In late February, well after dinner, but before midnight, Liam, Paige's valet comes pounding on Solange's door. "Lady Solange, please?"
Solange lays aside her book, and sets her mug of tea down next to the bowl of popcorn she's been munching. She shrugs out of the quilt she'd wrapped around herself, and pulls on a dressing gown over her chemise, stepping into her fleece-lined slippers as she walks to the door.
When Solange answers, he doesn't give her time to answer. "Please, it's Lady Sommers, she's in a bad way. Please?" Liam takes her hand and leads her at a run to Paige's chambers. In the distance she can hear Paige's husky voice singing, "Who's that knocking at my door, who's that knocking at my door? Who that knocking at the door, said the fair young maiden..." and laughter.
Solange's initial worry fades under a surge of exasperation.
Turning a corner, Paige can be seen climbing the stairs to her family quarters with the assistance of one of the other pages. She can barely stand, but catches Solange's eye, singing, "Well...." looking for the page to sing along, "Open the door you f'ing whore..." laughter again spilling out, "I'm sorry Solange, I didn't mean you."
Solange rolls her eyes at her cousin, but says nothing.
Paige is wearing a rather revealing dress, somehting that one might expect a courtesan to wear. It's flame red, cut much lower than Aunt Felicity would deem prudent and as she climbs the stairs, it's apparent that the slits in the side provide for more than ample movement..
"Nice dress," Solange mutters under her breath as the full impact hits her.
She does her best to stand up straight and falls forward into Liam's arms. Laughing, she lets him help her up and lead her to the door. Through the door she collapses in the sitting area on the plush rug and just lays there.
Solange shakes her head.
In a sing-song voice, still to the sea shanty tune she sings, "He's so good to me my page, he's so good to me my page, He's so good to me my page, my darling Liam." Laughter. "Of course I need another for them to be Paige's pages." Laughter
Liam looks to Solange, "What can I do for her, mi'Lady? I've never seen her this bad."
Solange looks Paige over, noting the boozy breath, the red, runny nose, the clumsiness and -- most worrisome -- the slowed breathing. "Go to the kitchens and fetch us a pitcher of ice water and a pot of strong black coffee, if you would, Liam? That'll do for a start."
Paige lifts her head to answer, but sways abit and lays it back down before answering, "Never grow up Liam. Never become a man, or at least if you do stay who you are and some woman will be lucky to have you."
"Lady?" Laim asks more confused than his 11 years have prepared him for.
"Don't let her worry you, Liam," Solange says. "Just run fetch the coffee, there's a good lad." If necessary, she hustles Liam out the door.
Solange grabs a couple of pillows off the nearest bed or sofa, and uses them to help prop Paige up at least half-sitting. She sits down next to her cousin and puts an arm around her shoulders.
"What's the occasion?" she asks, half affectionate, half exasperated.
A sniff and rubbing the nose with her lace sleeve, "Can't you see? I'm a whore again." Tears start welling in her eyes. "That's what he wants, so that's what I'll be." The laughter is gone, the words come slowly and the crying starts to shake her whole body. She leans over onto Solange's shoulder.
Solange strokes her cousin's hair. She is saved from having to answer by Liam's return.
Liam comes back far too quickly to have actually reached the kitchens. Cambina is behind him, carrying a tray with a carafe of water, a pot of coffee, a loaf of french bread, and a big bottle of aspirin.
"Where should I put this down?"
"On the desk," Solange suggests. "That's out of her reach, she can't knock it over. Did you bring any cups?"
Liam can be heard to mutter under his breath, "If he hurt her..." then shaking out of his revelry, he answers. "There's cups here mi'lady for when Lady Sommers entertains." He produces some earthenware from a cabinet near the door that looks like a wet bar hidden in a bookcase, and also a few tumblers. "Will this do, mi'lady?"
"Thank you, Liam," Solange says. "If you would pour the coffee before you leave us, that would be very helpful. I'll send for you if we need you later."
"Yes, mi'Lady." Liam pours the coffee...
"Liam," Paige sniffs. "Only man I can trust." Even low waters catch the inflection on the word that make it sound viler than any curse to come out of Paige's mouth to date. "If only you were a bit older..." and she again hangs her head on Solange's shoulder.
.. and almost spills a bit at this comment, but collects himself enough to offer them to the ladies, the shock overriding the aversion to the spookly lady who delivered the coffee.
Solange takes the coffee cups from Liam. (I figure if Cambina wants any coffee, Liam will hand her a cup too.) She takes a solid gulp from one before setting it down, within her reach but on the side that Paige isn't leaning on. She takes Paige's hand and wraps it around the other mug, and, still holding both the hand and the mug, raises the coffee to Paige's lips.
Paige sips at the coffee slowly, a small smile coming to her lips...
"If you don't like the way he's treating you, why not tell him to get lost?" Solange asks. "Whoever 'he' is," she adds as an afterthought.
"Because he has every right to be here, probably more than I do, and I'd be the lost one without him." Paige sniffs again and tries to come to a better sitting position.
Solange helps prop her, and arranges pillows.
"I mean, I know we've never been exclusive." Paige sips at the coffee again. "Unicorn knows, I've had my share of lovers, but it's different with her. I know it. He's trying to recapture those days again, too."
Solange starts to say "What days?" but is overridden by Paige's continued rant.
"Well, she'll never be me," Paige starts to try and stand, only to give up, "of course that's why she has him, because that's what he wants, not me."
Paige sees Cambina for the first time, or perhaps it's the first time she's come into focus. She smoothes her hands over the red dress, asking still in that labored speech, "Don't I make a good harlot? A whore? Tramp? Slut?"
"Paige..." Solange tries to break in, warningly, but once more is overridden.
"Coffee really doesn't do much, it's all psychological, which is in my head, which feels so full that there's no room for it, and since I know it's psychological and that there's no room, it won't have any effect.." Her stream of conciousness tumbles through the rapids, "No room, no room at the inn, the virgin Mary, ha virgins, you think Vere? Well..." She smiles at Solange and Cambina, regaining herself. "So do I really have to drink this?"
"That depends," Solange says. "What have you been mixing with the alcohol in your system? I have to tell you, if you were my college roommate, I'd be taking you to have your stomach pumped about now."
Paige produces a small calfskin suede bag from within her cleavage. The top and drawstrings are covered with a fine white powder. She offers it for Solange's inspection. What she finds is still enough cocaine to stone most Amberites.
Solange rolls her eyes, ties the bag tightly, and tosses it over to land on the desk. "Anything else?" she asks. "You win. You don't have to drink the coffee. Have some water instead. Have a lot."
"There's more back at the Prince, but nothing else from tonight," Paige admits.
