Avast!
Chapter 3
"Lily darling, where have you been?" a short plump man with little hair on top and a pointed short beard, looked at her disapprovingly behind his pair of spectacles. "The rehearsal started exactly-" he glanced at his pocket watch, "-six minutes and twenty-five seconds ago!"
The actors on stage stopped to watch as Flitwick straightened to his full none-too-impressive height (4'5), puffed out his chest and spent the next seven minutes and ten seconds lecturing her of her duty to her actor friends and to the theatre.
Lily sighed silently and sent a pleading glance over the top of Flitwick's head to the stage. Some actors coughed in a feeble attempt to disguise their laughter. Others just gave her a sympathetic smile. They all knew that once Flitwick starts his lecture by the words: "the theatre waits for no one!" there was no stopping him.
Her salvation however, came in the form of a tall, blond woman who stepped off the stage and gracefully walked towards them. A grace, Lily knew perfectly, which was accomplished by spending several hours every day practicing in front of a full-size mirror. A confident, smooth glide with just a hint of the curves that were hidden beneath the clothes. An Amazon walk, some men even commented appreciatively.
The woman put her hand on the playwright's shoulder. "Filius, calm down. My little sister's minor lateness is not worth the waste of our precious time-"
She wasn't worth the waste of their precious time; Lily translated the meaning behind the words.
"And we must continue with the rehearsal. Only a fortnight is left before the first performance of the Season, and the play is not ready yet. You said so yourself," with a coaxing smile, the woman patted Flitwick's arm. "So shall we?"
Lily watched as Flitwick looked up in the woman's grey eyes. She watched as his annoyance melted away to be replaced by a familiar adoring look. "You are quite right, my dear." he glanced back at Lily. "Petunia is quite protective of you. You must be quite proud and grateful to have such a caring sister in your life"
"Oh, quite" Lily smiled cynically, staring directly at the cool grey eyes which assessed her with hidden dislike. "Ain't I lucky?"
Avast!
Lily took a deep breath and relaxed her stiff shoulders. It was mid noon, the sun was out, no cloud was visible in the sky and she was finally free to do as she wished.
She considered taking a nap to gain the lost hours of sleep she missed last night, but she had an important duty to finish first. Walking her way through the park, she nodded at men who raised their hats for her and smiled flirtingly at those who winked daringly in her direction.
Being a woman at two-and-twenty with her reputation had its advantages concerning the opposite sex. And its disadvantages, of course…
A pair of young girls, around the age of eighteen, gazed at her curiously from afar, their fans hiding half their faces as, Lily guessed, they gossiped about her.
"The Keitleen heiress and the duke Hemilton's daughter" a familiar voice commented next to her. "Rumors indicate that they'll be one of the diamonds this Season, as well as famous gossipers"
Lily smiled. "Good day, your Grace"
"Oh, stop that!" Alice Longbottom smiled back and flipped her closed fan on Lily's shoulder playfully. "You're a horrible tease, Lily. Having people call me 'your Grace' at the end of each of their sentence is quite enough for me" Alice gave a delicate shudder. She looped her arm through her friend's. "Let's take a walk. I need to hear how last night went, and we might as well give these two cackling brats something to gossip about. I'm sure having Longbottom's wife and mistress walk arm in arm in broad daylight will shake the ton a bit"
Lily bit back her laughter. "And you call me a horrible tease?"
"'tis a wonderful entertainment" Alice sighed dramatically. "Of course people are reacting to it differently. Either they consider me naïve, or stupid, or that Frank keeps me satisfied enough in the bedroom for me to overlook his not-so-discreet liaison with you. And there was this new rumor of the three of us engaged in…" she trailed off, her cheeks reddening.
Lily eyed her suspiciously. "What?"
"You know…" Alice waved her hand in unconscious way to express herself. "That Frank with the two of us…"
"God, help us" Lily said, fighting to keep her face straight. "I'm sure it did wonders to Longbottom's lovemaking reputation"
"I didn't know he have one!"
