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"Rebecca": Ch2 continued
Title: “Rebecca”
Author: wanda1969
Prompt: “Rebecca”
Pairing(s): Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones
Rating: PG
Warnings: very occasional expletive. ALSO, SOMEONE HAD TO BE MRS DANVERS...
Spoilers: More for “Rebecca” (mainly the Hitchcock movie) rather than Torchwood
Disclaimer: I have created no characters here: I have merely borrowed the Torchwood characters from the BBC & their creators. I have also borrowed the plot and some characters from Daphne Du Maurier and Hitchcock (and his scriptwriters). No copyright infringement is intended. In fact, I know this film so well, it was really hard for me not to completely ‘quote’ it...I hope I have paraphrased where necessary.
Author's Notes: Torchwood characters shoehorned into “Rebecca”. Written specifically for the reel_torchwood challenge.
This is closer to the Hitchcock film than the book. I’ve also added an Epilogue which is a bit like one of the first chapters of the book, but at the end- THE EPILOGUE IS THE ONE TO NOT READ IF YOU WANT TO STOP WHERE THE FILM DID. I’ve deviated from the book by (mainly) not writing in the first person, and also by allowing the “second Mrs De Winter” to have a ‘name’.
My aim was for romantic drama/suspense in the 1930s film/book stylee with a bit of modern fanfiction (this is set in the modern day).
Many, many, many thanks to the very lovely and patient janiemc for both beta-ing and putting up with me...I am painfully pedantic (if only that would translate to tidying up...). Sorry Janie! I am not PC savvy enough to know how to make your name into an ‘lj link’!
Chapter 2 (continued)
Edward Van Hopper was still safely ensconced in bed all that day, nurse at the ready, and Ianto set out to continue his sketching. As he left the hotel lobby he bumped straight into Jack again. “Van Hopper still suffering from the deadly strain of Asian Bird ’flu? Another day off?”
“Yep- and he’s confined to quarters now,” he said with a grin.
“In that case, we’re going out for a drive. C’mon!” And he grabbed Ianto’s wrist and pulled him gently but eagerly towards his car. Ianto reflected that it was very difficult to resist the man’s enthusiasm and charm.
***
“Jack, I’m sure you’ve got better things to do than look after me. You don’t have to chaperone me, you know. You should be out meeting people.” The two had spent their second day together and the younger man was starting to worry that he was monopolising the illustrious Jack Harkness’ days. Worse still, Jack had appeared to have abandoned his plans to drive along the coast.
“What ARE you talking about, Ianto?”
“I can amuse myself you know, you don’t have to keep taking me out because you feel sorry for me.”
“Feel sorry for you...FEEL SORRY FOR YOU? For God’s sake, Ianto, if you think I’m taking you out just because I think you’re a charity case, or because I feel SORRY for you...well, you might as well get out of the car now. Go on, go!” Jack sighed, pulling the car over to the side of the road as the young man turned away from his outburst. “Don’t you realise? You’re here because I want to spend time with you. I want your company.”
He leant towards the young man bringing his hand up to straighten his hair which was ruffled from the car ride. Before Ianto could react, the other man had leant forward from the driving seat and gently, tentatively, kissed his forehead. They drove back to town, chatting idly about this and that. All the while Ianto tried to ignore the warm feeling emanating from his forehead, where Jack’s lips had touched it.
***
The next week went by in a blur. It seemed that virtually every time that he’d ventured out, Ianto Jones accidentally came across Jack Harkness. They’d been out driving virtually every afternoon and morning, and they’d been out to dinner most evenings. Ianto had even, embarrassingly, received a bunch of gardenias, with a note attached:
“Thank you for keeping me company- it had been so boring on my own.
Sorry about the flowers, I didn’t know what else to send...
