(A/N): We're back with Amelia, Nolan, Logan, Spencer, Annette, and Marta (plus a new character). Chapter name is meant to sort of be a pun on 'first introductions', but it isn't very good.
Trigger Warnings: Discussion of child abuse/neglect/child murder (Leonides's situation spoken about). Mentions/references to abuse of power/sexual abuse/sexual assault (Sebastien's treatment of the maids, and Marta specifically).
October 19th, 1967
Amelia
Tentatively and reluctantly, we went back to cleaning boots- well, Nolan, Logan, Spencer, and I did; Annette and Marta stayed by the door with the intention of keeping an eye out. Spencer stuck closer to Marta than was strictly necessary, but I didn't fault him for that; if they truly were in a relationship- as we all suspected they were- then I could completely understand his desire to watch over her, given what Sebastien had said to her- done to her. Nolan was doing his best to stick around as well, but luckily, Logan was obfuscating things by also hanging out nearby- closer than Nolan was, actually- so hopefully, none of the remaining gardeners would clue in as to who, exactly, I was entangled with. Most of them had left by now, either having gone with Aldin to figure out the tree situation, or having headed off to take care of their regular tasks, once their boots had been finished.
It was about half an hour after the Joannis's had left the Workshop that Annette alerted us all to another visitor heading our way. "It's Jules," She said, and Marta rose up on her tiptoes to better see out of the glass of the door. "What's she doing out here?" Despite her clear confusion, Annette opened the door anyway and ushered a tawny haired woman to enter; once she had, she focused on Annette and Marta to begin with before her eyes snagged on Spencer, over Marta's shoulder. After that, she took in the rest of the room, and the rest of the people in it, and visibly hesitated.
"It's okay," Marta told her. "They're- I think they're... okay." She glanced at Annette, who had spent more time with us. "You know Spence is fine-" Jules nodded absently, even as Spencer gave her a rather kind, encouraging smile. "-and Nolan, you know Nolan is nice-" Another nod, which Nolan seemed pleased about. "-and Logan... Well, we all ignore Logan, don't we?"
His eyebrows furrowed. "Hey!" He protested, and Marta shot him a cheeky look even as Jules followed it up with a semi-apologetic one. "If you're worried about Rochester, she's aces," He said, which I thought was quite nice of him- and then he slung an arm over my shoulders, which I wasn't as happy about. "Besides, I think we've all got more than enough blackmail to keep her on her best behavior." I glared at him, which only served to make his grin grow exponentially.
Jules was eyeing me warily, so I guess it was me giving her cause for pause. "Whatever you have to say, I won't repeat it- but if you still feel uncomfortable speaking around me, I can't really leave, so you'll have to take whoever you want to talk to into Aldin's office, if you require privacy." She hesitated again briefly, before glancing at Nolan, who was hovering unhappily to one side trying not to glare at Logan's overstepping arm. "You can just call me Amelia, by the way." Her expression because slightly less nervous.
"Juliana- Jules- Whitmore," She returned the introduction, which I was thankful for. Then, she gave me one last cautious look, and turned most of her attention back to Annette and Marta. "I overhead some things." I think a lot of us shared glances at that, since we'd all seen the state Cipicia and Sebastien had been in when they had come to fetch Miasenna, but Jules didn't seem scandalised, just... horrified? "Mistress and Master Joannis were talking-" The fact that she mentioned Cipicia before Sebastien was technically improper, but we all knew who was actually in charge, whether propriety allowed it or not. "-and I happened to catch some of it." She wrung her hands as she glanced in my direction, and Annette laid a comforting hand on her arm.
"It's alright," She soothed. "Amelia won't say anything-"
The younger blonde cut her off. "That's not what I'm worried about," She said rather bluntly. "The... implications, are not good for your job- if I've interpreted their conversation correctly, that is." My eyebrows furrowed- What was that supposed to mean? Were they going to fire me? I guess that wasn't that much of a shock, given what had happened with Leonides yesterday, and my punishment today, but I had the feeling that wasn't what Jules was alluding to- far from it.
"The 'implications' weren't good for my job when they ordered me to start cleaning boots," I reminded her, waving at her with my hand wrist deep in one so the sole waggled in a manner that I hoped was at least amusing, if not reassuring. "My job is far less important to me than the well-being of those children- which I think we're all at least beginning to realise is far more in question than it should be." She hesitated again and I put the boot down, deciding to devote my entire attention to this conversation, as now seemed necessary. "But that's what this is really about, isn't it? It's not my actions that are putting my employment in danger, but theirs." 'Theirs', meaning Cipicia and Sebastien's, not Leonides and Miasenna's.
