Quote:
Originally Posted by
Presley Black 
The weather in France seemed like such a random question. They were discussing whether or not they were friends, and all of the sudden the topic was weather? Presley shrugged. "I don't know. It's October, so probably around 12 degrees." She looked at Elliot quizically. Where had that question come from? "Maybe just a bit warmer than it is here." Because Scotland was definitely freezing as it got later into October.
When Elliot grabbed Presley's wrist it startled her and she yanked her hand away. It wasn't intended as rude, it was just a reflex reaction. Pres had never known Elliot to grab her wrist before. That was normally what Presley did. But Elliot's words were sound. Presley's rash and upset judgement hadn't accounted for all of the potential reactions if she did do that. Elliot was right. She would have to make up with her father. There was no other option.
"Freedom?" Presley's tone questioned Elliot's sanity. They would never have freedom. "Elliot, even if we manage to reach adulthood without our families controlling our every social move, we live in the public eye. We can't be free. Because that implies that we can do whatever we want, and nobody will care. It's not true. People will always be paying attention to what we do, and they won't hesitate to give that information to the world in the worst possible light." She shook her head. Unless they managed to permanently change who they were..."We can't ever be free." she repeated.
Presley nodded. "You're right. Of course you are. I didn't think about those things." She took a deep breath. "I'm just so mad at them" she said in frustration. "But you're right. I have to make up with them. Otherwise I'm doomed." Okay, it sounded a bit dramatic, but it was true. If she thought her life was hell now, it was nothing compared to what it could be if she publicly disowned her father. She would write him a letter today. She had to. "I need to write to him." But what on earth would she say to make it better? She'd had diplomacy lessons when she was young, but they had never applied to her father before. She turned to Elliot, trusting her completely for just a second. "Will you help me write the letter? I want it to sound right." And Elliot was good with words.
Elliot's face was a bit...worried. She heard her say twelve degrees...that was cold! She gasped...
"I didn't tell Dani to start dressing heavier...do you think she's that thick? She better not being going outside too much! I mean, for Merlin's sake-" but she suddenly stopped her yapping...she
definitely sounded like Josey now. And Elliot didn't like sounding like her mother. But Presley said something about it being warmer...than here. "
Oh." RIiiight. Scotland=colder than France. She felt foolish...
Immensely foolish.
She eyed Presley, her face even more lined with worry than before, as she yanked her hand away from her...hmpphh!
Whatever!
The public eye? This is where Elliot disagreed...
"Public? You think our lives are public? To an extent..they are. But we have our secrets. My father-" she lowered her voice...
"Presley...what he does...is illegal. If by public you mean in the noble social circle, then yes, we are public...but there are very few of us left." Elliot didn't think her family's darkest secrets were even remotely known to Elliot, much less the whole noble circle.
How wrong she was, really. Little did she know the full extent of the knowledge that gossiping ladies had at tea...
Thoughts of her father spiraled out of control, now...and before she knew it, she began again,
"Not many people know about us. So breaking a few rules will upset the 'socialites?' Right. As if they truly matter. You can ruin your reputation as much as you want as long as you learn to talk. Sweet talk it, my father calls it..." her eyes were bit watery...glazed over, even, as she remembered the conversation moooonths and months ago. Before he left for business, last Christmas..
."If you can smooth talk your way out of it, you can even cheat on your wife," she quoted, and she didn't even realize she said it. And when she did, she felt her eyes water BIIIG time and she quickly turned away from Presley, pretending to fix something in her robes, as she let a few silent tears slide down. She blinked, though, and they were gone. But she didn't dare look at Presley yet.
Looks like she hadn't managed to do the whole 'hide your true feelings' thing yet, like her father did so well.
When Pres asked her to help...Elliot turned back around, a small smirk on her face.
"Of course. Like I said, we Morganzo's specialize in the...speaking area." And hopefully Presley would utterly too busy to notice the EXTREME slip of tongue Elliot just had.