transgressings | inbox for duplicity;

[ Whether it's the trials she's recently been subjected to or the sheer amount of information she's been given, Vanessa feels unable to perceive in a manner that would normally come to her without effort; it may take her some time to regain the control she's lost, and in the meanwhile she might have to rely on others more readily than she would otherwise, current company included.

If he's presently wrestling with anything in terms of how best to proceed, she's too distracted by her own considerations to notice — but the touch of his hand garners another smile and a small nod of her head. ]

Yes, I'd heard, this... mandatory gathering. Another place to offer only a few answers while conjuring many more questions, I'm assuming.

Oh, they'll provide many answers and instructions but they won't be the sort any of us really want.

[He can't help but joke about it some and hopefully it will help to lighten her mood, even if they're both aware of what those answers and instructions will focus on. And how that might affect her, personally.]

You might even find some of it amusing. I know I did.

Oh, very helpful.

[ She does smile at that, and not involuntarily; the shift of his mouth into the knowing smirk she's come to be familiar with prompting that response, and she glances down at her own hands, realizing she's been threading her fingers together. Slowly, she draws them apart. ]

You've complied, haven't you. [ The question leaves her softly, the end tilted so lowly and decisively that it may not even be perceived as inquiring on his end, as if she knows the answer without even needing to ask to begin with. ] With what they've asked of us.

[As soon as her touch leaves him, he misses it. But her smile is also something he's gone without for too long, and it serves to soothe some of the chill left behind in the wake of her hand.

Then, that soft but knowing accusation. Dorian doesn't balk in his response to it--there's little sense in hiding something that's so obvious considering his very nature. But he does let out a slow breath before his own mouth straightens some.]

With parts of it, yes. Meeting the quota has been no task at all.

[But he's sure there are other areas that she's inquiring towards and after a short pause he comes out with it.]

And I have a contract.

[ It doesn't come as a surprise to her when he responds in the affirmative; he has always left her with the impression of a certain level of adaptability where most things are concerned, able to not only survive but thrive to an extent. There's no disappointment in her tone, or even judgment — were their positions reversed and she the one who had been living here for the past few months, she would have found her own means of enduring even if the thought of compliance makes her inwardly sneer.

The quota is one matter; these contracts are quite another entirely. ]

Do you? [ Again, not incredulous. In fact, she almost sounds closer to fascinated, or intrigued, about learning the particulars. ] With who?

[If he were still capable of blushing, the tone of her voice might actually bring a rise of color to his cheeks. But as it is, all he can do is avert his gaze downward and smile in a somewhat self-conscious sort of way.]

You wouldn't know him as he's before our time. [And he's careful to say 'our' rather than 'my' because while he knows that Vanessa suspects much of him, he's never truly revealed his entire story to her.]

But his name is Horatio. He was a lieutenant in the navy before coming here and is very... unassuming.

[Which might come as a shock that he would take in someone like that, but his whims are ever so changing and fluctuating.]

I'll have to introduce the two of you, at some point.

Edited 2019-01-24 18:01 (UTC)

[ The concept of the contract does leave her experiencing more curiosity than she might readily confess to, but she doesn't anticipate any condemnation from him on that front either. He has been more open in the expression of his desires than most in their society, unconcerned about censure when it comes to seeking his pleasures where he can. In some ways, she admires him for what he's embraced here. In other ways, she envies that freedom. ]

A seafarer. [ She might not be able to resist a light teasing, especially when he glances away from her for that brief moment. She has known his preferences to be unique, more accepting than most; it's one of the reasons she has always found him so intriguing. ]

I think I'd rather like to meet the man who Dorian Gray has deemed worthy enough to forge one of these agreements with.

[He knew that Vanessa was already aware of his tastes--after all, people talked and gossiped all the time, especially in their society. Dorian didn't care. He proudly flaunted his difference in their faces just to provoke a reaction and laughed while doing it. So he doesn't feel the need to tiptoe around the subject at all, and wouldn't, regardless.

