Oh, What a Beautiful Morning (open)

[sheriff_vaizey]

Who: Open to Michaelmas partygoers
What: An after-party brunch
Where: Nottingham Castle, Great Hall
When: 30 September, late morning

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[princejohn1193]

It was not the first time that John had mistaken one woman for another; in fact, there was even a time where, after a few drinks, John had mistaken a particularly shapely column for a woman. But this . . . this was the first time that he was pleased to have made an error. She was just as ravishing as the Lady Marian, albeit catlike where the former was angelic. Really, was that a purr in her voice? Nottingham may not have satisfactory pillows, but it was near bursting with adorable women. And this one even knew who he was-he doubted “Your Highness” had ever been said more sultrily.

John wanted nothing more than to take a seat and wait for the appropriate juncture to nibble on her delectable ear, but first he cast a discreet glance around the Great Hall. His wife had not yet appeared and the Lady Marian was in conversation with Nicolas de Beaumont-normally, this would have angered John, but he liked the man and it would provide him distraction to get to know this charming new possibility. Oh, this morning was going so well!

Pulling out a chair, he sat with what he hoped was manly flourish. “My company, dear girl, is yours if you will forgive me. I fear that my mistake has done you a disservice and myself an honor,” he said, putting on his most debonair smile. “You must give me your name. Or perhaps not, so I can make the mistake again.”

(OOC: So sorry for the delay. PJ was too dazzled! :))

[cath_arundel]

Before he answered he cast a glance across the room. Catherine followed his eyes and saw who she had been mistaken for. The young woman was of similar height and their hair colour was almost identical, but that was where the similarities ended. Still if both of them wore masks and were seen from the back...it would be more difficult to tell them apart.

"Oh, you flatter me," she said with a smile as he sat down. "But I am now inclined not to introduce myself properly for the reason that you have just given me."

If only her brother could see her now. He would be pleased to see her talking to the prince, but he would be dissatisfied that she was flirting so openly with the man. The excuse that she could give was that he started it and that it would be rude not to go along with the little game.

Because after all, you don't refuse someone from the royal family.

"It would be wicked of me to tease you any longer. My name is Catherine d'Aubigny and I hail from Arundel. And you..." She reached out and put her hand on his arm as she added, "...are John Plantagenet, the future king of England."

Pulling her hand back, she couldn't help but be very pleased over adding that last line, because she knew that he would like that. Every man likes having his ego stroked and she was doing her utmost to flatter him at the moment.

(OOC: Ha! It was well worth the wait!)

[princejohn1193]

John’s heart skipped a beat when her fingers brushed his arm, and then skipped again when she called him “the future king of England.” This was a wonderful, wonderful woman. So brazen. So knowledgable. So . . . right.

“My dear Catherine--do you mind if I call you Catherine?--call me that and you are welcome to be as wicked as you want,” John said smoothly and then raised his eyebrows ever so slightly. “Wickeder, even.”

He leaned back in his chair, falling into the flirtation with ease. There were so many different kinds of chases when it came to pursuing a woman. Lady Marian was like a fawn, bright and lovely and ready to bolt if your gold necklace happened to jangle too loudly as you charged through the wood. But Lady Catherine . . . Lady Catherine was like a fox, sleek and giving you coy little glances every time it slipped out of sight. Why not chase both? Why not ride in both hunts? After all, he had plenty of good looks to go around.

“I hope that you will not be leaving me to return to Arundel any time soon,” John said. Out of habit, he raised his fingers to idly smooth the curls at the base of his neck, but froze when they came across something stiff and slightly crunchy. He had spent an hour washing the gray out of his hair the night before, not willing to trust the quality of the servants Vaizey might send. He had briefly debated ordering Isabel out of her bed to assist, but after seeing the state of his pillows, he was hardly in the mood to fend off his wife's starved advances. He thought that he had performed his first washing brilliantly, but now he pulled his hand away he could still see a small smudge of ash clinging to the pads of his fingers. Brightening his smile, he hoped the Lady Catherine did not notice as he attempted to quietly rub it off against the table. “Tell me that you won’t,” he added. “And then tell me everything else about you, you adorable girl.”

OOC: Okay, back from China and ready to flirt!

