Fic: Lost Love
This fic is the result of several inspirations, the final one being a post made by mosellegreen a.k.a. Kadorienne, and her subsequent comment, an edited version of which is contained in this fic. Enjoy!
Category: Seven Deadly Sins series (hopefully)
Fanfic100 prompt: 034 - Not Enough
Rating: G
Pairings: none
Notes: The Seven Deadly sins are not listed specifically in the Bible, but were outlined by Pope Gregory the Great and later in Dante’s “The Divine Comedy.” They are: Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, Pride.
For: Kadorienne, who hates the Euro, the Metric system, and the fact that there isn’t a Stuart on the throne of the US.
Summary: The sin for this story is greed. Need I say that it’s a James fic?
By: Margaret Price
Written: February 6, 2009
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lost Love
Dorian stood contentedly examining one of his newest acquisitions, an exquisite statue of a male nude in a very evocative pose. It had been one of a pair of statues he had stolen, the second being less erotic and therefore one he would not be keeping. Even as he stood admiring the work, Mr. James was in the process of calculating the value of the second piece.
Bonham appeared in the doorway and cleared his throat, gaining the Earl’s attention. He shook his head when the bright blue eyes turned his way.
“Don’t tell me the second one’s a fake,” Dorian said with a sigh.
“No, m’lord, seems genuine enough,” Bonham replied.
“Oh, good.”
“Mr. James ain’t ‘appy,” Bonahm went on, “but ‘e’s not sayin’ why. ‘E’s just…sittin’ there. Starin’ at the wall.”
Dorian’s eyebrows went up. Now what? I was sure this would make him happy. “Thank you, Bonham. I’ll see to it.”
A few minutes later, the Earl was standing at the door of Mr. James’ office. His accountant was sitting at his small desk that was covered with papers that were covered with numbers. The statue he was supposed to be making calculations on stood in the corner of the room, apparently ignored. Mr. James himself was staring straight ahead, just as Bonham had said. On the wall was a large chart. It was a chart that Dorian knew well, having seen his accountant use it quite often over the years, making changes and updates as he kept his watchful eye on the world’s currency markets. The past few years had seen huge changes in the world, what with the fall of the Soviet Union, the reunification of Germany, the break-up of Yugoslavia, the change from the common market to the formation of the European Union...
The European Union, Dorian thought with a sigh, looking at the thick black lines through the currency designations for each country that had switched to the Euro. He had thought that the combining of currency would please Mr. James, but instead, each announcement of another change over to the Euro sent the little man into a black depression for days.
“Mr. James,” Dorian said calmly, trying to keep his voice bright, “how are the calculations coming?”
James seemed to snap back to reality, looking down at his calculations before turning to the Earl. “I finished those ages ago.”
Dorian was surprised to hear this. Usually his accountant was pestering him about the value of an object as soon as he had the amount figured. “Is there a problem?” he asked cautiously. “A change in the market you’re expecting?”
“What?” James gave the Earl a questioning look. “Oh, no, nothing like that.” He turned back to look at his chart and sighed.
“Why so sad, Jamesie?” Dorian asked, crossing to the desk. “I thought you’d be pleased. This statue is so valuable.”
James did not seem to hear him. “Why did they have to change it?” James waved a hand at his chart. “Look at them all. Euro, euro, euro, euro! Every country used to have their own legitimate monetary units, not fake ones like euros!”
“Now, James, Britain will never change from Pounds, you know that.”
“I miss it,” James said wistfully.
“Miss what?”
“Calculating the price. Converting it to difference currencies. From pounds, to francs, to dollars, to lira.” A bittersweet smile came to the little man's face. “I miss the lira...”
Dorian frowned. “The lira?” He never knew that Mr. James had a preference for any particular currency, especially Italian currency. He thought his accountant loved all money equally, so long as he didn’t have to spend any of it.
The wistful expression remained on Mr. James’ face, his eyes focused in the distance. “Yes. I just loved seeing all those zeros...”
€ € €
Category: Seven Deadly Sins series (hopefully)
Fanfic100 prompt: 034 - Not Enough
Rating: G
Pairings: none
Notes: The Seven Deadly sins are not listed specifically in the Bible, but were outlined by Pope Gregory the Great and later in Dante’s “The Divine Comedy.” They are: Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, Pride.
For: Kadorienne, who hates the Euro, the Metric system, and the fact that there isn’t a Stuart on the throne of the US.
Summary: The sin for this story is greed. Need I say that it’s a James fic?
By: Margaret Price
Written: February 6, 2009
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lost Love
Dorian stood contentedly examining one of his newest acquisitions, an exquisite statue of a male nude in a very evocative pose. It had been one of a pair of statues he had stolen, the second being less erotic and therefore one he would not be keeping. Even as he stood admiring the work, Mr. James was in the process of calculating the value of the second piece.
Bonham appeared in the doorway and cleared his throat, gaining the Earl’s attention. He shook his head when the bright blue eyes turned his way.
“Don’t tell me the second one’s a fake,” Dorian said with a sigh.
“No, m’lord, seems genuine enough,” Bonham replied.
“Oh, good.”
“Mr. James ain’t ‘appy,” Bonahm went on, “but ‘e’s not sayin’ why. ‘E’s just…sittin’ there. Starin’ at the wall.”
Dorian’s eyebrows went up. Now what? I was sure this would make him happy. “Thank you, Bonham. I’ll see to it.”
A few minutes later, the Earl was standing at the door of Mr. James’ office. His accountant was sitting at his small desk that was covered with papers that were covered with numbers. The statue he was supposed to be making calculations on stood in the corner of the room, apparently ignored. Mr. James himself was staring straight ahead, just as Bonham had said. On the wall was a large chart. It was a chart that Dorian knew well, having seen his accountant use it quite often over the years, making changes and updates as he kept his watchful eye on the world’s currency markets. The past few years had seen huge changes in the world, what with the fall of the Soviet Union, the reunification of Germany, the break-up of Yugoslavia, the change from the common market to the formation of the European Union...
The European Union, Dorian thought with a sigh, looking at the thick black lines through the currency designations for each country that had switched to the Euro. He had thought that the combining of currency would please Mr. James, but instead, each announcement of another change over to the Euro sent the little man into a black depression for days.
“Mr. James,” Dorian said calmly, trying to keep his voice bright, “how are the calculations coming?”
James seemed to snap back to reality, looking down at his calculations before turning to the Earl. “I finished those ages ago.”
Dorian was surprised to hear this. Usually his accountant was pestering him about the value of an object as soon as he had the amount figured. “Is there a problem?” he asked cautiously. “A change in the market you’re expecting?”
“What?” James gave the Earl a questioning look. “Oh, no, nothing like that.” He turned back to look at his chart and sighed.
“Why so sad, Jamesie?” Dorian asked, crossing to the desk. “I thought you’d be pleased. This statue is so valuable.”
James did not seem to hear him. “Why did they have to change it?” James waved a hand at his chart. “Look at them all. Euro, euro, euro, euro! Every country used to have their own legitimate monetary units, not fake ones like euros!”
“Now, James, Britain will never change from Pounds, you know that.”
“I miss it,” James said wistfully.
“Miss what?”
“Calculating the price. Converting it to difference currencies. From pounds, to francs, to dollars, to lira.” A bittersweet smile came to the little man's face. “I miss the lira...”
Dorian frowned. “The lira?” He never knew that Mr. James had a preference for any particular currency, especially Italian currency. He thought his accountant loved all money equally, so long as he didn’t have to spend any of it.
The wistful expression remained on Mr. James’ face, his eyes focused in the distance. “Yes. I just loved seeing all those zeros...”
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