13 | Consequences

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"CORNELIUS COULD YOU take these to the dry cleaners in the village?" Autumn asked her greying butler with quite the nose on him, but didn't leave room for argument.

"Please," I said, which made his eyebrows flicker ever so slightly upwards. With a slightly fumbled turn, he was out of the door and racing off in a hastened walk to, I assume, the village— my shirt in hand.

Autumn had leant me one of her pyjama tops to wear as a substitute. Unlike my oversized, very old shirt— which I'm pretty sure I got as a freeby from some newspaper— hers was silk. Not having come across much silk in my eighteen years of life, I didn't really have a preference for it, let alone knew what was the good stuff and what wasn't. Even so, by just how comfortable it was, I knew it must be expensive, very expensive.

"What really happened, Jolie?" She asked the question I knew she'd been wanting to for the past half an hour.

"It was nothing," I lied.

"Yes, okay, and I'm a fraudster."

I stared at her, trying to suss whether she was lying, too. I mean, it wasn't so far-fetched for a wealthy business person to be on the wrong side of the law. And if my sources (aka Miles) were correct, both Autumn and her brother were involved in business, successful businesses.

"I'm not a fraudster," she verified, having watched me in thought for the past few seconds, an incredulous look on her face. "Just tell me what happened."

"Some girl spillt her drink on me," I relented. And having seen her expression, added, "It was nothing."

"On purpose?"

"Yes." I couldn't exactly lie to her again, her having let me borrow clothes... and after seeing through my lie before.

"You know I can have a word," she offered. "Pull some strings."

"I can handle it," I said, sternly. "Sorry, I'm stressed at the moment. Just a bit touchy-" a bit? "Honestly, I'm fine."

"You know if you ever need to talk to someone, I'm here." I let her place a reassuring hand over mine, and nodded in appreciation.

The door opened suddenly and the dragon girl appeared. I'd settled on that name, having seen how her fiery hair was well-suited to her fiery character.

"Honestly Autumn," she chastised. "It's like you want a disease, what taking in the homeless and all." I hadn't noticed it before, but slightly, ever so slightly, a german accent coated her words.

Autumn rose. "There's no need to be so—"

"It's fine," I said, rising myself. "I was just leaving, anyway."

I ignored Michelle's grimace; I ignored the rise of her perfectly arched eyebrow; and I ignored the way she turned her head away as I passed.

I bid farewell to Autumn just in time, before the door was promptly slammed in my face.

***

"Mum, everything's great. The people," save for everyone other than Autumn and Miles. "are great, very... accommodating."

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