girls of summer

[Thompson Skeeter]

(Because apparently, Manda got muse because of this song..)

He had written a letter to Alianor a couple of days before, wondering if she wanted to hang out with Annette Gertrude and him to the park, where they were going to rent out a rowboat for the evening. He thought that it would have been something that she would have enjoyed, especially whenever it came to getting her out of the house. She just couldn’t spend all summer at her home, without getting out there to breathe the fresh air. Well, she could but it didn’t mean that it would be pleasant. He would have preferred her to actually enjoy herself rather than being at home. Yet when she had asked if she could invite her brother, Thompson had hesitated a bit. He knew that he didn’t like him, for Thompson could tell last time they had met within the hospital. The grip that he had given him with the handshake, the stare, it was all something that he had figured out that he was unwanted near Alianor, which Thompson just couldn’t bear to tell her. He didn’t want any arguments to occur between her brother and her, which is why he held his tongue. He figured it was best. So when she did ask about inviting him, Thompson had done something that he normally wouldn’t have done to anyone – and lord forgive him if she had ever found out – he had lied to her. His idea was to tell her the somewhat truth, by letting her know that maybe he shouldn’t go along, all due to the fact that his leg probably still needed to recover. He didn’t know if it was true of not but it was something that he had thrown within the dark. Luckily for him, he was able to avoid having Islwyn with them on the trip. It was that hope that he would be able to stay alive for one more day.

It was one day at least.

So with everything set up for today, Thompson had thought it was best in order to get ready. Grabbing his jacket, he threw it over his body and slipped on his shoes while sitting on the bed, only to feel something rub up against his arm. There was Sleipnir, staring at him with his large eyes. Raising his hand up, he scratched the cat behind the ears, smiling at him. “Sorry Sleipnir, but I think it is best that you stay home today. After all, I don’t think you would enjoy the water much.” When he had finished tying his shoes, he had stood up before hurrying out of his room. Sleipnir quickly followed behind him, making sure that he wasn’t left behind. When he had reached the last couple steps, he jumped to the bottom, hurrying towards the front door. “I’m going out.” He muttered quickly to anyone who might have been listened to him, before opening the front door and heading out. It was only when he was about ready to shut it, when he needed a rather large and fluffy cat scurry out. Seeing the sight, Thompson had allowed a groan to escape him in annoyance. “I really don’t think you should be..” However, when the cat’s head tilted up, eyes looking at him, Thompson sighed lightly, knowing he couldn’t refuse him. He was a part of his family as well. “Alright then, come on but you need to keep up.” The words were spoken as Thompson had hurried down the front steps and made his way towards the streets. It was only then that he had made his way towards the park, where he was to meet up with his friends. Hopefully, everyone would be there right after he showed up or later on. It would be best.

As he made his way down the street, keeping himself towards the side of it, he allowed his eyes to watch some of the people who were walking around, going shopping. There were a couple that he had seen at Hogwarts but he didn’t say hello. Instead, he raised his hand towards the cap on his head, pushing it down a bit to cover part of his face. He couldn’t really talk to anyone when he had to get going to get to the park to see the others. Thompson just needed to get there. Upon reaching a certain part in the street, he took a right and headed into the park, to the spot where the pond was. As he reached it, he had not seen anyone there, which caused him to shrug and head over towards the large shade tree, where he sat down. “Let’s wait here for them..” He whispered, allowing hi body to rest up against the trunk of the tree, his hands resting on the back of his head. It was there in which he closed his eyes, just listening to the people who were around him. The sounds had helped to calm him down a bit, had helped him to enjoy where he was. It wasn’t like Hogwarts – that was for certain – however, the chatter was a nice to listen to. It had reminded him that he was home, that Thompson was within Hogsmeade and not at the familiar castle. It was a welcoming experience for him, even though he would miss Hogwarts for the time being. Yet in a couple of months, he would be back there again, to the place that he had grown familiar to however it would be this upcoming year that was to be his last. It would be the last time he would really get to explore the depths of the castle, knowing that there were others things to figure out about it. He wouldn’t worry about that right.

