[Sodium_noir] Hell is Other People

[Sodium Noir ST]

Sorry, lost a few mails. Consider this an edit ...

 Allen Bradley, Marguerite Sinclair, Mara Ravenclaw, Christine McAbee, 
Sandra Scoland
 A Pair of Mortals, a Vampire, a Mage, and a Bastet
 Sinclair Mansion
 1 – 3 AM

> [Sandra]
> "Let me commend you on a fabulous celebration Lady Sinclair," she
> says.  "This place is magnificent."  Sandra plays interceptor for
> Christine as she looks to gain the attention of the Hostess and the 
> gentleman accompanying her.

"Why thank you .. Miss Scoland isn't it?" Lady Marguerite chirrups. "I am
glad you like my little hovel, the place is so old it will soon be in one of
the Museums displays I don't doubt. If i seel it maybe I'll need to talk to
you and not a realtor!" She laughs at pats sandra's hand.

> [Bradley]
> The air around the small group about the stair suddenly grew very
> prickly.  "I believe I saw the espresso near the Monet," Bradley
> said, reading the look in Christine’s eyes and casually throwing out a
> direction before she could answer.  Some would call it dirty pool, others
> a tactical redeployment.  Bradley thought of it more as diffusing a 
> potential l
> and mine before it could go off.
>
> [Christine]
> Christine shoots a glance at Mr Bradley. Very adroit. Christ, does
> she really look that bad? Is she really so goddamn transparent?
> Christine suppresses a sigh. Well, yeah. Subtlety? Veiling her
> thoughts? That never has been her strong point. "Oh. Right. Thanks,"
> She says. Then turning to Mara, "Sounds like a good idea. "'Cept, Monet?
> Is that the guy who drew the stick people at weird angles? Or the one who
> cut his ear off?" She offers a stiffly polite smile at the company through 
> gritted
> teeth. "I may need help to find that.  Mara, would you mind . . . ?"
>
> [Mara]
> Mara smiles at Christine's comment.  All those times she'd taken her to 
> the museum
> and the culture still hadn't managed to sink in.  No matter.  "He's 
> neither, actually."
>  Mara replies.  "But I'd be happy to point you in the right direction." 
> She then looks
> at her companions.  "Would any of you like me to bring back anything?"  It 
> was polite,
> but not entirely proper to offer such assistance, but she asks anyways, 
> hoping that none
> of them actually availed themselves of her offer.

Lady Sinclair smiled a quick but certain decline, seemingly more enthralled 
by the new woman.

> [Christine]
> Christine allows Mara to take the lead as they take smiling leave of lady 
> Marguerite
> and company and thread their way back into the main throng. But as soon as 
> she can
> see an open door onto the verandah, she grabs Mara's elbow firmly and 
> steers her through it.

>Leaving Mara and Christine to their own devices, he subtly moved back and 
>to the side,
> including Sandra in his and Lady Sinclair’s conversation and resigning 
> himself to small talk.
> “It really is an enchanting place.  I always find something new every time 
> I come to one of
> these little get-togethers.”  Bradley paused and snatched a glass of 
> champagne from a passing
> server before directing his next question to Lady Sinclair.  “Didn’t you 
> mention something
> about changing the landscaping near the back patio?”

"Yes indeed" she cooed. "Something a little more 'this century' perhaps. 
I've grown so disenchanted with reminders of the past it seems, this season 
is all about looking forward I think."

she turned to look down at Sandra's hand, which she was still stroking.

"oh ... so warm, just like my little tiddles paws. Squelching around in the
garden all night long and yet she never gets cold. I expect such warm blood
is a blessing when digging through drafty corridors and the like?"