She was sitting alone at a table waiting for him to return with the drinks looking out across the perfectly manicured lawns. She still had two weeks to go in this cast and although she was learning to adapt, she was also very tired of not being able to do much for herself. Being fiercely independent was one of her well knows values and she hated how she couldn't even go for a drive if she so chose. She looked down at her coral dress which was floating slightly in the gentle breeze. It was the only dress she could get at such short notice which she could shove her awkward arm through. That was another thing that was bothering her, trying to find clothes that not only hid her plaster cast, but were able to slip over it. She sighed heavily and looked toward the rose bushes wondering what was taking Jack so long.
This sigh was not missed by Jack who was returning with two glasses of champagne as well as a full bottle after deciding that the way she was drinking it was easier like that. In the past month he had discovered that if she was giving him too much trouble the easiest thing to do was to get her drunk. This did stop her complaining, but it also meant that she had been drunk almost every day for the past month. Mac had assured him that although her liver might pay in the short term, essentially she would be fine and if this stopped her being bothersome, then so be it. He did of course feel slightly guilty, but he had once caught Mr Butler slipping a shot of something into her morning tea after a particularly bothersome night and did not feel so bad.
He wondered if now would be a good time to bring up their game once more. He cleared his throat loudly as he approached and she looked up at him, blinking out of her trance to the handsome man before her holding a bottle and two glasses of champagne in an expensively fit suit.
"You are a life saver." She gushed at him taking a glass from his hand.
"Am I really that boring?"
"Are you trying to get me drunk?" he looked at her with one eyebrow raised as he sat beside her. "because you know you don't have to, if you want to..." She winked at him and he rolled his eyes and sipped his drink.
That was another thing. She was still quite able to do the things she normally did, however without the ability to drive her own car a sort of depression had swept over her. She spent much of the first three weeks in their bedroom with the occasional social outing and what seemed like an endless stream of visitors. This had left her with plenty of time to think about ways to get him to join her in bed. It seemed to consume her, at first he hadn't wanted to hurt her anymore than she already was. But after she practically begged him one night (she was on her hands and knees for Christs sake) he had submitted to her. And aside from the weird bruises he had worn (casts really were bothersome), he had struggled to say no since.
They were right now at a wedding, something which he knew she hated, but had needed to attend according to Aunt Prudence. Well they were at the reception now and even he had to admit that he was having a good time. It was a beautiful day and a large marquee had been set up amongst the flower beds were guests had been served a beautiful lunch and were now either dancing or drinking. Miss Fisher wasn't in the mood for dancing, so he certainly wasn't going to complain, which is why he had gotten her alcohol. He noticed she had finished her drink and was staring at him waiting for him to catch up. He obliged her as she refilled her own and went to do his when he decided to cover his, which lead to a raised eyebrow and the first signs of an argument when he began to speak over her.
"Two years after the war I was a best man."
That stopped her, her mouth hung open before quickly shutting and turning into a grin when she realised where this was going. She picked up her glass and began to play with it as he spoke, her eyes glistening in interest.
"It was at my old next door neighbours wedding. There were two bridesmaids, a blonde and a brunette." She gave him a funny half smile and took a sip from her drink. "We had the wedding and the photos, then at the reception everyone was dancing when Coral came up to me." He took a long slow sip of his drink letting the bubbles burn his throat on the way down, "we danced for awhile, she was a bridesmaid, and then eventually she dragged me off to a small corner of the hall where we kissed for awhile and got very drunk." She was looking at him very expectantly and had lowered her head so that her hair covered some of her face. "She took me back to her room and as we walked into the room she tackled me, only she pushed me onto the floor rather than the bed and…" he rolled his eyes and finished his drink with an expectant look at her, almost daring her to question him.
"Still not true Jack." Very sure of herself she looked him in the eye and tilted her head looking for conflict.
"And how exactly do you know that?" he challenged her, he knew that she lived for banter, although she would not openly admit it.
"Because" her face pulled into a smile, "you would never go to bed with a girl you just met." He felt himself flush a horrible red and she began to laugh at him, knowing she was right. She was still laughing when a man in a tux approached them looking very official and very obviously a member of staff.
"Sorry to interrupt, Inspector Robinson?"
The pair nodded and the man went on, "There is a phone call for you at the house, they said it was urgent."
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