Realistic or Modern Victorian London

[GreyZone]

She nodded as he spoke, her fingers never faltering on the keys as he did. "I was taught how to keep out from underfoot, charm men into buying more drinks, and how to mix something so spectacular that they couldn't even think about going to another bar. I had never seen you before tonight. Do you normally inhabit ones that are more your...type?"


Her head turned to watch him when he retrieved the other instrument. "So what is my assignment with this piece of music.? I might be able to play the piano in the corner of the bar, but I would get in trouble if my father or brothers thought I was bothering customers."


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[Syrrus]

"You do not need a piano to practice your scales. Merely remember the letters and the movement of your fingers." Victor drew up a pretend set of piano keys, as well as the whole alphabet, not only the one subjective to the notes. "Practice These scales, C, D, G, Am and Dm. Without fail, as often as you can. If you are just standing still, move your fingers - imagine the piano." He handed her the note. "Learn how to write the letters too."


The young man got out of his seat and started to pull his vest back on, throwing a tired eye towards the great grandfather clock. "We better be on our way. I shall walk you home." He pulled on his jacket and placed the hat back on his head, where it belonged.

 

[GreyZone]

She let out a slow breath, trying to remember all of the information he had granted her with so she could study at home. Maybe if she was discreet, she could keep the practice piano under the bar and work on improving there.


"Do we have to go back to my home?" She asked quietly. The thought of collapsing on a thin and grimy pallet next to the sweaty flesh of her siblings sounded miserable, whoops and hollers from downstairs continuing all through the night.


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[Syrrus]

Victor turned his gaze to her, looking a little bit confused. He knew many rather stayed away from their homes, he had been the same, once. The young lord scratched the back of his neck in thought. "Where else would you go?" He asked, briefly, before realizing. "Stay here?" He sounded even more confused now, and removed his hat to hold in his hand. "My dear lady, even if you would to stay - I only have one bedchamber for starters - wouldn't your family question your absence?"


What worried the young Victor the most was the scandals that could come by him having a younger woman in his care. The fact that she has visited him after dark was a dangerous step in on its self. He gazed at her with a curious expression, wondering if this was such a good idea after all. "I wouldn't want Scottland Yard to be looking for you, would your dear family go worried."

 

[GreyZone]

Margaret frowned at that, tugging on a strand of her hair while she thought. "They wouldn't notice," she answered honestly. "My father tends the bar all evening, and my mother cooks. My brothers are out doing whatever young men do, and the little ones fall asleep as soon as the sun begins its descent."


She hoped he would not take anything improperly--she was not wishing for anything but somewhere that was not her home. Of course, woman were required to be simply uninterested in sex; the thought shouldn't have even crossed her mind. But she was sure it had crossed his. "You do not even need to walk me home. I am out and about often without a young man to assist me."


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[Syrrus]

"I see..." He mumbled, not quite certain how to react to her news. He were quite relieved that it wasn't just him with strange family contact. He scratched the back of his head, not quite certain what he would say other than 'I see' about the matter. His reputation were at stake here, and just as he was about to put his foot down - although probably not completely - the door was knocked upon and the landlady stepped inside. "Your tea, dearies." She said, smiling from ear to ear as she waddled through the mess. "Oh dear Edwards, you will have to do something about your mess, especially now when you have a female friend."


The landlady had already caught on the wrong idea and it left young Victor to stand dumbfounded in the middle of the room, as she placed the tea down upon the table between the two chairs. "Ask if you need anything dearies." She continued and then left, closing the door behind her.


"Blasted old woman." Victor muttered, folding his arms after placing his had town. "Very well. Seeing how we have tea... I suppose it would be-- Of course I would walk you home!" It seemed as if the lord's attention span was getting a bit twisted up. "It is my duty as a man to keep the lady of my company safe, no matter her status. I will not have you walk the streets of London this late without an escort, if that so will be the death of me."

 

[GreyZone]

Margaret's eyes followed the landlady as she sat down the tea. "Thank you, ma'am," she said, amusement creeping into her voice as the woman called her the young man's "female friend."


