20:19 <banana> It's Monday night in Manchester. The last rays of the sun are creeping over the horizon, battling with the clouds; soon it will be full dark, although the city centre where Willie lives is never really without light. 20:19 <VoxPVoxD> That's why she's got the blackout curtains in her bedroom. Very sensitive to light pollution. 20:20 <banana> Sergio agreed to dinner and promised to bring wine for it. Did she ask him for red, or white? 20:23 <VoxPVoxD> Good question. Willie hadn't really decided what she was making before Sergio asked. They did French last time. Her current range is still too weak for proper wok work so anything east Asian is out. Italian's an obvious no-go; making Italian on a second date with a man who had at least one Sicilian grandma? There's only so many ways Willie is prepared to take her life into her own hands in 20:23 <VoxPVoxD> one evening. 20:24 <banana> Good call. Does Willie even know where to get fresh melanzane? 20:24 <VoxPVoxD> Yes. 20:24 <VoxPVoxD> London. 20:27 <VoxPVoxD> Little thoughts like that keep coming up. Most of her mind's RAM is devoted to the thought processes that would attend a normal date, but every once in a while, bobbing up like a dead body dislodged by a river current, is the irrefutable suspicion that this handsome, well-mannered, artistically gifted man is planning to kill and eat her. But then they vanish just as quickly, like that same 20:27 <VoxPVoxD> body dragged back beneath the surface as the river surges out to a vast and foreign sea. 20:29 <VoxPVoxD> Oh! Sergio's a red meat man. That's a good thought. Willie will advise that he bring a red, something round and muscular, like a burgundy. 20:30 <VoxPVoxD> She's going to make a deconstructed Beef Wellington. Bit cheeky, perhaps. But she's certainly not going to make actual Beef Wellington, the worst dish in English haute cuisine, a 120 quid meat pie you can't even eat with your hands. 20:31 <VoxPVoxD> But all the individual components are so good. Some parma ham-wrapped fillets with a madeira sauce, a duxelles and puff pastry tart... yeah! Yeah!! 20:31 <VoxPVoxD> Maybe it'll be the only Wellington getting deconstructed tonight. 20:31 <VoxPVoxD> Oh, hush, you. Me. 20:34 <banana> Of course Sergio's not expecting to arrive to find all the work done and ready for serving. Willie's sick! If the dish requires it she might have started on some components early, but he should be arriving around... now. 20:36 <banana> With the first drops of moonlight comes a buzz on the intercom channel. 20:37 <VoxPVoxD> Then the pastry's in the oven and the meat is wrapped, seasoned, and coming up to room temperature before searing. She hits or holds the button significantly more than is needed. 20:39 <banana> A minute later, Sergio Bonasera is at the door. He's dressed more casually than on the weekend in a maroon button-up shirt and skinny-tailored slacks; he also has a paper-wrapped bottle under one arm and a little cloth bag in the same hand. 20:40 <VoxPVoxD> Her one concession to probable-anaemia is she didn't wear a suit to work from home, for the first time since she started doing Jack work. She's still in her day clothes, a nice noisy silk blouse the color of copper and cold iron. She looks genuinely happy to see him, because she is. She also looks a fair bit paler and tireder than she did at the start of her first date. But she could look 20:40 <VoxPVoxD> a lot worse. 20:42 <VoxPVoxD> She stands in the doorway a moment, beaming at him, before she says, "Oh! Do come in." 20:42 <VoxPVoxD> He gets a hug and a peck on the cheek once he's across the threshold, and then a longer, less chaste kiss when he puts the wine down. 20:45 <banana> Sergio beams too; his eyes are only a little concerned. "It's great to see you again.. I do hope this isn't too much-" But evidently it isn't. 20:45 <banana> He's an exceptional kisser. 20:45 <VoxPVoxD> Mmmmm. Maybe this is what she remembers. 20:46 <banana> The wine finds its way onto the countertop. "What an entrée, Willie." 20:47 <banana> "I have gifts.. or superstitions." 20:47 <VoxPVoxD> Gently, after they separate: "I thought about keeping 2 metres apart, just in case, but this place isn't that big." It's true, it isn't, but it is airy and very well-decorated, with competent but not visionary photos of places she's been — someone with a globetrotter's eye would see four different continents, twice as many cities, all in tasteful dark wood frames arranged with a 20:47 <VoxPVoxD> relentless eye for balance. 20:47 <banana> Honestly, he doesn't seem to have looked round much yet. Otherwise occupied. 20:48 <VoxPVoxD> "Ah! Well. Not yet. It might turn out to be a waste of fillet." 20:48 <VoxPVoxD> "But that is the plan." 20:48 <VoxPVoxD> A wan smile. "And how are you? You look good. Obviously." 20:49 <VoxPVoxD> Her eyes have only just fallen from Sergio's to alight on the gifts(?). 