"Please," Florence muttered, rolling her eyes. "My mother wanted me to be some man's trophy wife. Two or three kids, a large house, and no life of my own to speak of." Which was, of course, why she'd disliked Freddie so much. He hadn't filled any of that. Yes, she knew Walter saw her as nothing more than Freddie's arm candy, it wasn't as if she ever actually had to step in and play in his place. But she felt strongly Freddie saw her as her own person. She hoped, at least.
"If she could see us now, she'd probably smack me in the back of the head and start yammering on in Hungarian." Which Florence rarely understood as she'd let the language slip away from her life for the most part. Oh, she still called her mother Anya rather than Mum and she still knew most basic phrases. But could she call herself fluent? Probably not. It had been a part of her breaking away from her roots, becoming London through and through and taking her spot on the World's stage.
Of course, she'd also craved independence from the American. And instead, she'd fallen right in with Anatoly. The whole point of letting him go was to become her own person in her own way. Not to get wrapped up in any man who might hold her back. There had to be more to life than being someone else's other half.
And yet there she sat, Freddie looking as at ease as he always did while she looked...not scared, exactly. Anxious. And the soft kiss he gave her didn't help that. She froze. It wasn't what she'd planned. Not at all. Well, maybe she'd considered it. But not there. Not like that. If they were going to make those steps, they needed to be done properly. Right?
So she didn't return the kiss. Not exactly. She even froze up slightly, turning her head as soon as she knew he was finished. This had to move along at her speed. Her way. Not that he didn't get a say in the matter. But for the man who thought, 'Dinner, Vassy?' was a proper dinner invitation, she had to make him work for it. She just had to. She wasn't going to fall back into his arms that easily, because that would just make her fall back into his bed just as quickly, and before long, he'd be in control of her all over again.
Keep talking. That was the easiest way. Right. "Have you ever actually been to this place before? Or did you just search it and get lucky?"