miles baines: riff-raff! street rat! (mimicks) wrote in emillion,
"basil" & juliette | early afternoon | complete!
It was relatively customary for the groom-to-be to dance with any future in-laws. In the absence of any biological parents, however, and with Genevieve shooting him frighteningly assessing looks across the room, ‘Basil Norwood’ was sent scuttling over to Juliette Coulombe. With a clearing of his throat and some nervous fidgeting, the nobleman extended his hand, nodding towards the dance floor.
Awkward. Ridiculous.
Customary.
Juliette, who had in fact been expecting this sometime earlier, accepted the hand with something akin to eagerness.
The sooner this was begun…
They stepped out onto the floor, the music too slow to hide behind footwork. It seemed they would have to make conversation. But the best she could do, with her discomfort, was, “It is good to see you, Lord Norwood. You are looking… well.”
“Thank you,” he echoed back, “and as are you.” While they did their sedate turn about the room, he could have averted his eyes and stared up at the ceiling for the duration—but instead Basil took in the sight of his sister-in-law, and both men were essentially surprised.
It was like a game of spot-the-differences: seeing the physical resemblance between the Coulombes, but otherwise they seemed nothing alike. This Juliette was perfectly polite. Alys had once thrown a Bible at his face, and he couldn’t count the number of times she’d tried to kick him in the groin.
“I hope I won’t be too much of a disappointment,” Basil said, flashing what looked like a nervous smile.
“Of course not,” Juliette said, though her own expression was hardly relaxed. “I am… glad that Alys and I will be... joining your family.” And I hope very much that you will not be the sort to attempt to run my life. Which would be his right (some might argue his duty) but…
If anyone was likely to be a disappointment, she suspected it would be her.
They kept up the dance with perfect form, careful not to tread on each others’ toes while the man fed her a tale of Norwoods, stepping around his convenient lack of parents. He was quickly realising that extended conversation with the sister was treacherous, with pitfalls at every step.
But he talked around her, and she nodded, and they danced.