Jules swallowed thickly. "The house-elves told us all to bugger off, and naturally, I was... curious." Which was code for she was trying to drum up gossip. "I hid, a bit. I wasn't intending to overhear anything, I just wanted to get an idea of why they wanted us gone- and... I think I did." She was quiet for a second, then took a deep breath. "I heard Sebastien ask Cipicia to 'let them into' Leonides's bedroom, which implies that she locked it with magic that Sebastien couldn't open." I'd already assumed that was the case, but the confirmation was... Well, awful, honestly. "He said he thought it might be 'beneficial' for Miasenna to 'bare witness to the fact that he truly is', and then trailed off." What... what the hell was that supposed to mean?
"That doesn't sound good," Logan murmured from right beside me, and I thought he was understating things on purpose in an attempt to lighten the mood. Pity it didn't work.
"She let him in- well, she must have, I couldn't exactly see- and he said... he said, 'some clean up appears to be necessary'." Some... clean up? "He asked if they were going to join him, or if they were going to stay in the hall and make him do all the work... None of them spoke to Leonides, and he never said anything, or made any noise that I could hear. As far as I can tell, he was either... unconscious, or not in the room, or... in the room, but not-" She cut herself off, and I couldn't blame her, considering I felt the dread trying to choke me as well.
"You think he's indisposed in some way," Nolan said, sounding only barely less sickened than I felt, and I assumed that was because he was working hard to keep it together. "You think they did something to him- something bad."
Jules fixed him with a pained look- though whether that was pained for what she was about to tell us, or pained because she had to be the one to say it, I couldn't tell. "No," She said quietly, just above a whisper- as if she couldn't force her voice to go any higher. "I think they might have killed him."
(A/N): I realised while giving this chapter its final editing before posting that Jules's introduction here (since she was originally meant to be a throwaway character that I didn't really plan for, then ended up getting attached to [shocker]) kind of implies that Amelia has never met her, or at least they've never been formally introduced, and also what can be implied through conversation in this chapter about her relationship with certain other characters (Nolan and Logan in particular) isn't strictly accurate, but also isn't inaccurate. As in, what is said isn't a lie, but it also isn't the whole truth. Basically, what you need to know is: Jules and Amelia have seen each other around (particularly Jules seeing Amelia, since she is in a rather prominent position in the household) but haven't been formally introduced before this point. We find out later (much later, considering it was the most recent chapter I wrote in this arc) that Jules is well-known throughout the servants/staff for a particular reason, so Amelia knows of her because of that, but probably only knows her by the nickname Jules, which she wouldn't have been very comfortable using before now. We also find out mostly through context clues that Logan and Nolan are both good friends with Jules, though particularly Logan, and again, in that most recent chapter, we find out one of the reasons WHY they're such good friends. Also through context clues, we find out that Logan and Marta have a bit of a 'big brother/little sister' relationship, hence the teasing.
Also also, I know I mention it in that most recent chapter but that's a long way away (over a year), so I guess I should mention that there's quite an age range in this little group. Aldin is the oldest at 32 (1935), then Annette at 30 (1937), then Nolan at 28 (1939), then Logan at 27 (1940), then Jules at 26 (1941), then Amelia at 25 (1942), then Marta at 22 (1945), then Spencer at 20 (1947). Yes, Logan is the same age as Cipicia, Vi, and Lou. Yes, Amelia is the same age as Evie and Hettie. Yes, Jules is the same age as Pip. Sebastien is between Annette and Nolan, since he was born in 1938. I have so much trouble remembering the fact that the folks from this arc (Miss High Society Governess), and Evie/Vi's arc (which I affectionately call either 'Wright and Friends' or 'Pastel Party', depending on the day) are around the same ages, because of the fact that they're a year apart. I'm like, 'oh, Amelia's 25, and Evie's 24, they're not the same age...' except they are, because Evie was 24 in 1966, and Amelia's 25 in 1967- which means Amelia was 24 in 1966 and Evie's 25 in 1967 (...chronologically, at least). Logan makes it slightly easier, since he was technically in both arcs (barely).
