Come Find Me

Will chuckled at her question before downing the rest of his beer. He put his cup down onto the bar counter and gave the older gentleman working behind it a thanks. He looked back down to Margot with a smile, "I'll make sure we can have a proper conversation without having to kind of shout at each other."

He unlooped his arm from hers and instead took her hand, pulling her towards the dance floor, "Come dance with me."

He lead her out to where the other people were dancing and pulled her in to the typical dancing stance, smiling. He began to lead her, making sure to keep it simple and easy enough for her to follow along with. "Just let the music guide you. And don't worry about my feet."

Margot blushed a little as he took her hand and led her out to the dance floor, looking around nervously, afraid she'd step on his toes or bump into someone. She did her best to follow his lead as they began to dance, but kept glancing down at their feet to make sure she didn't step on his, which only caused her to do so. When he advised her to not worry about his feet and let him and the music guide her she looked back up at him, giving him a worried look that said she wasn't sure that this would work, but went with it anyway, focusing her attention on him as he led her around the dance floor.

"Do you do this with every woman you meet?" She asked with a little teasing smile, knowing both by his comments earlier and his skill at dancing that this was hardly his first time in this situation.

"I've been known to have been on a few dates, yes," Will said honestly. He wasn't going to lie and pretend he was some extremely virtuous man who did everything the bible said. He was polite and treated people with respect, but he wasn't a holy man or anything. He was, after all, unmarried and 27, and a man had needs.

"You're not so bad at dancing," Will smiled at her. While he was leading, she was keeping up easily enough.

Margot smiled a little. "Whichever English girl who convinces you to marry will be very lucky. Or do you have someone at home waiting for you to come back to them already?" She felt a little sad at the thought of him with someone else, but it wasn't like they realistically had a future together, so talking about him marrying someone else eventually was a good way to remind herself not to get attatched.

She laughed a little as he said she wasn't a bad dancer, shaking her head. "I'm just good at following along, there's a difference. I don't think I could do any of the spins or things that everyone else is doing, I would probably fall over." She laughed again, holding onto him a bit tighter, as if afraid she'd lose her balance and fall just by mentioning it.

"We'll work our way up to the fancy stuff," Will said with a chuckle. He knew better than to try to twirl someone who wasn't confident in their abilities. He didn't want her to fall, she could get hurt and would definitely be embarrassed.

"To answer your question, though," Will continued, going back to her previous question, "No. I don't have anyone waiting for me back in Manchester. 'Cept my mum, but I don't think she's the kinda someone you're talking about. I've never been in a serious relationship before, if I'm honest. Maybe four months was the longest I was going steady with someone."

"I don't know if I'm cut out for the fancy stuff. You might be better off with Collette or Fleur." Margot smiled a little, nodding in the direction of the friends she was talking about. "They're excellent dancers, and won't step on your toes."

Margot nodded a little as he spoke about his past relationships, giving a little shrug. "Wars tend to change people, so who knows, maybe you'll go home and meet a girl and fall in love. Or you'll just be a Mama's boy for the rest of your life." She laughed a little and looked up at him with a little grin, pleased at her teasing. She herself and never been out with anyone, but she figured that was painfully obvious to him, so she decided not to say anything.

"Oh, I'll stay a mamas boy the rest of my life for sure," Will said. It was true. Him and his mother were very close, and that would never change. He didn't live with her any longer, obviously, but they did still see each other at least three times a week. Well they had, but the war through a wrench in that.

"I'd prefer you over the other girls, though," Will informed her. "I don't need a fancy dancer as a partner."

Margot smiled a little as he spoke of his mother, glad to hear that she was still around and was probably waiting anxiously for him to come home. "I'm sure she loves you very much, and is lucky to call you her son."

She blushed as he said he prefered her over the other girls, shaking her head a little. "You haven't even talked to them, so how could you know? Besides, vous êtes un homme merveilleux, vous méritez plus que ce que je peux vous donner. You deserve a fancy dancer." She murmured softly so that her friends nearby wouldn't overhear their conversation, even though he wouldn't know what she'd said to him.

---

You are a wonderful man, you deserve more than I can give you.

Will wasn't sure what she'd said fully, but he was pretty sure she said something about him deserving better than her. He frowned slightly, slowing the pace of their dancing down to match the new song the band was playing. It was more of a romantic love song than the fun loving tune before. He pulled her in closer, giving his head a small shake.

"I think you're selling yourself a little short," he commented, quieter now as the music wasn't as boisterous. He shifted his expression to a slightly more upbeat one, not wanting to make the mood sad. "Besides, for all you know I could be an escaped Spanish convict only pretending to be an English marine to get away from my imprisonment."

Margot frowned a bit as the song changed, beginning to pull away when he pulled her closer, looking up at him in surprise, a blush heating up her cheeks that only got brighter when he said she was selling herself short. Before the Allied soldiers had shown up in her town no man had ever paid any attention to her, unlike her friends, who seemed to have a date every other weekend. Her own mother had complained at church about how she'd never find a husband unless she was told who to marry, and she half believed her mother would do just that in time.

She'd considered saying something when he changed the topic to focus on him, smiling faintly as she laughed, shaking her head a little. "You'd have a different accent if that were the case. And you don't look Spanish."

"I'm just a great actor, señorita," Will mused, putting on an obviously fake Spanish accent. "They have marvelous creams to make your skin pale and I have spent years perfecting my Manchester accent. All to come here to France to trick pretty French women into dancing with me. It is a master plan."

