Who: Una and Keira What: Una meets the lady who has give Cassius so much trouble When: 12 February 1889 (backdated slightly) Where: Exotic spice shop in London Warnings: None
It was absolutely freezing outside. Keira had bundled herself up well, but the frigid air seemed to cut right through it all and chill her near to the bone. One might think that a mermaid from the cold ocean might be immune to the cold, and in general she was, but this cold was a little too much. But she had errands to do and that meant braving it to get things done.
Her dress and petticoats swished around her ankles while her boots made hurried clips against the sidewalk as she hurried towards the specialty shop where she ordered her spices from. At the shop, she was quick to pull the door open and step inside and shut herself in. Giving a sigh of relief, she then unwound the scarf from her head.
“‘Ello, Ms. Adams,” the proprietor called out when he recognized her. “Mighty cold outside i’nt it?”
“Aye, it is, yes sir,” she smiled towards the man. “Absolutely freezing. How’s the missus?” She asked as she neared the counter.
“Fine, fine,” he nodded. “The doctor says the baby will be here in a couple of weeks and she needs to stay off her feet, but she’s doing real good. I’ll tell her you asked about her,” he smiled. “The shipment came in late, Carl is in the back putting together orders, I’ll tell ‘im to work on yours right quick since you’re here.”
“Thank you,” Keira smiled. “I have a list of a few items I need from your shelves I’ll go ahead and grab those as I wait,” she told him and then started towards a section of the store to browse the shelves.
Most of Una's household needs were taken care of for her by her staff, and now by the staff at her new marital home. But shopping for certain foods and spices was a task Una had taken on herself, since her cook was not convincingly human and didn't care to appear that way in public. Before her marriage, Una had always done the shopping. Much of it was delegated, but she still preferred to obtain herbs and spices directly from the source. Much less chance of ... accidents ... that way. And with the Lupercalia festival coming up, there was much to be purchased.
She entered the shop and smiled to the proprietor, who bowed and said, "Ma'am," as Una picked up a basket. "Shipment's just come in--I'll have Carl sort Your Ladyship's at once."
"Of course," Una replied, and took her basket off into the shelves.
She was not alone. The other woman was familiar, but surely she could not be-- "Mrs Adams," Una said, making it a question, because she was not certain.
Keira had a small container of nutmeg in her hand when she heard the chime of the door, but it wasn’t until Mr. Dole greeted the woman as ‘Your Ladyship’ that Keira turned to be face to face with the one and only Una Nicnevin. Or was that now Mrs. Ravensworth, wife of Lord Ravensworth? The wife of the man that Keira flirted with danger with. Keira had worked during their party not long ago, only to be run off because of all sorts of misunderstanding with Lord Corbet. But she had taken a good luck of the stunning Lady Nicnevin then and knew she would not be a woman she would forget.
“Ah...yes,” she smiled as the woman questioned her name. “Lady Balmore, or do you go by Ravensworth now?” She asked, curious as to what to call the woman.
"I still go by Balmore, though socially I do answer to Ravensworth," Una allowed graciously. "I understand that my husband has taken quite a fancy to your pastries, as have I since the affair on the barge. I'm also given to understand that they were your gift. Very generous, and much appreciated." She offered her hand, a gesture of friendship more appropriate to an equal than from a countess to a shopkeeper.
The outstretched hand took Keira by surprise, her caramel colored eyes held Una’s by a fraction of a moment longer than it probably should have before she acted. Keira was only trying to gauge the situation. “You are very welcome,” she smiled and took the woman’s hand in her own gloved one, liking that Una was treating her more as an equal than what she really were. “It was my honor to do as such, and to have been gifted with being at such an affair,” she said after the clasping of hands. “It was, honestly, the least I could do…” she wondered if Cassius had told his wife of the incident between the two of them.
"It was a gracious gesture, nevertheless," Una said. Her gloves were not merely fashionable; they kept mortals from feeling the chill in her touch. "I am pleased that it all seems to have worked out." Except for the angry vampire, but that was not something Una considered a problem. Direct attacks on her person meant she was free to unleash her own powers, and in a direct confrontation, she did not expect to be the loser. "Remarkable women, specially gifted or not, are an interest of mine, so I am pleased to make your acquaintance formally at last."
