[There is the cup to contend with, the line of his mouth obscured both by it and the cast shadow of his hand. But there is something that softens in the rest of his face that must coordinate with at least the impulse of a smile - a series of small wrinkles forming, an easiness in the press of his thumb at her skin. Looks like approval, but then again it would. He's presently benefitting from their mutual understanding.]
Quite the workable arrangement.
[(If it feels a little like opening an unfamiliar book and discovering straightaway some familiar idea, he decides not to be troubled by it. It's a good thing, not a bitter one.)]
( her lissome shrug is not unpleasant to look at— )
That it be so has been—academic. Prior to this night.
( it is plain, rather than pointed; disinclined to imbue her decision to ride james flint like she stole him with fairy-story meaning, but honest that if they have been maturely self-congratulatory in their love affair (and, occasionally: they have) it has up til now been only for how well they have proceeded together.
she doesn't doubt that the conversation and conversations they have had, frankly honest with one another, will hold up to reality. it's merely that a day ago, she might have thought it wouldn't ever need to. )
To be someone's partner and not their treasured possession, I think that is very valuable.
[To his credit, his pause is very small and his surprise relegated to the slight tip of his head and the set of his fingers on her skin. Maybe it is occurring to him that there are parts of this which may reveal themselves to be slightly more complicated than 'Enchanter Julius understands'; mostly, he is doing the math. It's quite the education to have been split between two men.
(Enchanter Julius' quality of life indeed.)]
I've found it makes a difference, [he says absently] to the quality of what two people together can accomplish. It matters to have equal ownership of a thing. —If that's something you care for.
[added, but perfunctory like he knows that it is; like he can't imagine how it wouldn't be a consideration.]
( it is, but she can imagine very easily how it mightn't be for someone. for marius, who would object to having it said of him, himself his own blindspot.
she rests her fingertips lightly over his knuckles; companionable without pressing enough to interfere with the way he touches her. comfortable. whatever this is, is theirs and not something one has stolen of the other. )
[It could be a sly joke, something to emphasize by squeezing her thigh. But it's not. It's the sort of question asked in private, yes, but one he might have still asked after their walk around the gallery even if they'd kept all their clothes on. What do you want, Madame de Cedoux?
(Which causes is he actually meant to be forming some sympathy for?)]
A great deal, ( she says, as if she might speak no more of it, and then frankly: ) Julius should be his father's heir by right. I want that bannorn, but—
( a hum. )
I am considering our options, at present. You, among others, have given me much to think on.
( nevarra. marcus's cherished dream of mage independence being mages, independent. riftwatch's back and forth with the chantry, with the inquisition, with itself. after a moment, )
I have lived all my life in the belief that it is the duty of those with the power to act to do so. I take that very seriously, and I wish to ensure that among those with that power who do not believe the same, I will be there. And I might change that.
There is a charming saying ( is there ) which I became acquainted with early days upon the road, and I believe if I am recalling it correctly, it is that there is more than one way to skin a cat.
( and there is probably more than one reason why she isn't in his office; most of the more significant coming before the weight of his hand upon her thigh and the ease of their conversation in his bed. )
Perhaps I am simply more comfortable with something more familiar to me.
( and if he might have before she said so assumed byerly rutyer to be more her comfort zone than he is, she won't be surprised. )
My eldest was born in a brothel under mercenary guard, ( she says, mild as a lamb. ) I grant you, there is a distinction to be made between a pirate captain and such a commander, but I daresay that the men upon whom I relied for the better part of my reign would be more at ease in your company than in Ambassador Rutyer's.
( as is she. )
In any event, I am a diplomat. It is natural to work alongside my colleagues, but it is foolishness to think I need not look beyond that.
[How is this the subject onto which they've stumbled, he doesn't need to ask himself. He knows. It's the question of the bannorn, Rutyer's own relation to that self same sort of inquiry; but more than that, it is this idea of familiar shapes and the way they draw attention. Sometimes he recognizes Rutyer's hidden edge—
Which is neither here nor there. And can be made irrelevant - a joke instead of a real question - with nothing more with a dismissive tip of the head and a pinch to the inside of her thigh. He sits up, unraveling his arm from across her leg.]
