Melbourne is excused from answering immediately as his niece Minny approaches the table, carrying her youngest son who is fast asleep and therefore listless, his head drooping on his mother's shoulder.
"Uncle... Sylvie... I came to say we're leaving. My boys are quite worn out from today's excitement." She glances back at her husband who has the older boy tucked against his side. He nods in their direction, giving his silent farewell from across the room.
"It was so good to see you," she continues with a smile and rests her hand briefly on Melbourne's arm, to which he reciprocates by placing his other hand on top of hers. "You too, Sylvie. Until next time, yes?"
"Of course. Your mother will make sure of that." Emily wasn't about to let him get cooped up at his London house for too long. There would be another invitation soon enough.
After Minny and her small family have taken their leave, it's Frances who sits in front of the piano now. As much she likes Sylvie, she's a bit more shy to show off her skills while the "sophisticated and worldly French lady" is in the room, so she plays little tunes quietly, without drawing attention to herself.
Meanwhile Melbourne turns his attention to Sylvie's question, though he's not keen to answer it. He doesn't know how much she already knows and whether she's trying deliberately to pull out the dirt... It's simple self-preservation on his part, he can't help but be wary. Still, he's fairly open about the whole thing, at least outwardly.
"She was beautiful and lively and I fell for her. She had a way with words. It was a good match on paper, too, some said." He wonders if he should have stressed Caroline's wit first, not her looks, but it was too late to change that now.
"Unfortunately love doesn't mean people are always good to each other."
Edited (Just added a small sentence to the paragraph starting 'Meanwhile...') 2024-03-29 20:00 (UTC)
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
"Uncle... Sylvie... I came to say we're leaving. My boys are quite worn out from today's excitement." She glances back at her husband who has the older boy tucked against his side. He nods in their direction, giving his silent farewell from across the room.
"It was so good to see you," she continues with a smile and rests her hand briefly on Melbourne's arm, to which he reciprocates by placing his other hand on top of hers. "You too, Sylvie. Until next time, yes?"
"Of course. Your mother will make sure of that." Emily wasn't about to let him get cooped up at his London house for too long. There would be another invitation soon enough.
After Minny and her small family have taken their leave, it's Frances who sits in front of the piano now. As much she likes Sylvie, she's a bit more shy to show off her skills while the "sophisticated and worldly French lady" is in the room, so she plays little tunes quietly, without drawing attention to herself.
Meanwhile Melbourne turns his attention to Sylvie's question, though he's not keen to answer it. He doesn't know how much she already knows and whether she's trying deliberately to pull out the dirt... It's simple self-preservation on his part, he can't help but be wary. Still, he's fairly open about the whole thing, at least outwardly.
"She was beautiful and lively and I fell for her. She had a way with words. It was a good match on paper, too, some said." He wonders if he should have stressed Caroline's wit first, not her looks, but it was too late to change that now.
"Unfortunately love doesn't mean people are always good to each other."