Instead, he would wait for his friends.

  

[Annette Fontaine]

Anne loved boating- she’d spent many happy childhood summers sailing and liked to think she had a good pair of sea legs too. But right now, she was too angry to even contemplate the fact that they were going to get to go.

The ball might have been crowded, yes, however she was nothing if not perceptive. Anne was used to making sure her brother didn’t spend parties sulking, and it had been little effort to extend that watchful gaze to Gertrude, Effie and Thompson, and it was currently the latter that she was fuming with- Getrude and Effie had behaved remarkably well and tolerated her forcing them to go. And even if she hadn’t seen the horrific event with her own two eyes, the rumours were sweeping the entirety of society like a wildfire- she’d even heard the cook discussing it with the scullery maid!

Well and truly on the warpath, Anne’s chaperone could hardly keep up as she near as marched up to where Thompson was standing, eyes flashing dangerously and posture defiant as she forwent a greeting of any kind and barely managed to keep her voice to a proper level.

“What on earth possessed you?” She demanded angrily. “What on earth, Thompson?”

Table by Heidi, image and general tinkering by me

[Gertrude Baker]

Boating. Really? It certainly had not been Gertrude's idea of a good time, but she agreed anyway. Even though it had not been long, she had spent far too long away from her friends and it would be nice to do something relaxing, even if the idea of going out in a boat on a lake did seem both terrifying and not fun. Boats were notoriously unstable and Gertrude couldn't swim. But that was besides, the point, so she was going to go anyway.

When Gertrude arrived at the park, Thompson and Anne were already there. From what she heard Anne say as she approached, they had already begun to discuss the matter that Gertrude wished to discuss. She had heard it at the ministry, about Thompson being kissed. Thomspon, being kissed! It had to be false. It had to be lies. Gertrude knew Miss Davenhart was a little different, but that didn't mean that she was the kind of girl who kissed boys in public.

Taking the role of mediator, Gertrude rushed to them and shoved herself in the middle of them. "Let's not get hasty," she said "I'm sure everything can be explained away without any strong emotions. Like, with a quick explanation of how it's all lies. Honestly, who would be so much of an idiot to kiss someone else in the middle of a ball?!"

Yes, Gertrude was very sure that it was all very false.

  

[Alianor Rabnott]

Alianor had never been much of a boatsman (or boatswoman, whatever they ought to be called). She'e never even considered it much of an option when she thought of leisure an option when she thought of leisure activities. Her family didn't own a boat and neither of her parents were interested in boating, but she was quite excited for the boating excursion today, if nothing else, for the chance to spend time with friends, something that she hadn't yet had this summer or during previous summers. To tell the truth, the outing almost hadn't happened. Just the day before, she had caught word of a scandalous rumor making the rounds about Thompson having kissed one Miss Davenport, who she was certain he hardly knew, at the coming out ball. She had been so shocked and furious that she had nearly called the whole thing off. Actually, she had until Thompson had convinced her that he had been the victim of Miss Davenport's advances, not the other way around and that he had promptly rebuffed her in the name of propriety. Even after she had been convinced of his innocence, it had taken nearly an hour to convince her chaperone, Mrs. Canterbury that there wasn't any cause for concern. The eighty-six year old widow, who had been their neighbor for ten years, was the sort that loved a good scandal and was never eager to let one go without a fight. In fact, she likely wouldn't have even considered her a suitable chaperone if she hadn't been half blind and going deaf. She was quite certain that it was only the fact that she couldn't see or hear most of what was going on around her that stopped her from finding scandal and outrage absolutely everywhere. She also walked rather slowly at her age, forcing Alianor to double back every once and awhile to make sure they didn't lose each other.

