Lovely!
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| After the Elsie book http://www.the-cbb.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=5690 |
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| Author: | ChubbyMonkey [ 11 Feb 2009, 16:31 ] |
| Post subject: | After the Elsie book |
It was just after Joey had been dismissed from the office, her eyes still wide and bright at her good fortune. The prize and exact position had gone completely out of her head; all she remembered was that joyful feeling as she was able to hand a letter to Madge, saying she had won a prize for her Elsie book. Madge, it must be admitted, wasn’t in a much lesser state of excitement, although she did manage to collect a little of her dignity. Jem only smiled. He was too accustomed to the sisters by now to be perturbed by it. Instead he sipped his tea and waited to see what Madge would say. At first she was silent, still staring at the letter in her hand, but slowly the situation began to dawn on her, and she shook her head with a laugh. A few more seconds for thought, but then she moved so that she was sat next to Jem, so close he could smell her shampoo perfuming the air. She slipped a hand into his and squeezed his fingers, and his throat contracted so that he had to put his cup of tea down. He valued every moment of time he got to spend with Madge, even when it was usually because Joey had made herself ill again. It didn’t matter to him where he saw her, she always looked so beautiful, she always managed to steal his heart somehow. That first meeting, he could still recall when her eyes fluttered open and he saw them for the first time. They were by far her best feature. No matter that he usually saw them red rimmed from crying, or with heavy shadows because she had been up all night looking after Joey, they still captivated him. He decided that now was the right time, not because she had a fresh memory of what she owed him, not because they had managed to snatch a rare moment together – because she had voluntarily come over to him, and her fingers were still in his, she had apparently forgotten what she was doing as she gazed at him. It was the clearest indication he could have had that now was his moment. As soon as he began to search through his pockets, she withdrew her hand, a faint blush on her cheeks, as she realised how it must look. He was unperturbed, though. In defiance of all etiquette, he touched her cheek, running his finger lightly down her soft skin, the smallest of smiles traceable on his lips. And then he found what he was looking for, and he clutched at this lifeline, his fingers firm around it. He cleared his throat awkwardly, but plucked up the courage to bring this tiny box into view. Madge looked at it in surprise, which changed to confusion as he flipped open the lid and revealed a tiny ring. “I love you,” he murmured, and hearing those words from him for the first time made Madge blush even more, until she was nearly purple. “I love you, and I am conceited enough to think that you love me too. I’ve been carrying this around for a while now, waiting for the right time to ask you. I know that it isn’t perfect, I know that we couldn’t get married straight away, but I want you to consider it. “You know my plans for the future. You know that I want to start a Sanatorium, to buy a house up there and settle down. But I want you to be a part of that, too. I want you to be able to call yourself Mrs Russell, to be the person I come home for every night – and it couldn’t be a home without you, I know. I won’t lie; the life of a doctor’s wife is hard, but I love you so much that I had to ask. I can’t imagine not having you in my life. “You have your school of course. I respect you so much for being able to come out to a foreign country and start a new school and make such a success of it. You deserve everything you have. I won’t ask you to give that up now, when it is still just beginning and you still have so many excitements ahead of you. All I am asking is that, in a year or so, when everything is more settled and sorted, you would consider marrying me. Please.” Madge caught her breath, but picked up the ring and examined it slowly. She wasn’t looking at it, as such, but it was something for her to do as she thought about all that he had said. For a little while now she had found herself thinking of him more and more, when she was lying in bed at night, or when one of the girls made an innocent comment about their home. She had wondered if he felt the same, of if he came just as part of his duties. Whether he was being a doctor or a courter. And here was her answer, this tiny band of gold, the question she had been waiting for. She was still examining it when Miss Maynard came in suddenly, although she made to back out again as soon as she saw Madge and Jem together. Madge, who had hidden the ring just as quickly as Jem pocketed the box, smiled and told her to come in. Jem added, “I was just leaving, please don’t disappear on my account.” Madge offered to escort him to the door, and it was under this pretence that she managed to give him her answer. As he was stood on the path, saying his goodbyes, she added the one sentence Jem would never forget. “Yes, of course I shall be your wife.” She said it very quietly, and ducked inside as quickly as possible, her cheeks red again, but it was enough for Jem. As he walked along the lake path, he drew comments about his wide smile and the tears in his eyes. |
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| Author: | Emma A [ 11 Feb 2009, 16:59 ] |
| Post subject: | Re: After the Elsie book |
That's so sweet, ChubbyMonkey. Thank-you. |
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| Author: | blue1 [ 11 Feb 2009, 17:07 ] |
| Post subject: | Re: After the Elsie book |
Lovely!
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| Author: | Lexi [ 11 Feb 2009, 17:12 ] |
| Post subject: | Re: After the Elsie book |
Awww that's lovely. I'm such a sucker for a nice romantic scene. Thanks ChubbyMonkey
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| Author: | JS [ 11 Feb 2009, 17:50 ] |
| Post subject: | Re: After the Elsie book |
That's lovely, thank you. |
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| Author: | Alison H [ 11 Feb 2009, 19:59 ] |
| Post subject: | Re: After the Elsie book |
Awww, that was lovely .
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| Author: | Elbee [ 11 Feb 2009, 22:30 ] |
| Post subject: | Re: After the Elsie book |
Lovely, thanks ChubbyMonkey. |
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| Author: | Lisa [ 11 Feb 2009, 23:10 ] |
| Post subject: | Re: After the Elsie book |
Ahhh *sighs in satisfaction* All romantic and lovely, just in time for Valentine's Day! Thank you! |
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| Author: | Abi [ 11 Feb 2009, 23:35 ] |
| Post subject: | Re: After the Elsie book |
That was gorgeous - thank you !
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| Author: | Cath V-P [ 12 Feb 2009, 00:01 ] |
| Post subject: | Re: After the Elsie book |
That was lovely, thank you! |
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