Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

She hears a firm knock against the solid wood of her door and knows it's him. She knows he came to apologize for his behavior the last night, but she's too immersed in her flow of creation to actually let him in, it's easier to just pretend she didn't hear him call her.

He is silent, his ear glued to the cold door in front of him, he searches for the slightest sign of her activity there. He knocks again and feels the vibration of the wood resonate through his fingers. He is insistent on his knocking, but soon realizes that the time he's given her isn't enough, so he decides that after on more unanswered attempt he will walk away. He knocks again and it's the first time he's heard the her voice since last night.

"I don't want to see you" - her voice is calm, each syllable is said with deafening clarity and he knows she's hurt

“Amy, please, excuse me for my behavior” he says in a tearful tone, he tries to be tender and patient with her, but, again, the only sound he hears is her silence and he knows her well enough to know she won't prolong the conversation between them, not now at least "I'm leaving a tray with your favorite fruits here at the door"

"I don't want your peace offering" he hears her steady voice ring in a clipped tone

“It's not a peace offering, you haven't come down for breakfast and you must eat something” he says softly. “Darling, it's not because you're mad at me that means I don't care about you. Please eat something.” Resigned to her lack of words, he left the tray by the door and turned around to leave her alone again.

He walks with gentle slowness, one step at a time, searching the dimension of the hallway for a clue that she is calling to him, and just as he is about to accept that she doesn't really want to see him, he hears the door opening and she say "I'm not mad at you"

He turns to her again, and he knows he's grinning like an idiot "You are not?" he says in a hopeful tone as he approaches her, the path previously taken by slow steps now receives an exaggerated walk towards her

“No, I'm not” she says, bending down to pick some grapes. He then tries to hold her in his hands but she backs off "I just want to understand why you acted like that last night"

This time, the silence that separates them belongs to him. She watches him and as she hears his ragged breath and lack of allegations, she nods slightly and goes back inside the studio. She doesn't close the door and he accepts it as an invitation to come in, following her he says softly almost in a whisper "I'm sorry" with the intention that she read between the lines of his words the embarrassed reason for his scene the last night.

She's standing in front of her easel again and, he watches her with a green-flecked brush dangling from his hand and a sardonic smile tugging at her lips as she says "How do you want me to forgive you if you don't even tell me what made you behave that way?"

He closes his eyes. The thought briefly wanders to the previous events and he feels sick with the taste of the drink his mind conjures up.

They hadn't been to parties in a while, so, when Sallie Moffat invited them to a ball at her residence Amy was fascinated by the prospect of dancing and meeting her friends and he, of course, as the good husband he was, was delighted with the idea of making her happy.

And they were happy.

But then, as soon as they arrived at the ball, both had their presence requested and had to separate. Laurie was called for Tudor to discuss a small possibility of a business transaction and Amy, solicited by Kitty, had her opinion heard about the new fabric store in town. And if Laurie has to mark the exact point where things started to go wrong for him, he would mark this moment.

Thirsty to discuss topics more interesting than economics and bureaucracy, he concentrated on his glass of champagne as his gaze followed Amy, who moved from group to group around the room. He hadn't talked to her in a while, and it didn't bother him, not until at least he saw her talking to Parker, not at least until he saw Parker lead her to the dance floor, but then he saw Amy blushing not just from smiling politely, but laughing at something he'd whispered to her, well, that did bother him. And faced with the uneasiness of seeing her outline a smile that she only reserved for him, he addressed his wife and, say, friend(?) while holding his drink as if it were his only source of confidence at the moment.

"What is so funny?" He remembers trying to control the indifference in his voice, but instead managing to voice a dry question as he approached the pair.

“Nothing, Laurie, I was just talking to Amy about the misfortune I had with my suit earlier.” Parker, seemed to really appreciate Amy's presence there, and seeing Amy agree with Parker in a graceful little nod made his heart pound with more intensity.

He then look to his friend "Since when are you interested in talking about clothes?" again his dry tone prevails in contrast to his self-control

"I usually talk when I have company to listen to the conversation in question" Parker says losing a little of his good humor and looking at his friend uncertainly

"Got it" He says smiling sarcastically and Amy, at that moment, sighs knowing what's to come

“…Laurie…” He thinks he hears her say softly and firmly, and the, he can feel the evocation of a cloud of tension building around the trio. But he has gone too far and, to be honest with himself, he doesn't want to stop for now, not when he still sees a glimmer of a smile on Parker's face. "Then why don't you debate this with your wife?"

