June 29th, 1892 — Florence, Italy

After departing England several days ago with Dash, Francesca, and Madam Rose Hart, Ozymandias had now found himself drinking wine on a villa in Florence. In the first hotel they'd arrived at, Oz had booked two rooms, as any gentleman would have: one for himself and one for the lady. Bafflingly, they were still occupying separate rooms. In Ozy's mind the nature of their relationship as it pertained to this trip was transactional, and he had expected a woman like Mrs. Hart to be wise enough in the ways of the world to intuit that. He'd expected her to make some effort on the first day or night to seduce him, after which they could dispense with the pretext of separate rooms at any of their future stops. Instead, she seemed to have taken his words in the invitational letter at face value. She didn't really think he'd paid her way to the continent just to have someone to discuss fine wines with, did she?

And yet: here they were, sitting on a patio discussing wines. They had played out this bizarre game of chicken for days. Oz didn't know if she was waiting for him to make the first move or whether she was trying to freeload off of him as long as she could before following through on 'her part' of their arrangement. While being taken advantage of financially might have hurt his pride, he had determined it would hurt his pride less than sleeping with someone who had no actual desire to be with him... so chicken it was. He wasn't going to be the first to bring it up.

"If you were to send a bottle home, would you choose this or the chianti?" he asked, raising the glass of red wine in his hand up enough to see how the sunlight changed the color of the liquid.

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Rose Hart

  

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MJ is the light of my life <3

Seperate rooms. Naive, possibly sweet and she appreciated the gesture. Even if it was very clear from her acceptance of the invitation that she knew what this invitation meant. She was no blushing debutant - but then nor was she a prostitute and yet, she was on this trip for pleasure, in all of its forms and her companions bushing king of France routine was getting a little old.

The villa however, was a fine location, a beautiful house with a beautiful view and it reminded her painfully of the life she might have had, had she not run off, and away from the comfortable life she might have had. Rose

Rose wrinkled her nose, 'Neither' she said in her soft Georgian accent, 'A Barolo or Franciacorta would be better.' the two were brands she hadn't had in years but were superior to all others in her, and just about everyone elses view with taste. Her hand flicking the fan slowed, an eyebrow arching beneath her wide brimmed sun hat, 'A Vin Santo would be a good choice, she added slowly, the sweet desert wine, made in the region was notable for it's strength - the medici family had made the drink notorious thanks in no small part to the creative uses the Catherine De Medici had found for the drink with her lovers

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This sort of thing

  

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Stef made this and it's beautiful!

He thought she was being a little unjust to the chianti they'd tried earlier, but neither of her suggestions were poor ones. He was a bit surprised that she had experience with expensive wines — but perhaps she didn't, really, beyond knowing how to pronounce the names. He'd written to her and not anyone else for this trip because he assumed, based on their conversation at her music hall, that she would be able to get through a week on the continent without embarrassing him with her lack of class or taste. So far it seemed he'd assessed her correctly. She either had taste, or she was a better actress than any of her performers. Ultimately, it didn't make much difference to him as long as the appearance was there.

He raised his eyebrow at her last suggestion. He was familiar with the stories* and thought her choice of wine was more about the suggestive nature of the name rather than the taste. Well, if she wanted to escalate things he had no qualms with cutting this particular event short. Oz waved the waiter over from the interior of the villa. "We're through sampling," he said, waving away the fresh glasses and bottle the man had brought with him. "A bottle of Barolo to my room, and Vin Santo to the table, please."

Oz looked back towards his companion across the table. "Should we order a dessert to complement it?"

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*though Lynn is not and can't find anything relevant on Google, hence being ~vague here

  

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MJ is the light of my life <3

Rose had to admit she was a little pleased that he took her advice on the wine front. He would also thank her later.

'To the table?' she queried innocently, glancing from the waiter to her companion. 'Why not have both the wine, and the desert sent to your room? Rose mused instead, like it was the most innocent suggestion in the world. 'Along side some glasses?' she added quickly.

The woman who made the clothing and costumes for the hall, a rather talented modiste who had a fondness for gin and pretty girls, had made her a rather pleasing selection of underthings that were languishing in her trunks and in want of their appropriate usage.

'Come to think on it, I've not had a tour of your suite,' she said, looking away from him, over the beautiful vista of florence, her fan casually cooling her face, the tendrils of her long blonde hair falling around her face, the rest still constrained in it's very appropriate style.

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Stories were basically desert and wine soaked orgies

  

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Stef made this and it's beautiful!

