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Tweak says, "JUST SHAKE YA RUMP"

Louisa Beeton (lost_romance) wrote in toujoursliberer,
@ 2008-08-26 22:10:00

Entry tags:

louisa_beeton, plot, victoria_brohm

Louisa Beeton: Room Rent
Subject: Room for Rent
Who: Louisa Beeton
Where: Miss Louisa’s boarding house.
Warnings: None.
Open to: Victoria Brohm, anyone else who rents a room at the boarding house.

Louisa had been writing all morning. The household was running quite smoothly for the time being. The two navy men Mr. Ferrars and Mr. Avery had settled in nicely although they were often away, and young Master Pleasance worked most of the day and mostly stayed out till the curfew she had set down. There were only two rooms left now in the house to be rented out and that meant Louisa had enough money to concentrate on her writing, rather than the cleaning and upkeep of the household.

If everything continued to go so well she could look into hiring more staff.

Dipping the nib of her pen into the inkwell she began to write. This would be a rather different story from her last. She had decided her hero this time would be the captain of a navy vessel, transporting a young English Lady to her arranged marriage with an Italian Count. A sudden storm would leave them stranded and shipwrecked together on an island were, naturally, they would fall in love as he built their shelter and protected her from the wild savages of the island. Then they would be married when rescued, a happy ending all round.

It was such an enchanting story, although rather more risqué then she usually wrote. After all, a young man and woman left alone together on an island with no-one to watch them and make sure they conducted themselves in a manor befitting their station. She would have to make sure some of the crew survived the shipwreck as well. Perhaps a young boy whom her heroine could mother and nurse him back to health.

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victorine
2008-08-26 05:38 pm UTC (link)

Having only been in England for a short time, Victoria Brohm had utterly no idea what to do with herself. She had spent the night in an inn with Amy, her lady’s maid, but she knew there was a need for more permanent shelter. After breakfasting until she could breakfast no more, she had Amy help her dress, picking out a quaint mauve ensemble that she had always preferred to anything in her closet. Or, in this case, her trunk. Soon, they were off, ducking in and out of buildings, inquiring as to where they would be able to find lodging.

While she had never once been left to fend for her own self, Victoria found it to be quite easy despite the anxiety that clawed at her belly, upsetting her morning meal. She asked this man and that woman, this bookstore owner, that tailor. Whoever she happened upon, she asked if they could direct her to a boarding house. Time after time, the name on everyone’s lips was Louisa Beeton. By the fifth query, she was sure that this fine lady would be apt enough to house them both. She entered a few more shops, admiring the wares for a moment before posing the question once more - just to be sure.

By the hour of eleven, Victoria and Amy found themselves in front of Miss Beeton’s boarding house. The building itself was full of character, and she knew immediately that this was, in fact, the place for her.

Entering through the front door and only a bit wary, Victoria replaced the determined frown at her lips with a smile. She ran her hands, small and nervous, over the front of her dress, her reticule dangling from her wrist. Glancing back at Amy, who stood stone silent as she had since they’d left New York, she took a deep breath. “Hello?” she called, having not seen the woman sitting there due to her eyes darting around the room, taking everything in. When she saw her, she let out a surprised gasp.

“Oh, hello! I have come to ask about a room…? I’ve heard around town that you have a few more that are available.” She nodded, her smile widening. “Nothing but good has been said about you, miss! You have quite a good reputation!”

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lost_romance
2008-08-27 03:46 am UTC (link)

Louisa jumped at the sound of voice, not having expected visitors and knocked her ink-well, the contents spilling all over the table-top. She grabbed her papers hastily, saving them from the worst of it and began to dab at the stain with the blotting paper she had to had.

"A room? Oh yes, I'm so sorry. I wasn't expecting anyone today. Let me just call for the girl to come and clean this awful mess." Louisa said, finishing as best she could. "Polly!"

She stepped away from the table, frowning at her ink smudged fingers. "I do apologise for my state. Lets go into the parlour, shall we?" She offered.

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victorine
2008-08-27 08:03 am UTC (link)

Victoria watched with wide, excited eyes as the woman hopped up from her table. Ink went absolutely everywhere, and she felt quite guilty about it. There was a murmur of curiosity about what she was writing somewhere near the back of her head, but she kept her mouth sealed. No need to intrude upon someone you have yet to be formally introduced to.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry!" she gushed, an apologetic smile at her lips. "I shouldn't have been so loud. I had not seen you there."