"Excuse?" Parker says and gets a blazing look from Laurie "Laurie, I'm sorry I didn't mean to offend you" Parker says raising his hands and looking between Laurie and Amy

“I'm sure not” Laurie says sarcastically as she rests her hand on Amy's waist. “But don't worry, there's no one offended here…. Do I look offended, dear?” And that's when he sees the stupidity he's done; Amy is tense in his arms, unable to look at him, she directs her gaze to the couple's friend and he can clearly read a silent apology being sent towards Parker, the interaction lasts seconds, as at the first opportunity she walks towards the exit, and without worrying about an astonished Parker in front of him, he runs towards her.

But Amy remains silent, and the alcohol in his body evaporates with the angry heat emanating from her. The carriage ride home seems to take hours, even though the distance can be measured in minutes. She shrugs off any attempt at interaction and he finds himself internally praying that she will send him to the guest room, just so that at least she can talk to him and he can beg her to forgive him. But that doesn't happen, as she simply pretends he's not by her side and doesn't acknowledge his presence when she lies down to sleep.

When he woke up, the bed beside him was freezing, and he knew she was gone. He then spent most of the early hours of the morning staring at her studio door , looking for the slightest sign that she would be there, so when he hears the soft noises of brushes hitting the floor, he comes out and gives her the silent privacy she asks for, returning only hours later with the tray of food. And, well, there they are now.

"Laurie" he hears her from his stupor "Aren't you going to tell me why you behaved that way?" She doesn't look mad and he feels even more idiot for letting himself get carried away by alcohol and embarrassing her.

“I…I…I just didn't like seeing you with Parker, that was it,” he says quietly.

"That doesn't give you the right to be rude to him" she says putting her brushes on the easel and addressing him

“Yes, dear, I know and I apologize to you” he says firmly as he looks her in the eyes.

“you don't owe an apology just to me” she says tenderly as she plays with her rings.

"Don't worry, I already apologized to Parker too"

"You did?" she asks staring at him and he reciprocates with a shy smile and a shake of his head

“Why, Laurie? Why you acted like that? I mean, you never minded with me dancing or talking to one of our old friends. Why now?" she says approaching him until they are a step away from each other, until he is able to feel her perfume invade him

"He held your attention more than me and I think it bothered me" He says embarrassed

"Sorry?" she says in a low whisper

“He made you laugh, Amy, while I barely had a chance to talk to you the entire party.” Hearing this she considers him, she doesn't say anything, instead she leans closer and kisses him softly. Greedy for her, he tries to deepen the kiss but he feels her relax and laugh still on his lips, the action makes him pull away from her slightly alarming "What's wrong?"

"It wasn't Parker who made me laugh yesterday" He frowns in confusion "I think I overreacted on the champagne"

“Amy curtis Laurence” he says in a mocking tone

She smiles but then turns serious as she looks at him deeply. With a biting intensity she admonishes him, "Laurie, you fool, I may have smiled yesterday with someone other than you, but I was under the considerable influence of a few glasses of champagne. But when I smile with you, it's different, I do it with all my heart. Just remember that”

Melted by her, he then finds her forehead "Forgive me?" he asks again

"Only if you promise me you'll never act like that again"

"I promise"

"And I forgive you"

Chapter Text

He is exhausted. But it's not just any exhaustion, it's that pleasurable weariness bathed in carnal desire, with the scent of devotion and the taste of passion. It's a beautiful exhaustion that, right now, keeps him from opening his eyes. And staying with his eyes closed, he's savoring every memory of minutes ago, every sense heightened by her gentle touch, he savors every wave of sinful heat as his body tries to get back to its old rhythm, tries to get back to its usual frequency and your normal temperature. He's doing well at the task of withdrawing into himself and recovering from the wonderful start to the morning she gave him.

When he opened his eyes he realized she was talking to him, her lips moved seductively, her hair, extremely messed up by his hands, gave the word "charm" a new meaning. He drops his gaze to her bust, and smiles at the droplets of sweat there. She is beautiful and he watches her, unable to hear what she is saying.

She's a mess, but at the same time there's a calm aura about her. She looks angelic, at the same time there is a mundane feeling to her actions. She, for him, is heaven and hell, she is a beautiful dubiousness that he loves dearly with every piece of himself.

"Okay for you?" She turns to him, smiling. He can't tell if it's okay, he hasn't paid attention to what she says. But he knows he shouldn't ask her to speak again, he knows she hates having to repeat his words and they've had too much fun so far for him to allow it to fall apart because of his lack of attention. He does however notice that she is smiling and he knows his wife well enough to know that if she smiles it is a sign that he must agree.

