25 Days of Klaroline + Regency

Can't Buy Me Love

In a society that is driven by class and status, Coachman Klaus Mikaelson is finding it increasingly difficult to resist the newly arrived Caroline Forbes from America.

This is dedicated to the wonderful Ashlee Bree - austennerdita2533 - who writes me the most lovely and detailed reviews (that always make me smile) and is just an all-around fantastic person to talk to about anything : )

This is my first Regency drabble (eeek) and it kind of descended into fluffy mush complete with stubborn, vulnerable Klaus so hope you like that!

Bath, Somerset UK 1821

August

"What would your mother think if she saw you carrying on like that," he joked, watching from the corner of his eye as her white dress billowed in the breeze. She stopped spinning around in a circle barefoot and turned to face him. A few stray, blonde locks had come loose from her bun and her face was tinged pink with excitement. She'd never looked more beautiful in his opinion, not that he'd ever say it aloud of course.

"Why? Are you going to tell her?" She asked, cocking her left eyebrow slyly. Always so argumentative but that was one of the many things he liked about her.

"That would be rather difficult considering she is thousands of miles away in America," he replied. "I'd tell your friend but knowing Miss Pierce, she'd encourage such behaviour."

"Something that your brother can attest to, I'm sure," she smiled knowingly, her gaze falling on the couple immersed in themselves on the nearby lawns.

Klaus frowned at her inference. Not only was their union secret, it was secret for a very good reason. Their people didn't consort with his and footman Elijah was a blind fool if he thought otherwise. Klaus had done everything he could to convince his brother of that fact but he'd been unmoved and obstinate. It was obvious that Katherine Pierce had woven a spell on him. "Why must you frown like that?"

He broke out of his trance, swivelling around to face her. Klaus was fairly certain Caroline could weave a few spells herself but he had no intention of falling into that trap even if she was the most gorgeous woman he'd ever beheld.

"Well, I'm trying to sketch but you won't sit still long enough for me to capture your likeness." She moved towards him and leaned in, attempting to see over his shoulder just as Klaus pulled his book away. He knew she could never see those drawings; he was too afraid that she'd see straight through him and his burgeoning feelings for her.

"Can I see it?" She whined.

"No."

"Why won't you ever let me see your drawings? Given I'm the subject it's the least I deserve," she pouted, crossing her arms over her chest.

"We really should get going before your guardian notices your absence," he murmured, changing the subject and closing the sketchbook so it was far away from her prying eyes. He was also becoming increasingly nervous due to her close proximity and her heavenly floral scent that was infiltrating his nostrils without permission.

"Can't we stay a little longer? It is such a beautiful day," she pleaded.

"We're already taking a big risk so those two can see each other in secret," he growled, his anger threatening to boil over.

"It's fine, Mrs Elliott thinks Katherine and I are shopping and that you are dutifully helping us with our errands," she explained. "If you ask me this is definitely more fun than any of that, even if you won't show me your drawings." Klaus shook his head thinking just how different she was to most girls of similar social status.

"Someday," he promised, knowing that someday would probably never come. "But for now we need to leave, so can you please hurry them along?"

"Why do you resent their relationship so much?"

"Because it's not real, it's pointless."

"But they are in love."

"That doesn't matter," he muttered. "It's not going anywhere, it can't. Surely you can see that?"

"So, what you're saying is that any relationship between different classes of people is impossible, that we're all just supposed to stick with our own kind?"

"Yes, m' Lady."

"Don't you dare! How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that," she huffed. "I'm not nobility."

"Not yet," Klaus murmured, knowing it wouldn't be long given the amount of male attention she'd been attracting in Bath. "Your mother sent you over here with the express desire that you and your cousin would take husbands of noble birth."

"What if I don't want someone of noble birth?" She growled. "My choice of husband will not be based on fortune or a title, it will be for love."

"Well, as honourable as that sounds Miss Forbes, your mother and guardian don't see things that way."

"I will not be forced into a loveless marriage. I would rather be in love and poor than commit myself to a life like that."

"I would very much like to see the choice you make when you find a man whose love can conquer all of those practical considerations."

"What if I have? What if he is sitting next to me right at this very moment?" She whispered, her gaze now trained firmly on the grass. It was practically a profession of love, one that Klaus had never entertained nor expected from her. But he wouldn't let her ruin her life like that, Klaus wouldn't let himself.

"Caroline," he rasped, only registering the informality of his address after he'd uttered her name.

"So, you've never considered..." she trailed off shyly shifting her gaze to meet his, her hopeful expression causing his chest to constrict painfully. Of course he had considered it. He'd considered it every single day since he first laid eyes on Caroline Forbes and had been deeply conflicted ever since.

