| Details for Fancy Dinner Date |
| Summary: | Gideon had warned that he would occasionally spoil Niamh, and does so when he takes her to the Mayfair for dinner. |
| Date: | 5 October, 1937 |
| Location: | {$location} |
| Related: | Follows Sink or Swim; followed by After Dinner |
| Characters |
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Though not a stranger to Muggle transportation, it never quite feels right to Adamantus Gideon. The way Muggle engines rumble is decidedly different from the sound and sensation of those enchanted to operate on magical principles. Still, lacking accent to any Ministry vehicle, he wanted to bring Niamh to the Mayfair Hotel in class, and a rented limousine was simply the only option. When the car stops, he climbs out first, then holds the door and offers his hand to his companion to help her out onto the sidewalk.
Niamh is resplendent in red, the cut of the dress suited to her, with lace falling all about on the outside. Her hair is up and curled, and she did learn a few things from the makeup artist at Harrod's during her shopping spree. She's.. so very pleased with the idea of riding in style, as it were.. and she will sooooo tell her mum and da all about it. Later.
Upon arriving to the Mayfair, she lays her hand lightly into his and is guided from the limousine. She hasn't been able to stop smiling for the entire ride, and it's in sheer.. joy. Warmth and happiness exude from the Irishwoman; any who would look at her would say that she's a woman in decided 'L'..
"Oh, Adamantus.. this is grand.." she breathes.
Gideon offers his arm, giving her a smile that is subtle, but soft and full of warmth. "You deserve it. I'm told the restaurant here has some of the best Muggle food around." He lifts her hand to kiss it, then guides her into the hotel. After some direction from the concierges, they manage to locate the restaurant itself, where a reservation awaits under the name "A. Gideon."
There's a flush that comes to her cheeks as her hand is lifted and given that gentle, warm kiss, and Niamh looks around quickly, her eyes glittering in pleasure. "It looks as if it does.." and she keeps her voice down. She's very aware that her own accent isn't .. the highest class-sounding thing; something she's aware of, thanks to her da! As they wind and wend their way around, and finally find their way to the restaurant, she can't help the giggles, though she covers them with her free hand. "Ye had this planned, too?" Reservations are.. how long in advance? Her tones are whispered, "Ye really are spoiling me with this.."
"You deserve it," he repeats, holding out her chair for her. The host comes over to place their menus for them, and give them a list of available vintages. "Ah…the '22, I think." Like Gideon knows a thing about wines…but it sounds old and old is good, right? He's not exactly the paragon of class, himself. As the host moves off and he seats himself, Gideon reaches into his jacket, and produces a small box, tied with a ribbon, which he slides across the table to Niamh. Ironically, it bears the Harrod's stamp. "For you."
Old has to be good! Niamh blushes, her cheeks redding more naturally than any rouge could possibly do. What can she say to that response? If she could brighten any more, she would, and graces him with that warm, affectionate smile, and as her chair is slid out for her, she settles in, and the chair is set beneath the table. Taking the napkins, she sets it in her lap and she simply can't keep her eyes off him. So dashing.. and handsome.. and.. for a moment, she's.. stunned. Her face registers surprise, and reaching for it, her hand shakes a little as she takes hold of it. "Ye shouldn't have, Adamantus.. after so much.." She's got it now, and looking from him.. to it.. and back to him, she takes a deep breath and pulls on the ribbon to open it.
When the lid comes off, the contents sparkle in the candlelight: a gold bracelet, styled to look like a wreathe of leaves. He immediately rises to her side to put it on her wrist, lifting her hand for another kiss. "I wanted you to have something to remind you of our trip together."
Nia's breath catches in her throat, and it takes a moment for her to remember to breathe, hazel eyes wide. For a few long heartbeats, she's stunned, and she simply can't take her eyes off him as he rises to come beside her to place it upon her wrist. She blushes at the kiss, but she doesn't look around, no.. she's drinking in those blue eyes of his. "I couldn't ever forget the trip.. never t'my dyin' day. I could be old an' grey, an' my grans would have t'hear the story again.." But, the proper thing to say is.. "Thank ye.. so very beautiful.." And for an herbalist? It truly is perfect. "So thoughtful an' so perfect."
