She grumbled as he pointed out the obvious of there situation. She walked over to him, looking him up and down as she held her arms close her chest, crossing them across it.
"I know…I loathe the idea of pretending to be passionate about somebody I am not…however, I can make it work." She spoke, leaning in close to whisper to his ear. To everyone else watching them it looked like she gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Can you?" She whispered, before pulling away from him.
Lars was admittedly surprised by Rachel’s bold action but only showed immediate charm as he met her gaze. “I most certainly can.” he whispered, lifting her hand to his lips and leaving a feather-light touch against her knuckles. “Would you permit me to call on you tomorrow, Ms. Watson?” he asked clearly enough to be heard by others but casually enough that they would not suspect that was his goal.
She stood there as he lifted her hand and planted a soft kiss on her knuckles. She didn't dare look around, that would possibly give it away that they were wanting a reaction out of people. She hated acting like this…but it must be done if people were to believe them.
She offered a smile, Lars would know it was fake, but from a distance you wouldn't be able to tell.
"Of course…I shall see you tomorrow then?"
Lars smiled softly, giving anyone watching the impression they wanted to give. Though he was glad she hadn't looked away at his action. Perhaps, after this facade, Ms. Watson could have a future in acting.
“Tomorrow.” he agreed smoothly as he let go of her hand and bowed politely.
(Do you want to skip to the next day when Lars “pays his visit” to Rachel?)
It hadn't been hard for Lars to find where the Watson family lived. What had been hard was deciding whether or not to bring flowers, then what kind would at least convince Rachel’s family of what they wanted to believe.
He sighed and ran his free hand through his hair before knocking on the door.
Yelling was heard from the inside of the house, and then silence when the knocking happened. Then footsteps were heard inside coming closer to the door. The door opened and the same gentlemen from the ball was seen. Only this time his hair was a mess, and he wasn't wearing very fancy clothing. He cleared his throat, "Who are you, boy?" he raised a brow at Lars. Through a small crack in the door, you could see the tinge of Rachels's ginger hair.
“Oh, forgive me, sir.” Lars nodded politely. “Is this the right address to find a Ms. Rachel Watson? She said I could call on her today when we talked at the ball last night.”
He looked Lars up and down, before smirking a bit. "How'd she talk someone like you into courting her huh? She show you anything. I doubt it was her personality…" He snickered. "Well, You seem like a respectable young gentleman. Let me get her for you, it'll only be a moment." He shut the door and more yelling happened before the door opened again. A very frazzled Rachel opened the door, bags under her eyes and some bruises on her that were barely visible. "Just..give me a moment."
Lars blinked, taken aback by the man’s crude suggestion, but didn't have a chance to rebuke the man before the door was closed. Though he scowled at the thought that he could have been her father, finding that even worse. He may not have gotten along with his family very well but they all had more class and respect than that.
“Of course.” he nodded understandingly when Rachel came to the door… and looking even more miserable than she did last night. “I can wait.”
Rachel nodded, seeming exhausted even though it was early in the day. She sighed softly, "sorry you have to deal with him." She spoke, before shutting the door again. More time passes..and she opens the door, closing it behind her as she leaves. She has a freshly red cheek, seeming as if she may have been slapped…but at least her eye bags are less visible and her hair is more orderly.
Lars shook his head. “You don't have to apologize. I was expecting to have to charm him but… that was… not your fault.” he assured, deciding not to mention what her father had said. “Are you alright?”
she looked away from him, clearing her throat as she spoke. She didn't want to show weakness..even if it was Lars. This was all an act anyway, it's not like she needed to show him every part of her and she wouldn't. He didn't have anywhere near the trust needed for that. " I'm fine, where are we going?"
Lars nodded, skeptical of her answer but not pushing it. “I was thinking of just going to the park. It’s a casual place where we can be seen together by a lot of people.” he suggested, holding out the bouquet of flowers to her. “I thought these would help give the more curious people get the idea we want them to have… but I hope you do like them.”
She nodded, arms crossed against her chest like it was some kind of safety net..she didn't know what to do with her hands otherwise. She glanced at the bouquet of flowers and realized he actually bought them for her and not for show.
"Oh, I just assumed you bought them for show and didn't really care about keeping them around." She spoke, shrugging. Her voice was a little rough.
"They are nice flowers I suppose."
“Well, partly. I thought it would be more convincing if you accepted them.” Lars admitted with a slight shrug, noticing her tense posture. “Relax. We're never going to fool anyone if we don't look comfortable with each other.” he reminded gently, not knowing what else to say or do. He knew there had been a fight, much worse than what happened at the ball, but it was obvious that she didn't want to talk about it… “I'm not going to hurt you.”
She hated this idea, but at least it has gotten her out of the house…and as much as she wanted to yell at him about how she hated this, and how she couldn't even be comfortable alone…she knew he was right. She exhaled, trying to detense her shoulders…moving to grab the flowers from him and sniff them.
Well then she heard his comments.
"I'll make one thing clear…I'm not worried about my safety around you. If you even attempted to hurt me, I would put you in a world of pain." She spoke, glaring at him. The glare just as quickly went away as soon as it appeared. She sighed.
"I'll…try and be less tense."
Lars didn't mind her glare, even smirking a little at it, and chuckled. “There's the girl I met last night. But I'm glad you're not worried about me hurting you, because I won't. “ he nodded.
Rachel just rolled her eyes at him, "Yeah, well words mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. What matters is actions, what you do to back up your words." she spoke, looking down as they walked.
Lars raised a brow at the intelligent reply. It wasn't that he doubted her intelligence but it was honestly refreshing to talk to someone who didn't swoon at his carefully crafted smiles. “You have a good point.” he nodded. “Considering our little arrangement, I do want you to be able to trust me… At least as a friend.”
"Well you are mistaken If you think I'm trusting you right from the start than you are sorely mistaken." She spoke, staring at him. "I dont do friends, we are acquaintances at best."