"That's fine to me, my lady" he says and she leans over and kisses him on the corner of his lips.

"Great! I'll get ready for the day, then"

And so he watches her strut towards the bathroom, smiling and floating in her steady, elegant stride, and so he lies lost in thought again as he tries to catch his breath for the start of the day.

When he came down to breakfast, she wasn't sitting at the table. Grace, her housekeeper, when questioned replied "Mrs. Laurence didn't eat breakfast, she went straight down to the garden."

Amy was at that stage of her adult life when she devoted considerable time in her day to watching plants grow and encouraging them to flourish. So he just nodded and went upstairs to his office.

Locked in there, while analyzing processes, adding numbers, planning economic strategies and getting lost among piles of papers, he does not see the time pass. And lunchtime slips away while he's still alone in the midst of legal and economic issues. Looking at his watch, he decides it's time to go downstairs, get something to eat and relax.

That's what he does, as he walks to the kitchen, he finds only Grace, to which responds "Mrs. Laurence hasn't had lunch at home, I haven't, seen her in a few hours." He just agrees and after eating a quick meal, he goes in search of Amy.

He starts with her studio, but it was empty, nothing but paintings, paints and clays. Only books in the library. In their room, just silence. In the hallways, footsteps echoed on the cold wood. In the kitchen, the clink of silverware. In any room he entered, found only particles of dust dancing in the air. No matter where he goes, Amy won't be there and, frustrated, he turns to look for her.

"Where's Amy?" he mutters to himself, and the answer wells up around him: Garden! Grace said that Amy had gone to the garden, maybe she's still there. And with the certainty of meeting her in the garden, his subconscious sends images to him. It's with the thought of seeing her there that he can see a docile Amy surrounded by roses and lilies, he can smell the scent of wet earth absorbed by her hair, he can clearly see her bent over picking little daisies and he smiles with that perspective. But when he arrives in the garden he feels lost, he looks for her among the trees, among the flowers, he walks every corner of the immense green lawn of his property, but only the frantic rhythm of birdsong is the sign of life that he found filling the place, not Amy.

Standing as he watched the little birds, he remembered Jo. Maybe that's it, maybe she's with Jo. He walked the short walk to his friend's house, a while ago Amy started helping her sister; she frequently visits Jo and passes on some of her artistic knowledge to Plumfield children who are interested in art production.

"Yes, that's it, Amy must be in Plumfield ." Once there, he's sure he'll find Amy surrounded by kids with faces filled with wide smiles and paint splatters. He can already imagine her smiling as the gentle wind threatens to send her sketches flying through the air. But once he get there, the reality is a little different. The kids are there and their faces are filled with frowns amid math homework.

"Mr. Laurie!" Some children were shouting warmly when he entered the room. He stayed at Plumfield, but only long enough to realize that his wife was not there.

"No, Amy isn't here" Jo told him after he asked about her

"She didn't come help you with the kids today?" he asked hopefully.

"No, she came yesterday"

"Where's Amy?" he reflected to himself

"Oh teddy, I think she's at Meg's, I saw they agreed to make some fruit jellies together"

And hopeful with the idea that Amy would be with Meg, he sets off in search of his beloved. Along the way to the Brookes' house, he becomes more and more convinced that Amy would be there. Yes, she would be there and he can already imagine her tired but happy to spend the day with her sister. He already sees her with her hands dirty with fruit and strands of her hair coming loose after the frantic day at work. He, unconscious, tastes the jelly that burst from her lips when he kisses her. "Yes, Amy will be with Meg". After all, where else would she be?

"No, Amy is not here Laurie" Meg tells him

"No? But Jo said you'd be making jams together" he asks slightly confused

"Oh, no, we'll just do it tomorrow"

"I see...where should she be?" he says more to himself

“Have you ever looked for her at Marmee's house? Maybe she's there, Hanna was teaching her some gardening tips" Meg responds smiling

"Yes, that's it, Amy is at Orchard House, she loves it there". She is always looking for excuses to visit the locals there. Yes, she is there, he is sure that when he walks through the doors of the house he will find her following Marmee around the corners, or maybe he will find her in the kitchen, trying to get something hidden from Hanna, she will have the hem of her dress with traces of earth after helping Hanna with the garden. Yes, she is there, after all, where else would she be?

"No, she's not here" Marmee tells him after welcoming him warmly.

"Is she not in the kitchen?"

