A/N: This chapter gives some summary progress, and hopefully you all enjoy where we appear to be heading. I truly appreciate everyone from tumblr who read the last chapter again and took the time to leave a review. I'm glad it seemed a bit different now that you have the context of the rest of the story. Kind of. I know, I know … you don't have "the story" yet. I promise, it will come in time.
Love you guys! xxx
CSotA
Old friends
Memory brushes the same years
Silently sharing the same fears …
25 December thru 12 January
The rest of their time in Vail went even better than Elsie could have hoped. She managed to secure three final sources of funding that would take care of their upcoming on-location trip to London without draining the CFP coffers (which constituted a job very well done, if she did say so herself). She and Charles enjoyed two working lunches together, during which they went over details specific to needs for future sets and scenery. They also had one pleasant dinner with the entire crew (at which they sat together and chatted amiably) and they attended several meetings together.
Elsie was finding it hard to remember why she'd been so angry to see Charles that first day at the studio, and about halfway through the Vail trip, she felt as though they were becoming friends once again. And she noticed that while Charles had seemed a bit distant initially, he didn't seem quite as uncomfortable by the end of the week as he'd appeared at the beginning of it.
What Elsie didn't know (because he was managing to keep it a secret) was that Charles was having a hard time maintaining a respectable demeanor during all of those hours spent by her side. Just like when they'd been to dinner with the Crawleys and Thomas Barrow, he had realized along the way that while there wasn't anything particularly glamorous about Elsie, her innate beauty and kindness still had the power to jolt his heart with feelings he hadn't experienced in years. It was in the little things - like how she poured a cup of tea, how she clutched her phone between her chin and shoulder because she loathed speakerphone, and even how she'd tap her pen incessantly on the side of her notepad when she was daydreaming during a meeting. Alice spent so much time trying to be perfect, but Elsie's beauty was in the sheer fact that she wasn't perfect … and in how instead of hating that, she seemed to positively embrace it, others' opinions be damned.
His discomfort was multiplied once they got back to LA, partially because he was home more. The time he spent with Alice became frustrating as the finalization of their divorce approached; Charles needed to start packing, and he and Alice were both finding it difficult to separate their possessions into "his" and "hers." It took more discussion time than either of them seemed to have available. He'd found a flat to move to for the remainder of the project's filming, but the packing was slow going at best.
Eventually, Charles simply sat and made a list of basic needs: his clothing, some basic cooking and eating supplies, his laptop and phone. He and Alice decided he'd take his furniture from the spare bedroom and one of the sofas in the living room, and then he'd purchase a small dining table and chairs, leaving everything else with Alice. They still had the home in London, which would be his, but Alice had already moved everything she really cared about to LA. Once Charles's lease on his new flat was up, he'd reassess the situation, as he saw no need to newly furnish a flat only to have to turn around and sell everything if he decided to return to London permanently.
"I feel as though I'm in a permanent state of flux," he confided in Robert one evening over drinks. "I packed up house and moved here, and now I'm doing it all over again. And then, who knows? When this film wraps …" He shook his head, frustrated.
"Will you stay with Mary?" Robert asked. "I realize it's been rough at times."
"Of course," Charles smiled. "That is, if she wants me. If this film is a success, it'll open up terrific opportunities for her. I'm no fool, Robert; she may very well do better with an agent who's younger and more connected to the fast-paced life of Hollywood up-and-comers. I'm really just an historian."
"Well," Robert answered, swallowing down the last of his brandy, "you've done well by her so far. Her popularity is up; people in town are curious about her."
"Yes, well, your publicist is magnificent, too. And once you let Edith run that piece in the Times, that'll help even more. I think Elsie mentioned meeting with Edith about that soon, actually. And that will thrust Mary into the spotlight as the central character of the film."
"It will. And don't be so sure she'll give you up, Charles. You're very dear to her, as we both know."
Charles simply smiled before finishing his own drink.
