‹ Prequel: Soliloquy
Lament
five.
"Who are you?"
The shaky words were out of my mouth before I could think of the fact that maybe I didn't actually want to know who he, it, was. I watched as the Green Faerie's back heaved greatly, as if it was by some enormous labor that he was taking a breath. But maybe it was, I did not know, I could not fathom. His back was arched over his bent knees and his sallow fists were supporting him against the floor. It was a very strange, animalistic position indeed.
His mouth, or what I could see of it, finally formed into a sly smile. "Don't you think the proper question, Miss Brighton, is 'What are you'?" he asked and turned his head. Finally he stood up, away from me, and stood in the corner like he was some child who had done something naughty. "I have seen your dreams...well in truth, I have made them. Why, you ask, you think? It is because I have been having some fun tormenting your nights...it is a terrible habit of mine, I'm afraid. To scare innocent ladies." He paused. "Or even not-so-innocent ladies." I flushed, but said nothing. "The question of who I am or even what I am is irrelevant. I'm here to help you. Think of me as your knight in shining armor."
"I'd rather not," I finally choked out. "If you have seen my dreams, then you must now how terrified and frankly repulsed I am by you."
His tangled black head nodded quietly. "And still you wish to see my face." This I could not deny and was silent. He did not say anything, though and simply wandered around my room a little, inspecting things. He stopped when he came to my vanity and picked up the Faerie mirror that my mother had left me by strange means. I'd found it in my room in my old home in London when I'd gone after my father had died. It had been sitting on that vanity and I'd found out later that it was the mirror that my mother's faerie parents had given to her so long ago.
The Green Faerie looked in the mirror for a long while, but I could not see what he was doing with it. "You said you were going to help me," I said flatly. "How do you mean?"
"You need to know more about the famed Illuminati. I can help give you that information. It may take some time, but I can tell what you wish to know." I could not hide my surprise. Why would he want to help me? He had tormented my dreams, and he had just told me he did this for fun. Why on Earth would he ever want to give me information to help me? "I know you are curious as to why," the Green Faerie went on. "For now, let's just say it's to help out an old friend."
He turned his head towards me only a little and smiled a malicious smile. "Yes," he said quietly. "A very old friend."
I blinked then, a stupid decision. For when I blinked, the Green Faerie was gone. The room was silent, except for the ticking of the clock on my mantel and I felt strangely very alone. And just a little bit empty.
Quickly and quietly I dressed into my nightgown and snuffed out all of my candles. When I finally crawled into my bed, I was anxious to think that I would not be able to sleep. There were a plethora of things on my mind. However, as soon as my head hit my pillow, all of my thoughts, save one, were erased and I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. But my last thought had been those dark eyes of Alphonses and how at one moment they had been so cold and the next, it was like he was telling me he loved me all over again.
When I awoke, it was to sunlight streaming in on my face. The Season had only just begun but I could tell that this would be a sunny, hot and otherwise insufferable summer. At first I had no idea why I'd woken up, but after a few moments, I realized a strange sound was playing outside.
A violin.
Looking to my window, I saw that my window was wide open. I had not left it like that last night, had I? It was hot in this room yes, but I never left the window open. I'd heard too many stories of thieves who had come into the rooms of young girls and defiled them - although in truth I could be defiled no longer. The thought made my cheeks burn as I got out of the bed and moved to the window. It certainly was a violin playing, and I recognized the tune. It was the Funeral Dirge of the Wainwright family - the violin song I'd heard those days before I'd known that it was Alphonse Wainwright hiding in the North Wing of Deathcreeke, not some poltergeist.
And yet, there was no one outside when I stood to look. No Alphonse dressed in white, no innocent Alphonse looking up at me with loving eyes. The sound was disembodied. Chills crawling up my spine, I shut the window. It was broad daylight. Why was I so scared all of a sudden?
The violin faded away eventually, but the entire time it played, I stood like stone in front of my now shut window. But when it was gone, I finally felt free to move. The melody still rang in my ears, though, long after it was truly gone. It haunted me and made me think of Alphonse...and then the mysterious offer of help from the Green Faerie.
Could I trust him? As I went to my vanity, the answer was clear in my head. No, of course not. I could not trust him, but I would allow him to help me if he wished so badly. His reason for helping me scared me a little. A very old friend, he'd said. I did not know to whom he was referring, but something told me I didn't want to know either. It was like his face. An intriguing question that, if I was smart, I would not wish for the answer to. Sitting down at my vanity, I looked at the large mirror. My face was tired, but my eyes were strangely bright today. Taking a deep breath, I closed them and then reopened them. I was growing older and the phyiscal changes were starting to become obvious.
