+ introduction +
I sat in the carriage, being the only girl left to be dropped off in the city today. Only 3 of us chose to leave boarding this weekend, the rest choosing to stay at the school, which I would normally do most of the time. We could chose if we wanted to return home for the weekends or not, which I normally wouldn't do, because it was much more stressful having to answer all my mothers questions than it was just choosing to stay at boarding. Quite a few of the girls chose to return home, which left me and a few others trying to make conversation over Saturday morning breakfast.
Today however was different, the carriage pulling to a stop outside a tall apartment building, the cold stone contrasting over the hue that the city of Sydney held. I waited for the driver to open the door of the carriage, taking his hand as I held my large skirt in one hand, swiftly making my way onto the pavement with a heavy sigh. "I'll get your bag miss" he said to me quickly as he went to the back of the carriage to retrieve my case for me, which was full of everything except a pair of pants, or the matron at the boarding house would probably smother me in my sleep.
The glass door opened from the apartment building, the concierge in full tails and top hat walking out with his white gloved hands clasped in front of him as approached me. "Miss Prewett, your parents didn't say you were staying this weekend" he told me with a smile as I nodded my head, thanking the carriage driver who set my bag down by my side quickly before saying goodbye. "Surprise visit for my brother" I explained, nodding my head as I clasped my hands in front of me, my jacket constricting the movement of my arms as the man let out a small sigh of understanding. "It's his birthday soon" I added quickly, which wasn't actually a lie.
"That's very nice of you" he said as he motioned down to my bag with his hand, looking back up at me quickly. "May I take your bag for you?" he asked as I simply shook my head at him, bending my knees as I picked it up in my hand swiftly. "No, no, I should be perfectly fine" I told him as he nodded, leading me into the building as he held the door open for me, allowing me to make my way up the marble stairs while he took his seat behind the reception desk once again.
I climbed up the stairs, which was quite difficult considering the weight of my suitcase and the fact my skirt barely let me take a step up a curb too quickly. I finally made it to the right floor, the pristine white door being the only door on the landing, as the apartments in this building took up the whole floor, and were probably the size of a small house. I clicked my knuckles on the door as I let out a heavy sigh, awaiting a response as I clutched my suitcase with both hands. The door finally opened, revealing my older brother Tom on the other side, his tie loosened and his waistcoat unbuttoned as his eyes fell onto me in confusion.
"Hello" I said with a smile as I pushed past Tom, setting my suitcase down on the ground as I pulled my hat off of my head, letting out a heavy sigh. I placed my hands on my corset, shaking my head to try and remove my hair from my sticky forehead, crazily out of breath from the amount of marble stairs I had just climbed. "Do our parents know you're here?" Tom asked as he closed the door, looking at me with a raised eyebrow as he pushed his hands into his pockets, looking at me disapprovingly.
I tilted my head back at him, a smile on my face as I took in a deep breath, still way too tired from the many flights of stairs i had just made my way up. "I don't think you need an answer to that question do you?" I said to him as he let out a sigh, moving past me as he went to sit on the couch, my hands going back to my suitcase as I heaved it up once again. "What did you tell them?" he asked me as I struggled to carry it through the flat, basically dragging it into the spare bedroom, dropping it onto the intricate rug as I let out a sigh.
"That I was staying at boarding this weekend" I shouted back to him, unbuckling it as fast as I could to pull out a thin skirt, which I hadn't been able to wear for weeks now, having worn the big ones with thousands of layers the school liked us to wear. "And what exactly did you tell boarding?" Tom followed up as I set my hand on the door frame, swinging out of the room to look over at him with a smirk on my face. "That I was going home for the weekend" I replied before moving back into the room, my hands unbuttoning the jacket I was wearing, which was suffocating me more than my corset after the carriage right across the city.
"And your plan?" he called out as I threw it onto the bed, reaching around to unclasp my skirt as quickly as I could, catching sight of the clock on the wall that just made my fingers work faster. "To hope that my amazing big brother doesn't tell our parents on me and let's me sleep in the guest bedroom" I said back, holding my breath as I hoped he would go along with my plan, considering I had been thinking about it for the past few weeks. "For a lady you do know how to scheme" Tom said as I very quickly stepped out of my poofy skirt, swiftly pulling my bloomers off with it.
"A very well planned scheme at that" I corrected, grabbing the slimmer skirt as I sat down, pulling it on and fastening it on my waist, pulling the clasp tightly around my formed corset. There was no way I could take it off by myself in such a short amount of time, considering it took 2 people and 10 minutes to put on, it would take me double that time to get out of it. I ran my hands down the slip black skirt as I walked back over to the suitcase, pulling out the matching black jacket as I pushed my arms through it.
