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Tweak says, "Everything is beautiful."

Léon Belmont (ex_the_ambas216) wrote in toujoursliberer,
@ 2008-03-28 07:54:00

Entry tags:

ambassadors_ball, leon_belmont

An Invitation to the French Ambassador's Ball
Subject: The Ambassadors Ball
Where: The French Embassy
Who: Léon Belmont, the French Ambassador to the English court
Warnings: none as yet
Open to: All (all players may attend either as invited guests of the ambassador, as servants or guests of those invited, as staff, or as gate-crashers.)

The ballroom of the Embassy was already growing busy, and when Citizen Belmont paused for a moment besides one of the large windows, he could see yet more carriages pulling up outside, wreathed in the mist blowing in from the river.

The quartet had been playing now for a good half an hour, new French tunes as well as those the English favoured. His staff was busy handing out good French wine, and then refilling those glasses when they were drained.

It was going to be a good evening, and not only in the eyes of the party-goers. With some of England’s most prominent aristos on the guest list, and some than some newly arrived French nationals, tonight would be a night of information gathering, of sizing up the opposition, and perhaps even ensuring some of those French escapees were returned to face justice.

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lord_eward
2008-04-24 02:50 pm UTC (link)

At his friend's bright voice Eward turned sharply and tried to stop breaking into a grin. He was a welcome sight for Eward was now not the only cynical bastard in the room. With a bow to the woman at his side Eward made a hasty exit with his friend, heaving a sigh of relief and grabbing a glass as Harry did, downing it in one gulp. This evening was not a welcome night out. He had arranged for his favourite ladyfriend of the moment to tend to him weeks before he had received the invitation. Still, duty came before slutty activities. Sometimes.

"Harry if you hadn't just saved me from that insufferable bint I might have thrown in the towel and collapsed altogether," he said as a reply, a glint in his eye suggesting he was now wanting to get up to mischief. He always seemed to have the devil in him, but it was roused three-fold when he had a partner in crime.

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social_climber
2008-04-24 02:58 pm UTC (link)

"And I was of the impression that you rather enjoyed having all these women fainting and sighing at the sight of you." Harry retorted quickly enough, taking a swallow of his drink but not downing it as Eward had. He wanted to keep his wits about him for as long as he possibly could tonight. "Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I distinctly saw you approach her. So don't tell me your sorry tale of popularity, my lord. Perhaps I should re-introduce you both? I don't believe I've ever seen you collapse." He adds, teasing as he takes another swallow.

"So, what are you looking for tonight? A more enjoyable bint, or have you had your fill of that for one evening?" He asks, "Or something else? We are, after all, in the French Embassy and I," He pauses, and taps his pocket, where lay hidden the velvet roll protecting its valuable cargo of picks and wires, "have a key to every room."

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lord_eward
2008-04-24 03:17 pm UTC (link)

"I know that bint too well," Eward replied calmly. "And she is not of the pleasurable kind. It was a mistake in my approaching her and I certainly do not wish to make the same foolish judgement again. Even if you do want to see me make a fool of myself, you devil, Harry," he added, grinning behind his glass before he tried to drain the dregs.

"I... am looking for another conquest yes. Possibly something of an intriguing nature to sink my teeth into, and that goes for both females and interesting business." Eward's eyes flashed with hunger as he saw a pretty woman cross his path but he did nothing to go after her. When Harry patted his pocket Eward let out a laugh. "I was right! You are the devil himself with all your magical tricks." He paused and took a glance around the ballroom. No-one had noticed them.

"Let's have fun."

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social_climber
2008-04-24 03:46 pm UTC (link)

"I would say you knew every woman in the room too well." Harry said, "And one day you'll be worse the wear for it. Then you'll be sorry." He then shrugs, as if to say he didn't care if Eward caught Syphilis or not. "And did I even suggest you would make a fool of yourself? And I would hate for you to embarrass yourself in public. It would be such a shame."

"I might as well call you Caesar, for all the conquering you do." He says, sighing, and handing over his own glass. "Finish that, if you must. I have a new girl for you too, untouched by even the keenest of hands. I'll send her to you after the Ball. I thought best not to bring her here. I know what you're like."

