SARAH
Sarah sat down slowly – in a nervous and vain attempt at elegance- relieved she has finally made it back to Bath, and at the same time as her dearest friend – she glances back at the table where her mother and aunt are sitting deep in conversation - no doubt about the latest gossip of the season, Emma as usual was late.
This was Sarah's second season at Bath, the first had been decidedly cut short when her brother had got into an (what she considered a really rather silly) argument with another gentleman over his sister and their parents (being neither of high status or titled) had prudently in (her opinion) removed their family before any more harm could be done. Sarah however had been allowed enough time to make several new acquaintances and at least one firm most dearest friend with whom she corresponded frequently – Emma- whose only vice was being always and inexcusably late.
Sarah looked down at herself admiringly as she straightened her gown, it was fashionably cut, the fabric was muslin in muted tones of greens and greys, the waist was cinched in and highlighted by a fashionable bow to show off her slight figure the long skirt billowed, the neckline was low enough to elongate her neck and the simple but elegant lacework complemented her rather delicate wavy brown hair now drawn back in an elegant clasp, her hairstyle specially designed to show off her feminine features.
She mused that elegant clothes and hair still did not make up for the fact she was neither very rich nor very beautiful, and so eagerly awaited her incredibly pretty friend whom she thought would at least be able to attract the attention of some of the more presentable gentlemen and being clever she could attempt to charm them enough to overlook these deficiencies.
Fidgeting with anticipation Sarah changed her position on the bench eager as usual to be the first to notice when her friend arrived, she played a ruthless game of mentally cataloguing each person that walked through the archway as a means of diversion while she waited for her friend. A reasonably handsome but too tall gentleman in a cheap suit, with a crooked tie and shabby boots; a severe middle aged women with shiny dark hair dressed in equally severe black silk dress, followed by another only slightly less severe looking woman this time in an ill-fitting dove grey dress that appeared in Sarah's eyes to be at least one season out of date, next came a flash of bright blue which caught Sarah's eye, not a particularly fashionable (in fact rather gaudy) colour it certainly stood out amongst the greys, blacks and greens of the promenade.
Captivated she focused solely on the bright sliver of colour until the person wearing it materialized from behind two rather stout (but richly dressed) middle aged gentlemen. The first impression of the lady was of elegance and style – although the dress was clearly not quite in the latest fashion, the material almost too flimsy for the cut and completely the wrong colour (especially to be wearing at this time of day), the lady herself was a stunning and vibrant blond with her hair swept up and held in place with a jeweled comb matching the blue in her dress ….and her eyes (while she was still too far away to determine the actual colour of the lady's eyes–she romanticized that only a lady with startling blue eyes could wear a dress of such intense blue) , she was also noticeably tall and had entered the room alone. Sarah speculated that this didn't seem to bother her as she appeared completely oblivious (or accustomed) to her rather striking appearance and the affect it was having on the gentlemen in the room.
The lady was was moving slowly along the promenade in the direction where Sarah sat, stopping to touch (almost caress) the marble statues on the way – affecting an almost trance like state as she moved forward. Intrigued Sarah found herself staring at her, thinking to herself too blue, too gauzy and flimsy for fashion, when she realized the lady was staring back at her and quickly averted her eyes to towards the other side of the room embarrassed at being caught.
When she eventually picked up the courage to glance back she could have sworn that the blue dress was more muted and the fabric seemed heavier, less transparent, she shook her head – must have been a trick of the light. The lady had paused in her walk and looked as though she was listening for something or someone.
Sarah scanned the room to see if she could pick out what was distracting the lady in blue, she noticed that even in the more muted colors this lady was still receiving a number of appreciative stares from the gentlemen, Sarah started to create a myriad of questions in her mind was she married?, maybe a widow? – a wealthy widow perhaps? It could be either - judging by the jewels and the elegance by which she wore them, she hoped that her first guess was the case, she was clever enough to recognize the sting of competition in the room.
Attempting unsuccessfully to keep from staring at this lady, Sarah eventually forced herself to turn towards the far end of the room, where she could watch the gentlemen leave and where she would be able to admire the cut of their coats against their broad shoulders- fantasizing about being caught up in the arms of one these suitors, she was musing on a particularly handsome figure when again her attention was caught by another rather handsome blond man stopped still against the flow of the room , he was of average height, well dressed, and like the lady she had noticed before - not quite the height of fashion in a grey suit with a sharp cut that seemed to mirror his stern features, his hair was longer and straighter than was usually worn by gentlemen of this time, and she wondered if he was somehow related to the lady in blue, as he also seemed slightly out of place here. He too paused and seemed to be listening for something… he must have heard it because he turned slowly searching the room until his eyes rested on the lady in blue (I knew it!)– he moved to take a step forward but stopped and paused a moment before turning back in towards the flow of walkers and disappeared out the door.
