Even if she slithers into their room wearing...
Even if she slithers into their room wearing nothing but a single red glove
Shocked for the second time, but finding the sensation oddly enjoyable, Alais giggled and sat down on her own bed, dangling her legs over the sideCatriana's feet, she noticed ruefully, easily reached the carpet
"She just might do that," she whispered, grinning at the image"I think she even has a red glove hidden somewhere!"
Catriana shook her head"Then it's roping her down like a heifer or trusting the men, I guessBut as I say, they won't do anything
"You know them very well, I suppose," Alais hazardedShe still wasn't sure whether any given remark would earn her a rebuff or elicit a smileThis was not, she was discovering, an easy woman to deal with
"Alessan, I know better," omega speedmaster day date Catriana said"But Devin's been on the road a long time and I have no doubt he knows the rules She glanced away briefly as she said that last, her own color a little high
Still wary of another rejection Alais said cautiously, "I have no idea about that, actuallyAre there rules? Do any of them do you have problems when you travel?"
Catriana shrugged"The kind of problems your sister's longing to find? Not from the musiciansThere's an unwritten code, or else the companies would only get a certain kind of woman to tour and that would hurt the musicAnd the music really does matter to most of the troupesThe ones that last, anywayMen can be quite badly hurt for bothering a girl too muchCertainly they'll never find work if it happens too often
"I see," said white chanel bag Alais, trying to imagine it
"You are expected to pair off with someone though," Catriana added"As if it's the least you can doRemove yourself as a temptationSo you find a man you like, or some of the girls find a woman, of courseThere's a fair bit of that, too
"Oh," said Alais, clasping her hands in her lap
Catriana, who was really much too clever by half, flashed a glance of mingled amusement and malice"Don't worry," she said sweetly, looking pointedly at where Alais's hands had settled like a barrier"That glove doesn't fit me
Abruptly Alais put her hands to either side of her, blushing furiously
"I wasn't particularly worried," she said, trying to sound casualThen, goaded by the other's mocking expression, she shot back: "What glove does fit you, tiffany co earrings then?"
The other woman's amusement quickly disappearedThere was a small silenceThen: "You do have some spirit in you, after all," Catriana said judiciously
"That," said Alais, moved to a rare anger, "is patronizingHow would you be sure of anything about me? And why would I let you see it?"
Again there was a silence, and again Catriana surprised her"I'm sorry," she saidI'm really not very good at this"As it happens, you hit a nerve and I tend to lash out when that occurs
Alais's anger, as quick to recede as it was slow to kindle, was gone even as the other woman spokeThis was, she reminded herself sternly, a guest in her house
She had no immediate chance to reply though, or to try to mend the rift, because just then Menka bustled importantly into the dior women room with a basin of water heated over the kitchen fire, followed by the youngest of Rovigo's apprentices with a second basin and towels draped over both his shouldersThe boy's eyes were desperately cast downwards in a room containing two women as he carried the basin and the towels carefully over to the table by the window
The garrulous fuss Menka inevitably stirred up wherever she went broke the mood entirely, both the good and the bad parts of it, Alais thoughtAfter the two servants left, the women washed up in silenceAlais, stealing a glance at the other's long-limbed body, felt even more inadequate in her own small, white softness and the sheltered life she'd livedShe climbed into bed, feeling as if she'd like to begin the whole conversation over prada logo again