Chapter 2: The Wooing of Natalie

Natalie all but ran out of the dining room, as soon as her host said dinner was over and dancing would start in the ballroom. She was furious, how dare he say such things to her, who did he think he was to make fun of her like that!

"Oh dear, I do wish she would walk more sedately, such an ungainly child, I shall never get her married, with her odd looks and being so unusually tall." sighed Patricia to Jacquilt. Jacquilt simply looked at Patricia knowing he need not say a word for her to keep talking. "I've tried to convince her to let me cut all the mess of hair she has but she absolutely refuses, she knows the style is short hair done up with ringlets, and my, my, when I mentioned she put a touch of rouge on her cheeks to give her color, since she looks like a pale corpse, she actually got angry at me." said the much put upon Patricia. Jacquilt was shocked, he looked at Lady Patricia, "You don't think Lady Natalie is an attractive woman?" Patricia tittered "why, of course she has a certain amount of charm, but as to being a beauty, I love my niece but she is too pale and that black hair only makes it worse, why, her bosom is so large I've had to make sure she keeps it tightly wrapped and only wears high necked dresses, I certainly don't want her to be mortified if some young man made a rude remark. I've told her repeatedly that she just has too much of everything to be attractive." Patricia flushed realizing what she had just said and quickly turned the conversation to how good the food at dinner had been. Natalie walked up to her aunt, "I would like to go home, Aunt Patricia, I have a splitting headache." Patricia pouted, "but the evening has just started and I do think that's Lord Barkley coming over to ask you to dance, he is a favorite of Natalie's you know," Patricia said the last to Jacquilt. Natalie smiled politely at Jacquilt, and turned as Lord Barkley came up beside her and took her by the arm. "I'm here to claim my dance, my dear Natalie." Lord Barkley said in his oily to sweet voice. Jacquilt watched Natalie shudder slightly as Lord Barkley's hand touched her, looking closely at her he also saw that she was close to tears, he could feel her headache pounding at her temples. Jacquilt sent a silent message to Rav "your lady is in genuine distress and could use a little assistance," Rav walked up quietly behind Lord Barkley, "ah Barkley, I'm surprised to see you still on your feet, I understood you to be feeling quite ill." Barkley looked at Rav, "nonsense I'm quite fit and more fit then some to give a good ride, if you take my meaning." he leered at Natalie, who was rubbing her temples but froze as she heard what Lord Barkley had said, she wasn't quite sure as to the exact meaning but the leer he gave her told her all she needed to know. Once again Rav looked at Barkley "you're quite pale, and seem to be sweating profusely, old man, you should be in your bed, with your physician at your side." Then said oh my with everyone else as Lord Barkley slumped to the ground in a dead faint. Turning to Lady Patricia, Rav smiled "I'm sure someone will pick him up and carry him home eventually." then he turned to Natalie "you seem to have lost your dance partner, allow me," but instead of leading her out to the dance floor, he guided her to a chair set behind a large group of potted palms. He said soothingly "sit down, sweet." Natalie who just wanted to close her eye's for a moment, sat down with a sigh. Rav stepped behind the chair and gently put his fingers on her temples, then started to rub in gentle soft circles. Her head leaned back against the chair and she let out another sigh, closing her eye's. No matter how outrageous the man was, his hands felt like heaven at the moment, she knew she shouldn't be allowing him such liberties but at this point she really didn't care, all she cared about was getting rid of the pounding in her head. She was amazed to feel her tight shoulders relaxing and her whole body seemed to let out a sigh of relief, the headache slowly slipping away. A few moments later her aunt found her and said they were going home, that she couldn't have Natalie coming down with something and missing all the important social events of the season. Natalie reluctantly got up out of the chair, she hadn't felt so calm and relaxed in ages. She started to say something to Rav when her Aunt Patricia smiled at Rav saying good evening, then she drug Natalie off to their waiting carriage. Talking the whole time about all the terrible maladies one can contract in a town like London. A pensive Jacquilt filled Rav in on his conversation with Lady Patricia at dinner and afterwards, still somewhat shocked that she thought her niece unattractive. Jacquilt was a solitary man, but still had an appreciative eye for beauty and Natalie was blessed with a great deal of it. Dressed properly, with her hair done right, she could out shine any lady in town. He had also noticed that she had a great deal of beauty inside, but hide it behind a cold biting exterior. Rav listened to Jacquilt feeling very annoyed with the flighty Aunt Patricia, he grinned at his old friend, "the lady Natalie has quite a temper when she dares to let it loose, its a start to getting those frosty walls of hers to crumble a bit." Raising an eyebrow Jacquilt asked Rav exactly what he had said to the lady to get her so angry she had come close to stabbing him with her fork. Laughing Rav told him everything but the comment he had made about being between her thighs. Jacquilt chuckled, over the years the rat story had become legend among the family. After Rav had retired for the night, Jacquilt sat down and wrote a long letter to his parents, Collin and Katrina. Every afternoon Rav and Jacquilt had taken to meeting Hank in the park, Rav and Hank sailed little boats in the lake, flew Hank's kite. On occasion Rav's friends would join them, they also had taken a liking to Hank. Jacquilt always brought a picnic basket, and soon had the satisfaction of seeing Hank putting on weight and filling out, color was showing on his cheeks and his eye's were not quite so filled with anger at the world.

