The View From Here // freddy honeychurch, a room with a view fanfiction

summer on summer street

"Of course, it seems only fair, Lucy. And I do long to travel," The younger of the two women went back to their previous conversation, "I never imagined Italy would be a place that I would want to visit." Lucy had opened her mouth to reply when Freddy announced their arrival at the Sacred Lake.

Candace examined her surroundings. She found that Lucy was correct: the trees seemed so elegant here, small flowers delicately lined the floor of the forest and the lake, or pond, in the centre of the clearing seemed to make the small open space even more comforting. Water had always had the same effect on her, it made her feel free. She knew that she would be coming back to the Sacred Lake as she had heard Freddy and Lucy refer to it as.

Freddy, George and Lucy watched Candace's reaction to the small section of the English countryside that ultimately brought them together. They each smiled a little differently to one another: George smiled in curiosity at the younger girl, Lucy in humour and Freddy wasn't sure how he felt looking at Candace, but he knew that the warm and fuzzy feeling in the pit of his stomach was new.

"I'll apologise now for the," Freddy began before a pause of thought. "size of the Sacred Lake. It's barely even a pond, now. I'd say it's more of a puddle, but a good puddle nonetheless." Candace chuckled at this, glancing at the body of water at the centre of the clearing. It was true; the once beautiful lake was now more of a shallow pond, covered in plant life.

"When Freddy first brought me here," George spoke, interrupting Candace's train of thought, "he likened it to a salad you could swim in, didn't you?" He turned to face Freddy, giving him a playful shove on the shoulder.

"That wasn't the time when-" Lucy began before erupting into giggles, that ultimately turned into the most contagious laughter Candace had heard in her life. Before she knew it, the younger girl was laughing too, along with the young husband and wife and Freddy. It seemed, though, that only Candace did not know what they were laughing about, she assumed that she would find out soon enough.

"I don't suppose," Candace spoke up after the laughter had died down a bit, "that we could go for a bit more of a walk? As much as it is beautiful here, I do enjoy a nice walk."

"I agree," Freddy said, walking towards Candace holding his arm out for her, which she took. George and Lucy's arms intertwined and they led the younger adults through the wood and talked to each other.

"How do you like Summer Street, Miss Stockwell?" Freddy asked politely, he didn't quite know how to make conversation with women that weren't his relatives that well but with Candace, he found conversation eventually began to flow out of him, a sensation he quite enjoyed.

"It's lovely, especially now warmer months are upon us," Candace mused, glancing around the forest "I do love the summer, don't you Mr Honeychurch?" The girl thought to herself, looking at her surroundings, Freddy and the like, how much she had enjoyed her time at Summer Street, particularly with the Honeychurch family.

"I do enjoy summer but I also like the winter," he stated, before pausing to think. The winter always made him feel cozy, almost like he was recreating the sense of comfort and warmth in the bottom of his stomach when his gaze landed on Candace.

"Candace, Miss Stockwell," he corrected himself, "I do enjoy your company and I feel that the summer gives me an excuse to see you." Freddy cursed internally, he should not have been so forward, he should not have called her by her Christian name, he should not have - his self-analysis was interrupted by a voice he had likened to a bell upon first hearing it.

She spoke calmly, "How very kind of you to say, Freddy, uh, Mr Honeychurch," She corrected herself as he had done before, "I have known you for only a month so I hope that I can see more of you in the months to come. Especially now that you have told me how much you enjoy my company. You'll have to put up with me for much longer." Candace kept a firm grip on Freddy's elbow as she nudged him jovially as George had done at the Sacred Lake. Candace had always preferred to be called by her Christian name, finding Miss Stockwell to be an name too similar to that of a governess or a schoolteacher, not a young woman who reads too many books with no interest of becoming either. She thought to herself, eyes wandering aimlessly to Lucy and George in front of them. She had, however, always hungered for love. When she looked at George and Lucy, and how they interacted with each other, Candace only saw love and tenderness. She felt that, if she were to find love, she would be too childish, too much for anyone to care for, in the same way that George and Lucy cared about each other, at least.

Freddy thought the same of himself. He continued to walk with Candace, glancing slightly down at her occasionally, before facing forwards again. He wandered if anyone like the young woman he walked next to could ever love someone as silly and fun-loving as him. Candace was very much a lover of books, whereas Freddy much preferred tennis or another sport to reading in the sunlight. Ultimately, it was not him nor her that would decide, unless they were to choose with their hearts.

a/n: this is a really cringe chapter but it's also kinda cute so i kinda love it. i wrote this because agh the Freddy feels hit me like a brick