Paige sets the bag aside, or hands it back to Solange, as is her want, and looks at herself. "Shit. I look like hell, don't I?" Dark laughter and a bit of a head shake which is halted as soon as she realizes how much it hurts. "Why would he want me like this anyway?"
"Too drunk to resist, in a revealing dress? I can think of three or four fraternities full of guys who'd think it was the answer to their prayers," Solange comments sourly.
Paige tries to center herself and after a moment says, "We're lovers, but I thought we had made a decision to look for more in the relationship. And I was searching for it, and found that he's taken a woman in town. A woman like I used to be, so I thought maybe he was replacing me, that I had done something wrong. We don't fight about Brand anymore. He'd forgiven me, I thought. So I asked him about her, his little 'flower', but I screwed that up too." While the breathing seems better the tone is now somber and cold. "We fought, and he left, and I can't decide if that's good or bad."
"Paige," Solange says, "it would help if I knew who the hell you were talking about."
Paige looks hesitant to answer, but in that hesitation...
Cambina replies "Martin, of course. Didn't you see how they were at the first family dinner meeting? From my read, she's been trying to talk to him about the future since the Sundering and he hasn't been listening and now he's blown up because she finally made her hear him and it's a surprise to him."
Solange gives Cambina a poleaxed stare. Obviously it took a higher Water score than she possessed to read the clues properly, but Cambina seems to know so much about it, it's spooky.
"You can only be trapped in the past if you let it happen, Paige. Try the coffee."
Solange hands Paige her mug again. "Is it like Cambina said?"
Paige takes another sip of the coffee. "No, I'm not trapped, I want the past back. Before I knew what Brand had done, before we fought. I thought we were happy, but maybe it was just the sex he wanted and I read too much into it. I thought maybe one of my relationships was deeper than f*cking, but that's got to be it, that it was just sex. The first fight should've warned me, but when I came back he was good to me again, and the fight at the dinner, well we made that up and promised no to let him come between us.
"I know he's been seeing other women and I've had my share, too," a giggle and a slight blush, "I mean of lovers, not neccessarily women."
Solange blushes beet red.
"I invited him for lunch today," Paige says. "Saved poor Cambina from him for a little, and I asked him about Violet. He seemed defensive and acted like he didn't know what I was talking about. He stormed out without letting me explain why..."
A light blub, dim as it may be, shines in Paige's eyes, "Why, I'm jealous."
"Why am I?" she asks to no one in particular.
"You tell me," Solange prompts.
"I don't know. I suppose because he's seeing her regularly?" she asks, not convinced of it herself. "Of course, we've always seen others and even shared others. He was rather fond of Isabella, but we, well, we were together then. We weren't hiding from family and the City's scorn." She sips at the water, making faces at the taste and realizing it's probably her and not the water, she takes another drink.
"Am I that petty? That I'm jealous because it's accepted by the City for a scion of the Crown to have a regular screw if he pays for it, but that a meaningful relationship can't be talked about because we share a grandfather?"
"Do you know what it's like to turn corners and fear every servants knows? I've never been self concious of any of my relations. Hell it's why I spend so many nights in town." Catching herself rambling again, she takes a drink of the water.
It's at this point that the three of you hear a knock on the door. Cambina exchanges a worried glance with Solange, then answers. It's Venesch.
"Shit." Paige says recognizing the dutiful manner, if not the blurred visage. Her eyes are having trouble focusing, and her expression is turning pale.
Cambina stands in the doorway, blocking his entry, but not all of his view, as they speak. Solange overhears a few snatches of the conversation.
" ... did the guard know where she'd come from? "
" ... we may need a physician ... "
" ... don't wake him -- it's not a crisis, and he needs his rest ... "
"I'm gonna be..." Paige crawls to a potted tree by the far wall and retches in the pot.
It happens that Folly is in Vialle's quarters when a page knocks on the door. Vialle answers it herself; she is sure of the locations of things here and doesn't worry about running into unexpected furniture.
The page sounds a little breathless, and says, "Lady Vialle, Lady Paige has come back to the castle and she's drunk and sick. We didn't want to disturb Prince Gerard; will you come?" (Note: pages are young boys, so it's no surprise that he doesn't know what to do.)
Vialle replies, "Of course. Folly, dear, will you come with me? I may need someone to help me with her. We mustn't disturb the Regent with this." She sounds worried.
Cambina closes the door behind Venesch when he leaves, and comes back to sit next to Solange, looking troubled. She whispers: "I think she started this bender in the city. The guards reported her to Venesch when she came in. He's not going to report it to Gerard, at least not tonight."
"Thank heaven for small favors," Solange comments.
Paige wipes her mouth with the sleeve of the dress, not noticing the fact that lace sleeves don't keep much off her, and tries to stand, removing the dress. "I need something else to wear," she says staggering towards her bedroom, smacking her lips. "And something to drink." Stark naked she walks back and picks up her glass of water and turns for the bedroom. Bruises can be seen on her back and legs now and one on her arm, too. Those familiar with soft tissue injuries think they could be from a bad fall down some stairs.
She takes the robe from her bed and wraps it around her, returning, trying to tie it closed. She collapses next to Solange. "Pour me another glass? I'd make a mess."
She looks to Cambina, "I have made a mess, haven't I?"
"This war is hell on everyone, Paige, and nobody's doing well, no matter how they hide it. It will be all right. You'll be fine." Cambina takes a handkerchief, dips it in Paige's water glass, and cleans Paige up a bit. "Princes and Princesses of Amber have the right to get stinking drunk if they want to. You'll feel better in the morning.
"Trust me, as the family historian, this is pretty tame. You should have seen my father the day after Prince Corwin returned to Amber."
Just then, there is a gentle knock at the door, followed by a voice:
"Paige? Sweetie? It's Folly -- Folly and Vialle. Are you OK?"
"Yes, but you father wasn't making a scene in a club filled with nobles and merchants in a dress like that." And Paige starts laughing as that image comes unbidden to her mind. "I'm sorry."
She looks to Solange. "What do I do? He must hate me now."
Without waiting for an answer, Folly pushes the door open and enters, Vialle on her arm. "Oh, God, Paige...." Her tone of voice -- concerned, but not panicked -- communicates to Vialle that Paige is in no immediate danger, though she certainly needs care. Folly leaves Vialle's side with a muttered "excuse me" and rushes to Paige, kneeling beside her. She brushes Paige's hair away from her face and kisses her forehead with a tenderness somewhere between "mother" and "lover". "Everything's going to be OK," she says gently as she looks into Paige's eyes, looking for symptoms.
"It's like when he was working for Grandfather, and would disappear
for weeks at a time, and I'd be worried sick that he wasn't ever
coming back. I'd hate him for what he put me through, but need him so
much, and he was always so tender, so caring, so protective, so
"Thanks," she says, Cambina sensing that the words are meant for her, too. And the tears come again...
