InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "i haz a bukket!"

Darling Anna (darlinganna) wrote in toujoursliberer,
@ 2008-07-14 03:54:00

Entry tags:

anna_manzoni, augustus_burnbridge, character development

here's anna.
Subject: I like my town with a little drop of poison
Who: Anna
Where: a coffee house
Warnings: PG-13 for possible evil
Open to: anyone

Anna sipped the coffee in front of her only occasionally. The stuff was too bitter to her tastes but it was fashionable, so she drank it. The real point of course was to be seen drinking it, or at least seen here with a cup of it in front of one. Being seen was the goal of everything, and Anna loved being seen. People loved looking at her too. She could see a couple gentlemen from the corner of her eye, and smiled just a little, tipping the corners of her mouth upwards. Oh yes, this was a good day.

Her green dress matched her eyes and the emeralds at her ears flashed in the light. She tilted her head to make sure their brilliance was shown and tapped the table with an impatient finger, as if she were waiting for someone who was late. Her mouth turned slightly town, the line of her lips softening and the lightest furrow appeared between her brows. The person was late! Someone might be keeping her waiting, oh the distress... What would she do? One of the gentlemen nudged his friend. Ah, yes.

Anna turned in her seat, enough that her face would not be visible to them. Wealthy, maybe a widow by the black trim to her dress or maybe just a lady in green and black, it all graced her with a tragic air and Anna could play that with off-handed ease. They had better be local, though. She needed someone from here, or she was never going to get anything useful. One-two-one-two she tapped the table. Harry was about, she knew that much. God knew what that idiot little Ann had gotten up to... and Mary... that one seemed to have vanished. She'd already paid a visit to George and the fool had been living like a pauper. He'd even asked her about the chit, the picture of concern about it as if he could help anyone. Men. Anna leaned back in her seat, keeping her face very somber and faintly worried.

So Harry it would be. Wealthy now, or so she'd heard. Business of some nature or another, and probably a good deal besides she guessed. Boys like him didn't get rich on nice, clean trades. ... Someone's arm bumped her chair and Anna looked up with a startled gasp.

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finaljudgement
2008-07-14 05:34 am UTC (link)

Augustus Burnbridge was lost again in his own thoughts. This murder trial had been uninteresting, dull to the extreme. The ruffian on trial had obviously been guilty, it had been the only only conclusion any judge worth his salt could have come to after seeing the dirty unwashed face, the rotten gums and missing teeth, the rags that hardly passed for clothes. The fellow had been guilty of something, even if it hadn't been murder it was something, and at least now, in the morning, that one undeserving example of human existance would pay for his crimes and serve as an example.

He was only jerked away from his thoughts when he knocked against the chair of an attractive young woman on his search for a free table of his own. "Ah, forgive me, dear lady." He said, after a moment, in which he tried to place her. She seemed familiar enough, and unusally for him, it did not come straight away. Clearly then, he had never had to sit a case with this attractive young lady in his court. "I hope I have not spoiled your coffee, perhaps I should have the staff fetch you another?"

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darlinganna
2008-07-15 12:06 am UTC (link)

Anna took in the man's apparel and quickly decided she didn't mind at all. It wasn't as if anything had splashed onto her dress. He was rather handsome but... definitely there was money in those pockets. Anna was always good about knowing this. She smiled, a gentle laugh escaping her shapely lips and when she spoke she had the slightest tinge of an Italian accent. "Oh, it's perfectly all right, sir."

She looked at the somewhat spilled coffee and back at him with a wry grimace. "Thank you, but I am afraid that I haven't quite managed to properly appreciate its allure in any case. It's been wasted on me more than the table cloth, I think," she saie quietly, with the air of someone confiding a secret. "It's so..." a delicate hand fluttered as she searched for the word, "bitter, don't you find it so?"

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finaljudgement
2008-07-15 05:56 am UTC (link)

"I find the taste quite agreeable, my lady. But not everyone's palette is similar." He said, moving back to look at her properly, rather than where he had stood behind her shoulder. "But if coffee is not to your liking, perhaps I could offer you refreshment more delightful?" He asked, gesturing for one of the staff to come to their table.

A good looking lady, certainly. He still felt a faint tinge of recognition, something that suggested he knew her. “You will forgive me, my lady. My name is Augustus Burnbridge and I am quite sure I have made your acquaintance previously, or perhaps a relative of yourself?”

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darlinganna
2008-07-15 03:01 pm UTC (link)

"I suppose that must be the case," she laughed ruefully and shrugged. "I thank you for the offer and I'm grateful for the guidance. I am quite open to suggestions; this is my first foray into the coffeehouses."