J x”
***
And then came the night that a small basement club only half a mile away from the hotel had a visiting jazz band. Ianto had allowed himself to be talked into going along by Jack. The music had been a revelation; it had freed him from his worries as Ianto found himself listening to the band in the smoky basement. As the double bassist improvised, he swayed his head, eyes drifting shut. Until he felt a hand rest against his chin, tilting it ever so slightly upwards, and he opened his eyes. And then the American had kissed him. On the lips. Not passionately, no, but there was definitely hope there, and the younger man, surprising himself, had wanted to kiss back... and he had. For a more than a few seconds the kiss did become something more akin to passionate until the two pulled apart, both of them seeming slightly breathless and a little embarrassed.
“Sorry...I guess we should head back soon...it’s getting late,” Jack said, looking at his wristwatch. And then they’d left, and walked back to the hotel, talking about anything but that kiss, Jack bidding Ianto a gentlemanly farewell outside his door.
As he turned his key, Ianto suddenly stopped and turned. Jack was still there, lingering in the corridor.
“There really wasn’t any need to be sorry,” he said as he looked over towards Jack. He reached towards the older man, and placing one hand around Jack’s waist and another behind his neck, he pulled him forward. This time it was Ianto who instigated the kiss, needy and full of want.
As he pulled away, Jack was still standing there looking shell shocked, but with an encouraged look on his face.
“I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“I hope so...” Ianto smiled before slipping inside his room and closing the door.
He leant against the door after he’d closed it. He couldn’t believe that he’d just done that- he wanted to blame his behaviour on the champagne cocktails that Jack had insisted upon at the club. But Jack Harkness was charismatic in the extreme. To tell the truth, Ianto had found himself entranced by the man that very first evening when Van Hopper had called him over. He was attentive- he seemed interested in everything that Ianto said or did. He also had an almost intimidating habit of spending much of his time staring into the young man’s eyes. Ianto had got used to this, enjoying the excuse to stare back into Jack’s far too blue, far too deep and mesmerising eyes...
The young PA was already confused, and was even more confused when he saw a note on the floor behind the door. He picked up the note, reading it with growing alarm.
“Ianto,
Get an early night, you will need to pack your cases for first thing tomorrow. I’ve ordered breakfast for 8am in your room. My daughter is getting married and so I’ve booked flights for us both to Capetown tomorrow. Speak to you then.
Edward Van Hopper”
Ianto slumped onto his bed as he finished reading the words in front of him. He couldn’t leave now, not since this evening, and certainly not when he was feeling this confused. He got out his suitcases and laid them, open, on the bench next to the door, ready to be filled first thing next morning, before he readied himself for bed and eventually fell into a fitful sleep as he tried to ignore the strange feeling of his stomach doing somersaults.
***
After his breakfast Ianto had started to panic; he’d been hoping, needing, to see Jack and talk about the night before. Who was he trying to fool? He knew, he would never have talked about last night’s events. He just needed to see Jack before he left.
He called Jack’s room- no reply. Before he knew it he was being manoeuvred by his employer down to the car waiting for them at the main doors of the hotel.
“Mr van Hopper? If you don’t mind I think I’ll just go back and check- I think I’ve left my book upstairs.”
“Go on then, Jones, but don’t take forever about it, we’ve got a flight to catch...”
***
Ianto rushed back through the hotel’s revolving doors and walked briskly over to the reception desk.
“Excuse moi...excuse me.” He said attracting the attention of the man behind the desk. “Has Mr Harkness returned yet?”
“Aah, Monsieur Jones! Yes, Monsieur Harkness has returned- he has ordered breakfast in his suite.”
“Could you call him for me, please?”
The man dialled Jack’s suite, allowing the telephone to ring for about a minute, before replacing the handset back onto its receiver.
“I am sorry, Sir, but Monsieur Harkness does not seem to be answering.”
“Thank you...thank you for trying...” Ianto turned on his heel as he spoke, and headed to the lift. About a minute later he found himself standing outside Jack’s suite. He hesitated for a moment before he knocked, only to hear a muffled shout “Come in- the door’s unlocked.”
Ianto looked around the room and at first Jack was nowhere to be seen. Then he heard Jack’s voice, as he walked out of the bathroom, through the bedroom and into the sitting area, rubbing at his damp hair with a towel and dressed only in a pair of linen trousers and an unbuttoned shirt.