April - 4 months earlier

"My face hurts from all that fake smiling." Katherine giggled as they made themselves comfortable in their seats.

Klaus shut the door behind them and climbed atop the carriage reaching for the reins and rousing the horses, their hooves clicking on the cobbled path soon after. The girls had arrived in Bath earlier in the week and a flurry of events had been planned to mark their introduction into local society.

"Well, when you are being paid that many compliments, it's hardly surprising, Katherine. If someone told me how handsome I was one more time." Klaus couldn't help himself chuckling under his breath. Most society women would bask in all of that attention, not run from it.

"And what do you think is so amusing?" She asked, leaning forward in the carriage.

Obviously he wasn't as discreet as he thought or someone was actually aware of his existence for a change. Usually their kind weren't interested in what he had to say and generally ignored him, except to give orders. The one thing he did know about Caroline Forbes was that she wasn't like most people he knew.

She and her cousin, Katherine Pierce, had travelled to England from America and were staying with their guardian and a friend of their family, Mrs Mary Elliott in Bath. Klaus had been working in her employ for three years now and had been witness to all the excitement about her impending house guests many months before their arrival.

What he wasn't expecting was to be completely overwhelmed by the bubbly blonde that had the ability to make him smile like a fool. If you asked his brother Elijah that was one mean feat.

"Don't you like compliments m' lady?"

"I'm just not used to having so many," she replied. "It's all rather overwhelming all at once."

"Don't American men have any manners?" He asked, thinking he probably should stay quiet but she intrigued him immensely and he loved the melodic sound of her voice.

"Are you writing a book or something?"

"Yes, actually I am. It's a woman's guide to courting in the nineteenth century. I'm identifying the different types of men so they know who to entertain and who to avoid." He heard Katherine laugh at his silly answer; the blonde however was silent, obviously thinking about her response.

"So what kind of man are you then?" She pushed.

"I most certainly have a limit on compliments, you don't want to come across too eager, after all."

"No, we couldn't have that now, could we?" Caroline said and even though he couldn't see her face, Klaus knew she was smiling.

August

"No, I haven't," Klaus lied, attempting to push her and all of the memories she'd evoked away. "I'm going to prepare the carriage while you collect Lady Katherine and tell that brother of mine to get lost."

Caroline had been unusually quiet on the ride home, something that Klaus was actually glad for given his current mood and the helplessness he felt at their situation. Cutting their conversation short had been difficult but the sooner Caroline realised it was impossible and moved on the better. If only his brother could realise the same thing.

Once he'd returned to the stables, Klaus went through his usual routine of untethering the horses, washing them down thoroughly and placing them in their stalls for the night. For Klaus it was his favourite part of the day when he could be alone with the horses in peace and finish his latest drawing of her. Before he could get back to his sketchpad, Klaus noticed a faulty latch on one of the stalls he needed to fix, not expecting to slip and cut his hand in the process, the blood beginning to gush from the wound. He looked around for the nearest cloth to absorb the bleeding.

"Klaus," he heard her voice before he saw her, silently cursing her timing.

"Is there something you need?" He asked, wincing from the pain.

"I want to discuss our conversation earlier," she began, finally coming into view. Her unexpected appearance in formal, dinner attire causing him to stir even with the pain shooting from his hand.

"You should be in your bed chambers at this late hour, Miss Forbes," Klaus hissed, his eyes focused on the floor to try and regain some composure.

"I couldn't sleep and I wanted to speak to you about earlier. Frankly, I don't think it's fair that you ended our conversation so abruptly, especially when I know in my heart that you feel..." she rambled, walking towards him noticing his open wound laid flat on the table. "Oh my, what did you do to yourself?"

"It's nothing," Klaus replied, gruffly.

"That's not nothing, Klaus," she shot back, madly searching the surrounding shelves for a cloth as he'd done only moments earlier. Klaus figured arguing with her was futile at this point.

She located what she was looking for and advanced towards him, her arms outstretched. The blood was spilling onto the stable floor by now and as much as Klaus wanted to refuse her assistance he knew she would persist anyway. "Give me your hand."

Klaus held it out hesitantly like a wounded animal, afraid of what the touch of her bare skin would do to his already fragile resolve. He'd always kept as much distance as possible but now he had no choice, he was going to touch that creamy skin he'd only felt sporadically through gloves when he was helping her into the carriage.