"He certainly has now"
They glanced at each other and burst in cheerful giggles. "Oh, poor Frank" Alice shook her head. "You should have seen his face when some gent asked him what the exercise was like, and to hear one of the old widowed women comment loudly: 'no wonder he looks so fit. He certainly doesn't need any padding in the front of his breeches!'"
This time Lily couldn't contain her merriment.
"About time you'll laugh." Alice beamed at her friend. "You looked so sour earlier I was beginning to worry. Brooding does not become you. Troubles?"
"Not exactly. I just finished a five-hour practice in the theatre"
"Ah. Petunia, then"
"Yes. We're working on a new play. Petunia is in the leading role"
"As usual" Alice muttered in distaste. "Well, no matter. Forget about her and tell me at least what happened to you last night. I wanted Frank's head on a silver platter for sending you away in the dead of the night. The nerve of him!"
"Trust me," Lily smiled slightly. "Your husband and butler are well aware of your preference to have people heads cut off"
"I'll have him apologize to you." Alice continued in annoyance. "On his knees, if necessary. To dare to endanger you! I already dragged most of the story out of Moulten, but I have no idea what happened after that stranger slipped in the hackney"
"Not exactly a stranger, if Moulten recognized him. He was a rakehell. Threatened me with his gun and pretended to be some highwayman"
Alice gasped, her dark eyes widening as she listened with her full attention. "What did he do?"
He kissed me. Lily closed her eyes to block that thought. It was bad enough that she couldn't stop remembering it for what was left of last night. "He threw me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes after I fled the coach and put me back inside" and then kissed me. Lily gritted her teeth in annoyance, forgetting everything except of that sordid kiss. All right, not that sordid. It was… "Brief, hard, dominating. As if he had the right!" surprising, unsettling, unsatisfying… "Should have kicked him instead of just biting him"
"You bit him?" Alice asked in surprise.
Lily looked at her startled. "Well, yes. In defense, you see"
"For dragging you back to the coach?"
"Yes" Alice might be her best friend, but there were some things that were best left unsaid.
"I'm glad he did. I would've felt horribly guilty if something happened to you. Do you know what his name is?"
"Ever heard of one called J.M.Potter?"
Alice stopped in her steps and turned to look at her with a worried expression. "That is his name? Are you sure?"
"Yes, why?"
"I've heard of him. He's trouble, with a capital 'T'. He's a captain of his own ship. Abide to no one's rules except his own. He steals, he lies, and he's involved in some suspicious business that no one knows about"
"A pirate?"
"No, much worse. With pirates at least you know where you stand with. I think he's a spy. And a good one" Alice bit her bottom lip anxiously. "I don't like the idea that Frank is involved with a man like this one"
"You need more information on this J.M.Potter before you make a decision"
"I know that, but there is no way that I can find anything out. Frank won't let me…" Alice's gaze brightened in excitement. "But you can"
"Me?" Lily blinked in surprise. "To spy on a spy?"
"If anyone can pull it of, it is you"
"Flatterer" Lily muttered. But what if he'll try to kiss me again? "All right" she sighed. "I'll see what I can do. But you know that 'tis highly unlikely that I'll meet him again"
"I can guarantee you will" Alice smiled. "Frank invited him to attend Lord Madison's soiree. It'll be easy enough for me to save you an invitation as well"
Lily groaned silently. "Oh, lucky me"
A/N: thanks to all my reviewers! Next chapter will be from James POV, in Madison's soiree, as he reencounters with Lily in the stiffest places of all ;)
Please review! I won't know what you most enjoyed or disliked if you don't!
As usual, ideas/suggestions are always welcomed. (And if you still didn't get the subtle hint here's the true meaning: HELP! I NEED IDEAS OR I'LL BE STUCK WITH THIS STORY WITHOUT ABLE TO CONTINUE IT! I'M BEGGING ON MY KNEES HERE, PEOPLE! HAVE SOME MERCY ON MY POOR PEACE OF MIND!)
BuDoTr
(Disclaimer: I wish upon a star, and trying to believe… but no, sorry. The characters are still not mine)