“Just put it all on the breakfast table, please- over near the balcony.” He gestured towards the table, before looking up.
“Ianto! I wasn’t expecting you- I thought it was room service!”
“No- just me. I didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye...and thanks for the trips out.” He was starting to feel foolish, like a teenager with a crush.
“What do you mean “goodbye”?”
“We’re leaving now- this morning. Mr Van Hopper’s daughter has got engaged, and he wants to go back to Capetown to see her. He’s booked last minute flights...we’re on the 2 o’clock flight to Paris where we change and then head to South Africa...”
“Well, this is all a bit unexpected...South Africa is a great country, though, you’ll love it.”
“I won’t...I’ll hate it.”
Jack was thoughtful for a moment.
“Well then, in that case, which would you prefer? Capetown or Manderley?”
“Do you need a Personal Assistant at Manderley?”
“What?” Then Jack laughed out loud. “I’m asking you to move there with me, to marry me, you fool! Well, it wouldn’t actually be a marriage...it’d be a Civil Partnership, of course....”
Ianto had been rendered completely speechless.
“Unless you don’t want to, Ianto...I just thought...”
“No, no- that’s not what I meant....” the Welshman finally spoke. “I meant to say yeah...it’s a bit sudden, but yes. Of course I want to....”
“Thank God!” Jack seemed relieved to be put out of his misery as he crossed over towards Ianto. Placing his hands on the other man’s hips, he leant forward and kissed him, before resting their foreheads together. “I was beginning to think I’d got this whole...situation...wrong. Got the wrong end of the stick...”
There was a knock at the door. “That’ll be breakfast. C’mon take a seat,” he said guiding Ianto over to the small table near the French doors onto the balcony. He showed the waiter into the room and to the table where the food and coffee was set out for him. The waiter left the room, and Jack grabbed another cup from a nearby sideboard and settled into the chair opposite Ianto.
“Coffee? You’ll have to learn how I take my coffee, Ianto- no sugar, black, industrial strength!” the older man smiled as he poured them both a cup. “And you?”
Ianto grinned. “The same- I take my coffee very seriously!”
“In that case, I think we’ll get on very well. Anyway, first of all we should move your luggage, and I guess you’ll have to hand your notice in straight away-”
“Oh my God! Mr Van Hopper’s downstairs, waiting in the car for me...and all my luggage’s there too.” In all of the excitement he’d forgotten all about his employer.
“Aaah.” Jack placed his cup back in its saucer, and reached over to a telephone on a nearby, low coffee table. “Reception? Jack Harkness here...Bonjour...Well, a Mr Edward Van Hopper is waiting outside in a car...he’s checked out...could you have him call up to my suite as soon as possible? Thankyou...Merci.”
“He’s going to be livid, Jack. And I’m really not sure how I’m going to explain ... this.”
“Don’t worry. I can deal with Edward- I’ve known the man for a lot longer than you.”
They were both finishing their coffees when there was a knock at the door, and Jack leapt to his feet to open it.
“Hello Jack. What can I do for you? It was such a surprise to hear from you, and just when we were leaving. You know, I don’t think you can have got my messages? I’ve sent quite a few...Anyway you only just caught us. We were just about to head off for a flight to Capetown- I’ve just got news that my daughter’s got engaged.”
Jack was effusive in his greeting shaking the other man’s hand enthusiastically, “Congratulations, Edward. It’s rather a co-incidence because I asked you up here to tell you of my engagement. ”
“Congratulations to you, too, Jack. So who’s the lucky lady, then?”
Jack Harkness gestured to Van Hopper’s Personal Assistant, who had been out of the South African’s sight line, and reached out his hand to take Ianto’s.
To say that Edward Van Hopper’s jaw dropped was an understatement.
“Sorry for depriving you of your Personal Assistant so abruptly...I hope you can forgive me?”
Van Hopper composed himself and swallowed hard, staring, “Congratulations Jones.”
“Thank you, Mr Van Hopper.”
“So when are you getting...married?”
“As soon as possible.” Jack interrupted, trying to deflect the attention away from Ianto.
