Catching Attention
PART TWO

"A son?" Bess asked in a whisper. "How could they have a son?" She asked, in a rather distressed voice. This might not be so bad…She murmured, glancing over at him. He looked almost just like his father.

"So, so nice to meet you, Daemon." Laurie stepped forward and shook hands with the tall boy that was now standing by his father.

"Mr. Laurence." Daemon returned the greeting and tipped his hat toward Amy and Bess, smiling at Bess.

Bess swallowed, still taking it all in. Amy nudged Bess gently with her elbow. "Uh, oh, Daemon. So nice to meet you." She forced a smile.

He lifted his right brow before tipping his head toward her. "Elizabeth."

I wish they'd stop calling me that! It's making me nervous. Bess thought, touching her cold cheek with her gloved hand. But he's not bad looking…

~*~

Bess looked away, and rolled her eyes. They had stopped at the hotel tearoom for a short lunch but were still there after two and half-hours. Sighing, Bess looked down at her empty soup bowl, tracing circles on the cloth napkin.

She was bored – bored to death. All Daemon had talked about since they had been seated was about his house, and the fabulous games of croquet he played. He was polite, but sometimes his talk was terribly…Boring.

"I've never played croquet before, but it sounds rather dull." She commented bluntly, hoping he would take the hint and change to another subject.

He didn't.

"This one tournament in particular…I scored the winning…" On and on he bragged.

There go my plans for going back to Plumfield. I had a hard enough time convincing them to let me go back when it was just Mrs. and Mrs. Vaughn, but now with Daemon. She grunted silently, and quickly excused herself to the powder room.

"Excuse me Daemon, I'll be right back." Bess scooted back out of her chair, grabbing her handbag and white kid gloves before leaving. She couldn't wait to get away from him.

~*~

"Here goes nothin'!" Nan cried aloud as she pushed herself forward, and swung across the room and then returned to the loft.

"Way to go Nan!" Nat called, echoed by Emil, Tommy, Meyer, Billy and Stuffy.

Feeling quite proud, Nan smiled and pulled her coat back on. "Told ya I could do it." She smirked. When nobody made a rush for the ladder, Nan placed her hands firmly on her hips and glared down at them. "Well, aren't any of ya gonna try it? I did it first like no one else would do and I'm not dead or anythin'." Her eyebrows rose when she said the last sentence.

"I'll do it." Dan offered, climbing the ladder and taking the rope from her hands. Grasping it tightly, he thrust himself forward and swung away and back to the loft as Nan has done.

With a proud smile on his face, Dan handed the rope back to Nan and climbed back down the ladder. "Come on, guys. It's no big deal." Dan shook his head toward the loft, motioning for them to try it.

After a minute's hesitation, Emil agreed to do it. One after another, everyone did it, hooting and laughing, until each person had gone at least four times.

The shouts carried from the barn, reaching Jo who was out gathering another armload of wood. "I wonder what is going…" She said aloud, and started walking towards the barn.

When she got here, Nat was swinging across the room, on a rope hanging from the beam in the middle of ceiling. "What's going on here?" Jo called loudly, catching everyone's attention.

"It's M-Mrs. Jo…" Tommy looked up, eyes wide. They all looked up at her, unsure expressions pasted on their brow.

"Where did you get this swing from? Or rather rope, and how did you tie it up there?" She inquired, intending to know how this all came about.

"Um…Well, we were done with our evenin' chores, and didn't have anythin' to do, so Nick made us…I mean…" Nan's eyes were wide. "W-we made us…Um, a, er, we tied up the rope and made a swing." She finished finally, swallowing.

Jo raised a brow, not saying a word.

"Mommy, mommy! Come try it!" Rob appeared beside Jo grabbing her hand and pulling her over to the ladder.

"No, I don't think so…It wouldn't be…" Jo let her sentence fall as she gazed up at the swing. Just like something Meg, Amy, Beth and I would do…

"Awe, come on Mrs. Jo. Don't you like to swing?" Tommy asked, smiling mischievously.

"It's not that I don't like to swing, it's just that I don't think it would necessarily be proper for me…to…do it. I mean, I just don't think…" She had a hard time finding the exact words she wanted to use.

"We don't care if it's not proper. It's just us, and we're only in a barn." Nan shrugged, assuring Jo.

"Nan," Jo eyed the girl feeling rather flustered. Looking back up at the swing, she tipped her head. "Well, I don't know…"

~*~

"You have a beautiful house, Theodore." Freddie Vaughn commented, gazing up at the painting over the fireplace. "

Thank you, Fred." Laurie smiled then shifted to the other foot. He was enjoying his visit with Fred okay, and Amy seemed to be thoroughly enjoyed Victoria, but he wasn't so sure about Bess…

Amy pointed to another dish and explained how she got it.

"Oh Amy, you have some beautiful pieces." Victoria gushed sincerely. "What about this one?" She smiled as she caught site of a white china plate with little pink rosebuds and green leaves.

Bess raised a brow, and sighed again. "Isn't that just fascinating," she fibbed smiling politely at one of his comments. Don't judge this book by its cover. He may be nice looking, but you may be in for a surprise.

"Elizabeth? Elizabeth?" Daemon was tapping her hand furiously, staring at her.

"Oh, uh yes, Daemon? Sorry about that."

"Do you paint?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do. Quite well." She replied a bit smugly.

"Is that your painting?" He pointed to the painting of the little dog wagging his tail, smiling. It looked more like a brown log with branches sticking out every which way.

"Y-yes, that is mine."

"And you say you paint well?" Daemon eyed her, smiling, as though she had just told him a lie.

"I painted that when I was six." Bess defended, miffed by his comment. "Not everyone is born knowing how to paint like a professional, as you seem to think." She snapped rudely.

Daemon rubbed his chin, looking at the painting thoughtfully.

"Yes, I suppose you're right. Some are more talented then others. I guess those who are less fortunate just can't help themselves." He smiled, noticing the look that passed across her face.

Bess covered her mouth just in time to muffle a 'most unladylike' snort. She couldn't believe him! And to think he was going to be here for a week…