(New BB message (9/3) posted to 'Vacation' by Isobel: Away)
Gideon retakes his seat, looking as pleased as the fox in the henhouse. "You're welcome, lassie. Thank you for wearing that incredible dress." His eyes drift to her bared shoulders for a moment, followed by a boyish smirk. "So, anything on the menu is yours. Whatever you like."
Looking down at the cut of her dress, Niamh smiles brightly, and rolls her shoulders slightly, feeling very.. girly. Feeling pretty. She laughs softly, and would swat at him, but they're in posh circumstances, so.. she reaches out to touch his hand, the happy threat buried in her smile. "Anything?" She shifts in her seat and looks at the menu and back to Gideon.. and back again to the menu. As she begins to study it, her brow scrunches a little as she tries to determine what it is she actually recognizes. No meat pasties, no steak and kidney pie.. but.. there, there's something she does recognize. "The venison an' oxtail faggot.." and there aren't any prices on the menu! "An' it has pears."
Gideon nods. "Anything." This meal will definitely cut into his budget for the month, especially after an unpaid suspension. But he has a decent savings; easy to do when living well beneath one's means. "I want you to know that I can take care of you. I dinnae mean just protection, either. I believe a woman needs to be pampered now and then."
That's what she'll have, then. It's meat that she recognizes, and it sounds quite good! "I ne'er had a doubt of that. I haven't yet found a way about ye that fills me wi'concern. Wi' the right man," *ahem* ".. there'd not be a time when I'd complain about lacking.. n'when I had breath, an' he had breath.. an' we had each other." Niamh lowers her voice yet a little more, "But I'll not mind a pamperin' now an' again. As long as ye don't mind the same.. that is well within' my right and ability t'do so."
Gideon grins, and nods in agreement. "I can live with that…and I'll do my best to give you naught to complain about. But I'm a a stubborn man — aye, I know I am — and I get set in my ways. I'm sure I'll frustrate you eventually. I just mean to make certain you like me enough to look past it." With that declaration of intent, the waiter comes, and Gideon places their orders.
Niamh chuckles and glittering eyes rise to watch her man and the waiter, and when the man departs to bring their requests to the kitchen, she's free to speak once again. "I have an older brother an' my da. Then, there's my youngers.. stubborn Irish.. an' I think I can handle a single Scotsman when he's got his feet planted." Shaking her head to accent her point, "I'm no shrew. I speak my mind, an' .. I've found that ye are a good man. All's in what ye told me.. a partner." A soft laugh comes, "An' I'll simply remind ye of such.. should it come to it.." But, they've discussed a few rather.. heavy topics and have come out the other end.. with understandings of the others' position. "I'm already of the mind that there are many things for which you'll be forgiven."
Could this woman be any more perfect? Gideon is always waiting for the other shoe to drop, but ever does she prove herself true as an understanding and patient partner. "Merlin. I must be the luckiest sod in the empire." He lifts his wine glass, which has now been filled with the "old" wine. "To us. May we stubbornly stand together, whatever winds may blow."
"I think ye are.." she teases, hazel eyes gleaming. "It's easy though, Adamantus.. ye are a good man. I can do an' be what I am, and what I want an' need t'be because ye are who ye are. Not a child, not demandin', not forever playin' wi' me and testin' t'see if I'm true. It means tha' I can trust ye, an' believe in ye, an' ne'er have to worry. An'," she looks down at her hands before she looks up again, finally reaching for her glass, her smile warming once again on her face, making her features look as if they're dancing. "T'us.. stubborn t'the last."
Gideon clinks his glass to hers, his steel-blue eyes locked with her hazel gaze as he sips. Never leaving her eyes, he sets down the glass and reaches for her hand. "Thank you," for opening up my heart again. But he trusts that he doesn't need to explain that aloud. She already knows him so well. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a familiar presence…an unabiding love that never truly died. Lyla…thank you…