| Details for Hide and Seek |
| Summary: | Thomas comes into the shop to buy some wine, and Gus helps Madeline evade her uncle. |
| Date: | 1939-07-25 |
| Location: | Rousseau Vineyards |
| Related: | — |
| Characters |
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It's hot outside, and it's raining, which means that the cobblestone streets outside of Gus's shop are nearly abandoned. The door to his shop is wide open and a window in the back is open as well, letting in a cross-breeze. A charm is working around the shelves of wine to keep the product cool as well. Gus sits on one of the shop stools, carefully examining a hand-sized carving in his hand of a little girl with pigtails on a broom. Occasionally he uses a rag to polish a bit here or there. It's quite well done, a positively decent piece of folk art - clearly he's naturally skilled, if untrained.
Thomas doesn't normally run around this far up north into the North Verdic area but he had seen a new store open and had been meaning to head in for a good amount of time, simply put though he didn't have a reason. As he enters, he closes him umbrella and runs his hand through his blonde hair and straightens out his simple black suit. Raising his hand in greeting he says, "Good evening." with a small nod, it had been a busy day for him at his Book Store, with school shopping, he had a sneaking suspicion that perhaps it wasn't quiet as busy here in a place that sold wine. His eyes slowly moved across the place as his hand rubbed his chin, clearly pondering as he looked over the selection.
Though no one is currently in the store, the shop doesn't seem to be lacking for business, if the finely made robes Gus is wearing are any indication. They're grey, but charmed to seem like a moving, misty tapestry, with tendrils of various greys gently undulating to conceal something that can't quite be made out. In addition to that, he's wearing a black mourning band around his arm. "Good evening," he greets Thomas with a smile. He puts his sculpture and the rag down on the counter - carefully - and turns to his customer. "Oi, don't you work in the book store?" he asks, vaguely recognizing the face. "And… er, how can I help you, sir?"
Thomas rubs his chin for a moment more, as he continues to let his eyes wander across the wines, "Own." Thomas says with a small smile as he turns and looks at Gus, "I own the book store." he says with a warm smile on his face, clearly making sure Gus knew he was not offended but just having a playful jab at him. "Well I was wondering do you have anything similar to Latour?" he asks curiously tilting his head, "I had some a few months back on my trip to France. Absolutely lovely." he says nodding, tapping his chin, "I must admit I am not familiar with any of your wines." he says nodding slowly.
"Ah!" Gus says. "My apologies, mate." He grins back at Thomas. "I'm co-owner, here, with Papa." He'll hold out his hand for the other man to shake. "Augustin Rousseau, but most everyone calls me Gus." It's a decidedly French name, but his accent is definitely English - Kent, specifically, flavored by London. Then he ponders Thomas' question. "Latour, hm. They do reds, if I recall. Very fine stuff." He's silent for a few moments as he walks down his shelves, eyeing the various bottles on display. "I think the closest we'd have would be… this one," Gus says. He picks up the bottle and brings it over to Thomas. "I can let you taste, if you'd like."
Thomas takes the man's hand and shakes it firmly, "Carrow, Thomas Carrow." he says with a small nod, "While some people call me Tom, I rather prefer Thomas." he says nodding. He listens to Augustin speak and nods slowly, "Yes, it is a red wine, Pauillac area." he says in French, while is accent isn't perfect it is rather good. Obviously he recognized the French name, "Sorry I don't get many chances to practice my French, but yes I would love to have a small taste." he continues in French.
"Well, sir, I will be happy to practice with you," Gus says - his French is absolutely flawless. "This way," he invites, and leads Thomas to the counter, where he gestures at a stool for the man to sit. He goes behind the counter and then into the back room. He's gone for a minute, only to come back with a small bottle and a clean wine glass. A silver spittoon is already on the counter, empty but available should Thomas not wish to actually drink the wine he's tasting. Gus uncorks the little bottle and pours a small amount into the glass. The wine will have a complicated nose, with strong notes of blackcurrant and blackberry fruit over earthy tones. A fruity aftertaste is pleasantly close behind, with smooth, ripe tannins.
Thomas nods slowly, as he watches Gus prepare everything. "Go to France often? You have an absolutely flawless sound." he says in French as he nods, picking up the small glass and spinning the wine in it for a moment, allowing to breath some before he tastes it. "I wish I had more opportunities to visit, but I am slated for Russia and then Italy for my next two trips sadly. I rather enjoy the culture of France far more then I did Germany or what what I think I will in Russia. Italy may be a close contender though." he continues in French, before taking a sip of the wine, allowing it to play on his pallet for a few good moments, before sitting it out with a small nod, "Very nice." he says nodding, "I think I will take a bottle." he says nodding.
