nervous around me often." Jules shook her head with a fondness that she was hardly attuned to. "I feel like he would ask how high if I told him to jump." Jules sighed and gave her friend a look.
"He is...gorgeous. Te best specimen of pure masculinity I have ever seen. The muscles, heavens his muscles are beautiful. And his total form is lean and strong and pull of power. Strong, callused hands that..." Jules trailed off with a blush. "Though he is tender. I don't think he could harm a book let alone a woman. He is quite the tender soul." Jules sighed and noticed that her blush lingered as she thought of him, and she endeavored to wipe it from her face. She could not appear as though she were a foolish girl.
"He is an enigma at best. I hardly know what to think of him. I went into this marriage thinking I wanted a stable, middle class husband who would respect my boundaries, physical and personal." Jules looked at Adrienne then, her eyes deep pools of fearful wonder. "But now, I find myself questioning that resolve. We have not...lain together yet. My idea in the beginning, but now I find myself....wanting him." Jules shook her head. "I do not want to be so vulnerable."
- Adrienne smiled at the other woman's blush, listening to her describe her husband with a sweet smile. "Well, that hardly seems something to complain about, Juliet." She replied sweetly. "Not only is he handsome but he respects you and revolves everything he does around you? He sounds like an absolute dream, dear." She replied.
"I would love to meet him someday, but I fear it will not be for a while." She explained. "Since I have become engaged, my mother has come back into the picture and is now restricting my schedule. Not only am I not allowed to play with my brothers anymore, I am also only allowed to go certain places not in my fiancee's presence and I am not allowed to drink any more than two glasses of a red wine a day."
She sighed in irritation. "Insufferable cow." Adrienne had never been particularly close to her figure head of a mother, but now she despised her even more than she had to begin with. She shrugged her shoulders idly, letting go of Juliet's hand and putting her hands back in her lap. "But that's life, I suppose." She shrugged.
"My wedding should be within the next few weeks. I would love for you to attend. Shall I send you a formal invitation here?" She asked curiously, tilting her head.
"A dream! A dream to be so caged by a marriage? To want for affections to the point of not be able to think of anything else? I shouldn't want it, not at all," Jules scoffed heartily. Though there was something in her expression that said she did want them. She wanted those callused hands all over there. And a deep part of her wondered if there would be a healing power in them. To heal her of her hatred of men and everything they stood for. To heal her of her broken hearted ways and her jaded, cynical view of the world. She ached to be happy, she had told Flynn so. But could he make her so?
She doubted it. He was a man after all. And to put stock in a man's character and capabilities was to forever be disappointed.
Jules frowned at Adrienne's description of her own engagement, just the sort of thing that Jules had wanted to be rid of. Suffering the restrictions of a fiance and mother who would do nothing but meddle in her business. Jules gave Adrienne's hand a squeeze and winked at her.
"If you could suffer such a woman as me, of course I would attend," she commented cheerfully as their hands parted. "Such a scandalous fall from social grace I have taken. It should be a wonder if I could function at such a soiree." Jules laughed, a full and chesty sound, at the ridiculous notion. "I fear I may be a bad influence on you though, my dear. I find myself toying with the idea of breaking into a stash of my father's wine I have tucked away in a special trunk upstairs." Jules gave Adrienne a measuring look at the younger woman.
They were of like souls. And Jules found herself liking the girl's company much more with each passing moment.
- Adrienne laughed playfully at the other woman. "Hardly. In fact, I think a figure such as yourself would add color to our plain and colorless affair." She teased. "If I am wrong, then at least your presence will serve to irritate my mother to no end, gossip whore as she is." Usually Adrienne watched her language in public, but not when it came to her mother,
"Oh please do, please do." She begged playfully, taking the other woman's hand once more and squeezing it. "And invite me over to stay the night and we shall drink until I think you are the seeker of the French Quidditch team and you think I am your lovely Mr. Donovan." She teased.
"After all," She continued. "you and a bottle of wine serve far better company than my mother or my fiancee any day." She sighed almost guiltily. "I feel bad for talking of Roderick in such a way. He really is a wonderful man, and he would do anything to make me happy, he is just so boring and such an easy target. One kiss and he's about to loose all form of self control."
Jules laughed surely at the thought. She wondered what her affect on Flynn was, as he was ever giving her mixed signals it seemed. Of course, she warranted them by her own mixed signals. She had all much made him sign in blood that there was to be no intimacy in this relationship, and then there she was, making a wanton fool of herself then moment she noticed just how pleasing he was. But she hardly had the decency to care.
"I'm sure he is not horrid or surely your father would not have allowed the match," Jules offered with a shrug of her delicate shoulders. She eyed Adrienne closely. "One kiss? That's it?" Jules flushed slightly, remembering all the foolish things she'd done with Flynn.
"I find that with one kiss, I'm quite nearly undone. Is it so possible for a woman to feel such lust for a man? Is it even right?" Jules sighed on the matter, looking exasperated. "And I'm forever kept guessing to his true opinion of me. He tells me I am beautiful, yet he looks afraid to touch me. As though I may shatter into a million pieces. Pah! As if I am so fragile." Jules gave a healthy roll of the eyes and twirled a loose curl by her ear.
"And even more, when he does give way to the passion for a moment, he pulls himself back so abruptly. Speaking of things like taking our time and being sure the moment is true. One would think he'd never been around a woman before, or never had been intimate with one. I scarcely recall a man of greater ability to confund my sense." Jules sighed and blew the curl out of her face, looking up to the ceiling. There was a sinking place near their heads. It didn't look threatening, but needed to be fixed certainly. She'd add that to the list.
- Adrienne shrugged. "He truly isn't horrid, he's just boring. I only hope with time I can get something out of him. You know the other day I was trying to get him to play with me and threw a snowball at him. All he did was laugh and said 'good shot' and continue walking." She rolled her eyes in irritation.
She had been sure that throwing a snowball at Roderick would bring some sort of a rise out of him, but it hadn't. Any other man she knew would have done more than that. Cage would have declared war or Mr. Allaird would have insisted she pay him back for such an insult, all the while his eyes twinkling deviously. Of all the interesting, playful, lustful men in the world, she somehow got stuck with the most uninteresting one of them all.
"I don't know, Juliet." She answered honestly. Adrienne had always been a very lustful creature, proven by the company she kept. Most women were taught from an early age that it was bad to love men as much as she did. It was immoral and improper apparently. But those teachings seemed to have gone right over her head and after such lessons, she was hiding out behind the house kissing the stable boy.
"Perhaps take control?" She offered carefully. "Make him see you are not fragile?" She shrugged, trying to help but having not the experience herself to give her tested advice.
"Control? Jules sighed heavily then. She was quite out of sorts and she hated it. She hated the heat that Flynn made her feel and she hated the way his muscles rippled and shadowed in the dim light of her bedroom. She hated how when she grew cold at night, she wondered how it would feel to curl up to him. And she hated how quickly she'd become wanting of her husband.
It was a marriage of convenience afterall, and nothing more. Neither of them were in love, or bound to be in love any time soon, and furthermore Jules couldn't afford such an imbalance in her marriage. Love made a person weak. Something that she never wanted to be again.
"I do love having control. But I fear that taking control would be the surest way of losing my control. I am fully content to stay self-sufficient in this marriage." Jules gave her companion a slightly pleading look finally. "It was formed on the basis that we both needed tangible, social things from one another. And now..."
Jules flushed. "I can't afford to give him any power over me. I cannot afford to produce affections and then find them betrayed.
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