Surprise, Bitch!

[Moira Prewett]

DATE: August 1st, 1885
@Vertiline Faulkner
OUTFIT
WORDS: 309
NOTES:

Working as a companion was far more time consuming than Moira had anticipated. Was it simply whom she was working for or was this quite typical? She wasn't sure. Another thing she wasn't sure about was why she had avoided telling Verty about her new source of income so far. What she was sure about, however, was that she hadn't seen enough of the woman recently and her birthday was a perfectly good excuse to fix that. Except her entire day had seen her stuck at the side of the wrong woman and by the time she had time to herself it was well into the evening. Moira had given up the idea for an hour after she arrived in her modest Irvingly abode, but then she thought, why shouldn't she visit anyway? It wouldn't be proper to visit a person at such an hour, but they were really past the point of respecting propriety, why should it stop her now? Surely it wouldn't be the worst thing she'd done.

Feeling nothing short of fiendish, Moira apparated directly into Verty's bedroom and was pleased to find it devoid of short blonde females. Looking around for a good hiding place, she ended up choosing the spot behind the door. She was going to give Verty such a fright! Smirking to herself in anticipation, Moira had to purse her lips to stop herself from chuckling. Now all she had to do was wait. After what seemed like an age, Moira heard footsteps approaching. She held her breath as the door opened, poised for the precise moment when the blonde would be far enough in the room but not facing her. The moment came and Moira lunged forward, grabbing Verty by the waist and clapping a hand over her mouth so she could smother any loud exclamations that might attract attention. "Boo!"

  

[Vertiline Faulkner]

Life seemed so tiring that day. Perhaps it was the knowledge that she was one year closer to fifty, or perhaps it was the months old daughter she'd just laid down for bed, but whatever the reason, Verty felt tired and old. It was a comfort that Lorena was still a quiet sort of babe, quick to slumber and not fussy throughout the night far as she knew. Of course a nanny tended to the babe when she woke up at night, but she heard the instances were rather rare. Either that or she was being lied to so as to spare her feelings of guilt - she decided not to dwell overlong on that thought as she approached her bedroom, lady's maid trailing behind her to prepare her for bed.

Verty was quite ready to sleep, though she thought she would write a letter to Moira beforehand. They'd seen far too little of one another lately and if she were being honest she was quite upset that she'd not heard from Moira all day. But she could tend to that after she was prepared for bed, she thought, as she opened her bedroom door.

All the things Verty could have expected in that instance, the last thing would be that her lover would jump out from behind the door, grab her and cover her mouth. She managed a surprised yelp before Moira's hand muffled the noise and after she realized it was in fact her lover and not some random stranger, she felt simultaneously relieved and frantic because Wilkins was right there. The gasp of her lady's maid and subsequent calling of her name was undoubtedly what caused Moira's grip to lessen enough for Verty to wrestle herself away from her.

What the hell was Moira thinking?!

  

[Moira Prewett]

DATE: August 1st, 1885
@Vertiline Faulkner
OUTFIT
WORDS: 285
NOTES:

Moira cackled with glee as she succeeded in frightening Verty, but her mirth was short-lived. Within a matter of seconds she realized they were not as alone as she had assumed they would be. Moira had been far too fixated on the realization that there was no danger of Verty's husband getting in the way, that she had completely forgotten the staff. Probably because her own staff consisted solely of a crotchety old house elf. Now that she thought about it, she wasn't entirely sure she was comfortable with the idea of another woman dressing her Verty.

Who got to undress Verty was not the present issue, however. Her first thoughts were impulsive and ended and began at murder. Dead people were really good at keeping secrets. It then dawned on her that Verty probably wasn't about to condone the murder of her lady's maid. "Uh..." Verty had liberated herself and Moira was left limply cupping the air, frozen in place by surprise. One might call it karma. She looked between the maid and what looked to be a less than pleased Verty. She finally let her arms fall to her sides, one of them reaching for her wand which she then pointed at the maid, stunning the woman instead of killing her. "Obliviate!" Moira wasn't very practiced with memory charms, she wouldn't be surprised if she'd erased plenty more than the last few seconds.

She stared at the unconscious maid for a few moments. "Uh. You'll probably need to replace her." At least she hadn't killed the woman though? "Or not," she continued, remembering her jealousy. "You're frightful at removing your own clothes, you need practice." She stole a sheepish glance at the blonde.

  

[Vertiline Faulkner]

Verty was prepared. Her staff knew Moira, and knew her to be an odd sort of person. They also knew that her friendship with Verty extended to their adolescence so surely she could convince Wilkins - a skilled lady's maid but not a particularly bright one - that Moira simply had a perverse sense of humor and liked to scare-surprise Verty on her birthday. Yes, that seemed like a good idea and she had just started to speak when suddenly Wilkins was laid out on the floor, Moira casting a memory charm.