"And what am I receiving for keeping your secret?" Tom asked me after having thought about what he could earn from letting me stay over. "My silence" I told him, looking at myself in the mirror as I smoothed out my jacket before buttoning it up quickly, sitting snuggly on my corset to show off my emphasised waist which looked extremely unnatural to me. "On what exactly?" Tom questioned as I grabbed my shoes again and new hat, a black ribbon lining the brim that matched my black outfit, the sleekness of it all pulling together exactly how I thought it would. The fashion here was much different to how it was back in Canada, so while I could wear this here without much worry, I would have been ridiculed back in Avonlea for not wearing a petticoat.
I didn't bother touching my twisted hair, very quickly grabbing my small black clutch as I walked out into the living room, a smug look on my face. "A certain Prissy Andrews joining you in a month" I told him as I went to sit next to him on the couch, slipping my feet into my shoes. "She told you?" Tom asked quickly without even missing a beat, his face turning a shade of pink as I let out a laugh, nodding my head while fishing my lipstick from within my bag, swiping it onto my lips quickly.
"Obviously" I replied simply with a small shrug, surprised that he thought she would have kept something so big from me. "She's just visiting, she said she wanted to see the world" Tom stuttered, desperately trying to think of an excuse as I let out a laugh, nodding my head at him as I looked over with a raised eyebrow. "Through your bedroom window" I added for him as Tom almost chocked on nothing big air, looking over at me as I laughed, shaking my head at him. "Kate" he snapped as I stood up, shaking my head as I grabbed my hat quickly, putting it on the top of my head as I held my bag under my arm.
"I'm leaving calm down" I told him, walking around the couch as I made my way back to the door. "I will see you after dinner" I called out before leaving swiftly, having made it in and out in less than 10 minutes, which was exactly my plan. I ran down the stairs quickly, my shoes clapping against them quickly as I made my way into the lobby, seeing them concierge with his head down over something, not paying attention. I very quickly ran out of the door, not particularly wanting an investigation on where I was going.
As soon as I made it out onto the street as I took a left, making my way down the pavement as I dodged people walking, taking a glance as my watch quickly before quickening my pace. My long sleeve skirt flowed around my legs as I hoped down off of the curb, making side there was so carriages as I ran across the cobbled road quickly, making my way across and down a busy street towards the bustle of the city centre.
I took a few turns, alternating on different sides of the sidewalks determined on which had less people on it, taking a quick glance at my watch to find out I was already a little late, my pace quickening a little. I walked down the street that had tall red brick apartments on both sides, small groups of boys passing me with books and stacks of papers tucked under their arms. I smiled as I passed, keeping my eyes down on the ground as I slowed down a little bit, letting them pass me before looking around quickly.
I looked across the street, seeing a body leaning against the brick, right next to the door that led into one of the buildings, a university emblem made from steel stuck to the wall that claimed these buildings as campus buildings. A smile grew onto my face as I crossed the street, making my way over to the person who was leaning against the wall, a paper in their hand as they flipped the pages lazily, scanning to try and find an interesting story. They didn't see my coming as I stood in front of them, scuffing my fit on the floor to announce my arrival, my cheeks hurting from grinning so widely.
"What's the headline?" I asked, not being met with any eye contact as I raised an eyebrow, the newspaper page being flipped over once again with a rustle. "Something about the nation chicken shortage" they replied, the silky Canadian accent meeting me for the first time in weeks, running down my skin like a soothing hot towel. "Sounds exhilarating" I replied, nodding my head slowly in mock interest, clasping my hands around my back which I held in front of me. "It won't be when we run out of chickens" Gilbert Blythe replied to me jokingly as I let out a small laugh, nodding my head as I let out a small breath of happiness.
"Hello" I said to Gilbert as he looked up at me finally, a grin growing on his face as he started folding up the paper he was reading, tilting his hat at me quickly in a welcoming gesture. "Did it work?" he asked me as I nodded my head, holding my hands out on either side of me as if i was showing myself off. "Like a charm" I said with a laugh as Gilbert gave me an impressed look, holding out his hand as I set mines on his, letting him lift my hand to his mouth as he kissed my knuckles gently. "Not very surprising" Gilbert said with a smile as I nodded my head, my smile so wide that my cheeks were hurting, my pride taking over.
"I'm amazing, I know" I said brightly as Gilbert nodded his head, tucking the paper under his arm, his black coat unbuttoned and his shirt ironed crisply. "Ready for dinner?" Gilbert asked me as a carriage went past us, the loud clipping of the horses hooves slapping off of the cobbles street, people walking past us on the sidewalk. "Starving" I replied as Gilbert offered me his arm, which I took happily, allowing him to lead me down the street.
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A/N: welcome to Lady!!
so this book is probably going to be a wild ride - mostly because I have no idea where it's going because I haven't though that far.
i'm not too sure how I feel about writing a book when there's no season to back it up as i'm having to make up the plot by myself which Im not too good at so please bear with me and if you have any ideas dont be afraid to message me with any ideas you have or leave them on the comments I would love that!
thank you for continuing to read Kate and Gilbert's story and I hope that you enjoy it!