As Charles drifted off to sleep that night, he marveled at how no one had gotten wind of the divorce yet. Charles knew that Robert and Cora were trustworthy, and while he also suspected that Violet had sensed something afoot, he knew his secret would be safe with those three. But there was no buzz on the set, and Charles and Alice had been sure to be seen dining in public a couple of times. The paparazzi had snapped a million photos of the beautiful Alice Neal and her relatively unknown husband, and she'd been sure to smile brightly and clutch Charles's hand in her own.
All in all, it was going much better than he had expected. He'd briefly considered letting Elsie in on it as well, but given the way his heart fluttered every time he heard her voice drifting out into the hallway from her office, he thought it better that he not go down that road at all.
oOoOoOo
Two weeks after returning from the Christmas trip, the cast and crew were set to travel to England for a segment of on-location filming. They'd be flying out on a Tuesday, and everyone was working diligently to tie up last-minute details in LA before making the trip.
Thursday night found Charles closing up his office a bit early, hoping to sneak in some extra time packing his belongings before he also had to pack for London.
"Leaving early, are we?"
Charles smiled as he turned the key in the lock, then withdrew it and turned around. He could hear Elsie's fatigue in the deepening of her accent but decided not to comment on that.
"I know," he laughed lightly. "It's unusual."
Elsie fell into step beside Charles as he headed toward the elevator.
"I'll not be far behind you, I think. I'm completely exhausted, and I never sleep well on the damn plane, so I have to bank some sleep ahead of next week."
"It doesn't work that way, you know," he chided, and she smiled at him, tilting her head in acknowledgement of that truth.
"In any event," Charles mused, "the rest of the weekend should be fairly quiet around here. I'm sure you'll be all set."
"Most likely."
They stopped at the elevator and Elsie waved to Cora, who was walking by and heading around the corner toward Robert's office.
"They're here late," Charles observed.
"Update for the investors is due tomorrow," Elsie informed him. "Robert asked for my help, but thankfully Cora intervened and convinced him they could do it on their own. I've given them all the figures anyhow."
The carriage arrived then, the bell cutting off any answer Charles would have had.
"Get some rest, Els," he advised, stepping into the elevator, and she smiled softly.
"All right. 'Night."
The doors closed before him, and Elsie stood there staring at them for a moment before returning to her office.
She stopped short as she turned the corner and saw Cora, who had evidently not gone into Robert's office at all. Elsie was taken aback at the way Cora was looking at her: curiously, she supposed, as if Cora were trying to piece something together. It made Elsie uncomfortable; wary, even.
"Cora? Did you need something? I was about to head home for the evening, but if you and Robert need help, I'm happy to stay."
"No," Cora replied quietly, her voice sounding far away, as though she were contemplating something. "Elsie? May I ask you something?"
Elsie swallowed slowly. "Of course."
"You and Charles," Cora said softly. "Is there anything …"
Elsie furrowed her eyebrows. "Anything what, Cora?"
"Between you," Cora added in a whisper.
"I'm sorry?"
"It's just … well ... you seem closer lately. More like you always used to be, really. And I thought, just now …" Cora closed her eyes and shook her head, frustrated with her lack of clarity. "Oh, never mind."
Elsie rolled her eyes and gave half a laugh. "Never mind? You've got to be kidding."
She glanced around, making sure no one was eavesdropping.
"You can't just drop that at my feet and then give me a 'never mind,'" she scoffed.
Cora just stared at her contemplatively, which only frustrated Elsie more.
"Well, the the answer to your question is an emphatic no, Cora," Elsie whispered. "He's married, for Christ's sake! And we've spent years not even speaking!"
"I know," Cora said calmly, "but you've also spent the last few weeks speaking a great deal more than I'd have expected."
Elsie drew her lip underneath her teeth, not quite sure how to respond.
"We work together," she said eventually. "In case you had forgotten, that's Robert's fault - and, I daresay, yours. Because while I'm quite sure that bringing Charles in on this project was Violet and Robert's idea, I'm also sure that bringing me in was yours."
