February 7th, 1891 — Luncheon, Bartonburg

After a short contract had seen him out to see for three weeks of January, Alfred was happy to be back home in London — not because he had any particular attachment to his flat or the city in general, nor because he had any particular interest in being invited to things simply for the sake of it, but rather because being able to accept invitations gave him more chances to see Zelda. It also gave him more chances for positive exposure to her family, but — well, frankly, he wasn't the best at that. He'd start off whatever event it was with the very best of intentions, but then sooner or later he'd start feeling mischievous and he'd get himself into trouble. Zelda had that affect on him; she was easy to get into trouble with. Even at this luncheon he'd already found his mind wandering. They were seated next to each other, which was a nice change. Could he slip a hand onto her knee under the table without her chaperon noticing, he wondered?

It was too early to get into trouble, though; the first course hadn't even come out yet, and so far it had only been tea and biscuits. It had been quite a long interval between their arrival and the beginning of the first course, but he gathered that was part of the plan for the day; lots of time between each dish to wander around the room, mingling and talking with people from other tables. Given that he had no particular interest in talking to anyone other than Zelda, though, he was disinclined to make use of such periods.

He had been in the middle of telling her an anecdote about one of his sailors during their port call to Lisbon when word reached the two of them, through another person at the table, that there was some magic afoot with the biscuits. Something to do with romance — cheeks turning colors while you were looking at someone you liked.

"How silly," he muttered to Zelda under his breath, speaking quietly in case the hostess or one of her close friends was near enough to hear. "I hope you like the way I look with pink cheeks," he teased, picking up the remaining half of a biscuit from his plate and taking a defiant bite.

@"Zelda Fisk" Cassius Lestrange

  

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

Katia was one of Zelda's more enjoyable chaperones; this was because Katia tended to operate on a different plane of existence than the rest of them, and so while she was diligent, she also wasn't a drag. Zelda had been listening attentively to Alfred's Lisbon anecdote when they heard about the biscuits. She wrinkled her nose as she thought about it.

"At least it's harmless," she said in an undertone, grabbing a biscuit of her own off the plate. Magic in foods awakened something in her MA&C brain, a neon danger! sign, but it wasn't amortentia, so - it could be worse. And she didn't want to be anti-fun. "You do look sort of like you're in a weirdly-done painting, though." She grinned at him and the pink glow of his cheeks - as long as it wore off eventually this was fine, because she liked when he looked at her.

(She was very much trying to quiet the danger! signal.)

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AMAZING set by MJ

Harmless for the two of them, anyway; Alfred could see this being quite uncomfortable if it wasn't working as it should and was leaving his cheeks their normal color around the girl he had promised to marry, for example. "I suppose she meant it as a matchmaking scheme," he said with a shrug. "And it might be rather effective in that department." Or it might be entirely sole-crushing and embarrassing for some poor young woman whose cheeks gave away how enamored she was with a potential beau, only for his to betray that he hardly remembered her name. Yes, there were many ways in which this scheme could go very wrong, and only a few in which it could go right — and of the ways in which it could go right, only one possibility was really very interesting, which was that a man and a woman who were both fond of each other but not publicly courting yet might be nudged in the right direction. Though if it took magical intervention to get the gentleman to ask to court, they couldn't possibly be very much in love, could they? If it weren't for the interventions of her family, Alfred certainly wouldn't have been sitting around waiting for some trite scheme with magical cookies; he would have married her a year ago, at least.

"Do you think we'll manage to get through the fish course without someone bursting into tears over it?" he asked Zelda conspiratorially, finishing his biscuit.

  

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

This was definitely a matchmaking scheme - it was something out of Witch Weekly, she thought, although there was no way Zelda would admit to Alfred that she sort of read Witch Weekly. (Xena had a subscription, it was inevitable.)

"Oh, there's no way," Zelda said with a little grin, "These were made with chaos and drama in mind, it's going to happen." This couldn't backfire for them, because she liked Alfred and he liked her and they were courting, but there were some people at the table who were unattached or here with people Zelda privately considered to be boring. So -- they were just going to have to watch other people get into trouble.

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AMAZING set by MJ

"Should we take bets on who goes first?" he asked under his breath, with a touch of a smirk. He glanced out around the room and took in some of the other guests, for the first time, really, since he'd arrived and found his seat next to Zelda. He hadn't particularly cared who else was here, but he noticed now that he didn't know many of them. There were a lot of girls in roughly Zelda's age range. The hostess was, too, which meant they might have all been school acquaintances; that was one easy way to put together a guest list, he supposed, but it meant that he had very little experience with any of these women. None of them had been out in society before he'd disappeared on the Sycorax, and by the time he'd come back, he hadn't been the sort of person who tended to get invited to nice little society parties like this. He was probably only here now for Zelda's sake; he certainly wouldn't have accepted the invitation to a random Sunday luncheon if she hadn't been coming, too.