"Besides, I'm hardly the devil. I was born in a church, I'll have you know." He says, moving out of the room and into the entrance hall, it's floor chequered with black and white marble squares, a Persian rug set atop. "Where first, my lord?"

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lord_eward
2008-04-24 03:59 pm UTC (link)

"Caesar Mountford-Miles... I like the sound of that," muttered Eward mostly to himself but not caring if Harry heard it as he took the glass and swirled the liquid around it. "An untouched maiden, hmm? I like the sound of that, too. I would hate for her to go another day without experiencing the pleasures of the flesh."

Once the wine was of a suitable fragrance Eward tipped it down his throat and gave a satisfied sigh. He then laughed at Harry's remark and followed him out of the ballroom, shaking his head. "That means nothing. The Devil was an angel originally, it just shows you how things can change. I think... the Amabassador's rooms. I do not waste time."

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social_climber
2008-04-24 04:10 pm UTC (link)

"I thought you would, you rogue." Harry replied drily, although a smirk pulled at his lips. "In that cause, shouldn't I be Mark Anthony, as I always end up with what you've finished with?" He says, although he didn't have the appetite of his friend, and no desire for it, either.

Harry rolled his eyes, "I'll send a messenger later, she'll be waiting in your carriage." Nell wouldn't mind running an errand. That was, of course, if the boy was steady enough on his feet.

"You never waste time, that's certainly true. What are you hoping to find there?" Apart from, perhaps, half of Nell's belongings and clothes stashed away. He glanced about the hallway, and then headed for the stairs, taking two steps in each stride, slipping the pick-roll from his pocket, and glancing up and down the corridor. "This room." He said, trying the door and being unsurprised when it was locked. He pulled a thin wire from the roll, eased it in, and gently turned the handle again, before pulling out a pick and using it to lift the latch within the door. "There you go." He says, pushing the door open and stepping away, allowing Eward in first.

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lord_eward
2008-04-24 05:32 pm UTC (link)

Eward laughed heartily as he strolled along with his friend. "Yes but you also get the Queen of Egypt, am I right? And I most likely get murdered... an unsettling thought."

He nodded at the information about the woman in the carriage, secretly hungering for it already. He was desperate to get out of his hell hole and back to the comforts of his home, and more importantly, his bedroom.

"I am hoping to find something to entertain myself with. Perhaps a nice treasure I can store for future use." He waited patiently for Harry to unlock the door, which didn't take long, before he flashed him a smile and stepped over the threshold, hands clasped behind his back as if he were invading the room for a friendly little visit. Glancing around the room he noted its grandeur before he set about plundering for goodies.

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social_climber
2008-04-24 06:03 pm UTC (link)

"Not until after you've had her." Harry reminds him. He'd seen the play once, Anthony and Cleopatra. Secretly, he thought Caesar probably had the best deal.

"I hope you realise not everything here is available for plunder, Caesar. Some of it is owned by one of my employees. One of them was here before the Ball, or so I understand. I'd rather you didn't take what isn't the ambassadors." He pauses, glancing around the room, which was tidy enough, save for the bed, still unmade, still littered with clothes, sheets, and goodness knew what else that he didn't bother to inspect.

"You read French, I hope?" Harry asks, moving to the opposite side of the room, towards a desk with locked draws, and he begins to sort through the piles of papers. "Or enough to understand names, at least?" He adds, with a grin and a brightness to his eyes, his free hand reaching for the quill.

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lord_eward
2008-04-24 06:31 pm UTC (link)

Eward laughed again but refrained from replying. True, Harry would probably receive a young woman after Eward had got all he wanted from her but really he thought Harry was happy with the arrangement.

"I have no interest in things which are not the ambassador's," Eward said curtly, and rather brashly, going about the desk and tracing a finger across the fine mahogany wood. He was certainly living in luxury, but Eward wasn't surprised. Some of the things were not as pretty as what the Lord had purchased in his home.

