Flavour of the Day (21/05/16), White Chocolate 26, Prune 10 [Divide and Rule]
Title: Third Time Lucky
Author: lost_spook
Story: Heroes of the Revolution (Divide & Rule)
Flavor(s): Flavour of the Day 21/05/16 (complaisant); White Chocolate #26 (infatuation), Prune #10 (follow your heart)
Toppings/Extras: Cookie Crumbs (remix of one ‘date’ in The Games We Play from Edward’s POV); Malt - Birthday prompt 2015 ( Be careful of the curse that falls on young lovers, starts so soft and sweet and turns them to hunters from likelolwhat.)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1379
Notes: May/Jun 1949, Edward Iveson/Julia Graves, Elaine Morley.
Summary: Edward takes Julia to a party at the British Embassy in Paris, for their third/first date.
***
“Mrs Morley,” said Edward, remembering in time to catch her before he and the Foreign Secretary left for the talks again that morning. “Do you have a moment? I’m afraid I need to ask a favour.”
Elaine Morley turned, raising her eyebrows. “Do you now? How intriguing. What is it?”
Edward steeled himself to make the admission: that he had invited a young lady to attend the party at the British Embassy. And that she wanted to come but might have difficulty finding something suitable to wear in time, so he’d rashly told her that Mrs Morley would be happy to help her and now he hoped she could oblige.
“Well, I shall certainly do my best,” she said, giving him a bright smile. “Who is she?”
“A family friend,” said Edward. “I ran into her unexpectedly, so I thought - I thought I’d invite her.”
Elaine laughed. “Wasn’t it only yesterday you were telling me at length how wasteful you thought this affair was? That if we were here to talk about the situation in Europe, we could do it without indecent amounts of food and champagne - and what else was it?”
He shrugged. “Yes. But since I have to attend and I think Miss Graves would enjoy it -”
“Why not, is that it? Well, it’ll be my pleasure to try and help although I can’t promise I’ll succeed at this short notice,” she said.
Edward gave a relieved smile. “Thank you! I was sure you would, but I was a little worried I’d over-stepped the mark.” He hesitated, wondering whether or not to say anything more, and then he felt he must. “She’s been through a lot - she lost everyone in the war. Please be kind to her - this was entirely my suggestion, believe me.”
“I’ll try not to eat her, then,” said Elaine, with a glint of amusement in her eyes, evidently coming to exactly the conclusion he’d known she must. “I must say, though, I’m glad, Edward. It really is about time you found someone else.”
Edward felt the heat on his cheeks and began to protest that it wasn’t like that, and that she mustn’t say anything of the sort to Miss Graves, before giving up. He wasn’t even sure if he knew what his own motives were, let alone trying to explain them to anyone else. It was simple, in one way: he felt guilty about abandoning Julia Graves in Berlin. He’d worried too much about liking her, about whether or not he would be taking advantage of her grief and loneliness if he called on her and, instead, as it had proved, he had left her to be preyed on by a pressure group like United Europe - people who had no such scruples about playing on her feelings over her brother’s death, however laudable their ultimate aims.
It also wasn’t in the least bit simple: she was only speaking to him - the man who’d broken that awful news to her - because United Europe wanted her to get information about the talks out of him. Edward wasn’t sure what they thought he could give him, but he’d worked in Intelligence himself during the war and he’d seen enough people go down this path; too many to render it anything other than folly to tread it himself, to imagine he was different from the rest. Edward hesitated at the top of the main staircase, taking the time to admit to himself that the truth was even more dangerous: in his heart of hearts, he believed that Julia was different. What happened, he wondered, if she went further than he believed she would? Or was that what he wanted, why he was giving her every opportunity to try - only a selfish wish to see her again, to get everything he could out of her before he left her here? She wouldn’t ever have sought him out without this, he knew that. He’d seen her face when she’d looked at him that first evening and had no doubt that without her current orders, he’d have remained only death’s messenger in her eyes.
If this was a game of espionage they were playing, then Edward had made a serious tactical error already in arranging a dress, he realised, waiting for Miss Graves on the steps as she got out of the cab. She gave him a nervous smile and took his arm, but Mrs Morley had either been lucky in finding the right dress, or she was more of a miracle-worker than he’d given her credit for. It was a grey silk that he’d never have imagined for Julia, but which suited her perfectly and brought out unexpected lights in her eyes. He felt his heart flip over and felt even less certain of his position. Wild thoughts he’d had in the night of somehow belatedly rescuing her by proposing a marriage of convenience seemed suddenly worryingly logical.
“How are the talks going?” she asked, at his side, bringing him back to the reality of the situation, although it was hardly what anyone could call a subtle approach. When he looked at her, she coloured and said hastily that it had only seemed polite to ask.