"You know," she teased Victor, slowly starting a lap around the cluttered apartment. "If I am your female friend, I find it a little strange that I do not even know your name." She turned over her shoulder to watch him with a playful smile, one of her hands trailing over the spines of the books. "And again, it is highly unnecessary for you to escort me home. It would arise questions from your type and I have walked the streets alone since I could toddle. I am not scared of men, in fact, I'm quite comfortable with them. Some bums on the street corner does not make me worried at all." She took a few shallow breaths, once again forgetting that she could not make such long-winded speeches without pausing for more breath. It had just recently become mandatory that she wore one, even if it was one of her mother's from when she was a teenager.

 

[Syrrus]

Victor who was busy throwing frustrated looks towards the closed door twitched heavily when the lady in the room referred to herself as 'his female friend'. He had never had a female friend before, in any fashion of the term. Glancing at her, his pale cheeks looking a tad bit more coloured than they used to, he proceeded by putting on his sunglasses - even though standing indoors during nighttime - to avoid being able to be looked in the eyes. Clearly not comfortable with his own emotions of the awkward moment she seemed to enjoy far too much. "Victor. Victor Philip Edwards. Son of the future King of Scandinavia." He had a long name, title included, with a hit of French within. Clearly of high breeding in one way or another, even though his lack of behavior proved different. Though being a son of a king which would come to rule Scandinavia mattered little, his blood was more French than anyone would like to let on.


"It is without question, nor argument, I am not letting you walk the streets alone. So stop battling me on the topic. That is final." He managed to sound quite strong willed and stern, when he truly wished to. Removing his sunglasses, circling them between two fingers he sighed. "Now please, drink your tea." The man sank into the seat of his beloved chair. "For there is not much left of the night, you need your rest and I-- Need to prepare for my sister tomorrow morning."

 

[GreyZone]

Margaret's eyebrows skyrocketed at his title, and she slowly lowered herself into the chair opposite him. "I was expecting the son of a lord or some old money buried away somewhere. But your father being a king?" She took a long sip of her tea, taking her time and letting the warm liquid run down her throat. They never bought good tea and she adored it. "You seem resentful toward your title, if my presumptions are correct. If you've accepted it, I highly doubt that you would be living here in the state that you are in. Even though it is quite lovely, it is not...what I picture a prince living in. The whole bit is interesting to me."


She couldn't decide if his obsession with walking her home was endearing or annoying. She took another slow drink of her tea before responding. "Fine, but if my sisters get a glimpse of a gentleman walking me home, I am never going to hear the end of it and you are going to be the subject of many little girls' fantasies."

 

[Syrrus]

"Ah, but that's where you are wrong. I am no prince." He said, smiling towards her - though only a little - before curling fingers around one hot cup of tea which he brought to his lips. "Not here, anyway." He lowered the cup and sank deeper into his seat. "In England I'm nothing but a nobleman and I shall never go to Scandinavia, for my father does not wish my there." The young man watched the dying flames of fire dance before them. He was a bastards son, a child born from a mother who was not married to the man. He had been snapped away, raised with his sisters in the countryside of France, together with his father - mother never to be seen again. "Before you ask, my name; Edwards, was the name of my mother." He glanced the young woman's way.


He took a deep breath, letting the tea stay and turn cold upon the table. He was going to walk her home, girls' eyes or no. "It matters little. Let them gossip and awe." He tapped himself over his chin, thinking hard upon something. "Perhaps even I might be granted some jealous eyes, being afforded to walk a lovely young woman through the night."

 

[GreyZone]

That was not what she had been expecting. It seemed that children were born out of wedlock only in people that she fraternized with, never noblemen. Then again, what did she know of noblemen? "So your father was not satisfied in the marriage he was in, if he had to turn to another woman for matters such as that." What did you say to a man like this? It explained slightly why his sister was so strange with him. "Tell me more about your sister. I want to hear why she has the right to speak to you like she did in the bar. I am sorry if I am overstepping my welcome with these questions."


"Oh, you flatter in the hopes of free drinks," she retorted, but a telltale blush spread over her cheeks.