"I do read French. Practiced in the tongue, also. Why do you ask?" he said suddenly, looking at him with curiosity. "What are you planning?"

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social_climber
2008-04-24 06:45 pm UTC (link)

Harry watched quietly, his eyes following the movement of Eward's fingers over the highly polished tabletop. "You have a better one. But still... not a bad desk for a Revolutionary, don't you think?" Harry muttered, ducking down to examine the legs, "A very nice piece." He said, calculating the best way to get rid of the desk and not be caught. He put the idea out of him mind for the moment, and turned his attention back to the papers.

"We have what seems to be a list of names, my lord. Perhaps... we should add a few more? Hunting for French nationals that do not exist will probably keep our dear Ambassador busy for some time..." He said, before glancing at something else hidden beneath the papers- a little note book. "I wonder..."

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lord_eward
2008-04-24 07:31 pm UTC (link)

Eward hummed in a cross between agreement and disgust. The Ambassador was one to be watched: how he could betray the very people he was living like now in England was beyond Eward's comprehension.

"Of course I have a better one I have taste. And dignity."

To Harry's little suggestion Eward snorted down his nose. Ah he did amuse him. They were like two naughty boys playing a prank on one of their elders. As they were grown up, supposedly mature and responsible it just made it even more fun. "Be sure to put Silly Cretin in there somewhere, see if he notices."

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social_climber
2008-04-24 08:21 pm UTC (link)

"Still, for those of us without taste and dignity, my lord, I for one would not mind being a revolutionary if I could live like this." He said, although not really concentrating on the words. The slim little note book begged to be read, and his fingers itched to take it. But in a moment, in a moment. For some reason, he didn't want Eward to see him take it.

"I was thinking something along the lines of Old Fart, but yours is much better." He said, dipping the quill's tip into the little pot of ink, and leaning over to write. The pen scratched over the rough paper, the ink splattering as Harry attempted to write in the same style as he supposed the ambassador must write. "Louis Frassin... Maurice Dupré... Anne Raymond..." He muttered as he wrote, "...Silly Cretin..." He glanced up, "And names you would like to add?"

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lord_eward
2008-04-24 08:51 pm UTC (link)

"Stop calling me 'my lord', we are not in public and we are both friends. That silly formality is lost with you, I do not need it." When he said his piece he began looking at the shelves of a rather lavish looking sideboard laden with books.

"What is to bet that a key is hidden in one of these volumes?" he said, almost to himself. He again traced a finger along the spines of the books, smirking. "Write down... you will - then, never find - and finish it with... me, Ambassador... but hide it."

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social_climber
2008-04-24 09:07 pm UTC (link)

"Oh, but it does so suit you, Eward." Harry says, adding the suggested piece to the note with a smirk, interspersed with other, made-up, names. "Nell told me the Ambassador kept dogs. Old ones, the fancy French ones. I was wondering how they'd fair in a scrap with mine." He suggests, setting the quill back where he found it, and easing the notebook out from it's hiding place, and flicking through it. Names, addresses, notes. All in French, but perhaps it could be of some use. He'd have someone copy it out for him, and Nell could slip it back within the next day or so. The Ambassador, if he noticed at all, would probably only think he had mislaid the book. "Where would your money be? My dogs or his?"

"A key to what? A secret torture chamber? A chest full of gold?" He asked, getting up and moving towards his younger accomplice. "Although if it is, we split it." He added after a moment's thought, "But I've no idea what you'd do with it, so you might as well let me have your share too."

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lord_eward
2008-04-24 09:45 pm UTC (link)

"Yours, of course. He probably feeds his dogs all the scraps, they will be overweight and not used to the visciousness needed of their kind. Much like himself," he grinned, finding no useful titles on the shelf and moving to the chests of drawers and various other antique sideboards.

"I would of course split the money with you. One can never have too much money, you should know that. But that is only if we find said key to a trove full of treasures. It is unlikely. His treasures are probably all of sentimental value rather than actual, true worth." Eward saw something glint as he moved a picture frame and his eyes darkened at the sight. "Ah! Gold... it is a statue of an elephant but it is gold nonetheless."

