“Oh, far too early,” Ester said, with soothing confidence - not because she had glanced at the clock (or was even capable of accurately reading the numbers on it half the time) but because she didn’t really care. He ought not to, either: the sun was scarcely up, so there was little fun to be had elsewhere.
And if Bart - or was it Art? she thought it might be, but she had heard Bart the first time he had introduced himself and somehow could not seem to shake the conviction even now - and his life were on a downward spiral there was really nowhere better he could be. Escapes from life were Ester’s specialty. And she was no stranger to picking up strays.
“Anything you need?” She asked lightly, hoping he was not yet alert enough to pick up on her rummaging vigorously through the pockets of a man’s jacket. (Ester was not sure if it was Bart’s or Gordon’s or one left by another nameless visitor, but it had been left on the armchair she had just sunk onto, at any rate, and so it would be remiss of her not to check for any petty cash or perhaps a convenient little bottle of something.)
Not that she was lacking in options, in her own cabinets. (Not quite as full as Fenny’s or a proper druggist’s, but otherwise as well-stocked as anyone’s home could be.) But while her new gentleman friend still looked a little out of it, she had woken with stomach cramps a while ago, and had needed a few more drops of laudanum to get rid of them.
And if Bart - or was it Art? she thought it might be, but she had heard Bart the first time he had introduced himself and somehow could not seem to shake the conviction even now - and his life were on a downward spiral there was really nowhere better he could be. Escapes from life were Ester’s specialty. And she was no stranger to picking up strays.
“Anything you need?” She asked lightly, hoping he was not yet alert enough to pick up on her rummaging vigorously through the pockets of a man’s jacket. (Ester was not sure if it was Bart’s or Gordon’s or one left by another nameless visitor, but it had been left on the armchair she had just sunk onto, at any rate, and so it would be remiss of her not to check for any petty cash or perhaps a convenient little bottle of something.)
Not that she was lacking in options, in her own cabinets. (Not quite as full as Fenny’s or a proper druggist’s, but otherwise as well-stocked as anyone’s home could be.) But while her new gentleman friend still looked a little out of it, she had woken with stomach cramps a while ago, and had needed a few more drops of laudanum to get rid of them.
![[Image: uWJZ5yA.png]](https://i.imgur.com/uWJZ5yA.png)