Adir

“Can you not stop him from playing with those?  Really, now, some basic manners and respect for the property of others.”

“Heyyyyy, I was playing with thooooose!”

“Yes you were, and that is precisely the problem.  Keep your clumsy dirty fingers away from things that don’t belong to you, particularly when they are gold, ancient, and mine.”

“Adrian, he’s only a boy, he doesn’t mean any harm.”

“If he’s old enough to speak, he’s old enough to be respectful.”

“Well! You needn’t be so harsh about it.”

“Why on earth did you bring him along in the first place? I planned for a private tete-a-tete, and now I’m forced to play nanny to a drooling little mess in perpetual motion.”

“I hadn’t any choice, I told you - and I did send word this afternoon, if you’d only read messages I send once in awhile. My sister had that meeting with the duchess, and with the servant being injured in the---”

“Oh please, woman, hush, if I didn’t care enough to read a short note, I certainly don’t care for a dissertation on the subject.”

“Adrian! If I had known what a mood you would be in, I wouldn’t have come.”

“I wish you hadn’t, with this creeping thing trailing after you.”

“He’s really an excellent child, intelligent and well-behaved, you’re just a--- well, I can’t even think of a name horrid enough to call you at times like this.”

“And that is also precisely the problem, how kind of you to point it out.”

“And what does that mean?”

“Again, precisely the problem.”

“I don’t need to sit here and take this.”

“No, you certainly don’t. Gregory will see you out. And then mop up after the creature drooling on my Turkish rug.”

“Henry! Come along.”

“But Auntie, come see this funny little monkey, it’s so clever, it can--- OW! Oh ow, ow ow ow, oh Auntie, it bit me!”

“Adrian! It bit him! Adrian?”

“I’m sorry. You’re still here?”

“Your fingernails are more important than my little nephew bleeding?”
“Unless he is bleeding on my Turkish carpet, yes. Gregory, do see them out. Now.”

“Adrian! What if the thing is diseased?”

“Then the monkey shall become sick as well, I suppose.”

“Oh! You awful, awful man. You shall be hearing from my solicitor, this cannot stand.”

“Ha! You mean your husband’s solicitor? I suspect you will hear from him yourself, when little Henry tells Uncle that Auntie meant to visit a strange man alone this evening. Now, good bye, Georgia.”

Ah. Blessed silence.

No, curse that bell! I swear I will simply have it removed. Which reminds me.

“Martin? You may cease to hide there, and go return the monkey to its master. Do keep it on its leash, it may have contracted distemper from its last meal. Pay the man five percent extra for its excellent performance, it suited the occasion quite perfectly. Ah, Luce! A sight for sore eyes. Please, sit, shall we open that Tokay? Gregory, if you would.”

Luce raises a slim dark brow as the monkey is guided away. “I have missed the entertainment, it seems.”

I wave absently, and gratefully take a glass into my hand. My nerves could use the soothing. “Oh, nothing so grand as to be worthy of your time. A quick remedy for a tedious guest, who was thoughtful enough to forewarn me of their arrival.”

“They can be quite clever if trained properly, you know.”

“I'm afraid there was little hope in this case. I discovered the woman had the heart of a ninny last week, I merely forgot to bother keeping her away.”

“I meant the monkey.”

“Ah well, little difference, the chatter sounded so similar to me. What brings you to grace my door this evening?”

“I wondered if you had encountered any singers of late. I need a voice I haven't heard before - character is more important than quality, I think, something to catch one off-guard with its uniqueness, rather than trained virtuosity.”

“I'm certain you will evade the answer, but would Mephisto not be the better one to consult on such a matter?”

“Ah, but the only name that will pass his lips these days is David.”

“Still?”

“I believe this is quite a thorough infatuation.”

“Again. How is it that he never tires of re-living the same dramatic arc, when the rest of us tired of even hearing it centuries ago?”

“And this Georgia you just dismissed, did she bring to your life the same quality Rebecca does? Or, dare I compare, as---”

“No, you do not dare.” My fingers are wet - the wine has sloshed from my glass, my hand is shaking with the sudden tightness of my grasp.

Luce quirks a smile, that smug self-satisfied grin of his, content in thinking he can read us all as open books. “That was unkind, Luce.”

“I merely find it interesting that you should mock another for a fault you so clearly share with him.”

“If you are here only to sport with me, I would ask that you leave, it has been a trying enough day.”

“Then perhaps you do not tend to try enough.”

“Save your superior banter for the mere mortals, I have heard it all before.”

“Then simply answer my query, and I shall be on my way, if my presence wounds you so.”

“Oh, let me see. Aileen Monterey, out of the theater on Beech Street, might serve. Interesting texture to her voice. There is also a Percy Turner, recently arrived from a failed career in America, if you require a little more crass than class. But your presence is only troublesome when you attempt to play me like one of the little people. I really wish you wouldn't.”

“I appreciate your input, my dear, and will certainly investigate those options. And I do apologize if my words are soaked in condescension, I have had a bit of a day myself, and only wish I had thought of a cantankerous monkey to help me ward off the worst of it. Did you borrow him from the organ grinder on Seventh Avenue? I thought as much, he never has looked happy about dancing for human entertainment. Even dumb creatures have their standards, I suppose. You are tired of me, I shall go. But one more small thing, if I may? It only just occurred to me that it might interest you.”

I nod tiredly, waving my nearly-empty glass distractedly. “I could hardly stop you, I'm sure. Especially since it will likely be the actual reason for your visit. Not very original, Luce, I'm a little disappointed in you.”

“There is a notice in the late paper, a Miss Norset in the next county has been engaged to be married. No first name given, but I thought you might have means of your own to…”

His voice falls away as I dash for the door, calling to Gregory for my coat and that damned paper, consulting the rail timetables in my head to decide which station to head toward when I reach the street.

There is a laugh behind me and the sound of a glass refilled, as the door flies open before me. But there is only one person of concern to me now, and she may be only a county away.