Turning to Solange, Folly asks, businesslike, "What did she take? How bad is it?" Solange gets the impression that Folly knows rather a lot about recreational drug use.
Then, turning to Cambina, Folly silently mouths, "Martin?" _Who else could upset her this much?_
Cambina nods. "What did she take? Some verbal abuse. Lots of wine. whatever used to be in that bag of white powder. Some pills, too. A serious fall down the stairs. And, last of all, a walk from The Retreat to the castle."
"There's still a good bit left in the bag," Solange adds, "and I tossed it over onto the desk. I'm betting on cocaine. We got some coffee into her before I realized about the coke, then I tried to make her just drink water. She's thrown up already, which makes me think she'll be all right."
Folly nods, obviously relieved.
"Folly, is that you? You're so lucky he's afraid of you. He'll break your heart if you give it to him."
"Afraid of me?" Folly says, surprised. "That's silly -- why would anyone be afraid of me?" She runs her fingertips gently over Paige's scalp, looking for bumps, convinced the redhead knocked her head on the stairs when she fell.
Vialle has found her way to a chair. She sits up and gives a sharp sniff which tells you she's caught the scent of something, probably the mess in the potted plant.
To Folly, she says: "He's afraid of a lot of things these days, dear. He's changed a lot. It's a shame, because he used to be such a sweet boy."
Paige gives Vialle a venomous look and starts to say something before laying her head back down and closing her eyes. "Not worth it," she mumbles to no one in particular.
Folly strokes Paige's hair. "He still is sweet, sometimes," she says to Vialle in a childlike voice. "He's just.... He's no longer a boy. He walked into the enchanted forest and found out it's full of monsters." She shudders.
Solange looks at Folly as if she's sprouted two heads.
Solange shifts her weight so that Folly is now the one supporting Paige, and stands up. She lifts the potted plant and carries it over to the door, opening the door and setting it down outside. "Liam?" she calls. When he comes, she instructs him to take the plant out to the kitchen middens. She shuts the door and fetches the washbasin from the stand, bringing it over and setting it near Paige in case she needs it again.
"Tell Liam to stay out, I don't want him seeing me like this," Paige says, her voice quivering on the verge of tears as she forgets that it was he who fetched Solange.
Solange sits down facing Paige and crosses her arms, adopting a stern expression. "Paige," she says, "I know you're upset, and I'm sorry you are, but you need to have a few things explained to you, although you ought to have known them already."
She sighs.
"Oh?" Paige has snuggled into Folly's embrace much more comfortably than she was with Solange, the lack of personal space might stifle other people.
"You said you hated skulking around, and resented that Martin could keep a fancy-woman openly while you and he had to hide your connection because you were cousins. You called it a 'meaningful relationship.' Well, I have news for you, Paige. For a Royal Lady of Amber, there IS no such thing as a 'meaningful relationship,' except marriage. Not openly, anyway. If you two intended to marry, the fact that you're cousins -- _semi_cousins, your fathers are only half-brothers -- wouldn't keep it from being an eligible match. I could name you three girls from my season alone who married some sort of cousin, and one was a first cousin. It's that you aren't planning to marry. That makes it an affair. And, in this city, an unmarried lady of respectable family who has affairs had better be discreet. I know it's not fair. I know it's different out in Shadow. Believe me, it was hard to come back here after four years at school and realize I had to behave like a proper young lady again. It was even worse when I realized that if I got a reputation for scandalous behavior, I wouldn't just be hurting myself, the way I would have as Lady Felicity's ward, but hurting the reputation of the whole royal family. And we have more than enough to deal with as it is. Creating public scenes over matters that need to be kept private is NOT going to help. Paige... revolutions have started over less."
Folly's face is flushed. She's agitated, but clearly more from frustration than anger. She looks at Solange, an almost pleading look, and opens her mouth, but then...
Paige looks up from Folly's chest, "Who cares? My father's probably dead someplace in Shadow, along with the rest of our aunts and uncles, Vialle's husband, all of them. Gone. I don't care what you father says. What matters my being discreet, if everyone's dead anyway? Does that mean I don't get invited to the right parties any more? Great! Respectable family? Ask Cambina, we're far from a respectable family."
Paige's voice matches the words as her anger builds, "Want to talk about affairs? I can tell you about affairs. I've probably slept with half the remaining nobility and more than that of the merchants in this City at the center of the universe. The other half I introduced to their," bitter laughter, "fancy-ladies. It wasn't an affair, it was my job. They all know what I did before, and what I'm doing now. It's the only thing I'm good at and apparently I couldn't even do it well enough to keep the clientel I enjoyed."
Folly has either abandoned or forgotten whatever she'd been planning to say. She focuses on Paige and starts singing very softly. The words are unrecognizable, but the tune is clearly a children's song, a lullaby.
Solange just looks stricken.
"This is all a fantasy, Solange. I've been a whore since the day my step-father sold my services to the house on Rue St. Paul, and it's all I've ever known, in Shadow and here in Amber herself. Every man who stands across from me in court, I can see him measuring me, deciding whether I'm worth his hard earned cash. Look at Martin, it's what he wants. Pay-for-play. No strings, no hassles, no clingy," a wave of nausea passes over her and she lays her head against Folly again, "no caring."
Folly pulls the washbasin a little closer, just in case.
"No marriage. No children," and the tears come again.
"Paige, dear," says Vialle, "if you want to be married, you have to learn to live within the rules. Solange is right; they're all terribly unfair, but that's the way things are. I know that even the most hopeless-seeming woman can get a husband -- I did, and look how well that's turned out. No man in Rebma would have married me, but I'm very happy with Random.
"We can help you be more attractive to men who might want to marry you if you'll let us. You don't have to be a, a whore any more if you don't want to."
She pauses for a moment. "I think you're wrong about your father and the rest of the army, even though I can't prove it. But if your father's gone, do you want this to be his legacy? And if he comes back, don't you want him to be proud of you and what you've done?"
"Don't patronize me, Vialle." Paige's words have a cold edge to them. "Becoming anything you might teach me won't help this." As she continues, cough lead to heaves. Fortunately for Folly, they're dry, mostly.
She reaches for the water when the heaves subside and her fine hands are shaking, "I'm cold, Folly. It's so cold alone, without him. I don't want to be cold."
"You're not alone, Precious. You're never alone." Folly wraps her arms a little tighter around Paige. "Solange, could you bring me a blanket, please?"
Solange gets up and goes into the bedroom, bringing back Paige's quilt. She drapes it around Paige and Folly.
Cambina comes over to Paige and half fills her water glass. She pets Paige's hair.
