Lady Aidan: Aidan looked down at the young maiden before her. Behind the obvious caked mud, she saw a lovely girl who seemed vaguely familiar to her. With a shake of her head and a scolding sigh directed toward Windy, Aidan alit from the sturdy steed and came to land on the ground in front of Gigi. "My dear, are you alright?" Aidan asked with grave concern.
Gigi: Gigi takes a step back and tries to brush the mud and dust from her dress, cursing silently to herself, she sighs and says "yes I am fine...a little dirty, but fine"
Lady Aidan: Aidan stepped forward, reached her hand toward the girl's face and cupped her chin in her palm. With a gentle touch, she smudged the wet mud away from the young woman's cheeks with her thumb. "Heavens, I truly don't know what gets into that horse at times!" Aidan surveyed the sweet face and asked, "My dear, have we met?"
Gigi: Taken back at her touch, she flinches just a bit, but doesn't pull away as she says "yes Mi'Lady, I was a maid at Hartman House...."
Lady Aidan: "Oh!" Aidan gasped as a smile rose across her lips, "You seemed familiar to me! Alas, judging by your appearance and the valise in your hand, I dare venture to guess that the fate of the Hartmans is still unknown. Tell me, girl, have you employment?"
Gigi: "No, M'Lady. Tis funny that I came across you. I was just on my way out to your home to seek employment as a maid."
Lady Aidan: Aidan's mind reeled at the good fortune that she appeared to have stumbled upon, literally by accident. Just then, her tummy growled in a most unladylike fashion, and she grasped the angry emptiness. "Well, Miss, what is your name?"
Gigi: "my name is Gigi, M'Lady. Gigi Devalier" Gigi rushes on, hoping that she can get the job right here on the spot, "and I have been a maid for as long as I can remember, and my mother was a maid, and ... and...." she takes a deep breath, feeling her face flush, hoping she isn't making a fool of herself
Lady Aidan: Aidan chuckled quietly over the girl's obvious enthusiasm. Not standing on the protocol which typically divided the classes, Aidan extended a sincere invitation to dine. "Well, dear Gigi ... Gigi Devalier ... Knowing that Lady Hartman had employed you, I will rely on her good character judgment." Aidan's tummy interrupted the conversation with yet another bellowing growl. "If the local establishment offers victuals as well as spirits, I am inclined to invite you to dine with me so we can discuss your potential employment." Inwardly, Aidan knew she would hire the girl. Her instincts told her she was a hard worker, and heaven knows, with the broken mirror on the mantle and the general state of disrepair left by the stoneworkers, Ventrue Mansion needed someone without an aversion to work. "Have you an idea of where we might sup?"
Gigi: Indicating the tavern behind her, Gigi smiles hoping that she had the job, said "well the tavern over there does offer at least decent food, probably not as rich and plentiful as you are used to, but it is at least filling, and it would be an honor to sup with you..."
Lady Aidan: Aidan twisted Windy's leather reins around her hand and tilted her head in approval. "Then, lead the way, Gigi!" Aidan smiled. "We shall dine quickly and then make our way to the local mercantile. The cupboards at Ventrue Mansion ... 'your' new home (Aidan emphasized the word "your") ... are barren. If you are to be in my employ, then we shall see how quickly and how well you can run the household."
Gigi: Gigi's smiles grows a little bigger, hearing the emphasis on the word 'your' and starts toward the tavern. She thinks to herself that she isn't going to eat, being out of money, but she can at least keep the Lady company while she eats. Glancing back over her shoulder, to make sure Adian is still there (Gigi still can't believe her luck) she makes her way back across the street to the tavern, the barkeep's warnings suddenly ringing in her ears...should she tell Adian what is being said? or should she keep her mouth shut
Lady Aidan: Windy nudged Aidan's back between her shoulder blades, as if to remind her that the stable troughs also needed filling. As the two women walked toward the tavern, Aidan smiled, "This is Windy. He is a gift from my husband, Major-General Montague McCody. The General is away on yet another clandestine military mission. There is no telling when he will return. Meanwhile, he has given me full authority over our home. Ventrue Mansion is in the midst of a renovation that has left certain parts of it in shambles. Unfortunately, the stonemasons and day laborers have seen fit to abandon their posts ... no doubt in search of gay women." Just then, Aidan bit her bottom lip between her teeth over the brazen boldness of her comment. "Oh! I trust you have no aversion to discussions of intimate nature. With Monty away, I have no one in which to confide. The laborers have spread some sort of nonsensical stories of hauntings in our home. Stuff and nonsense." Aidan tied Windy's reins to the post in front of the tavern. "Shall we go inside?"
Gigi: Blushing slightly at the nature of her words, but recovering, "no, no aversion" she holds open the door of the tavern, indicating that Adian should go first, she raises her hand in greeting to the barkeep.
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