One day Jacquilt sat on the bench waiting for Hank, who soon appeared looking around for Rav, Jacquilt explained Rav had, had an unexpected visit from his banker and would try and meet them later. As the two sat eating, Hank looked up from where he was laying on the blanket, "do you believe in Unicorns? Jacquilt." Jacquilt looked at Hank "why do you ask?" Hank realizing that he wasn't being laughed at, said with a very serious voice. "One day, I'm going to search all the forests until I find the Unicorn's magical circle, when I find it, I'm going to sit in the middle and wait for the Unicorn. No matter how many years it takes, "I'm going to wait." "What will you do when the Unicorn comes to his magic circle?" asked Jacquilt. Hank rolled over onto his back and looked up into the sky, "I'm going to ask him to use his magic to heal my leg, so I won't be a cripple any longer, so I can stand up tall and straight, then maybe people won't be so cruel." "And what will you give the Unicorn in return?" quietly asked Jacquilt. Hank closed his eye's thinking then he opened them and smiled, "I'm going to offer him my friendship, you can't ask for more then that from a person, you give friendship without expecting anything in return, you get friendship without being expected to give back anything, so each is giving something that is more prized then all the gold in the world without expecting more then the others friendship." "I think the Unicorn will be very happy to have your friendship, Hank, I hope you find him one day." Jacquilt wanted to say more to Hank about it not being a mans physical body but his emotional body that made him stand tall and strong but Hank sat up and with a worried look on his face said "I heard Aunt Patricia talking to one of her friends, she said Lord Barkley sent her a massive saying he was ill but would be coming to call the day after the Carington Masque Ball, to offer for Natalie, Aunt Patricia said he had made a very generous offer financially. I know she told Natalie. Natalie doesn't like Lord Barkley, I heard her crying last night when she went to bed. I wish I could take Natalie back home, she doesn't like it here in London, if I were older I could do that, but Aunt Patricia just laughs at me and tells me I'm too young, that this is grown up business." Jacquilt leaned down and put his hand on Hanks shoulder, "that won't happen, Lord Barkley won't be marrying your sister, put your faith in Ravlyr, he won't let you down, now tell me what your sister is wearing for the Masque Ball, I might be making a few changes." Jacquilt winced as Hank described a totally hideous outfit that his Aunt Patricia has gotten for his sister. Winking at the boy, Jacquilt told him he had another outfit in mind and asked Hank to meet him in the park five days from now and he would give it to him, to put in his sisters room. Then all they needed to do was convince her to wear it. Excited Hank wanted to know what it was, Jacquilt grinned at him "a fairy costume." The talk of the evening was the upcoming Masque ball, everyone speculating who would dress as who or what. Rav kept an eye on Natalie, she looked tired, her eye's had a dull defeated look that he didn't care for at all, Excusing himself from the group he had been chatting with, Rav walked over and bowed to Lady Patricia and Natalie, picking up her hand, he kissed the back of her knuckles, the tip of his tongue running over them, with a gasp she pulled her hand away and was about to give him a blistering set down, when she heard the buzz in the room and people tittering. They all turned and Rav groaned loudly, Natalie looked at him in surprise. A little man was strutting across the room, his outfit dark forest green, with buttons of gold, there were gold tassels on his boots, and a green bow tied in his beard, on his head he had a green top hat. The little man swept off his hat as he stopped before Lady Patricia and Natalie and bowed deeply, he then turned to Rav and grinned wickedly. "The parents are right behind me, boy, and if that ain't bad enough Brand and Bitsy are close on their heels, now where are those footmen, I will be needing a drink to watch this show." Rav groaned again and said "that makes two of us," signaling a passing footmen, he spoke to him. With a speculative look the little man turned once again to the ladies, he looked Natalie up and down "so your the pretty our boy plans on wedding and bedding, not necessarily in that order." Natalie gasped and gave the little man a haughty look, the little man laughed "not bad, been taking lessons from our boy here have yea?" Patricia in a shocked voice said to the little man "what are you talking about? I've heard no mention of a wedding." she looked at Rav and Natalie suspiciously. Grabbing the two glasses the footman had brought, Rav shoved one in Trink's hand, then he smiled sweetly at him "Your toast, Trink" Trink who was instantly offended muttered "that's a fine howdedo, here I came to give yea a warning of the parental force descending on yea and yea threaten me." All talk in the room ceased and everyone turned to look at the two couples standing at the top of the staircase. The first couple looked down at the assembled group with haughty indifference, the man was very tall, his hair black with wings of gray, wide shoulders, trim waist. He held out his hand to the lady at his side, she was true elegance, her dark red hair piled on top of her head, her lovely figure dressed to perfection, she put her hand on his arm and the two gracefully descended the stairs. Behind them stood the other couple, he was almost as tall as the first man, much more muscular, his wide shoulders pressed against the fashionable jacket he wore, his blonde hair was worn long and tied in the back. The lady next to him only came up to his shoulders, her figure full and lush, her hair so silver it had a blue sheen to it, she wore it long, flowing down her back, it seemed to float about her head. The man winked at the lady next to him and took her hand in his and they followed the other couple. Patricia was staring with her mouth open, then snapped it shut, she turned to Natalie about to say something when another man appeared at the top of the stairs. An older gentlemen, dress to perfection, his hair gray, his face barely showed his age, except for the long laugh lines at the corner of his eye's. He raised his monocle and survey the group, then slowly descend the staircase. Natalie could hear the whispering of the assembled group as they watched the two couples and the older man.