His self-consciousness comes more from the contract itself, and the idea of practically owning another human being. Because freedom is an important aspect of his life and has been for quite some time. He knows she's aware of that, too.]

And you shall. [Raising his gaze again, his smile turns more gentle as he reaches out to touch her hand again, simply resting it over hers for another touch.]

Once you've been settled, and have some proper clothes again I'll arrange for you to meet him. I would say it could be today but... [He cocks one eyebrow at her and briefly bites his lower lip.] ...I fear he might be quite scandalized by your current state of dress.

Edited 2019-01-25 01:09 (UTC)

[ She's no stranger to gossip herself, least of all at home; they've both acquired the ability to ignore it, whether by necessity or sheer disregard for the opinions of others. She knows she is regarded as a woman of mysterious habits, strange quirks, and she has grown accustomed to being viewed that way given what she knows of the world beyond their own, a world that few would be capable of truly understanding.

Out of all those in the room that evening, perhaps the two of them had always been meant to revolve into one another's orbit, if only for a short time.

The contract is one aspect among many that she will have to consider, even if her first instinct is to bristle at the concept. It's likely he senses that, himself. ]

Well, we should do our part and not try to unnecessarily shock and appall if we can avoid it. [ Her eyes narrow, almost playfully; she won't be able to reside more comfortably here until she can wear something other than that gown hanging in the wardrobe. ] He sounds quite respectable.

He is. We're opposites in many ways, to be completely honest.

[And typically he wouldn't give a second's thought to shocking or appalling anyone. Horatio was also more normal than either of them despite having his quirks and some eccentricities; Dorian couldn't pinpoint exactly what had drawn them together if he tried. But perhaps that was what was unusual about it.

Well, she'd be able to observe and judge for herself once they'd met. Dorian would be interested in hearing her opinion, as well.]

But I suppose that adds some balance to the relationship. I try not to interject into his life too much when I can help it, so he retains as much independence as is possible given the demands placed upon us.

Well, there can be fun in that, can't there?

[ It's remarkable, how much conversing with him has eased her already; his company doesn't completely rid her of the weight of her burdens, as much as she's assumed over the years, but it temporarily mitigates. Some of that tension in her has left without her even knowing it, replaced by an altogether different sensation.

She glances down to their hands, his still lightly clasped over top of her own, and turns her wrist to link them more decisively. ]

Once again, you've clearly thought of everything. [ Her tone doesn't carry any spite; more than anything, she's pleased to see him flourishing against the restrictions of their situation. Even if he does hold more of an advantage, he's still been forced to comply in some manner. Beyond the people in this room, everything she's read so far on her device leaves the impression of a group that's simply trying to make the best of it. ]

[He laughs lightly at her first question, knowing it's more rhetorical than anything. She knows him well enough to have already figured that out for herself.

And when her hand turns in his, his gaze studies her face a bit more intently before he gives a gentle squeeze of his fingers back. There's an energy there that he's always been aware of--a kind of deep and subtle electric current that flows between them, ever since he'd first taken her hand at Mr. Ferdinand Lyle's evening social. He was glad to find that it had not lessened, but he wondered if she felt it, too.]

One day, you'll have to stop accusing me of having qualities I don't possess. First usefulness and now prudence. [It's clearly a joke, but his tone carries an undeniable undercurrent of affection.]

I'm only making the most of the situation, that's all.

[ She's always felt it there, that current — subtly in his words, more intensely as a result of any physical contact between them, no matter how small. She doesn't know what it means that the same is true here, even now, with time and trial having removed them so often from one another's presence only for this place to have catapulted him back into her life again, at the moment when she least expected it.

She is equal parts grateful and filled with trepidation, and the latter ultimately wins out as she draws in a sharp breath, gently pulls her hand free. ]

Qualities you don't like to believe you're in possession of. [ But she knows better. ]

That's really all any of us can try and do here, now, isn't it?

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