For a quick second Oz almost wanted to protest. The Barolo was for Thomasina, not for Madam Hart — but he was being ridiculous. They were staying at a vineyard. He could always find another bottle of wine to send her, and it wasn't as though she would have any idea that the bottle he'd originally intended for her had been consumed by the owner of a musical hall instead. Besides, this was what he'd been waiting for, wasn't it? It was the whole point of inviting her. The way she was looking away and moving her fan drew attention to her neck and her breasts, neither of which were fully visible given the neckline of her dress but some hints of skin from both were peeking through the lace.

Obviously he was going to follow her lead; there was no question of his abstaining.

"Before us is a sunset over the vineyard in Florence, and you'd like a tour of my suite," he said with a sly smile. To the waiter, he waved dismissively and remarked, "Very well, then, send it all to my room." He hadn't taken his eyes off of her since he'd started speaking, but gave her a more purposeful look now. "Is there anything else that suits your fancy?"

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MJ is the light of my life <3

Rose smriked, 'The Tuscan sunset I've seen,' she remarked with a casual wave of her fan towards the , 'Your suite I have not' her southern drawl all the more obvious for the setting being surrounded by English and Italians - and it did tend to come out more when she was giving commands.

'Perhaps in an hour they might bring another bottle of something chilled and white, and perhaps the tiramisu.' she added, standing and raising her eyebrows portentously. She ran an obviously appraising eye over her companion 'Perhaps 2 hours'

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Stef made this and it's beautiful!

Ozymandias, some years past thirty, did not share her confidence that anything they got up to would take two hours to accomplish, but he was flattered all the same. There were things that he could do to draw it out, of course; he had not been a rake for a quarter of his life only to emerge with no relevant skills when it came to pleasing women. Her breasts had drawn his eye on at least a dozen occasions since he'd met her; he'd have plenty of time to become more intimately acquainted with the pair of them.

"Two hours," he echoed with a smile. He stood and watched her walk away from the table, noticing the swing of her hips and anticipating how he might go about undressing her. He stopped by the waiter and made the order for the tiramisu and chilled wine, then caught up with her in the hallway. He touched her waist lightly, as though he intended to offer her some direction, but of course it was really only an excuse to touch her. Not that he'd be needing any excuses soon enough: the door to his suite wasn't far.

"I hope it lives up to all your expectations," he joked as he swung the door open. If he'd only been talking about the suite, he was sure it would; it was lavish and large, with an attached bathroom and bay windows that overlooked the vineyard. He wasn't only talking about the suite, obviously, but he had no serious concerns about disappointing in that regard, either.

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MJ is the light of my life <3

Rose had little interest in the gentleman's small talk. They were not here for this and there was no point in pretending that it was. She ran her hands over his back, and around his hips from the back to palm him through his trousers, making her expectations of this moment incredibly clear to him.

She circled him, in a decidedly feline manner, turning her back to him, pulling her long blonde hair over her shoulder, indicating that he should help her with fastenings of her dress, before sliding the diaphanous material from her shoulders, revealing underwear that was clearly made for male attention, baring more than it covered. She could have managed it herself but where was the fun in that.

She pulled him with her to that unobstructed view of the countryside beyond. She turned to him again, rending his shirt rather than fuss with buttons, and rising only to pull his trousers down his hips, before turning her back to him, guiding his hands to her hips and dropping her head to onside to encourage his lips - Rose smiled to herself she certainly had plans for Mister Dempsey today.

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Stef made this and it's beautiful!

The way she placed her hands obviated the need for any small talk or banter. She was ready to get straight to business, it seemed, and she seemed to be drawing her next movements out very intentionally to ensure that he was just as ready as she was. He took her cues and unbuttoned her dress, then let both his eyes and his hands trail over her back as she bared it to him. She'd foregone the typical layers of chemise and corset in favor of something alluring. She had planned this — probably at least planned for this every night since they'd arrived. Under usual circumstances he didn't like to feel that he'd been found out in his attentions before he'd made the move to seal the deal — where was the fun if there was no chase? — but under the circumstances he couldn't say he blamed her for the preparation.

She was attractive, and what she was wearing at the moment highlighted it. She put his hands on her hips and he stretched his fingers down across her pelvis, enjoying the feel of lace and skin below his fingertips. He had to stoop significantly to kiss her from his angle, but he met her lips when she tilted her face up towards his. He did wonder vaguely how this was going to work when they moved on from foreplay, since she seemed to have passed over the bed. He might have to lift her in order to get the angle right — or push her up against the wall. Either were feasible.

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MJ is the light of my life <3

Rose turned to face him, her blue eyes dark with lust. She took his hand, and guided it to her cheek in a action that was almost intimate or tender, but she instead kissed her way down his body and looked up at him, before setting about the business of their mutual pleasures.

She was sure he would be exceptionally surprised at all the inventive ways in which Rose Hart, or rather Catherine Temple could think of to express herself physically, but she intended by the end of the evening for him to understand it intimately.

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Stef made this and it's beautiful!