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-ultimategammy91

Chapter Three - Put You in Your Place

Two hours later Rogue walked down the long corridor leading to the sitting room dressed in what her grandfather would call the appropriate attire for a young lady of nobility. Her hair was swept back into an elegant bun of curls while her white streaks curled and framed her face. Not one piece of jewellery was placed on her person, for Lord Delmar highly disapproved of her wearing such things and frankly had no interest in spending anything on jewels for her. The gown she wore was a bright lavender colour, accented by a few unnecessary trimmings and ribbons and though it hugged her figure perfectly, it showed very little skin. Her shoulders were covered in the velvet material of the gown while the arm line ran to her elbows and from there was a lace material of a light cream colour that swept down the rest of her arms. When Rogue had first laid eyes on the purple demon, she had the sudden urge to set it a flame and stomp on its remains. She despised the dress with the uttermost dislike but her Aunt Carrie, the matron of the house, had insisted on it and would not hear any complaints. So here she stood, dressed like a good behaved doll. Rogue hated dolls.

As she descended the candle-lit corridor she could already hear voices float down from the dining hall. A mix of her Aunt's forged laughter and that of a charming Cajun accent as well as the distinguishable grunt of her grandfather. When Rogue came to the door she stopped herself in her steps and inhaled deeply. She was about to be thrown into the snake pit, naked and uncertain of her outcome. Letting out a deep intake of breath, she opened the door and walked through.

"Ah. Here she is. Anna-Marie dear, do come and meet our guest."

To anyone else, Aunt Carrie's words would seem sweet and endearing towards her niece but to Rogue, they were artificial and forced out. Aunt Carrie had been her mother's younger sister by two years but it had been quickly realised that Carrie-Anne Delmar was her father's favourite over her older sister. She was every bit her father while Pricilla had been every bit her mother. She was cold, demanding and like her father, she had no compassion or love for her niece. Tonight however, the spinster matron, as many of the servants had dubbed her over the years, was simulating the role of a kind hostess and a loving Aunt. Dressed in a fancy looking navy gown with probably more unnecessary ribbons and trimmings than Rogue's, her dark hair was pulled back into a tight bun at the back of her head, giving away her blue eyes in all their malicious glory. A sweetly artificial smile was swept across her face to hide away her true intentions but Rogue had a feeling that anyone would be able to see the fangs behind the toothless smile. The sight of her aunt made Rogue cringe inwardly, for it was most sickening to see her Aunt so cheerful in the company of others. However, Rogue's attention was quickly reframed to the guest standing in the room. The guest who's gaze was set upon her.

"Anna-Marie, may I introduce Lord Damien Black. His Lordship is a business partner of your grandfather's."

Lord Black, as she noticed, was dressed to the nines in a coat and cravat of a deep maroon colour while a black ruffled shirt poked out from under his well-defined chin. She was sure that if her Aunt could word her disapproval, which she inevitably couldn't, she would've asked if he had gone to a funeral. Rogue however was just grateful that he wasn't one of those pompous aristocrats who took up the more modern trends of bright colours and outrageous style. It wouldn't have done him much justice. But the moment that Lord Black began to smile at her, she felt her first approval of his appearance shift as if he was standing before her in an outrageously coloured and florescent outfit. She tried not to scowl with annoyance as he took her un-gloved hand in his and raised it to his lips again.

"Bonjour mademoiselle."

Rogue feebly returned the smile as she fought back the urge to glare. But if he wasn't going to mention their meeting, neither would she. However, when she took back her hand, the young Lord winked at her. She felt a blush threaten to rise across her cheeks but she did her best to push it back. He didn't seem so much like ceremonial pompous anymore but more of a flirt. Luckily however, neither her Grandfather nor her Aunt took much notice of this exchange. For not a moment after the brief introduction the butler, Roy, entered the room and announced dinner. Aunt Carrie immediately took Lord Delmar's outstretched arm and made for the dining hall doors that were connected to the room, leaving Rogue prey to the young Lord. Lord Black raised his arm for her to take as he spoke.

"Shall I escort y' t' dinner mademoiselle?"

In her mind, Rogue was yelling no, but on the outside, she gave a blunt nod and took his arm. She was grateful that it was only a few moments before he let her arm go and allowed her to sit down, not without pulling out the chair for her in the process. Once they were all seated Aunt Carrie decided to break into conversation, particularly with their new guest. Being a spinster at her thirty-four years of age or 'widow' as she told anyone who was naïve enough to believe, she did her very best to show her more appealing attributes towards guests. But unfortunately that didn't repent for her sins as a spinster. Not in this time and age.

"So my Lord, where is that you hail from? I do not believe my father mentioned that part when he said you would be staying with us."

They were just through the last course when Aunt Carrie decided to spark this conversation. Rogue nearly snorted but disguised it by taking a sip of her wine. Lord Delmar was unlikely to entrust any important information to anyone in his house, his personal snitch Roy perhaps, but not Aunt Carrie. But despite this little Delmar-law, as she called it, Aunt Carrie loved to look impressive and well-informed in front of guests and so she could not help but do so now as she waited for the Lord to reply. Rogue listened in union with her aunt, curiosity getting the better of her.