Looking down, I saw that the faerie looking glass sat quietly on the table. Picking it up, I looked at myself in it. What was its purpose? And what was the Green Faerie doing last night when he looked into it? I studied myself carefully in its reflection, my eyes wandering from this mirror image to the bigger one in front of me. I looked no different in either one. And still...there was something different about this looking glass. I could feel it as soon as I put my hand on its white handle.
"You know that if you look too long in a mirror, a piece of your soul gets sucked into Hell," spoke a soft voice. Looking up, I saw Jeannette, my ladies maid, standing at the door. She cracked a smile. "But I'm sure you don't believe in such tales, Miss Brighton."
Putting the mirror down, I laughed. "It's hard to tell just what I believe these days, Jeannette."
Jeannette gave me an odd look but set off to help me dress and do my hair. The entire ordeal took more than an hour, but by the time I was finished it was hard to tell that I'd ever had a tired look to my face. I could not complain. I looked as perfect as I could. Jeannette looked at me carefully as she pinned up one last piece of my hair. "Ah, Miss Brighton, you and Mrs. Wainwright have been invited to a private dinner party tonight at the house of Jules Haverford, Viscount of Farnsworth."
I could not hide my surprise. "Honestly?" I questioned.
She smiled and looked over my curling updo. "Yes, you've just recieved an invitation. Apparantley the Viscont's mother is greatly anxious to meet you."
"I wonder..." I said and turned back to Jeannette. "If I did become the next Viscountess Farnsworth...would you come with me to my new home?" I asked, surprising myself by the boldness of the question. Just thinking about the fact that Jules might want to propose to me someday was a little more than presumptious of me. I did not know what he would or would not do....but this did seem promising.
Jeannette faltered. "But what of Alphonse Wainwright? Where has he gone? I thought you were engaged to him?" she questioned. I could see in her eyes that this question had been on her mind for a long while. But why shouldn't it? She had known of Alphonse's existence in the North Wing, something most of the staff engaged at Deathcreeke did not. She had come with me to London as my personal ladies maid. She must have noticed when Alphonse did not come with us. How he had disappeared that one night...
I turned back to my reflection and looked at Jeannette behind me. "That is none of your concern." My words were quiet, but sharp like daggers. The question of Alphonse made me threaten to crumble. It felt as if there was a hand reaching up from my stomach and clutching at my heart and invading my throat. It made it difficult to breathe. Jeannette lowered her head.
"Sorry, miss," she said, bobbed a curtsy and disappeared out of the room.
My eyes caught my reflection in the mirror once more and I sighed. In truth, the idea of meeting Jules's mother frightened me more than I cared to think about. But I put on a smile, a radiant beaming grin that was only to myself. Even if this was just a travesty, this was one masquerade I must keep up.
The day passed quietly - I made a call to Victoria where Olive happened to be as well. I told them all I could about my relationship with Jules, however, I was not at liberty to say too much. They squealed when I told them of my invitation to a private dinner party with Jules and his mother and they were soon even more convinced than I that I would become the next Viscountess Farnsworth. We spoke naught at all of Edmund Smythe, but Victoria had mentioned that he'd come to dinner last night to discuss the impending wedding. Olive and I had glanced at each other at that. I'd told my beloved Victoria that I would save her from the lecherous Mr. Smythe, however, it seemed like our hope of rescuing her was diminishing.
And when the time came, Jeannette dressed me in a gown appropriate for tonight's dinner and Lily and I were soon out the door. I was excited to be going to Jules's house and nervous to meet his mother...however, there was still one thing in my mind that had haunted me all day.
The violin, and all that came with it. The thoughts about Alphonse and the memory of the Green Faerie the night prior. As we neared Jules's palacial townhouse, though, I did my best to thrust those terrible thoughts out of my mind.
We were well recieved by a good-mannered butler into a cozy and beautifully furnished parlor. Lily and I were praising the decorations quietly when Jules entered on the arm of the person who was obviously his mother. She was a slight woman, shorter and smaller than Jules by a long way, but I could catch her radiance from across the room. As soon as she saw us, her face absolutely lit up and she detached herself from Jules immedietley.
