Crossing the Line
Upon seeing the flickering images projected onto the sheet in the parlor, Jean immediately bolted from the room, blushing up a storm. To see…well, she'd never seen anything like that. She'd never seen anyone in the act of…that. She'd done plenty of it herself when she was married, but to see a young couple…oh it was too much to even contemplate. And in her own house! Well obviously it was just a film but to have it seen in the room where she had been doing her knitting and sewing all these years was just obscene!
"How can you put up with a thing like that?!"
Jean turned to see Richard storming towards her in the garden. She had gone out to be alone, to regain her composure. It might have been nice for someone—Richard, particularly—to come out and see how she was doing. He did not seem to be in a comforting mood. "I beg your pardon?"
"That…that filth! You live in a house with a man who has that!?" he shouted.
"It's evidence in a murder investigation that Lucien and Charlie are working on, they didn't bring it home for the fun of it," she snapped. "You were there seeing it for the first time along with Lucien. He didn't know what it was!"
Richard sneered in disbelief. "You heard his reaction, apologizing all calmly like that. That doctor of yours has seen things like that before. He might not have known what it was, but he wasn't shocked or offended by it!"
Jean's jaw dropped. "How dare you insinuate that Doctor Blake is anything but a gentleman!"
"That's no gentleman," Richard replied with a hollow laugh. "He's as bad as the rest of those smut peddlers. And how you can try to defend him…"
"I will defend him!" she answered defiantly. "Lucien is not outwardly shocked or offended by things because he has a kind and understanding heart. He may not shrink away from a bit of sex, but he is the first man to correct an injustice wherever he finds it. He'll solve this case and he'll make sure the people responsible for that…that film are apprehended and made to pay for what they've done! And if you are the type of man to stand out here shouting at me, I don't think there's any reason for you to be here any longer. In fact, I don't think you should call on me anymore."
Richard stood there, staring at her in surprise over her vehement defense of Lucien Blake.
"You can see yourself out," she added sharply.
Jean turned away and waited for the sounds of Richard walking away before she relaxed the tension in her body. She sat down on the lounge chair and exhaled slowly. Her heart was racing from all the excitement. There was probably a lot for her to think about, but she didn't want to ponder any of it at the moment. The only thought in her head was of getting that sheet off the wall and giving it a good wash.