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When Remy had entered the waiting room about fifteen minutes before dinner was due to be served, he had been silently hoping that he would find no one there to greet him. How wrong he had been. Lady Carrie-Anne Delmar, Lord Delmar's spinster daughter, had been sitting in the waiting room for over half an hour. And though her welcome had been nice enough, her smile flawless and her manners quaint, he had the sudden impression of a wolf dressed in a lamb's fleece. Kind and gentle upon meeting but could no soon discard the disguise and brandish wolfish fangs. He was only glad that he needed only to wait twenty minutes before Lord Delmar arrived and shortly after, Anna-Marie; her arrival being the highlight of the night.

After their short introduction in the entrance hall he had to suffer a lot of taunting from John. The excentric Australian had struggled to hold back his laughter when he rolled his eyes or told him to shut up while inside however, he was tempted to join him in the hilarity of it all. Not one woman, in France, the Caribbean or America had been able to get past his charm as he would call it. Meaning, no woman had ever put him in his place. And to be truthful, he found it quite alluring how she could do that. She posed a personal challenge and if his name wasn't Remy Lebeau, which it technically it wasn't at the moment, he would win her over. Now however, he would have to deal with bystanders like Lord and Lady Delmar.

Smiling, in what he hoped was a convincingly polite manner, he replied Lady Delmar's question.

"I have lived in many places Madame. Mais France is always home."

Remy didn't miss Lord Delmar's grunt of disapproval but under the circumstances he didn't comment on it. But it didn't stop his eyes from wandering over to the head of the table. Lord Delmar had been seemingly content on eating his meal in silence. Though he kept an ear out for anything of importance or in Remy's case; disapproval. Aunt Carrie on the other hand, held her lashing tongue back and smiled almost too nice for comfort before replying.

"France? Paris I presume?"

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Rogue noticed her grandfather's disapproving grunt but was thankful that he didn't say anything more. Even if a man like Lord Damien Black were at the receiving end of Lord Delmar's word slashing she would not wish that fate on them. Aunt Carrie however, continued to be pleasant as she continued to press him with questions. Rogue let her eyes wander away from her plate to eye him from across the table only to be caught in his gaze. There was a teasing glint in his eyes that was almost as flirtatious as that wink he'd given her earlier. The moment passed when he replied, raising his glass of wine to his lips.

"Oui Madame. -My Lord Delmar. Have y' an' y' family ever been t' de city of lights? De city be magnifique dis time a year."

Rogue's eyes instantly lit up in horror as she tried her best not to choke on her food. She had just swallowed a particularly chewy piece of meat and now it was practically scraping down the walls of her throat. Her eyes began to water and her face reddened but she didn't let a sound escape her. She turned her gaze towards her grandfather whose eyes were now practically burning with hellfire towards Lord Black. No one, not even Aunt Carrie, dared to speak of undesirable topics in front of Lord Delmar. In this case, undesirable, meaning anything to do with the French. However, when Rogue turned her gaze to the offender she found his face was serenely composed with a casual smile. He wasn't even fazed by her grandfather's murderous gaze.

Again, Rogue turned back to look at her grandfather. He looked like he was about to blow a fuse his face was so red with anger. He looked just about ready to box the young Lord's ears when she did the most unexpected and inevitably careless thing ever. She opened her mouth and spoke.

"My grandfather doesn't really like to travel all that much. London lights are just about all we've seen."

All eyes, especially Lord Delmar's, turned to her, Rogue felt instantly like she was being pushed into a corner. If Lord Delmar had been angry before, he was absolutely furious now. A vein that was visible just above the collar of his shirt began to bulge considerably and his face turned from red to purple almost instantly. Rogue held back a shaky breath of air as her face remained placid of expression. All fears were held bottled up inside as Lord Delmar glared at her. But instead of bellowing blue murder another unsuspecting thing happened. Lord Delmar's face turned pink again while his wrinkled furrowed brow eased slightly but did not reframe from a scowl. He let out a breath of air to sustain his attempt to keep calm. And then he opened his mouth and spoke.

"Forgive my granddaughter for her rudeness Lord Damien. She has a knack for speaking when she should remain silent."

The word 'silent' whipped off his tongue like he had slapped her across the face. An apprehensive silence passed through the room in which Rogue took the time to mentally slap herself for her actions. Of course she had done nothing wrong but in doing what was right she had put herself into the crossfire. She knew what fate would await her after she was out of sight from their guest. But before she could dwell in the thought, Lord Damien spoke up.

"Dere is nothing to forgive m' Lord. A granddaughter who knows her grandfather so well should be rewarded f' her efforts."

And with that he turned to Rogue and flashed a charming smile and she noticed there was a winking glint in his eyes. Rogue felt her cheeks flush pink but she didn't think of stopping it. 'Did he just…?' She couldn't even put to words what he had done. When her eyes turned to look at her grandfather she found that the terrible glare that he had given her was once again plastered across his face but this time it was directed at the grinning young man sitting across from her. Rogue could barely believe what she had witnessed. He had actually pushed Lord Delmar back in his place and had retorted to his scolding without so much as a trace of fear or regret afterwards. But after the moment had passed, Lord Delmar's glare turned back to her and she quickly revert her eyes back to her plate. Little good that did.

"Oh she shall be rewarded my Lord."

And boy did she know what kind of reward her grandfather was referring to.

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MUHAHAHAHA! TAKE THAT YOU SYNICAL BASTARD! lol. Okay now press that review button and tell me what you think! I think I deserve some really nice comments for putting Delmar in his place! Hehe go REMY!

-ultimategammy91