What time do you have to work?” Wesley asked her, as they returned to the house.
“Call time at 6pm, as always,” she replied. “It takes a lot of time to make me look like a Queen.”
“That's odd,” he said. “I would have figured it took no time at all.”
“You are quite the charmer, aren't you?” Lola teased him, as they stepped inside.
“Stop,” Wesley grabbed her hands, pulling her close for a kiss before they could go inside. “I just wanted to do that.”
“Oh,” she blushed. “That was nice. But why?”
“Because we live with those who can't,” he answered. “And I didn't want to take anything for granted.”
“You wouldn't...” she closed her eyes. “I wish you didn't have to think like that. And if I wasn't an actress, you'd never think twice about these things. We wouldn't have had the day we had today if...”
“Don't think about it anymore,” he said. “You need a clear mind to perform well tonight. And I'll be in the box, supporting you.”
“Maybe Aaron can sneak in,” she said. “Wouldn't that be fun? I'll put a mask on him and walk him right through the stage.”
“I will sneak in whoever you want to see your partner fail at his lines,” Wesley smiled, as they walked in the door.
Inside, they found a rambunctious attitude. Matheson and Corrigan had found Morgan in the living room, and the men picked up as if they were still on the ship. They weren't crude, but their energy was high and loud.
“What's happening?” Lola asked Harold, who greeted them at the door. “And why do you look like you are running like a bat out of hell?”
“Ha,” Harold said, although he seemed completely unimpressed. “Your ship mate is staying for supper.”
“Which one?” Wesley asked.
“Morgan, I think his name was.”
“Oh,” Wesley looked completely unimpressed by this.
“Who’s Morgan?” Lola asked.
“He's one of the longest serving pirates out there,” Wesley answered “He used to be a privateer, and Navy before that. I don't know much about why but he's...outlandish, shall we say.”
“Well, that sounds exciting,” Lola said. “Do all pirates have secrets like you do?”
“Only on stage,” Wesley said. “Go on, you'll have to see for yourself.”
The energy changed as soon as Lola walked into the room. Wesley could see Morgan's eyes raise up as she entered, her beauty unparalleled.
“Well, bless my soul,” he said. “How did you get attached to Wesley?”
“Dignified and classy as always, Morgan,” Wesley said. “May I introduce my wife, the Countess Lola?”
“Charmed,” Morgan rose, to kiss her hand, and Lola smiled.
“Nice to meet you,” she said. “Were you new to the ship?”
“Newish,” he glanced to Aaron, who smiled. “How long we've been sailing together, Captain?”
“Off and on,” Aaron answered. “Whenever you feel like it, it seems. Which suits me just fine.”
“Good, because it suits me, too,” he said, and turned back to Lola. “Are you staying for supper?”
“I do live here,” she said, with a smile. “Although I have to work soon.”
“Work?” He turned to Wesley, pretending to be outraged. “Are you making her work? Does a Countess not have an income?”
Aaron laughed.
“Morgan, this is the Lola. My best friend, Lola, turned Countess from the first moment she saw Wesley's eyes.”
“The Lola?” Morgan cried. “The actress. My goodness, you two do have a story on your hands.”
Lola could see that he didn't disapprove, but after the day that they had, her guard went up. He could see that, and waived his hand.
“Don't worry,” he said. “I understand.”
“Do you?” she asked, and his eyes twinkled.
“I do,” he said. “But that's a story for another time.”
“How was your day?” Aaron asked Lola, and she shook her head.
“Let's just say that I'll be glad of the masks at the King's birthday,” she said, as she headed upstairs to change for supper. Aaron raised an eyebrow and hauled himself up off the couch, under the idea that he was also going to change for dinner. However, he made a beeline for Lola's room, knocking on the door before she got a chance to even pick out a dress.
“Mm?” she asked, pulling open the door. “What, is dinner canceled?”
“What exactly happened on your day out?” he asked. “Because you practically ran away from us.”
She sighed, leaning on the doorway. It was just like him to pick up on the layers of emotion beneath her fake smile.
“It just...I think he saw the reality of what being married to an actress really meant, carrying that title. And although he says it's fine...it makes me feel guilty.”
“It's not like he didn't know going in, Lola,” Aaron said. “There is no reason for guilt on your end.”
“I know,” she sighed. “It's just a matter of whether I would like to feel like that every time we go out together,” she put a hand to her face. “I think these are the same problems as before, Aaron. We love each other...but neither of us particularly wants to be in the situation we are in. Both of us are stubborn, and neither of us will give up or let the other go...unless...”
“Unless what?”