I wouldn't have taken the Enchanter for a Bann's son.
( that she laughs at the question means no, I do not, but since it is a joke that might be dispelled with no more than that laugh, that's all he gets on what she thinks about rutyer. )
Bann Selwyn has no desire to do so either, ( is what she says, instead. ) He lived the better part of his life within a Circle, and he did not have a family outside of it to advocate for him, as some noble-born mages might. The purpose of our visit to the bannorn was to reassure Selwyn that the Enchanter no more saw himself as son or heir than did he.
( colin had extolled julius's virtues, not taking advantage of his status—but in truth, there had been no status to take advantage of. those noble mages who enjoyed privileges due their birth did so only because of the love borne them by their families; it would have been fatal, had julius pretended at the same and someone had called that bluff. )
Nevertheless, ( placidly. she spent part of that trip planning redecoration. )
Does he? See himself as an heir entitled to land and title.
[It feels like the right question, a piece of paper slid between the two pages of what been said already. From how she's worded it, he honestly can't tell.]
No, ( she admits, ) it would not have been something he considered, alone, I think. But if his ambitions as they were have been stymied, it seems to me that there is space to reconsider to what he might be turned instead.
[The sound he makes could mean a dozen things. It almost certainly is a placeholder, a dogear to himself: watch this space.]
I'd be curious, [is what he says at last across the lip of his cup, taking a drink of the slightly too tart contents] if he would say the same, were he asked. In spirit at least, if not the letter.
[Is it insulting to wonder out loud where Madame de Cedoux's ambition ends and the Enchanter'a begins? Or is it just reasonable? He knows very little about the man in question, practically speaking.]
Do I lean over his shoulder in the night with my breasts pressed to his shoulder and whisper my dreams into being? ( she offers, droll. ) He asked me once if this— ( she leans into his side, offers him doe-eyes above the improbably long line of her nude body when she is so very small, ) —is how I meant to radicalize him.
( and she had asked him if he thought it would work, which is neither here nor there. )
I appreciate the faith you both have in me, (very dry, as she settles back with her drink, ) but he is no more an old fool led around by my finger than I am bedazzled by the first man to wonder if I might still exist when he closes his eyes and I am not there.
( marriage was great. )
If I am persuasive, it is because my arguments are sound. And when they are not, I am not.
( she laughs, which suits her, and then holds her cup as she rolls to the side of the bed to rifle through her belongings— )
I should tell him not to expect me, ( as if it has indeed just now occurred to her. it isn't late enough for it to have mattered, yet, though if they were reasonable people who worked and slept at reasonable hours then it probably would be overdue. )
[Which, for a second or two, shifts the temperature of the room by a series of marginal degrees. Never mind what she and the Enchanter have discussed, it must be natural to feel some momentum's hesitation over the prospect of being accessory to whatever conversation is about to occur once she unearths her crystal. There is the theoretical reality of a thing, and then there is the practical one and practically he cannot imagine what Enchanter Julius sounds like on the other end of the crystal while Madame de Cedoux is leaning naked out of his own bed.
He downs the rest of his drink without much thought, setting the old stoneware cup aside.]
Should I pretend I'm not here? [is an entirely legitimate question, undermined by the impulse he indulges by slipping his hand between her thighs. It would be a shame if she were to lean too far out of the bed and slide from it, someone might rationalize.]
( the slight amusement that tilts her mouth when she casts a look back over her shoulder is lopsided, and fond, and not oblivious to the complicated undercurrents of what she has determined to make simple. )
No, ( she says, but: ) and neither are you obligated to join the conversation, had you rather not.
( her crystal's chain around her fist as she sits back up, following the grip of his hand back to the warmth of his side, she says, thoughtful: ) What neither of us could abide would be deceit. And certainly it would be preferable for anything explored to be...shared, where possible, but ultimately the most important thing is what we share, the two of us. Honesty.
( it's more than what he asked, but it's matter of fact. )
I wouldn't care to have him sneaking around with someone ignorant of me any more than he would care to think I might hide you in a closet. ( a quirk of one eyebrow: ) Perhaps under my desk. A negotiation for another day.
