@vrnvuldâ
â then take something from the bottom shelf. donât waste a good bottle on chugging, â arnauld sighed. â besides, if getting drunk is the goal, you should care about percentages not the grape. â why was it so difficult for everyone to stick to one or two glasses in the evening ? that was all you needed for relaxing. that was all you needed. â who did you argue with ? â he highly doubted she could top him, be it the person or the subject matter. as much as fanniâs response frustrated him, he couldnât feel quite comfortable with his own approach. familiarity had tricked him into unpreparedness. he had been confident in his ability to predict her reaction but had failed to slow down to choose an approach. whether he would have been able to follow it through was also another question he would not get an answer to. â hmm⊠â he absent-mindedly moved the glass to make the wine swirl. hearing a somewhat original idea that wasnât just an invitation for chaos from mimi managed to make him feel hopeful. â it will be fair business and if someone gets upset, they should have worked harder to keep their clients. youâll be able to shrug it off. â arguments were only difficult if they were personal, he had come to notice. â itâs quite alright. thereâs not much else to talk about. â the topics he chose for dinner parties were unlikely to engage mimi. â iâve been thinking about returning to paris. this place is too much of a bubble. it almost feels like the reality is being warped. â [ ;; @hshmimiâ ]
Mimi snorted, âshall I go alphabetically, or chronologically? My father, this morning. Heâs upset with Mama, and taking it out on me. --Then I argued with her, because heâs right to be annoyed. Sheâs been keeping...A gentleman, in Monaco. And sending âcare packagesââ of gold-flake champagne and boudoir photos, âto Klaus, in Switzerland. --Heâs the one who wears the, uh, âboytoyâ necklace. --Although I assume he has...made himself known to you?â Heâd asked to be introduced several times before. Mimi was used to it, unfortunately. Several schoolmates had kept posters of Arnauld above their beds. âBut thatâs par for the course,â Mimi shrugged. âThe really annoying one was with the Panamanian Princess. Do you know her?â Probably not. Recognising lesser, foreign royalty by name was his assistantâs domain. --Mimi was sure heâd forget hers, if she didnât wear it on a charm around her neck. âShe was at the wedding; she was the sad one wearing white....Anyway, sheâs gone on a bit of a power trip. Itâs fucking with my investments.â
âWell, itâs a little more complicated than that,â Mimi hummed, âIâm supposed to be Godmother to their - Catherine and The Swiss Kingâs - new baby...Though, to be honest, Iâm not much in the mood for parties and babies, recently.â Absent, manicured fingers drummed against the ornate coffee table. âPlus youâre right. This place is...Weâve been living too closely. Weâre too enmeshed with one another. --Whatever happened to the days of having a foreign prince shipped over based on nothing but papal recommendation and a portrait? You got married, you made polite small talk for a few months, then you died in war or childbirth. Nice and straightforward.â She sighed, mock wistful, but it turned serious when she looked back to her cousin. âThough are you sure thatâs a good idea? Being alone there? --At least here you have Giselle and Julesâ help...Iâm not saying youâre overworking yourself,â she splayed out her hands in a gesture of surrender already. âI wouldnât know âoverworking yourselfâ if it hit me in the nose. Arthur Jr. style,â she mimed throwing a punch, trying desperately to lighten the mood (and probably achieving the opposite) before she said, âbut I know youâre not taking coke to party longer.â