By the time they arrived at the park, everyone else was already there and, from the looks of it, their little outing was not off to the same pleasant start that she had thought it would be. The source of the contention seemed to be Annette, who was looming over Thompson (or, rather, near him as he was quite clearly the taller of the two), looking very cross. Gertrude stood between them clearly making an attempt to diffuse the situation, though Alianor could not hear them from the distance that she was at, so she couldn’t say for sure that Gertrude wasn’t cross as well. She knew immediately that the commotion was all to do with the supposed ballroom kiss and she couldn’t blame Annette for being upset. It was an absolutely detestable act of which he had been accused. She herself had been furious when she heard of it. Kissing a strange girl in the middle of a ballroom? A definite cause for concern. Even a cause for the dissolution of a friendship, but following his response to a rather rashly (and very sharply) written howler, she knew the incident to be greatly exaggerated by the vicious, anonymous mass of misinformation and innuendo that was the chain of gossip in and around Hogwarts. As soon as she knew who was responsible for the lies that had been spread about Thompson, she would pursue appropriate punitive action for them (or at least write a very strongly-worded letter), but until then she would have to settle for helping to clarify things for Annette in regards to their friend's conduct at the ball. After all, she wasn't terribly eager for any of them to get on the boat cross with each other. One was less likely to follow boat-safety regulations when cross and given that she wasn't much of a swimmer, she wasn't terribly eager to end up in the water because of a silly row.

It really did seem silly now to think that Thompson, her Thompson, would ever be involved in anything so brash. She could hardly believe that she had suspected him in the first place. A smile pricked at the corners of her lips as she turned to address Mrs. Canterbury. "I see my friends now, Mrs. Canterbury." she announced loudly so that she could be heard, pointing towards them even though she knew very well that the old widow couldn't see any more than a blur at even half that distance. "You may stay here if you'd like. Thank you ever so much for bringing me." Mrs Canterbury squinted in the distance before nodding and taking out her embroidery work on preparation for a long wait, "Yes, yes. Glad to do it, Alianor." she responded, conjuring up a wooden lounge chair with a swish of her wand and lowering herself down into it. "But I warn you, watch out for that boy, Skeeter. Whether he forced himself upon that girl or not, I don't like the thought of him alone on the water with three young girls. Why any young man would find it appropriate, I simply don't know. I know that you are trusting, but there are some men who are a bad sort. I was young once too you know. I've met them." With another placating smile, Alianor patted her chaperone's hand "I will keep an eye out." she reassured "but I promise you, he really isn't that sort of boy". Now all she had to do was convince Anne of that.

With a sense of urgency evident in her gait, she strode over to the threesome, stopping only to pick up Sleipnir who was pacing worriedly beside his owner, and slipped alongside Gertrude, facing Anne. "It isn't all what you think." she blurted out immediately, not even bothering to ask about the pretense of the argument. There was really no point. Thy wouldn't have been quarreling about anything else. "I was livid when I heard as well, but Thompson has assured me that it was Miss Davenport that made all of the advances. He rebuffed them just as quickly as he could." She sincerely hoped that Anne was in a state of mind to properly assess the situation (or at least that, with three against one, they would be able to stop her from doing anything too rash if she wasn't).

  

[Thompson Skeeter]

Perhaps he would have assumed that most of his friends would have been understanding with the situation at hand. Then again, how wrong he had been. With the letter that he had received from Alianor (the howler, that is), it opened his eyes to prove that this was not going to be a normal boat trip. As a matter of fact, he was certain that there were a couple of things that his friends wanted to say to him. The youngest of his friend had been one of the boldest of the three, deciding to take out through a Howler while he was at home. He didn’t know if his mother had heard it or not – he was certain she did – but I was nothing to be proud of. Thompson was not proud of anything that had happened recently. So as he waited to see what would become of this event, his eyes had noticed the form of Annette. He had offered her a smile and was about ready to give her a pleasant wave. Thompson did not get that far at all for all of a sudden, he had noticed the anger within her face as she herself stormed in his direction. As though she was a strange and wild beast, he had reacted rather quickly, forcing himself up and against the trunk of the tree, pressing his body against it as though hoping he would be able to vanish. As for Sleipnir, who was watching the whole action before him, he himself had reacted strangely. With his hair sticking up on ends, the cat had hissed at Annette, giving her a warning about touching him. Thompson wanted to tell him to keep quiet but it was hard, considering that his attention had focused completely upon the figure of Annette. He couldn’t look away nor could he speak anything to him. Instead, his attention was focused upon the short woman in front of him who had confronted him.