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social_climber
2008-04-24 10:31 pm UTC (link)

"Perhaps we could arrange a fight to find out?" Harry muses, glancing around. There were certainly no dogs in the room at the moment, perhaps they had been removed to an outside lodging for the duration of the Ball? It was more than likely. After all, the door had been locked.

"A what?" Harry replied, looking over the others shoulder. He disapproved of the inch or so more height that Eward had, but kept those comments to himself. "An elephant. Why on earth has he got a golden elephant in here?" He asked the world in general.

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lord_eward
2008-04-24 10:38 pm UTC (link)

"Because is the Ambassador of France and has no taste, obviously," said Eward, examining the statue with a critical eye. "Perhaps it was a gift, or left here by the man before him... either way I am sure he would love for me to have it, don't you think?"

With that, he pocketed the statue in his pocket. It was heavy, but it was also small enough to go relatively unnoticed and as he turned to Harry he smirked subconsciously at his efforts to peer over his shoulder. "There is nothing of value in here. The good stock must be kept elsewhere. Care for a stroll?"

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social_climber
2008-04-24 10:44 pm UTC (link)

"At least in statues, yes." Harry agrees, clearly still amused by the strange little ornament. "A gold elephant." He mutters, and shakes his head, glancing around the room again, before nodding, "I think we have done all we can here." He says, and gestures to allow Eward out first, "You can suggest where next." He added, shutting the door as he went out, and pulling out the picks again, locked it behind them.

Is it alright if Nell interrupts at this point?

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	lord_eward 2008-04-24 10:48 pm UTC (link)
	Sure! (Replies frozen) (Parent)

ex_little_st99
2008-04-24 10:54 pm UTC (link)

The evening was still in full swing below them but Nell was feeling a little worse for ware after his seventh or so glass of champagne. A quick lie down in the Ambassador’s bedroom to sleep off the alcohol and he should be fine in a hour or so to return to entertaining. He turned the corner, almost bumping into Harry and the man accompanying him.
Although he was drunk Nell could still make out clearly the keys in Harry’s hand and he hardly needed a detective to put together the idea that they had been in that room a few moments ago.

“What where you doing in there?” He demanded. “That’s Léon’s room. Harry you promised when I gave you the key...you said you wouldn’t use your lock picks in here.”

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lord_eward
2008-04-24 11:06 pm UTC (link)

On seeing the boy Eward heaved a great sigh of annoyance, rolling his eyes. He had no patience for dogsbodies such as him. "And no doubt he told you the grass is greener on the other side and that rainbows have a pot of gold at the end - do not believe everything you hear. Are you drunk?" he added as an afterthought. Best to confuse the lad, rather than humour him.

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social_climber
2008-04-24 11:10 pm UTC (link)

Harry also sighed softly, dusting off his hands after slipping the lock-picks back into their place in a pocket. "Nell, you are meant to be working downstairs." He chastises, not willing to let the boy off too lightly in front of Eward. "Forgive me, Eward, it is normally a boy who knows his place." The last few words are delivered pointedly. "Don't you, Nell? I would head back down, if I were you. Otherwise you'll loose this evening's pay."

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	ex_little_st99 2008-04-24 11:15 pm UTC (link)
	“I...” Nell stammered, unsure how to react to the threat of loss of pay. “But I’ve done what Léon asked me to do and I want to lie down.” (Replies frozen) (Parent) (Thread)

	lord_eward 2008-04-25 11:06 am UTC (link)
	"Oh? And what did Mr Ambassador ask you to do?" said Eward poignantly, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. He was playing about with the lad but it didn't harm to get what little information he could out of him. "You want to know what we were doing in there, and we want to know what you are doing for the Ambassador..." (Replies frozen) (Parent) (Thread)

	ex_little_st99 2008-04-25 11:57 am UTC (link)
	Nell looked past him to Harry, almost pleadingly. "I was...um...The ambassador...I did what Harry arranged." He finished, unsure how much Harry had told his friend about his business arrangement with the ambassador. (Replies frozen) (Parent) (Thread)

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