"Mrs. Wainwright, Miss Brighton! How pleased I am to finally make your acquaintance!" she exclaimed and embraced Lily and then me closely. When she pulled back away from me, it was like her eyes were glittering. They were the color of sapphires and I knew then that Mrs. Haverford must have been quite the beauty in her day. "Ah, you are more beautiful than Jules told me." She looked back to her son. "Why did you not tell me that Miss Brighton was the star of the Season?"
Jules grinned, but I saw a blush had come to his cheeks. "Really? I could have sworn I'd said that..." I could not hide my smile and our eyes caught. He nodded to me softly as Mrs. Haverford went to Lily and linked arms with her. They started towards the dining room. Jules came to me. "I am terribly sorry for my embarrassing mother," he said to me.
"No!" I protested. "I am quite flattered. She seems like a wonderful mother," I told him.
The look that passed over Jules's face was wistful and yet happy. "She has suffered so much, with the death of my father and all. Somehow she still manages to light up the room when she comes in. It still amazes me how strong she is."
"You're too modest," I answered. Jules looked at me, surprise on his face. I hid my smile as I looked down to my emerald dancing slippers which matched perfectly my gown. "You, as well, have managed to stay strong. We do not know each other too well, but I know already what a good person you are."
There was something that faltered in Jules's eyes when he said that and he looked away for a moment before turning back to me. "Thank you, Faerie. Coming from you, those words mean so much."
I could tell that he meant what he said, but at that moment a slight sliver of fear passed through me. I couldn't tell why it was it was there, all I knew was it was.
Dinner passed amiably, however, despite the slight anxiousness that Jules's words had given me. Quickly I forgot about it as soon as I got to the table. Mrs. Haverford kept an excellent cook and the food was delicious. In my months in London, I'd had some terrible dishes at various households and was glad to find that the Haverford's table was perfect. Mrs. Haverford quickly proved that was a good conversationalist - she asked me the right questions while straying from questions she knew would give me pain. She gossiped, but never out of jealousy or spite. Her wit sparkled and her bright personality shone through the entire night.
After dinner we all joined together once again in the parlour for coffee, whilst Jules had a brandy. Usually as was custom, the men would depart to another room, however, since Jules was the only male present, we all sat together. Lily and Mrs. Haverford became ensconced in a discussion of today's politics and parliament discussions, something that Lily had always been interested in. It was then that Jules asked permission to show me the portrait room and Mrs. Haveford and Lily both agreed that it would be a good idea.
I did not miss the look they gave each other as we departed together.
As soon as we'd left the room, Jules looked at me. "Have you heard anything more from any of the men that you danced with last night?" he asked and I grinned.
"I have recieved a few bouquets from a couple of the men and a couple requests to go riding through Hyde Park in the afternoon. I know that Wren will want me to accept any offer I get, all in pursuit of research." I paused. "And yourself, have you learned anything more?" I questioned. I did not mention the Green Faerie. I could talk to Glenn about him and only Glenn. Only Glenn would believe me. I didn't even think Wren would understand.
Jules nodded as we swept into the portrait room. "I invited Guillame to my club this afternoon and we started to talk to a few of the men that he knows are in the Illuminata. They all have agreeable relationships with each other, so it wasn't hard to get them to start talking." A spark went through Jules's eyes. "In fact, I might be invited to join the Illuminata quite soon, if you really wish to know."
I could not contain my surprise. This was fantastic news. If Jules was in the Illuminata, he might be able to find out information that I never could! "Oh Jules," I said. "That's wonderful news. I wish I could be invited, alas, I know they probably don't take those of the gentler sex." There was a hint of sarcasm in my voice that Jules caught, but didn't speak upon. He was quiet for a moment or two.
"But you cannot slack on your duties either," he finally said. "You must continue to flirt with men." His tone was blunt. He grinned a little rakishly. "I know Wren calls it something else altogether, but we both know what it truly is. You are using your feminine charms on these men."
I sighed. "And yet I do not even know if it is working. I swear I am the least charming person in the whole of London."
"That's odd considering the fact that I find you quite charming."
"You're just teasing," I answered, for Jules was grinning.
He shook his head. "Not in the least. And..." he was quiet for a moment and took a step closer to me. All at once, everything changed. "If you would allow me to, I can show you just how much I find you charming." Words utterly escaped me. My folded hands trembled as Jules leaned towards me and kissed me softly.
And all at once, I missed Alphonse more than I ever imagined I could.