20:50 <banana> Sergio laughs. "Well, to me it was only obvious that I was trying.. you look like a beautiful woman who could do with a rest." 20:50 <banana> "Honestly? I can't cook beyond following instructions. Please, use my hands however you like." 20:51 <VoxPVoxD> It takes Willie a moment to gather her thoughts. 20:51 <VoxPVoxD> "Right! How are you with fire?" 20:52 <VoxPVoxD> "The fillets should be rested. Get a knob of butter in the pan there, put it to 7." 20:53 <banana> In the bag Sergio's set down is a little glass jar within mixed.. spices or something, and a metal device containing a clove of garlic. He doesn't mention them for now - he's focusing on the kitchen and her instructions. 20:54 <banana> "I'll try to keep the fire at at a remove. Butter I can manage..." He does know how to keep it from spitting, at least. 20:57 <banana> As you cook, he makes inquiries. "How's Deputy Director Willie liking this place? It's all pretty new. No inspection notices on the gas and you've got some amazing photographs... of other cities." 21:02 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Good, good. It only needs to be that high for a bit. We're going to sear the meat and then back down the temperature and baste the fillets with the butter and rosemary." Then: "Ah. Well, you know. Moving's hard. I'm still getting my legs under me. I miss London terribly. But I don't regret it, and I'm starting to adapt and enjoy it." 21:03 <VoxPVoxD> "I took those while out with friends. You're the first person I've met socially in Manchester that wasn't through work." 21:04 <VoxPVoxD> "Manchester's not as lively as London, or as stylish as Milan, or as pretty in the dark as Tokyo. But I'm starting to like it here." 21:05 <VoxPVoxD> "I was hoping to meet some of your friends, but I am just totally wiped. I don't know what it is." 21:05 <banana> Sergio: "Lucky me. 'Course it's been an awful time for meeting, as well as for travel and so on." 21:06 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Yes. Though I think the worst is finally behind us." 21:06 <banana> "Look, honestly.. I think it's my fault. A cold night, the canal mist, and it isn't exactly a clean area." 21:06 <banana> "Can you forgive my unfortunate choice of walking-spots?" 21:07 <banana> "(This side is done, I think?)" 21:07 <VoxPVoxD> Willie shakes her head. "No, perish the thought. It's not the flu or something. There's all these bizarre symptoms. For instance, my alcohol tolerance is completely shot. I'll need to be careful with that lovely wine. Ah, yes! And turn--" 21:13 <banana> Sergio: "Right, about that. I have things that won't immediately help." 21:13 <banana> "Possibly they never shall." 21:14 <VoxPVoxD> Just ask him. Why are you going to the trouble to make this food if you don't know if he's going to kill you or enslave you first? The answer, of course, is because otherwise her last meal would be a pastry from the Caffe Nero across the street. 21:14 <VoxPVoxD> "Mm?" 21:16 <banana> He'll make sure the kitchen situation is stable for a moment, then move out to the table, raising both eyebrows at Willie as he goes. "I don't know that this really helps, if it's a cold or a bug... however, it was absolutely drilled into me by my mother. My Mamma." 21:17 <banana> Sergio clears his throat and holds up the little metal grinder. "Raw garlic, freshly crushed. You're supposed to suck on it but I could never do that, it's much nicer spread on something.. only if you think it'll go with the meal." 21:19 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I'll butter some toast." 21:20 <banana> He smiles in relief. "The other remedy may or may not work, but it's quite nice regardless." 21:22 <banana> "This is a herbal tea that's primarily sage and thyme, with a bit of mint. You steep it for at least ten minutes, then add a dash of honey if you like. I was assured this recipe is from Catania, despite the suspiciously English ingredients." 21:27 <VoxPVoxD> "That sounds reasonably Sicilian. Maybe if there was fennel as well." Is this a joke? Is there vampire blood in it? No... he seems earnest. Or perhaps just handsome. "Good for after dinner, I think." 21:27 <VoxPVoxD> If there is one. 21:28 <VoxPVoxD> How does Sergio like his meat? Willie tends to favour a rare fillet, to maximise the cut's advantage (texture). 21:30 <banana> Rare would be great. He doesn't profess to have a sophisticated palate but it just tastes good. 21:31 <banana> In fact, it's only some way through the meal, after a little discussion of schooling and current events, that he mentions: "You've done something clever with this dish but I'm afraid I don't understand what it is. A very familiar combination of flavours and parts, or rather the combination isn't familiar, but it should be..." 21:31 <VoxPVoxD> Does rare meat count for— no, it can't possibly. Even if they can eat animal blood, those red juices are not actually blood in the first place. "Oh! Yes. It's a sort of deconstructed Beef Wellington." 