RP for ambitious_woman
Following this.
He wondered if she knew.
Knowing her...well, he wasn't exactly indiscrete. He wasn't a braggart, and he certainly straightened himself up afterwards. Still, she was Reinette, and she quite literally knew him better than anyone in the world ( Read more... )
He wondered if she knew.
Knowing her...well, he wasn't exactly indiscrete. He wasn't a braggart, and he certainly straightened himself up afterwards. Still, she was Reinette, and she quite literally knew him better than anyone in the world ( Read more... )
Louis was ever more demanding of her time than usual. For all that they were now intimates rather than intimate he still relied on her ear and her voice of reason, and it seemed that multiple lengthy conversations were required before the night ended. Most of which were shared outside the crowds of the ballroom. Voltaire too, was there, finally welcomed back to court after his most recent disgrace. He was written some new and witty, the surest way to regain his King's favor. He sought nothing less to make Reinette smile, as he had since she was sixteen. For the most part? He succeeded.
Then of course there were the crowds and the questions and her friends and --
Well, privately Reinette wondered if she had not lost just the smallest bit of her stamina for such a life. If the quiet weeks first spent with the Doctor had not slowly revealed an appeal previously unappreciated.
Only the Doctor, it seemed, was putting the quiet life behind him with a fine show of expertise.
At least, from what the child said.
If he thought she would remain discreet about the encounter, he was much mistaken. After all, this was how such games were played in France. And she had now received the attentions of the mysterious, well-received favorite of madame de Pompadour. Who knew where the girl might set her aspirations next.
That he chose such a colorless, small-minded thing as the object of his eventual affection merely disappointed Reinette. The child was worthless even as he was worth far more. That the encounter had occurred on such an evening, at all ball held at the heart of the French court and in the halls of Versailles? Much as --
Reinette simply refused to examine her own emotions on the matter.
She supposed that in such matters they owed each other nothing.
If he had taken the girl to the music room?
Reinette accepted her cloak from the footman and made her way to the carriage without waiting.
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Really, though, he wouldn't be surprised. It was rather a game of houses, wasn't it? Who could sit themselves in the right position on the board, build enough hotels to bankrupt everyone---no, wait, that was Monopoly.
He stepped into the carriage and sat across from her.
"Ridiculously warm evening," he said.
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She was often anything other than cold, truthfully. And Versailles was a maze of drafty rooms and hallways. She had been thankful when her suite moved from the upper floors to the ground level. But it was August, and a certain amount of heat was undeniable.
So of course, she did.
"I find nothing wrong with the temperature," Reinette replied.
"Perhaps you merely over exerted yourself."
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"Too much wine," he said, tugging on his ear. "Dog days of August. You know. Too much wine with humid weather, well, it makes one...even hotter."
He half wished for a fan, no matter how silly it would look. He could at least cover the slight blush appearing on his cheek.
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There was a fine sheen to his skin that was rarely present due to his near cold-blooded nature. If one was actually a part of putting it there, it might almost be considered attractive, for it only added to his vibrancy. But for the moment she could only view it with a certain amount of annoyance. After some consideration she passed over her fan.
"I do not deny that I am in the presence of a dog," Reinette allowed, cutting to the chase in a manner that was all she knew? The Doctor did not like her courtly games and so she refused to play them. She would not be coy, not acknowledge certain events never occurred.
She clanged out the window as the countryside passed by. Why must she live near to an hour from Versailles?
"That it is a dog with poor taste makes it only that much more offensive."
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No use trying to lie.
It wasn't as if Reinette and he...well, not anymore.
"Well, you try to leash up a dog it gets antsy." He accepted her fan.
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For the moment she did not care to look at him.
"All I know is that we are in agreement there is a dog."
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He growled a little under his breath and tugged at the lace at his throat, eventually loosening it. The coat? Shed and tossed next to him. He just hoped he had no visible marks. That would only make this incredibly awkward situation that much more awkward.
"I long for the era of central air," he said. "That's a good couple of hundred years in the future."
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And even if she could? The Doctor had already had more than enough of that sort of entertainment for one evening.
Reinette considered wrapping her cloak tighter about herself, like a shield. In the end, she did nothing, refusing to grant him any influence over her.
Her posture remained rigid.
"I apologize if you find your current situation so distasteful."
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"Your sarcasm bites," he stated, simply.
He wanted to say more, something more witty or...anything. But his mind was sapped from trying to be charming at the ball to no longer caring if he was charming, only if he could get dressed in an appropriate amount of time. He really was a dog, what a horrible way to treat the girl.
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Reinette leveled her gaze to an inflamed mark near the Doctor's collarbone. It stood out boldly against the paleness of his skin. The little girl at teeth then. Reinette supposed if the child could find nothing interesting to say with her mouth, she was at least doing her best to master other skills with it.
"Truthfully Doctor, I cannot care what you do with your time or your person," Reinette lied evenly. "Enjoy yourself as you will. Just do not bring it into my home."
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"Since when is Versailles your home? I thought you and Louis had parted ways? Well, another part of your life I shouldn't really question. Not my place and all." Another thing that frustrated him, not being able to ask.
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But she also did not think that was why she was angry.
Reinette gave two steady knocks to the wall of her carriage, encouraging the driver to travel faster.
"Another part of my life you should not question? When, exactly, have I been anything but honest with you Doctor? What question could you have that you do not possibly have the answer to?"
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Louis meant something to Reinette. She loved him and in a way that made the jealousy feel worse. He should've wanted her happiness, but that part of him only felt envy.
He turned back to the window.
"It's not any of mine. Just don't question me."
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Reinette eyed him coldly, finally fully meeting his gaze. She steeled herself to not reveal too much, particularly as she still did not know entirely what she was feeling.
No. No, she censured herself. That was not the truth.
"Why ever not?" She looked at his wrinkled jacket and marked skin. She could smell the child's perfume. It was overwhelming, the amount of it he still carried.
"Because you are above reproach?"
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"Or would you prefer if I picked a woman hand-picked by you to be as non-threatening as possible?" As if Mela---whatever her name was was threatening. That was a laugh.
The situation seemed so...human. A one-night stand. He wasn't one for such things, except for Reinette. But that...well, that was different. There were genuine emotions.
Were appeared to be the operative word, on Reinette's half, at least. He raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest. "Unlike Louis I'm a big boy and I can choose for myself."
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