Keira Adams (keiraadams) wrote in shadowlands_ic, @ 2017-09-25 22:15:00 |
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Entry tags: | cassius corbet, keira adams |
Who: Keira and Cassius
What: He is an arrogant ass + she is keeping hold of her temper = frenemies
When: End of August/Beginning of September
Where: Hidden Treasures
Warning: None, surprisingly
When a letter from the coven mentioned that one of the caterers had provided their service free of charge, as a wedding gift, Cassius took notice. When he noted the name of the caterer - Hidden Treasures - he did more than that.
After speaking to Una and discussing options, Cassius found himself unable to make a definitive decision. It was unlike him; he often prided himself on being a man of action. He knew what his intentions had been, following the confrontation on the barge, but this unexpected gift seemed to be an about-face. Cassius disliked not understanding motives, and this entire chain of events was a baffling mystery.
He found Hidden Treasures listed in the London Directory, and set out on a walk following an afternoon meeting. The fresh air - or as fresh as air ever was in the city - was good for him, and he tired quickly of the bouncing carriage rides that had to halt for street traffic at every turn.
Cassius turned the handle to the shop and pushed it open with the head of his walking stick. He had been unsure of what he’d find here, but at first glance it appeared as advertised: A shop containing cakes, teas, and other sweets. Keeping his wits about him in the event that appearances changed, Cassius stepped forward into the shop and looked around him for its flame-haired proprietress.
Keira was in the back, having just taken fresh bread from the oven and was putting it on a rack to cool when the jingle of a bell signaled her that a customer had entered. “Be right there,” she called out as she set the bread down and then grabbed the plate of muffins and a decorative box that held several muffins; she assumed the customer who had entered was the one who had ordered the muffins and she had made plenty to put in her display case as well as the order for the customer
She had been hard at work, those who had been guests upon the barge and had tasted her treats had been placing orders which made up for what she had lost in not charging for the catering job, having giving services free as a gift. It had been something Gabriel had suggested and she had agreed. “I do apologize,” she said as she backed through the door into the front. “I just took some bread from the oven and…” Turning to face the customer, she realized it wasn’t just a customer but Lord Ravensworth, a man she wished to never have to see again.
Quickly she set the plate and box on the counter and wiped the back of her hand across her forehead where she knew a streak of flour had struck. Her red hair was pinned up but was coming apart in flyaway wisps from the heat of the oven.
“Lord Ravensworth,” she gave a tiny curtsey though made sure to stay behind the counter that separated the two of them. “I hadn’t expected you...did you...did you have an order?” She asked him, though was for sure there wasn’t one. Why was he here?
Cassius' gaze drifted over the muffins, and the parcels behind the counter. To all appearances, this business was doing well, or at least not in such desperate straits as to put its owner out on the street.
"No," he replied, having finished his inspection and returned to meet Mrs Adams' eyes. "I had thought not to order from you again, and to ensure that no one of my standing did, either, but now I'm intrigued. You're something of a mystery, Mrs Adams."
Intriguing Cassius Corbet was not always a lucky circumstance. In Mrs Adams' case, however, he needed more information before he could confidently act, one way or another. "I've been informed that you provided your services gratis, at my engagement party. That was also...unexpected. Would you tell me why?"
Fear and anger flashed in Keira’s eyes as Cassius told her that he had thought to make sure no one of his standing order from her. Fear because she did not want to lose her business that she had worked so hard to build up, and anger because he was a man threatening her, a man with money and power and there was nothing she could do about it.
“It was the right thing to do,” she answered him. “That night that I took your pocket watch and money clip, I hadn’t known who you were. Had I, I wouldn’t have chosen you,” she said, her eyes meeting his. “You weren’t a target or anything, just a gentleman in the wrong place,” she paused. “Or maybe I was in the wrong place,” she offered a wry smile. “And, had I known that the party on the barge was yours I would have sent someone else in my stead and I would have given you a more formal apology,” she continued. “As it were, after what happened on the barge and then me finding out who you were exactly, it was only right to write an apology and offer the services of the night free of charge.” She didn’t tell him how much that had hurt her business, if he knew numbers he would understand it.
Cassius did know numbers, which was why he was intrigued now, in the cozy confines of the shop, rather than simply irritated. "Let's start from the beginning, shall we? You say you didn't target me, specifically. It was a crime of opportunity, then? One you didn't regret once you found out I was a vampire, only when you learned my title. Correct so far? And yet..."
He swept a negligent hand through the air to encompass the bakery. "You don't seem to be doing poorly. Not enough to risk the horrors of the workhouses if you were caught. If they gaoled you, even for a short period, your business and reputation would suffer, not to mention your health. Are you so desperate for funds that you'd risk the constables? Or is there some other reason?"
“Opportunity, sure,” Keira nodded. There was just the slight raise of a shoulder about not regretting. She hadn’t regretted anything, whether he was a vampire or not, but she did regret things now after knowing who he was and that he could ruin her in a matter of minutes.