Edward led her in and immediately began unromantically expounding on how unnecessary and expensive this whole evening was when the talks weren’t going especially well. He couldn’t seem to stop himself; his nerves finding an outlet in complaining about the pointlessness of it all.
“I just want to enjoy the evening,” said Julia, when she got the chance, in between introductions and Edward’s critical comments. “Pretend that nothing is wrong.”
Everything was wrong, thought Edward, watching her. They shouldn’t be in this situation. It would be arrogant to assume that he could automatically have stopped her joining the organisation, but he could at least have tried. He could have seen her back to England and safety, and maybe even if he’d been lucky enough, have had the pleasure of escorting her to a party without an agenda on both sides. At the least, she needn’t be trapped here in Paris, where there were already strong rumours of unrest and violent incidents in the streets.
Julia caught his look, but turned her head away, her expression unreadable.
“Mr Iveson,” she said later, at his side, giving him a full smile; her reserve almost entirely forgotten at this point of the evening. “Do you mind dancing again, or shall we sit this one out?”
Edward held out his hand to her. He hadn’t danced so much at any occasion in years, possibly ever, but if he was giving her this evening, then he wasn’t going to turn her down in anything unless he must. He certainly wasn’t in any hurry to deny himself the chance to be this close to her, either.
“Are you enjoying the evening?” he asked, as he took her hand and put his arm about her, readying them for the next dance. He cocked an eyebrow and smiled at her, causing her to give a slight laugh as she looked up at him.
She didn’t say anything in response; she merely nodded in response and shifted herself in his hold as the dance began.
“I’m glad,” he said. That much was true. If all he could do was give her one evening, then he wanted it to be a good one, even if it was also over-full of pompous, aging politicians and diplomats. She deserved so much more, but he had to remind himself that it wasn’t his business and never would be.
He didn’t believe she was going to try and persuade him to part with diplomatic secrets, not any more. If she had been serious about it, she wouldn’t have walked away from him on the first evening at the U. S. Embassy. It was he who had approached her the second time and invited her to try again. She would have simply have gone, either back to her work, or on to the next name on her list, if she had one. Whatever she was doing here wasn’t about that - so he believed. But, he thought, if he was wrong, if he was deluding himself as others had before him, if she did try to seduce him for her cause, then he knew now that there was only one thing he could do in response: he’d be grateful.
***
Author: lost_spook
Story: Heroes of the Revolution (Divide & Rule)
Flavor(s): Flavour of the Day 21/05/16 (complaisant); White Chocolate #26 (infatuation), Prune #10 (follow your heart)
Toppings/Extras: Cookie Crumbs (remix of one ‘date’ in The Games We Play from Edward’s POV); Malt - Birthday prompt 2015 ( Be careful of the curse that falls on young lovers, starts so soft and sweet and turns them to hunters from likelolwhat.)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1379
Notes: May/Jun 1949, Edward Iveson/Julia Graves, Elaine Morley.
Summary: Edward takes Julia to a party at the British Embassy in Paris, for their third/first date.
***
“Mrs Morley,” said Edward, remembering in time to catch her before he and the Foreign Secretary left for the talks again that morning. “Do you have a moment? I’m afraid I need to ask a favour.”
Elaine Morley turned, raising her eyebrows. “Do you now? How intriguing. What is it?”
Edward steeled himself to make the admission: that he had invited a young lady to attend the party at the British Embassy. And that she wanted to come but might have difficulty finding something suitable to wear in time, so he’d rashly told her that Mrs Morley would be happy to help her and now he hoped she could oblige.
“Well, I shall certainly do my best,” she said, giving him a bright smile. “Who is she?”
“A family friend,” said Edward. “I ran into her unexpectedly, so I thought - I thought I’d invite her.”
Elaine laughed. “Wasn’t it only yesterday you were telling me at length how wasteful you thought this affair was? That if we were here to talk about the situation in Europe, we could do it without indecent amounts of food and champagne - and what else was it?”
He shrugged. “Yes. But since I have to attend and I think Miss Graves would enjoy it -”
“Why not, is that it? Well, it’ll be my pleasure to try and help although I can’t promise I’ll succeed at this short notice,” she said.
Edward gave a relieved smile. “Thank you! I was sure you would, but I was a little worried I’d over-stepped the mark.” He hesitated, wondering whether or not to say anything more, and then he felt he must. “She’s been through a lot - she lost everyone in the war. Please be kind to her - this was entirely my suggestion, believe me.”
“I’ll try not to eat her, then,” said Elaine, with a glint of amusement in her eyes, evidently coming to exactly the conclusion he’d known she must. “I must say, though, I’m glad, Edward. It really is about time you found someone else.”
