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A Different Kind of Exile (complete on p.4)

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The CBB -> St Scholastika's House

#1: A Different Kind of Exile (complete on p.4) Author: Róisín, Location: Gaillimh

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 12:21 am
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Margot Russell was built on a very petite scale but the energy that shone from her more than made up for this. Especially now, as she stood before her brother, fire flashing from her eyes though her voice was calm and controlled.

"What do you know of him, Jem? No more than I do, that's for certain. We've only met him, what, three times? How can you have taken such an instant dislike to him already?"

Jem's lips were drawn in a straight and compressed line. He had no mind to repeat the gossip he had heard about Stephen Venables - perhaps that was all it was - gossip. But he certainly wasn't going to risk anything where his sister was concerned. He sighed. She had always been such a bright spark - an independent little firebrand. And she was still so young - not twenty yet. What could he say to convince her to show more caution? If he succeeded, certainly, it would be a first, in all their time together as brother and sister.

Margot flicked her modern bob back from a flushed face and pursed her lips. "No, I didn't think you'd have a decent answer." Then she turned on her heel and strode quickly from the room. The door swung shut behind her with a bang. Defeated, Jem sat down silently.

Last edited by Róisín on Thu Oct 12, 2006 5:45 pm; edited 9 times in total

#2: Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 5:21 am
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Oh dear, perhaps Jem should have said something - but then we wouldn't have Daiy and Primula.

Thanks Róisín

#3: Author: Nell, Location: London, England

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 8:46 am
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So nice to see Margot before Stephen got to her...

Thank you Róisín.

#4: Author: Rosy-Jess, Location: Gloucestershire-London-Aberystwyth

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 9:08 am
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Oooh. Margot. How fabbity.

#5: Author: Róisín, Location: Gaillimh

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 9:50 am
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Margot was mainly concerned with just who Jem thought he was, as she pushed her arms through her dark blue summer coat. She was too angry to think of fastening on the chic little grey hat which had been a present from her best friend Lottie just last Tuesday. Tears started to rise in her big blue eyes, but she choked them down and blinked them back resolutely.

They were in London, where the Russells had a townhouse. As Margot clipped lightly down the steps into the street, she fumbled in one of her pockets anxiously. Finding the small, flat box, she selected a long, thin cigarette from it and raised it to her lips to light it. Soon miniature plumes of smoke were trailing lazily from her lips.

She kept her head down and wandered through the streets aimlessly, the previous scene with Jem replaying through her mind. Stephen Venables. Even to herself she couldn't explain what it was that attracted her to him so. He was very good to look at, she admitted, with his black wavy hair cut short, his riverblue eyes and those dimples that creased with every cheeky grin. But it was more than that. He was different - this was very important to Miss Margot Russell. Not for her the stuffy manners of the last century. This was a new century, especially now that it's violent baptism by war was over. Stephen was so modern, so unafraid... so unlike her brother and her father.

#6: Author: Alison H, Location: Manchester

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 10:01 am
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Thanks Roísin. I can imagine from what Jem's like that the family must've been pretty stuffy and old-fashioned and that Stephen would seem really exciting by comparison - how sad that things turned out the way they did.

#7: Author: Jennie, Location: Cambridgeshire

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 10:31 am
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Thanks, Roisin, this looks interesting.

#8: Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 12:17 pm
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Ooooh this looks interesting Very Happy

And is this where Margot Maynard gets her temper from perhaps?

#9: Author: MaryR, Location: Cheshire

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 12:20 pm
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Maybe Jem shouldn't have shown his dislike - then she may not have been so determined to oppose him.

A feisty young woman... Laughing

Thanks, Roisin.

#10: Author: KathrynW, Location: London

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 2:35 pm
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Thank you Róisín, this looks great!

