An Evening Stroll (Open to all)

[Valentina Audley]

Valentina laughs so hard she forgets to breathe momentarily. She splutters and chokes and then giggles some more. Hamlyn steps forward but she waves both him and William away, until she gets herself under control.

"Darling I never heard anything so funny in all my days! Goodness me, what a wonderful story!" She laughs again.

"The Thimble, all the Thimbles, are just fine darling. I have more sewing than I know what to do with and not nearly enough time to train up girls to be high class mistresses!" She grins, catlike, though she's speaking softly, so as not to let the mortals also on the street hear.

"Not to mention far too many 'playmates' of my own to have time for such a testing regime!" The thought brings another giggle to her lips.

"Dear, oh deary me! What a wonderful lark!" Yet another giggle bubbles out of her. "Perhaps I should start such a business? What fun it could be! Goodness only knows where I would find the time though!"

"No, I think I shall leave being a 'Madam' to those who know their business and stick to sewing darling. Though I must look into whatever I have done to displease Miss Mayweather so..." She decides not to mention she could make a pretty shrewd guess. Plausible deniability is always Valentina's preferred method.

[annabelle]

The human wipes his wet from tears face, crying silently from the laughter. After few minutes he composes himself, wipes the last tears and clears his throat.

“Glad you liked it and it didn’t cause you any discomfort Miss Audley. Whoever thought about it was a fool, such a great business idea to be wasted in gossips. In fact, this kind of business can be expanded in many other cities, there is so much potential there. I bet even peasants will sell everything just to have a piece of the illusion of sleeping with a noble. You just need to invest more in the training, costly short term but in the long run it can bring you so much more profit than a regular brothel. A fortune! Also think about of all the secrets the mistresses will hear. You will end up having in your hands a ton of secrets of the mortal high class society without even trying.”

Helen stares at the horizon with gleaming eyes. She didn’t care about the profit but the idea of starting something that can expand beyond Bath was intriguing.

“Too bad I am not competent enough to be a Madam. You don’t have time, but you are competent, I have time but I am incompetent or at least I lack the knowledge. Such a shame.”

He seems thoughtful for a moment “Well, I am the second best in dominate in this court if not the first. If I find time, I can always dominate a bunch of Madams and do the job. However, my experience in the area is lacking, so not sure what they should be doing in the first place. We can always cooperate in the future if there is time. I will be open for business proposals. As for Miss Mayweather, if she is behind the rumours, well I doubt she will burn your place for real, it’s not like she is a pyromaniac arsonist or anything…right? Of course not!” and his grin to that is wide, too wide.

“Can always seek information on your behalf on this matter…subtly of course.”

[Valentina Audley]

"In order for a falsehood to hurt it must target the subject in a way they find offensive darling." Valentina grins cheerfully at William.

"The idea of me running a brothel out of the premises of the Thimble is so ludicrous as to be hilarious and were I to actually indulge in such an enterprise I'd hardly be so foolish as to involve my upmarket boutique in such a clandestine manner!" She sounds amused and the tiniest bit insulted, after all, it's vexing to think there are people out there who think that it's possible others will believe her so thoughtless.

"As a business proposition, I suppose it does have a certain merit. I think we'd want the recruiting madam to be a ghoul ideally and one picked especially for the purpose. As for the girls, there are plenty of ambitious chits out there, who'd love a chance at the fine life if it gave them a generous retirement plan." She tilts her head thoughtfully. "Which, if we didn't want to profit materially from the venture it might well do. Rich men pay well, rich women even more so. I could outfit them, though I would need to set up another workroom somewhere, well away from the Thimble. I wouldn't harm the Thimble..."

She stops and her eyes light up with an idea. "A boarding house darling! Ostensibly for respectable young ladies making their way in the world, all very modern and progressive. The madam could front it as a respectable widow lady, making ends meet and I could sneak a sewing room into the basement." She giggles.

"What larks it would be! Alas, I really don't have the time to set it all up right now." She sounds genuinely regretful.

[annabelle]

William grins but then gets serious and stays thoughtful for a while. Helen’s mind working in full force considering all the implication and merits of such endeavour. She was slightly surprised they ended up discussing this idea seriously but gradually it was becoming more and more intriguing. There was something extremely ironic and hilarious in the prospect of her co running a “boarding house” along with Valentina out of all people. However,….in the Ventrue’s dictionary hilarious and ironic were two glorious words combined against boredom.

“A Boarding House…I think it’s a lovely idea Miss Audley but…in all seriousness it can be actually charitable for them and beneficial for us. I believe the girls should have a choice to join in the first place and what path they are to choose afterwards. They can be married or become mistresses, whatever they prefer.
Indeed, such a progressive idea. Whoever thought about this gossip, they deserve a reward or perhaps a flower bouquet. The potential…oh the potential…Providing them with opportunities and saving them from the restriction of a commoner. Helen smiled inwardly and subtly. She really liked the idea.

But the warm smile gets replaced by a mischievous one and her smile is wide, too wide, dangerously wide “We should get all the virgins we can find in Aquae Sulis, will be easy to figure out with dominate. You can’t trust the commoners otherwise and virginity will be essential if we are to promote some of them as wife material.” And the smiles get wider if that was even possible. She then claps her hands happily.

“Anyway, a lot of practical matters to discuss and I still need to visit my acquaintances, I am running late. I believe we can find some time at some point, we have the time of the world right? Well… hopefully. So, with the first chance I think we should at least get in more depth regarding the practicalities. We don’t have much to lose if we keep ourselves in the shadows and not let our names be revealed, right?”

[Valentina Audley]

"Indeed darling, we'd only want willing recruits." Valentina turns serious for a moment. "I find the idea of unwilling partners distasteful in the extreme. Plus of course, willing and happy employees work harder as a general rule."

At Helen's comment re virgins, Valentina laughs a little. "They don't all need to be darling, so long as a doctor certifies them as healthy. This may surprise you, but some people like experienced partners..."

At Helen's talk of departure Valentina nods gravely, though her eyes twinkle. "Indeed darling. Alas, I do infact, have too many commissions to take on any more business, but I should hopefully have a little more free time in a few months. Perhaps we could discuss this again at another meeting of our kind?"

She bobs a neat curtsey, the very image of a respectable young lady taking leave from a gentleman. "I thank you for the flowers and your kind words sir. Good evening." Her voice is prim and proper, but her eyes sparkle with amused merriment.