Cora looked away, guilty, which was all the confirmation Elsie needed.
"Right. And so it's really in everyone's best interests that we get along, because here we all are," Elsie continued, gesturing wildly at the surrounding office area. "Charlie and I have managed to get past our - well, our past - and now that we have, you're insinuating that … what? That my motives aren't pure? That his aren't?"
"No!" Cora shook her head, sighing exasperatedly and rolling her eyes. "I'm just worried for you, Elsie. I mean, he is -" But she stopped speaking. She knew that Charles and Alice were still keeping their divorce under wraps, and it wasn't her place to tell.
"'He is' ... what, exactly?"
"Married," Cora finished weakly, "as you've just said. And you know how the press are. Just … be careful."
"We work together!" Elsie was nearly shouting now, and she cursed herself for allowing her emotions to get the better of her. Lowering her voice again, she added, "How are we supposed to avoid being together? It's idiotic! I worked in Robert's office the other day," she added, now a bit red in the face from both embarrassment and anger, "and we had the door closed! Heavens, what must that have looked like?"
"That's different," Cora said calmly.
"How?"
Cora looked down at her shoes for a moment, then back at Elsie.
"Because Charles called you 'Els' back there," she said quietly, "and you called him 'Charlie.' And that's quite different, to anyone who knows you, than what either you or Charles would call simply a collegial relationship. For heaven's sake, if it weren't for Robert's insistence on everyone being on a first-name basis, you'd likely be calling one another Mr. Carson and Ms. Hughes."
Elsie flushed hotly; she'd been completely unaware of how their nicknames must sound to everyone else … they'd just kind of slipped back into how she and Charles interacted with one another.
"It speaks to a familiarity you've not had in a long time," Cora added. "That's all. Just … I love you both, but please … be careful."
"Cora," Elsie said steadily, "there is nothing to be careful of because nothing of … of that sort is going on."
"Even if you wish it were?" Cora pressed.
Elsie threw her hands up in frustration. "I give up!" She turned and stormed back to her office, but Cora trailed closely behind.
"I'm going home," Elsie announced, her back to her friend as she packed her briefcase.
"I'm sorry if I overstepped," Cora said, closing Elsie's office door behind herself. "But from the beginning, this project has been nothing but trouble."
Elsie turned to face her. She leaned against her desk and crossed her arms over her chest.
"My family has been at one another's throats," Cora confided, and Elsie heard a catch in her voice. "Charles has had to work with Mary and scold her about her laziness and about the fact that she seems to have forgotten how to even act, Violet can't keep her damned hands out of anything despite having promised to do so, and we have that frigging reporter showing up everywhere. I just -"
But Elsie cut her off. "Wait. The reporter? The one who showed up at John and Anna's?"
Cora nodded.
"He's been back around?"
"Yes."
"How the hell did I not know about this?" she asked, but Cora just shrugged. "Where was he this time?"
"He showed up at the hospital, snapping pictures of Sybil and Tom as he was escorting her home from her shift last week," Cora said. "Isobel reported the guy to the police, but she didn't get his plate number, so couldn't prove he was Carlisle's man. But the press aren't supposed to be at hospitals and such, because of the privacy issues with all the patients."
Elsie nodded.
"He was at a restaurant last week where Charles and Alice were having lunch," she added, "and Charles thinks he spotted the guy at the grocery store, of all places. He was with some woman that time."
"What the hell?" Elsie murmured, mystified. "But he's not taken any pictures, other than at the hospital?"
The question stopped Cora in her tracks. "No," she said thoughtfully, "now that you mention it, I don't think he has. Oh, wait - Charles said he took a few of Alice."
"Well, that's not unusual," Elsie replied, her eyebrows high. "But it begs the question: What, exactly, is this 'reporter' actually doing?"
Cora shook her head. "I have no idea."
Would love to know what you think! Send me your suspicions, questions, concerns, etc. I love reading them! xx
