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Post by Eros d'Avonderre on Dec 14, 2013 14:47:04 GMT -5
Eros took the glass gratefully, and took perhaps a bit deeper of a drink than was wise as he set aside his book. "Twenty-five years old and I still haven't been caught," he said. He turned, bringing one let up onto the divan, to look out the window with Mano. The snow on the water was relaxing, though it did little to truly ease his thoughts.
"I didn't hear her leave," he said softly.
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Post by Mano Berwyn on Dec 14, 2013 14:52:18 GMT -5
"She didn't." Mano looked aside at his friend who wasn't just a friend, absently swirling the liquid in his glass as he tried to think and not to think all at once. "She is enjoying some of this brandy, actually." It was difficult to tell if his mind was fuzzy or becoming clearer with the loss of inhibitions. "Between you and her, I've found I have no need of other partners, you know," he said, turning his attention once again out the window.
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Post by Eros d'Avonderre on Dec 14, 2013 15:08:36 GMT -5
Eros blinked at the water, but for once in a long while, kept his masque up in front of Mano. He'd seen how much Mano enjoyed Mallory's company, but had assumed by her generous and eye-catching proportions that she was simply a preferred sexual partner. There had to be something more, quite a bit more. Mano's partners tended to be mentally stimulating somehow, whether through some weakness he wished to prod or some fascinating story he wished to hear.
Full minutes passed before Eros spoke. "Have you considered marrying her?" he asked. "I'll take any silence on your part as a yes." If the answer was yes, then they had quite a bit to talk about, to arrange. Eros had planned for the event of one of their marriages, but hadn't dreamed it might be Mano's.
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Post by Mano Berwyn on Dec 14, 2013 15:22:20 GMT -5
"No. Maybe." That was the kind of thoughts Mano had been specifically trying to ignore and avoid. "She knows about you. Not your name, of course, just that there's another man. She's perfectly fine with it." Marrying her sounded like it would be a simple decision to make, one that required little thought and would work best for their needs. Knowing that didn't manage to make him more eager to produce a ring.
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Post by Eros d'Avonderre on Dec 14, 2013 15:28:23 GMT -5
Eros was stunned, and yet part of him whispered that he shouldn't be surprised. "If you wished to marry her," Eros began, knowing the likelihood, considering they were having this conversation at all. He couldn't finish the question, the comment, the offer, whatever he'd been about to say. He took a bracing drink and eyed the vague reflection of his friend in the mirror, the golden edges of dark blonde hair, the outline of his shoulders, the gleam of his eyes.
"Did you come in here to confess, or to ask me to meet her?" he asked at last.
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Post by Mano Berwyn on Dec 14, 2013 15:34:20 GMT -5
"There was a vague thought of the two of you meeting," Mano said. He lifted his glass only to find he had finished it at some point already. "You were here first." It didn't need clarifying that he meant more than this evening. "Your opinion matters a great deal." His lips parted and he drew a short breath as though to say something else, but thought better of it, or maybe he was simply unable to give it voice.
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Post by Eros d'Avonderre on Dec 14, 2013 15:45:23 GMT -5
Eros gave a brief nod, perhaps of thanks, or perhaps of understanding. Mano wouldn't lead him knowingly into a trap. The man had said so much, and left few things unsaid and even fewer untouched. Perhaps Mano couldn't say the words aloud just yet, but he wanted Mallory.
The duality of it all was no surprise. It was something Eros had known would exist from the beginning, and had realized likely wouldn't end. There was no jealousy as he'd fear he might experience, no sense of possession. Mano truly wasn't a creature to be possessed.
Eros finished his glass and set it atop the book he'd abandoned. "I'll meet her, then," he said, and stood.
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Post by Mano Berwyn on Dec 14, 2013 15:52:13 GMT -5
Mano took another few moments before he turned to face Eros finally. "Any chance I can steal you both off to Singapore, Society be damned?" he asked, his lips almost curving into a smile. It was selfish, this wanting them both and wanting them to want him and wanting them to be content with one another. Mistresses and lovers felt so different from this.
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Post by Eros d'Avonderre on Dec 14, 2013 16:04:51 GMT -5
Eros's lips quirked, though whether or not he felt any real amusement at the question was his secret alone. "Japanese hot springs," he corrected, "and we'll see." Eros didn't know how he'd get along with the woman, if they'd even like one another. He certainly didn't intend to sleep with her, but if Mano was so damned serious, this needed done. He didn't want to out himself. Even their closest friends didn't know, and he was going to announce himself to a woman he'd only ever seen in passing. He really would do anything for Mano, wouldn't he?
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Post by Mano Berwyn on Dec 14, 2013 16:17:06 GMT -5
Mano managed to smile then. He didn't put his glass aside, though now that the drinks he'd taken were hitting him it was more for comfort's sake than because he truly intended to have another. Maybe someday he would manage to actually say what he felt and thought and wouldn't need help to so much as imply the feelings he held for his friend. "I do hope you're decent, Mallory," he said as he headed out of the room, just loud enough to be heard in the living room. "Don't want to distract him too badly."
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Post by Mallory Van Rockeghem on Dec 14, 2013 16:22:41 GMT -5
Mallory gave a throaty little laugh and flicked the cloak over her body, hiding what she could. Not that it mattered. The main parts of her secrets were all covered. Her lips curved when she saw Mano's lover. "I thought it might be you," she said. "Oh, he didn't tell me, but we shared some secrets at your mother's ball, and I couldn't help noticing after just how he talked about you."
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Post by Eros d'Avonderre on Dec 14, 2013 16:27:11 GMT -5
Eros didn't like that at all, but only gave Mallory a nod of respect at having figured it out. How many others had suspected? And did it truly matter? There was no proof. Not even this was proof, not really. "I'm afraid I'm at a disadvantage here," he said and, though he'd prefer to stand, found a chair. "I know your name, and I'll admit I may have looked for you in a genealogy or two on Mano's behalf, but was unable to locate a Mallory Van Rockeghem."
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Post by Mallory Van Rockeghem on Dec 14, 2013 16:31:49 GMT -5
"A secret for a secret then," Mallory said. She knew quite well how these things worked. "My legal name, at least in England, is still Malcolm Van Rockeghem. I'll need to jump through a hoop or two to prove I'm female, but there were some questions at birth and my parents decided on an heir. Adolescence had other ideas." That should be more than satisfactory for Mano's male lover to open up, even such an elite name as d'Avonderre.
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Post by Mano Berwyn on Dec 14, 2013 16:36:24 GMT -5
Mano was relieved that things hadn't taken an immediate bad turn, but just having the two so close and things so out in the open was enough to fray his already shot nerves. Maybe another refill would be a good idea, after all, especially since the two seemed to not need him for conversation. He settled himself in a chair with, yes, a refill, to watch.
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Post by Eros d'Avonderre on Dec 14, 2013 16:42:05 GMT -5
Eros eyed Mano for only a moment, as though to say he knew quite well how much the man had been drinking, then turned his attention back to Mallory. She was far more interesting than he'd expected, and things made a great deal more sense now.
"So physically," Eros said, treading lightly on his question, "you're female, that much is apparent. Yet your parents had questions at birth?" What questions could there have been? A mistake in paperwork hardly seemed like enough to reassure him that she wouldn't slander his name when she left.
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