When Sarah turned her eyes back to the lady in blue it seemed like only moments later the handsome gentleman is walking towards her on this side of the room. She watches quietly, still intrigued by this strange pair as he stops next to her and moves into a position to look out over at the rest of the hall – Sarah surmises (with more than a little relief) that he probably is her husband or at least closely related as he is standing much closer than propriety allows between mere acquaintances or strangers, they don't seem to be talking but a smile did appear on the woman's lips after a minute or two, perhaps an affair – how exciting.
The pair were moving now, together - they were following the stream of people about the room, they also now talked (she couldn't make out what they were saying – there was now a certain intimacy she had not noticed before) and he had offered her his arm…. they were married then, or at the very least engaged, she imagined as was her fancy she saw a brief glimmer of some unnamed emotion in the eyes of the gentleman, however se may have been mistaken, what she had noticed was that they didn't really look at each other at all. As they walked past her the women turned and looked directly at her again, smiling, Sarah felt this irresistible urge to smile back and found herself doing so as they passed… watching them walk away as they moved through the crowd she didn't even notice the eventual arrival of Emily, or indeed the attention she had received from the handsome young gentleman who had entered the promenade expecting to find nothing but dour spinsters at this hour, was instead greeted by the most beautiful and radiant smile he could ever have imagined.
SAPPHIRE
The swirl of bright colors eventually fade as she steps into the bathhouse for real and became part of the growing crowds flocking to see and be seen, she has been here before - of course – but that was ages in the past and naturally it has changed, there were now more people for one, and the fashion as always has changed, so have the rules of society that govern behavior, the new rules more rigid, those basic of emotions (Love, lust, joy and pleasure) more under a façade of control. She cannot sense the presence of her partner just yet so she had time to indulge in a bit of fancy, starting by aimlessly wandering around the building like one of the tourists – purposefully ignoring the fact she is here to work. He of course would not approve, so this time she will not get caught out, mixing business and pleasure she starts to analyze her surrounds, storing the information for the inevitable questions that will arise, reveling in the memories, thoughts and conversations filling the air around her.
Spying an unexplored room she moves under the archway into the main promenade, pausing only to analyze the marble sculptures placed in neat and ordered rows down the sides of the room before her, she lets the usual hum of thoughts the people emit swirl around in her mind – a long practice of filtering, allows her to focus in on certain thoughts. She is enjoying herself and hopes generously her partner is delayed longer – knowing this will not be the case. While analyzing a rather well sculptured (but far too modestly covered) statue of young Hercules she overhears a stray thought directed towards her about the dress she has chosen to wear, inside she laughs at the comment on her style as until now she has not realized just how much she stood out from the rest of the room. A quick search allows her to pick up on some of the less admirable thoughts from the gentlemen. Wholly unembarrassed by the attention she subtly adjusts her attire to a more fitting style presuming no one would be paying that much notice to her (well her dress anyway.)
In the midst of her indulgence she senses her partners presence in the building moments before he calls out to her telepathically, all amusement set aside she responds to him with precise instructions giving her exact whereabouts and continues slowly along the promenade, only now slightly amused when he arrives through the exit door, she gently admonishes him and turns him around to the main entrance where he would be less conspicuous on entering the room.
When he appears moments later she watches him as he walks towards her, this time and its relative fashion suits him(but then she has said the same of many times in the past), especially that particular shade of grey which makes his eyes sparkle with their cool intensity. They converse telepathically, as usual sharing observations on what she has found, dates, times, materials and changes, she answers all his questions with a practiced calm efficiency. In an effort to lighten the moment in contrast to the directness of his questions she now explains that in this particular society it is highly unusual for two people of the opposite sex to be standing so close without being married or at least engaged, and that they have attracted the attention of at least one of the occupants of the room, a young girl sitting on the bench over there. As was usual he internally derided the stifled social nuances of these people and was impatient to search the building further. Sapphire smiles as she tells him aloud that it would look unusual if he didn't offer her his arm, in this society there was no such thing as men and women being business associates.