“Annette, you need to listen to me! It is not what it seems!”

The words were spoken quickly, trying to get her to back off of him, even though he was certain that it wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. With the way that things were turning out, Thompson was certain that he would soon be one of the most hated young men by his friends. It caused him a small amount of fear – figuring that someone bad would occur out of this. Luckily for him, before he thought that he would be smacked around by a woman who was by far shorter than him (Thompson was tall to begin with), another figure had come to his aid. His eyes had noticed the familiar brown hair and slightly taller form of another friend of his, Gertrude. Unlike Annette, who was one of those who frightened him at times, Gertrude may have been considered as the one who Thompson had gotten along well with. Although slightly outspoken with her words, she had a calm and understanding demeanor, something that he was pleased about. It especially caused him happiness when the girl herself had placed herself in front of him, protecting him from Annette and the anger that she held within her chest. His face relaxed slightly, listening to her words as a small and kind smile crept up upon his face. She was giving him a chance to speak, was giving him a chance to right the wrong that had been thrown within his direction. It made him feel as though he wasn’t so much of a prisoner anymore. As much as he was about ready to speak, his mouth opening to proclaim his own innocence, something had captured his attention out of the corner of his eye. There was a figure coming closer towards them, someone who he had known.

Turning his head to look, his eyes landed upon the figure of Alianor, causing him to raise his brow slightly in interest. Unlike before, where he had seen her dressed within unflattering robes, it was weird to see her dressed up like an actually lady. Was she even supposed to dress like this, especially with how different she looked? Keeping silent, his head tilted slightly towards the side as he watched as she approached them, intent on not pulling his attention away from her. Luckily for him however, Alianor had also proved to be on his side, guarding him from a rather angry Annette. She had done something else for him, something that he was very grateful for. His friend – oh how dear of a friend she was – was trying her best in order to prove her innocence to her. It was something that he would have to reward her with, especially with the fact that he had told her what had happened. Biting down upon his lower lip, he was somewhat fearful to interrupt her, knowing that she would be better off on telling his story. It was best for him to wait until she was finished anyways. When it just so happened that she was finished, Thompson could feel a small amount of color rise to his cheeks. This was embarrassing enough to have the three of them question his innocence, to have him put on the stop for something he didn’t do. He wanted to take a step to the side, outside of the limelight and into the shadows that he had grown familiar with. It was something that he couldn’t help but to do at the moment, especially with the fact that being acknowledged was something he didn’t want to deal with. Yes, he did want some sort of acknowledge but not something like this.

Now something which had made him look bad.
When everyone had stopped talking, he figured that it should actually say something to them. After all, he needed to defend himself. “Thank you Alianor and Gertrude.” His words had been softly spoken, before he turned his attention to look at Annette. Well, what was he supposed to say to her? “What Alianor says is true, Annette. I did nothing wrong. I didn’t even know what was happening until it happened. She forced herself upon me and if you don’t believe me then, then I really don’t know what more to say..” With a shrug of his shoulders, he had decided to allow the topic to fall, not wanting to discuss it at the moment. This was supposed to be a time that they were able to enjoy themselves, not to argue and throw accessions left and right. It was not something that he wanted to deal with at all. Shifting his weight, feeling rather uncomfortable with the way that he was standing, he decided to speak once again. “Now, we can either go boating together or I will be more than willing to go by myself, especially if you are all afraid of me forcing myself upon you. It is up to you but considering that I put some of my own money in renting a rowboat, I do plan on taking it with or without someone.” He would let them decide on what they wanted to do. Thompson wasn’t one of those who would force those to do anything that they didn’t want to do, especially if certain people were going to give him an attitude about something. Without saying anything else, he decided to wait to see what the others would decide. Either go with him or stay on shore, he didn’t care. He was getting in that damn boat!

