As Coatleque stood slack-jawed, Edda rose from her seat as well being perfectly polite. Jameson managed something of a smile. "Coatleque. Well, this is a pleasant surprise." The third woman finally moved from her position across the table to stand by Jameson's side. He did not turn to her, but his instructions were clearly pointed. "Do you have the notes I requested?"
She nodded but said nothing, simply flipping her book back a few pages and carefully detaching several pages to hand over. He took them in his gloved hands and folded them sharply. "Thank you, Assistant Rossenheims," he murmured. Coatleque managed to look over her shoulder to Edda as if she expected some sort of explanation. None came.
"I did not know you knew Lady Eglantine." He stated calmly as he began to round the table in their direction. Coatleque looked back to him now with some measure of worry. The man she loved and whom disappeared after suffering a mortal wound was now here before her in nigh perfect health again and had nothing to say over the matter. He seemed his typical business-like self.
"Knew La... what?" She found the forming of thoughts, let alone words, to be incredibly difficult suddenly. "Yes, of course I do, from the Free Company. But... what are you doing here?!" Her gaze followed his movement around the room. Jameson only smiled. The woman who was apparently a new assistant of his opened her book back to the current page and resumed her note taking.
He stopped when he reached Edda's side. It did not register at first to Coatleque that he had passed her by entirely. He leaned in, his focus entirely on their 'hostess' and bussed her cheek lightly. "We are intended, dear." He began quietly. "Apparently you do not know her as well as you might think." He reached out then and took Edda's hand in his.
"Intended... what?"
"Betrothed.", he said plainly. "We are to be wed."
Coatleque staggered backwards a single step, instinctively sitting down roughly as her calf touched the chair. "That's not..." Her initial surprise had given way immediately to confusion which was now growing into a lingering knot in her stomach. She felt faint.
"Assistant Rossenheims, fetch water for Miss Crofte." He said. Edda wore no reaction at all, staring ahead quietly. Rossenheims did as she was bid and quickly returned with a glass. Coatleque reached her hand back without turning. It swung past the glass several times before making contact and she brought it to the table roughly where it began to tip in her halfhearted grip until Rossenheims steadied it again. She swallowed hard, tried to steady her breath, but the knot would not dissipate.
"Clearly you've a wealth of questions. As you can see, I am not dead." His tone became slightly accusational to her. He smiled at Edda before pulling her chair out politely. "Here, my dear, No need to weary yourself." Edda took her seat once more without question, and the man finished rounding the table to sit next to her, and across from his apparently now 'former' lover. She stared at him.
The room grew disturbingly silent again aside from the continued scratching of the quill. Jameson looked over the trays of food quit disinterestedly until his gaze fell upon the wide green stare across from him. "No questions then? Very well." With that he selected a single small tart to move to his own plate.
She blinked finally. Not out of desire but need. With it came a snapping back to reality and she managed to speak. "Why?" She asked meekly. There were many questions she wanted to ask, but this one encompassed them all.
"Why?"
"Why this? Why now? Why didn't you contact me? Do I mean so little to you now?"
"Because I am very hard to kill, Coatleque. You can pass on my regards to Melkire, if your paths happen to cross."
Her head shook in disbelief. She did not, could not even look at Edda to her left at this point. All her focus was transfixed on him. "You forget on who's side I stood that night?"
"On the contrary," he said lifting an eyebrow. "I consider you one of my closest allies." His voice lowered. "Unless that has changed. I am surprised to have found you here. I was hoping to recover my strength a bit more before making my presence known."
"By what?" She scoffed at him. "Announcing your betrothal to the cities?!"
Jameson continued to peruse the table in the mean time, locating the butter. He took the tiniest of scrapes for his tart, lifting his other brow as she scoffed at him. "Well - in time, that too. In truth, Lord Eglantine and I only yesterday finished the... final details of an agreement that was much longer in the making." He smiled at her from across the centerpiece.
"How long? You did not think to tell me of this before? Before I... I..." The realization that this may have been his plan even before she had interjected herself in his life brought bile to her throat and a tremendous weight pressing down on her shoulders. She looked down to the table.
