The Bitter Taste

Chapter 23: In the Bookstore

"Is he alright?" The minute he saw Jane appear before him at the entrance gate, he knew his heart palpitated. The anticipation he had been carrying ever since last night bothered him to no end, since his mind was constantly taking endless laps at the thought of his best friend's ill state. And yes, despite the argument that took place, deep inside, Mr.Runciman knew he could never erase his position as his loyal friend.

As Jane took the seat beside him, on the marble fountain, she found that his eyes still glistened with worry. "Yes, he's fine." She said, smiling at him sweetly. "Are you sure you wouldn't want to stay in his manor, instead of sitting around in Canopy the entire day?"

"Oh please, It hasn't been an entire day yet." He said, chuckling breathily. "Well, I'm not very sure. I just don't want to be a bother to him, especially right now since he must be trying to recover."

"I'm sure that you're not... A bother." Said Jane, who was focusing her gaze strangely on his hands that rested on his lap. "You're very special to him, I'm sure."

A light blush had crept its way on the viscount's cheeks as he heard her say that, which made his palms a lot more sweaty than it had been when waiting for the news about the Earl. And as if his reaction had affected nature's plan, rain drops began to find itself making small wet marks on his trousers and coat.

"Oh my, it's drizzling again." Said Jane, as she looked up to see the sky hovering over them with a slur of dark grey.

Soon, the light drizzles evolved into one of the heavy showers of the week, and it was at that moment that Jane knew she was going to find herself stuck bed ridden the next day. "Dear God, when does the rain ever stop." She said, as the young brunette instinctively grabbed the hand of the viscount and ran out of the garden in order to seek for cover.

The Viscount on the other hand was quite shocked from the sudden impulse, but decided to go with it anyway, since her hand did feel just as pleasant to hold as a pillow. However, as he realized that this was the first time he actually held her hand for longer than that of a handshake, butterflies began to enter inside his stomach, in which a ton more came after Jane looked back to check on him with her baby hair strands flowing with the direction of the wind. He could still feel the cold drops of morning rain pouring all over him, but the man still had trouble trying to conjure up a single reason as to why it seemed to matter little to him now.

Suddenly, the sharp wind hitting against his skin as they ran suddenly came to a stop as they finally found cover in front of a very familiar book store.

The Viscount widened his eyes as he began to fully recognize the place around him, along with memories that were floating around the two. The smell, the temperature, the weather - they all felt so identical. It was a thought that wouldn't escape his mind, since it was probably the only thing on his mind, but it brought a smile across his lips and so, he objected nothing.

"I remember this place." He said. "If I'm not mistaken... This was where you sprained your ankle." As the viscount stood beside Jane, who looked at him with such an amused expression, the only thing that filled his brain was pure happiness.

"I can't believe you still remembered that!" She said, hitting him on the shoulder teasingly. "But then again, I guess I wouldn't consider it a bad experience anyway."

With much intended coyness, he dared to ask, "oh? How come?"

Jane covered her mouth with her hand and laughed as she shook her head slowly. "N-no reason in particular." She said. "Or rather, nothing too important to mention." The young brunette gave a playful smirk at his direction as she tried to refrain from breaking into uncontrollable laughter.

The Viscount gave a funny expression, until his eyes laid itself upon the wooden counter in front of them. "What happened to Mr.Abbey?"

"Oh, well, he told me that he needed to leave for a week long trip back to Cumbria." Said Jane. "It's quite a coincidence that we originally belong in the same provincial counties."

"I see." Said the Viscount as he spotted two chairs and a wooden table at the corner of his eye. "Jane, perhaps you might want to sit down after all that running." He said with a smile.

After she nodded, they both walked towards a patio-like resting haven beside the glass window of the bookstore, and took time to embrace their surroundings a little more lovingly. The two merely glanced occasionally, not resting upon the gazes they clearly had a strong desire of taking, until Jane slowly decided to simply settle with looking out at the busy carriages, and cobblestone puddles that streamed along the sewer drains quickly. Their atmosphere was quiet, but not awkward; almost toe curling, to be quite frank, but nevertheless comfortable.

"London, despite it's unpredictable weather, definitely still remains to be a sight worth gazing upon." Said Jane as she looked out the foggy glass window with half-lidded eyes, and a sense of mindless innocence.

Instead of conjuring up any sort of reply, the Viscount looked closer at her face and began to contemplate about how exquisite her entire facial features actually were. They were smooth, cream-white, a little pale, without blemishes, and her lips were just as plump as those of cherry blossoms. Her jaw-line was nicely sculpted on her face, as it framed everything on it flawlessly. He loved everything.

However, at the same time, he hated it, because he knew it would be the new cause of another massive heartache.

After everything that happened thus far, he knew that he no longer acquired the privilege to stay this close with Jane. During the ball the other night, he was called, along with her, as requested from the marchioness. During that time, he learned about the Earl's secret agreement with his mother regarding the trip to paris, his strong intent to marry Jane in order to stay, and - involuntarily - about the deal that they had been trying to keep to themselves the entire time they lived under the same roof. It wasn't hard to figure out, if he could be completely honest, knowing how the Earl thought and did things. They were just those inevitable realizations that pop into your mind when you've known a person so long. All those obviously fake acts, Jane's (clearly) forced attraction towards the Earl, and his knowledge of his best friend's history with Ms.Vanderbilt, the woman who coincidentally became his arranged fiancé - they spoke for themselves. It would be a complete understatement to say that all these new insights blew his mind after having come up with it the first time, but it certainly did, and the only thing he could do now was to trust his morals and principles, abide by them, and carry the heavy weight weaving deep inside his chest after forming one fateful conclusion - there would be no chance of him to ever be with Jane.

But he knew himself more than anyone else. And he knew, that he could never follow fate's rules if it didn't go the way he wanted it to, and for as long as there was at least a single spark of possibility, he wouldn't hesitate to try and change it either.

"I agree." He whispered, unconsciously staring directly at her face as she turned to look at him. His eyes were strangely determined, making Jane confused at the sudden change of expresssion.

Jane raised a brow. "Huh?"

Before she could expect anything, a hand had rested on top of her's; it was a feeling so smooth and so fragile, but strong all the same.

"Mr.Runciman, is there something the matter?" She asked, looking straight at his fiery auburn eyes that seemed to cut deep into her soul.

With one firm grip, he slowly lifted the back of her hand towards his lips, kissing it softly with his eyes still wide open. "Yes." He said. "My heart can't seem to leave you."