  

[Annette Fontaine]

Anne watched scathingly as Thompson- assisted by Alianor, but that was no surprise- tried to make his excuses.

“Be that as it may,” She replied in a more controlled tone, but still with force. “You shouldn’t have been having a private conversation with her. Miss Davenhart is a dubious acquaintance at the very least, Thompson, even you can’t fail to see that. Why did you not make your excuses and leave? If any girl was going to do such a thing, it would be her- she had the nerve to approach me the other day, and she was out in public without a corset or hat or her hair up! She must be seventeen or near enough, and that coming out ball was the only time I’ve ever seen her put her hair up- most girls wouldn’t think of wearing their hair loose in public once they were past the age of thirteen, let alone when they are officially adults! And have you not heard the other rumours of what she got up to? Kissing another girl, bathing in a lake in public?” Annette was scandalized to say the least, and she really would have expected better common sense of Thompson.

She caught her breath before continuing. “It might not have been your fault, but you shouldn’t have been in that situation to start with.” Annette finished. He couldn’t argue with that.

When he mentioned boating, she nodded, ignoring his rather sulky and attention-seeking comments. “We should probably get on with it.” She agreed. “I believe it’s due to rain later and I’d prefer not to catch influenza or pneumonia from getting a sudden soaking.” When her feet got wet, Annette was not a happy bunny.

Table by Heidi, image and general tinkering by me

[Gertrude Baker]

Gertrude looked at Alianor in suspicion. So Thompson had kissed Miss Davenhart? Well that wasn't a nice thought. Really? Had he truly sunken to that level? Even Gertrude thought that Miss Davenhart was not a particularly proper young lady - and this was coming from Gertrude. Obviously, she never judged Miss Davenhart, what she wore and how she did her hair wasn't any of Gertrude's business so she kept her nose and her thoughts firmly out of it all.

Although she wanted to add to the conversation about Miss Davenhart, Gertrude left it be. There was no need bringing it back up now they were onto the much nicer topic of boating - even though Gertrude would never call boating nice. Unpleasant would probably be a more fitting word. Much, much, much more fitting. But she wanted to get it over and done with so decided it would be best to just agree.

"Yeah," she agreed "If it's going to rain we should get on with it, Anne's right, we don't want to be getting ill." There were two big reasons why Gertrude didn't want to get ill - one, she didn't want to die and two, she didn't want to have to take any days off her internship because she was ill. That would not make her look good!

  

[Alianor Rabnott]

As the situation seemed to have diffused somewhat since her arrival, Alianor felt comfortable stepping aside and allowing Annette and Thompson to face each other directly. While there was still a significant amount of tension, she was fairly confident that the no physical blows would be exchanged (or rather received by Thompson. She was certain that he would have never engaged in any sort of physical altercation with a woman.) She was rather proud of the strength of his defiance toward Annette's continued criticism of his actions during the ball. She thought that he handled the situation quite admirably, but she still felt the need to voice her opinion on the matter a bit further. She considered Annette to be a very strong acquaintance, if not a friend, but at the moment, she found her to be less than reasonable about Thompson's culpability in the kissing incident. One could not expect a man, let alone a kind, well-thinking man such as Thompson to be as aware of the improprieties of a young woman as another woman would be. To them, wearing one's hair down might simply be comely grooming choice. She wouldn't let a well-intentioned lack of awareness get in the way of them having a perfectly congenial outing. She would expect some tension if Miss Davenhart was onboard, but Thompson hardly deserved it. "I'm glad to hear that you're willing to hear some reason, Annette." She chimed coming up alongside her as they followed Thompson to the small boat bobbing gently at the edge of the lake."We're all aware that Miss Davenhart is without virtue and a poor choice of acquaintance, none more aware than Thompson, I'm sure, but that isn't any reason for us to forgo a fine boat ride."