The shaky words were out of my mouth before I could think of the fact that maybe I didn't actually want to know who he, it, was. I watched as the Green Faerie's back heaved greatly, as if it was by some enormous labor that he was taking a breath. But maybe it was, I did not know, I could not fathom. His back was arched over his bent knees and his sallow fists were supporting him against the floor. It was a very strange, animalistic position indeed.
His mouth, or what I could see of it, finally formed into a sly smile. "Don't you think the proper question, Miss Brighton, is 'What are you'?" he asked and turned his head. Finally he stood up, away from me, and stood in the corner like he was some child who had done something naughty. "I have seen your dreams...well in truth, I have made them. Why, you ask, you think? It is because I have been having some fun tormenting your nights...it is a terrible habit of mine, I'm afraid. To scare innocent ladies." He paused. "Or even not-so-innocent ladies." I flushed, but said nothing. "The question of who I am or even what I am is irrelevant. I'm here to help you. Think of me as your knight in shining armor."
"I'd rather not," I finally choked out. "If you have seen my dreams, then you must now how terrified and frankly repulsed I am by you."
His tangled black head nodded quietly. "And still you wish to see my face." This I could not deny and was silent. He did not say anything, though and simply wandered around my room a little, inspecting things. He stopped when he came to my vanity and picked up the Faerie mirror that my mother had left me by strange means. I'd found it in my room in my old home in London when I'd gone after my father had died. It had been sitting on that vanity and I'd found out later that it was the mirror that my mother's faerie parents had given to her so long ago.
The Green Faerie looked in the mirror for a long while, but I could not see what he was doing with it. "You said you were going to help me," I said flatly. "How do you mean?"
"You need to know more about the famed Illuminati. I can help give you that information. It may take some time, but I can tell what you wish to know." I could not hide my surprise. Why would he want to help me? He had tormented my dreams, and he had just told me he did this for fun. Why on Earth would he ever want to give me information to help me? "I know you are curious as to why," the Green Faerie went on. "For now, let's just say it's to help out an old friend."
He turned his head towards me only a little and smiled a malicious smile. "Yes," he said quietly. "A very old friend."
I blinked then, a stupid decision. For when I blinked, the Green Faerie was gone. The room was silent, except for the ticking of the clock on my mantel and I felt strangely very alone. And just a little bit empty.
Quickly and quietly I dressed into my nightgown and snuffed out all of my candles. When I finally crawled into my bed, I was anxious to think that I would not be able to sleep. There were a plethora of things on my mind. However, as soon as my head hit my pillow, all of my thoughts, save one, were erased and I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. But my last thought had been those dark eyes of Alphonses and how at one moment they had been so cold and the next, it was like he was telling me he loved me all over again.
When I awoke, it was to sunlight streaming in on my face. The Season had only just begun but I could tell that this would be a sunny, hot and otherwise insufferable summer. At first I had no idea why I'd woken up, but after a few moments, I realized a strange sound was playing outside.
A violin.
Looking to my window, I saw that my window was wide open. I had not left it like that last night, had I? It was hot in this room yes, but I never left the window open. I'd heard too many stories of thieves who had come into the rooms of young girls and defiled them - although in truth I could be defiled no longer. The thought made my cheeks burn as I got out of the bed and moved to the window. It certainly was a violin playing, and I recognized the tune. It was the Funeral Dirge of the Wainwright family - the violin song I'd heard those days before I'd known that it was Alphonse Wainwright hiding in the North Wing of Deathcreeke, not some poltergeist.
And yet, there was no one outside when I stood to look. No Alphonse dressed in white, no innocent Alphonse looking up at me with loving eyes. The sound was disembodied. Chills crawling up my spine, I shut the window. It was broad daylight. Why was I so scared all of a sudden?
The violin faded away eventually, but the entire time it played, I stood like stone in front of my now shut window. But when it was gone, I finally felt free to move. The melody still rang in my ears, though, long after it was truly gone. It haunted me and made me think of Alphonse...and then the mysterious offer of help from the Green Faerie.
Could I trust him? As I went to my vanity, the answer was clear in my head. No, of course not. I could not trust him, but I would allow him to help me if he wished so badly. His reason for helping me scared me a little. A very old friend, he'd said. I did not know to whom he was referring, but something told me I didn't want to know either. It was like his face. An intriguing question that, if I was smart, I would not wish for the answer to. Sitting down at my vanity, I looked at the large mirror. My face was tired, but my eyes were strangely bright today. Taking a deep breath, I closed them and then reopened them. I was growing older and the phyiscal changes were starting to become obvious.