"Oh, Paige..." Cambina says, her eyes moist. "There are only the four of us here, Paige. We're not just high-ranking noblewomen, we're powers. We are demonstrably different from the populace, even if we don't tell them how come.
"I don't want to be different anymore," Paige says softly.
"You know how the law works? Your courts aren't even allowed to hear cases involving the royal family, it has to go directly to the monarch. We have different rules. There's a reason none of our Aunts ever married."
"Lovely. I'm sure Uncle Gerry needs this, now." Paige moans and holds her head with the hand holding the water glass, spilling most of it on herself and Folly, taking a moment before realizing what she was doing.
Cambina pauses here, obviously wrestling with some painful memory, although it is unclear if it is a memory of the past or the future.
"It's OK to fall to pieces. Unicorn knows I have more than once in the past year, but we need you to pick yourself back up. We need Paige. Not judge Paige or slut Paige, or even Bleys' daughter Paige. You. You are one of us and we've lost too much already."
Cambina refills her water glass and drinks.
Paige looks up at her with tears in her eyes. "Damn you. How am I supposed to feel sorry for myself when you pull shit like that?"
Folly chuckles and nuzzles Paige's hair affectionately.
Solange uncrosses her arms, and her expression softens -- it had gone from "stern" to "horrified" during Paige's bout of autobiography, but now reads "concerned." She moves closer to Paige and Folly, and takes one of Paige's hands in both her own, but says nothing.
Paige smiles at her friends, "Thanks, but you should all run away now. There's no need for you to bear any of Uncle Gerard's wrath for my stupidity."
"I probably just need a little sleep," Paige says still lying on
Folly. "Not that I'm... really... sleepy..."
"Somebody ought to stay with her to make sure she's all right," Solange says, visions of choking death and drug-induced coma obviously still haunting her. "Want to split watches with me, Folly?"
"You bet. You couldn't drag me out of here if you tried. Well, OK, you could," she says, grinning broadly at Solange, "but I fully intended to stay here tonight. Maybe I should take first watch -- I'm really good at staying up late, and really bad at getting up early. You can come relieve me whenever you wake up.... Sound good?"
"Deal," Solange says.
She blows a kiss to Solange, "Make sure Liam's OK? Please? I... well, it's important to me."
"I'd ask you what tomorrow holds, Cambina, but I'm sure I don't want to know even if you were to tell me." Paige chuckles and it becomes yet another yawn.
"Folly, take me to bed, or lose me forever," she snickers as she tries to stand with her friends' help.
Turning back from the bedroom door, she says, "Oh and I'm sorry about the smell, Vialle."
"That's all right, Paige. You just worry about feeling better, and I'll have the maid clean everything up tomorrow," Vialle says.
When Paige is safely abed, Vialle asks Solange to escort her back to her own chambers. Cambina disappears to pop up in another thread.
Later in the evening, Vere receives a knock on his door...turns out to be Jerod. After the customary exchange of greetings, Jerod tells Vere that he needs his help...can he please get dressed and come with him into town. He needs him to come along to help collect Martin. There is no commanding tone in his voice when Jerod asks - its clear this is a request, not an order. But the tone also says there's just enough going on that its important not to refuse.
Vere will quickly throw on a pair of pants and his boots, pull a tunic over his head and belt it, and toss a cloak over his shoulders. He follows Jerod without any questions.
Whether Vere accepts or not, Jerod then heads over (preferably with Vere as well) to find Ossian...he gets the same request.
They actually meet Ossian in the corridor. (Hmm, where are our respective rooms located?) "Vere, Jerod? What is all this rushing about about?
"Collect Martin? Why?"
Ossian comes along.
Assuming both are coming along, they head down to the stables where Vere and Ossian will find four horses have already been saddled and readied for riding. One of them has a slightly modified saddle harness and Jerod directs the two of them to other horses. The grooms are all soldiers, and Vere and Ossian would recognize them as being men that serve under Venesch. As soon as Prince Jerod and company appear, they salute, hand over the reins and immediately disappear into the castle. Jerod climbs aboard his horse, a fine looking black arabian descendant and waits for the others before heading off.
Vere takes a minute to stroke the strange horse's neck and make soothing noises to it, then he mounts smoothly and gracefully. It would be clear to Jerod that Vere is an expert rider. With a slightly curious look Vere glances over to watch Ossian mount.
Ossian mounts without difficulty; he has done this before, but he's definitely not an expert. (You note that his grip on the reins is not optimal, for instance)
Jerod remains silent to Ossian's question while they are leaving the castle, waiting until they are out of earshot and moving down to the city.
"There's been a problem in town, with Paige and Martin. I'm not sure if you know or not but they've been involved for awhile now. And some things have come to a head between them...enough that Paige came back to the castle, walking up past the castle guards wearing a courtesan's outfit...stoned and hammered pretty much out of her mind for a bit." Jerod says.
"This wasn't the best thing to have happen...but I gather it happened in front of a bunch of very important people. And that's not good. Unless there's some serious way we can affect damage control, there's going to be some major repercussions. And from what I've heard...damage control is not an option. Uncle Gerard is sure to go ballistic on this one."
Vere looks puzzled by this, but doesn't say anything.
Jerod sees Vere's look and adds. "Paige is our resident legal expert. She operates in Court because of that. However, this kind of scandal can piss off the ladies in Court. If she loses that support...Paige stands a very good chance of losing her position. And no amount of royal 'commandment' can get it back. It's not like the navy."
"Ah, I see. It is not a matter of her behaviour per se, it is the respect of Amber's subjects and her ability to perform her duties that is at stake. A difficulty, indeed."
"Indeed...and we can't afford to lose her. Not right now." Jerod says.
Vere nods thoughtfully, opens his mouth as though to speak, and then stops himself.
"Maybe we can't afford not to lose her either. Let's hope you're right, Jerod." Ossian replies.
Jerod rides for a few minutes before continuing. "Meanwhile, we're going to pick up Martin. Most likely, he's partying down at the Red Mill. I'm figuring I go in to collect him and bring him home. But he might not be interested in being cooperative...so I want some backup. Just in case."
Vere nods, and again remains silent.
[Ossian]
"What you really need is a few witnesses, isn't it?"
"No." Jerod replies. "I want him cooperative and unbruised. If he gets snarky with me, I'm certain I can beat the shit out of him without getting hurt myself. But that's not what I want. If it was just me, he might decide not to come back. Then I'd have to fight him...and he can take a lot of punishment. He's a lot tougher than he looks. With you two along, the odds are definitely not in his favor. And it means that if he really gets dumb, we can restrain him without having to hurt him."
"One can always try to make a difference." Ossian does not sound as if he believes what Jerod says.