Edward felt the heat on his cheeks and began to protest that it wasn’t like that, and that she mustn’t say anything of the sort to Miss Graves, before giving up. He wasn’t even sure if he knew what his own motives were, let alone trying to explain them to anyone else. It was simple, in one way: he felt guilty about abandoning Julia Graves in Berlin. He’d worried too much about liking her, about whether or not he would be taking advantage of her grief and loneliness if he called on her and, instead, as it had proved, he had left her to be preyed on by a pressure group like United Europe - people who had no such scruples about playing on her feelings over her brother’s death, however laudable their ultimate aims.
It also wasn’t in the least bit simple: she was only speaking to him - the man who’d broken that awful news to her - because United Europe wanted her to get information about the talks out of him. Edward wasn’t sure what they thought he could give him, but he’d worked in Intelligence himself during the war and he’d seen enough people go down this path; too many to render it anything other than folly to tread it himself, to imagine he was different from the rest. Edward hesitated at the top of the main staircase, taking the time to admit to himself that the truth was even more dangerous: in his heart of hearts, he believed that Julia was different. What happened, he wondered, if she went further than he believed she would? Or was that what he wanted, why he was giving her every opportunity to try - only a selfish wish to see her again, to get everything he could out of her before he left her here? She wouldn’t ever have sought him out without this, he knew that. He’d seen her face when she’d looked at him that first evening and had no doubt that without her current orders, he’d have remained only death’s messenger in her eyes.
If this was a game of espionage they were playing, then Edward had made a serious tactical error already in arranging a dress, he realised, waiting for Miss Graves on the steps as she got out of the cab. She gave him a nervous smile and took his arm, but Mrs Morley had either been lucky in finding the right dress, or she was more of a miracle-worker than he’d given her credit for. It was a grey silk that he’d never have imagined for Julia, but which suited her perfectly and brought out unexpected lights in her eyes. He felt his heart flip over and felt even less certain of his position. Wild thoughts he’d had in the night of somehow belatedly rescuing her by proposing a marriage of convenience seemed suddenly worryingly logical.
“How are the talks going?” she asked, at his side, bringing him back to the reality of the situation, although it was hardly what anyone could call a subtle approach. When he looked at her, she coloured and said hastily that it had only seemed polite to ask.
Edward led her in and immediately began unromantically expounding on how unnecessary and expensive this whole evening was when the talks weren’t going especially well. He couldn’t seem to stop himself; his nerves finding an outlet in complaining about the pointlessness of it all.
“I just want to enjoy the evening,” said Julia, when she got the chance, in between introductions and Edward’s critical comments. “Pretend that nothing is wrong.”
Everything was wrong, thought Edward, watching her. They shouldn’t be in this situation. It would be arrogant to assume that he could automatically have stopped her joining the organisation, but he could at least have tried. He could have seen her back to England and safety, and maybe even if he’d been lucky enough, have had the pleasure of escorting her to a party without an agenda on both sides. At the least, she needn’t be trapped here in Paris, where there were already strong rumours of unrest and violent incidents in the streets.
Julia caught his look, but turned her head away, her expression unreadable.
“Mr Iveson,” she said later, at his side, giving him a full smile; her reserve almost entirely forgotten at this point of the evening. “Do you mind dancing again, or shall we sit this one out?”
Edward held out his hand to her. He hadn’t danced so much at any occasion in years, possibly ever, but if he was giving her this evening, then he wasn’t going to turn her down in anything unless he must. He certainly wasn’t in any hurry to deny himself the chance to be this close to her, either.
“Are you enjoying the evening?” he asked, as he took her hand and put his arm about her, readying them for the next dance. He cocked an eyebrow and smiled at her, causing her to give a slight laugh as she looked up at him.
She didn’t say anything in response; she merely nodded in response and shifted herself in his hold as the dance began.
“I’m glad,” he said. That much was true. If all he could do was give her one evening, then he wanted it to be a good one, even if it was also over-full of pompous, aging politicians and diplomats. She deserved so much more, but he had to remind himself that it wasn’t his business and never would be.
He didn’t believe she was going to try and persuade him to part with diplomatic secrets, not any more. If she had been serious about it, she wouldn’t have walked away from him on the first evening at the U. S. Embassy. It was he who had approached her the second time and invited her to try again. She would have simply have gone, either back to her work, or on to the next name on her list, if she had one. Whatever she was doing here wasn’t about that - so he believed. But, he thought, if he was wrong, if he was deluding himself as others had before him, if she did try to seduce him for her cause, then he knew now that there was only one thing he could do in response: he’d be grateful.
***