John checked his watch and shook his head. "Trains. They're always late."

"He'll be along sir." Branson, leaned against the wall, flipped another page in the newspaper. "There's some unrest in Serbia."

"Is there?" John barely heard him as a train whistle sounded from a distance. "I hope this is Talbot's train."

"It's the only one from Scotland until tomorrow morning." Branson turned another page. "So unless he got waylaid somewhere he's on this train."

"Or unless he made sure he was waylaid somewhere." John shook his head, "Man like that can't help but attract women."

"That fine of a man is he?" Branson snorted, folding his paper up. "Can I ask a question that might be a bit impertinent?"

"What is it?" John faced him as the train pulled into the station, rushing steam and the crank of the brakes screeching to hide their conversation.

"If you're a Rothschild then why don't you sound anything like a German or an Austrian?"

"I grew up in London and my mother was Irish." John put his hands in his pockets, ignoring those around them. "I didn't move into my father's home until I was older."

"And you never picked up the accent?"

"I spent too much time in boarding schools after that." John shrugged, "I was never as posh as all of them."

"But you fit in with them?"

"Never." John turned at the sound of another man's voice, his large smile taking over his face. "He was always the black sheep at school."

"At least I got to stay in school because I didn't try to deflower the headmaster's daughter." John took the man into an embrace and clapped him heavily on the back. "It's good to see you Henry."

"And you John." Henry extended a hand toward Branson. "And you?"

"Tom Branson, driver for Mr. Bates here."

"He's going by 'Mr. Bates' now?" Henry snorted, "Never did like the way 'Rothschild' hung around your neck did you?"

"It's a bit more like a chain than a necktie." John put a hand to Henry's shoulder. "This way. We've got things to discuss."

"Right." Henry managed his bag, walking toward the cars parked in front of the station. "I was told you had some kind of intense plans for the future. Your father… He's not entirely excited by what you're offering."

"Then my father needs to better understand that the money he gave me is mine to use as I will. That's what this is, a chance to grow my fortune instead of relying on his like every one of my other siblings." John shook his head, opening the door and allowing Henry to get into the rear of the car while Branson took his place at the front. "I need these contracts finalized before I go back to Vienna."

"And you're sure you want to finalize those deals with someone as new as this shipping magnate?"

"Isn't it a good investment?"

"Not if the rumors of war are true." Henry reached over the seat to snag Branson's paper. "This thing about Serbia isn't just a dispute easily solved with some nice promises and interesting platitudes."

"What do you know about it?"

"I'm a lawyer for the Rothschild family John. I've got some interesting connections and I've met more than a few interesting people. Ever heard of Evelyn Napier?"

"No, should I have?"

"He's the one working with some complicated governmental organizations that are trying to avoid war. It's a mess but he's the best man I know for that kind of job. He's been telling me about how difficult it's all been given the unrest."

"Will it matter?"

"It might effect everything." Henry shrugged, "How do you depend on a shipping magnate when there could be war ships?"

"Given the strength of her company I think there's a high chance she'll be governmentally contracted."

"War profiteering?"

"We've all got to make a living." John leaned back in his seat, "And how else will you pay for all those hotels you visit in the Alps if you're not helping my family expand their fortune?"

"I could turn to doing good works."

"Then you'd have to give up all the women in your life who are only with you because you've got the money to pay for the fine champagne and the lovely places you take them." John pointed out the window, "And that's the location of my newest potential acquisition."

"You're buying it?" Henry frowned, "I thought the contract was drawn up to reflect an investment, not a buyout."

"I said that incorrectly." John shook his head, "It is just an investment."

"Just be sure you know what you're talking about before I draw up the contract. I don't want anything going into it that you'll regret later or that might make it difficult for the two of you to work it out later."

"I'm sure you'll get the language right to reflect the unity between the two of us so we make this the best for the both of us."

"Given how you talk about this woman I get the feeling that you're not just hoping to make her a business partner."

"That's all she is."

"John," Henry shook his head, clicking his tongue against his teeth. "That's not all she is and you know it. I can see right through it because I remember when you had your little crush on that girl… What was her name?"