The three of you ride down into the city with the horse with the drunk saddle in tow. All of you know where the Red Mill is; it is the 'bohemian' gentleman's club in the city, and Martin is a member there, as his father is. Martin has hosted you all there to play poker.
[Think Victorian club, not stripper bar. Probably all of you belong to one. Ossian should belong to the 'artistic' club. Vere would have entry into the club frequented by naval officers because of his father and his job at the harbor. (Vere: they probably have a library and you don't have to have a mistress. ;) ]
Gentlemen who are not members of the club are not allowed past the reception room without a member. The doorman recognizes you all, and probably assumes you are there for Martin, but follows form and asks for a message.
What do you all tell him?
Vere is remaining quiet, Jerod is better known in the city and understands the people better.
"I'm looking for Prince Martin." Jerod says. His mannerism is one of seriousness but calm...as if he were about some important business. "He's needed up at the castle. Is he here?"
"I'll ask for him, Your Highness." And the doorman shows you to the reception room to wait while he finds Martin.
While they are waiting for Martin, Ossian says: "Vere, before you go to bed tonight, I have some really pressing harbour business you should have a look at. It might be important."
"Certainly," Vere replies. "I doubt I will be able to go to sleep immediately following this excitement, in any case."
It's perhaps a quarter-glass later when Martin appears. He looks unusually disheveled, as if perhaps he had thrown his clothes on a little more quickly than normal, but otherwise seems normal. He may well have been drinking but not to excess, but all three of you have seen him drunker than he now appears to be.
He looks the three of you over. The high waters sense that he's worried that it's all three of you, then relaxes slightly, perhaps realizing that in an extreme crisis the three of you wouldn't all be here to fetch him, but busy somewhere else.
"What's the problem?" Martin asks.
"Paige." Jerod says. His expression is one that Martin would know well - its that "duty and code and kingdom first" type look that Jerod can get...the one that's pretty much impossible to swerve him from when he's on a roll.
"We've got a situation and we need to keep it on the QT. And unfortunately you're part of it. I want you to come back to the castle, stay under cover for a few days while we try to sort stuff out."
Martin closes the door to the reception room. "Not that I'm not ready to go," he says, "but if I'm about to walk into a minefield, I'd rather know what I'm getting into."
He pauses. "I'm supposed to be riding out to Arden tomorrow to negotiate for some timbers -- Vere and I were discussing it this afternoon. If I can't go, we'll probably have to have Solange do the heavy lifting, or it'll throw off the schedule again. Damn."
"We can adjust for that." Jerod replies, looking at Vere. "I suspect a timber negotiation is going to the least of our problems for the next few days. Given what I've heard, I'm figuring Gerard is going to want to speak to you."
"We can discuss the situation on the way to the castle. We've got a horse for you. I'll be talking to Gerard in the morning. I figure its safer if he going to go ballistic to do it on someone not immediately involved. Assuming I'm not over-reacting to this, that is."
Vere looks as though he were about to speak, but Ossian beats him to it.
"I'm going to come with you to Gerard tomorrow, Jerod. You might need the help." Ossian looks Jerod straight in the eyes.
Vere glances curiously at Ossian.
"I'll be glad to hear your reasons why you think that - later." Jerod says. He returns Ossian's look directly for only a moment before returning his gaze to Martin. It's clear to Ossian that a discussion at this particular point in time isn't on Jerod's mind.
Vere nods in agreement and fades into the background again.
Ossian smiles, and nods in the dark. Seems he does not want to discuss things here either, and never intended to do so.
"If I'm in trouble with Gerard, I'll handle it myself," Martin says to Jerod, sounding a little cross. "I've got my own horse with me; I was planning to ride straight out from here in the morning. Let me call for him and we'll be on our way."
The horses are brought back around, including Martin's. He notices the saddle on the riderless horse and gives Jerod a funny look, which the higher waters parse as annoyance leavened with curiosity ("what in Amber does he think I need that for? I'm never that drunk!"), but says nothing.
He waits until you're out of the more populated areas to ask, "So exactly what is the 'situation' with Paige?"
"Venesch informed me that she turned up stoned and hammered and took a walk up to the castle from town...past the guards and other assorted witnesses. He's not sure precisely as to what was consumed or how much...but my sister was there to assist. And if she's involved its usually serious." Jerod says. "Your name has been mentioned by Paige at various intervals as well it would seem. That's why I figured it might be wiser if you're around now...instead of just in the morning. I don't think Gerard's likely to hear about it before then, but on the off chance he did...its better if you're around."
Jerod stops for a moment (talking that is, not the horse) before continuing. "As for whether you're in trouble or not...I'm sure you can handle lots of stuff yourself. Your personal relationship with Paige is none of my business. Unless it carries over in public. Then it affects all of us."
Martin's eyes narrow. "You're absolutely right, Jerod. It is none of your business. And I might add that I'm a little peeved that you thought I would be drunk and belligerent enough that you needed to strongarm me back up to the castle. I'm not green or dumb enough to foul my nest in Amber by making that kind of scene. I would have thought better of Paige, too."
He pauses. "Although it wouldn't be the first time today I have been wrong about her. She asked me down for lunch, crazy upset over nothing I could make sense of. She wasn't drunk then and I didn't think she was stoned, but I can't always tell when she's coked up." His look shifts to concern. "Shit, she hasn't OD'd, has she? Is there a doctor at the castle who can handle that?"
"I don't know." Jerod says. "She's with Solange and Cambina. Solange has had some experience in shadow at university, but whether that included recreational drugs I don't know.
"And you can be pissed with me all you want. I didn't know what condition you were in and I was worried. I'm your friend...we've gotten drunk together...sparred...hell, I damn near took you up on breaking into the armory that night." Jerod says, and his expression is a cross between some of that anxiety and the anger that people get alongside it. "Paige comes wandering in smashed out of her mind and I know you two are involved. And you're a hellion too - you'll push the limit just like your old man...so bitch me out if you want for worrying. But don't expect me to stop." Jerod stops and rubs his forehead and his head...a sign Martin knows from experience that he's frustrated.
"To hell for the moment that this could cause major shit for the family." Jerod says, the concern creeping into his voice a bit (he's never been good at hiding stuff...low Water...:). "This kind of crap doesn't do you any good...it doesn't do her any good either."
Martin runs his fingers back through his own hair. "Doesn't do anybody any good," he says, sounding less cross, then he lapses into silence.
The three of you ride up a way further towards the castle, and Martin says, "Jerod? Thanks."
Jerod looks over at him, not saying anything. He nods after a moment, knowing that probably took a lot to say, mouthing the words..."no problem". He does not push the issue but concentrates on getting back.