"You'll have the advantage," he admitted. "I don't think I know anyone here." At least not any of the women — and he did not particularly expect any of the men to burst into tears, no matter how devastating the series of romantic hurdles laid out by the enchanted biscuits.

  

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

It was with great reluctance that Jo agreed to attend today's luncheon with her mother. Tiffany Smith was tolerant of Jo's month long absences, her reluctance to conform to traditional standards, even her absolute refusal to consider a husband. However, what her mother refused to accept was her determination to shutter herself inside for month's on ends. The accident had obviously ruined Jo's previously abundant confidence — almost as though such confidence came exclusively from her ability to perform magic at will — and Tiffany refused to abide by it.

She excused herself from her mother's side as soon as she could do so without drawing attention. The event was a bit much for the still recovering brunette, even if her headaches had more or less faded into being caused only by overexertion. Jo stood alone in a far corner silently watching the mingling until the bell rang for everyone to take their seats. Oh, no. In the flurry of activity, Jo lost track of Tiffany and hadn't the slightest idea where their table was. Too embarrassed to admit such a fault, she remained (mostly) hidden in the corner until she spotted the oh-so-familiar face of J. Alfred Darrow.

The words he used to comfort her that day in his flat was never far from her mind, for she did frequently believe it was her own folly that caused her injury and the death of two others. Had she listened, had she heeded the warnings, perhaps her tale of woe would be nonexistent today.

It was by instinct that she walked across the room with the determination to take the single remaining free chair, that just so happened to be directly across from her dear friend. "I wouldn't say anyone," Jo said cheerfully in lieu of greeting as she sat down. "I certainly hope you know me. Hello Miss Fisk, Mr Darrow."

  

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"Sure," Zelda agreed, "Let me think about our options." She had attended school with most of the girls here, at some point - and while she had never known most of the girls well, that didn't mean that one of them wasn't liable to get teary sooner or later. She was squinting at a brunette and trying to figure out whether or not she was one of the Miss Greengrasses when Jo Smith dropped into the chair across from her.

"Miss Smith," she said cheerfully, because they were friends, even if they had had that weird exchange of letters back in the spring. "I thought I saw your mother earlier!"

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The following 1 user Likes Zelda Darrow's post:1 user Likes Zelda Darrow's post
   Jupiter Smith

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AMAZING set by MJ

Alfred startled at the familiar voice. He hadn't expected to see Jo at a normal society thing; she seemed more at home in a pub, or the wilderness, or... really, anywhere but here. Still, he was pleased to see her. She was good company in any setting, and she seemed to be in a considerably better mood than the last time they'd talked.

"I'd forgotten you two knew each other," he said with a grin across the table. His cheeks, which had resumed their normal color as he scanned a room full of strangers, began glowing pink again.

  

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

"Have you? I lost track of her some time ago." Jo looked around for good measure, but when she didn't immediately spot Tiffany shrugged. Zelda and Alfred would be far better company tban a table of stuffy society types anyway. "We met in school, and sometimes have drinks when I'm in town." She supplied easily.

She casually reached for a biscuit and had consumed half when she noticed Alfred's cheeks glowing a strange pinkish color. "Your, erm. Your cheeks. Are you alright?" Unbeknownst to her, Jo's cheeks had also taken on the pink blush.

  

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beautiful set by mj

Zelda hadn't actually eaten the biscuit she'd grabbed yet; she still had it on her plate (and hadn't ruled it out) but there was still part of her brain that wanted no part of food magic. She was thinking about it when Jo pointed out Alfred's cheeks, and glanced up suddenly - Alfred was looking at Jo.

Alfred was looking at Jo, and Jo was looking at Alfred, and both their cheeks were glowing.

Zelda's eyes were wide and alarmed; her eyebrows were raised. "They're - it's a bit of magic, apparently," she said, voice a little distant, because she was not going to explain it.

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   J. Alfred Darrow, Jupiter Smith

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AMAZING set by MJ

Alfred would never have thought to be anxious about Zelda and Jo being in the same room together with him. He hadn't given the matter any serious thought but he likely would have said, if questioned, that he and Miss Smith were friends and left it at that. He certainly wouldn't have elaborated without prompting, because while he and Jo both knew there was nothing there that ought to give Zelda any cause for concern, their relationship had gone a bit beyond the bounds of what society would have considered simple friendship. Evidently, the biscuits agreed on that point.