"It was Sara and it's nothing like that."

"Nothing like wanting to avoid your possible future bride." Henry lowered his voice, "I know what your father had planned in that direction."

"Doesn't mean he's right."

"And it doesn't mean he'll stop just because you've told her you're not interested." Henry shuddered, "I still remember the first time I met her. Horrible woman."

"I would've thought you could've helped convince my father it was a foolish idea to put us in a match together."

"No more than I can convince him that trying to put any money into Bavaria is a bad idea." Henry paused, "Why are you going back to Vienna then? Your father's not called you home and you're not needed to clean up any of your siblings' messes at the moment."

"I've some business there I need to handle." John tapped his finger on the newspaper, "If Serbia is having the problems the news suggests then it's more important than ever that I put myself on the right side of my financial obligations. Besides, I wasn't planning on staying London long anyway. I didn't even have any business here until the night of Princess Vera's birthday."

"Which I warned you against attending, I'll say that again."

"If I hadn't attended then I wouldn't have found this opportunity."

"Found a woman more like." Henry tapped the seat and Branson's eyes flicked back to them in the mirror. "It's a woman, yes? The whole reason he got involved in all of this is because there's a woman involved correct?"

"Far as I've seen sir." Branson winked at John in the mirror. "But it's more because of what she represents I think."

"Do tell."

"Don't tell because there's nothing to tell." John opened the door as the car stopped. "I had more faith in you Mr. Branson."

"Consider it a bit misplaced sir." Branson leaned on the seat as the two men got out. "Do you need me for anything else this afternoon?"

"I'll need you to retrieve Ms. Smith at around six. We'll be signing the contract here tonight and then dining together. She should already be aware of the details but I'll send another note along to make sure."

"Understood sir." Branson drove the car away from the house and John led Henry inside.

"Ms. Smith?" Henry clacked his teeth together, "Smith Shipping?"

"It's AS Shipping, actually."

"But it was formerly SS Shipping, as in Samuel Smith Shipping?"

"That's right." John paused, frowning, "How do you know that?"

"Because your good friend, Mr. Robert Crawley, took some time to invest in them at one point."

"I believe he's known as the Earl of Grantham in polite society."

"Whatever he's known as…" Henry waved a dismissive hand. "I'm more interested in the prospects of his eldest daughter."

"Lady Mary's quite taken with a Mr. Matthew Crawley."

"Local solicitor, yes I know. Former of Manchester."

John stood in the doorway, folding his arms over his chest. "What's got you so interested in the affairs of the Crawley family?"

"Let's just say that their finances aren't what they used to be. A few… poor investment choices on behalf of your friend, Lord Grantham, might've ruined all the opportunities for them in the future." Henry clacked his teeth together. "But I've got a few tricks up my sleeve if you want to talk about how you could help them."

"Robert would never take my help. It'd be against his dignity and his honor."

"Then he's a fool and you'll have to work around him." Henry pointed toward the study, "Should we draft in here?"

"It still doesn't explain why you're so informed as to the minute details of the family."

Henry squirmed, "Let's just say I know a thing or two about an adventure that Lady Mary Crawley might've had that she'd rather no one knew about."

"What kind of adventure?"

"The kind that might affect the head of AS Shipping." Henry put his bag on the table, "There was an incident that I think you deserve to know about."

"Is this the digging you did up in Scotland? The delay for this whole process?"

"It's exactly that because there was a woman at Duneagle who claimed to know that Lady Mary Crawley had a Turkish diplomat die in her bedroom and your Ms. Smith helped her move the body."

"If she didn't kill him then why would it matter?"

"Because it means they weren't truthful with the officers and lying to an officer of the law is a prosecutable offense."

"Then Lady Mary simply wanted to avoid a scandal."

"There's a difference between avoiding talk that she's no longer a virgin and moving a dead body that could implicate her in the death itself."

"He died of heart failure."

"You know that a hard hit to the chest can stop the heart yes?" Henry waited but John only frowned. "I'm not saying it doesn't speak volumes to Ms. Smith's character that she aided a friend in need and then kept a rather awkward secret but it does say something about the type of scandal you could reap on your own head if you get into business with this women."

