The tinkling laugh of society ladies emanated through the halls of the Malfoy Manor. Lucius himself was engaged in his usual slew of business meetings; the laughter of the ladies on the floor below occasionally permeating the door separating himself from the rest of the Manor. His business contacts, flowing in and out, frequently brought their wives and children to socialise downstairs. It was a Saturday afternoon, after all, and social callers drew much less suspicion than those without clear social intent.
Lucius was an astute man and knew that there was no question that the Manor had been watched since the fall of his Master four years previously. This did not prevent him from working for the Dark Lord's return, of course. As a loyal and ambitious servant, the white-blonde man was fully aware that those of his Master's disciples who were instrumental in His return would be rewarded accordingly. He made sure that those whom he trusted with his plans knew this as well; Lucius was a cautious man and a patient one, which suited his ambition well. Although his plans would not come to fruition for years, that did not mean Lucius was not preparing them and it did not mean that he was not a busy man.
Of course, in addition to his – extracurricular – plans, Lucius was responsible for upholding the family fortune through a number of select and occasionally illegal investments. Borgin & Burkes was one of the less savoury investments that Lucius had made in the years since the Dark Lord's disappearance and it was with Burkes that the wealthy man was meeting now. Lucius himself had a strong distaste for Burkes. Oily men were never among those that Lucius trusted. He appreciated his fair share of obsequious underlings, but a Malfoy never trusted a wizard quite as oily as Burkes without his fair share of leverage.
Which Lucius had acquired shortly after officially closing the investment deal with the two men. The black market was a good investment, but a better investment was the one that promised that Burkes's tongue would remain still should he be caught. Lucius would not be incriminated for his minor dealings.
The blotted, nervous signature on parchment concluded the meeting as Burkes shakingly capped the inkwell and tucked the still-wet quill into the pocket of his dress robes. Lucius smiled and smoothly rose, his own bottle-green dress robes fitting his fit form in such a way as to somehow imbibe him with even more authority. He pushed back the throne-like chair that he had been seated in and walked to the front of his mahogany desk in order to accompany Burkes out.
Nervously chattering, the unpleasant man proceeded to give Lucius a headache during the brief walk between his study and the company parlour. The parlour itself was awash with the friendly chatter of women and the raucous yells of their toddlers. Lucius himself had developed something frighteningly close to fondness for his own son, but the man still couldn't bring himself to do anything more than tolerate the similarly-aged children of his business associates.
Seeing Burkes just outside the parlour, his wife began to gather up the items her daughter had strewn about, chatting with the other ladies as she did. Once the little girl had been cleaned up after, her mother scooped the child up in one arm, greeted Lucius and her husband cordially as though they'd just arrived, and smiled at her hostess.
"Thank you so for having us, Narcissa," she beamed at the woman with the white-blonde boy in her lap. "We really must chat again sometime."
The Burkes left none too soon and Lucius returned to his study, awaiting his next meeting.