He laughed once his little bit was done, shaking his head, "No, but really, don't say I deserve better than you. I'm not as great as you have assumed I am."

Margot giggled a little at his terrible accent, unable to help but smile as he described his 'master plan.' "You should have focused on your Spanish accent instead of your Manchester accent." She pointed out with a little laugh.

"Why shouldn't I say it? No one is perfect, William, and I'm not trying to claim that you are.. But you're sweet and kind, and when you go home after the war you deserve to find someone with all the same qualities and more, and have a happy life, especially after all the terrible things I'm sure you've seen.." She murmured softly as she looked up at him, hoping he understood what she was trying to say.

"So do you have a deep dark secret, then?" Will asked, looking at her expectantly. From what she was saying, it was one of two things. One, he was much better than your average Joe, and so he should be with a woman also above the usual. Or two, she was much below the average human and he was your average Joe, so he deserved an average person. "From what I've seen, you're not some hag like you're making yourself seem now. It's not like its out of the realm to assume you'd be a fine wife."

He knew they were getting extremely ahead of themselves. He'd be gone in two weeks to continue fighting, and chances were he'd never see her again. They were from different countries for one, and for another he had a rather good chance of never coming home.

Margot frowned a little as he asked if she had a deep dark secret, a slow smile spreading across her lips as she looked up at him. "Oui, I have a secret. I'm secretly a Spaniard, living in hiding after escaping prison." She teased, using his story from earlier, laughing a little as she shook her head. "No, I don't have any secrets. I'm twenty two, I'm too young to have any."

Her laughter disappeared when he said that he thought she'd likely be a fine wife, a blush heating up her cheeks as they danced, suddenly panicking a little about the seriousness of the topic, causing her to accidentally step on his toes again. She was incredibly glad when the song ended, quickly pulling away as she looked up at him, clearing her throat awkwardly. "I-It's late, I ought to get going.. Thank you for taking me dancing, William.." she felt foolish for bringing up something like marriage with him when they'd barely known each other a day and the odds of them ever seeing each other again were slim to none. She felt silly for letting her foolish schoolgirl ideas about falling in love with a soldier and getting married after the war, and she wanted to go home from her room and hide until he left.

Will frowned when she stepped away from him, but nodded. They'd hardly been there an hour. He supposed he made her uncomfortable with the wife comment. He put both his hands into his pockets, nodding towards the door and heading that way. He wasn't going to let her walk all the way back to her home on his own. And besides, he'd end up there eventually anyways.

"I'll walk you back, it's too late to be walking alone," Will said. Especially with all the attention hungry soldiers around.

@ katahdin

Margot frowned a little as she looked up at him, shaking her head slightly. "Non, you should stay here, enjoy yourself.. When will you be able to get out like this again?" She shook her head, heading toward the door of the bar and out into the cool night air. It wasn't terribly long of a walk, and she didn't mind going alone, as she was convinced she'd say something else that she'd regret if he went with her.

"I.. I'm sorry I ruined your evening out, William." She sighed, frowning up at him, feeling guilty for ruining his night out.

“You didn’t,” Will assured her. “You really need to stop being as hard on yourself as you are. You should be more confident.”

Will kind of felt bad for her. She obviously had some major self confidence issues, and was quite shy. She was a good looking girl, he felt she didn’t need to act as she did. Margot could probably get any guy to do whatever she wanted if she carried herself different. But he couldn’t hold against her what her personality was. Everyone was different, after all.

“I have two whole weeks to go dancing, anyways.”

Margot frowned a little as she listened to him, giving a little shrug as she began to lead him home. "Maman always did say that men don't like girls like me, who aren't good at conversation and dancing and whatnot.. and my friends are always teasing me and telling me to go out and do something fun for once but I'm.. I'm just not what anyone wants me to be.." she confessed softly as they walked, tensing a little when a group of clearly intoxicated soldiers started whistling at her and asking her if she wanted to come home with them.

Once safely back at her parents home she stopped by the porch, pausing before she headed inside to speak with him. "I'm sorry about tonight... I hope you find a better dance partner for the next two weeks. Have a goodnight."

"Men like girls who are willing to try," Will informed her, shrugging. When the drunken soldiers walked by, he stepped a little closer to her, lifting a hand and giving them the finger. It didn't take long before they stopped, and the rest of their walk went without incident.

When they reached her porch, Will nodded, "Yeah, you too. I'll be seeing you."

He gave her a small smile before heading off the porch and over towards the barn. He wasn't sure if she still wanted to go on a date with him, but he'd have to think up something where she'd be more comfortable. He wanted to get to know her, but if she was going to get scared and self conscious at any sort of social setting, he'd have to figure something else out.

"Men like girls who pretend... I've never been good at pretending." She pointed out. There was a reason all her friends spent hours on their hair and makeup and picking out their outfits, they had to put on an act on every date, to some extent.

She disappeared inside once he'd left, heading up to her room to change into her pajamas and go to sleep, the poor girl eventually crying a bit before she finally drifted off. She wanted him to like her, and she wanted to be and do what he wanted her to, which she knew was foolish, as he'd be gone in two weeks and would meet some pretty English girl and forget about her. But she could dream, even if it meant embarrassing herself in front of him and the other soldiers from now on.

For the next few days she managed to avoid him, her anxiety after the date having made her sick, although it was more likely she'd caught a cold on the walk back from the bar. Her mother confined her to bed so that she wouldn't get any of the soldiers sick, and brought her her meals and checked on her a few times a day, but she was always curled up in bed looking out the window as the soldiers in the yard, waiting to see if she'd spot William among them.