The four of you make it up to the castle without further incident. Cambina greets you in the courtyard, telling everyone that Paige is asleep and that Folly and Solange will be taking turns to watch her through the night. Cambina does not think that she should be disturbed (dirty look at Martin).
Jerod thanks her for the news, his expression a bit more relieved to hear that Paige is asleep and being taken care of. He does not notice (or does not make the effort to notice) the look Cambina gives Martin...he asks after Cambina how she's doing but does so privately while the horses are being stabled. After that, assuming she's off to sleep, he bids her good night.
The gentlemen repair to the library because they're all too agitated to sleep. Martin has a drink because he needs one after facing down the Gothic Fury in the courtyard. Jerod has a drink because he doesn't want to think about facing Gerard in the morning. Ossian and Vere have a drink because the other two are having one.
Jerod grabs a drink of something very strong...Vere recognizes the scotch he likes. For those interested, he pours extras. He hates being point man sometimes as he thinks about seeing Gerard.
Vere opens the letter Ossian gave him and finds, oddly enough, that it contains a second envelope addressed to Martin. He recognizes the hand as Paige's and gives it to Martin (not being snoopy enough to open it on his own, if I know my Vere).
When Vere decides not to open the letter (Ossian would _not_ give it to Vere in the precense of Martin, and preferably not in the precense of Jerod either), Ossian shrugs, a bit disappointed: "It's your call. You never know when the message strikes back at the messenger."
Martin opens the second envelope to find a letter that looks like someone spilled wine on it and then sprinkled bathwater on it. He reads the letter, blanches, burns the letter to ashes in the fireplace, and has another drink. He doesn't tell anyone what the letter said, either.
Martin will know that Jerod was watching while he did this...but he doesn't say anything.
Everyone eventually either falls asleep on the couch or repairs to their own chamber. (The girls did this a while ago.)
(Having flipped a coin), Jerod eventually heads off to his own room, making sure that Martin is okay (either crashed on the couch or on his way to his own room). He does not immediately go to sleep though...with thoughts running through his head, and he sits at his desk for a little while, quill in hand and scribbling words and notes on blank music sheets...until eventually he finishes...then he can sleep.
Gerard is not happy. He is somehow aware of bits and pieces of what transpired last night before breakfast and pries most of the details out of those who attend family breakfast, which is everyone except Solange and Paige. If anyone is inclined to sleep through it, or merely does so unintentionally (e.g., Folly), they find that they are summoned.
Solange gets herself over to Paige's rooms about an hour and a half before daybreak, and sends Folly off to bed to get what sleep she can. Before coming to Paige's rooms, she goes to the kitchens and bespeaks the best hangover-cure breakfast that the stores allow, to be sent up two and a half hours past daybreak, which is when Solange estimates that Paige will wake up.
Reports from the Prince's Retreat indicate that, despite Paige's suspicions, she did not make a huge public scene. While she was seen in those clothes, that drunk, singing, by some people, it's not as bad as everyone fears. The news cannot be suppressed, but the damage can be limited.
After Paige is awake, Gerard summons her to the infirmary and examines her himself (he is a physician). He asks her what she drank, what drugs she took, how she feels, etc. While this is happening, Solange, Folly, and Cambina are ordered to search Paige's quarters and remove any drugs, weapons, or other objects Paige might use to harm herself.
Folly offers to hold on to whatever they find for safekeeping.
Solange's preference would have been to dump the cocaine down the privy, but if Folly wants to store it, she won't object.
Gerard wants to take charge of the nose candy. He'd like to know what exactly Paige took, and there are some medical uses for the cocaine.
While Folly is free to hold on to personal objects that Paige might use to hurt herself (e.g., the letter opener), the drugs are going into the Castle medicine kit, or, if they have no use, down the privy as Solange suggests.
Folly complies, though she looks a little pained at the idea of dumping perfectly good drugs down the privy....
Lucas always has something a little extra to spare.
Any Cannabis sativa is going into the medicine kit. Solange has a small quantity herself that she's been keeping around for "relief of periodic discomfort."
Gerard puts Paige under suicide watch, with guards outside her door and one of Paige's cousins (female, or with a maid to chaperone baths and other private duties) with her at all times until he determines that there is no threat to her safety. Martin is not permitted near her, and makes no attempt to violate this rule. Presumably Paige convinces Gerard she's not going to kill herself within a few days and the watch stops.
Paige is offended at the idea that such an expedient is taken, but it does seem to be understood once her temper gets past it. She is very un-Paige like, obviously in a deep depression marked by fits of anger primarily directed at herself. Suicidal, no, but for a woman who once had immeasurable self-confidence, well, her self-image is rather bleak. She wishes no visitors, but receives any that come in the same dressing gown and robe, not bothering to dress or even leave her chambers except for the bath or privy. Her humor is dark and spiteful, as if she's trying to push away those who might care about her, to ensure she doesn't hurt them. Most days are spent reading Fortunes, seemingly looking for answers, spreading cards, reading them, casting yarrow shoots atop, gathering the cards, shuffling, a new spread in a different orientation, never offering the question she asks. The closest she comes to seeming like herself is when Cambina accompanies her to the Library to find books on Fortunes so she can try different spreads for the elusive answer. She makes no violent actions and speaks very little other than the fits of anger which can be set off by most anything, even Folly's soothing songs.
Gerard also has everyone in for interviews to discuss everyone's behavior and mete out discipline. Those of you with military experience have a controllable desire to salute and says, "yes sir, Admiral Gerard" when he dresses you down. Gerard tells each of you that the previous night's events are all family business and not to be discussed with outsiders.
Jerod is told that if there is ever another such crisis, Venesch is to come to him and not Jerod. (Jerod thinks Venesch has had this lecture too.) He is also ordered to lean on Lord leClaire to keep that sprat Alan from calling anyone out over this.
Jerod accepts all of this without any hint of rebellion or difficulty...in fact, he'll seem almost relieved to get just that...(he was figuring it would have been a lot worse, though he doesn't mitigate the seriousness by looking relieved). If he can fit it in to the dressing- down (not likely, but he'll try to do it respectfully if he can), he'll not fault Venesch for his loyalty, but will accept the responsibility for him...saying that Jerod should have told Venesch to tell Gerard immediately and not kept it quiet.
He does speak to Venesch as well afterwards, tells him what Gerard told him and explains yes...Gerard should be notified of these things - he is the Regent...so Venesch should come to Gerard first. He also understands Venesch's loyalty and tells him too that it was Jerod's fault...not Venesch, and Jerod should have sent Venesch on to Gerard. So he reiterates Gerard's instructions about coming to him from now on, but its also clear that there's nothing in those instructions about not coming to Jerod afterwards.
And within a couple of hours of Jerod's interview ending with Gerard, Lord leClaire gets a visitor...
