November 5th, 1887 - Lucy's Birthday Party

Leon may or may not have known that Mrs. Pettigrew- the one that liked him, Thom's mother, was having a little gathering today. Her birthday was imminent (or he'd missed it) and Leon was really here to see Thom, but again, in true Leon fashion, hadn't bothered to owl ahead of his arrival. It seemed the festivities were winding down and Leon, with a present tucked into his pocket, sought out the birthday girl with a boyish smile on his face. Thom's mom had always been good to him int he years that the two had been friends, may as well keep her happy!

"Ah there's the birthday girl," He smiled as he managed to catch her just after she'd said goodbye to a party guest. "Not looking a day over twenty-five still, you must share you secrets." Leon swooped in and planted a kiss on both cheeks, cheeky grin firmly in place. He knew it was a sore spot for Thom when Leon flirted with his mother, but it was far too much fun!

"I trust everything has been to your liking on your special day?" He inquired as he fished about his pockets to find her present. The brooch was rather lovely if he could say so himself. Leon always had been good at giving gifts. "And how was your party? I would hate to intrude, was just stopping by to see if Thom was home while I was in town." Leon located the jewelry box on the inside pocket of his jacket and produced it with a small flourish for his favorite mother.  

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“Like ships in a squall,
we rise and we fall.”

deep quote code by Soph ♥

The odd guest aside Lucy considered this to have been a fairly successful, if slightly dull affair, which she morosely accepted was probably part and parcel of now being old. Merlin, she was fifty. It was such a large, round number. Half a century. She was closer to death than ever before and if that hadn’t put a dampener on her mood then the party winding down and her actually feeling tired certainly would. Perhaps it was the company? Over the years her friends had become old before her very eyes and a few more young people might have livened the mood – if only she could have called upon her sons to bring their friends, or her daughter-in-law to actually be present then things might have been different.

Feeling more dejected than ever about her fifty-ness Lucy was in no mood for being charming and gay anymore and it was something of a relief that she would soon have her solitude. She was not expecting any more guests so when another was announced she felt more irritation than elation…until, that was, Leon Lupin was shown into the room and her face broke out into a wide smile. Of Thom’s closest friends he was her favourite. Oh, August was not without his charms, but he was such a well-behaved young man, at least as far as she knew, and Leon made the small part of her heart that would always be a girl of eighteen waiting to be thrilled come alive.

“You terrible boy,” she said fondly, accepting the kisses gladly. “My day has improved considerably now. I was not aware you had been admitted into the Lady Morgana though,” she said with a playful smirk, gesturing to her other guests who consisted mostly of other ladies. “Oh my dear, you shouldn’t have,” she demurred even as she opened the box greedily and beheld the sparkly brooch inside. He really was too good sometimes. “It’s perfect!”

  

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I will never change this MJ set

Leon raised an eyebrow, smirking at Mrs. Pettigrew's assumptions. "Ah, it's all about who you know." Leon chuckled. The ladies' society, for him, would be like a fox in the hen house but hey, he was not one to put an age limit on his shenanigans. He could schmooze and flirt his want into and out of anything if he so chose. It was a gift, it could say so himself.

"I couldn't help myself, it's in my nature to spoil my favorite ladies." He didn't see his own mother often, though Lulu made herself hard to forget. Also, it bothered Thom just enough for it to be amusing to Leon. Okay, so he was a little sentimental, it was a thing and he wasn't ashamed. Of course he didn't go broadcasting it either, but it was there in theory. "I'm so pleased you like it, for I would have had to whisk it away for something better should you have proven otherwise." He had a reputation to uphold!

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“Like ships in a squall,
we rise and we fall.”

deep quote code by Soph ♥

Though she had long since trained herself not to blush at the slightest compliment from a handsome man Lucy still felt the flutter she had in her youth and couldn’t resist the wide smile that broke across her face. Her sons were wonderful of course but it wasn’t quite the same as getting a gift from a handsome young man for no other reason than he wanted to give it, and Mr Lupin was a particularly handsome young man!

“I do hope you don’t compliment quite so many ladies in front of your wife?” She asked coyly, not even bothering to look around the room for the woman in question. Mrs Lupin had most emphatically not been invited. Quite why she was Mrs Lupin at all beggared belief – why were Thom and his friends incapable of choosing a single worthy woman between them? Perhaps August would have better luck?

“Nothing could be better than your company my dear. Will you fetch me a drink? I seem to have run dry of champagne.”