"Her personal life doesn't matter to me. I'm interested in her business acumen."

"Have you sketched her yet?"

"Henry-"

"Have you, John Bates, put pen or pencil to paper to sketch her?" John turned his eyes to the floor and Henry scoffed, "You artists-at-heart and your need to quantify your emotions through tangible actions."

"It's not so different from your expensive hotel rooms and your bottles of champagne."

"Mine aren't the subjects of my heart's desires, John."

"Mine haven't been either."

"If I found your little sketch book what would I find in there?"

John walked over to his desk and opened the long drawer. Picking up the book there he tossed it to Henry. "See for yourself."

Henry opened it, flipping through the pages for a moment, and then pitched it back to John. "That's not your real one John."

"But we're not here to discuss sketches, Henry, we're here to draw up a legal document that Ms. Smith and her solicitor will be over to verify in a few hours."

"Her solicitor, by the way, is Mr. Matthew Crawley." Henry took a seat at a table and pulled documents from his bag. "That's why I know so much about the family."

"Sometimes I'm afraid of what you'd find out about me if you dedicated yourself to uncovering all the dark and dirty secrets I might have hidden." John brought papers of his own to the table and a pad for notes. "It terrifies me the kinds of ledgers you must keep about me for my father."

"I've already told him everything you did in school. That was what got me hired as his lawyer and investigator in the first place." Henry winked, "After that… Well, if we're honest, your life got nothing but boring after that. It's all acquisitions and business deals, and the occasional fine bottle of wine you have not even splurged to buy yourself."

"You'd think that would make my father proud."

"The problem is that you never cared one way or the other about making your father proud."

"It takes respect to want to make someone proud of you." John shrugged, "I've just never really respected my father."

"Despite what you may think about him," Henry raised his head for a moment to meet John's eyes. "He is proud of you."

"Task at hand Henry." John selected a first sheet. "This is the division of assets and the investment I'm making into three of the ships on the line."

"Alright then," Henry scanned the page, noting something on a pad. "Then I guess I've got my work cut out for me don't I?"

They spent all afternoon in the study and only broke when the butler knocked on the door. John pulled the papers together, stacking them neatly into a file as Henry pressed the page before them dry. He blew over it, scanning a few of the phrases and then shrugged.

"It's not my best work but it'll accomplish what you need."

"Does it treat both parties equally?"

"Of course. But you know," Henry put it back on the table and collected his things, "If I'd known you'd fight so hard for her side I wouldn't have done all that research to make sure you weren't getting swindled."

"Why's that?"

"There's no chance for her to swindle you if you're too busy swindling yourself."

"Making sure there's fair compensation-"

"I'm not arguing with you John, I'm just…" Henry flapped his arms to his sides. "Do you even know what you want anymore?"

"What do you mean?" John led them to the door, taking the stairs to their rooms.

"When I knew you in school you had your heart set on one thing: to beat your siblings in the race to your father's affections. And I can't say if that ever worked but you tried your damndest to get it."

"I never did, if that answers your question." John walked into his room, pulling at his tie as Andrew stepped forward to take his coat and help with the waistcoat. "Why do you ask?"

"Because once you realized you'd never get his love the way you wanted it you turned to making as money as you could. And you were brilliant at it but… I get the feeling you've lost your love for slaughtering the market."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No," Henry shook his head, stepping out of the way as Andrew moved about helping John divest himself of his day clothes and get into his black tie. "I just think you're still trying to find out what you want and you've no idea."

"I know I don't want the Princess of Bavaria." John stopped, his hands on the fastenings of his trousers. "Don't you have dinner to dress for?"

"I thought we were having a conversation."

"Not one where I drop my trousers in front of you." John nodded at the door. "The end to the conversation, Henry, is that we're all looking for what we want. For the moment it's for this merger to happen so I can invest in a shipping company."

"I've always loved how well you lie to yourself." Henry shook his head, walking out of the room, "This is one of those times."

John dropped his trousers and stepped out of them while accepting the black ones from Andrew. "I don't suppose you've got an opinion about it do you?"