Had Verty been anything less than a lady, she might have shot Moira some none-too-nice expletives, but as it was she simply turned to her lover disbelievingly. Her lover who was speaking in a manner far too blasé than the situation demanded. At least, Verty thought, she had the sense to cast a sheepish look her way. She was still rather upset but when she whipped around to swat at Moira's arms it wasn't with as much genuine anger as she'd have liked to show.

"Moira honestly! You can't sneak into my home then stun my staff!" She was seething, still swatting albeit more halfhearted by the second. The longer her mind thought over the fiasco, the more amusing it thought. But still annoying because honestly. Wilkins was a devoted woman and she would have taken Verty's word on the situation no matter what she'd said. "I can't believe you..." She sputtered slightly before a laugh came out because it was too amusing. Her indomitable lover had come to surprise her for her birthday and ended up freezing up in fear at the presence of her lady's maid before promptly stunning her into submission.

It was funny...and at least no one was hurt, right?

  

[Moira Prewett]

DATE: August 1st, 1885
@Vertiline Faulkner
OUTFIT
WORDS: 170
NOTES:

Well Verty clearly wasn't impressed with her quick thinking. Maybe she had been a little hasty, but she honestly couldn't think of a rational excuse for why she was ambushing her friend in her bedroom at such an hour. Nor did she know whether the woman was trustworthy or dangerously shrewd. As Verty began to chastise her, Moira lamented the turn of events that had possibly ruined the evening. Except then she laughed. That was better.

"It was too risky," she insisted, a touch indignantly. "What are we going to do with the body?" A poor choice of words she realized a little too late. The point was, Moira wanted to shut the door but should any of the other members of staff or one of Verty's far too numerous offspring happen upon her, they would obviously suspect some sort of foul play and burst in. Moira doubted Verty would laugh if she stunned her children.

Moira inched closer to Verty. "We can't just leave it there," she murmured.

  

[Vertiline Faulkner]

"Moira!" She chastised through laughter at her lovers referral of Wilkins as 'the body'. You'd think they'd just conspired to execute a grand murder the way she was talking! It was more amusing than it should have been but somewhere in her mind Verty knew it was simply to keep her head from exploding at the absurdity of it all. And really, it was all very absurd. The way Moira reacted you'd think that Wilkins had caught her between Verty's thighs!

"We'll have to..." She finally managed to find her voice after she ceased her laughter - a feat that was slow coming. "We can't just push her into the hall, Moira. You should have thought about that before you stunned her!" Verty wondered just how potent that spell had been that Wilkins was still splayed out on the ground. It was really rather undignified and Verty crouched beside her lady's maid to try to make it at least a little bit more dignified. Not that being laid out on the ground could be dignifying in any capacity.

  

[Moira Prewett]

DATE: August 1st, 1885
@Vertiline Faulkner
OUTFIT
WORDS: 187
NOTES:

Moira frowned at the unconscious woman and folded her arms across her chest. "Well it's your house, where do you usually put the unconscious lady's maids?" She was itching to shut the door but she didn't really find the prospect of leaving the woman either side of it reassuring. Killing her would be so much easier, at least then the ways of getting rid of her were more creative. "Do something with her quickly, at any rate - hiding bodies isn't as fun when they're still breathing." Despite the fact she was speaking in a tone that suggested utter seriousness, Moira was actually trying to be amusing. She trusted Verty would realize that she was jesting.

"You should put an empty bottle of wine in her hand and leave her somewhere thinking she drank herself into a stupor. Or I could help you throw her out the window?" Again she was joking. At least about the latter anyway, the former was more serious. "Place her at the bottom of a flight of stairs so she thinks she fell down them." Her suggestions were probably anything but helpful.

  

[Vertiline Faulkner]

"I don't make a habit of having unconscious lady's maids sitting about!" She said it with amusement in her tone. Apparently Moira, too, was beginning to see the amusement in the situation and when Moira made another joke that related to murder, Verty swatted her anew. This was going to be terribly unpleasant to deal with later if only because she would feel quite terrible about it all. She was confident, at least, that Wilkins was dim enough (bless her soul) to buy any story Verty could concoct.

With a sigh, she turned back to Wilkins only to promptly whip right back around to stare at Moira who was still offering rather unusable solutions. "Moira!" She chastised though it was not in earnest. She was quite convinced that it was all just jest as Verty was not quite willing to admit to the more devious side of her lover. Not, at least, in anything other than hypotheticals. "We'll have to get her to the staffs quarters. It's the least we can do after you laid her out flat, after all." Verty had never been more pleased in her life that magic was a thing. She could hardly imagine dealing with such a situation if they were muggles! Then again, such a situation would not happen if they were muggles without great planning and an impeccable throwing arm.

