Vis-à-Vis

Wensleydale

             Whistling to himself, Durand made his way back to his room. He was lacing up his pants as he opened the door, but halted immediately when he saw Lia waiting for him. 

 

“Got back a bit early—the Queen was quite fatigued from all the dancing earlier.” Lia got to her feet, gracefully pushing off the bed. She studied his face. “Where were you? It’s almost three in the morning, and I didn’t see you at the bar downstairs.”

 

Durand’s mind blanked. He hadn’t expected to find his lover back already. That wouldn’t have been too bad, if not for the fact that he had just returned from their mutual colleague’s room.

 

…Which was no problem under ordinary circumstances. Ordinary circumstances NOT involving late-night trysts, disheveled hair, and halfway-laced trousers. And while Lia frequently ended up in various royalties’ beds, that was her job. Sure, Maximilien kept reminding him that Lia didn’t care if he visited brothels while she was busy, but the fact was that Durand had been fucking his and Lia’s coworker. Something about the whole situation just seemed embarrassing.

 

“Well, I was…that is to say, I visited that business down the street. Le Chat qui Rire, I think; the one with all the women around the front…” Lia’s expression hovered somewhere between ‘disinterested’ and ‘unconvinced’. Durand tried again to cover up his tracks. “I was drunk, and I can’t remember too much of what went on.”

 

Lia strode forward and grabbed Durand by his long bangs, yanking him down to her level. She inhaled deeply, and the edge of her lip twitched ever so slightly. “So Durand, did you manage to find a woman at that brothel?” Lia let go of her lover’s hair and sat back down on the bed, waiting for answers.

 

“Ah…yes.” Might as well be honest with the fact that he was seeing someone else, since Lia was fine with that.

 

“What color is her hair? Is it blonde?”

 

Durand nodded sheepishly, a bit uncomfortable at Lia’s interest in the matter. He could have sworn that she grinned at his confirmation, but she was back to a businesslike composure at her next question.

 

“Does she like reading books?” Lia was most definitely grinning now. She chuckled before Durand could answer, and answered her own question. “Yes, of course he does! Durand, I must apologize, but you can’t take me for a fool any longer. I don’t smell beer on you so much as I smell lavender, our dear colleague’s favorite scent. I returned earlier than you found me, and when I found this room empty, I decided to see if Robespierre was in his room. Which he was, of course, but it sounded like he was rather busy…along with you.” She fell back on the bed, doubled over with laughter.

 

Durand crossed his arms and sighed. He almost would have preferred a negative reaction compared to Lia’s amusement at the entire matter; she was still rolling around, hooting with mirth. “The torn cravat! All those times you two were late! Aahaha!”

 

He waited for her to calm down, which took a few minutes. “Now that you know what has been going on—“

 

She interrupted him, a devious look on her face. “So shall we invite Max over next time we wait for a mission?”

 

Durand made a mental note to start going to bed early from now on.