olden times for Tommy

[oohforeshadowing]

The great country pile isn't their speed, really.

Double had their lovely house in London, bought and paid for by their adoptive father - a High Fae of some high regard, who'd been fretting about their lands and accounts falling into strangers' hands when he passed on. It was a heartrending story, of course, and Double was...well, positively delighted to be anything the old man wanted them to be. For the right price.

Shapeshifters have long since had a bad reputation for sliding into the upper echelons this way. They hadn't been in penury to begin with, by any means, but 'lovely house in London' money and 'vast estates with mining wealth and hundreds of rate-paying tenants' money is not the same by some order of magnitude.

The old man died peacefully in his bed, well over a century old, and left the manor house and everything that went with it to their sole heir. Who is going to sell it all, eventually, but it feels tasteless not to even let their 'father's' body grow cold.

They move in after the last of their furniture has been transported, and lets the housekeeper give them the tour. They cut quite the figure: long blond hair pinned up in curls, a jacket and blouse tailored tightly to a corseted waist, the snug high-waisted breeches favoured by most males. Their tail is the most exposed part of them and the woman they're following keeps eyeing it like she's not sure if it's obscene or not.

"...show you the stables, your grace," she says, as she walks ahead to the outbuildings.

"Ah. I suppose we ought."

Comments

[bleak_midwinter]

"About the Estate? I'm just the stablemaster, Your Grace. I've no opinions on how you, or anyone, ought to run the rest of the place."

Yes, he does. But he is absolutely not telling them that.

"All I can tell you is that it's good land, with good people working on it. I hope you see that."

[oohforeshadowing]

Double rolls their eyes at the obviousness of the lie. Poor man. Was the Duke so frightening as to scare him off having an opinion even when it was directly asked for? Perhaps he was. One can act very differently around one's peers and one's staff.

"I'm sure I will. Could I at least trouble you for some opinion on how to better run the stables?"

[bleak_midwinter]

"...of course. Right now?"

They make it out of the woods, and they slowly make their way to what looks like a steep drop down. It's a crumbling little cliff, and Tommy pulls the horse up short.

"The edge of the estate starts here," he says, before they can really confirm his earlier question. "If you look out there, that's the real end of it. The tenant farmers are out there, mostly."

[oohforeshadowing]

"...I see. It's quite the view, isn't it?"

The farmland is neatly patchworked, divided by fences or hedgerows, at one spot by a narrow stream. It's all terribly bucolic.

"I understand everyone's decent about paying their dues?"

And they already know the Duke was fairly forgiving, as a landlord. Some Fae are so rich that they don't really understand how money works and just wrung the blood and sweat from their tenants; Papa was slightly more humane than that.

[bleak_midwinter]

He nods. "Yes, they are. No reason not to be - harvests have been good these days, and the leaner years have never been too lean. Your Father was a good lord to them. Have you met the tenants yet?"

[oohforeshadowing]

"Some. They all seem to be perfectly fine people."

The fact is that humans have their stereotypes and prejudices about every breed of supernatural, but shapeshifters are one of the few assumed to have some inborn wickedness. Why would they be born able to deceive, if there were not something deceptive in their very nature? Some innate appetite for wrongdoing? They've certainly been aware of some of their tenants crossing themselves or bending their heads to mutter amongst one another, when they thought their new landowner couldn't see.

"I'll meet the rest in good time. They've already been told that I don't plan any huge upheavals."

[bleak_midwinter]

"I am glad to hear it," he confesses, as he turns the horse around to slowly make its way down the slope.

"There were all manner of rumors before you came, and rumors don't tend to make things easier."

[oohforeshadowing]

"Oh? Well, I'm sure you're not going to keep the specifics from me after you've so whetted my appetite," they tease. "Rumours like...?"

[bleak_midwinter]

He's audibly smiling when he replies - this game, he's willing to play.

"Would you like the common ones or the outrageous ones people make up while drunk? They may offend you."

