The best thieves...? She wasn’t certain she agreed with that sentiment. “I don’t see how. It’s much easier to steal, afterall, if one does not know you are doing it. The whole idea is to avoid getting caught, is it not?” Goodness, why was she arguing? Was she so upset about her experiments, her failures as of late, that she was automatically inclined to debate about something as stupid as how best to pinch things from another person? She rubbed her brow, one hand going to her hip as she shut her eyes; a headache. Perhaps her servants were right; perhaps she needed to eat a decent meal in her own dining room tonight—a meal without test tubes, ink smears, or the four walls of her lab about her.
So entrenched in her own thoughts was she that she missed him yelling at his mule. The next thing she heard was him teasing her—again. “Certainly not,” she shot back. “There’s nothing to terrorize here to begin with. No one but myself and my staff, to be sure. Not unless you go into Valsport proper.” A single brow rose as he mentioned food. “Mishap?” she asked. Goodness, how strange this all was. She hadn’t had company... well, ever. And he didn’t seem like a thief. As he got closer she realized he looked more like someone who’d been traversing the woods a little too long.
She wondered if she’d forgotten how to talk to people who weren’t working for her. The one time she’d been to the city she’d been gawked at more than talked to. One trip had been enough; from then on she’d sent Anita and others to do her shopping. She even had Anita take her measurements into the city whenever she felt as if she needed a few new dresses. She was much happier to keep to herself and those she was accustomed to. Easier to get things accomplished that way.
She blinked a few times as he came right up to the window and she found herself looking up at him, but not by too much. She was a tall herself, at least for a woman she supposed. Cobalt blues surveyed him just before he bowed—his manner of dress, his tumble of blonde hair, and even his very mannerisms.
Esme was not certain what to make of him. At all. People didn’t just wander onto her property. She’d chosen this location to build the manor specifically for how remote it was.
When he mentioned the rain she looked up at the sky; at that particular moment a drop decided to splatter on her nose. She frowned before wiping it away. A huff and then a sigh as she met his gaze, her own narrowed. “Who are you and what in the devil are you doing out here to begin with, you fool of a man?”
Truth be told, most women of society would likely be put off by a strange man walking up into their backyard. This was especially so if they didn’t have an escort, much less a male relative living with them for ‘protection of virtue’. But Esme had moved to America to avoid that mess. Being an heiress gave her the power to do so; being the owner of her title gave her the power to do so. The fact that people thought her a mad hatter in Valsport was enough to keep possible American heiress-hunters away. Or title hunters.
This gave Esme the unique stance of not seeing a problem with being relatively alone with the man before her--if one didn't count the mule. His presence did alarm her a little, but given how prone Anita was to checking on her she wasn’t in much danger of not being heard if she screamed should the man try to harm her or kidnap her.
Probably. Anita was a little daft sometimes.
Sometimes I feel like a girl~... sometimes I don't~
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[Historical - 1850] Chemical Reactions [Closed] - by Blade - 11-25-2015, 02:36 AM
RE: [Historical - 1850] Chemical Reactions [Closed] - by Blade - 11-25-2015, 02:43 AM
RE: [Historical - 1850] Chemical Reactions [Closed] - by Hobo_Bob - 03-07-2016, 08:53 PM
RE: [Historical - 1850] Chemical Reactions [Closed] - by Blade - 03-07-2016, 10:21 PM
RE: [Historical - 1850] Chemical Reactions [Closed] - by Hobo_Bob - 03-08-2016, 01:10 AM
RE: [Historical - 1850] Chemical Reactions [Closed] - by Blade - 03-08-2016, 04:13 AM
RE: [Historical - 1850] Chemical Reactions [Closed] - by Hobo_Bob - 03-09-2016, 12:53 AM