  

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I will never change this MJ set

Leon nearly laughed aloud when Lucy mentioned Elsbeth. Though technically his wife, Leon gave little regard to her in most things. Honestly, this major favor to August was more than a little inconvenient, but Leon really didn't let it deter him from flirting. Though, he had to say, being coy and secretive about who he managed to seduce did make the game all that much more fun. Anything to make it more interesting, really.

"I wouldn't worry about that." He chuckled. Elsbeth was not welcome in most polite society, which was fine by him. Leon himself wasn't welcome in certain places himself, but he didn't let it get to him. He found company whenever and wherever he wanted it, he wasn't exactly lacking in friends.

At her request of another glass of champagne, Leon nodded, bending into a little bow. "At your service, madam." He winked at her as he straightened up and turned to find out where they kept the booze in this place. Somehow he highly doubted he'd be able to get a decent glass of rum, but he would do his best. Fortunately finding champagne was easy- as soon as he turned one of the staff walked by and he gently snagged her by the elbow and with his best charming smile, whispered in her ear a request for a bottle of champagne on ice with two flutes. That was easy. She left with a flustered nod and Leon returned to Lucy's company.

"On it's way. I do hope Thom has something special planned for tonight, dinner or a show?" Leon wouldn't be too surprised if his friend didn't, but it would just give him something to rag on his friend about later.

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“Like ships in a squall,
we rise and we fall.”

deep quote code by Soph ♥

Chance would have been a fine thing! In fact she was quite sure that Thom was going out of his way to avoid her tonight so it felt like a triumph to instead have the attention of another young man and one that seemed more concerned with her whims and pleasures than his was about his wife: which was precisely the sort of young gentleman Lucy wanted for her birthday. On her birthday. She blushed as she sipped her wine, glad it was warm in the room.

“Thom is not half as good to me as you are,” she replied playfully, though it was quite an honest assessment. True, there was always the chance, however slim, that Leon was simply buttering her up to later ask her to help his unfortunate wife but she had faith that he was merely a true flirt. Certainly he seemed to have one of the serving staff in a fluster.

“You are terrible. I do hope you don’t flirt with the younger ladies quite so much,” she sipped her drink as her eyes sparkled up at him. “They wouldn’t know what to do with you.”

  

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I will never change this MJ set

"Shame on him. He should know better." Leon only had a few ladies in his life worth spoiling. His own mother, Lucy and his sister, though his sister was perfectly capable of taking care of herself in that respect. Whatever poor sap ended up saddled with her best be on top of his game in that respect. Lulu wouldn't have anything less.

Leon chuckled heartily as she called him terrible. "I am an equal opportunity flirt thank you very much. Though I do say, I only flirt with the most beautiful of ladies." He was selective. Unless he was going to get something out of it, then he used whatever angle he needed to in order to get what he wanted. It worked well for him.

Speaking of, the lass returned with their drinks and Leon passed her a charming smile and passed Lucy her champagne. . "Thank you darling, keep it coming." He pressed a hand her her hip and slipped a generous tip in her pocket all in one fluid, well-rehearsed move.  "Cheers to the birthday girl, here's to many more." He raised his glass to hers before taking a long sip. "And I'm free tonight if you need a dinner date." He assured her with a bit of a smirk.

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“Like ships in a squall,
we rise and we fall.”

deep quote code by Soph ♥

Were it not for the fact that Thom would never forgive her Lucy might have taken him up on the offer, jokingly make though it undoubtedly was. Leon surely had any number of women he could call upon for such entertainments of an evening and Lucy did not begrudge him in the way she might have done her son: if Mr Lupin was a tiny bit scandalous then it was nothing to her but a second-hand thrill!

“You’re incorrigible,” she trilled with a shake of her head, eyes piercing into the young lady with the drinks until the girl took the hint and vanished. Lucy was not so vain she thought Leon genuine, but she was vain enough to want to be the centre of attention and that girl was far too distracting to the eye. Lucy watched as several other young men turned their heads towards her and resolved to never have her serve at one of their parties again.

“Where would you take me? People will talk so we’ll need to be discreet.” She replied playfully, looking up through her lashes as she sipped her champagne.

  

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I will never change this MJ set

A roguish grin curled his lips upward watching Mrs. Pettigrew fixed what could only be described as a glare on the lass who'd brought the drinks. Whoops. "Ah, but it's more fun that way." He retorted after a sip of his drink.