Vere and Solange get a talking-to about how, as his children, he expects a high standard of behavior out of them and that includes not supporting their cousins in debauchery and troublemaking.
Vere knows the drill. He listens attentively, nodding at all the right spots, and when he's called upon to respond says:
"Yes, Father."
"Certainly, Father."
"I understand, Father."
Solange is not as compliant as her brother. She protests.
"Supporting debauchery? I didn't go out and get Paige drunk, and I wouldn't have -- but if you think I'd be willing to sit on my duff and NOT come help when my cousin's so trashed we have to worry about whether she's going to fall asleep and choke on her own vomit, you must not have known my Papa as well as you thought."
Gerard sighs. "Sweetheart, that's not what I meant. Of course you see your mate to his bunk afterwards, when there's nothing to do but clean up. But Paige, for all that she's older than you, she's not -- not steady. Not like you are. I need you to help me set her a good example."
Solange echoes Gerard's sigh.
He puts his arms around Solange, if she'll let him.
She does.
"You're a good girl, Solange; I know it's different out in Shadow, and it's hard for you to be a respectable lady when you come home to Amber. It was always hard for your Aunt Flora, too. And I hate to complain when your cousins all run around like hoydens -- Cambina with her hair all cut off like a boy, and Folly down the dockside, bless her heart, and Paige, well, the less said of that, the better. But someone has to set an example, and you're the only one I can depend on to do it. If I didn't think you could take on the job, I'd not ask it of you."
"Does this mean I can't even go out to the pubs with Folly, when she's standing the musicians a round after the parties? We've never let it get rowdier than a bit of singing," Solange coaxes.
Gerard sighs again, and surrenders. "Do what you think is best, sweetheart. I trust your judgement. Just help them stay out of trouble, and don't let me be blindsided again."
"I'll try my best, Dad," Solange says earnestly. "I can't promise that there won't be any more unpleasant surprises, but I can promise you that if it's a surprise to you, it'll have been a surprise to me, too."
Folly is warned that she must now adhere more closely to a ladylike standard of behavior, at least until the current trouble blows over.
"Aww, shit," she says with a twinkle in her eye. By the end of the interview, though, she has made it obvious that she really does have a clearer sense of decorum than she usually lets on, and she's willing to adhere to it for a while.
She is also told she will have to take up additional official duties.
Folly is fine with that.
Ossian gets called in for his yelling at and realizes that Gerard doesn't blame him directly for anything and is mostly just putting the fear of Gerard in him for next time one of his cousins does something upsetting. Ossian will also have to take up more duties.
"Not filling in for Paige as legal expert, I hope! I mean, I would do a very bad job, being bored to death."
Gerard says seriously, "If you're not suited to the courts by temperament, lad, we'll find something different for you to do. Painting and such is nice, and I don't mean it's wrong or unworthy, but it doesn't help me to get food on people's tables, or boats ready to sail this summer, or any of the basic things like that. And until we get those things taken care of, we must work, and people have to see us working. Do ye ken?"
With some sorrow in his eyes, Ossian nods.
"What sort of work would you do, if you could take up another job? Would you like to go out in the country to help with the widow and orphan settlements? Or work more closely with Vere in the harbor to help get these boats finished? Or do you have a job in mind?"
"The ships? Yes, that suits me better. And if we need to relieve Paige, I can take more responsibility in the rebuilding of the city too, it's not like I'm not heavily involved in that already."
"The ships it is," says Gerard. "With us needing a fleet, that's a fine choice. I'll talk to Cambina and see what duties she can shift over to you. It's good of you to be concerned about your cousin when she's ill, Ossian. I appreciate it, even if the rest of them sometimes don't."
[Ossian is assigned additional duties in the harbor, and works more closely with the engineers on reconstructing the parts of the city that need it. He still has time to give some lessons, but not as much. As the supply of Ossian available to teach decreases, the perceived value of his lessons increases. He is very much in demand.]
Cambina won't say what Gerard told her, but she comes out of her interview in frustrated tears. Martin won't say what happened in his interview either, but he is also cross afterwards.
Paige, when she is feeling well enough to have her interview, is told the following things:
1. She has caused a lot of trouble by behaving like a sailor on shore leave and Gerard damn well expects better behavior out of his nieces and nephews. If she expects to continue to enjoy the liberties of being a member of the Royal family, she must carry her fair share of Royal responsibilities.
"Carrying my responsibilities?" She starts to bridle with, "Well then perhaps I shouldn't be part of the Royal family, Uncle. It seems all I can be is an embarressment, so better to cut your losses and begin again, no? Much like your legs, I would suppose." While the words are sharp, even to low waters it's apparent her heart is not in them.
"Of course that might be hard to explain to my father, if," a smile, "sorry, when he returns."
2. She will be put on the next merchant explorer that leaves Amber to navigate it through Shadow. She will be accompanied by a reliable Captain and crew. She will assist in trade negotiations, but her primary duty is to shift Shadows there and back. The Captain will have the final say over everything else.
"I assume I didn't come here to belabor the obvious, Uncle. That had already been decided, you're just getting me away before the others. Might we continue, I'm sure you have other, responsibilites to attend to..."
3. She will stay well away from her cousin Martin until she leaves Amber. Further, lest there be any confusion, Gerard will not countenance any marriage for either of them, much less one between the two of them, for the foreseeable future.
"I never asked for anyone's hand in marriage, let alone his." Here she is obviously biting back tears, but her demeanor stays sharp and no tears appear. "Is that all, or did you hesitate to mention the public flogging because you knew I'm sometimes aroused by that?"
"If you're trying to shock me, you can bloody well stop wasting your time. I know as much about women and sex and such as a man could ever want, and if I never set foot in another whorehouse again you'll still have to chase through brothels for centuries to know as many as I do. If I don't talk with you like I do with my men, it's because I have respect for my brother's little girl, even if you have none for yourself. And even if you do need your mouth washed out with soap and your backside tanned!"
Gerard looks like he might reach out, grab Paige, and tan her backside. She doesn't think that the loss of his legs renders him incapable of doing so, either.
Paige bites back the comment, but doesn't back away.
4. By the time she leaves Amber, she must have arrangements in place to divest herself of the Prince's Retreat. Gerard is about to promulgate a decree requiring such clubs to be corporately owned by their members (most are) to maintain their licenses. If Paige wishes to devote herself to the Retreat full-time as a corporate employee, she may, but Gerard will require her to resign her official position.
"What official position? As the figurehead on a ship that leads some merchants through Shadow? I assume this is the part where we decide that just one person is no more important than Amber, so pressing a scion of the line into service is justifiable for the good of Amber, eh?"