“I don't know,” she shook her head. “I'm tired, I'm not sure I want to discuss this now. How are you?”
“I'm alright,” he said. “Thanks to you today, my skull isn't cracked.”
“I remember when they used to be triggered by something, when we could predict them,” she said. “A fever, a crack on your head, remember?”
“All too well,” he replied. “Don't worry about me, Lola,” he said. “Just focus on the moment, do you remember that? We have come home to support each other, and to attend the King's birthday, and no one is going to stop that.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“No one like who?”
It was his turn to reveal a secret. He told Lola about the man bursting into the house today, and her eyes widened.
“What are you going to do?”
“Nothing,” he said. “He's mad and he'll go away, I reckon. He has no case. My sister is the direct heir and Harold has a son. That's all there is to it.”
“Alright,” Lola said. “If you're sure. Have you told Shauna?”
“I'm sure Gwendolyn will,” Aaron replied. “If she doesn't fill her ears with Harold's need to run the Spanish out once and for all, and how Wesley and I need to return to the Navy.”
“Which is impossible,” she said.
“I would have thought the life we are living was impossible once upon a time,” he said. “Now it almost seems normal.”
“Are you happy with that normal, though?” she asked.
He met her eyes and they both knew the answer. Lola kissed him on the cheek.
“I'm going to change. I'll see you in a moment,” she said, shutting the door. Even though the conversation was over, he had a feeling they had started something larger than they had thought.
Changing for dinner was a tradition in a large house, even if it was just for the people that lived there. They were all dressed their best. Even Matheson and Corrigan had on their best suits, albeit a bit lower quality from the Lords and Ladies around them.
Only Morgan remained in the exact same clothes he had walked in with, and he didn't seem to care at all. As the servants put their plates down, Morgan grinned at his Captain.
“This looks a site better than we have on the ship, hmm?” he asked.
“Ahem,” Harold said, indicating that there were children present.
“You were on a Navy ship as well?” Lola asked, trying to break the tension and shock that was growing.
“For a time,” Morgan said, and it was clear he didn't want to open up too much about the subject.
“And then you went privateer?”
“I've done a lot of things in life,” Morgan said. “Just like you, I imagine.”
“What exactly are you implying?” Wesley felt his hackles raised. Lola waived her hand.
“It's OK,” she said. “I have done quite a few roles on stage. But being a Countess is the newest one, and the one that I approach with the most caution...and dedication,” she smiled at her husband.
“But you all have unconventional marriages, hmm?” Morgan looked up, around the table. “Marriages that shocked the community, hmm?”
“Oy, Morgan,” Matheson put in. “You can talk all the smack you want on a ship, but you're around ladies and children now, the children of those marriages. Take my advice and use your mouth for eating food.”
Morgan gave him a cheeky look.
“Just curious,” he said, but decided to continue eating in silence.
The awkwardness that he had let drift over the table didn't go away. His words were true, regardless of whether they were meant to be harsh or not. They were controversial marriages, and while they seemed happy, they weren't without cracks.
“I thought I could bring home masks from the theater today,” Lola said. “In preparation for the mask ball. Does anyone want a specific costume?”
“I want to be a cat,” Gwendolyn said, and Lola smiled.
“That could be arranged, I'm sure. That's easy. Anything else?”
“Do I get to go, Father?”James asked. Harold glanced to Annabelle, who raised an eyebrow.
“Next year,” Harold said. “This year, you will stay home with your sister.”
“Why does Gwendolyn get to go then?”
“Because I'm older,” Gwendolyn answered. “Besides, your daddy gets to go every year. Mine is only going once, now.”
The reality of the situation was heavy on everyone's shoulders. Gwendolyn recognized this was her one chance with her father, to attend the King's ball. Aaron knew he was going to do everything possible to make sure he attended.
“Gwendolyn, be polite,” Shauna said. “Or Lola will make you be a bird instead of a cat.”
Lola smirked at that, happy to be of service.
Although the atmosphere lightened, the reality of the situation was still heavy on their shoulders. The only thing that Lola found that made it easier was the random odd comments that Morgan inserted. He was funny, Lola found, and he wasn't restricted in his speech. He wasn't mean spirited, but he didn't seem to care what he said or who thought anything of him. He was interesting, to say the least, and interesting always caught her eye more than classy.
She wanted to know his story; how he came to be a pirate. She was always interested in stories; in characters, and Morgan's seem to be a particularly strong story, whatever it was. She had a feeling he knew something he wasn't saying. Aaron trusted him though, and to her, that was all that mattered for the moment. He knew their secrets, though, and she thought that it was only fair that they knew his, whatever they were.