Kathryn

#11: Author: Róisín, Location: Gaillimh

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 3:43 pm
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Stephen Venables looked thoughtfully at himself in the small shaving-mirror and decided that he would do. He smoothed the edges of a white collar down properly and then, pocketing his cigarettes and lighter, left the bedroom.
“That you, Stephen?” a somewhat harsh and hoarse voice floated up the stairs.
Stephen grimaced and didn’t reply. Taking the steps three at a time, he strode swiftly through the hallway and into the kitchen, where his mother was shelling peas into a large steel bowl.
“I’m going out,” he said abruptly. She didn’t look at him. Her manner was sleepy and lazy. She looked as though she had been shelling those peas for hours, he thought.
Then suddenly she spoke, in a crooning sort of tone. “My Stephen. My baby boy.” She raised her eyes and saw him for the first time since he had come into the room.
“You look so nice,” she whispered. “So handsome. Just like... just like...”
He put his own hand on the one that had reached up to his cheek, and laid it gently back down next to the peas. The old woman smiled through watery eyes and reached for an ashtray where a slowly-smouldering cigarette lay waiting.
Glad that she had quietened down, Stephen checked to see that the housekeeper was around – she was in the back yard beating carpets – and turned again to his mother.
“I’m going out now,” he said. “Mother? Mother? Out. OK?”
But she had retreated back inside herself again and the only sound in the room was her rattled breathing as she sucked at the cigarette. Swallowing the familiar lump that always rose in his throat at times like these, twenty-year-old Stephen Venables walked out the front door and down the steps into the streets of London.

#12: Author: Chelsea, Location: Your Imagination

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 4:09 pm
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Don't tell me that you are going to make me feel sorry for Stephen!??!

I've very interested to see where this story goes.

#13: Author: KathrynW, Location: London

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 4:47 pm
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Thank you Róisín, that was so chilling.

Kathryn

#14: Author: Róisín, Location: Gaillimh

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 4:48 pm
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He found it harder than usual that day to shake the troubles from his shoulders. He shivered. The summer day was bright but the breeze was chilly. Sudden anger overtook him as he pulled his thin blazer tighter around his torso and buttoned it up. Stephen felt so frustrated with everything, so enraged, so helpless.

Why should he have all this on his shoulders – he was only twenty, for god’s sake!
His mother was old – too old for her age, the housekeeper said. His father was dead. He could barely remember what he looked like. Even when he was alive, he had caused them misery. The senior Mr. Venables had inherited quite a good bit on the death of his parents, but had then filled the next twenty years frittering it away in gambling. No-one knew the circumstances of his death, even now. But a body had been found washed up on the shores of the Thames one morning. Stephen had been ten.

The gossip and rumours stuck to the little family far longer than the money from the will did. Mrs. Venables had spun it out as long and as thinly as she humanly could, but it was almost gone. In the process, her nerves had suffered immense strain. But there was no money for a doctor, or even a holiday. There were no relations – no-one to call on in times of need. The house in which she lived with her adult son, and the ancient housekeeper who had never left, was a shell that grew emptier by the month.

#15: Author: francesn, Location: away with the faeries

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 4:57 pm
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Oh I do feel sorry for Steven now.

Thanks Róisín - very moving.

#16: Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent

Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 5:08 pm
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Terrible situation - no wonder he's bitter. Crying or Very sad

#17: Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England

Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2006 12:01 am
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That's so sad Sad

#18: Author: Róisín, Location: Gaillimh

Posted: Mon Jun 05, 2006 10:46 pm
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“Oh! I’m so sorry, I didn’t see where I was... oh, Stephen!” Margot flushed as she tried to recover herself after walking headlong into the man who had been occupying her thoughts for the last hour or so.
Stephen had been considering his own awful situation – replaying the old worry reels over and over in his head like one of those moving pictures – and his gaze was absent as he looked at the girl before him. She knew him? She was pretty – who was she? Ah, that’s right. The Russell girl. He grinned and twin dimples deepened attractively in his cheeks.
“Miss Russell – alright – Margot, then,” as she protested, “Don’t worry. I wasn’t looking either. But I say, it’s good to see you again.”
Margot smiled.
“Are you going somewhere?” he asked. “Can I escort you?”
“No,” she looked at the path before her. “I wasn’t going ... anywhere, really.”
His eyes lit up. He found himself admiring this confident, pretty girl. And a Russell girl too. He wondered what her parents would think if they knew about the friendship. He forced the familiar resentment to the back of his mind though, as he took Margot’s arm.
“Then let me take you somewhere. There’s a new little café just down the next street that plays the most wonderful jazz.”
Margot’s eyes widened but she let him direct her. His manner was not as confident as he normally appeared, though he looked as good as ever, and she wondered what was wrong. His eyes were cloudy and his forehead strained. She wondered if he would tell her what was bothering him so much.

