April 09, 1888 — St. Mungo's, P&P Department

Bella had not been pleased when she'd caught sight of her Least Favorite Magazine that morning, but that wasn't really new. Witch Weekly had a thing for slandering her on a regular basis, so much so that Bella often wondered if there was some writer who obsessed over her and her life story in the darkness of their office. It wasn't all that uncommon for anyone — magazine or person — to characterize her as "unfortunate" (she would even consider herself as such, but in a completely different context), but going as far to insinuate she was a harlot was another story.

Nevertheless, it was morning time and morning time mean working time. She couldn't seem to wipe the scowl off her face — until she ran into her boss. It was less that seeing him made her happy and more that she had no desire to have him inquire as to why she was upset, especially after the good news he'd just gotten!

"Mr. Langley!" she greeted cheerfully, offering him a wide smile. "I didn't get a chance to congratulate you on your promotion in person yesterday." Hence the letter she'd left on his desk the morning before.

Fletcher Langley

  

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— MJ is MAGICAL —

With his nose in his files and focus elsewhere, Fletcher hadn't seen his most enthusiastic intern approach him. He did, however, jump when he suddenly heard her voice right next to him. He'd know Miss Scrimgeour's voice anywhere. Which..was a bit unfortunate. He really wasn't sure how to speak to the young lady who had clearly gotten some wrong impressions from him. How, he wasn't entirely sure, but the letter left on his desk the morning before was enough for him to know that something was going on and he needed to put an end to it before things got out of hand. He was quite happy with the way things were going with Eavan and he wasn't about to ruin his new position in the hospital.

"Ah Miss Scrimgeour," he said as he gave her a small smile once he'd looked up from his files, "I needed to speak with you."

  

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BEE-utiful Set!

He didn't even respond to her congratulations, which was odd because Mr. Langley was always polite, even when he was being a little stuffy. The smile faded from her face, and she stared at him with caution. "Have I done something wrong?" she asked quietly. She didn't think she'd made any mistakes last night, and certainly not today!

  

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— MJ is MAGICAL —

Feltcher wasn't really sure how to go about having the conversation he felt was needed. Especially when she responded like she was already guilty or something.

"It's about your little notes and such," he said, deciding it was probably best to just be blunt about it, "I'm not sure when or how I gave any impressions of..feelings toward you. But, well, there aren't any." He paused to look at her, hoping he wasn't about to make her cry or something. He really wouldn't know what to do then. "There's already a woman in my life that I'm quite interested in and well, you're under my direct command. I don't think it would be wholly appropriate," he finished a bit lamely while silently hoping she didn't burst out in tears.

  

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BEE-utiful Set!

Modern Bella would have immediately come out and said "Man, I don't know what you're smoking," but this was Victorian Bella and she had fewer appropriate ways she could respond to such an admission. What had given him the impression that her feelings extended beyond a desire for an amicable friendship?

"Mr. Langley," she began, having a hard time getting down a heavy lump in her throat. "I have no idea what I've done to lead you to believe I have feelings of those sorts towards you, but I must insist that my affections lie elsewhere - er - well, not with you," she finished, her cheeks flushing pink at her own admission.

  

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— MJ is MAGICAL —

Fletcher couldn't help the look of utter disbelief as the young woman denied having feelings for him. Clearly he hadn't read the situation wrong. He wasn't that daft. Was he?

"The letters," he said, eyeing her questioningly, "The little gifts. Clearly such things entail feelings more than that of being platonic." Right? Merlin, maybe he should have spoken with someone else about all of it before confronting Miss Scrimgeour about feelings she may not have actually had in the first place.

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   Bella Scrimgeour

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BEE-utiful Set!

Bella shifted in discomfort and released an awkward giggle she could no longer hold in. If only the true object of her affections could be so attentive to her attention; perhaps she'd been giving it to the wrong person the whole time!

"Oh no, Mr. Langley," she sighed with a firm shake of her head and an embarrassed smile. "Perhaps I led you the wrong way. I think of you as a mentor and do like you, but not in that way. The cards were meant to signify my thoughtfulness, not affection, and the plant — well, I love plants and thought you might like one, too!" she insisted. Besides, she'd already hinted that she'd guessed where his affections lied!

  

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— MJ is MAGICAL —

Well. Clearly Fletcher should have talked to someone else before talking to Miss Scrimgeour. The whole conversation quickly blew up in his face and he was made to feel and look like a total cad. His cheeks burned with embarrassment and he was quite grateful he hadn't taken the time to shave in some time.

"Well.. okay then," he said a bit stiffly, now avoiding her gaze entirely, "Just for future reference then." He coughed then as he looked back to his files and handed one off to her. "Mrs. Bortles is back again," he said, back to business, "Seems she mixed up eye of newt with eye of toad. I think she may need to see about getting her eyes checked to avoid these mishaps. She's a rather vibrant shade of orange at the moment. I'll let you see to it."

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   Bella Scrimgeour

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Bella's mind was full of all sorts of jumbled thoughts: Would her relationship with Mr. Langley be damaged from this point forward? Would she be able to adequately complete her job if that were the case? Was she really that forward? And most importantly, was he the only one she'd given such impressions to? Merlin, now she'd be a wreck for the rest of the day! The month of April was proving to be an especially tumultuous one, and it was only on its ninth day!

Grabbing the files from Mr. Langley, her hand brushed him, prompting her face to finally redden.

"A-Alright. Orange skin. Eye of toad. Newt. Alright," she stumbled before turning to make her escape.

  

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— MJ is MAGICAL —