Martha enters and curtseys, trying to pull the wrinkles out of her dress skirt, and keenly aware of every bit of dirt she couldn't get out.
"I have a job, Mister Tom and Mz. Door, back home. But it dinna pay me enough to care for all my needs here, and my family's at home. I do love children something awful, and think I be good at it, after all these year."
"I see," he says, making a note on his sheaf of parchment. "What we're thinking of is having someone, or a few someones, actually, to take different shifts with the children. You see, my wife and I work odd hours. As a result, we work well into the early morning hours, and we need someone to be with the children in the morning, when they wake up.
We also need someone to care for them between lessons and tea time, as well as some early evenings. We're also considering inviting someone into our house for a night shift of sorts - this person would be on call, as it were, for the children, if they needed her whilst we were gone.
Which of those situations would you be most interested in?"
Doyle is wearing the nicest clothes he owns - which, unfortunately, isn't saying much, despite Cordelia's influence.
He is, to say the least, nervous about being...well, where he is.
"Well, as I noted in my application, I am deceased, so admittedly, money is a factor. Most of it, though, is...I miss teaching. I enjoyed it, I liked working with children. Also, as I said, I met your young Gavroche, and I rather like the lad."
"He mentioned you, as well," says Tom, making notes with his quill. Then he stops, focusing all his attention on Doyle. "We certainly are interested in having an experienced teacher working with the children. Gavroche did mention one thing - and please, don't take this the wrong way - about your being of demon ancestry. You must understand that the safety of our children is of foremost importance, but we wouldn't be here now if we didn't think you were worth considering the position. I suppose we want to ask you how the demonic part of yourself effects your day-to-day life."
"I have complete control over it," Doyle assures him, immediately. "Granted, the spikes pop up when I sneeze, sometimes, but it doesn't effect my personality at all. It hampered my teaching career in my world, for the simple reason that people in my world are largely unaware of demons and seeing me sneeze and sprout spikes would frighten them terribly." He pauses for a second, considering his words. "It's a very good thing, on occasion, in this way - I'm far stronger, as a demon, than a normal human. I can also run faster and jump a lot farther, and I almost never get lost, it's a quirk of the species. If, God forbid, the children were ever in any danger, I'd have little trouble defending them if it came to that."
Ace is still in the 'wow, the picture really is a doorway' stage of the proceedings, and wondering vaguely if she hasn't seen this room before in some time or other. It's hard to tell, at one point many parlors all looked depressingly the same. She isn't wearing anything fancy (though the idea did cross her mind to come in full High Gallifreyan ceremonial garb), just a shirt, slacks, and her beloved bepatched coat. At least she took the time to braid back her hair before coming.
Tom doesn't mind. He's seen Ace in action - she doesn't need to be formal.
"Ace, I must admit I was rather surprised to see your application. Pleasantly surprised, but surprised nonetheless. Do you wish to be a tutor or a nanny?"
"Well, I figure I'd either make a highly unorthodox tutor, or a highly irregular nanny." Ace grins, utterly at ease. That's one of the good things about finishing your growing up with a Time Lord - it's rather hard to be intimidated by minor things like position or status. "So really, it all depends on if y'want me bein' odd on purpose, or on accident."
He laughs. "Odd is something we're quite familiar with in the Underside. Seeing as you're a Time Lord, how much time would you wish to devote to working in the House of Arch per week? We're flexible on scheduling."
Sallie doesn't know what she was expecting when she sent off an owl for the application to be a tutor.
She is pleasantly surprised, and obviously still new to the whole 'bar at the end of the universe' kick. Upon seeing Tom and Door, however, she has calmed considerable and smiles warmly at the couple.
"I'd like to have the chance to meet more folk around Milliways, and thought havin' some fun teaching a few little ones piano in the process was the best way to do it. 'Sides, I could do with a change o' scenery from Shadow every now and again."
"We're delighted to meet you, Mrs. Reynolds. I've met your son, and I know a few people on his crew. I was wondering, how much time each week you'd see spending with the children? I myself never had piano lessons."
"That all depends, I imagine, on whether they can read music already - music that both of us know how to read, really - or if they've just started. If they can already read notes on a page, that's the hard part. The easy part's learnin' where the fingers go. That'd be probably an hour or two hours a week for Ingress, and an hour and a half to three hours a week for Gavroche, seeing as how he'd probably take to concentrating a bit more as he's older. The rest I'd just have to see how much they are interested in learning, and how much you'd like me to be around."
Door and Tom glance at each other, smiling. "That's very good. Both of them are beginners - I don't think any of us could read music if you put a wand, or a gun, to our heads."
Nita's met Tom before, of course, and after being introduced to Door, she settles in and tries not to look nervous.
"Part of it is that I do need some help keeping my tab down -- I work in the Infirmary, but that's too infrequent to really be effective. Plus, I like working with kids, and I've met Gavroche and Ingress already, and I like them a lot."
"Nita, we were wondering whether you'd consider taking a room in the House of Arch, if you wished to work as a babysitter for us. You see, we work in the evenings - most of the time until the wee hours of the morning. We tuck the children into bed, but we've counted on having our nanny, Mary Poppins, there for them round the clock. We'd like to have someone on-call, as it were, if they need anyone in the night whilst we're gone. Would you be the least bit interested in a situation like that?"
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"I have a job, Mister Tom and Mz. Door, back home. But it dinna pay me enough to care for all my needs here, and my family's at home. I do love children something awful, and think I be good at it, after all these year."
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She smiles up at him, a bit hesitantly, and pulls her hands away from the skirt.
"I mun be able to spend as much time as needed, is what I mean to say."
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We also need someone to care for them between lessons and tea time, as well as some early evenings. We're also considering inviting someone into our house for a night shift of sorts - this person would be on call, as it were, for the children, if they needed her whilst we were gone.
Which of those situations would you be most interested in?"
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He is, to say the least, nervous about being...well, where he is.
"Well, as I noted in my application, I am deceased, so admittedly, money is a factor. Most of it, though, is...I miss teaching. I enjoyed it, I liked working with children. Also, as I said, I met your young Gavroche, and I rather like the lad."
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Tom doesn't sense anything sinister about the fellow. This makes him very pleased, but it's a question that must be asked.
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She isn't wearing anything fancy (though the idea did cross her mind to come in full High Gallifreyan ceremonial garb), just a shirt, slacks, and her beloved bepatched coat. At least she took the time to braid back her hair before coming.
Ace fails at formal. Miserably.
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"Ace, I must admit I was rather surprised to see your application. Pleasantly surprised, but surprised nonetheless. Do you wish to be a tutor or a nanny?"
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"So really, it all depends on if y'want me bein' odd on purpose, or on accident."
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She is pleasantly surprised, and obviously still new to the whole 'bar at the end of the universe' kick. Upon seeing Tom and Door, however, she has calmed considerable and smiles warmly at the couple.
"I'd like to have the chance to meet more folk around Milliways, and thought havin' some fun teaching a few little ones piano in the process was the best way to do it. 'Sides, I could do with a change o' scenery from Shadow every now and again."
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"Part of it is that I do need some help keeping my tab down -- I work in the Infirmary, but that's too infrequent to really be effective. Plus, I like working with kids, and I've met Gavroche and Ingress already, and I like them a lot."
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