"My parents were born there," Gus tells Thomas, still speaking French. "I grew up learning it. My mother is…" he pauses. "She was… she had high expectations." He smiles at Thomas and nods along. "France is the only other country I've been to - visiting family, you know. Italy sounds like it might be nice, though." When Thomas decides to take a bottle, Gus beams. "Excellent," he says, and reaches for the full-sized bottle he'd brought from the shelves earlier. He puts it into a black velvet drawstring bag and tells Thomas the price - pricey, but not too much so.
The door opens, and a young child slips in, giggling and ducking down behind the store's windows. "Hello!" she cheerfully greets the few adults inside the shop - peeking her head up over the edge of the window before ducking down again. Yes - clearly a wine shop is the perfect place to play hide-n-seek.
It's only on a second glance that the child recognizes Augustin and lets out a loud, "Ohhhhh!" Quickly followed by, "Hi, Rousseau! How've you been?! Is this your shop? I didn't know you had a shop!"
While Thomas isn't rich, the recent bubble from the School rush has supplied him with a little extra coin in his pockets as of late, which clearly pleases him, because truth be told he misses the finer things in life sometimes. Reaching into his coat he removes the coins and gladly pays for the bottle, "Ah, well I do some traveling mainly business related, setting up deals here and there with distributors or finding rare books that I can turn a good profit on." he continues in French nodding. As the girl enter, Thomas smiles at her softly, looking between her and the shop owner allowing them to catch up.
"Thank you, Mr. Carrow," Gus says, taking the coin and putting it where the money goes. "That sounds like a fascinating job," he says, and would say more, but for the fact that Madeline enters. His expression goes from polite and merry to positively bubbly. "Little… Evans!" he exclaims, pegging her with the right name and coming around the counter. Apparently her hyper exuberance made at least a vague impression on him. "I swear, you've grown two inches since I was in school. C'mere!" If she comes over to shake his hand, he'll try his best to ruffle her hair, too. "How've you been, eh? How are the other lions treating you?"
Madeline's only too happy to bounce her way over to Rousseau, offering her hand for the handshake, and letting out a laughing, protesting, 'hey!' as her hair is ruffled. "Have I? I'm really good! The other lions have been really nice, of course, and the only two that weren't - well, one of them was a seventh year, and the other decided to go to Durmstrang," she announces with great satisfaction. "So we managed to clean house. Isn't that great?" She spares a brief glance for the window - her uncle'd be able to see her from here!
Thomas smiles and nods, "It can be interesting, but only works if I manage to turn a profit for the trip and the books." he says nodding, "That is the trick and a hard one at that." he says with a smile as he watches the two chit chat about Hogwarts, "Ah, to be young and in Hogwarts." he teases with a smile, "Seem like years upon years ago since I was able to enjoy the ease of an Hogmeades weekend." he teases with a chuckle.
"Heh," Gus says. "Profits can be tricky, eh? Seems like only yesterday when I didn't know what the word 'overhead' meant. And taxes, cor, don't get me started." He shakes his head a bit. "Well, I'm being a bit rude, aren't I? Madeline Evans, this is Mr. Thomas Carrow. Mr. Carrow, Miss Evans. Evans and I were schoolmates, but of course I don't go any more." He gives the little girl a gentle sort of look. "I know you're Proudmore's friend… how is she, you know, coping?"
"Hello Mister Carrow!" Madeline says brightly, dipping into a playful little curtsy - simply because the mood strikes her. At the mention of Chastity, he expression - just for a moment - turns a little more solemn. "Oh, last I saw her she was doing pretty good. I mean, she had her little Crystal to keep her company, and plenty of friends, and I think she did alright in her classes," and she didn't cry so much as bedtime, but that's not really something you go blabbing about.
Thomas lets out a small chuckle, "Oh I hear you, always seems like something is going on that takes a small cut out of what you thought you netted." he says with a smile. As he is introduced, Thomas offers her a small smile, and a bow of his head, "Certainly my pleasure, Miss Evans." he says with a smile. He listens and doesn't comment, he is one who believes that the sympathy of others in these kinds of situations only make it worse.
"That's good," Gus says to Madeline. "I'm glad to hear it. Maybe I should stop by and visit with her," he muses. "Just to… you know." He doesn't finish the sentence - how can one? But he turns to nod to Thomas. "Oh, indeed, Mr. Carrow, indeed. But I do hope that you enjoy the wine you got. If so, I hope to see you back soon, and please feel free to tell your friends about us." There's the store owner coming out in him. "And have a good trip oversees, too," he offers, sticking his hand out for the man to shake.
"She might appreciate it," Madeline agrees - before giving Augustin a spontaneous hug. She still can't even /imagine/ what she would do if something happened to her mum! "You'll tell her I said hello?" she asks.