Taking his proffered arm, and feeling the familiar rush of connection through the physical contact she thinks that she would like to thank the rather plain looking girl who had commented on her dress. As they walked past where she is sitting she sends out an empathic wave of delight and happiness manipulating the girls expression into a rather breathtaking smile,[ that should do it ]- noticing already a dashing young man that had just walked into the room. Steel as usual does not comment on this action but she can read his thoughts and feels he is too disdainful, this time she replies to the unasked question speaking aloud,
she did me a favor, I was repaying in kind, she wants to get married, and thinks she is too plain to attract a husband she explains, knowing he is already weighing up the implications of her meddling; instead she is surprised by an unbidden thought that has invaded Steels mind
[I wonder what it would feel like to be married?...]
STEEL
Why do they keep playing around with time, haven't they learnt yet? Not that he is complaining; otherwise there would be no purpose to this endless battle to keep time on its appointed track. His arrival is abrupt - appearing suddenly in a deserted hallway – he is somewhat annoyed by the delay in his arrival and he immediately senses Sapphires presence close by and calls out to her in their usual manner to locate her position.
Unbidden thoughts surface as he thinks about the ease at which he can sense his partner's presence – none of the others have this ability, it seems to be an advantage they share only between themselves, he considers the time they have spent experimenting with this kind of communication outside of their assignments well spent, even though he soon learnt that Sapphire finds some of the other aspects of their experimentation more entertaining.
Eager to begin (and thus resolve) the assignment he enters the room Sapphire had described through the door closest to him and finds himself facing a continuous stream of aloof and emotionless faces circling a large room, again he senses rather than sees her, inspecting the room for potential danger he eventually sights his partner - almost invariably dressed in blue,( he mentally notes that hasn't seen this particular shade before). She is of course strikingly beautiful, and especially so in this room full of drab colors and featureless faces, however as is his practice after years of working together he doesn't allow himself to dwell on this thought– there is work to do and they will need to keep focused on the task at hand, as he begins to move… his thoughts are soon interrupted by a gentle admonishment from Sapphire telling him the entrance is on the other side and it would look strange if he went against the flow, he humors her (this time) turns and leaves the room, phasing out to reappear further down the hallway at the entrance (in his experience of this particular point in time, people tend to ignore anything that they don't understand, and enough time has been wasted already ).
He moves purposefully towards his partner, telepathically asking those questions needed to establish their environment, dates, times, anything out of place, missing and unusual, potential triggers. As usual she answers in kind with the calm efficiency and directness he has come to expect on assignment, the dates, the time, it's not in this room, but its close by – it's definitely in this building. He moves to stand next to her assuming their familiar pose where they can view all of the aspects of the room between them. The physical proximity of less than an inch between them means that they communicate more than just words – feelings, impressions and thoughts can be shared without any effort – he relies on her keen empathy to pinpoint the most likely participants in any damage to the fabric of time. This time he experiences his partner's amusement at their presence in this room (it is for courting couples and their chaperones) and senses wistfulness in her readings of relationships between the people as they pass. She has to explain that at this time proximity and touching are only for certain types of relationships – although why this is the case always amuses him, this public propriety – he knows from past assignments that this is only a façade and underneath they are all rather base and animalistic in their thoughts and feelings – he does not like façade or pretense as it slows down getting to the root of the matter and he is glad that Sapphire is the expert in this area, even if she is sometimes distracted (or distracting).
His observations aside he still obliges her request and presents his arm to her as they move off, again he humors her Are we pretending to be courting then, or are we already married? he suppresses a smirk a t this comment, he didn't think they would get very far if half the gentlemen in this room thought she was available, he can't read their thoughts but he has noticed their glances and stares towards his partner – and very rightly interpreted these as potentially disruptive to the task at hand.
When she touches his arm (even through the clothing they wear) he can feel the surge of their mutual connection, it reassures him - even though they really don't need to touch anymore to communicate thoughts and feelings in this way– this is why they work so well together, they are attuned at certain levels unshared with their colleagues. Steel is not surprised when Sapphire manipulates the emotions of a young girl as they walk past, she is always meddling with people in some way (more distractions)– it was his own thoughts that surprised him, and then her thoughts in response [ Another experiment? … perhaps]
They leave the promenade still linked arm in arm, Sapphire gasps when they have moved not 5 steps beyond the exit, she turns abruptly – Steel catching her just in time to prevent her falling to the ground… It's Here…Right here… they are standing next to a man who pulls a small rectangular metal object out of his waistcoat pocket and presses his thumb on the dark glass covering it, numbers are illuminated instantly on the glass each brightening momentarily as the man touches a sequence of numbers in turn…..