#19: Author: KathrynW, Location: London

Posted: Mon Jun 05, 2006 10:53 pm
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He seems so nice here, I wonder what happened to turn things so completely and utterly upside down. Thank you Róisín.

Kathryn

#20: Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent

Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2006 5:16 am
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He does seem nice - except there was that calculating gaze when he realised she was a 'Russell girl'

Thanks Róisín.

#21: Author: Alison H, Location: Manchester

Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2006 6:49 am
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Thanks Roísín - Margot seems very 1920s, whereas Jem so often seemed stuck in the pre First World War era.

#22: Author: Róisín, Location: Gaillimh

Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2006 12:25 pm
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The band played quietly but in a lively manner as Margot and Stephen took a seat near the door. A waiter took Margot’s coat, and then she herself slipped into the bathroom while Stephen ordered two coffees. He leaned his darkly tanned face on his fist and looked broodily ahead of him. He hoped he looked alright and that his clothes didn’t look tatty or grubby. He had carefully washed that suit himself just three days ago, but then again he hadn’t banked on meeting Margot that afternoon. His teeth clenched as he remembered washing the suit over the bath. The housekeeper usually took care of things like that, but she was getting older, and anyway, his mother had declined so much that she failed to keep the old woman in line anymore.

“Stephen,” Margot’s voice cut softly across his thoughts and he glanced up to see her taking her seat before him. “Stephen, you look so worried. Is there anything I can help you with?”

He unfurled his eyebrows quickly and felt the usual cheeky grin paint itself onto his face, from dimple to dimple. Margot’s eyes lightened at the sight and she thought again how handsome he was. He made a joke and she laughed prettily. For the next hour or so, he entertained her smoothly and wittily, his genuine attraction to the slight girl, showing through. She was whirled along in his easy banter, but she hadn’t forgotten that first thoughtful, distressed look she had seen on his face. If only she could win his trust, she was sure she could comfort him.

#23: Author: Sarah_G-G, Location: Sheffield (termtime), ? any other time!

Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2006 1:44 pm
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I can just imagine Margot being like this as a young woman. The spirit that supported her for so many years really shines trhough here.

#24: Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England

Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2006 2:03 pm
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Am feeling quite sympathetic towards Stephen - and Margot is lovely and caring

Thanks Róisín

#25: Author: KathrynW, Location: London

Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2006 2:08 pm
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Margot is so lovely here...thank you Róisín.

Kathryn

#26: Author: Mia, Location: London

Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2006 2:40 pm
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Ooh this is good, just found it! What's it crossed with please? Smile

#27: Author: Róisín, Location: Gaillimh

Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2006 2:51 pm
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Mia wrote:

Ooh this is good, just found it! What's it crossed with please? Smile

Sorry, it's not crossed with anything Mia. It's here cos I decided it was 'neither fish nor fowl etc'.

#28: Author: Mia, Location: London

Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2006 2:53 pm
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Oh, I see, sorry! I rarely wander into Ste Scholastika's I'm afraid (and can't spell it either) but now I've discovered it I'll be back *g*

#29: Author: Lizzie, Location: A little village on the Essex/Suffolk border

Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2006 2:56 pm
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Róisín wrote:

Mia wrote:

Ooh this is good, just found it! What's it crossed with please? Smile

Sorry, it's not crossed with anything Mia. It's here cos I decided it was 'neither fish nor fowl etc'.

Rats. And I was hoping that Giles from Buffy would be appearing at any moment...

Seriously though Róisín, it's great. But it's so sad when you know how much bad stuff is going to happen to her...

#30: Author: Róisín, Location: Gaillimh

Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2006 2:56 pm
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Mia wrote:

Oh, I see, sorry! I rarely wander into Ste Scholastika's I'm afraid (and can't spell it either) but now I've discovered it I'll be back *g*

Aw thank you. It's quite hard to write, but rewarding too, IYSWIM. I'm interested in what motivated each one of them. I never came into Ste S's either (see how I didn't even try to spell that!) but it needs to be populated! *plants stories around the place like flowers/weeds* Very Happy

#31: Author: Eilidh, Location: North Lanarkshire

Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2006 2:59 pm
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*looks forward to reading all the stories Róisín has been planting*

*wonders if she's going to write them too*

#32: Author: Róisín, Location: Gaillimh

Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2006 3:01 pm
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Eilidh wrote:

*looks forward to reading all the stories Róisín has been planting*

*wonders if she's going to write them too*

Oh no, I was using the, er, 'royal I' and I meant 'we'. Yus. *fires seedpackets in direction of Ms. Eilidh* Twisted Evil

#33: Author: Lizzie, Location: A little village on the Essex/Suffolk border

Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2006 3:02 pm
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...especially if Giles from Buffy makes an appearance...

