Don't Choke On The Scotch, It's Expensive - Black's

[Wilhelm Echelon]

@Thorben Echelon

Wilhelm didn't like this club; the atmosphere was always sort of dim and smokey, even when there were no actual cigarette or cigar smokers present. He much preferred to be outdoors in the sun, or in a pub somewhere, rubbing elbows with the lower classes, but that wasn't the sort of thing he could get away with in Hogsmeade, where people knew him; no, he had to be respectable here. In the entire rest of the world he could be whomever he liked, but in England, he was Wilhelm Echelon, and had to act the part.

Even so, he only usually went to Black's when one of his relatives with a membership was going and asked him to come along, which was seldom. He did know the layout of the place, and even though he didn't like it much, he did think it would be the ideal place for the conversation he was about to have with his father. It was quiet enough to be easily heard and to have some degree of privacy, but public enough that Will could rely on the possibility of onlookers to keep either of them from getting too animated, should a dispute arise. Not that he thought it likely; but it was best to be prepared. Otherwise, he might have just waltzed into the home he had, until last month, shared with this father and sister, with Mai on one arm, and introduced her that way; but there was no need to be overdramatic.

Well, more overdramatic than absolutely necessary, when one was importing a fiance from France and lying about her heritage to the entire wizarding world. That situation was in and of itself a bit of a melodrama, but there was no need for anyone else to know about all that. So far, things had gone flawlessly: Mailys had agreed (though only after her father had, the old-fashioned tease); her parents had been willing to agree to his rather rigid terms about when and how they'd be allowed contact with their daughter, once she became Mrs. Echelon; Elsbeth had agreed to house her for the time being until they'd located some sort of live-in chaperone and relocated her to an apartment of her own; his cousin Miss Hannah Echelon was to be introduced shortly and would be able to help her with her English. Really, at this point Will felt invinsible, sure that his secret--well, their secret, really--would remain a secret for the rest of their natural lives.

This was the last piece of the puzzle, really; if his father took the news well, the rest was a cakewalk. A few months from now, Will would be married, and hopefully set up in a house with Mai--the money for the purchase of that house was another hurdle to be overcome, and possibly a higher one, since his father had this ridiculous notion that he ought to waste his time working.

Well, spend money to make money, Will reflected, and purchased a few glasses of very expensive scotch from the counter, knowing scotch to be a favorite of his father's. He found a few empty armchairs by a fireplace that were secluded enough, set the drinks down on a small end table, and went about arranging everything for his father's arrival. He really did need this to go smoothly.

  

[Thorben Echelon]

Thorben had been summoned to Blacks. By his son of all people. His son who had news. News. The question really was if it was good news - and his son wanted to drink and celebrate together - or if it was bad news and his son was trying to bribe him into giving up money or not getting so angry about some wrongdoing.

Either way, Thorben was getting some booze - and spending quality time with his firstborn, of course. So of course he was turning up.

He walked into Black's and quickly found his way to his son. "My boy!" he greeted, quite enthusiastically for he had seen the already bought alcohol. "I hear you have some news for me."

  

[Wilhelm Echelon]

Will smiled a little shyly as his father entered--what was it about the presence of parents that tended to turn fully grown adults into children once again? He felt like a gangly, awkward Hogwarts student, asking for permission to go on a field trip, or something; hopinga against hope that his guardian consented, and utterly powerless if he did not.

Well, not utterly powerless, Will had to remind himself. Although his father did hold the pursestrings, Will had survived on next to nothing for a time while he was abroad, for no other reason than to prove to himself that he could, and with the rest of his family connections he would hardly be hard-pressed to survive even if his father cut him off. Of course, if Thorben could manage to convince the whole family to disown him, that would be another matter, but realistically, no one could convince the entire family of anything. They weren't unified enough for that. Even Elsbeth, who had practically asked to be disowned, had been able to work her way back into August's good graces, and had ended up with everything her parents ought to have done for her, regardless of her status.

Handing his father one of the glasses of scotch and beckoning for the older man to take a seat, Will nodded. "Yes, yes, big, exciting news," he said, just killing time until they were both settled, really. He didn't want to spring it on the old man right off the bat--but he did want to get it out of the way and said sooner, rather than later. Taking a deep breath after they'd both taken their seats, Will began steadily, "I've been talking to a young lady for a while now." If only they knew how long! Yes, Wilhelm, who as a boy had seemed so eager to get under every girl's skirts, had been extremely patient in this case. "And I've decided I'd like to marry her."

Wilhelm had kept his eyes on his father the entire time, trying to gauge his facial expression, in anticipation of this exact moment--what would his father think of him taking a wife? He might say it was too early, or that Will ought to wait until he had a job, or a settled carreer (although why?) or any number of other things--and this was the moment in which those would come out.

  

[Thorben Echelon]

Thorben was shocked to hear his son's announcement. Marriage! Well, that was quite unexpected. "Really," he stated instead of asking, "Of course, I'm happy for you. Just surprised." Of course Thorben had no room to judge his son. Thorben himself had been much younger when Will had been born, never mind when he had married. Though he had already inherited, unlike his son.

But that was nothing for now, now was the time to celebrate. "Well, here's to your upcoming marriage and your fiancée!" he toasted, holding up his glass to his son. If Thorben was a woman he would be rather excited at this point, but he wasn't so he was just generally pleased for his son who was now going to be a proper man. Even if it did mean that he could be a grandfather sometime soon. Ew.

"Tell me all about her," he then went onto say, relaxing back in his chair. He didn't care to the point that he would die if he never found out, but of course he wanted to know about his future daughter-in-law.

  

[Wilhelm Echelon]

Will was relieved to hear that his father was happy for him. He wasn't sure what he'd expected--honestly, maybe his apprenhension just arose from the exact circumstances of their engagement more than any resistance he expected to meet from his family, but even so, things had seemed almost a little... too easy thus far. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, he reminded himself, and just smiled at his father as the older man as raised a toast, then took a healthy sip of scotch. If Thorben was in a jovial mood, maybe he'd buy the next round, in celebration.

"Well, she's French," Will started. Best to get that out of the way at once; it would be abundantly clear when they finally met and Mai refused to speak any English, though hopefully she'd get over that soon enough. "I met her while I was abroad and we've been corrospondents for--years now. I lose track. She's very elegant, which is perhaps a bit surprising--she was never poor by any means but from what I gather she wasn't exactly raised like an Echelon," he said with a mild shrug. Fiances didn't bother him; class and blood never had, but he knew they could be sticky for some members of his family. "But she's very well-bred, and had an excellent education. "She's going to stay with a married friend of mine--well, a mutual friend of Uncle August's and mine," he said, struggling for a proper way to describe Elsbeth without saying Elsbeth--as that likely wouldn't go over well. "Until we can get her some sort of live-in chaperone or something. Until we're married."