Glancing back again at Amy, Victoria shared an excited expression with the girl, whose stony exterior had suddenly melted at the patroness's appearance. "There is no need to apologize," Victoria assured her, clutching her own hands in front of her, "I took you quite unawares! I would've reacted quite the same."

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lost_romance
2008-08-27 08:24 am UTC (link)

Ushering them towards the parlour, Louisa went quickly to the kitchen and filled the sink with water from a bucket kept by the door, scrubbing at her hands with a tough bristled brush until the water was dirty from the ink but her hands were clean.

“Polly, bring us some tea in a moment when you’re clean yourself.” She said to the young maid as she came back into the room, her hands and apron stained and the cloths she’d used to wipe up the mess as dark as pitch. “And put those in the washing pile. We’ll get to that before bed.”

She composed herself, hoping she looked every inch the respectable landlady that the strange woman with her interesting accent had called her. Entering the parlour she seated herself across from the young lady, smiling.

“Now, tell me your name and why you’re looking to rent a room here.” She said. The woman was obviously a little better socially than her normal renters. They never came with servants.

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victorine
2008-08-27 10:50 am UTC (link)

While Louisa had been gone, Victoria had taken to looking around the parlour, her eyes still wide with enthusiasm. There was something incredibly thrilling in every new moment. Every second that ticked by held promise for even more adventures. She took a deep breath to calm herself, praying silently that her cheeks had not become flushed.

Ever since she had arrived from America, each hour was filled with strange happenstances and exhilarating turns. After living the life of a permanently bored mother and wife, the life of a bachelorette, though a false one, was all that she had imagined.

Still, she smoothed her hands nervously over the fabric of her dress. When the landlady returned, Victoria found herself beaming once more. “My name is Victoria Brohm,” she began, curling her fingers around her reticule in an attempt to keep from using her hands to speak. “I have heard nothing but good things about your establishment, miss, as I mentioned earlier. I would like to rent a room here because I have just arrived from America and am in need of lodging. Amy and myself are quiet individuals; we won’t make much of a ruckus. Indeed, we do not know anyone in London, so there is a good chance that we will obey any curfew that you have enforced!”

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lost_romance
2008-08-27 03:02 pm UTC (link)

“An American?” Louisa said, one had going instinctively to the locket around her throat, the gift Harold had given before he had been sent off to that awful war. She tried to keep her voice calm and even, and she could hardly refuse the young lady a room due to what had happened in the past between their two countries. After all, young Miss Brohm could hardly have been more than a small girl.

“You’ll require a room for your maid as well? The curfew is at ten and I lock the doors then and don’t open them till the morning. I’d prefer it if you didn’t take young men upstairs, I don’t run that sort of establishment and any courting should really take place here in the parlour. I am afraid I rent mostly to servicemen and respectable professionals. Currently there are two captains and a banker rooming here.” She smiled. “If you took the rooms you’d be the only women here apart from me and my maid.”

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victorine
2008-08-28 10:38 am UTC (link)

"Oh, yes," Victoria said with a hint of an unsure smile. A barely noticeable spark of intensity had filled the air around her, but she refused to think much of it. Instead, she shook it off, "North Carolina, born and raised." She had adopted the faint lazy accent in recent years, after she had married Frederick. It had been expected of her in the social circles of New York.

She turned and arched an eyebrow at Amy, who nodded thankfully. "Yes, I do believe I shall. If that is alright with you, of course." Fiddling anxiously with her own fingers, she nodded with every additional rule that Louisa set down. There was that tried and true aspect of her personality that tended toward docility, but there was something new in her blood, something that wanted to stay out late, something that wanted to invite men wherever she pleased. Stifling this, she continued to nod. "I do not mind one bit! In fact, I find that I keep company with men easier than with women. They're more easily amused!"

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lost_romance
2008-08-28 11:37 am UTC (link)

Louisa bit her lip. There was no reason for her to be angry with the young lady, nor to take her anger out upon her but even so she couldn’t help herself and she was glad that Polly opened the door then, carrying the tea tray with her. “Oh here. Lets all have some tea. North Carolina, well that sounds very grand. What brings you to England?”

“Oh, certainly I don’t mind. It’s perfectly fine for her to stay here too. Polly has a room in the downstairs and I’m sure she would not mind a roommate.” She said, watching carefully as her maid place the tray down and began to pour two cups of tea. She did not comment on Miss Brohm’s final comment. She knew it was simply the fact that she was an American that made her think it sounded brash and flirtatious.

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