21:32 <VoxPVoxD> "I'm never happy with a proper Wellington. Such a feat of engineering, such lovely ingredients, such a disappointing end result on the plate." 21:35 <banana> Sergio turns his head sideways... then the other sideways. It's an interesting gesture, shows off his chin nicely but it looks subconscious. He's thought of something, you think. 21:35 <banana> "I know what you mean, they look a bit like a Lamington in meat. I wonder, is there a chance..." 21:35 <VoxPVoxD> Willie unconsciously tilts her head in kind, as if she were helping his thought process by letting him see her face from different angles. 21:36 <VoxPVoxD> "Mmm?" 21:36 <banana> It does help. "Look, I know it's despicable to mention, but I think I've seen your face in a newspaper. Years ago." 21:37 <VoxPVoxD> Willie grins despite herself. "Just my face?" 21:38 <banana> Sergio coughs and reaches for his wineglass. 21:38 <VoxPVoxD> She leans back a bit, stretching with her neck and shoulders. Still smiling. She's 2/3 of a wineglass in but it feels like 3. "You've found me out. My terrible secret. I hope you know I can never let you leave." 21:39 <VoxPVoxD> "But... yes. A commendable eye. How do you do, Mr. Bonasera? Wilhelmine Wellesley, at your service." 21:39 <banana> "Ah, well. I'll have to resign myself to the consequences." 21:40 <banana> He shrugs- another Continental gesture. "I was already pleased to meet you." 21:41 <VoxPVoxD> Big sigh from Willie. She rests her chin on her hand, looking at him across the little table. "I really like you." 21:42 <banana> Sergio: "Tell you what. If we're doing full introductions, I"- there's a fractional pause as he seems to realise something else. 21:42 <VoxPVoxD> She perks up, but it's all eyebrows. She's slipping into that warm bath again. 21:42 <banana> "I'm actually only working three days a week as an editor. Haven't really given up the dream of cartoons, or other hand-drawn arts. But I'm also not having much success, which leaves me with free time, and.. I'm enjoying spending it with you. Very much." 21:47 <VoxPVoxD> Willie wags a finger on her non-load-bearing hand. "Hang on. You're not just skipping by that little hitch with your smokescreen of bohemian flexible scheduling. You know something... or someone." 21:47 <VoxPVoxD> "A very small number of degrees of separation." 21:47 <VoxPVoxD> "What have I reminded you of?" 21:48 <banana> There's a troubled look on his face. On a less handsome man, it would incorporate wrinkles; Sergio doesn't seem to be capable of them at his age. 21:48 <VoxPVoxD> This is insanely foolish. She can feel it in the pit of her stomach. But it's also forward, decisive, commanding— there's a certain comfort in the forthright, clear-eyed march into danger. 21:49 <VoxPVoxD> Wonder what Bob's up to right now. 21:50 <banana> Sergio's finished most of his meal, which is good, because he seems to be losing appetite. "It's difficult, Willie. This... isn't my secret to tell, but, Christ, how do I put it." 21:51 <banana> "The people whose secret it is would approve of you, just because of your name and family. You'd be in, basically, if you want it. Which actually strikes me as a kind of prejudice." 21:52 <VoxPVoxD> "The friends you spoke of at 63?" 21:52 <VoxPVoxD> "Your midnight bocce friends?" 21:55 <banana> He looks puzzled at that. "The games are only a secret from Greater Manchester police... I think we have some wires crossed." 21:55 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Perhaps." 21:55 <banana> "Actually, I'd rather not sit around guessing about secrets and spoil the evening. Hmm." 21:56 <VoxPVoxD> She finishes the wine in her glass. She's done with her food too. 21:56 <VoxPVoxD> "I quite agree." 21:56 <VoxPVoxD> "I was expecting gossip, perhaps, but not a true secret. I don't want to get you in trouble, or cause you any pain." 21:57 <VoxPVoxD> She means it. Christ alive, she means it. 21:57 <banana> Sergio: "Here's what I suggest. Let's entirely deconstruct Wellington, try the tea - it's good stuff even if it doesn't work. Whatever we feel like tonight. Then.. if you're interested in seeing some mutual acquaintances in a new light, I could arrange it fairly soon. Entirely optional and irritatingly irreversible." 21:58 <banana> "You know the kind of secrets people keep for generations in this country." 21:58 <VoxPVoxD> She really hopes she is mind-controlled because otherwise this is a degree of down-badness for which she would be rightly and viciously roasted by her friends in London. 21:58 <banana> "But no decisions yet, not tonight?" 21:59 <VoxPVoxD> "That suits me very well." 21:59 <banana> Sergio looks really happy. He looks like a guy who's good at compartmentalising. 22:00 <banana> Dishes go in the sink, presumably. "We return to the question of honey." 22:00 <VoxPVoxD> Yeah, no dishwasher yet. "Mmm!" 22:01 <VoxPVoxD> A 'Mmm!' of enthusiastic acknowledgment. She can't taste anything yet but adrenaline. 