#34: Author: Eilidh, Location: North Lanarkshire

Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2006 3:03 pm
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*fires them back due to having at least 5 unfinished drabbles on the pc at home*

#35: Author: Róisín, Location: Gaillimh

Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2006 3:04 pm
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Ha! You beat me - I have only *counts* three on the go. *preens* Cool

#36: Author: MaryR, Location: Cheshire

Posted: Thu Jun 08, 2006 11:59 am
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Why do we women always fall for the sad look and want to comfort? Is it in-built in us? Shocked

Thanks, Roisin.

#37: Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent

Posted: Sat Jun 10, 2006 12:25 pm
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Thanks, Róisín. It's interesting to see Stephen's family and when he 1st knew Margot.

#38: Author: Lisa, Location: South Coast of England

Posted: Sun Jun 11, 2006 7:56 pm
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I am really enjoying this exploration of their characters - I always liked Margot and think her death is really sad (but kind of inevitable when you look at how broken she is.) I like the way you are portraying Stephen, too - most people AREN'T out and out villains (unlike some of EBD's ideas Rolling Eyes

) and it is fascinating to wonder what makes him the way he is ... I think there will be much Crying or Very sad

ahead!
*reaches for the tissues*

#39: Author: Róisín, Location: Gaillimh

Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 1:32 pm
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There was silence at the little table while they watched the band play. But neither of them was paying much attention to the music, lost as they were in their own, very different worlds.

Stephen was worried about the money in his pocket. The two drinks had cost a shilling. He had stocked up on cigarettes this morning and that had been another shilling. There was ten pounds in a case in his bedroom and one of the neighbours owed him another three pounds. That was it. That was all he had in the world. Nobody could ever know, of course. He moved his eyes and stared towards the bar. He needed a job, and badly. But what could he do? He was trained for nothing. School funds had run out for him when he was fifteen. College was an impossibility. But equally, a down-and-out job that any man could take, was an impossibility. The only thing the Venables had left was their name and he couldn't grind that into the mud by taking on a trade.

Margot wondered what kind of scene she would return to at home. Had Jem told their parents? Mr and Mrs Russell were old parents - Margot the youngest had been born when Mrs Russell was 43 and Mr Russell was 56. They had not long left now, she mused. And then Jem would be responsible for her. Irritation flickered through her again as she thought of her brother. Her finely-plucked eyebrows arched downwards as she searched for a way to be free of him. "He's so old-fashioned," she thought. "He'll try to marry me off to one of his doctor friends, if I let him!" She sighed.

Stephen woke from his thoughts at the sound of Margot's dissatisfied little sigh. His eyes were sleepy and she found herself drawn to him again.
"You'll blow me away out of the café if you do that again!" he grinned and lazily draped an arm round the back of her chair. Margot noticed, and shivered inside. Her eyes sparkled as she lit another cigarette.

#40: Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England

Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 1:36 pm
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I can see they would both think fate is taking a hand by having them bump into each other today.

Thanks Róisín

#41: Author: Alison H, Location: Manchester

Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 1:41 pm
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This is great - thanks Roísín.

#42: Author: Eilidh, Location: North Lanarkshire

Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 1:54 pm
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Thanks Róisín. Rather worried now that they're going to end up together just to escape from other things.

#43: Author: KathrynW, Location: London

Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 2:10 pm
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Thank you Roísín, this is rather unnerving in a very good way (if that makes any sense...)

Really enjoying this.

Kathryn

#44: In defense of Jem Author: Honor, Location: London

Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 2:22 pm
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I have just caught up with this drabble and I love it Roísín. I always liked Margot and she is really coming to life.
In defense of Jem though ( Confused

I noticed people didn't like his attitude early in the drabble), he is only 17 at most. If Margot is not yet 20 then he is 16/17 (see hardback of New House (?) when Joey says that Margot is his older sister

#45: Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent

Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 6:53 pm
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Thanks, Róisín. I am really enjoying this drabble and seeing the characters develop.