 

[Syrrus]

"You are hoping to learn my family history, in one sitting?" He smirked her ways, playing around with his sunglasses while raising one thin eyebrow her way. "My sisters, there is three of them, are all related to my mother, they are all of Edwards blood. My mother was a widower, a chamber maiden who lived down south, near Brighton, lovely place. Artistic place..." The man seemed to lose track of what he was saying and quickly shook his head. "My father arrived there, a guest from France, during early winter. They were both young when they meet for the first time, my father unmarried and free to do what life wished of him - with moderations due to his title of course." Victor smirked, looking at his reflection through the glass. "My sister, Lucille, was born in autumn and I arrived in Summer. Shortly thereafter game Isabelle and Marian, twin girls."


Victor stroke a hand through his messy black hair, to attempt to make it more kept. "Father left for France, a couple of years later, taking one child with him in a attempt to have a heir, planed on marrying my mother when time was right." The young man's eyes grew dark and he rose from his seat. "I believe it is time to head out, come mi'lady. We have a bit to walk and I might hold you to the promise of a drink, after all." He attempted to smile her way, though failed miserable and popped the hat on his head and sunglasses back over his nose.

 

[GreyZone]

"So I do not understand why you have been cast away from your father if all of his children are born from the same woman and he does not have some other noble lady for an actual wife," Margaret responded, adjusting her skirts as she rose. "And you still did not answer my question of why your sister has the ability to speak to you as if you are a puppy."


She hoped he would not notice or comment on her uncovered head, but took measured steps toward the door. "It has been wonderful to hear a bit more about you, Victor." It felt just as strange to use his first name. Should she? Was that informal and disrespectful? "I am realizing more and more how little I know about people who have been raised in circles such as you."

 

[Syrrus]

"A puppy?" He frowned at her with annoyance. He knew very well how his sister could treat him, but a puppy? Really? He sighed and held the door open for her. "My father did not dishonor me. Things merely... changed, drastically, after my mother's death. Now, if you may be so kind--" The young man walked down the stairs quietly, trying his hardest not to catch the attention of the landlady, as he stepped out on the open street. He reached his arm out for her to grab, like a gentleman would.


"Yet I don't know anything about yourself, ma'am. Not even your name." He gave her a sly grin and raised an eyebrow. Not even realizing how silly he looked, wearing sunglasses at nighttime.

 

[GreyZone]

"Yes, a puppy. Like you were a little boy not even out of diapers, playing a game of men where you did not belong," she retorted, slipping her arm through his. She couldn't say that she had ever been escorted anywhere by a man--if she went with her brothers, they would never even dream of treating her like a lady like this young man did. They would have laughed at her until their stomachs hurt if she had ever requested it.


She really hadn't told him her name? "Forgive me, Sir. My name is Margaret Doyle. Other than that, I am afraid there is not much else to tell." She wasn't sure if that was true, it was more like there was nothing to tell that he would find intriguing.

 

[Syrrus]

Victor frowned down at her, narrowing his eyes through the glasses he still hadn't removed. It helped with the headache. "I am no- Margaret... Wait, you told me that at the bar." He looked away, mildly embarrassed that he didn't remember. If he spoke the truth, he didn't actually remember much about his time at the pub. The alcohol and other... substances, did that to one's mind. Sighing he looked back down at her.


"They are my family, I much rather they leave me alone - though I love them immensely. If Lucille wants to push me around, if that makes her happy, I will give her it." He glared down t the young woman, clearly not impressed by her comment. "Though that doesn't mean I will allow the same behavior off of you, young lady."

 

[GreyZone]

She shrugged. "I tell my name to many drunken young men. I wouldn't recall if I told you yet or not." She had noticed his unusual wearing of the glasses, and couldn't decide if she should inquire about them or not. It was strange that he wore them both in his apartment and outside at night. "Are you already feeling the affects of your drinks? You see to hold them down well."


"Oh, so I am not allowed to treat you like a puppy. Interesting." But a small smirk spread over her lips. "What would you do if I did despite your instruction not to? I have always had a strong desire to belittle some noblemen... It sounds like a fine hobby. Maybe your dear sister will teach me her ways."

 

[Syrrus]

"I think you should reconsider battling me, little girl. For I am your teacher, or perhaps you'd like to live life without reading? Or anything else that make it worth living." The man shrugged. Victor was not a aggressive man, he was simple, kind; though he knew what was important in life. Important for him anyhow. "I can simply return to my lodgings and read my books by myself, and tomorrow send a police officer or two to the pub to make sure all the papers of your family is in order." He couldn't help but grin down at her, as he moved his sunglasses to easily be able to look her directly in the eyes. "The system isn't fair, I admit. But in this town I, and my fellow... noblemen, have the power. Who know what could happen."