22:01 <banana> "Hell, I've got to put the kettle on first. You really do need to steep this stuff. It's not tea tea." 22:02 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I wonder what the right grind would be to run ancestral remedy tea through an espresso machine." 22:04 <banana> Sergio: "Oddly, I haven't heard of one. I think if you ask an Italian barista what kind of espresso to take for a fainting sickness, they say 'one shot, black, very small cup'." 22:04 <VoxPVoxD> "A true panacea." 22:04 <banana> "Is the Civil Service as coffee-addicted as private offices?" 22:05 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "It depends. A lot of people do energy drinks now. I can't abide them, personally." 22:06 <banana> Sergio: "Now those I have not tried. I had this vague romantic hope.. the public sector with its traditions and unions, everybody goes home at 4:30 for tea. No need to keep yourself up or worked to the bone?" 22:07 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Most people knock off at 5. I tend to work a bit later, but I tend to cut my team a bit looser as well." 22:07 <VoxPVoxD> "Morale, I think, is the linchpin of productivity." 22:08 <VoxPVoxD> "It's why we're still fully remote even though I'm going absolutely stir-crazy." 22:14 <banana> Sergio leans back on the countertop beside the steeping herbs. "You've got a different feeling for the work than the rest of your team?" 22:14 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I just feel much more at ease in an office than in Microsoft Teams." 22:15 <VoxPVoxD> "But! This is an unusual trait, and as the manager I have to act in the best interests of the small-t team." 22:17 <banana> Sergio: "That's the sort of thing they teach managers, actual professionally-trained ones. You get a lot of tosh about the occupation because most people doing line management aren't professionals; they're promoted from the field, according to the Peter Principle." 22:18 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "So named for the apostle." 22:19 <VoxPVoxD> "Although he did alright, in the end." 22:20 <VoxPVoxD> She takes her mug of tea and sidles close to him. "Listen... how open is your schedule? Do you have to work tomorrow?" 22:20 <VoxPVoxD> "How bohemian can we get?" 22:20 <banana> "I was going to say.. wasn't he the 'rock'? But maybe that was his natural level and promotion to the Pearly Gates was one step too far." 22:22 <banana> Sergio.. chances an arm. Not bowling, he'll just wrap it around Willie's shoulders tentatively. "I have work tomorrow evening, so there's no rush." He's giving her little sideways looks. 22:22 <banana> "Are you feeling at all shaky?" 22:23 <VoxPVoxD> "In your arms? Not a bit." A smile after a pause, acting like she only belatedly realises his meaning. "You're worried about my health? Ah, Sergio. I can take quite a bit of punishment." 22:24 <banana> Bonasera either experiences a genuine internal struggle or portrays one masterfully. 22:25 <banana> After a moment, he does take Willie in his arms, and she feels a sudden flush of warmth. "And what is it you've done wrong, Willie Wellesley?" 22:33 <VoxPVoxD> Willie drags a finger along his jawline. "I don't know yet. But there's always something. Or the appearance of something. Oma called guilt ambition's handmaiden. She had a way with words. The things you do as you fly higher, ever-closer to the sun... the things you can do once you're so high the world below is all remote." 22:33 <VoxPVoxD> She rests her head against his chest. "Willie exalted sat, by merit raised to that bad eminence." 22:34 <VoxPVoxD> Can she hear a heartbeat? 22:34 <banana> She can. It's getting faster. 22:35 <banana> Sergio: "You're amazing. Something about you has me making good decisions at an unprecedented rate. I want to see that flight, to trust it isn't Icarian." 22:36 <VoxPVoxD> Smiling up at him: "I want that too." 22:36 <VoxPVoxD> "I won't insist that you stay. Tonight at least. But you're more than welcome." 22:47 <banana> He shouldn't. Something went wrong on Saturday, despite the glorious taste of it, too much taken and little received - and now there's a chance that this could be real. 22:47 <banana> Or a chance it all goes to Hell for her, the Duke of Wellington's only daughter, and it's his fault - brought low by a nobody. Wouldn't that be in keeping with Weaste's new principles of victory. 22:49 <banana> Either way, it's a deceit that might actually matter. In the other column: her expectations, her tentative trust, her shape, the natural end to an excellent evening. And prices worth paying. 22:50 <banana> "Well, if I'm more than welcome." He takes possession of her lips rather than her throat. An endearing novelty. 22:52 <VoxPVoxD> The insistent little voice that kept demanding to know what she thought she was doing is silent or dead. Oh right. This is why.