Flavour of the Day (17/05/16), Rocky Road 14 [Divide and Rule]
Title: Fancy Meeting You Here
Author: lost_spook
Story: Heroes of the Revolution (Divide & Rule)
Flavor(s): Flavour of the Day 17/05/16 (panjandrum); Rocky Road #14 (on the road)
Toppings/Extras: Butterscotch + Rainbow Sprinkles
Rating: All ages
Word Count: 555
Notes: 1912; Hanne Beck, Harold Graves. (Some more random backstory - Julia's parents having their first meeting.)
Summary: Hanne Beck wonders what all the fuss is about.
***
“Oh, how disappointing,” Hanne said, turning her head to her neighbour in the crowd, only to find that her friend Alice had been replaced by a dark-haired young man who frowned at her. She hastily made an apology.
The man gave her first a long look and then a smile. “You wanted to see the great man, I suppose.”
“Well, I haven’t yet, so I did,” said Hanne. “It looks as if their Majesties are still avoiding me, though.”
The man’s smile widened out briefly into a grin. “In that case, you needn’t be disappointed, Miss - Miss -?”
“Beck,” she said, since he seemed respectable, judging by his clothes (solidly well-made), and not particularly alarming yet.
“It’s not the King - only a very rich businessman, here to clinch a deal, and causing a commotion.”
Hanne sighed and felt foolish again. She always made mistakes, even if this time Alice had also assumed the fuss must be over someone extremely important. She looked anywhere but at the man next to her and so at last spotted Alice waving at her from a short distance away, now trying to push her way back over.
“I’m Harold Graves, by the way,” the man said, managing if not a polite bow then at least a nod and a suggestion of it, despite the crowd. “And it seems as if we both know Miss Tyler, so you need not look so alarmed at being found talking to me.”
Hanne wasn’t aware that she had, only been embarrassed by her error, so she let a smile suffice as an answer.
“Forgive me for saying this,” said Mr Graves, lowering his tone, “but Miss Tyler seems a rather inadequate choice of chaperone. Allow me to escort you home.”
Alice reached them, out of breath, and cutting in before Hanne could reply to Mr Graves’s offer. “I went around the corner to try and get a better look. It’s the not the King, but it was a very grand carriage and I think perhaps - oh, hello, Harold.”
“Miss Tyler,” he said. “As I was telling Miss Beck, all this is merely over a businessman I came here to see. Now that I’ve escaped, I may as well escort you two home.”
Alice sighed, putting a hand up to her hat to save it as someone else pushed past. “I suppose you may as well. Hanne, have you met Harold Graves before? No? Well, our afternoon fun is now spoiled. If we so much as glance at a flower-seller, he will be sure to scowl at us, just so we won’t dare stop.”
Hanne ignored her friend’s complaints; she knew Alice was most likely teasing Mr Graves. The crowd, however, disappointed in its eagerness for spectacle was beginning to get more boisterous and Hanne was keen to leave, so she took Mr Graves’s proffered arm. “I would like to go - I may already be late, and I wouldn’t want Mother to worry. Thank you, sir.”
Harold nodded and then ushered them both out of the crowd, pausing more than once to tell Alice not to poke her rolled up parasol at anyone else.
On the way home, they happened to pass a flower-seller. Mr Graves made a show of stopping to buy a posy, which he pointedly presented to Hanne and not to Alice.
***
Author: lost_spook
Story: Heroes of the Revolution (Divide & Rule)
Flavor(s): Flavour of the Day 17/05/16 (panjandrum); Rocky Road #14 (on the road)
Toppings/Extras: Butterscotch + Rainbow Sprinkles
Rating: All ages
Word Count: 555
Notes: 1912; Hanne Beck, Harold Graves. (Some more random backstory - Julia's parents having their first meeting.)
Summary: Hanne Beck wonders what all the fuss is about.
***
“Oh, how disappointing,” Hanne said, turning her head to her neighbour in the crowd, only to find that her friend Alice had been replaced by a dark-haired young man who frowned at her. She hastily made an apology.
The man gave her first a long look and then a smile. “You wanted to see the great man, I suppose.”
“Well, I haven’t yet, so I did,” said Hanne. “It looks as if their Majesties are still avoiding me, though.”
The man’s smile widened out briefly into a grin. “In that case, you needn’t be disappointed, Miss - Miss -?”
“Beck,” she said, since he seemed respectable, judging by his clothes (solidly well-made), and not particularly alarming yet.
“It’s not the King - only a very rich businessman, here to clinch a deal, and causing a commotion.”
Hanne sighed and felt foolish again. She always made mistakes, even if this time Alice had also assumed the fuss must be over someone extremely important. She looked anywhere but at the man next to her and so at last spotted Alice waving at her from a short distance away, now trying to push her way back over.
“I’m Harold Graves, by the way,” the man said, managing if not a polite bow then at least a nod and a suggestion of it, despite the crowd. “And it seems as if we both know Miss Tyler, so you need not look so alarmed at being found talking to me.”
Hanne wasn’t aware that she had, only been embarrassed by her error, so she let a smile suffice as an answer.
“Forgive me for saying this,” said Mr Graves, lowering his tone, “but Miss Tyler seems a rather inadequate choice of chaperone. Allow me to escort you home.”
Alice reached them, out of breath, and cutting in before Hanne could reply to Mr Graves’s offer. “I went around the corner to try and get a better look. It’s the not the King, but it was a very grand carriage and I think perhaps - oh, hello, Harold.”
“Miss Tyler,” he said. “As I was telling Miss Beck, all this is merely over a businessman I came here to see. Now that I’ve escaped, I may as well escort you two home.”
Alice sighed, putting a hand up to her hat to save it as someone else pushed past. “I suppose you may as well. Hanne, have you met Harold Graves before? No? Well, our afternoon fun is now spoiled. If we so much as glance at a flower-seller, he will be sure to scowl at us, just so we won’t dare stop.”
Hanne ignored her friend’s complaints; she knew Alice was most likely teasing Mr Graves. The crowd, however, disappointed in its eagerness for spectacle was beginning to get more boisterous and Hanne was keen to leave, so she took Mr Graves’s proffered arm. “I would like to go - I may already be late, and I wouldn’t want Mother to worry. Thank you, sir.”
Harold nodded and then ushered them both out of the crowd, pausing more than once to tell Alice not to poke her rolled up parasol at anyone else.
On the way home, they happened to pass a flower-seller. Mr Graves made a show of stopping to buy a posy, which he pointedly presented to Hanne and not to Alice.
***