Looking down, I saw that the faerie looking glass sat quietly on the table. Picking it up, I looked at myself in it. What was its purpose? And what was the Green Faerie doing last night when he looked into it? I studied myself carefully in its reflection, my eyes wandering from this mirror image to the bigger one in front of me. I looked no different in either one. And still...there was something different about this looking glass. I could feel it as soon as I put my hand on its white handle.
"You know that if you look too long in a mirror, a piece of your soul gets sucked into Hell," spoke a soft voice. Looking up, I saw Jeannette, my ladies maid, standing at the door. She cracked a smile. "But I'm sure you don't believe in such tales, Miss Brighton."
Putting the mirror down, I laughed. "It's hard to tell just what I believe these days, Jeannette."
Jeannette gave me an odd look but set off to help me dress and do my hair. The entire ordeal took more than an hour, but by the time I was finished it was hard to tell that I'd ever had a tired look to my face. I could not complain. I looked as perfect as I could. Jeannette looked at me carefully as she pinned up one last piece of my hair. "Ah, Miss Brighton, you and Mrs. Wainwright have been invited to a private dinner party tonight at the house of Jules Haverford, Viscount of Farnsworth."
I could not hide my surprise. "Honestly?" I questioned.
She smiled and looked over my curling updo. "Yes, you've just recieved an invitation. Apparantley the Viscont's mother is greatly anxious to meet you."
"I wonder..." I said and turned back to Jeannette. "If I did become the next Viscountess Farnsworth...would you come with me to my new home?" I asked, surprising myself by the boldness of the question. Just thinking about the fact that Jules might want to propose to me someday was a little more than presumptious of me. I did not know what he would or would not do....but this did seem promising.
Jeannette faltered. "But what of Alphonse Wainwright? Where has he gone? I thought you were engaged to him?" she questioned. I could see in her eyes that this question had been on her mind for a long while. But why shouldn't it? She had known of Alphonse's existence in the North Wing, something most of the staff engaged at Deathcreeke did not. She had come with me to London as my personal ladies maid. She must have noticed when Alphonse did not come with us. How he had disappeared that one night...
I turned back to my reflection and looked at Jeannette behind me. "That is none of your concern." My words were quiet, but sharp like daggers. The question of Alphonse made me threaten to crumble. It felt as if there was a hand reaching up from my stomach and clutching at my heart and invading my throat. It made it difficult to breathe. Jeannette lowered her head.
"Sorry, miss," she said, bobbed a curtsy and disappeared out of the room.
My eyes caught my reflection in the mirror once more and I sighed. In truth, the idea of meeting Jules's mother frightened me more than I cared to think about. But I put on a smile, a radiant beaming grin that was only to myself. Even if this was just a travesty, this was one masquerade I must keep up.
The day passed quietly - I made a call to Victoria where Olive happened to be as well. I told them all I could about my relationship with Jules, however, I was not at liberty to say too much. They squealed when I told them of my invitation to a private dinner party with Jules and his mother and they were soon even more convinced than I that I would become the next Viscountess Farnsworth. We spoke naught at all of Edmund Smythe, but Victoria had mentioned that he'd come to dinner last night to discuss the impending wedding. Olive and I had glanced at each other at that. I'd told my beloved Victoria that I would save her from the lecherous Mr. Smythe, however, it seemed like our hope of rescuing her was diminishing.
And when the time came, Jeannette dressed me in a gown appropriate for tonight's dinner and Lily and I were soon out the door. I was excited to be going to Jules's house and nervous to meet his mother...however, there was still one thing in my mind that had haunted me all day.
The violin, and all that came with it. The thoughts about Alphonse and the memory of the Green Faerie the night prior. As we neared Jules's palacial townhouse, though, I did my best to thrust those terrible thoughts out of my mind.
We were well recieved by a good-mannered butler into a cozy and beautifully furnished parlor. Lily and I were praising the decorations quietly when Jules entered on the arm of the person who was obviously his mother. She was a slight woman, shorter and smaller than Jules by a long way, but I could catch her radiance from across the room. As soon as she saw us, her face absolutely lit up and she detached herself from Jules immedietley.