As soon as her soft skin met his, Klaus felt every emotion that he'd tried to bury return as well as a foreign but not unwelcome tingling through his body. She busied herself, wrapping the cloth firmly around his hand to stop the bleeding then left to seek out some water to soak and clean the wound afterwards. She had been gone a while and Klaus hoped that she'd come to her senses and gone to her bed. He closed his eyes trying to block out the vision of her spread out in only her sleepwear, those golden waves flowing freely across the pillow. How was he going to finally rid himself of these unhelpful fantasies?

"Your pictures, they're so beautiful," he heard her murmur, cursing himself inwardly for leaving them out in the open for her to discover. It was his biggest fear after all.

"I…" he replied, unable to form words. She looked exquisite clutching his sketches to her bosom in the dim light of the nearby lamp. "You weren't supposed to see those."

"You did say someday," she whispered. "Why can't someday be today?"

"It would be best if you left. What would Mrs Elliott say if she knew you were here with me, alone?"

"Why do you do that?" She enquired. "Why do you change the subject and push me away when things become too serious?"

"It is for the best, Miss Forbes," Klaus responded, trying to place some formality between them.

"Don't Miss Forbes me," she growled. "Today, for the first time you uttered my name and it sounded so beautiful on your lips. I can't go back to that false formality when everything inside me burns for you and your touch."

"I shouldn't have done that," he uttered, feebly. "It was a mistake."

"No, it wasn't," she pressed. "It gave me a small glimmer of hope that you felt the same way and now after seeing these sketches I know it's true."

"We can't…"

"If that's true, if that's what you truly feel then tell me you don't love me and I'll never bother you again," she challenged.

Klaus felt the familiar tightening in his chest. He'd tried so hard to mask his feelings but with that one line she'd threatened to tear down the barriers he'd built. It should have been easy, but Klaus found himself struggling to lie. She regarded him curiously and he averted his gaze hoping that if he wasn't looking at her then he could send her away for good.

"Klaus," she whispered, closing the distance between them. He looked up helplessly as her hand found his face, cupping his cheek. Those clear, blue eyes he'd drawn so many times begging him to reciprocate her feelings.

"I can't say it," he faltered, still unable to confess his love. "But I also can't let you ruin your life with someone like me."

"I didn't know what real living was until I came to Somerset, until I met you," she admitted, tears brimming in her eyes, threatening to fall. "I was dead inside, but you've made me feel alive. You've made me feel excited about the future and what it holds. I never wanted the boring, cold and predictable lives my parents have; I want happiness, adventure and love. I want that with you, Klaus."

If Klaus felt constricted before her concession he felt completely breathless now. She loved him and she wanted to be with him. Klaus Mikaelson, the lowly coachman. He couldn't deny her any longer, especially when she'd bared her feelings in such a beautiful way.

"I love you, Caroline," he conceded, watching her smile grow and those unshed tears slowly roll down her creamy cheeks. "I always have, I've just been…"

"Stubborn?" She chuckled.

"Possibly," he teased, rubbing his thumb across her cheek to wipe away her stray tears. "But you were never going to give up, were you?"

"I pride myself on my unabashed persistence," she joked. "I don't give up on what I want easily."

"So now that you have me, what else do you want?"

"A kiss from those beautiful, crimson lips that have been hypnotising me since we first met."

"You are a very forward lady, Caroline Forbes."

"Are you complaining?" She asked, furrowing her brows critically in his direction.

"I will kiss you but that is all," he promised, watching her frown in confusion. "Until we go to your parents in America and I ask them for your hand in marriage. I don't want you to be estranged from your family and I will do everything in my power to prove to them that I will make a good husband."

She didn't respond just leaned in closer, rubbing her nose against his affectionately as he inhaled that familiar scent of jasmine and vanilla. Klaus had dreamt of this moment for months but now it was real he wasn't going to waste it capturing his lips with hers.

The kiss began slowly at first as Klaus explored her lips that were even softer than he'd imagined and tasted like a mixture of sugar and strawberries. Klaus traced his tongue across her lower lip begging for entry, Caroline moaning softly against him, parting her lips and allowing him inside to discover her sweet warmth. He was losing himself in their kisses as they becoming faster and more intense with each and every stroke. Everything inside Klaus felt like it was on fire, the burgeoning desire he felt stirring against the confines of his trousers. He knew if he didn't stop soon he couldn't be responsible for his subsequent actions.

He pulled away reluctantly, their ragged breathing the only sounds in the stable. Klaus knew the wide grin on her face was an exact replica of the one etched on his.

"Who knew you were such a gentleman, Klaus Mikaelson?" She teased. The residual lust coursing through his body was telling Klaus he wasn't quite as pure as that.

"Not always," he growled, thinking about just how much he wanted to ravage her senseless on their wedding night. However Klaus knew if there was anyone he was willing to wait for, it was her. His Caroline.