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When he first heard her melodious voice, he didn’t recognize it. Each word that reached his ears was sung so beautifully and when put together lead to a pleasing sound that put him at ease. If he had to describe the soft and soothing melody, he would call it angelic.
Once the song had come to an end, and the tranquility broken, his mind began to race. The voice he had been listening to was no doubt female, or feminine in tone, so the owner of it had to be one of the female members. He quickly went through the list, trying to figure out who it could have belonged to.
His mind first went to Louisa Alcott, who was often shy and reclusive, preferring to work on her own when not at Lord Francis’ side. It was quite possible that she could have been singing while working, and since he did not take the time to figure out where the voice was coming from, it was quite possible that she could be nearby working. This idea soon fell flat when he realized that neither he, nor the mysterious voice were anywhere near her office, thus leading him to the next woman on his list.
Lucy Maud Montgomery was the next choice, and while he didn’t peg her to be the singing type given her rather brash nature, he knew better than to judge a book by its cover. Perhaps Lucy had a secret talent that she wanted to keep hidden from the others, thus she took to singing when no one was around? Since he hadn’t seen her in some time, it was quite possible. If it wasn’t Lucy, then there was only one person left.
Margaret Mitchell. Just the thought of the voice belonging to her was enough to have him dismiss the notion. Knowing his partner as he did, he couldn’t imagine her singing, or having the voice for it. While her voice was not unpleasant, it was grating enough to Nathaniel that he couldn’t picture her singing. There was also the fact that she seemed too caught up in appearances or work to even bother with such a mundane activity. No, in his mind she wasn’t a candidate, so that left only Lucy.
After he went through his list, Nathaniel realized that the only way he would know for sure was to seek out the owner’s voice the next time they sung. Even though he was confident that he knew who it was, it would be best to attain actual evidence so that he did not become too prideful and arrogant with his assumptions.
With his mind made up, Nathaniel returned to his study, already formulating a plan for when he next heard the melodious voice.
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A few days had passed since he last heard the voice, and as the silence wore on, he began to wonder when he would hear it again. Fortunately for him, as he was walking back to his room aboard the Zelda, he heard the voice again. It was just as beautiful as the last time, and it didn’t take long for him to fall into a trance like state as he listened. After a few moments, Nathaniel managed to pry himself out of his trance like state and hurried towards the source of the voice. His search led him to a door that was ajar, and upon closer inspection, he realized that this was door to Margaret’s quarters.
Unable to believe it, Nathaniel approached the door and gently pushed it open. There sat Margaret, a brush in her hand. She had been singing as she looked into the mirror atop her vanity, something she had always done when brushing her hair or applying her makeup and jewellery. That had been the case tonight, though upon hearing footsteps by her door along with the gentle creak of it being pushed open her song died off.
Looking to see her partner standing there with a confused and surprised expression, Margaret began to feel her face warm.
“It’s rude to barge into a woman’s quarters without permission, you know,” she said, narrowing her eyes in annoyance in the hopes of hiding her embarrassment. She never expected to be caught singing, let alone by her partner of all people.
It took him a good minute to reply, namely because he had been trying to wrap his head around the current situation. He had been so certain that it was Lucy he had heard, yet the voice belonged to Margaret all this time. “…how?”
Margaret let out another huff as she rose from her seat. “What do you mean ‘how’? Is my ability to sing all that surprising to you?” The answer was clearly yes, for it was not something she did around others. Still, she couldn’t help but feel insulted all the same. He had just heard her, and that was all he had to say?
“Well I was certainly not expecting it-“
“Well you don’t need to be so rude about it.”
He opened his mouth to retort, only to close it as he realized that she was correct. As much as he loathed admitting defeat, he could not deny that he was in the wrong, and that humility was in order. “…you’re correct. I apologize.”
Margaret blinked, unable to believe what she was hearing. “Come again?”
“I said I apologize for my rude behaviour.”
“Am I hearing this correctly? Is our dear Reverend admitting to a mistake?” Seeing him grit his teeth in frustration was enough to improve her mood.
“I believe that is what I alluded to just now,” he said, keeping his tone civil despite his growing irritation. This was why he loathed conceding anything to this woman, and if he were not a man of God he would have cast aside any sort of humility long ago.
Seeming satisfied, Margaret flashed him a grin before speaking again. “While I appreciate your apology, that doesn’t explain why, exactly, you barged into my room uninvited.”
Hearing the question caught him off guard, his irritation temporarily forgotten. While the question was expected, Nathaniel wasn’t prepared for it. His surprise must have shown on his face, for Margaret’s grin only widened.
“You’re awfully silent, Reverend. I wonder why that might be?” she asked, her words a drawl as she watched her partner begin to squirm. “Do you not have an answer, or perhaps you don’t wish to tell? Too embarrassing, perhaps, or maybe it’s something else?”
The implications of her words prompted a quick reply, lest she get the completely wrong idea that would make this situation worse. “I simply wished to know who the beautiful voice belonged to.”
Now it was Margaret who was caught unprepared. Her eyes widened at his words, and the earlier warmth on her cheeks returned full force. “…beautiful?” she asked, her tone uncertain and flustered.
“…that is what I said,” he replied slowly, glancing away as his cheeks became dusted in a light pink. “I heard it earlier but did not know who it was.”
“…well, now you know.”
After another long period of awkward silence, Nathaniel spoke again. “I am sorry for what I said earlier, and I truly meant it when I said that your singing was beautiful.” This caused her blush to deepen, leaving her unable to look at him.
“…thank you.”
Nathaniel paused before making to speak again, only to be interrupted by a voice from the door.
“Don’t mean to interrupt whatever you two have going, but the meeting’s about to start. Also you should really keep the door closed; anyone can hear you two and might get the wrong idea.” Both Nathaniel and Margaret turned, catching the cheeky and suggestive grin of one Mark Twain. Before either could protest, Mark’s head vanished behind the door, and Nathaniel could have sworn he heard him chuckling as he left.
“Men really are rude,” Margaret muttered under her breath as she returned to her mirror, giving her appearance a once over as Nathaniel cleared his throat.
“I suppose we should get going,” he said, choosing not to reply to her comment as she turned to face him.
“I suppose so.” Margaret paused, causing Nathaniel to look her way. “…I do not think this needs to be said, but this should be kept between us, yes?”
“Most certainly.”
“Good.” With that she made her way towards the door, Nathaniel following after until he stopped just before the threshold of the door.
“…if it pleases you, I would not mind hearing it again sometime.”
Margaret looked back to her partner, pausing before giving him a small, genuine smile. “Alright, but only because it’s you.”
“I’d have it no other way.”