They rode for quite some time, while talking about the things they saw on their way there. Nothing too deep, just some casual chit chat, sprinkled with a lot of teasing. Tommy told her where he came from, the Blackpatch. He told her how the life of a gypsy is different from the life of a commoner. All fascinating stuff in the eyes of Vivian, but almost anything sounds fascinating to her, as long as it is from the mouth of the man sitting next to her.
Eventually Thomas stops the wagon next to a little creek. The place has an absolutely stunning view over a meadow. Vivian steps out and lets her eyes glide over the landscape, "wow.." Thomas comes standing next to her, "It's something isn't it?" She laughs at the understatement, "It's absolutely stunning, thank you for taking me here." All he gives is a slight nod, before he puts on a cigarette. She accepts the one he offers her again as he leads the way. They walk through some trees and bushes, until they are right next to the creek. She sees he's been here before, since there is a still smoldering fire and he even bothered to put down a blanket.
While she was still taking in her surroundings, Thomas started the fire again and placed himself on the blanket next to it. She stared at him, perhaps a bit too long, because he clearly noticed. She's just thinking to herself, how out of place this man seems here. He's sitting here in a suit that is probably more expensive than the wagon they came in here with. Though, it's only his appearance that's out of place. He seems at home here, more than he seems at home in his mansion.
After the staring got a bit too long for Thomas' liking, he patted the blanket next to him, as to invite her on the ground. She dropped down, quickly adverting her eyes to anywhere but him. And now they sat there for a while in silence. She's actually starting to feel a bit awkward, she wants to get to know the man, but where to start? Thomas on the other hand looks calmer than he ever was. And he actually feels calm, he had so much nerves before, but now it is just right. Perhaps it's the smell of the earth around him that keeps him grounded.
She starts to talk about anything she sees on the ground, a little beetle, moss, a stone. He notices how tensed she is, or more how she'd rather have conversation than sit in silence. Thomas lets her speak and when it is silent again he throws in his own topic. "You try to hide your accent." Her eyes get a bit bigger and as if it is a trigger, her cheeks flush. She forgot just how straightforward this man can be. "Oh my.. is it that bad? I-"
Thomas chuckles a bit, "No, no you're fine."
She puts her hand to face as to hide her embarrassment. "I just think it's such an awful accent. So I try to make it a bit less noticeable." She rolls her eyes knowing how stupid it sounds, especially to a man who doesn't seem to get embarrassed by anything.
He thinks it's cute, her being so worked up over it. It's not even a very noticeable accent, he honestly just wants to talk about her origins.
Tommy decides to let in a silence before he continues: "You sound a lot like those Flemish soldiers I met in France." She seems to think about that for a second, "I suppose the Flemish sound quite the same as the Dutch."
Thomas nods his head, "I've never met any Dutch back there, though."
"Well, we weren't really involved in the war." Meanwhile she started drawing in the sand with a little stick, to keep her hands occupied.
Here we go, the war talk. You can't ignore the topic of war, especially when talking to a Brit. Or so Vivian believes.
Thomas looks her straight in the eyes, "You were though."
She blinks a couple of times, before she gives a timid 'yes'. After both having finished their cigarettes for a while now, he offers another to her and to himself. The topic of war requires a cigarette, or so Thomas believes. He does not really know where he's going with these questions, all he knows is, that he is intrigued in finding out her secrets. Perhaps most of all he wants to know what it is about her that makes his head spin, that makes him feel seventeen again. He went out of his way today, to make this a good day, for Vivian. He never did something like that for Lizzie. He did for Grace.. right?
"Right" Tommy mumbles as he stands up, making Vivian wondering what he was up to. He walks towards a fallen tree trunk and behind it he grabs a big basket, neatly covered with a plaid blanket. "I've had the kitchen make a picnic basket for this afternoon, I thought you would appreciate some good food.. and some good whiskey." She seems to beam from this sudden pleasant surprise. "Oh my God, you thought about everything!" She helps him unpack the basket. There were scones, different sorts of sandwiches, fruit, and even two slices of applepie. The first thing Tommy went for though, was the whiskey. He offers her a glass which she accepts, accompanied with a scone plus some strawberry jam.
"Right, so.. how did a Dutch girl end up in a place like this?" Tommy throws it in as if it is a very casual question, but seeing her reaction he figured this is the key to unraveling at least some part of the mystery that is Vivian. Vivian already had a feeling where this conversation would go to, but she was sure he didn't mean any harm with it. He just wanted to get to know her.