[A ghost of this conversation is looking at him from the corner of his vision. His eye slides compulsively away from the shadow it casts.]
I'll take it up with my knees.
[he says; if there had been less laughter this evening, it might sound light as he settles against the headboard. It isn't a withdrawal - his hand lingers there between her legs -, but it is a hand span of space, a slight distance from which to watch her.]
( for all her—sincere—talk of honesty, it is easier when the matter is a practical one hand in hand with sentiment. she speaks little of her husband to her lover, and she has allowed julius more silence than another woman might have done on the subject of his father. if she notices that hand span of distance (and she must; she does), she allows him have it.
if he would prefer to imagine the brush of her fingers against his wrist is merely a new habit and not acknowledgment, she will not stop him. if he looks at that consideration in the eye, she will not deny it, either. )
How I have come to be surrounded by men so concerned with their knees, I am sure I don't know. ( it's funny because julius isn't much younger than flint, see. but then, to her crystal— )
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Quite the workable arrangement.
[(If it feels a little like opening an unfamiliar book and discovering straightaway some familiar idea, he decides not to be troubled by it. It's a good thing, not a bitter one.)]
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That it be so has been—academic. Prior to this night.
( it is plain, rather than pointed; disinclined to imbue her decision to ride james flint like she stole him with fairy-story meaning, but honest that if they have been maturely self-congratulatory in their love affair (and, occasionally: they have) it has up til now been only for how well they have proceeded together.
she doesn't doubt that the conversation and conversations they have had, frankly honest with one another, will hold up to reality. it's merely that a day ago, she might have thought it wouldn't ever need to. )
To be someone's partner and not their treasured possession, I think that is very valuable.
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(Enchanter Julius' quality of life indeed.)]
I've found it makes a difference, [he says absently] to the quality of what two people together can accomplish. It matters to have equal ownership of a thing. —If that's something you care for.
[added, but perfunctory like he knows that it is; like he can't imagine how it wouldn't be a consideration.]
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( it is, but she can imagine very easily how it mightn't be for someone. for marius, who would object to having it said of him, himself his own blindspot.
she rests her fingertips lightly over his knuckles; companionable without pressing enough to interfere with the way he touches her. comfortable. whatever this is, is theirs and not something one has stolen of the other. )
I am incurably determined to accomplish.
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[It could be a sly joke, something to emphasize by squeezing her thigh. But it's not. It's the sort of question asked in private, yes, but one he might have still asked after their walk around the gallery even if they'd kept all their clothes on. What do you want, Madame de Cedoux?
(Which causes is he actually meant to be forming some sympathy for?)]
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( a hum. )
I am considering our options, at present. You, among others, have given me much to think on.
( nevarra. marcus's cherished dream of mage independence being mages, independent. riftwatch's back and forth with the chantry, with the inquisition, with itself. after a moment, )
I have lived all my life in the belief that it is the duty of those with the power to act to do so. I take that very seriously, and I wish to ensure that among those with that power who do not believe the same, I will be there. And I might change that.
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Then I'm surprised you're in my office instead of Rutyer's. He seems uniquely positioned to be sympathetic to at least part of what you're after.
[And could use a solid prod to move in any direction except in a straight line drawn by Queen Anora's hand.]
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( and there is probably more than one reason why she isn't in his office; most of the more significant coming before the weight of his hand upon her thigh and the ease of their conversation in his bed. )
Perhaps I am simply more comfortable with something more familiar to me.
( and if he might have before she said so assumed byerly rutyer to be more her comfort zone than he is, she won't be surprised. )
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[He doesn't sound wounded.]
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( as is she. )
In any event, I am a diplomat. It is natural to work alongside my colleagues, but it is foolishness to think I need not look beyond that.
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[How is this the subject onto which they've stumbled, he doesn't need to ask himself. He knows. It's the question of the bannorn, Rutyer's own relation to that self same sort of inquiry; but more than that, it is this idea of familiar shapes and the way they draw attention. Sometimes he recognizes Rutyer's hidden edge—
Which is neither here nor there. And can be made irrelevant - a joke instead of a real question - with nothing more with a dismissive tip of the head and a pinch to the inside of her thigh. He sits up, unraveling his arm from across her leg.]