She thought it better not to give her too much time to argue, if that was her intention, so she sped up until she matched her stride with Thompson's and changed the conversation before the older girl could respond. "It is my first since the beginning of first year, you know." she commented, smiling up at him, hoping to raise his spirits after the rather confrontational start to the afternoon. "After this, I will have gone on more boat rides than Islwyn. Not that I plan on lording it over him. I haven't even told him about the trip. He is quite down already. The last thing he needs is to see my social life flourishing while his stagnates." even while discussing the rather somber topic of her brother's persistent melancholy, her expression exuded cheerfulness. To be frank, her mind wasn't really on the boat excursion or Islwyn, sitting at home alone, but on the peculiarity of seeing Thompson in anything other than his school robes. It often seemed to her that they had known each other for years, but in truth, they had only met earlier that term and she had never seen him outside of school before. His clothes were nothing overly elegant, which quite frankly, she appreciated considering how such pageantry left the poor at a disadvantage from the moment that they met someone. Despite their relative plainness, however, they suited him well. She was so used to seeing him in black, formless robes before and she had to say, they hardly did him justice. She could see how he might have been a temptation to a woman of loose morals like Miss Davenhart when he was dressed in the fine clothing that he wore for the coming out ball. She hadn't actually seen him herself on that night, but she was certain that he had looked equally as nice that night as he did now, if not even nicer.

But, of course, she was not a woman of loose character and she and Thompson were only friends, so she felt no qualms heading for a seat quite near the oars, where she knew that Thompson would be sitting, as she endeavored to board the boat. Unfortunately, her endeavor was hardly a success.it was hardly even a proper attempt. She stretched her foot forward and tentatively touched the inside of the vessel with the very tip of her shoe. Even that small bit of contact caused the boat to wobble and bob more vigorously in the water and she pulled her foot back out with a gasp, placing it eagerly back on terra firma. "...perhaps someone with a bit more experience should get in first" she suggested in a hurried tone. "I wouldn't want the boat to capsize before we even get started."

  

[Thompson Skeeter]

Thompson didn’t say anything at all. As much as he knew that he could of, he had decided that it was best to keep his mouth shut, which was the reason why he didn’t say anything at all. Instead, the young man had resorted to listening to the others and what they had to say to each other. Alianor seemed to have the most common sense, along with Gertrude. Annette on the other hand, he did not want to question her at all. She was within her ways and therefore, he had decided not to question her at all. It was for the best. Perhaps that was the reason why he had decided in order to walk away from the three of them and head towards the boat that he was familiar with. He didn’t know who would have followed him, which was the reason why he had planned on going by himself. Within his mind, he was certain that only a select few would actually have decided to follow. Luckily him, it seemed as though the one whose company he had kept often – who he was familiar with – had decided to follow him. Seeing her out of the corner of his eye, the young man had decided to do something he normally would have done with most. His long stride was decreased while he slowed himself down, giving her time to actually catch up with him. When she was at his side, he didn’t speak a word, knowing that it was better to listen to what she had to say to him. Luckily for him, it was something that he couldn’t help but to smile about. She was talking about boating, how she really hasn’t been on a boat since her first year. It was something that he couldn’t help but to wonder about, wondering why she was sharing this with her. It was an interesting concept, something that he could not help himself out with at all.

Instead, he decided to keep quiet and think up a response.

