audrey (larcener) wrote in emillion, @ 2013-07-24 22:47:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, !log, altair laurent, audrey leradine |
Who: Altair & Audrey
What: Teaching Audrey how to be a lady.
Where: The Snuggly Duckling
When: After closing, July 17th.
Rating: G?
Status: Complete
Altair was more excited than he was willing to admit by the prospect of helping to reintroduce Alys Coulombe to polite society. It would be a challenge, he knew, and if there was one thing he couldn’t resist, it was a challenge. Audrey was one of the unlikeliest noblewomen he could imagine. If he hadn’t known her when she was a noble, he’d never have believed it.
It was such a big job, he almost didn’t know where to begin. He was unsure what exactly she might have remembered from childhood, and he also knew that there was a world of difference between what was expected of a young child, and what was expected of a mature 25-year-old woman. Most nobles had years to adjust. Audrey would be learning all of it at once.
He’d eventually decided that afternoon tea would be the best place to start. It was something Audrey would have likely not experienced since her childhood, so she wouldn’t have picked up any lower-class tea-drinking habits since. It also was something with a sense of ritual to it, and a defined beginning and end, which would make it easier for Audrey to learn than everyday things like the way she spoke and dressed and carried herself.
Altair had arrived early enough to set up a small table with two chairs, and an upper-class afternoon tea service. He dressed well out of force of habit, but today he’d donned a sport coat, and tied his hair in a tail at the nape of his neck, to give himself an air of formality. It was easier, he’d reasoned, if everything was different. When things were too familiar, that was when it was easiest for one to make a mistake.
When she arrived, he greeted her at the door warmly. “Good afternoon, my lady,” he said. “At every noble house worth visiting, the butler will answer the door, not the host; but as I have no butler at my disposal today, I do hope you will forgive this breach of decorum.” He stood aside and said, “Won’t you come in?”
This was stupid. Audrey should have never even brought this up, but the thought of her little sister being shoved into a marriage heavily upset her. Besides, if she stepped in the pressure would be removed entirely from her sister as Audrey would be next in line for the inheritance-- one she hadn’t even begun to think about what to do with.
A sigh escaped her lips as she stood in front of The Snuggly Duckling. She said nothing as she stared at its doors. This was it. Clenching both her fists and teeth, she raised her hand to knock on the door. Quite promptly, Altair stood right in front of her donned in much more formal clothing than she typically saw him in. His hair was swept back and he held nothing but the air of a nobleman. “Well that’s somewhat cold,” Audrey replied. She wasn’t sure what to do, so she bowed her head the way she was taught to respect those with seniority to her.
She walked ahead and stared at the table with two chairs. “Isn’t this cute,” Audrey mused aloud, looking at the furnishings with a playful grin. Pulling out a seat, she sat herself down informally. Her legs were slightly spread the way they always were when she sat. Already she had placed her elbow on the table, resting her cheek on her hand and eyeing all the treats in front of her. Reaching for a cookie, she took a bite out of it, mouth slightly open as she chewed.
“So what do we do now?” she asked, not bothering to cover her mouth as she talked with crumbs falling out.
“Come back over here, so I can tell you what you are supposed to do when you enter a noble house,” Altair said, stifling the urge to roll his eyes. “Darling, if this is going to work, you are going to have to pretend you know absolutely nothing.” Which wasn’t too far from the truth, if Altair wanted to be blunt about it. “Pretend you don’t know how to walk, or eat, or anything at all. Just stand around until I tell you what to do, do exactly as I say, and pretend it isn’t stupid.” He shrugged and threw in an insult, just for good measure, “I was under the impression that you were an … adequate liar, but if I’m wrong...” he trailed off, as though the disappointment of being wrong about Audrey’s skill in lying was simply too much to contemplate.
His response just left her wide eyed. Quietly, she stood up from the seat and pushed it back in. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she made sure there were no more crumbs lingering on the corners of her lips. Audrey went to stand right outside the door as if Altair had just opened it. She stood there staring at him, unsure of what to do and how to move-- just as he asked-- though in truth she had forgotten all these mannerisms.
Awkwardly the blonde stood, staring straight back at the redhead. “Alright, Sir Laurent. What do I do?”
Altair smiled. "I'm not a knight so you may just call me Lord Altair." He clasped his hands together. This was already going better than he'd expected. "Now," he said, "when you greet your host, you offer your hand, like this, palm facing down. I will take your hand like so and if you're friends you might kiss on the cheek. Then you may go to the table, but you must wait for the butler or whomever is the closest man to pull out your chair before you sit down." Since there was no butler, Altair would pull out her chair for her.