He pondered, watched the road ahead of them. "Or I could forget that I am a gentleman and take that payment you so promised me, the way a not so proper man would have done. Whichever you prefer."

 

[GreyZone]

Margaret smiled up at him at that, easily keeping in step with him as they walked together. "Oh, forgive me, master. You seem to have forgotten that I have gone through sixteen years of life without ever knowing how to read more than a verse that has been drilled into my head so many times I could recognize it despite never learning my alphabet like my brothers were able to. And if you are not up to the task of teaching me, I am sure I could find some dashing young and rather drunk gentleman willing to do so."


Oh, so he was going there? Her face lit up in amusement. "Dear Victor, I would be more than willing to pay you in that way if that is what you are requiring of me. It does not frighten me."

 

[Syrrus]

Ignoring her first statement he simply turned around, in such a quick and exaggerated manner, with one leg out, that it caused both of them to spin heavily. He managed to catch his hat though, long before it touched the ground, as it flew off his head, carrying it in one hand he began to walk - back to his apartment. "Very well then. Back we go, far too early in the morning for such matter but one should do what one should do, I say." He seemed to be without a glee full smile, or joking tone. Victor managed to sound fully serious, in a wonder; thinking if he indeed was about to go through with something so improper, he wondered if he had gone a slightly bit mad.


He could always have mentioned that she indeed could keep on looking for a man to teach her, but seeing how no one had offered, and it was rather strange for a man to offer - a woman would never do so for free, either - she'd have to look for a very long time. Instead he decided to follow his second instinct, seeing how much he hated to argue. Words spoke louder, this was true, but action was a easy; animalistic instinct, something that came so much easier.

 

[GreyZone]

Margaret was absolutely shocked by his abrupt turn, but did not question it or attempt to head back to her home. "Please forgive me, I am sure that you are simply appalled that a woman is not made faint by the mere thought of the carnal ways of men. Honestly, I do not have the time or the patience to pretend that it is horrifying because if it was not, it would not be the way that the world continues to progress."


She fell back into pass beside him, trying to decide if he was just jesting at her or if he would actually follow through. She doubted that a man of such breeding would, and yet, he was intoxicated and she had offered more than once...

 

[Syrrus]

"True, though would you be gifted a child, you'd have even more problems than you do no. Poor, uneducated and without a husband? It won't be a problem of mine." He looked both ways before once again crossing the streets. "After what I have told you, you have probably realized that I got no reputation to destroy, it is already fairly broken." The man chuckled and looked down at her. "If I get some problems, I might as well get married, candidates travels far and vide, so do you not worry about me."


"Though you'll have to find your way home on your own, after the moment has passed." He looked around, quickly, for no apparent reason. "I have a early start tomorrow."

 

[GreyZone]

Margaret smirked at that, her head tilting back in a light laugh. "I can assure you, Sir, that I would not be the first poor, immigrant, bartending young woman to have a child out of wedlock. No one would be surprised, quite frankly. And I knew that your reputation was not important to you the moment you chose to step into our bar."


"Again, good master," she teased him, "I offered my to escort myself home from the very beginning. You having an early morning is of no concern to me."

 

[Syrrus]

"I never said it had anything to do with dishonor, I simply meant that it will ruin your life, without a choice." He stroke his chin in thought and let out a sharp whistle by placing two fingers between his lips. A carriage came up to them, after a moment of silence. A cap, which Victor opened the door, and held it open before the young girl. "I think I am learning more and more about you by the minute." He continued, calmly. "Please, you first, my lady." He bowed his head and waited patiently.

 

[GreyZone]

"So now children ruin lives." She smiled distantly at that. "I can see how you would think that, based on how your father casted you away like that. Children cannot be all bad or people would not insist on continuing to have them!"


Margaret eased herself into the carriage, absentmindedly beginning to plait her hair. "And what are you learning? I am trying to decide if you are simply bluffing or if you are going to go through with this."