"Well my father is a Brit actually, born and raised in Birmingham. He married my mother, who's Dutch, and they settled in the Netherlands." Meanwhile Vivian takes a sip of her whiskey, she can feel its substance burning in her throat hoping for it to make the coming words easier to say. "When the... war started, we moved back to England. Pops said it was his moral duty to serve for his country." Thomas scoffs lightly as he takes a tug from his cigarette. "And you felt the same way?" Thomas asks carefully as to not put any judgment on the question, though by her way of saying it he could figure out she found it stupid as well.
She sighs, "I used to... I wanted to fight as well, of course they wouldn't let me. So I volunteered for the next closest thing, which was being a nurse." Thomas nods, he got tricked as well back in the day. Thinking it was his duty to serve, he even fucking volunteered for it. "And what'd you say now?"
"Now.. now I say fuck'em." She laughs.
Thomas chuckles, "I'd drink to that." He says as he raises his glass. This easiness of Thomas actually makes Vivian a bit more on ease. He seems to look at the whole ordeal in a stoic sense. She also raises her glass.
After they both had a few bites to eat, Thomas continues his line of questions. "Where were you situated?" He can see her smile slowly fade away. Should he not ask her? If she minds she would say it right? "Flanders, and Versailles.." Tommy nods, "the Somme?" She nods as well, "I did most of my work there." Tommy is trying to stay emotionless through it all, but he did just hear she served at the same battle as he did. There's a silence, they both take in the change of subject. The Somme.. some would call it hell on earth, and Tommy would wholeheartedly agree.
"Were you.. at the Somme?" Vivian asks hesitantly. He looks at her and nods his head, too scared his voice might crack. He pours another whiskey, mostly to keep himself calm. Vivian notices his sudden change in demeanor and didn't ask any further, she didn't have to though, Thomas continues himself: "I was a claykicker, in 17-" She finishes his sentence, "-9.." He can see the bewilderment in her eyes, does she know them? "179.. You.. you blew up Schwabenhöhe." He raises his eyebrows, she does know..
Instinctively she puts her hand on his hand, "I worked at the CCS closeby. We were situated in that church in Ollivers-la-Boiselle. We helped a lot of you 179th boys." Thomas can't believe his ears, he knows exactly what church she was talking about. This is the first time Vivian can clearly read his face, he is as shocked as she is. "Perhaps we met before, Thomas, back in France." He takes a tug from his cigarette to regain some composure. He thought about it for a second and then slowly shakes his head, "I don't think so.." he looks her in the eyes, "I would have remembered your face." And there it is again, her cheeks flushing red, she puts a strand of hair behind her ear.
It was flirtatious sure, but Thomas was dead serious. He just knows he could not have forgotten her face if he had ever seen her before. It's silent again, which gives Vivian room to think about her next words. She never talked about this, but this seems like the right moment and the right company. "You know.." Thomas looks at her, waiting for her words, "I still remember one of the 179th I helped. A young boy. His last name was Webster." This makes Thomas jump up, "Joe Webster?" She scoffs in bewilderment, what a small world. "Yes, I believe so."
Thomas stands up and turns around, perhaps to hide his emotions. He looks out over the creek. He always wondered what happened to Joe. Such a young kid, never wanted to be a tunneler. "What happened to him?" She can hear his voice crack. She stands up as well now. "He.. he was badly injured." Thomas drops his head, just as he was afraid of. "I tried to help him.. but he passed." Even her voice is starting to shake now. "He died peacefully though, I gave him morphine... He asked me to sing him a song. I only knew two English songs by then, so I just sang him the first thing that came to my head." Is she trying to console him, or herself?
Thomas turns around, slowly nodding. Perhaps he didn't want to know the answer, but he had to ask. "What'd you sing to him?" He asked. Vivian doesn't know why that would matter. "Black velvet band" she responded. He looks up at the sky as he turns around again. What are the fucking chances? The same song Grace took his heart with, was sung for his comrade when he left this fucking world. He actually chuckles a bit as he pinches the bridge of his nose. Life is full of irony, isn't it? Vivian more confused than before asks him what's wrong. He doesn't respond for a second. But then he asks: "Could you.. could you sing it for me?"
She's a bit taken aback by his request, but seeing him dropping his walls, even if it is only slightly, makes her accept his request. He places himself against the fallen tree as she sings the song that moved him so much years ago. Her voice is like that of an angel. He can hear another voice through the singing, it rings in his head, 'I warn you, I'll break your heart'. 'Hmm, that you did," Thomas thinks to himself.