Formalities were strange. They all sounded the same to her. “Fine, Lord Altair. Good day,” she threw the greeting in there, attempting at the most polite voice she could muster. Stretching her hand in front of her, she waited for Altair to react. Gazing over at the table, Audrey raised a brow.”That’s fine and dandy, despite me being capable enough to pull my own chair, but uh.” The blonde looked down at her feet. “How do I walk?”
"Oh," Altair said, looking at Audrey's feet, too. He'd forgotten he had told her not to walk. "We will focus on your bearing in another lesson," he said eventually, looking back up at Audrey's face. "For now, just walk slowly and try not to run into anything." He dropped her hand, went over to the table, pulled out the chair, and gestured toward the seat. "Now, come sit down."
“Very well.” She let her hand drop to her side and followed the Orator in. Offering him a smile and a nod, she stood in front of the chair until she felt the back of her knees make contact. Sitting down, she awaited for further instruction, hands on her lap and very quiet. Audrey couldn’t help but eye the tea. “Why tea?”
Altair had gone around to the other side of the table and was halfway seated when Audrey's question gave him pause. "I don't know," he admitted after a pause, settling into his chair. "Tradition, I suppose. Generations of Laurents and Albrechts and Coulombes have been drinking tea every afternoon since the beginning of time, and so we must, too. Put your napkin on your lap, darling.” Altair put his own napkin on his lap and then poured tea into first Audrey’s cup and then his own. “You’ll find that nobles put a lot of stock into tradition. It doesn’t matter what it is or why people started doing it in the first place, as long as it’s old.”
Nodding, she reached over for the napkin. She had stopped to watch how he put the napkin on his lap, imitating the same motion. Audrey frowned as Altair poured her tea. “I don’t quite like tea.” Audrey mumbled. In truth, she had never liked tea. A frown tugged at her lips as she fiddled with her hands, stuck in minute’s reverie. “Can I have sugar?”
“Yes,” Altair said. “Most place settings will have sugar and honey, and you can put in as much as you need to make the tea palatable to you.” He indicated the spoon in the sugar bowl. “Use the sugar spoon to put the sugar into your cup, and stir it in with your own spoon. Never spill the sugar or your tea, or put a wet spoon back into the sugar bowl.” Altair himself drank his tea black, and he had as long as he could remember, but he wasn’t aware of any social consequences for putting too much sugar in one’s tea. Some people used so much sugar, they might as well be drinking it straight with a slight flavoring of tea.
This would be something she would learn. Taking three spoonfuls of sugar, Audrey stirred it around before placing it on the plate where the tea cup sat. “Then I drink, right? Pinky out?” A grin formed on her lips. “What normally happens at afternoon tea. What do you talk about? The weather? Meaningless things?” The blonde sighed. “I guess I should also start learning how to speak better.”
“You talk about whatever you want to talk about,” Altair said with a shrug. “Just be aware of the company. When I have tea with Alecta, we gossip. When I have tea with the Demiels, I agree with whatever Lady Demiel says. When I have tea with Genevieve, I tell her about what I’ve been up to. If you don’t know someone well, stick to the weather and meaningless things.” He sipped his tea, watching as Audrey doctored her own. She did seem to be putting forth a great effort to learn this etiquette.
Next they would work on eating. Altair was a little hesitant to open that can of worms, but he supposed it couldn’t be avoided. Replacing his cup on the saucer, he said, “All right, Aud. You may take one food item. Put it on your plate and take small dainty bites.” He took a honey-cake, which was his favorite thing, took a small bite, and set it on his plate. He swallowed and dabbed his mouth with his napkin. “Keep the crumbs on your own plate and swallow your food before you speak.” Surely she could manage that much.
With a deep breath she stared at the food in front of her. Reaching for the honey-cake she placed it on the plate in front of her. Taking a very small bite, she swallowed and placed it back down. Lifting her tea cup from the saucer, pinky out, she took a sip before realizing she had forgotten the sugar Audrey was quick to hide her face with her napkin. “Pardon me, Lord Altair. I was absent-minded and forgot the sugar.” Her hand reached as gingerly as possible over for the tongs to pick up some sugar cubes. Placing them very gently in her tea, she placed the tongs back and began to stir before place the spoon back on the saucer. “How kind of you to let me come.” Raising the tea to her lips now, it wasn’t as tasteless as it had been minutes before. “How are your,” she paused thinking of better words, “ventures going?”
