Date:         Mon, 3 Oct 1994 20:47:32 EST
From:         Baron Gideon 
Subject:      Fluff: The Joshua Chronciles, part 3

My friends:
I offer you the next part of my quest to fulfill Mrs. Sims-Jones' very
strange order.  This is not quite what I had in mind when I specialized
in antiques!
Of course, meeting Gideon was not quite what I had in mind, either...
*grin*.
Joshua
______________________

Evighet kept Joshua entertained on the flight west with her stories of
past CotN parties.  Since Gideon had not encountered the CotN, in the
person of one Jessica Ward, as yet at the time of Daes' party, these
stories were new to Josh.  His warm chuckle punctuated the narrative at
many points, as did a worried look and a shake of his head at others.

"I begin to realize why Gideon was so reluctant to introduce me to these
parties," he remarked.  "I heard in detail about his first two parties,
however.  Well, as much detail as he was willing to give me."  He
chuckled again.  "I do know why Elizabeth blackmailed him into letting
her redecorate the house.  Etchings, indeed!"

"Does he have etchings?" Evighet asked, trying to sound innocent and not
succeeding.  She was rewarded with a resounding laugh, and began to
understand the Baron's infatuation with this man.

"Actually, Gideon does do some pen-and-ink drawings," Joshua said.  "But
he never shows them to anyone, because he thinks they aren't any good."

"Are they?"

"He has a keen eye and a delicate hand, but he's very embarrassed about
it.  I think someone told him that drawing wasn't manly, and he is very
concerned with maintaining his image."  Joshua stared out the window at
the prairie night rushing by thousands of feet below.  "I am going to try
to talk him into giving one of his drawings to the host of the next
party, whoever is brave enough to volunteer."

"It's going to be Corvus," Evighet sighed.*

"Uh-oh," Josh grinned.  "We might be staying home, then."

"No, please come," Evighet requested, briefly putting her hand over his.
"I want to meet the Baron face-to-face, and I promise no incidents."
Her nose wrinkled.  "Of course, I can't make any promises on Corvus'
behalf..."

"Well, the host usually behaves," Joshua said with a smile.  "Don't
worry, we'll be there, even if I have to come home from wherever I am at
the moment to make it.  Mrs. Sims-Jones won't mind."

"Good.  I will look forward to seeing you there.  And I want a dance."

"My pleasure."

"You should get in touch with David in Los Angeles," Evighet said
thoughtfully.  "He'll want to know about your trip, and our friend with
the beard."

"David?"  Joshua felt a blush creep along his cheekbones.  "You mean the
Lieutenant?"  He still had no idea what had possessed him to accept the
Lieutenant's offer to dance at the Yule party.  At least it had only
been a dance...  "Yes, all right," he agreed, noticing Evighet's amused
look.  "Do you have his phone number?  I'll call him from San Francisco,
as I'll have to come back to L.A. in any event."

The plane landed in Los Angeles, and Evighet had to hurry to reach her
home before the sun rose.  She parted with promises to stay in touch and
learn the result of Joshua's buying trip.

"And watch out for our bearded friend," she called over her shoulder.
"I have the feeling you haven't seen the last of him."

"I'll keep an eye open for him," Joshua promised, a little bit worried
about what he'd do on his own against a powerful mage.

Determined not to let this concern spoil his trip, he caught his
commuter flight to San Francisco, taxied to his hotel, showered and fell
into bed.  He slept soundly, and woke a little before noon.  His body
was used to travelling and jumps in time zones, so he felt little jet
lag, but he wished he could call home and talk to Gideon.  It would be
early afternoon in Maine, still daylight, so that option was out.  He
rose, washed and dressed, and set out in search of lunch.

Having satisfied the inner man, Joshua went to Azh's shop.  He knew more
or less where it was, since he'd been on buying trips in San Francisco
before and Azh had described the shop's location to him.  He enjoyed his
stroll throught the picturesque streets of the beautiful city, and at
last located the store.

The window was chock-a-block with enticing items placed there to lure in
buyers.  A pretty little end table held up a delicate white porcelain
vase full of fresh lillies.  A rolled-up Persian carpet, one yard of
which was unrolled to display the vivid reds and blues, took up a corner
of the window.  On it was placed a Victorian tea-cart and a few china
odds and ends.  A large brass fire bucket glowed in the middle.  Joshua
smiled in anticipation and opened the door.

A bell overhead merrily announced his arrival.  He stopped and breathed
in the scents of wood polish, brass and dust that signalled antiques, a
scent that was always welcome and whetted his appetite.  He looked
around at the varied stock of furniture and accessories, noting that Azh
had some fine pieces, like that pine wardrobe or the embroidered damask
tablecloths that were piled on a Duncan Phyfe dining table that would
have seated at least ten when all its leaves were pulled out.  He
skirted a Victorian wing chair and admired the display case of jewelry
and small highly portable items like snuff boxes and perfume bottles
that took up one side of the shop.  A pair of gold and black cuff-links
caught his attention, and he wondered if Gideon would like them as a
gift -- the black part looked like little bats.

The red-headed proprietress was busy with a customer who wanted a plant
stand, so Josh settled himself at the jewelry display and watched Azh go
into selling mode.  He smiled indulgently as the astute vampyress
ferreted out exactly what the customer was looking for and sold it to
her at a handsome profit.  The happy customer walked out carrying the
stand, and while Azh was writing up the transaction, Joshua walked up to
the counter and leaned over to grin at her.

"Hi, there," he said, "what's new?"
___________
*this was, of course, written before it was declared that the party
didn't occur and wasn't even planned.  *grin*
____________
This is shared fluff, so any kudos sent will be passed on to the
fluffsters by:
The Fluffmaster
fraser@vax.library.utoronto.ca


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