"I want your love. But that is too much. We may have gone too far, Coatleque. We may have been a mistake."
Words he had spoken to her in a moment of heated passion. She looked up to him again through now blurred vision. Jameson seemed unphased by any of this. "Do not fault dear Edda. She has little to say in this matter." Edda side-eyed Coatleque carefully, making sure not to make eye contact. Her very demeanor a far cry different now than what it was the prior evening.
"She may not, but I am sure you do!"
Jameson sighed his familiar sigh of annoyance. "Coatleque, is this really a shock? I am disappointed. I would have hoped you'd have been cheered that I yet lived." His voice lowered once more. "For what I endured."
She tore her gaze away from him back to the table, her eyes darted among the various trays and cups as if searching for something. "I never believed you dead. Shocked that you live? No. But whatever joy I just felt is quickly turning... no." She slowly removed at item from her purse and began turning it over and over in her hands.
Jameson turned back to Edda. "My dearest, I am... sorry for the tense environ. Please forgive me. I would have arranged a private meeting with Coatleque had I known she would act out." His endearing words caused the Sworn's head to snap immediately to Edda who only pursed her lips and inclined her head in a slow nod.
"Would be my fault. However... it is fine." Her voice was perfectly quiet.
The paladin stood abruptly then, her anger beginning to rise to the surface. "I did not mean to burden your joyous celebration." She hissed through her teeth to both of them. "I shall remove myself at once." In two strides she rounded the table where Jameson had also risen.
"Coatleque. Please." He said quietly, attempting to calm her. "No. I don't want to hear it." She nearly slammed the item down onto the table and left it there for him. "I pray she can be the strong woman for you that I could not." She glared at him briefly before storming off towards the exit to the gardens. "I'm going to be sick," she muttered.
Jameson looked down to the item she had left. A small silver locket, very worn in appearance as if it sustained extensive damage. Damage which had been repaired to the best of a master jeweler's ability. It had fallen open from the force with which she left it. Whatever it may have contained before was no more, but a small inscription was left in its place that had not been there previously.
"For the promises made when young."
She nodded but said nothing, simply flipping her book back a few pages and carefully detaching several pages to hand over. He took them in his gloved hands and folded them sharply. "Thank you, Assistant Rossenheims," he murmured. Coatleque managed to look over her shoulder to Edda as if she expected some sort of explanation. None came.
"I did not know you knew Lady Eglantine." He stated calmly as he began to round the table in their direction. Coatleque looked back to him now with some measure of worry. The man she loved and whom disappeared after suffering a mortal wound was now here before her in nigh perfect health again and had nothing to say over the matter. He seemed his typical business-like self.
"Knew La... what?" She found the forming of thoughts, let alone words, to be incredibly difficult suddenly. "Yes, of course I do, from the Free Company. But... what are you doing here?!" Her gaze followed his movement around the room. Jameson only smiled. The woman who was apparently a new assistant of his opened her book back to the current page and resumed her note taking.
He stopped when he reached Edda's side. It did not register at first to Coatleque that he had passed her by entirely. He leaned in, his focus entirely on their 'hostess' and bussed her cheek lightly. "We are intended, dear." He began quietly. "Apparently you do not know her as well as you might think." He reached out then and took Edda's hand in his.
"Intended... what?"
"Betrothed.", he said plainly. "We are to be wed."
Coatleque staggered backwards a single step, instinctively sitting down roughly as her calf touched the chair. "That's not..." Her initial surprise had given way immediately to confusion which was now growing into a lingering knot in her stomach. She felt faint.
"Assistant Rossenheims, fetch water for Miss Crofte." He said. Edda wore no reaction at all, staring ahead quietly. Rossenheims did as she was bid and quickly returned with a glass. Coatleque reached her hand back without turning. It swung past the glass several times before making contact and she brought it to the table roughly where it began to tip in her halfhearted grip until Rossenheims steadied it again. She swallowed hard, tried to steady her breath, but the knot would not dissipate.
