The DeLorean Household

The Delorean house, as one would expect it, was painted white. What one wouldn't expect was just how small of a house it was. Only two stories tall, it spread out flat against the hill side it was built on. It had a rather flimsy gate around the outside, something more there for show than for any sort of protection. And while there was a garden, it was neither as large or as varied as some of the other houses.

With her usual confidence, Evaleen lead the way while hanging on to Ethan's arm. She dainty pushed open the show gate and passed the garden with out a second thought, ignoring the crickets as they chirped by their feet.

She took a few moments to fish through her inner jacket pocket before retrieving a key to unlock her large oak front door. With a smile, she let Ethan take the first steps into her house's front hall.

Her halls were also quite white and held the customary chandler in the entrance way. The walls had several paintings of far away places and pressed flowers decorating them.

Ethan histated on the doormat, the "lady's first" rule of chivalry tugging on the back of his mind, but when Evaleen made no move to go first, he went ahead and walked inside.

The house may not been as big an impressive as some, but it was finer than what he was used to and he looked from the chandelier to the paintings with interest. "Nice place," he commented, looking at her back over his shoulder.

Footsteps sounded from around the corner, "Out late again, Evaleen?" called a young, female voice, low and layered with a drawl commonly heard on Audum's outer isles.

The maid nonchalantly swung around in sight, though the only indicator of her employment was the apron wrapped around her shapely chest. Her dress showed plenty of her mocha brown shoulders and her charcoal black hair had been pulled up to show a delicate neck. Something about the dimples in her cheeks, the lazy way she held the wash cloth in her hands, and the stains on her apron all hinted at a life full of both work and fun, years riddled with toil and pleasure, and barely enough luck to survive. By the deadpan tone of her call, she'd walked in feeling tired and bored, expecting to accommodate her mistress's late night routine.

She took one look at Ethan, and her hazel eyes widened, her full lips pursing, her slouched back straightening in alarm.

"Cap!" she breathed, staring at the man.

Ethan looked at her at first confused and then in starled recognition. "Kid, uh Julianne," he greeted hestitantly and then glanced between Evaleen and her maid, wodering if this really was just a conencidence.

He and his wife, (well mostly wife,) had taken Julianne Sanders in as a kid, back in Audum. He remebered Jules as a skawney teenager, with too much attitude but a plucky spirit. He'd rather liked her and had even let her be a crewmember on a few of his voyages, before things started getting to hot for him in Audum. Now here she was, half way around the world and ... all grown up. _ She'd grown up very nicly. _ What was he thinking the kid had practically been a daughter to him.

Ethan shook some hair from his face and took a slight step backwards. "Uh wow," he said rather awkawdly, "You uh, I see you've gotten out'a Audum. You work here?"

Evaleen glanced between the two, her black eyes "I see there's no need to introduce you two," She said her eyes narrowing slightly. She quite hated complications, and this was definitely going to make making Pace disappear all the more difficult. She moved to put her fur coat on a black, intricate coat rack by her door with the decision that while fur was quite nice for cool evenings, it was not nice to have in a well heated home.

Julianne glanced nervously between her mistress and her old friend, before coming closer. Her mouth opened, revealing her sharp canines, her voice spilling awkwardly out, "I...uh...knew Cap - Eth - him I knew him a long time ago, in Audum," she said, wringing and pulling and yanking at the cloth in her hands. She kept staring at Ethan, almost anxiously.

"Hey, you shouldn't be here, I mean it," she told him, speaking in Seersi, a common language from Audum.

Ethan frowned slightly when she spoke to him in Seersi, and glanced at Evaleen. There seemed to be more to this than he's thought and frankly he didn't want to find out what. Besides, seeing Julianne reminded him forcibably of his wife. It may have been eight years, but he still loved her in his own way. He loved her enough that Evaleen seemed to dimishish more and more in the face of her memory. Now that he looked at the Vicountess, she really did seem much too young and fancy for someone like him.

"This is all very unexpected," he said quitely, "Maybe it would be best if I didn't stay. I thank you again for the drink and the dance, Lady," dofting his hat to Evaleen, Ethan stepped towards the door.

Evaleen offered Julianne a sharp glare. She wasn't stupid, and usually when someone was saying something in another language around someone who didn't speak it, there was something being hidden. Something she was trying to communicate without her knowing.

"Cold feet again?" She asked, her tone taking on a sharp edge. She was getting quite tired of having to drag him back. "Perhaps you should give me your manhood. I believe you haven't earned it yet."

Ethan lifted his eyebrows, looking more amused than offended. Selfmade noble or not, she was still just a silly girl, young and fasionable and doubtlyessly shallow. "Lady, no offence, but you don't know me an' I don't rightly care what you believe. Sorry to dissapoint."

He looked over at Jules, "I'll see yeh 'round, Kid," he said in Seersi and turned the door knob, making to let himself out.

Evaleen watched him leave with a scowl on her face. She had one third of a mind to try and force him back in the house, though she was certain that wasn't going to work out for her in the slightest. Her eyes moved to give Julianne a cold stare. She had another third of a mind to use Julianne in her experiments instead of Mr. Reagan. But, with a frustrated sigh, she reminded herself that Julianne had been a good maid so far and she would like to keep her as long as she could.