Of course, he would ask if there was another reason, and of course there was another reason that she could not tell him. “I do well here, yes,” she said of her business. “I had a bit of money after my husband passed,” she said sadly, playing the widow card. “I’ve used it all for this,” she lifted and waved her hand at the treats in her showcase. “I’m not desperate for funds, not really, but a little extra can never hurt…” she trailed off and then sighed. “But there are other reasons, reasons that I cannot talk about.” She would not give up the sisterhood, even if she knew that Chiara was planning on talking to him. He would just have to wait.
She was a decent playactor, Mrs Adams. Not one Cassius would have paid to see, but fine enough entertainment. He couldn't tell how much of her act was lies, and how much truth. Nor could he trust her answers to his questions, but they would tell him something, even if she lied.
"Now you see, those are the reasons that interest me. I have some suggestions...a set of motives I've been given that would explain your actions. Shall we see if your reasons and mine match?" Cassius' tone was idle, but his eyes stayed fixed on hers, watching for her reactions.
Was he deaf? Or did he not care what she said. “You can play your game if you must,” she finally said. “But as I’ve said, I cannot tell you my reasons for what I’ve done. I can only just apologize, profusely, and pray to god that you don’t try to ruin me,” she said, looking at him. “I know that must not be enough for you, but it’s all I can give at this point,” she frowned.
She stepped forward, though the counter was still between them, and she met his eyes and hoped that he would believe her next words. “I wish that I could tell you, but I…” she paused and frowned again as she tried to carefully choose her words. What she said could mean life or death for her. “This is probably telling too much and so I hope that you will keep it to yourself, but answers will come, if you will give it time. Please.”
"Let me tell you my set of reasons," Cassius suggested, without breaking eye contact. Mrs Adams hadn't learned from her last experience; they'd been gazing at each other for some time now, and still were. She could be his if he wished. If this was a show of trust, it was a foolish one; he'd given her no reason to trust him.
"It has been suggested to me that you might have a political motive." Cassius pursed his lips as he recalled Una's thoughts, after he'd discussed the matter with her. "To discredit me personally, or the vampire covens. To antagonize relations among the factions. To put me at odds, perhaps, with another organization?"
Cassius leaned on his walking stick and pressed his will against Mrs Adams', his tone light and cajoling as he settled the compulsion around her. "Now, if that matches your reasons, I'll need the names of any of your conspirators, including organizations. If it doesn't..." He lifted an eyebrow. "I hope you have a convincing alternative."
Keira actually snorted when he mentioned politics. She quickly shook her head. “Politics are not my thing…” that was all she was able to get out before she seemed caught in his gaze. It was as if she were a fly stuck in a web. His web. And though she tried to fight, the more she fought the tighter the web became.
“Those were not my reasons,” Keira answered, words she would have said without the compulsion to tell the truth. “I acted on my own, there was no ulterior motive.” She paused to lick her lips. “You were a gentleman who looked rich enough to spare a little.” It was really the only explanation that she could give without giving over the Sisterhood and she’d much rather shove a fork in her eye than give them up.
"Interesting." Cassius could have pushed harder, but he felt no resistance from her, no struggle to conceal the truth or stammer out a falsehood. She might still be deceiving him, but he saw no reason to hurt her without cause. Even if she looked tasty.
That was a thought for another time.
"I daresay you will not make that mistake twice." Cassius released Mrs Adams from his enthrallment, and looked mildly down at the display case. "Since I believe you are correct about having enough to spare, would you care to make a sale?"
Keira blinked quickly the moment she was released and she took a small step back. Anger filled her, and she blinked a few times more the wetness that filled her eyes. Men were so quick to prove to her that they were nothing but scoundrels, looking down upon women and taking what they wanted without permission; the only one to that exception was Gabriel.
Refusing to look him directly in the eye again, she put her attention on her display case. “Of course,” she said. “What strikes your fancy? Anything you choose, you won’t be disappointed.”
Cassius had expected a backlash, if she'd recognized his touch at all; he hadn't expected tears and humble submission. It was...disappointing. Mrs Adams had shown more spine than that.
"If you're going to poison anything, I hope you'll let me know so that I don't offer it to any guests," he requested, tugging the fingers of his gloves loose, one-by-one. "Otherwise, I defer entirely to you. There should be an inconvenience fee, surely, for the trouble I've caused you. One that might even equal the amount of the gift you made at my engagement party."
Cassius wondered whether merfolk felt as he did - as the Sidhe and others did - about obligations and debts owed. Judging by the few he knew, they seemed unlikely to keep track of such things.
"Mrs Adams," he said, slightly more gently. "We have started out badly, and continued so. I hope that you understand my concern over your motives, even if you do not forgive it."
Her forgiveness was a minor thing, comparatively; less important even than settling the debt she'd created. He did, however, wish to see her spark and burn again, as she had before. As annoyed as he'd been at the time, her refusal to defer to him had been...novel.
It took all that Keira had to hold back her anger, to not yell at him. She had to remain professional, to keep it together. Her head snapped up at the mention of poisoning, her first instinct to be defensive. Instead, though, she gave a coy smile and shook her head. “But that would spoil all the fun, Lord Ravensworth,” she spoke.