#46: Author: Róisín, Location: Gaillimh

Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2006 11:16 am
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"Did you have a good time at last week's dance?" Margot asked demurely. Stephen grinned and his blue blue eyes flashed.
"It was a blast," he replied. "Did you? I saw you dancing quite a lot."
"Well, isn't that the point?" Margot laughed easily. Stephen raised an eyebrow.
"Duncan Smith seems to have taken quite a liking to you," he teased.
Margot flushed. Then she straightened her back a little and watched her fingers flick cigarette ash downwards. "He's a nice enough guy. I like to dance. It's all about having fun. Isn't it?" she looked at him levelly.

Stephen was caught and let his guard slip momentarily while he searched for a witty answer. Margot saw the honest confusion in his eyes and her heart beat faster. So this is the real him, she thought. I want to know more of the real him. Impulsively, she let her free hand fall on top of his. He inhaled sharply, as if her hand was electric, but he didn't move it. His eyes looked slowly upwards, into hers.

Stephen had no idea what was going on. Why was it so impossible for him to maintain a semblance of his image before this girl? He felt bare. Could she see into his soul? What would she think of what she found there? Before he knew it, he was tears were standing in his eyes. Margot just managed to stop her own eyes widening with concern - instead she stubbed out her cigarette and drew his head towards her shoulder. The smoky blue haze of the jazz club hid the couple. Only a silhouette could be seen of him curled into the soft cotton of her blue summer coat, sobbing out the anguish of the last twenty years.

#47: Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent

Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2006 11:35 am
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Thanks, Róisín.

#48: Author: Eilidh, Location: North Lanarkshire

Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2006 11:42 am
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Róisín, you are making me feel so sorry for Stephen - I always had him pictured as a bad person, but this drabble is changing my mind. Thank you.

#49: Author: Alison H, Location: Manchester

Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2006 11:44 am
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*Sniffles.*

#50: Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England

Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2006 12:33 pm
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Awwwwww poor Stephen Crying or Very sad

#51: Author: KathrynW, Location: London

Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2006 2:26 pm
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This is amazing Róisín, thank you.

Kathryn

#52: Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent

Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2006 6:26 pm
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He really needed her then, didn't he?

Thanks Róisín

#53: Author: Lizzie, Location: A little village on the Essex/Suffolk border

Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 9:24 am
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This is lovely, Róisín.

#54: Author: francesn, Location: away with the faeries

Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 11:40 am
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Roisin this is fantastic (sorry computer is being evil and won't do accents) and I'm really feeling desperately sorry for Stephen at the moment.

Poor poor him.

Thank you[/i]

#55: Author: Mollio, Location: Ireland

Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2006 12:32 am
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This is really good, Róisín.

Maith thú. (Good for you).

Very Happy

#56: Author: Róisín, Location: Gaillimh

Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2006 12:59 pm
—
He raised his head and inhaled sharply and deeply, struggling to regain control. Margot said nothing, but she kept one hand on his and reached for her cigarette with the other. After a few minutes of quiet, she surmised that he could be coherent again and she let go. He excused himself briefly. While he was gone, Margot flicked a palm at the bartender and when Stephen returned, it was to find two large glasses of gin on the table.

He grinned one of his old grins, though his eyes were still moist, and raised an eyebrow.
"You are an amazing girl," he said. "How did you know that this would be a good idea?"
Margot laughed. "My brother is training to be a doctor," she replied. "Apparently, brandy is a good medicine, but today I fancied gin for a change."
Stephen laughed too, picked up the fatbottomed tumbler and drank the gin down in two large gulps. Margot sipped hers more slowly. "He needed that," she thought to herself. "He's looking more like himself already."

#57: Author: KathrynW, Location: London

Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2006 1:47 pm
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Not necessarily a good path to start on...

Thank you Róisín!

#58: Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England

Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2006 1:54 pm
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Thoughtful of Margot.

Thanks, Róisín

#59: Author: Eilidh, Location: North Lanarkshire

Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2006 2:16 pm
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Thanks Róisín.

#60: Author: MaryR, Location: Cheshire

Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2006 7:35 pm
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Just caught up with several episodes, Roisin, and can see her falling hook, line and sinker. He must seem so very different from Jem, and all the other men she has known till now.