I wouldn't have taken the Enchanter for a Bann's son.
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Bann Selwyn has no desire to do so either, ( is what she says, instead. ) He lived the better part of his life within a Circle, and he did not have a family outside of it to advocate for him, as some noble-born mages might. The purpose of our visit to the bannorn was to reassure Selwyn that the Enchanter no more saw himself as son or heir than did he.
( colin had extolled julius's virtues, not taking advantage of his status—but in truth, there had been no status to take advantage of. those noble mages who enjoyed privileges due their birth did so only because of the love borne them by their families; it would have been fatal, had julius pretended at the same and someone had called that bluff. )
Nevertheless, ( placidly. she spent part of that trip planning redecoration. )
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[It feels like the right question, a piece of paper slid between the two pages of what been said already. From how she's worded it, he honestly can't tell.]
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I'd be curious, [is what he says at last across the lip of his cup, taking a drink of the slightly too tart contents] if he would say the same, were he asked. In spirit at least, if not the letter.
[Is it insulting to wonder out loud where Madame de Cedoux's ambition ends and the Enchanter'a begins? Or is it just reasonable? He knows very little about the man in question, practically speaking.]
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Do I lean over his shoulder in the night with my breasts pressed to his shoulder and whisper my dreams into being? ( she offers, droll. ) He asked me once if this— ( she leans into his side, offers him doe-eyes above the improbably long line of her nude body when she is so very small, ) —is how I meant to radicalize him.
( and she had asked him if he thought it would work, which is neither here nor there. )
I appreciate the faith you both have in me, ( very dry, as she settles back with her drink, ) but he is no more an old fool led around by my finger than I am bedazzled by the first man to wonder if I might still exist when he closes his eyes and I am not there.
( marriage was great. )
If I am persuasive, it is because my arguments are sound. And when they are not, I am not.
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Though I doubt your breasts do a sound argument much harm.
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( sometimes you have to be, You Know, Nice. )
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I should tell him not to expect me, ( as if it has indeed just now occurred to her. it isn't late enough for it to have mattered, yet, though if they were reasonable people who worked and slept at reasonable hours then it probably would be overdue. )
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He downs the rest of his drink without much thought, setting the old stoneware cup aside.]
Should I pretend I'm not here? [is an entirely legitimate question, undermined by the impulse he indulges by slipping his hand between her thighs. It would be a shame if she were to lean too far out of the bed and slide from it, someone might rationalize.]
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No, ( she says, but: ) and neither are you obligated to join the conversation, had you rather not.
( her crystal's chain around her fist as she sits back up, following the grip of his hand back to the warmth of his side, she says, thoughtful: ) What neither of us could abide would be deceit. And certainly it would be preferable for anything explored to be...shared, where possible, but ultimately the most important thing is what we share, the two of us. Honesty.
( it's more than what he asked, but it's matter of fact. )
I wouldn't care to have him sneaking around with someone ignorant of me any more than he would care to think I might hide you in a closet. ( a quirk of one eyebrow: ) Perhaps under my desk. A negotiation for another day.
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I'll take it up with my knees.
[he says; if there had been less laughter this evening, it might sound light as he settles against the headboard. It isn't a withdrawal - his hand lingers there between her legs -, but it is a hand span of space, a slight distance from which to watch her.]
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if he would prefer to imagine the brush of her fingers against his wrist is merely a new habit and not acknowledgment, she will not stop him. if he looks at that consideration in the eye, she will not deny it, either. )
How I have come to be surrounded by men so concerned with their knees, I am sure I don't know. ( it's funny because julius isn't much younger than flint, see. but then, to her crystal— )
Put your book down a moment, my love.
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[Except he's clearly smiling when he replies, so he definitely was.]
Have you had a satisfactory evening?
[Since he doesn't know where she is or if she's with anyone, he phrases it in a way that could just mean the party.]
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