Altair hid a smile behind the rim of his cup. Audrey was trying so hard and doing so well. She was definitely exceeding his own expectations, and the effort was really … well, heartbreaking, if he wanted to think about it a little too much.
He set his teacup down and used his fork to break off a piece of honey-cake. “My ventures are going quite well,” he said. “I am looking into some new ones, and my business partner is quite as invested as I am, which helps.” He looked across the table at her. “How are yours? I heard you got a new apprentice. Do you like him?” He ate the honey-cake, chewing thoughtfully as he listened to her answer.
"Oh?" Audrey asked, raising a brow. "Pray tell," she remembered this phrase from when she was younger listening in on adults. "Who is this business partner you speak of?" In all honesty she felt very silly. This didn't feel like her, but she'd have to pretend for Jules. There was a subtle shrug. "He's a child. Probably the same age as Jules if not a little younger. He requires manners but I think he's suited for this work."
“Wil is my business partner,” Altair said, giving Audrey an amused look across the table. “Why do you think I spend so much time with him? It’s not just so that we can compare the gentlemen of our mutual acquaintance.” He took a sip of his tea. “Your apprentice sounds adequate. I doubt there’s anyone in our entire guild who had manners as a teenager. I am fairly certain the guild was founded in the early days of the city solely to turn the character flaws of our youth into a profitable life of crime.”
Audrey took another sip of her tea, bringing her saucer with her so she could lean back. “Hardly. The child is just an obnoxious troublemaker for now. However I think he is just at the right moldable age where I can shape him into what I want.” Setting both the saucer and cup down together very quietly, she gave him a smirk before it turned into a frown, at the sudden realization of things. Wil was Audrey’s wild side. He held all the qualities that Audrey loved in her life: adventure, fun, carelessness, freedom. Her eyes were locked on the cakes in front of them. “If I become a lady... I can’t see Wil anymore, can I? I can’t do the things I loved to do,” she looked around the room, hinting at her partying nature. Her hands wrinkled the fabric of her loose pants. “What will I do? Do noblewomen work? I mean, Vivi works. I would have to look at the documentation again. My inheritance, I know in my heart won’t be easy to attain.” Audrey swallowed. “Not without a man.”
Altair set down his own cup and saucer. “Vivi does work, but it’s frowned upon,” he said. “She’s weathered a lot of scandal to get where she is. You can continue to be a ninja. Lady Alecta Escalidor is a ninja and a noblewoman. You can continue to party, but you might have to make some new friends to party with. You can continue to see Wil, but you will have to tolerate people saying nasty things about your motivations, or his. You will also have to get used to never being good enough for some people. There will always be those who say you aren’t a real noble, or who speak poorly of your late family, or who try to push you into being who you are not. You will be under a lot more scrutiny as a noble.” He leaned forward, his expression suddenly earnest. “But Audrey, what we are doing here is not trying to change who you are. I am merely teaching you how to lie about it better. You are not your position in society. Being able to move about in polite society is merely a means to an end, nothing more.”
“I can take it!” Audrey’s hands were flat on her thighs as she leaned forward, nothing but determination in her eyes. “I’ve dealt with a lot worse, I’m sure I can deal with rumours and trash talking. Besides, I have my friends, I don’t need new ones. And besides, what does it matter what the world thinks? As long as I can shield my little sister from all of them-- it really doesn’t matter.” She had left Juliette alone for so long, if she could just take her away from everything and give her back some of the childhood they both missed. Shrugging, she glanced elsewhere. “It matters not. The people I will meet are simply privileged and will never know what it’s like to work for something.”
“Some of them do, some of them don’t,” Altair said. “You won’t be best served by making assumptions about them. But my point was that you don’t need to change who you are or what you love. You’ll be changing outside things only. And,” he added with a smile, “if you approach it with the effort you put into our first lesson, I do believe you’ll be perfectly fine.” He picked up his napkin and dabbed his face. “What do you say we call it a day? You’ve surpassed my expectations. I do not believe your first etiquette lesson could have gone better.”
Audrey nodded, already standing up from her chair and throwing the napkin on her table. Finding this a break in the lesson, her greedy little hands went to reach for one of the chocolate croissants, while her other went for something similar to a bear claw. Shoving the croissant in her mouth, she grinned at Altair. “I’m a pretty good student, I know.” There was some silence between them while she finished the croissant. Wiping the crumbs and chocolate from her lips with her hand, she turned to look at Altair with nothing but sincerity. “Hey, thanks.”
“You’re welcome, kitten,” Altair laughed. Then he picked up the rest of his honey-cake with his fingers and popped it into his mouth.
Maybe next week they could move on to dancing.