Thank you.

#61: Author: Lyanne, Location: Ipswich, England

Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2006 8:25 pm
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And him falling too.

#62: Author: Róisín, Location: Gaillimh

Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 5:45 pm
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SIX MONTHS LATER

She squeezed his hand tightly as they boarded the ship. “We’re doing the right thing,” she whispered. “We’ll write as soon as we get there. And once we’re there, it’ll be too late for them to do anything.” Her eyes shone with reassurance. His own were sadder, but with a hint of hope that they had not known before. He smiled that rueful grin that always gladdened Margot’s heart, and tried to pull himself up a bit.
“Come on, girl!” His dimples deepened, his eyebrows rose and he began to forget all that he had left behind. Being with Margot made that so easy to do. She was a balm to his anxieties, a blanket for his woes. He knew he could never be without her.

Margot laughed easily and let herself be pulled along. She knew where they were headed – Steven’s first stop was always for the bar. She too loved the stylish little glasses of gin and sherry that the barmen always served the ladies. She felt so elegant sipping at one while holding her cigarette in her gloved fingers.

They sat down and the scene that Margot had just predicted, unfolded. Music was playing. The lounge was full of optimistic adventure-seekers, all on board for new fortunes in Australia. It had been Margot’s idea that Steven take up as a gentleman farmer – his family name would not be lessened by this occupation, it would be so much cheaper to undertake in Australia and people at home might actually think he had been sent there on some kind of settlement work! Steven had been impressed by the plan. Margot had reassured him that she would write and ask her own mother to look after his, so he had extra reason to want to go. Most importantly, this was most likely the only way that he would be able to marry Margot Russell. They had become engaged, but the Russells seemed bent on discouraging the couple. This way, they could be married as soon as the ship docked in Queensland.

All around them glasses clinked and people cheered as the anchor was hauled up and flung on deck. The young couple joined in, caught up in the excited atmosphere. Steven brushed back a stray curl from Margot’s flushed face and kissed her cheek as he raised his glass of whiskey. Margot blushed and smiled happily.
“To the future!” shouted a nearby group of people.
“To the future,” Margot whispered carefully into Steven’s thick black hair.

The End - thanks for the comments all the way through Very Happy

#63: Author: Alison H, Location: Manchester

Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 7:53 pm
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Oh dear ... such high hopes and we know that it all comes to grief Crying or Very sad

#64: Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent

Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 8:24 pm
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And yet the cracks are there, aren't they? Steven's drinking gives notice of what will be. Crying or Very sad

Thanks Róisín

#65: Author: leahbelle, Location: Kilmarnock

Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 8:31 pm
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Thanks, Roisin!

#66: Author: KathrynW, Location: London

Posted: Sat Oct 14, 2006 3:26 pm
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Thanks Róisín, so poignant knowing what happens later.

#67: Author: Mollio, Location: Ireland

Posted: Sat Oct 14, 2006 11:51 pm
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Well done, Róisín.

#68: Author: Mollio, Location: Ireland

Posted: Sat Oct 14, 2006 11:52 pm
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Well done, Róisín! Very Happy

#69: Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England

Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 12:38 pm
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Thanks, Róisín

*wishing things had turned out differently for them in the end*

#70: Author: Gem, Location: Saltash/Aberystwyth

Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 4:24 pm
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Thanks, Róisín. Have really enjoyed this - it's so sad to think of what will happen, though Sad

#71: Author: Lizzie, Location: A little village on the Essex/Suffolk border

Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 6:08 pm
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That was great, Róisín. So sad though, I wish their story had turned out differently...

#72: Author: Mia, Location: London

Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2006 10:13 am
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Thanks Róisín. Heartbreaking Crying or Very sad

#73: Author: Eilidh, Location: North Lanarkshire

Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2006 11:48 am
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Thanks Róisín, so sad to know that it all goes wrong for them.

#74: Author: arky72, Location: Cheshire

Posted: Sun Oct 29, 2006 2:24 pm
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I have just read this all in one go and I really enjoyed it - thank you.

#75: Author: Josie, Location: London

Posted: Sun Oct 29, 2006 10:58 pm
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Finally caught up on this. Thanks Roison. Very poignant given that we know what happens in the end.

The CBB -> St Scholastika's House

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