She kept her cold glare, though it was quite a bit less vindictive as it was a few seconds ago. "Perhaps you feel like explaining your connection to Mr. Reagan?"

Ethan stepped back out into the chill darkness a little bewildered and thoughtful. Why had Julianne warned him like that and what was the deal with this Viscountess Evaleen anyway? He silently chided himself to ever talking to her in the first place. Nobles- selfmade or not, they were always trouble.

He reached for a cigaret, but he'd given his last one to Evaleen on the walk over. He got a little more grumpy. Glaring at nothing in particular, he made his way down the road. He would, at anyrate, try to see Julianne again. It was very strange meeting her again after all these years and here of all places. The thought of Jules filled Ethan's head with the past and as he walked back towards the ship, he ceased giving any thought to the mysterious vicountess.

The minute Ethan closed the door behind him, Julianne visibly eased, an expression of relief crossing her face. She turned to smile at the Viscountess and quickly stopped at the sight of her mistress's cold stare. The maid bit her lip, flustered.

"Reagan? So he's going by that now, huh? Figures," she said, a tint of bitterness coming into her voice. She edged away from the Viscountess a little and went on, clearing her throat.

"Um, it's a long story," she sighed, still trying to smile as if it were no big deal, "Ethan took me in when I was just a kid, when I had nowhere else tuh go, yuh know. It was a long time ago..." she faded off awkwardly, pushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear and not meeting Evaleen's gaze.

The countess found herself not really caring who this man was. All she knew for sure was he was almost in her house, he knew about her magic, and now she was going to have no progress for the night for anything. That was enough to keep her in an extremely foul mood.

"God damn men, always making things so complicated," She growled, taking off her coat and practically throwing it on her coat rack. "Wife this, family that. No spines on the lot of them."

Julianne scooted back, sucking in her breath. "I - know exactly what yuh mean, trust me," she said, a distant look in her eyes as she thought back and back and back...hell yeah she knew what Evaleen was talking about.

Walking down the hallway in her huff, Evaleen continued, "Oh, they want you to believe they're fearless and won't be deterred by anyone, but as soon as something small comes up, they turn their tails and run. Men. They're like that in all walks of life."

As she walked she headed to her parlor, to a desk drawer. There she took out her cigarette holder, home lighter and her cigarettes, moving to set herself up with hands shaking in anger. "Rich men brag in private, poor men brag in public, both run as soon as they hit the bedroom floor."

Julianne made to keep up with her mistress's quick pace, following her into the parlor, nodding without listening much. As soon as Evaleen huffed out her last words, the maid broke into a distinctly inappropriate chuckle, which she quickly tried to stifle.

"Don't take it so hard. Yuh look like you could use some time tuh yourself anyway," she said, trying to sound sincere.

A small smile appeared on Evaleen's lips at the chuckle, her mood lightening at least slightly to hear that her men frustrations weren't contained solely to her experience. Even if her maid's reasons likely didn't involve kidnapping her partner after she was done.

She managed to finish setting herself up, taking a long draw before saying, "I'd prefer time between myself and a man, but that does not appear to be an option."

"Yeah well..." Julianne uncomfortably leaned against the doorway, looking down and fingering her wash cloth, "Yuh don't blame me, do you?"

"Not unless you happen to be a good friend of fate and somehow managed to orchestrate this entire incident," She said, the conversation and nicotine combination warding off her temper. She looked over Julianne for a moment before adding in with a slightly playful tone, "Though I still would rather not spend my night alone if you're interested in curing that problem."

Reading between the lines quickly, Jules let her surprise break out in another chuckle and she gave her mistress a weird look, not sure if she was serious or not.

"Well, yuh know, I work for you..." she began, uncertainly. She was definitely walking on barely explored turf here, and didn't seem comfortable with it.

"If you're not interested I can find other ways to fill my evening, I just thought it wouldn't hurt to try the possibility," Evaleen said, finishing her sentence with another puff from her cigarette. She had apparently decided that she was tired of standing and moved to a plush, red chair to sit down in.

Julianne looked into her own night plans and saw a lonely, cold bed. God it'd been such a long time. She glanced down at the wash cloth and taking in a deep breath, advanced into the room and smiled daringly at Evaleen. "Well what did you have in mind, honey?" she asked, placing a hand on her hips, a curious spark in her eyes.

"It's quite simple really," Said Evaleen, leaning back further in her chair with her smirk still remaining. "I show you a good time, then you show me a good time. we both get our jollies, then we go our own ways. We never speak of it in public."

Julianne's gaze strayed aside as she considered this, her smile widening. "Just for tonight?"

Evaleen raised her eyebrows in surprise, taking another quick puff. "Unless you'd prefer for this to become a regular weekly occurrence." She couldn't help but feel a bit sad by the suggestion, though didn't let it get to her face. Weekly would give her about 52 gos, and while it seamed like a fairly large number, it was still a timer.