Leaning in for the sake of conspiracy, Leon let out a little hum of thought. "A cozy little dinner, maybe a show. I haven't been to a good show in a while." Then again Leon's typical choice in show was not appropriate for a lady of Lucy's station. "Anything you'd like really." It was a pity it would likely kill Thom if Leon pursued his mother, even just for a little fun. What a shame. Of course he'd already slept with Thom's last mistress too, so really what were morals?

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“Like ships in a squall,
we rise and we fall.”

deep quote code by Soph ♥

Anything she’d like? Lucy could scarcely contain the smirk that threatened to overtake her face as she contemplated precisely what she’d like of Mr Leon Lupin. It was hardly anything she could give voice to and would almost certainly give Thom cause for concern if he found out but Merlin it had been so long.

Of course he was just being generous, probably driven by the fact it was her birthday and he felt some sympathy for how old she was now. She doubted he would want for company when he was fifty!

“Whatever would Thom say?” She quipped lightly, a laugh on her voice and a blush on her cheek.

  

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I will never change this MJ set

Leon thoroughly enjoyed Lucy's almost-smirk. He waggled his eyebrows at her and leaned in with a wink, "What Thom doesn't know, won't hurt him." Leon really was not above showing his best friend's mom a good time, if that's what she wanted for her birthday. Who was he to deny her?

Making her blush was just a bonus, but it also made him think that she wasn't being completely innocent in her thoughts either. "It is your birthday after all, who would say no to the birthday girl?" He really was incorrigible and he was completely okay with it.

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“Like ships in a squall,
we rise and we fall.”

deep quote code by Soph ♥

The mention of her birthday all but confirmed it in Lucy’s mind. He was indulging her and while she appreciated the gesture she hardly wanted to feel like a charitable exercise when Leon would likely find another woman with ease, younger and prettier and much more likely to let him into her bed. Still, he was the sort of charmer she would have been helpless to resist in her truncated time as a debutante.

“Well this birthday girl is a little too old and tired for you darling boy,” she said wistfully, reaching up to cup his cheek gently and allow herself a momentary fantasy. Dear sweet Merlin he was too handsome for his own good and certainly far too much for her to remain good for long. “I wouldn’t want to distract you all night.”

  

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I will never change this MJ set

Scoffing playfully at her rebuke, Leon simply continued to smirk. "Well I highly doubt that on either front." She was neither old nor tired. All night she'd said. Leon didn't doubt Lucy could teach him a thing or two, not at all. Whatever would Thom say? That thought had him chuckling to himself.

"As the offer stands, I should probably let you get back to celebrating if you're not inclined to take me up on it at the moment." Leon drained his rum in one long sip. "You know where to find me if you change your mind, your day doesn't end until midnight." The roguish grin that was a tell of his mischievousness was accompanied by another wink. He'd been in town to see Thom after all, it wasn't as if he was hard to find on any front, unless he was out of town. And even still, Leon could make time for special circumstances like this.  

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“Like ships in a squall,
we rise and we fall.”

deep quote code by Soph ♥

On the other side of the ballroom Lucy could just about see Andromache hovering near the stairs, clearly itching to go to bed and end this party but reluctant to do so without saying goodnight, and she had the distinct feeling that many of those still sipping at their drinks were doing so entirely for her benefit rather than any enjoyment. Most of the younger crowd, the ones that had actually possessed some life, had either left already or found their own groups elsewhere in the house.

Merlin, it was all too depressing. She needed something to lift her spirits. Or at least to dull out the thoughts and Leon was not that thing. The last thing she needed were her habits getting back to Thom and as much as she would love to ruin him for his annoying wife she trusted his discretion about as much as she trusted Hannah to run her house. Although she found the former unreliability a great deal more endearing than the latter.

“I doubt either of us could manage our full repertoire in only an hour,” she retorted with a smile that matched his, taking the final sip of her champagne. It wasn’t enough, she needed what was locked away in her bedside drawer and she needed it sooner rather than later.

  

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I will never change this MJ set

It was on the tip of his tongue, an inappropriate quip about an hour being plenty, but he decided not to push too much; a rare instance, certainly.  "Fortunately birthdays are an annual event, there's always Christmas too." He said instead, cheeky smile and all.

"I best leave you to the rest of your evening. I'm glad I was able to catch you." He leaned in to sweep another kiss across her cheek. "I'm only an owl away, should you change your mind." Leon added in a low chuckle. Setting his drink aside, he cast the poor young waitress another charming smile, hoping she wouldn't pay for his flirting too much.

With that firmly accomplished and leaving without company, Leon knew where his next stop was.

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“Like ships in a squall,
we rise and we fall.”

deep quote code by Soph ♥