Argent. Her grandmother had always referred to her tea set as 'argent'. Marie had always mistaken the word for 'ardent', and wondered why her grandmother was so passionate about tea. Indeed, she had been, instructing Marie as a very young girl in the art of setting a good table for tea. Not that they had been British. Somewhere down the line someone had been, and had brought that gentility with them into the southern United States, where Marie had been influenced by it. Deeply.
Marie sighed and reread the letter that had been included in the box with the lovingly packed tea service. Her grandmother had died, leaving her the treasured items, along with a note on how much she hoped her granddaughter's life would be blessed with cheerfulness and love. Not happiness, mind you. Her grandmother had been ardent on that point. Happiness was for those who had no difficulties in life. Cheerfulness was for those who had them but persevered with a positive outlook anyway.
They hadn't told her when her grandmother had died. They hadn't wanted her at the funeral. But her mother had at least packed the heirloom and her grandmother's wishes in a box and sent them. That had to mean something. Didn't it?
A gentle knock on the door, brought Marie's head up sharply, and she smiled at the gruff, but concerned look that greeted her. With a pat, she invited the man into her room and asked him to sit on the side of the bed with her.
"So, tell me Logan. What does 'argent' mean?" she asked, more to throw him off asking her why she had been close to tears a moment ago than anything else.
"Silver, the metal, or silver in a flag, I think." He thoughtfully chewed on the cigar in his mouth as he glanced from the tea set to Marie and frowned. "Something up?"
"No. Not really. Just a present from an old friend." She remembered her grandmother's laughter as she recounted how many suitors she had served tea before she had determined to marry the man who became Marie's grandfather.
"He was the one who cared more about the server than the service," she had said.
"Come on, sugar. Let's haul this stuff into the kitchen and put it to good use. It's about time Ah instructed you on the art of serving tea, Southern style."
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Story Notes:
This was an answer to a colorfic challenge. It's not romantic, but implications are there, and as the only two characters in it are Logan and Marie, I'll go ahead and post here.