"Of course. It is a pleasure, Mr. Burnbridge. I am Teresa Manzoni," she said as she extended her hand. A politely puzzled frown drew her brows together and she took the opportunity to look more closely at him. His clothes were well-cut and expensive but too refined to be flashy. Dull, really. Which meant secure, old, very happy with itself money, she was sure of it. There was a faint recognition but nothing more than passing.

"I am certain I would remember our meeting, sir, but perhaps... have you ever been to Italy?" She smiled. "There was always quite a throng of philosophers and scholars swirling about in Bologna and Milan- would we have met there?"

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finaljudgement
2008-07-15 05:12 pm UTC (link)

Augustus smiled slightly; another man might have laughed delightedly at the suggestion of such foreign adventures, but he did not. "I am afraid, my dear Ms Manzoni, that the law courts prevent me from making any form of extended journey away from London." He explained, resting his free hand on the back of the seat opposite her. "Perhaps I could join you, Ms Manzoni?"

"I would suggest, dear lady, that if coffee is not to your liking, you should perhaps enjoy a cup of tea? This particular establishment has a very fine lemon and mint tea, which you might find refreshing if you have spent time in Mediterranean climes."

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darlinganna
2008-07-15 07:04 pm UTC (link)

Anna's face lit up with a genuinely pleased smile. "Oh, of course, Mr. Burnbridge," she said with a airy wave of her hand. "I would be delighted!" She paused and smiled sadly. "Though I'm afraid it's Mrs. Manzoni. I-" she stopped and continued hurriedly as if to brush by a painful topic. She would be too happy to elaborate but it was more genteel to refrain from further explanations, really, and emotions were so tiring.

"Lemon and mint sounds heavenly. A lovely reminder of... Italy." She glanced outside at the lovely English day and shook her head as if to clear her thoughts of sad memories and turned to Mr Burnbridge- whose name was a bit more familiar than his face. Burnbridge, what a name! She couldn't think where she would have heard it before.

"And as a member of the law, perhaps you can inform me on the more serious happenings I've misssed. Eight years away and all anyone sends are letters about the fashions and the length of sleeves and who wore what ribbons."

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finaljudgement
2008-07-16 04:41 am UTC (link)

"Ah, forgive me, Mrs Manzoni. I had no idea a woman as young as yourself would be married." He said, setting himself down in the opposite seat. "A lemon and mint tea for the young lady." He informed the member of staff, "And another coffee for myself."

"Eight years, Mrs Manzoni? A very long time to be away from home." Augustus replied with interest, "I am certain that a great many things have happened in eight years, although how many of them will interest you I am not sure. I recently presided over a case of attempted treason, the murder of Lord Hughes, and an incident of fraud concerning an employee of the East India Company.”

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darlinganna
2008-07-16 05:29 pm UTC (link)

She laughed and privately wondered if the judge's eyesight was failing him. Or perhaps the light was being unusually kind today. Still, Anna could enjoy flattery. It was a lovely talent in a man. "Married and widowed besides," she admitted. Four times now. Five she supposed if you counted little Jack Banks who had married her in front of the vicar's daughter when they were eight. Six months later he'd died of pneumonia. Of all her husbands she'd wept for him the most.

"It was a long time, I suppose. Though it didn't feel like it until I got back." She tilted her head, intrigued by the interesting words like 'treason' and 'fraud.' "Treason, murder and fraud. Well, that sounds rather like the England I know and love," she said with a wry smile. "And were everyone's sleeves of fashionable length?"

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finaljudgement
2008-07-16 06:02 pm UTC (link)

"I assure you ma'am, the sleeves were of adequate length, although not all were overly fashionable. There were a great many pretentious sleeves at court recently, but many of them were scoffed at, as you will no doubt be delighted to hear.” Augustus replied to her.

“I am sorry for the loss of your husband. But England is all the better a country from having you back. I hope you have not come back with trunks full of foreign fashions to taunt those fashion-conscious women of court? It has been all the Prince can do to keep cockades from appearing in Parliament, and we want none of that rubbish here.”

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darlinganna
2008-07-18 09:39 pm UTC (link)

"That is a dear relief, Mr Burnbridge. In such dark times as these it is good to know that the people of England can still discern a good sleeve from the bad." She grinned.

"Oh, I fear I've brought far too many foreign fashions, but I assure you it is only with the intent to better educate the ladies of England and widen their thoughts on the matters of embroidery. I promise you, in all my trunks there is not a single cockade. There's no surer way to depress fashion than to bring politics into it."

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