  

[Moira Prewett]

DATE: August 1st, 1885
@Vertiline Faulkner
OUTFIT
WORDS: 209
NOTES:

Moira grimaced at the suggestion that they needed to transport the woman halfway across the house. "She's a servant, being knocked out for seeing things she oughtn't is part of the job. Just..." Urgh this was more of a pain in the ass than she had anticipated. "I'll wake her up and make her take herself there," she huffed, feeling terribly inconvenienced. She was of a mind to make Verty do the dirty work since it was her Lady's Maid and it was obviously her fault for walking in with her, but she figured she could fix it faster. A little imperius curse would solve the problem.

She closed the distance between herself and the blonde again and firmly grabbed at her hand. "Go get some refreshments - not tea, for the love of Merlin, not tea - and I'll see to... Wi- Wis- Whatever her name is while you're gone," she murmured in low tones, as though suddenly concerned that she would be overheard. "And I promise I'll be gentle with her." She didn't think Verty would approve of the imperius curse even though it was obviously the easiest way to get rid of the damn woman, so getting her out of the room was the obvious solution.

  

[Vertiline Faulkner]

Verty was quite prepared to protest. After all, Wilkins was just doing her usual routine - Moira should have known better than to sneak into her room and wait for her! It was a romantic notion, of course, but surely Moira knew she'd not be alone. But she didn't have time to protest before Moira was telling her to go fetch some drinks, that she would take care of the situation. That garnered a suspicious look from Verty that lingered only a moment before disappearing into resignation.

"Wilkins," She provided her maids name, "and you had better see to it that I still have a lady's maid come morning!" The admonishment was said in jest because oh how little Verty knows, before she turned to take her leave. She trusted that Moira would not ruin Wilkins, after all. Just wake her up and send her about her way. The rest Verty could take care of later.

  

[Moira Prewett]

DATE: August 1st, 1885
@Vertiline Faulkner
OUTFIT
WORDS: 440
NOTES:

Moira was relieved that she wasn't met with protest. She really couldn't help but smirk, however, at her lover's suspicion. She might have been a little put out if she hadn't received such a reaction, after all it was one thing knowing Verty didn't really support and definitely didn't share her questionable morals, it was another entirely to feel like that side of her was completely unknown to (or ignored by) her.

Once Verty was gone, Moira made quick work of bringing the woman round to consciousness and then sent her off with an imperius curse. It wasn't exactly a very illegal way to use the spell, Verty might not have even minded but Moira didn't fancy being on the receiving end of a disapproving look.

Now that the woman was gone, Moira supposed she ought to sit somewhere and wait for Verty to return. She gazed around the room for somewhere to park her rear. Spying a chair at a desk, she walked over to it and sat down. After a few moments she decided it felt a bit formal and stood up again. She wandered over to the bottom of Verty's bed and tried to daintily perch on the edge of it. No, no that was far too suggestive. Moira blushed and jumped to her feet again. Oh there was a chaise lounge, how had she not seen that sooner? She sat herself in the middle of it, sitting very upright, looking rather rigid. She very formal for what was meant to be a more informal visit. Moira tried leaning to one side. Oh no that wouldn't do at all! She sat bolt upright again and resigned herself to sitting there stiffly as she waited.

As she waited, she drummed her fingers on her knees and let her eyes wander the room. The longer she was sat there, the more she wanted to snoop around Verty's room - not for any nefarious reasons, merely curiosity. What perfumes did she have? What did she keep in her desk drawers? What about a dressing gown? Did she have one? What did it look like? Was it soft? Did she keep things under her pillow? What sort of things? Sentimental things? Was that her hairbrush on the vanity? Were there golden strands of hair tangled in the bristles? What sort of cosmetics did she use? Moira was about to get up to satisfy her burning curiosity and was halfway to her feet when the sound of footsteps approaching made her hastily sit her ass down again, a sheepish look crossing her face as she contemplated what she'd been about to do.
""

  

[Vertiline Faulkner]

Fully expecting that Moira had taken care of things - and trusting her to have done it without causing any damage - Verty was not disappointed in the least when she returned to her room and saw only Moira. She looked rather stiff, however, which prompted a quirked brow from Verty as she directed the bottle of wine she'd chosen and two glasses she'd levitated alongside her to an empty spot on her desk. "Dare I ask what has you so uptight?" She was teasing of course, casting a quick glance towards her bedroom window, "Don't tell me you tossed Wilkins out the window." She feigned a gasp, quite certain that her lover would know she was jesting.

