A Change of Business

[Valentina Audley]

The rosy glow of his cheeks in the lamplight made a charming effect, as did his serious air of chivalrous heroism. Such a pretty boy... Again her mind wander off course a little and she leans back against the sofa, contemplating him for a long moment, before drawing herself back to business.

"That's really very kind of you to offer darling, but do not worry for me so. My dear friend Mr Dubois knows a few sturdy lads who are happy to accompany me should I need to venture astray and for the rest of the time I find care and caution do the job."

Mmm, really very pretty and the way his chest rises and falls as he breathes is quite graceful in an unusual sort of way. She pats the sofa next to her, invitingly.

"I need you to care for this little shop for me. To open in the daytime and to run and run well will do much to hide my nature from the eyes of this uncaring world and for that I need you and your talents here. It is no small thing to run a successful business and even less so to run one by day and have other duties in the evenings. Sturdy lads are ten a penny but where should I find myself another Jacob Swainswick?"

Flattery, as Valentina well knows, can be an effective tool and one she's never been afraid to use. The honeyed words, the gesture towards intimacy, with any luck it'll take the sting out of the refusal and leave him eager to do her bidding. Far easier to do it this way than show an outward exertion of will.

[Jacob Swainswick]

The young man did not require telling twice. He sat carefully on the indicated spot, unafraid to meet her gaze earnestly.

"Miss Audley," he said, "if this is the role you'd have me play, then this is what I'll do."

There was much more he might have said; but it seemed the better to speak too little, than too much.

[Valentina Audley]

Tempting. Yes, very tempting. But still, so new! Valentina smiles up at him as she thinks. This close he's warm and inviting and oh so sweetly earnest. However, should he prove to have a jealous or possessive streak, it could make life tricky, so now is the time to exercise all due caution.

"Now then darling, how are you settling into the shop? Are the living quarters arranged to your satisfaction? And do you need a night off a fortnight? To see your young lady?"

She gazes up at him trying to give the appearance of someone concerned for his happiness. "That is to say, I assume you have such a one?"

First find out how he reacts to that. She knows there's no such girl, that was part of her specifications - no ties. Still, he doesn't need to know she knows...

[Jacob Swainswick]

"Oh, no, no." That to the last; then: "The lodgings are very comfortable. I'm quite at home here. When I came down from Gloucester, Smith - you recall Mr. Smith? - helped me to find a room; adequate, of course, but it wasn't a shade on this.

"As for a young lady, my intention was to find my feet, so to speak: to better my prospects, to establish myself, before I sought any match. Given what we've just discussed, 'haps it'd be better to delay such things until your current business is settled." He spoke lightly, not over-stressing the words; there was no sly verbal tap of the nose to cue any listener to the arcane nature of his mistress' business.

He hesitated for a moment, though, his brow furrowing slightly in introspection. "In all honesty," he added, "I've not really given the matter much thought in the last few weeks."

[Valentina Audley]

Valentina's smile turns arch. "Well, you've been a busy lad these past few weeks, haven't you?"

He was hers. He might not know it yet, but there it was. Now it was merely a case of checking for jealousy. She shifts, seemingly casually, but they are now sat very close to each other. Close enough for her to monitor his every move for the most subtle meaning.

"That reminds me darling, I'm expecting a Mr Verity to call some time in the next few nights. You will look after him with especial care won't you Jacob?"

She looks down briefly when she mentions Reggie, glancing back up at him, as one thinking of a flirtatious interlude. Under her lowered lids she's assessing him, seeing what he makes of that little tidbit. Will be be sulky or can he accept it?

[Jacob Swainswick]

It's a shock, of course. Miss Audley is far above his station; and of course she must have admirers. And perhaps, for one fortunate soul, return their affections. He'd known that, in principle.

Nonetheless, it is a theorem of poets that there is no more singular disappointment that a young man can suffer than to have such possibilities reified - and by the innocent words of the object of his fascination.

At such times, what remains to be salvaged is a devotion to one's duty.

"I'll extend him every hospitality, naturally," said he, after a moment. He hoped that his voice didn't sound as hollow as it felt.

And in the case of Jacob Swainswick, the solace - cold as it currently was, perhaps, but still there - that she had, at the least, demonstrated a platonic affection for him, by taking him into her fatal confidence.

The reader may feel some sympathy for the young man that this train of thought was not wholly novel to him: for despite his remarkable looks and bearing, a similar experience, albeit involving a less literally fatal confidence, had taught the young man that any suit fashioned from those fine qualities must be lined with prospects and stitched with some measure of success. Let us console ourselves, then, that he was a man capable of learning such a bitter lesson: and that the event that had ultimately driven him from Gloucester in search of his fortune had steeled him a little against such vicissitudes.

[Valentina Audley]

Valentina leans back against the sofa. Not the worst reaction. But of course she's not finished yet.

"Did I tell you darling, that those of the Rose are also thought to be dreadfully fickle? I've never come to a conclusion as to why that's supposed to be a dreadful thing."

Not entirely true of course, but again, he doesn't need to know that. She looks up at him through lowered lashes.

"For example, would you think me dreadful if I were fickle?"

[Jacob Swainswick]

Jacob was suddenly aware that the hairs on the back of his neck were standing up. The rest of the room swam out of focus as his pupils dilated; a spot of colour warming his cheeks.

"I would say, Miss Audley -"

His platitudinous protestations stopped before he could utter them. Such a bold challenge to convention had been the first thing about her that had fascinated him, long before he'd learnt the truth - indeed, after that initial conversation he'd dwelt long on how conventional his own responses must have seemed. Instead, after another long moment of thought:

"That is, in your position you've somewhat transcended the judgments of - well, ordinary society. I can see how some would find that dreadful," he emphasised the first syllable, "but I cannot. I mean, I do not. Dread you."

[Valentina Audley]

Perfect. Hook, line and sinker! It would take some time, but patience is a virtue Valentina does possess and in time her newest addition to the shop will be as perfectly molded to her whims as his coat is too his body.

She claps her hands and laughs happily.

"Darling, we're going to be such good friends, you and I. I just know it!" Her voice caresses the words 'good friends', insinuating meaning to let him make of, what he will.

Time to keep him a little off balance and guessing.

"Now then, do you have any more questions you'd like me to answer Jacob?" He'd learn in time, that such open invitations to ask for knowledge would be rare and yet, he'd weathered tonight well enough and she was feeling generous towards him.

[Jacob Swainswick]

It is furthermore a truism that hope springs eternal in the breasts of young men, especially when subject to such artful signals.

"Well, I wish you'd tell me more about this unpleasantness," he suggested, "that I could be of best help. But I - I suppose I understand if you feel the need for discretion."

A thought occurred to him.

"You say that yours is the family of the Rose," he mused. "Do you then trace lineage to the Tudors? And -" he looked somewhat abashed - "the question is rather forward, but: are you then born into your, ah, singular state?"