"Should I?" Andrew held out John's shirt and helped secure the cuffs with a pair of plain links.

"Do you think you know what you want?"

"I agree with you sir, no one knows what they want." Andrew pulled the tie out as John finished buttoning his shirt and then his trousers around it. "We're all just trying to find those things that make us happy."

"What makes you happy Andrew?"

"I've a dream of being a farmer."

John paused, making an approving sound as he lifted his chin for Andrew to tie the bow tie. "What would you farm?"

"Pigs and goats."

"No sheep or cattle?"

"Cattle are too expensive and sheep are stupid." Andrew ducked under John's arms to help him into his waistcoat. "Pigs are intelligent and they tend to feed well so you can use them for all kinds of meat. Goats you can use for milk, meat, and even to keep the grass down."

"You've thought a lot about this." John turned to him, "What made you so interested in it?"

"I guess growing up surrounded by buildings makes you long for a place where grass might really be greener." Andrew held out John's coat and then waited for John to slide his arms through the sleeves. "I've heard farmer's stories of it like fairy tales."

"Then perhaps," John snapped his arms to straighten his coat and checked himself in the mirror. "I might have a solution for you."

"Really sir?"

"I need to invest in something to help a friend and I wonder if you could be the solution to that." John wagged a finger at him. "Let me think on it and I'll tell you when I've come to a conclusion."

"I'll be waiting with baited breath sir."

"Be careful you don't turn blue." John winked at him and left the room to greet his butler. "Everything ready?"

"Yes sir. Ms. Smith and Mr. Crawley are in the study."

"Mr. Branson is desirably punctual." John pulled at his cuffs, "Have his pay increased ten percent. He deserves it for such dedicated work."

"I'll make a note of it sir." He paused, "Might I ask a question sir?"

"Other than that one Spratt?"

"Sir," Spratt ignored the jibe, "Should I prepare a room for Ms. Smith?"

"Why would you ask that?"

"I overheard the conversation with Mr. Talbot earlier and I thought-"

"Spratt," John put a hand up to stop the butler speaking. "If Ms. Smith ever needs a room here, she'll ask for it. Otherwise I'd advise you to ignore whatever Mr. Talbot suggests to you in regards to Ms. Smith."

"I just thought, since you'd showed her the library, you had other intentions where she was concerned."

"Spratt, stop trying to make assumptions." John shook his head, leaving the butler at the top of the stairs. "And make sure dinner's ready for when we're finished. I don't want anyone famished and waiting."

"Yes sir."

John entered the study, noting Anna in a cerulean gown, Matthew Crawley at her side reading the contract, and Henry explaining a few of the details on the page. They all turned as John closed the door behind him and he shook hands with Matthew before kissing Anna's. "I apologize for being a bit late. I was waylaid."

"The duties of a man of importance are never finished." Matthew shrugged, pointing to the contract. "From what I've read it appears all in order so this might be the swiftest signing I've ever notarized."

"Henry's always been concise and exact about his work. It's what makes me appreciate him." John shot Henry a glare, "And he's very good at what he does."

"I'll say. This is the tightest contract I've ever read." Matthew looked it over again. "If I'm not mistaken you've even given us a bit of the upper hand in all of this."

"I find my investments flourish most often when left to their own devices." John stepped forward, "Do you agree to the terms outlined here Ms. Smith?"

"Under the suggestion of my solicitor I'd be a fool not to sign." Anna took the pen Henry offered her. "This is possibly the best business decision I've ever made."

"Or the worst if the papers are right about the unrest in Serbia." Matthew shuddered, "I can't imagine what happens when it all comes about."

"Then I make warships instead of shipping lines." Anna shrugged and handed the pen to John. "Unless you've something against war profiteering, Mr. Bates."

"I've something against not having jobs that allow people to feed their families." John signed his name and then stepped back to allow Matthew and Henry to add their names to the paper. "Though I do have a question I'd like to ask you in private, if I could Ms. Smith."

"Of course." She followed him to a corner and interlaced her fingers so her arms hung straight in front of her. "How can I be of service Mr. Bates?"