"Mrs. Wainwright, Miss Brighton! How pleased I am to finally make your acquaintance!" she exclaimed and embraced Lily and then me closely. When she pulled back away from me, it was like her eyes were glittering. They were the color of sapphires and I knew then that Mrs. Haverford must have been quite the beauty in her day. "Ah, you are more beautiful than Jules told me." She looked back to her son. "Why did you not tell me that Miss Brighton was the star of the Season?"
Jules grinned, but I saw a blush had come to his cheeks. "Really? I could have sworn I'd said that..." I could not hide my smile and our eyes caught. He nodded to me softly as Mrs. Haverford went to Lily and linked arms with her. They started towards the dining room. Jules came to me. "I am terribly sorry for my embarrassing mother," he said to me.
"No!" I protested. "I am quite flattered. She seems like a wonderful mother," I told him.
The look that passed over Jules's face was wistful and yet happy. "She has suffered so much, with the death of my father and all. Somehow she still manages to light up the room when she comes in. It still amazes me how strong she is."
"You're too modest," I answered. Jules looked at me, surprise on his face. I hid my smile as I looked down to my emerald dancing slippers which matched perfectly my gown. "You, as well, have managed to stay strong. We do not know each other too well, but I know already what a good person you are."
There was something that faltered in Jules's eyes when he said that and he looked away for a moment before turning back to me. "Thank you, Faerie. Coming from you, those words mean so much."
I could tell that he meant what he said, but at that moment a slight sliver of fear passed through me. I couldn't tell why it was it was there, all I knew was it was.
Dinner passed amiably, however, despite the slight anxiousness that Jules's words had given me. Quickly I forgot about it as soon as I got to the table. Mrs. Haverford kept an excellent cook and the food was delicious. In my months in London, I'd had some terrible dishes at various households and was glad to find that the Haverford's table was perfect. Mrs. Haverford quickly proved that was a good conversationalist - she asked me the right questions while straying from questions she knew would give me pain. She gossiped, but never out of jealousy or spite. Her wit sparkled and her bright personality shone through the entire night.
After dinner we all joined together once again in the parlour for coffee, whilst Jules had a brandy. Usually as was custom, the men would depart to another room, however, since Jules was the only male present, we all sat together. Lily and Mrs. Haverford became ensconced in a discussion of today's politics and parliament discussions, something that Lily had always been interested in. It was then that Jules asked permission to show me the portrait room and Mrs. Haveford and Lily both agreed that it would be a good idea.
I did not miss the look they gave each other as we departed together.
As soon as we'd left the room, Jules looked at me. "Have you heard anything more from any of the men that you danced with last night?" he asked and I grinned.
"I have recieved a few bouquets from a couple of the men and a couple requests to go riding through Hyde Park in the afternoon. I know that Wren will want me to accept any offer I get, all in pursuit of research." I paused. "And yourself, have you learned anything more?" I questioned. I did not mention the Green Faerie. I could talk to Glenn about him and only Glenn. Only Glenn would believe me. I didn't even think Wren would understand.
Jules nodded as we swept into the portrait room. "I invited Guillame to my club this afternoon and we started to talk to a few of the men that he knows are in the Illuminata. They all have agreeable relationships with each other, so it wasn't hard to get them to start talking." A spark went through Jules's eyes. "In fact, I might be invited to join the Illuminata quite soon, if you really wish to know."
I could not contain my surprise. This was fantastic news. If Jules was in the Illuminata, he might be able to find out information that I never could! "Oh Jules," I said. "That's wonderful news. I wish I could be invited, alas, I know they probably don't take those of the gentler sex." There was a hint of sarcasm in my voice that Jules caught, but didn't speak upon. He was quiet for a moment or two.
"But you cannot slack on your duties either," he finally said. "You must continue to flirt with men." His tone was blunt. He grinned a little rakishly. "I know Wren calls it something else altogether, but we both know what it truly is. You are using your feminine charms on these men."
I sighed. "And yet I do not even know if it is working. I swear I am the least charming person in the whole of London."
"That's odd considering the fact that I find you quite charming."
"You're just teasing," I answered, for Jules was grinning.
He shook his head. "Not in the least. And..." he was quiet for a moment and took a step closer to me. All at once, everything changed. "If you would allow me to, I can show you just how much I find you charming." Words utterly escaped me. My folded hands trembled as Jules leaned towards me and kissed me softly.
And all at once, I missed Alphonse more than I ever imagined I could.
♠ ♠ ♠
