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Rumford Gold stood nervously in front of the library. It had been open for at least half an hour now, but it had taken him the full thirty minutes to get up the courage to leave his shop and walk across the street. His stomach turned and he couldn’t tell if it was from the nerves building up inside of him or the hangover he had from drinking so many Old Fashioneds the night before.
Saturday mornings were usually fairly quiet at the library. It was the perfect time for him to grab a private moment with the librarian, Miss French.
Unfortunately, his legs seemed rooted to the spot.
He caught a flash of movement inside the library and realized that it was Miss French herself. She had spotted him and was waving him in.
Now or never, Gold told himself. He gritted his teeth and strode inside.
Miss French was behind the checkout counter now and was giving him a welcome smile. It dropped a moment later when she saw the grim look on his face.
“Is everything alright, Rumford?” she asked, her voice sounding small and concerned.
“Actually, it’s not.” He walked up to the counter and stood there stiffly. “It’s about last night.”
Her eyes got very big and her mouth formed a small “O" shape.
“I see,” she said a moment later. Belle began to shuffle some papers on her desk, not looking him in the eyes. “What about it?”
“I’m afraid I have to apologize for my behavior, Miss French. I was rather drunk at the time and behaved inappropriately.” Gold clutched his cane tightly, wishing he could be anywhere else at the moment.
“I suppose I had a little too much as well,” Belle began, a slight confusion in her eyes when she finally looked up at him. “But it was consensual, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
He shook his head. “No, that’s not why I’m here. It’s just – “ He found himself struggling for words, a problem he was not used to. “ – I usually don’t do things like that.”
Her smile was tight and didn’t reach her eyes. “I understand, Mr. Gold. I figured it was a one-time thing when you left this morning.”
Gold ran his free hand through his hair agitatedly. He had thought he could get over to his shop and back before she woke, but then his cowardice had kicked in. He had ended up waiting until he could speak with her in the library, thinking it would be easier to speak there than in the place where they had – well, where they had.
“I realize what that must have looked like,” he said quickly. “I was actually just going to the shop to get – “
She held up a hand. “There’s no need to explain. I get it. It was a one-night stand. Nothing more.” She picked up some books that were sitting on the counter. “I won’t bother you again,” she said, before turning and walking towards some nearby bookshelves.
“No, that’s not what I meant!”
At the tone of his voice, she paused in front of the shelf, her arm already halfway extended towards it. She looked back at him in surprise.
Gold closed his eyes and allowed his breathing to slow. “Please Miss French, just hear me out.” He opened his eyes and saw her give him a slight nod. She seemed a bit wary, but he couldn’t really blame her for that. He was handling this badly.
Perhaps it would be better if he just got to the point, he realized. He took a deep breath and said, “Miss French, I would like you to consider marrying me.”
The books in her arms tumbled to the floor with a crash. But that was nothing compared to the shock written across her face.
“Are you kidding me?”
Gold winced. It wasn't exactly the response he had been hoping for.
He held up a hand. “Just hear me out.”
A muscle in her jaw twitched. For a moment, Gold thought she would argue with him. But instead, she folded her arms across her chest, an unspoken “this better be good” hanging between them.
“As I’m sure you’re aware, I’m not well liked in Storybrooke. In fact, you could say I’m practically universally reviled.” His face turned into a grimace. “If people were to learn of your association with me – that I had defiled you – “
“Defiled?” Belle interrupted incredulously.
Gold waved his hand about absently. “Whatever you want to call it – regardless, people could make life in this town very difficult for you.” He reached into his pocket and drew out an antique diamond ring that practically shimmered in the low lighting. “However, if you were to marry me, I could protect you.” He gave a slight laugh. “No one will dare mess with you when I can easily have them evicted.”
Belle’s eyes narrowed. Gold suddenly realized that he had never seen her truly angry before. He took an automatic step back.
“I don’t know what’s more unbelievable,” Belle said, her voice high-pitched and strained, “you having the arrogance to believe I’d marry you after one night together, or that you think I’d be flattered by your attempts to evict people to save my supposed honor.”
She glanced contemptuously down at the ring still held in his fingers. “Get out.”
His eyebrows rose. “What?”
“I said get out.” She pointed towards the door. “This isn’t Jane Austen. I don’t need you to protect my virtue which, for your information, I lost long before last night.” Her mouth was set in a hard thin line. “I thought I knew you better than the rest of the town. But they were right...”
Gold felt his heart clench in his chest as her eyes grew cold.
“…you really are a beast.”
Not trusting himself to speak, he merely nodded, tucking the ring back in his pocket and turning to walk out the door. He was halfway through it when he looked back over his shoulder to where Miss French was standing, waves of anger still radiating off of her.
“That wasn’t the only reason, you know,” he said quietly. “I would have been very happy to share my life with you.”
And without another word, he walked out into the street, quickly crossing it until he was back in the safety of his pawnshop, where the world could not touch him.
He thought about returning the ring to its case, but realized he couldn’t bear the thought of seeing it every day – a reminder that Miss French had kicked him out of her life before he was even in it. Even worse, he realized, would be if some other couple, happy and in the bloom of love, came by and purchased it. He could stomach the thought of the ring on some other woman’s finger even less.
So he put it in a tiny box and hid it in a drawer in the back where it could gather dust. Maybe he’d even forget about it eventually.
Gold snorted. That was hardly likely anytime soon.
The rest of the day passed slowly, the seconds feeling like minutes and the minutes stretching by like endless hours. It wasn’t until he was about to close shop at 5 o’clock that his telephone rang.
He almost didn’t answer it. When he did, he nearly dropped the phone onto the floor.
The voice on the line was the last he had expected to hear.
“Rumford?” Belle asked, sounding worried. “Are you still there?”
He cleared his throat nervously. “Yes – yes, I’m here.”
There was a pause and he wondered briefly if she had hung up. When she finally spoke again, he realized he had been holding his breath.
“I wanted to apologize for what I said earlier. I was a bit…harsh.” Gold heard her take a breath before she continued. “I won’t say you handled the situation well, but I think I understand now that you were doing what you thought was best.”
He wanted to tell her that yes, that was correct, but his tongue seemed to be made of lead and he couldn’t seem to get the words to come out.
Thankfully, she saved him the trouble and continued. “I mean, I always knew you were old fashioned, but that was a bit over the top. Even for you.”
He let out a nervous chuckle. “I suppose it’s a side effect. It’s hard to be very modern with a name like Rumford.”
His heart soared when he heard her giggle. “I suppose that’s true.” She paused once again. “Perhaps…perhaps we could start again. As friends.”
There was a hopeful tone in her voice. For the first time since he had walked out of the library, he felt that his world might not end after all.
“I’d like that.”
He could almost hear her smile over the phone. “Good. Well, good night then, Rumford.”
“Good night,” he said before adding hesitantly. “Belle.”
He hung up and felt his entire body sigh with relief. He’d clearly have to take things slow, but maybe, just maybe, there was a small chance that he could fix things with Belle. Or at the very least, not have to avoid her for the rest of his life.
It was past closing time now and he was just reaching to shut off the lights when he suddenly remembered something. He had ordered a special delivery from the flower shop earlier that morning, before his disastrous proposal. A delivery which was probably arriving at Belle’s apartment at that very moment.
With more speed than a man with a cane could usually muster, he locked up the shop and raced across the street.
If he hurried, maybe he’d manage to get there before Belle did. There wasn’t time to get rid of the dozen roses, of course. But there may be just enough time to snatch away the balloons that read “Congratulations on Your Engagement!”
Gold swallowed and hurried even faster.
Perhaps he should consider working on this whole "old-fashioned" thing.