LM (winkandsmile) wrote in sanditon, @ 2021-01-29 15:22:00 |
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Who: Frederick Tilney, Edward Rochester, and any other gentlemen about town
What: Gambling the night away
When: Late evening
Where: A local tavern
Christ, but Sanditon was dull. He'd never warmed to Brighton despite its popularity with the Prince Regent and his set. But compared to Sanditon, it seemed a glittering jewel at the very heart of Society. Frederick Tilney had been in this sleepy seaside town for all of two days and had yet to discover anything more diverting than the local ale and the pretty tavern lasses who obligingly poured it.
At least there was one activity a man could partake in no matter what backwater he found himself in: gambling.
He was on the hunt for that very pursuit, but a tall figure blocking the door to the Dog and Duck arrested him in his quest. It was hard to make out the stern profile in the dim evening light, but Frederick's hunch quickly turned to conviction.
"Rochester!" Frederick saluted with a laugh, bestowing on the man a brief, indifferent bow. "Never say you're availing yourself of the healthful benefits of seaside air."
It seemed utterly incongruous to see Edward Fairfax Rochester in such a decidedly wholesome setting as Sanditon. And to have gone from a sedate country dinner with his sister Eleanor and the aristocratic family they were visiting to this unexpected reunion. He knew the man from hours lost at gaming hells and brothels. Those were the right, disreputable backdrops for such a meeting.
"You're the very last person I'd expect to see 'taking the cure,'" he added, lazily sweeping an arm out to indicate Rochester should proceed him through the cramped doorway that led into the boisterous tavern.