“A whirlwind romance! In that case, I’m sure I could postpone my flight for a few days...help you out?”
“You can’t keep your daughter waiting! And anyway, I think we’d prefer a quiet ceremony. Maybe look into some kind of proper celebration when we get back...But thank you so much, though, Edward,” Jack replied turning to his new fiancé. “I ‘spose I ought to get your luggage sent up, Ianto? I’ll just go and arrange it with the porter. It’ll only take a minute,” he continued, pecking him on the cheek, before leaving the room.
Unfortunately, it took less than a minute for Mr Van Hopper to continue speaking.
“So- when did all of this happen?”
“I ran into Jack a few times when you were sick. We’d go out for drives and have dinner...But he’s only just proposed. I wouldn’t have told you at the last minute like this if he’d proposed earlier.”
“So this is what you were up to when I had the ‘flu? Well, Jones, that was quick work. Still waters certainly run deep. It’s always the quiet ones. Mind you, I always said Englishmen had strange tastes...” The way that Van Hopper emphasised the last word wasn’t lost on Ianto. Van Hopper was clearly disgusted at the thought of their civil partnership. “You don’t think he really LOVES you, do you? He just needs a companion. He’s been sent mad with grief rattling around that big house on his own. I can’t see how you’d ever fit in there, or how people are going to...to react to ... to this.” He waved his arm expansively.
“I know I’ve let you down, Mr Van Hopper. I wasn’t expecting anything like this- and I can only apologise for letting you down...but if that’s the way feel, I think that it’s best if you left.”
“Don’t worry, I’m going. How on earth you think you’re going to settle into Manderley? Well! Goodbye and good luck, Jones.”
***
The speed with which everything had happened in next two weeks had surprised Ianto. Jack had arranged with his solicitor in England to send over any necessary paperwork, via couriers- he’d also arranged for Ianto’s solicitor to do the same. Two days later they’d left the hotel and driven along the coast and to a small town just outside of Nice, registered at the local Hotel de Ville, and filled in so many forms that both their heads were spinning. For the next week, while they waited for their details to be confirmed, they hardly left their suite in the small but (unsurprisingly for Jack) suitably luxurious hotel, at the edge of town. And that had been another surprise: Ianto had half expected that, forced to spend so much time together, they would both come to their senses, and realise that they’d just been affected by the romantic atmosphere of Monte Carlo, by the warmth, by the feeling of freedom of being in a foreign land, far away from home. Instead, they’d found they had many things in common. The third ‘surprise’- and when he thought of this Ianto dismissed the word- it was a revelation, an epiphany; in just over a week he had gone from what he had assumed to be infatuation, to lust, and then to being ‘in love’ with Jack. It wasn’t that Ianto had ever discounted a relationship with a man before, more that he’d never really had the opportunity, or he’d been seeing Lisa when he had. For the first time in a long while he thought that leaving Lisa, his job and London had been the best decision of his life.
Almost two weeks after Jack had proposed, the young Welshman found himself walking down the steps from the offices of the local registrar, his- new husband?- pulling him impatiently towards their car.
“It shouldn’t have been like this,” Jack said as they reached the car. “There should have been friends, and a party, and a proper ceremony ...”
“Don’t be silly- you know I wouldn’t have wanted that, however, wherever, we’d met. THIS is all I want”
“You deserve more...more than me...” Jack had started to look distant.
“Jack, I’m happy- stop stressing. And this is just what I wanted. I didn’t want a fuss. And what I want to do now is this: we go back to the hotel, and we don’t leave our suite for at least the next two days.”
“God, I knew there was a reason I chose you...you have some of the best ideas...” He grinned and turned the key in the ignition, and then drove off at a speed which could have been considered as just that little bit too fast for the narrow, winding roads, and headed back to their rooms at the hotel.
***
It took them a little over three weeks to drive back to Cornwall, as they drove leisurely through France, and then the south of England, stopping in hotels whenever they’d driven enough for that day.
***
Chapter List: http://wanda1969.dreamwidth.org/17042.html
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