[oohforeshadowing]

Double smiles, too, and it comes through in their voice.

"Darling, you wouldn't believe what I've overheard. Just try to outrage me."

[bleak_midwinter]

"Oh, well - suppose you're like a vampire and shift into a bat at night, and you want to convert the whole house into a dark cave? Or that you'll train all the servants and have us perform in a circus act? In this scenario, of course, we suppose everyone involved actually has talent."

[oohforeshadowing]

Double laughs, a low bell-like sound.

"Oh, it would certainly be a theatre troupe. I don't doubt for a moment that you and your colleagues would put on quite the show."

They sigh, amused.

"I can reassure you that I would struggle to become anything so much smaller than myself."

[bleak_midwinter]

"Shame. Doesn't dispell all the other creature rumors, of course - plenty left to gossip about."

He makes sure to keep his tone light. No one actually thinks they're secretly a werewolf or vampire, around here.

[oohforeshadowing]

Almost disappointing.

"Oh, of course. Maybe I should start wandering the village in a long cloak at night, or start hissing at the sound of church bells? Just to keep the rumour mill turning."

[bleak_midwinter]

"Perhaps at certain times of the month," he's willing to compromise.

"Are you planning to stay on the estate for a long time, then?"

He'd figured they'd be back to London in no time.

[oohforeshadowing]

"I thought I might," they murmur. "It seems a little crass to inherit all this and not even become familiar with it, don't you think? London will still be there when I go back."

[bleak_midwinter]

"Crass but certainly not unheard of," he comments. The way down is a little steeper, with loose rocks and small boulders making the horse's tread uneven - though steady.

"There have certainly been others without that insight, on other estates."

[oohforeshadowing]

"Oh, I can imagine." They lean closer, so although their voice has softened to a purr they'll hear him quite clearly: "More fool them. Missing all this natural beauty."

If they focus on outrageous flirting then they don't have to worry about the horse's footing.

[bleak_midwinter]

He clears his throat, loudly, and stiffens his back. He's noticing, and doesn't mind them knowing so, but he's not doing anything with it.

"You wanted to know my recommendations for the stables."

[oohforeshadowing]

Oh, now he wants to talk business. How dull. But they obediently clear their throat and straighten up.

"I did, Mr Shelby. What did you have in mind?"

[bleak_midwinter]

"We need a few younger horses. One no longer has the strength to pull a two-person carriage, the other hasn't been used for two years now, but she was your father's favourite. The carriages need upkeep or replacing - there are newer models, now, faster ones, with better wheels. The ones we have are lovely to look at, but not so practical, or modern."

He pauses a moment, then adds:

"And if you've any interest in races, I could recommend breeders."

[oohforeshadowing]

That's an interesting addition to make, Double thinks, but doesn't pursue it yet.

"Let's make sure we have steady foundations first, darling. The purchase of horses, I leave in your hands - I'll instruct Mr. Lancer to ensure you have whatever funds you need. Perhaps we could visit a coachmaker together and look over their designs?"

[bleak_midwinter]

"We'll have to go into the city for that - the town doesn't have a coachmaker, I do the repairs with the carpent - "

Here, he cuts himself off as the horse slips just a little. She's very capable and steady, but the rocks shift unexpectedly and she has to compensate by picking up in a slight gallop for a few yards.

[oohforeshadowing]

And, humiliating as it is, Double can't help the squeaky little yelp that escapes them, or the way their fingers clamp around Thomas' shoulder. If they weren't so fastidious about keeping their nails - claws, truly - so neatly filled, they'd have punctured his jacket.

The horse finds solid ground again, slowing to a gentle trot, and Double carefully loosens their hand.

"...Well. Apologies for a moment of unnecessary drama, Mr. Shelby."

[bleak_midwinter]

He'd reached back to steady them, his strong hand on their knee, grasping tightly to make sure they don't overbalance and fall off even though the horse has its affairs in order.

"Are you alright?" He glances over his shoulder, just as much as their position allows.