"Clearly you've a wealth of questions. As you can see, I am not dead." His tone became slightly accusational to her. He smiled at Edda before pulling her chair out politely. "Here, my dear, No need to weary yourself." Edda took her seat once more without question, and the man finished rounding the table to sit next to her, and across from his apparently now 'former' lover. She stared at him.
The room grew disturbingly silent again aside from the continued scratching of the quill. Jameson looked over the trays of food quit disinterestedly until his gaze fell upon the wide green stare across from him. "No questions then? Very well." With that he selected a single small tart to move to his own plate.
She blinked finally. Not out of desire but need. With it came a snapping back to reality and she managed to speak. "Why?" She asked meekly. There were many questions she wanted to ask, but this one encompassed them all.
"Why?"
"Why this? Why now? Why didn't you contact me? Do I mean so little to you now?"
"Because I am very hard to kill, Coatleque. You can pass on my regards to Melkire, if your paths happen to cross."
Her head shook in disbelief. She did not, could not even look at Edda to her left at this point. All her focus was transfixed on him. "You forget on who's side I stood that night?"
"On the contrary," he said lifting an eyebrow. "I consider you one of my closest allies." His voice lowered. "Unless that has changed. I am surprised to have found you here. I was hoping to recover my strength a bit more before making my presence known."
"By what?" She scoffed at him. "Announcing your betrothal to the cities?!"
Jameson continued to peruse the table in the mean time, locating the butter. He took the tiniest of scrapes for his tart, lifting his other brow as she scoffed at him. "Well - in time, that too. In truth, Lord Eglantine and I only yesterday finished the... final details of an agreement that was much longer in the making." He smiled at her from across the centerpiece.
"How long? You did not think to tell me of this before? Before I... I..." The realization that this may have been his plan even before she had interjected herself in his life brought bile to her throat and a tremendous weight pressing down on her shoulders. She looked down to the table.
"I want your love. But that is too much. We may have gone too far, Coatleque. We may have been a mistake."
Words he had spoken to her in a moment of heated passion. She looked up to him again through now blurred vision. Jameson seemed unphased by any of this. "Do not fault dear Edda. She has little to say in this matter." Edda side-eyed Coatleque carefully, making sure not to make eye contact. Her very demeanor a far cry different now than what it was the prior evening.
"She may not, but I am sure you do!"
Jameson sighed his familiar sigh of annoyance. "Coatleque, is this really a shock? I am disappointed. I would have hoped you'd have been cheered that I yet lived." His voice lowered once more. "For what I endured."
She tore her gaze away from him back to the table, her eyes darted among the various trays and cups as if searching for something. "I never believed you dead. Shocked that you live? No. But whatever joy I just felt is quickly turning... no." She slowly removed at item from her purse and began turning it over and over in her hands.
Jameson turned back to Edda. "My dearest, I am... sorry for the tense environ. Please forgive me. I would have arranged a private meeting with Coatleque had I known she would act out." His endearing words caused the Sworn's head to snap immediately to Edda who only pursed her lips and inclined her head in a slow nod.
"Would be my fault. However... it is fine." Her voice was perfectly quiet.
The paladin stood abruptly then, her anger beginning to rise to the surface. "I did not mean to burden your joyous celebration." She hissed through her teeth to both of them. "I shall remove myself at once." In two strides she rounded the table where Jameson had also risen.
"Coatleque. Please." He said quietly, attempting to calm her. "No. I don't want to hear it." She nearly slammed the item down onto the table and left it there for him. "I pray she can be the strong woman for you that I could not." She glared at him briefly before storming off towards the exit to the gardens. "I'm going to be sick," she muttered.
Jameson looked down to the item she had left. A small silver locket, very worn in appearance as if it sustained extensive damage. Damage which had been repaired to the best of a master jeweler's ability. It had fallen open from the force with which she left it. Whatever it may have contained before was no more, but a small inscription was left in its place that had not been there previously.
"For the promises made when young."