“It had been a while since you have ridden in a rowboat however, those are magical ones, Alianor. This one, on the other hand, is not. I will be rowing it.” It was something that he wanted to make sure that she actually knew about, not knowing whether or not she knew about it. As much as the young man could of have just not let her know about it but it was something that he couldn’t do. She was a friend of his and therefore, he had figured that it was best to keep her acknowledged about the situation of the boat. Because of her walking beside him, Thompson had slowed his pace, matching hers to make sure that she didn’t need to run or quicken her pace. His mood was getting better with the fact that here was someone who actually believed him and yet, guilt had filled him completely with her words. She was worried about Islwyn, he could easily tell that by the way that she was talking about him. She had cared deeply about her brother, something that Thompson had admired. Yes, he might not have cared for her brother (not that he would ever tell her about his dislike for her brother) but that did not mean that he was going to say things he shouldn’t have. The boy was more respectful than that, knowing far better than to upset her. Taking in a deep breath, he did not say a word at all, instead deciding that it was best just to keep silent about that whole situation. As much as he wanted to tell her that everything would be alright, he figured it would be best not to say a word about it. Her brother – and he was certain – would be as fine as can be. Once he got over everything that was occurring in his life, he would be okay.

As he made his way towards the boat, Thompson was about ready to get into it but he paused for a second, waiting for the others to get closer towards the boat. He was about ready to get himself into it when he allowed his eyes to watch Alianor, who had decided to get into the boat herself. His brow was raised upwards, his arms crossing over his chest as he waited to see what her reaction would be to the boat. Luckily for him, he would be getting a small amount of amusement. As though to test the water, she had tried herself to get into it, only to pull back when it came to the tipsiness of the boat itself. It caused a light chuckle to escape him, to roll out of his mouth. It was something that he couldn’t help at the moment. Shaking his head lightly, he held in his laughter, thinking that it would be better that way. “Alianor, are you worried about falling in?” He was trying his best to question it, to wonder if that was the one thing that she was afraid of. Maybe he shouldn’t have been teasing her, which was the reason why he had gotten into the boat and rocked it a bit, as though to prove a point. “See? It will hold us up and I promise, if you do fall in, I will not let you drown..” With that, he held out his hand, wondering if she or any one of his friends would be willing to get into the boat with him. He was going to make sure that they were protected and that nothing would happen to them at all. It was all that he could do at the moment, especially with what was happening. He had known better than to frighten any of them off because of a simple boat ride, especially when the youngest was a bit fearful of the ride.

He couldn’t have that at all.

  

[Annette Fontaine]

Anne could barely contain her sigh as Thompson and Alianor walked towards the boat. So apparently Thompson was unrepentant and Alianor was going along with it- well, that was hardly a surprise- though Annette knew that her point of view was totally justified, and only what the highest levels of society were saying. She took a concealed deep breath, rolling her eyes a little at Gertrude once Thompson’s back was turned before also heading down to the boat.

The cook who was accompanying her eyed the boat (and Thompson, really) a little uneasily before giving a resigned sniff and stepping in too, ahead of her charge. Be damned if she was going to let her employer’s youngest sister, and an heiress at that, accept the help of a man who fraternized with such loose women. Annette could pretty much trace her chaperone’s thoughts and for a second considered spiting her and taking Thompson’s hand, but thought the better of it. Besides, Gertrude or Alianor would probably need much more support than the cook could offer when they got in, and Anne was relatively used to being on water.

“It’s perfectly safe, Alianor.” She replied brightly, lifting her skirts the smallest amount possible to get over the side without showing her ankles, heavens forbid. She delicately stepped in and settled on half of one of the benches near the prow of the boat, her chaperone taking one just behind her. “Just don’t make any sudden movements- besides, Thompson and I have our wands on us, as does Mrs Hatfield.” It was a shame Gertrude wasn’t of age yet, but with any luck they wouldn’t be in need of their wands- especially as Anne’s was currently stowed in her embroidered pocket pouch, under her outer skirt. She could access it through a slit in the fabric just under the side of her bustle, but it certainly wasn’t the easiest thing to do.

Table by Heidi, image and general tinkering by me

[Gertrude Baker]

Perfectly safe? Gertrude disagreed on that note. That boat didn't look safe at all, it looked scary and... scary! Though she was utterly terrified, Gertrude refused to let it show. She was a tough and independent girl - soon to be legally a woman - there was no way on Earth that she was going to allow others to see her frightened. Absolutely not. It was unthinkable.