In any event, if Moira was so inclined to believe her words serious, the almost mischievous grin that spread across her lips would assure her completely that such was not the case. Wordlessly, she went about pouring them each a little bit of wine, plucking a glass in each hand from the desk as she made her way towards Moira. "Your drink, my lady." She said it with a smile as she sat beside Moira's still too-rigid frame, extending the glass towards her. Verty was by now more than used to Moira's random tendencies towards awkward that she was content to ignore it as surely it would fade away soon enough.

  

[Moira Prewett]

DATE: August 1st, 1885
@Vertiline Faulkner
OUTFIT
WORDS: 269
NOTES:

Moira shifted uncomfortably as Verty pointed out her awkward posture. She had been quite sure that she looked like she was sitting on a cactus, but she seemed at a loss to fix that. "It was tempting but you expressed a certain desire to keep her around. Not that I understand why." As serious as her response might sound, she was well aware Verty was joking.

Her apparent seriousness cracked a little when she was handed the glass, though it was the line that came with the delivery that prompted it. She gave the subtlest of chuckles that could easily be mistaken for throat clearing, and might have blushed a little. Glancing down at the glass she now held in her hand, she noted with mixed feelings that it was wine. Hopefully Verty wouldn't be as heavy-handed with the refills as Harriet. Moira internally grimaced at the memory of that evening, or rather, what memory she had of it.

She took a dainty sip and then remembered the small wrapped package in the pocket of her dress. It was a very plain looking silver bangle but there was a sentimental inscription on the inside that was so small Moira hoped it would go unnoticed until she was no longer present. Extracting the small object from her pocket, she wordlessly slipped it into Verty's lap. Feeling embarrassed by the gesture, she blushed, turned her face away and held the glass of wine to lips. If Verty looked close enough to catch the more sentimental aspect of the gift, Moira fancied she'd be throwing herself out of the window shortly.

  

[Vertiline Faulkner]

"Finding good help is too difficult to go about letting your lover errantly toss them out various windows." She said it with a flippant sort of tone though a joking grin crossed her features as she sipped her wine. Aside from Moira laying out Wilkins, this was a fine birthday evening indeed. And even that little touch of mayhem was hardly enough to leave Verty anything other than entirely content. It was truly amazing that after how long she'd loved Moira that they were in the here and now, loving one another.

They sat in relative silence as she pondered this, Verty looking down to her lap rather than at Moira when she felt her slip something there. It was a small, wrapped box (she assumed, for what else could it be?) that prompted a genuine smile on Verty's face as she picked it up with her spare hand. When she looked towards Moira again, she was looking away as if in embarrassment. "Thank you," She said it softly in a tone that was nothing but genuine, "would you prefer I wait until you leave to open it?" She knew Moira could be so awkward at times with such displays of affection and she did not wish at all to inspire any bit of discomfort in her. After all, it was her birthday and Verty rather thought she'd like to have a nice, relaxing time with the woman she so dearly loved.

  

[Moira Prewett]

DATE: August 1st, 1885
@Vertiline Faulkner
OUTFIT
WORDS: 164
NOTES:

The intensity of her blush increased with gratitude, but the suggestion that Verty was aware Moira was having an awkward turtle moment because of the gift made her choke on her wine at first. It was true that Moira didn't really want to see her lover open the gift, but she didn't want to be called out on it. "Don't be ridiculous! Do it now, you ungrateful harpy!" she snapped defensively. Moira then proceeded to blush even more and returned to trying to hide her face in her glass of wine. It had been tempting to request that she open it later, but that would only be admitting to her embarrassment and that was worse.

Moira then made the regrettable (in her opinion) mistake of tacking on, "My presence could have been the only present, so... there." If it were possible for her to slink away to die of embarrassment in some dark corner of Verty's room without being noticed, she would have.

  

[Vertiline Faulkner]

Verty merely laughed at her lover, quite certain that she knew what was going on. Moira may like to think herself mysterious, but Verty had known her so well in the past and it seemed years apart hadn't changed her that much at all. It was a lie, Verty mused, to try to convince people that you changed with the passage of time. It simply wasn't terribly true.

Leaning over to place a quick kiss on Moira's cheek, she rather quickly enchanted her glass to float as she went about opening the gift she was given. When a simple - yet lovely - silver bangle was revealed to her eyes, Verty smiled ear to ear. She inspected the piece quite subtly, catching glimpse of an inscription on the inside that she made a mental note to read later. She was quite certain that Moira would be even more flustered were she to admit to noticing it. "It's lovely, Moira." Her gushing was genuine as she put it on, inspecting how it looked on her, and grabbing her glass again. "Thank you," She kissed her cheek again, this less hasty than the last.