"Your job in the courts, Paige! D'ye want to run the courts when ye come back or not?"
"Suppose that depends on you, Regent and whether I've become what you expect of me. Yes, I suppose I would, but I'm not sure it would be wise."
"Then are ye gonna start acting more like one of my judges and less like a dockside doxy? I don't care where my judges sleep of a night as long as I don't have to hear about it in the morning."
Paige gives no answer other than a slight nod, that to high waters would read as, _Uncle, I'm sorry for the troubles I've brought on you and wish I could spare you any further._, but to Gerard probably just says, _Yes._
"I suppose that it's best I do remove all ties to anything I might've cared for." Paige laughs, a dark chilling thing, "Don't look at me that way, Uncle. It's not suicidal, it's practical. I'd be much more hurt by bringing down my friends than what I've already done to my family."
Practicality slipping into her voice, "To offer such a decree on the tails of this would be obvious in it's direction to most of the court, Uncle, almost giving validity to the rumors of scandal. Wait at least a few months, perhaps at least until the anniversary. By then I'm sure everything can be handled quietly. The number of privately owned clubs is small enough that you could contact them personally rather than with a sweeping edict of the court."
"You're just like the rest of the redheads; you think everything is about you. Your cousin Jerod and I have been talking about this for weeks now. Your public temper tantrum is not important enough for me to delay this measure. You'll just have to live with the scandal."
"OK, Uncle, then as the representative to the courts that will have to uphold this edict, explain to me why, if you please?" Paige's temper seems quelled momentarily, and she seems thoughtful on this point.
"Have you figured out yet who really was behind the Princess' Charge?"
"I've got some ideas, but nothing definitive, why?" Paige asks, the change in body language palpable. She's not the rebelous child any more, but for the first time in public since the incident her curious self.
Gerard says: "There's no single man who could have put up that money without it getting out or being noticed. So it was a group, and they had to funnel the money through somewhere. I'm pretty sure I know who and how now; the details are irrelevant and you don't need to hear them. But I can't let the nobles and the rich sneak around like that, not with things still so precarious. I have to let them know I'm in charge. D'ye ken?"
"Yes, I've known since early on it was a consortium or sorts, but all this does is make them act in the open. We encouraged the idea of them supporting the Regatta. But I do see, where you're going with this, and perhaps you're right. I'm a bit too close to be impartial in my judicial role. With your permission, Uncle, I'll attend to that straight away."
Gerard nods.
If he agrees, she'll walk forward and kiss him gently on the cheek with whispered, "I'm truly sorry, Uncle. I can't ask your forgiveness, because I don't deserve it, but I swear to never bring this upon the family again."
Gerard gives her a rather bear-like hug, and says "That's all done with now. You gave us all a good scare; if you're better, we're all happy."
She'll then turn and leave, collected and thoughtful for anyone who's watching, as I assume many are.
[No, it's a private interview. Good thing, too, or Gerard might have been more testy about the flogging comment.]
Her spiteful comments lessen, and there's even a hint of a smile at some moments.
She spends a good bit of time discussing divination with Cambina and working with Vialle on decorum before she leaves for the journey.
Vialle is happy to include Paige in the lessons she is giving Folly.
[Jeremy]
Since I promised the GMs a Lucas bon mot:
"Only amateur sluts make drunken asses of themselves. Pros only have to worry about interloping significant others."
OK, I should prolly do this via private channels and anyone who wants to do it that way is welcome to take it offlist, but here we go...
In her current status of Moody Scandal Magnet(TM), Paige expects her relationships with others to change, not always for the worse, but change...
What I'd like to know is how you all see your characters dealing with her?
Ossian seems to treat her more carefully than he has done before, and a few days after the incident he asks: "Would you like to take a ride up on Kolvir? We could use some exercise; to get out of the city for a few hours."
"Not worried I'm going to cast myself from the steps to Tir?" she asks. "Hmm, I suppose, yes it could be good to get out of here. This room's getting a bit stuffy."
The air seems to do Paige good and she'll talk animatedly about Ossian's art, Folly's music, or Cambina's theories on divination, but any other topics will be met with sarcasm, but I'm assumming Ossian's of enough Water to be able to skirt such problems.
Ossian indeed avoids the uncomfortable discussion topics.
Folly insists on bringing breakfast to Paige's room herself, every morning. She doesn't say a whole lot, but the message is clear: _Push as hard as you want. I won't stop loving you._ She accepts Paige's verbal abuse with gentle stoicism.
Paige grants Folly the leisure (Ha!) of dealing with more of the depression, accepting the offered friendship, but not promising anything in return.
Vere will deal with her by regarding her with a tilt of the head and a slightly curious expression when he sees her, seldom addressing her until she speaks, and then following her lead in any particular encounter; be it light conversation, serious consideration of legal issues, or intense discussions of personal matters.
In other words, exactly the same as he's always dealt with her.
Whether she perceives it as the same, or decides to read something else into it, is of course another matter ....
Paige will enjoy his company when offered. If some smiles seem forced, the light laughter that only returns after her voyage seems genuine. Noticably absent are the flirtatous comments and double entendres. Paige will openly thank him one day for his... reliablity. She knew she could count on him to be sensible about this situation. A small peck on the cheek is his reward.
A day or two after being brought up on the carpet by Gerard, no doubt while dropping off something at Jerod's office (Jerod unfortunately is busy for a few days), Vere will notice on Jerod's desk another sheet of music. It has that scribbled look that he remembers from the previous pieces he's seen there...perhaps a bit more hurried, as if Jerod were doing it under a constraint...or a need to get it down before he lost the moment.
Only this one isn't a sailor's ballad...
****
"O Fortuna velut Luna"
"O Fortune like the Moon"
Turn around and smell what you don't see
Close your eyes ... And it's so clear
Here's the Mirror ... Behind there is a screen
And with Wings you can get in
Don't think twice before you listen to your heart
Follow the trace of a random star
What you need and everything you'll feel
Is just a question of the day
In the eye of the storm ... you can see a lonely door!
The experience of survival...
Is the key to the gravity of love
"O Fortuna velut Luna"
"O Fortune like the Moon"
--------Whispers---------
Woman :
The path of excess leads to
The tower of Wisdom
Man :
The path of excess leads to
The tower of Wisdom
---------Whispers----------
Time to think about it ...
It's the chance to live your life
And discover what it is...
It's the gravity of love
"O Fortuna velut Luna"
"O Fortune like the Moon"
Look around just people, can you hear their voice
Find the one who'll guide you to the limits of your choice
But if you're in the eye of the storm
Just think of the lonely door!
The experience of survival is the key...
To the gravity of love.
"O Fortuna velut Luna"
"O Fortune like the Moon"
Last modified: 30 Dec 2001