Gertrude followed Anne and her chaperon into the boat. No sudden movements. That was supposedly the trick. In response to that piece of knowledge, Gertrude remained very still and attempted to counterbalance any movements of other people - although her personal need to remain very still ruined this plan.

She should have pretended to have been busy that day.

  

[Alianor Rabnott]

"Yes, I realize that you will be donating your strength to our conveyance. I'm quite looking forward to it. It makes the whole endeavor seem that much more adventurous."

"I'm afraid that your assistance will be rather a necessity if I do fall in. I am entirely unable to swim....well, unable might not be the best term. I am quite certain that I would be able to swim if I had ever recieved instruction to that effect, but the matter is that I haven't and would certainly sink to the murky depths if not rescued by someone, somehow."

  

[Alianor Rabnott]

Alianor was quite pleased to see that the new epic of conversation had brought a smile to Thompson's face and, if nothing else, had put to bed any talk of coming out ball impropriety for their other two companions, though, if she could see Annette's countenance at that moment, she was certain that it would look really quite sour. Regardless, Alianor felt far more optimistic about the prospects of their outing now that at least half of them (herself included) had set their minds to having w pleasant time. Annette would come around of theft all simply ignored her huffiness, which was exactly what she planned to do. With a genuine smile radiating across her face, she responded to Thompson's comment about the difference between the method of conveyance for this boat as opposed to that of her previous boating experience. "Yes, I realize that you will be donating your strength to our conveyance. I'm quite looking forward to it. It makes the whole endeavor seem that much more adventurous." not to mention, it seemed rather safer to her, in this occasion. In her first year, she had trusted the spells of her new professors to transport her safely across the lake. They were exceptionally skilled and educated witches and wizards, after all, but with a rented boat, one wouldn't know who it was casting the spell. For all the riders knew, it could be a first year dropout performing the spell for the first time. She could have no faith in some unknown stranger to ensure her safety. Thompson, on the other hand, she trusted entirely to ensure her safe return to shore with the boat moving under his power, regardless of how physically taxing a task it might be for one man to convey a vessel with five passengers including himself.

Still, despite her confidence in her dear friend's ability to move the boat about the lake, the task of actually boarding the boat was  far more intimidating. She couldn't even bring herself to deny that she was worried for the sake of the collective mood as that would be a bold faced lie. It was easy for Thompson and Annette to say that it was perfectly safe. He was already in and she was almost certainly quite experienced with boating considering that she was French and of the upper class. One always saw paintings of French upper class women floating along calm lagoons in little rowboats, looking as if they had been there since birth. The only leisure activity that she had done in large bodies of water was wading and that had hardly prepared her to board a boat that wasn't steadied by magic or to survive in water of any significant depth if she set the boat off kilter. Thompson's assurance that he would not allow her to drown and Annette's reminder about the wands of some reassurance, but not enough to make the shaky boat look any more inviting.  "I'm afraid that your assistance will be rather a necessity if I do fall in." she stated tentatively, taking his hand, but not yet going so far as to step into the boat. "I am entirely unable to swim....well, unable might not be the best term. I am quite certain that I would be able to swim if I had ever recieved instruction to that effect, but the matter is that I haven't and would certainly sink to the murky depths if not rescued by someone, somehow." At this point, everyone aside from her had already boarded the boat and she was squeezing Thompson's hand tightly enough that she might do it actual damage if she held it much longer so she swallowed her fears and, tentatively as before, lifted her foot and placed it gingerly inside the boat, making no sudden movements just as Annette had instructed. Halfway through, she made eye contact with Gertrude, who looked quite nervous as well, and had to look away again straight away to keep her resolve before lifting her other foot from the shore and putting it down as carefully as she could without losing her balance onto the boat's wooden floor. It did wobble a bit, rather more than her liking, in fact, but, as soon as she eased herself down into a sitting position, the wobbling died down enough for her to breathe again (which she had hardly noticed she had stopped doing while she boarded) and to release Thompson's hand from the vice grip in which she had it.