What were the odds that Zelda might chalk this up to some sort of malfunction in the magic? He glanced over at her and guessed by her expression that whatever the odds were, they weren't in his favor. He ought to explain (and he felt confident that he had done nothing wrong, and that Zelda would understand if only he could explain), but there was absolutely no part of his entire year-long history with Jo Smith that was appropriate for casual, anyone-might-overhear conversation at a lunch party.

"Mm, the biscuits," he said in vague agreement with Zelda, gesturing at the plate in the center of the table. "You've got it, too," he pointed out, and then turned his eyes down towards his sleeve — looking anywhere but at Jo. He unbuttoned the cuff and flicked his thumb against the button, a nervous habit.

The following 1 user Likes J. Alfred Darrow's post:1 user Likes J. Alfred Darrow's post
   Jupiter Smith

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

Her hand flew up to her cheek. "Magic?" She repeated, obviously shocked by this turn of events. Jo had had enough experiences with unexpected magic in the last six months to last her a lifetime. Any trace of a smile dropped from her features as fear crept up the back of her neck. Alfred and Zelda weren't panicking, so why should she? Surely, Zelda — a ministry official — would be summoning help if this was to be an issue?

"What does it mean?" She looked between the pair in confusion.

  

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beautiful set by mj

Zelda didn’t want to be here, sitting at this table watching Alfred made eye contact with his shirt sleeve. She certainly did not want to be here answering Jo’s questions about what the biscuits did, and she wanted even less to be sitting here in the knowledge that Jo Smith could do anything she wanted, go anywhere she wanted, and that she was attracted to Alfred.

But - no way out. Katia wasn’t sitting down with them and Zelda was certainly not going to explain this to her so she could leave. So. She was going to have to explain it to Jupiter, apparently.

Zelda tapped her index finger against the side of her leg. ”They show how you’re feeling,” she said, in her most Magical Accidents & Catastrophes voice. A businessy, far away, ‘no-you-can’t-come-in this-is-an-investigative-area’ tone. ”About the person you’re looking at.”

She was looking at Alfred’s sleeve, too - she didn’t want to make eye contact with either of them, because she had never had much of a poker face.

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The following 1 user Likes Zelda Darrow's post:1 user Likes Zelda Darrow's post
   Jupiter Smith

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AMAZING set by MJ

Alfred glanced at Jo briefly at her question before remembering he was supposed to be pointedly not looking at her. He looked back at his sleeve. He glanced at Zelda to try and read her expression but discovered he was not quite brave enough for that and instead looked off towards one of the other tables while she answered Jo's question. He was going to have to look at her eventually. He was going to have to talk to her eventually.

"Just a silly little party trick," he muttered, eyes back on his sleeve. He hooked the button through the hole, then quickly undid it again. "We were just saying how stupid it was. Weren't we?" he asked, with a hesitant glance towards Zelda.

  

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

Oh.

Oh!

If her cheeks weren't already glowing pink as the result of some magical tomfoolery they would've been flushed red with embarrassment. Of course, Jo had warm feelings towards Alfred, how could she not? He was one of her closest friends, even if they didn't talk often. He was the one person aside from Zach she could readily discuss her grief with, that she didn't have to stress over societal norms and the likes with. Hell, she had laid naked in his bed and nothing happened!

Oh, Merlin. Was Zelda thinking she and Alfred were involved?!

Jo's darting glance quickly fell to the half eaten biscuit. She should leave, she should leave and make it up to them in private somehow. None of her explanations were socially acceptable. Fuck. "Incredibly foolish," she replied before Zelda could. Another mistake. Fuck, where the bloody hell was her mother?! "Are you sure it isn't an indication of friendship?" She then asked quietly, because simply excusing herself didn't seem to be an option, apparantly.

  

This — this was why she hated prank magic. (Actually, she hated prank magic because she had seen the aftermath of it end in blood and bones too many times, but this - this was an easy reason to hate prank magic.)

”Yes,” Zelda said, sharp for the first time; her glance slid away from Alfred’s sleeve and back onto Jo’s face. She took a breath and brought back her Professional Ministerial Employee voice: ”I’m sure that it’s not about friendly feelings.”

She looked away from both of them, spotted Katia and her shock of red hair across the room instead. Zelda was nibbling on the inside of her lip, and her cheeks were pink from a rush of blood rather than from any potion. She felt small and stupid and embarrassed.

It wasn’t that she thought that anything had happened, although it certainly could have at some point; it was the indignity of hearing them ask her about it, about foolishness and indications of friendship.

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AMAZING set by MJ