[cath_arundel]

"Not at all," she said with a grin. Catherine wasn't one for polite courtesies and she always felt incredibly uncomfortable when someone referred to her by her title. Because she was very definitely not a lady. "And I shall do my utmost to be very wicked then."

She matched his flirtations with ease. He was very experienced in the fine art of flirting. The prince was also very married, but that didn't seem to bother him one bit. Catherine tried not to dwell on that thought too much. If his wife were to turn up and if she was to see something that she wasn't supposed to (though Catherine doubted that it would go that far), there were always little white lies that she could tell.

"I do not know when my brother wishes to leave, but there are no doubt many things that he has to take care off after the unfortunate death of our uncle."

How long were they supposed to stay initially? A month? Two? She did not know the answer to the question because she had never bothered to ask. However long they were supposed to have been staying, they would be delayed now.

"There is not much to tell. I doubt that any information that I could offer you about myself is going to interest you." Reaching up, she brushed a lock of hair from her face. "Like I said, I was born and raised in Arundel. I have two brothers, one older and one younger. My mother died many years ago and my father's brother is the Earl of Arundel." Shaking her head, she corrected herself. "I should have said was actually. My uncle was the Earl. He was killed by Robin Hood himself last night."

It sounded even better when she said it. She had been practising it in her head ever since she had talked to Lucatz last night, because Robin Hood had not killed her uncle. An innocent man was locked up for murder in the dungeon, but he was no doubt guilty of many other crimes.
Glancing up, she could see her uncle's real killer sitting across the room talking to a dark-haired young woman who's face she could not properly see. Lucatz need not worry though. She would not betray his secret.

"So I guess that you could say that my beloved cousin is the new Earl. I must not forget to write him a letter so that I may congratulate him."

[princejohn1193]

It was a relief to finally know who was dead. So the saggy grey figure with an arrow in his neck was the Earl of Arundel. The name rang a bell, but John was too distracted to suss out exactly who the man was in the infinite parade of noble names bandied about in his presence. He quite enjoyed the way Catherine said "very wicked." He was tempted to ask her how wicked very wicked was, but if there was one thing he had learned from experience, it's that you should be very careful when flirting with the bereaved. Although in his defense, that woman's husband had been dead for a good three weeks, and everyone said she never liked him much anyway.

"My most sincere condolences for the death of your uncle," John said. "And I assure you Robin Hood is languishing in the dungeons as we speak. After all, I saw it to it myself. It is a good thing I came to Nottingham." He intentionally let his eyes linger on hers and then smiled. "A very good thing."

Sometimes it was impossible not to flirt with the bereaved. Still, he tried for a lighter tone when he asked his next question.

"I assume your brothers are horrible--all brothers are. Why, I could tell you stories about Dickie that you would hardly believe."

. . . Mostly because they weren't true. But she didn't have to know that.

[cath_arundel]

"Thank you." She felt that her reply did not sound too sincere. Catherine had felt no love for her uncle and she found herself struggling saying anything good about the man. "And that is good to know. This outlaw must be severely punished for crimes before he hangs. We lost a great man yesterday so knowing that he feels the pain that I feel at this very moment is very comforting."

Catherine took a deep breath to calm herself. How was she even coming up with all this nonsense? The most surprising thing of all was that the words came naturally. Maybe there was one small part of her that was mourning the loss of her uncle after all.

"I, for one, am glad that you are here. So that you can personally see to it that this man is made to suffer for what he did."

The moment that the words were out of her mouth, her eyes were directed at Lucatz again. Catherine wondered what was going through his head right now. He was probably worried that she would say too much and cast suspicion on him. When their eyes briefly met, she decided to wave at him. It was a harmless gesture. Surely no one would find that suspicious.

"Ah, brothers. They can be utterly dreadful." She smiled and looked back into John's eyes. "I suspect that it was different for you though."

[princejohn1193]

What a wonderfully intense young woman. The passion in her voice when she was calling for Robin Hood's blood . . . well, it was giving John the most delicious shivers. But who had she waved at?

John turned his head to get a better look. The man was reasonably thin, his hair a dark auburn that still failed to match his own glorious red. He wore very little in the way of adornment, a choice that always baffled John. Where was the flash? The glamour? It was almost as though the man wanted to blend in.