She pulled a box and set it on top of the display case and then started looking at the treats she within the case. “Oh no,” she brought her head up. “I did not give my cakes and other snacks as a gift just for you to owe me back,” she shook her head at him. “It’s a gift and you will accept it,” she looked back to what she was doing. Grabbing a few of everything she had in there she made a ‘sampler’ togo treat box for him. “We have...inconvienenced each other and let’s leave it at that.”
“You’re right, about me not forgiving it...you,” she said, looking back to him and meeting his eyes if only very briefly. “I do not understand your motives. I simply took from you which did not belong to me, I lifted from your pockets and we...sparred a little in an alleyway,” she placed the last treat into the box. “There was no ulterior motive, no political whatever,” she waved a hand in the air. It was just a lifting of your pockets and then a coincidence that I was on your barge,” she sighed. “I can get that you might think there was more than that, but I’ve told you the truth and I told you I could tell you no more than what I have and still you pushed,” she said the last word harshly. “You used your ability to force me to answer and I’m sure you got the same answers that I had given to you before,” or she hoped. “I could have forgiven all else, but it is that with which I will not forgive,” she looked at him again. “I will not forgive someone, especially a man, pushing his will on mine to take answers in which I had already truthfully given, especially without my permission. I liked you, in that alleyway, but this…” she shook her head. “Right now, I do not.”
Cassius tilted his head, studying Mrs Adams. "If you believed your clutch-mates in danger, your family threatened, and the person you were about to wed at risk, would you decline to use your thrall if it might save them? If you might learn the truth by doing so, in time to stop a plot against them? Threatening me was one thing, but innocent though it may have been, you could see how it looked when your next appearance was in the company of my fiancée, in the employ of my coven. How would you have felt, had I shown up next under those circumstances at your private gathering?"
The volume of his voice grew softer; his tone did not. "I will always push, to defend those under my protection. After...sparring with you...in the alley, I presumed you might do the same."
Keira paused and thought about what Cassius was saying. Her clutch-mates? She most likely would have let them take whatever was dealt them, they most certainly hadn’t been there for her, not thinking she would ever make it on land and they’d almost been proven right. She had no family other than the Sisterhood and her friends, Gabriel and Cassius...she would fight to save them, to do what it took to maintain their safety, so she had to give him that. But still.
She huffed out air through her nose, and looked at him but being sure her eyes did not land on his for more than seconds at a time. “You’re right. I’d do what I could to protect what’s mine,” she said quietly. “But what you don’t understand that if I gave you a certain type of information, it could be the end of me,” she finally said. “It’s not against you,” she said quickly. “There is no plot against you. Not from me. Not unless you do that mind-control voodoo on me again without my permission,” she made a face. “I just...I have secrets that are mine and mine alone that no one needs to know,” except for one other person. “Those secrets will come to light soon. I give you my word on that. I’m a thief at times, a bad one apparently, but I’m not a liar.”
Cassius raised his eyebrows. "I could have forced your hand, just now," he reminded her. "I let you keep your secrets instead, because I did believe you, when you claimed there was no plot. It was a slim chance, regardless, but I had to be certain."
He paused, then added, "And you're not the worst thief I've encountered." His mouth quirked in a small smile. "Just an unlucky one. You got away before I caught you, after all. If you'd been truly terrible, you never would have made it so far."
Keira’s lips tightened for a moment. “I thank you for that, for letting me keep my secrets,” she said after a moment. “I just...I don’t…” she frowned. “If I ever were to have to trust you for any reason, it will be hard for me to do so, in the future,” she turned away. She closed the lid to the box and then placed the box in front of him on the counter, this having been the closest she’d been since he had entered.
“At least I’m not the worst,” her lips turned upward in a smirk. “I will be more careful, I’ve learned that much from all of this,” she glanced up at him. “I have to say you’ve been the most intriguing sparring partner I’ve had.”
"I might say the same." Cassius stepped in toward the counter, watching to see if Mrs Adams flinched away or stood her ground. "I don't expend this much effort for just anyone. Should you find that trusting me might benefit you in the future...perhaps once your secrets come to light, as you say they will?" He ran a finger over the sharp edge of the pastry box. "You might wish to consider what would make it easier to do so. I make a much better friend than an enemy."
He took out the money clip she'd once stolen, and offered her a bank note. "I could give you my word never to enthrall you again," he suggested. "But that would only make things boring, wouldn't it?"
Keira stood her ground, not flinching and not backing away. “Lucky me,” she said, nearly teasing. He was expending energy on her. “We will see what the future, holds, Lord Ravensworth. I, too, am a better friend than enemy.”
She gave him the price of the treats and then took the banknote that he gave her, opening her cash register, she then handed over the change, holding it out to him. A part of her wanted to just slide it across the counter, but she wasn’t that rude. She would have said that she didn’t think his word would mean anything to her at this time, but his next words had a slow, small smile, tugging at the corners of her lips. “I suppose we couldn’t let things ever get boring, Lord Ravensworth.”