Augustin oofs and laughs when Madeline hugs him, but he hugs her back. "I will," he promises. "And you know, my little sister Lizette is starting Hogwarts this year. Will you look out for her?" he asks. "She could use a brave and true friend like you."
"Oh of course I will!" Madeline promises brightly. "Maybe she'll even be a Gryffindor! Wouldn't that be great? Though I bet you'd rather Hufflepuff - if she was Hufflepuff, Adam could help look after her, though. I'm excited that I won't be the littlest, this year, and I get to help look after the first years! Soooooo many of them are gonna be homesick, I bet. And that's tough!"
Thomas smiles and nods, "Only if you refer some people towards my little shop for book buying at Hogwarts." he teases softly with a smile, "But yes I think I will enjoy this wine with some company and when the situation dictates you can be sure I will return." he says with a small his hand moving and running through his hair again, "Perhaps if you have time, you might accompany on one of my trips?" he says warmly with a smile, "Never know what you might find in another land to bring back." he says with a small nod.
"Lizette can be whatever house she's chose for," Gus says. "I'm sure she'd be a credit to any of them. She's smart, she's ambitious, she's loyal, and she's brave. Not to mention pretty as a picture. But… she has her heart set on Gryffindor. Who knows?" He shrugs. He'll smile and nod at Thomas. "I will tell them," he promises. The invite to travel is met with a regretful smile. "Alas, my family and this business depend on me. Perhaps in a year or two, when we have employees and Lizette has settled in school."
"Does she?" Madeline asks. "That's great! Gryffindor is really the best. I mean - who can stand up to a /lion/?" The girl beams brightly, before turning her attention to Thomas. "You sell books? I love books! Which book shop is yours? Me and my uncle'll come and I bet he'll buy me something!"
Gus laughs. "Hey, badgers are pretty great, too," he tells her. "Very tough. But don't let your pride topple you - remember that you're actually just a little girl with a lot of learning to do, a lot of friends to make, and a lot of fun to be had, alright? Then you'll do fine." Gus suddenly looks like he feels older than his years. "Why'd you come in here, anyway?" he asks. "I can't give you any wine, Evans." He grins.
"Yeah, isn't school great?" Madeline agrees brightly. But as he says he can't give her any wine, she complains (still all smiles), "Awwww. Why not?" She glances towards the window, then back to Gus, whispering loudly, "I'm hiding from my uncle. Then when he walks by the shop, I can jump out at him and surprise him!"
"Ohhhhh," Gus says, glancing out the window for her uncle - not that he would know the man on sight, or anything. "Well, crouch down here," he urgers her, pointing to the spot between the window and the door. "What's he wearing? I'll let you know when he passes so you can jump out!" He's all about harmless little pranks like this.
"Great! Thanks!" Madeline says brightly, as she crouches down. "He's got on blue robes today - but a light brown shirt. And his hair's darker than mine, and he's looooooots taller." Of course. "Plus, he'll probably look exasperated because I'm missing!"
Gus oh-so-casually stands in the window, smiling beningly at passing pedestrians. It's good that some time between Thomas' entry and Madeline's, the rain as stopped, though it's still quite hot. "I… think I see him coming," Gus says quietly to Madeline. "Yep, blue robes, tan shirt, darker hair, taller than you." He starts a count-down. "Ten… nine… eight…"
Thomas can't help but let out a small chuckle as he watches the scene unfold, a soft smile on his face. He considers how it was once when he was younger and how the world has surely shifted. Letting out a small sigh he runs his hand through his hair as he stands up picking up the bottle, waiting to see the carnage before departing.
"Great!" Madeline responds in a hushed tone. "Does he look all exasperated? I bet he looks all exasperated."
Actually, he looks more inured to this experience than anything else. Apparently it's not the first time Madeline's played this particular gag. He turns in a circle as he searches for his niece, carefully coming closer and closer until the child is finally given the go-ahead from Gus.
"ROAR!" the little girl exclaims as she pounces out of Augustin's shop, and wraps her arms around her uncle.
"Oh no! A lion!" Perry responds, letting out a quiet laugh. "I told you to stay put, scamp!"
Gus laughs as he watches Madeline jump out to scare her uncle, and then he turns toward Thomas. "Cute, right?" he asks. He picks up the little wooden sculpture he's made of the happy little girl with pigtails on a broom, and grinning, goes into the back room.
Thomas can't help but let out a small chuckle, "Very he agrees with Gus. His hand moves through his hair now slowly, as he secures his bottle of wine, "Thanks again, I am sure she will really love it." he says nodding, a gentle smile playing over his features, "Well I certainly hope she does at least." he says letting out a small chuckle as he waves his farewell to everyone and heads out the front door, back down to his shop.