First Impressions

Part 9

You thought it was odd, to say the least, when you received an invitation from Stephen and Christine to visit their home. Your first inclination was to decline and give some sort of excuse, but then you remembered they lived on Jean Grey's property. Curious to see if it lived up to Stephen's praise, and eager to get away for a bit, you accepted. Within a few days, you were on your way.

Since the drive would take you through the city, you decided to visit Jane and your aunt and uncle and spend the night.

Nothing had changed much since you last spoke with them. Jane hadn't seen Minerva again, nor Thor. She was trying to be optimistic about it, but you could tell it wasn't working too well. On the bright side, she didn't seem to be as sad about it as before.

Your aunt and uncle believed they were avoiding her altogether. You couldn't see Thor doing that, but then you didn't know him well enough to be absolutely certain. Your aunt asked about Wickham, but the only thing you had to tell her was that it didn't work out with the person he was seeing. They invited you to go to the lakes with later in the summer. Excited, you accepted.

The next day, you said your goodbyes and were on your way. When you arrived at Rosings, you were greeted by Stephen and Christine. She was polite and kind to you, making you feel more welcome than you thought you would as she helped you settle into one of the guests rooms in their large house.

Stephen was still annoying.

---

It had been late when you arrived, so you didn't get to meet Jean Grey until the next day. You hadn't been expecting it at all; you were under the impression that she was out of town. Clearly, you were wrong.

One of her servants had come knocking to announce an invitation to her house for dinner. Surprisingly, the invite extended to you as well, as she'd heard about your arrival from Stephen.

You wondered, as you entered her house, if she would be as pleasant as Stephen had made her out to be. She certainly was beautiful. Her expression was rather imposing, though you were hardly made uncomfortable by it. In fact, it made you even more curious to see how the evening would go. You didn't have to wait long.

"Stephen tells me you have four sisters," Jean said to you during dinner.

You nodded. "Yes, one older than me, the other three younger than me."

"And what do they do?"

"Two are writers, two are in the beauty industry."

"What about you? What do you do?"

"I'm a writer."

"Not much variety in your family's career choices, is there?"

Your attempt at a polite smile felt brittle. "No, there isn't."

Her questions continued in the same manner. She would ask something about you or your family, you would answer, and she would make some snide comment. You were five seconds from throwing your drink in her face.

Then the most interesting thing happened. One of Jean Grey's servants came in and announced that there was a visitor. The visitor turned out to be none other than Loki. He made eye contact with you immediately, seeming more surprised to see you than you were to see him.

He didn't say anything, though, and neither did you. Mercifully, Stephen didn't either. Instead, Loki greeted Jean. Up until then you'd forgotten that she was his godmother. Loki joined the dinner table, though he remained fairly quiet. He kept looking over at you. You had half a mind to kick him under the table.

---

If you thought that had been odd, you weren't prepared for what happened a few days later.

Stephen and Christine had gone out for a walk in their rather large garden. Though Christine had invited you along, you declined. Any second you could get away from Stephen and his ramblings was a blessed second. You were planning to come up with an excuse leave early, especially since you'd met Jean Grey.

You were in the living room reading a book when there was a knock at the door. Your first instinct was to answer it, but one of the servants beat you to it. Figuring it was a solicitor, you stayed put. However, when footsteps echoed down to the living room and paused in the doorway, you looked up from your book.

Oh dear Lord.

"My apologies," Loki said. "I was under the impression Stephen and his wife were home."

"They went out for a walk in their garden a bit ago," you replied. "I'm sure they'll be back shortly."

He leaned against the doorway. "Are you alone then?"

You nodded.

"What brings you to Rosings?"

"Stephen and Christine invited me."

He nodded. The following silence was incredibly awkward. You debated on asking him something you'd wanted to know for quite a while now, something you wanted to know for sure. This was a golden opportunity.

"You all left Midgard rather quickly," you commented. "I hope Thor and Minerva are well."

"They are," Loki replied. Something in his demeanor had shifted almost imperceptibly. If you hadn't been watching for it, you likely would've missed it.

"I heard he doesn't plan on returning any time soon."

"My brother is a busy man."

"So I've heard."

He didn't respond. You didn't continue. Another period of awkward silence stretched on. This time, however, you would not be the one to break it. Not only did you have nothing to say, but you felt Loki should say something. After all, he was the one who showed up unannounced and continued to stand there in the doorway.

"The happy couple seem well," he finally said.

You hummed and nodded. You believed yet another awkward silence would've occurred if said couple hadn't chosen that moment to return home from their walk.

On seeing Loki, Stephen went into a long spiel about how wonderful his godmother was, and how honored he was to have her godson in his house, and how sorry he was he hadn't been home to greet him. Loki politely assured him that there was no harm done as he was the one who had dropped in unannounced.

Meanwhile, Christine had come up to you and asked about Loki's sudden visit. You explained to her how the two of you had just been here mostly in awkward silence, not saying much, until she and Stephen came back. When you glanced back over to where Loki and Stephen were, Stephen was following Loki out in the direction of the exit.

"I think he likes you," Christine said.

You looked at her, brows raised. "Loki?"

She nodded.

You snorted. "Give me a break. The man'san ass. We don't care for eachother."