Marmee smiles "Oh, no, I'm sure not, the last time I saw Amy was yesterday at Plumfield "

"Where's Amy?" he says confused

"Maybe she's with Mister Laurence, keeping him company" Hanna says as she leans over the kitchen door.

Yes, she would be there. Since the marriage, Amy and his grandfather have grown closer and closer, they've built a relationship he's been proud of. His wife would always be attentively available to keep Grandpa company. He convinces himself that he will find his Amy there keeping his grandfather company. He will walk into the house and instantly see her smiling at something her grandfather has said to her, she will be sitting gracefully holding a cup of tea in her hands, and as soon as she notices his presence, she will invite him to sit at her side and he will enjoy the rest of his afternoon with her and his grandfather. "Yes, that's it, Amy would be there". After all, where would she be?

"No, Amy didn't come" his grandfather tells him

"How not? I've already looked for her everywhere, where's Amy?"

Where is Amy?

This question echoes in his mind when he returns home, he decides to head back to town and mutters things like "where is she?", "Couldn't she have disappeared like that?", "How could she have completely disappeared out of nowhere? ", "What do you mean no one saw her?" , "She's been missing since when?", "Where is she?", "Where's Amy?".

He looks for her. He looks closely at every store he passes. He stops in front of the shop windows and through the fogged glass looks for any trace of his Amy, after all, if there's anyone who can tell her apart from the crowd, it's him. He watches every corner, pays attention to every laugh, every dress of every lady crossing from one corner of the street to the other. All with the intention of seeing her there. But she is not there.

“Maybe she's home, yes, she'll be there” and it's with that thought that he takes his way back to they house.

When he gets home, Grace greets him at the door

"She is at home?" he asks calmly, but inside he's verging on despair

"No, Sir, she hasn't returned yet"

He then waits for her in the living room, he is unable to sit down and relax as worry starts to overwhelm him. But then he hears the door creak, he hears the sound of soft and firm footsteps and he sighs in relief as he turns to watch her walk towards him, as he watches her unmistakable voice fill the room.

"Darling, did you hear about the missing woman?" She says

"Missing woman?"

"Yes, everyone is talking about a woman who is missing, apparently, her husband was cursing her disappearance as he walked around town. Some men were talking about it on the streets now. From what I hear, some people are organizing a small team to help to find her"

"Oh, I didn't know that" he says really surprised

"Yes, they were going to her house to try and get more information"

"Yes?"

"Yes"

"Oh dear, and where have you been?"

"Me?" She asks and gets a nod from him "I was with Florence"

"She wasn't in Europe?" he asked confused

"She arrived this week, I told you this morning"

"You didn't tell me -" then he's interrupted, someone slams the door and he can hear some deep voices in the doorway of his house.

"Are you expecting someone?" she questions

"No, you?" he counters

"No, I-" but she is interrupted with another beat accompanied by an ad

"Mr. Laurence, we are here to see if you need help to finding your wife"

Amy then looks scared to her husband, she has a quick thought and soon figured out what was going on

"I am the missing woman, am I not?" She looks a little indignant, a little confused and extremely amused.

"Apparently, yes" he says a little embarrassed, maybe his quests have taken on unexpected proportions

"Laurie, I told you this morning that I would spend the day with florence and would only return for dinner" she says with mild indignation.

"But, Amy-"

they are interrupted again

"Mr. Laurence, are you there?"

"Mr. Laurence, your presence is requested at the door, in the meantime I will go upstairs and take a relaxing bath." Faced with the look he gives her and the slight smirk on his lips, she completes her sentence "I'm sorry darling, I'd even invite you to join me, but I believe you now have a problem to solve, excuse me" Amy says with a sardonic smile playing on her lips as she approaches and kisses him lightly, just to tease him.

"Amy, please…"

But she doesn't listen to him, instead she turns and walks away towards the stairs, leaving him there. He doesn't move, and realizing this she turns to him again

"Aren't you going to the door?"

"I'm thinking about what I'm going to tell them"

She hums "My lord" she calls him "Let this be a lesson. When I'm talking to you you better listen to me" she says smiling

Yes, he learned his lesson and from that brief episode, no matter what he's doing, he always stops to listen to her, not that he didn't do it before, but now the attention he gives her has taken on greater proportions in the as far as intensity is concerned.

Not to mention the endless fun Jo had when Amy told her about the unfolding episode of her alleged disappearance. And now, whenever Laurie is seen without Amy, Jo mockingly asks her in a stilted tone "Where's Amy?"