"Could you give me the details necessary to better understand a favor you did for Lady Mary in the case of one Turkish diplomat?"

Anna raised an eyebrow, "I do hope you don't listen to rumors, Mr. Bates, as that would be a bit disappointing."

"It was something that gave Henry pause about your character."

"And you trust a man who spends his weekends with married women who want an escape to the Alps?"

John let his mouth quirk up into a smile. "I think the two of you are evenly matched."

"Then I'll have you know that he died while trying to assault Lady Mary. And the horrors of his particular existence meant that his body wasn't strong enough for the exertion. His heart stopped and all I did was move him to his own room." She waited, "Satisfied?"

"Yes. And, so you know, it was only with married woman once. The other times Henry tries to seduce heiresses or other leading ladies of society. He's flirtatious and they seem to enjoy a little getaway."

"He's a bit of a cad."

"He's definitely a cad." John grinned as Anna hid her laugh in her hand. "Although I do have another request, if you're not occupied for the remainder of the evening."

"I do hope you mean after dinner."

"Of course."

"Then my schedule is free." Anna's forehead creased a bit, "What is it?"

"Do you remember the suggestion you made about my paintings?"

"I remember you saying you'd show me the risqué paintings you made of me." Anna smiled at the heat that grew in John's cheeks. "And I also recall not being offended by the implication.

"Then you'd be interested in seeing those paintings?"

"You actually paint?" John nodded and Anna made a snort of approval. "What about your paintings, Mr. Bates?"

"I'd like to paint you." John put up a hand, "It's nothing lurid, I promise."

"I thought you'd already painted me."

"There are paintings but they're not you. It's… It's hard to paint someone you're trying to pull from your memory instead of seeing before you."

"You want me as your model."

"Yes." John stopped himself, realizing hos breathlessly excited he sounded. "I know it's soon but I'll be leaving for Vienna tomorrow night and I'd like to paint you before I go."

"To give you something to remember me by?"

"You could say that." John's eyes met hers and he noted the glint there. "Might you be willing?"

"I think I'd like that a great deal, Mr. Bates. However," She tapped his hand. "Supper first. I'm practically starved."

Dinner was a lively enough affair. The conversation was more intimate between the four of them and when they finished Henry and Matthew made their way out of doors to visit a pub Henry claimed was the source of a great many exciting evenings. John and Anna went into the library and he closed the doors before leading her to the second level.

"I've seen the view before." Anna teased but John walked around the balcony to a stretch of wall.

"This isn't that." He clicked a small notch to the side of the molding and it slid back to reveal a well-lit room with paintings on easels and the tools for painting spread around the room. "This is the place I keep all to myself."

"I'm sure your father discouraged you seeking a future as a painter."

"He wanted me to go into banking but found my skills lay in investment." John took a quick turn around the room to bring the lights as he wanted. "But this is what steadies my mind."

"It's gorgeous." Anna noted and John pivoted to see her frowning at a stack of paintings turned toward the wall. "Are these the implicated paintings?"

"If you'd call them that." He scratched the back of his head as Anna pulled them back to look at them. "They're not-"

"I get the impression you've seen this expression on someone's face before." Anna paused at one and John joined her near it. "But it looks odd on my face."

John said nothing as Anna looked through the rest of the paintings before setting them back to the wall. She turned her face up to him and shook her head. "I think you need a better model, Mr. Bates."

"Would you be willing?"

"I'd be honored." Anna pointed to the screen in the corner of the room. "Just there?"

"If you wish." John gestured to her. "If you want to stay as you are I could sketch and paint you like this."

"This dress, while beautiful, Mr. Bates, isn't comfortable for a sitting." Anna walked back toward the screen. "Ready your materials and I promise I'll be ready shortly."

"As you wish." She disappeared behind the screen and John shed his coat and his tie before rolling up his sleeves and leaving his shoes to the side so he padded over the floor barefoot.

Just as he readied his easel he heard her ask, "Are you ready?"

John turned and words fled. She stood before him, all of her clothing removed and her hair piled on her head, and his mouth dried. Their eyes met and John was sure the world stopped spinning.

"Are you ready Mr. Bates?"