"And is that your infamously dreadful brother?" John asked, and then searched for something to insult in an effort to invite more of this titillating camaraderie. "He seems to have dressed for the wrong occasion. Something in a barn, perhaps."

[cath_arundel]

Catherine could barely stop herself from laughing loudly at what the prince had just said. "That is not my brother," she said with a smile. "That's my cousin's squire, Lucatz..." She tried to remember his surname, but she had only heard it once and couldn't quite recall it. "...something French."

She looked Lucatz over briefly before focusing all her attention on John once more. "You are right about his attire though. Lucatz has always preferred his clothes plain." Lucatz had been like that ever since she had first met him all those years ago.

"I think that my brother is making arrangements for my uncle's funeral at the moment. I don't think that he's going to grace us with his company."

[princejohn1193]

John hated being wrong, even about trifling little details about who a person was or was not. Still, he managed to keep a smile on his face. It helped that her laugh sounded like a thousand angelic little bells. Yes. Angelic bells. Oh he would have to store that one away to use in a more intimate moment.

"Of course he is not in attendance, how silly of me," John said, finding it easier to swallow the bitterness of error when it was in pursuit of a pleasurable goal. And it was good not to have a sibling glowering over his shoulder when he leaned in closer and gave voice to his next thought.

"May I speak frankly? I'll speak frankly. You, my dear girl, are ravishing. I would very much like to meet again--perhaps in a more private setting."

[cath_arundel]

"Not silly at all," she replied. "He would have attended, but the matter of our uncle deserves his full attention."

Catherine couldn't be happier about that. Because if Geoffrey had been here, then he would have been breathing down her neck the whole time that they would be attending and making sure that she played the grieving cousin as best as she could.

"My lord!" She tried to sound surprised, but Catherine had been expecting an offer like this. The prince's reputation preceded him. Surely the gossip surrounding his person was known in all the kingdom. "I must admit that I would like that very much as well. What do you suggest?"

[princejohn1193]

John liked it when the women he was pursuing were not scandalized by the idea of a perfectly innocent-and perfectly private-tête à tête. Of course, he also liked it when the they were scandalized. It was only one of the complexities of his ridiculously multi-faceted character, or so he often told himself.

Thus, Catherine’s reaction was everything he could have hoped for. Her pretty face showed all the signs of shock, but if he was not mistaken-and he was rarely mistaken-they were accompanied by a knowing gleam of anticipation. Wonderful, beautiful woman.

“We are both strangers to Nottingham,” he said. “Perhaps you would not mind accompanying me as I survey my future holdings. Or perhaps a more intimate meal, away from . . . “ He inclined his head to the surrounding guests. “. . . ill-dressed squires and meddlesome sheriffs. Your wish is mine to command.”

[cath_arundel]

"Really?" Catherine could not have asked for a better man to converse with. He got straight down to it, not wanting to beat around the bush so to speak. "I should use this to my advantage."

She liked and very much preferred that quality in men. It made a man more attractive when he knew exactly what he wanted.

"Both options sound good to me, I must admit." She looked down briefly and touched her chin, giving the impression that she was contemplating her options. "Hmmm," Looking up again, she smiled and said, "Can't we do both?"

[princejohn1193]

John loved a woman who could appreciate the beauty of excess. There were those in the kingdom who lived large, but so few who lived grandiose.

"Both? Why, I would not have it any other way," he said and then matched the Lady Catherine's fetching smile with one of his own. It was difficult to say which one of them had the better grin, and John experienced a moment of panic that he was becoming entangled with a woman who was in fact more charming than he. But the he reminded himself that that was impossible. After all, he was certainly the more lively dresser. He took in her black dress, which he hoped was in deference to her uncle's death. "I do hope that by that time you will be able to wear something a bit more . . . festive. You would look ravishing in red."

[cath_arundel]

"My lord has good taste. I do look divine in red, if I say so myself." If Catherine had had her way this morning, she'd have worn a red dress, but this way she could keep Prince John guessing as to what she might actually look like in red.

Her brother might have a fit if she was seen in anything but black clothing so shortly after their uncle's death, but seeing as this could benefit him as well she would have very little trouble in persuading him.

"I'm looking forward to it already," she said while flashing him another one her smiles. "When would you like it to take place?"