Keira did not think of it as a gracious gesture. Or maybe she did, but it was a gesture to placate a vampire who had been very angry with her and to show that she had meant no harm and an apology. “Your husband has made sure that the money from my gift has come in tenfold,” she smiled softly. “I believe it is he that has helped to spread word of my little shop and he has also bought from me.” Business had been fairly good. “Oh I don’t think of myself as remarkable, or specially gifted,” she chuckled and shook her head. “Just a woman attempting to make it in a world not my own.” She wasn’t sure, but she thought that Cassius knew what she was and that Una did as well, or would sense it. Being a mermaid in a human world and a baker as well as a part of the Sisterhood maybe made her more remarkable than some, but she didn’t think she was. “He is doing well, your husband?” She asked curiously.
Apart from the Stahl running loose and the werewolves who were scheduled to try to murder him? "He is, yes, and I'm sure he would be pleased to know you asked after him." Una scrutinised Keira more closely. It was past the height of her power, and in the season when light and heat were meant to be growing, but still, she was a force of nature and her gaze was like ice. "I think all of us are trying to, as you say, 'make it in a world not our own'. One in which men set the rules and women are expected to follow them, for all that we had no say in making them and the rules are often made to diminish us."
Keira thought she felt a chill course through her as she met Una’s gaze with one of her own. She thought it best to never cross the other woman, that she may be even more dangerous than Chiara was, and that made her more intrigued with her. Powerful women, that did not do well beneath the heel of a man’s boot, were the women that Keira was curious about. Not the mousy ones, the ones that did as expected and never fought back. Those women held no interest to her. She would never be a woman like them again. “I’m more for making my own rules,” Keira said after a moment, a sly smile pulling at her lips. “Having man say what I can and cannot do does not sit well with me. I tried it once, never again.” Of course she’d be proper when she needed to be, she’d do as expected in some situations, but she would also be her own woman with her own mind. “Do you bake, Lady Ravensworth?”
"Not for some decades," Una admitted, considering the question, and added, "A century or so since I've done so in significant quantities. I remember how, but I'm out of practice, and I'm sure the techniques and the receipts have changed since I last spent much time near the ovens."
Keira rose an eyebrow and then chuckled lightly. Keira wasn’t all that old herself, not in human or mermaid years. Old enough, yes, but still young. To hear someone talk about their life in decades was one thing, but centuries always seemed throw her off. “Well…” she smiled and looked at the nutmeg in her hands. “I have not been baking for long, just a half of a decade,” she said with a nod. “I’ve found to be pretty good at it, and my late husband demanded I know how to make certain meals...I took to it very nicely,” she said thoughtfully. “Anyway, good enough to form a business from it.”
Una smiled. "Good. A woman should have a man--or whomever she desires--when she feels like it, and not because she can't provide for herself." This might seem a strange sentiment for a just-married woman, but Una had more than proven her own independence and there was no question in her mind that her marriage was either one of equals, or perhaps one in which the inequality did not lie on her side. "And now you have an independent shop of your own?"
That there was more to it than that was no secret to Una, but she was interested in hearing Keira's explanation of matters. Una had no quarrel with the vampire who claimed to be Keira's mistress, though was not sure the vampire felt the same way. In any case the young woman was personable and might be an interesting addition to a future tea.
Keira nodded in agreeance. “Yes,” she smiled. She didn’t need a man to take care of her, she could do all of that on her own. “My shop is my own,” she said. “Independent,” she nodded. She did not know that Chiara had falsely taken partial claim of her business. Keira belonged to no one and she, alone, owned her shop. It was used for Sisterhood business sometimes, but only because she allowed it. “I, and it, belong to no one,” she said with a firmness in her voice. Yes, she was apart of the sisterhood, but that did not mean she was owned by anyone and Chiara was definitely not her mistress.
"I have enjoyed your pastries, and it would please me to give you custom. I prefer to patronise women where I can," Una said. It was a thing that did not require explanation to Una's way of thinking. But she wanted to be certain that there would be no trouble for Keira from the offer before she descended in force on the shop.
“Thank you,” Keira smiled, pleased. She loved when someone commented on her baked goods in a good way. So far she hadn’t had anyone that disliked them, though she was sure someone would come along to burst her little bubble. “I would enjoy your patronage,” she smiled. “I enjoy what I do, and being a successful woman and owning a business so far gives me even greater pleasure. And of course, you are welcome anytime.”
"Then I will look forward to visiting your shop soon, and enjoying your pastries at home as well." Una was more than pleased about how this meeting had fallen out; if Chiara bothered her, she had ground to stand on with Keira. And should the vampire bother poor Keira about it, Keira might find a new friend or four among Una's society.