Sunday, May 07, In The Year 724 After the Founding Approximately 4:40 p.m.

Mario presented himself to the front door of the Donetti domicile. He had retrieved his second best outfit from storage. It was the one he wore when meeting a new client he wanted to impress but didn't want to give the impression that he was rich and thus a good candidate for being fleeced. If one were to characterize it, one might call it tasteful and of moderately high quality but not flashy.

As always, whether by inborn radar or perhaps by peeping out of a window, Mimi opened the door just before he could knock. He smiled, greeted her, and offered his hat to be hung on a peg by the door. In families like this you didn't hang up your own things. It would mark you as a peasant.

He was led to the family parlor where he was greeted only by Miranda. She looked him over then murmured, "A good choice." She waved him to a seat then turned to Mimi and said, "Proceed." Mario had no idea what was proceeding when Mimi left, but his curiosity was satisfied moments later when Stavros and Consuela descended upon the room.

It appeared that they were arguing about something, as their faces were flushed and Mario had heard raised voices approaching. All that stopped instantly when they beheld him sitting on the settee. The gaze directed at him by these children, who were obviously twins, was more than a little unsettling. There was a stranger, and he was in the FAMILY parlor not the one used by guests. It was like they were puppies trying to decide if he was a new toy or something to be barked at and chased away.

They were brought to heel by Miranda saying calmly, in a toneless voice, "How interesting. It appears that you two will need some further instruction in proper manners in the near future."

Upon hearing their mother, the twins recoiled as if they'd suddenly noticed a viper in the room. The boy was the first to speak, "I beg your pardon sir. I'm Stavros Donetti. This is my younger twin Consuela. We're pleased to make your acquanitance."

Stavros bowed, Consuela curtsied, then both of them darted looks from the corners of their eyes at their mother.

Miranda nodded, slightly. "Acceptable."

She squared her shoulders. "Now let me make you acquainted with Senior Journeyman Mario Brown. I've known him for, what is it now, over four years, I think. Is that right Mario?"

Mario smiled, "Indeed yes Mrs. Donetti. It will be five years in September." Mario snorted internally. "Over four years" my foot. She could probably tell him not only the day of the week they'd met, but the hour as well.

He felt more than heard the faintest rustling of a skirt just outside the door, but when he looked, he saw nothing. It appeared that Eugenia had arrived as well.

Moments later a tall, squarely built man who was dressed impeccably, but still casually, walked into the room. He opened his mouth to speak, then, catching sight of Mario, who had jumped to his feet, looked at Miranda and raised an eyebrow. He had obviously not been expecting to see Mario in the room.

Mario darted an accusing look at Miranda who merely smiled back at him blandly. Wonderful.... He was on his own. Mario bowed. "I'm pleased to meet you Mr. Donetti. I'm Senior Journeyman Mario Brown. I'm grateful for this opportunity to meet you and your younger children. I trust that my accepting your wife's kind invitation to dine with you has not interfered with your plans for the evening. I understand that Sara and Paolo are dining with her parents today?"

He smiled as much at Miranda as at Robert, in essence saying, "HAH. You're not going to stick me with this. The ball's in your court now."

Recognizing Mario's message, Robert turned back to his conniving wife and also smiled, inviting her to confess. Before she could say anything Eugenia entered the room and announced her presence, "Ah. Mario. I trust you had no trouble finding the house?"

As he was still standing Mario turned toward Genie. "Not at all Eugenia. Not at all. I'm happy to see you again."

Robert was not pleased. There was clearly something going on between this Mario and his daughter. Both his wife and daughter had blindsided him, obviously planning on presenting him with a fait accompli. It was also clear that they hadn't told Mario what they were up to either. That look of desperation he'd tossed at his wife had been genuine. To Mario's credit, he'd disguised it rather well.

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So that's the way the wind was blowing. The "ladies" were playing games with both of them. Well, he could play too. "Tell me Mario, how go your affairs this time of year."

"As well as they should be, though, as always, not nearly as well as one would hope. I'm awaiting a shipment from the north, which should be here within the next two days. I'll need to leave town by Friday if I'm to meet my next delivery contract on time."

This boy was very good. He'd casually filled Robert in with the general outline. So he was a merchant of some kind, and, from the look of him, a successful one. Robert mentally chucked himself upside the head. As if Miranda would allow anyone who wasn't successful in the front door, much less into the family parlor.

"And how long have you been 'working' with my wife? I'm afraid that she's never been all that specific about it."

Mario caught the slight emphasis on "working." He almost looked to Miranda for approval, but realized that so doing would diminish Robert's opinion of him. All the information he needed was in the question. "Oh, it's been a while sir. Four years, seven months, and twenty-three days to be exact."

"I see. I see. Well, don't keep standing there like a stranger. Please sit."

Mario resumed his seat on the settee. Robert sat on the only remaining free chair. The twins took the closest love seat. That meant Eugenia needed to sit either on the love seat across the room or on the settee with Mario.

Eugenia calmly walked to the settee and sat. Not at the far end, as she would if he were only a friend of her mother's she wanted to make more comfortable by not leaving him by himself, but not, quite, as close as she would if he were her lover. Once she was seated, she raised her head and looked calmly at her father.

More and more interesting. Declaration of intent made, but not strongly enough that she was shoving it down his throat. Robert also noticed that Mario's left hand had twitched slightly when Genie sat, as if he were restraining an impulse to take her hand. In this family that was a rather obvious error, but Robert knew well that his family members were unusually perceptive. Most people wouldn't have noticed the tic at all. Besides, this Mario fellow was still very young. With a few more years practice he'd do much better.

Robert essayed a question about how the roads were, and the bandit problem. Mario answered clearly, but concisely, while at the same time managing to make what he said interesting enough that the twins weren't fidgeting but were rather paying rapt attention. Soon everyone had relaxed. The discussion ranged far and wide, from the kinds of merchandise arriving on the docks of Naples, to exchange rates in various cities, and to the strange animals and birds Mario had seen in various port cities.

It seemed like only a few minutes, but it had been just over an hour, for Mimi appeared at the doorway and announced, "It's 6 o'clock, Sir, Madame. Dinner is served."

They all trooped to the dining room where Robert himself seated Eugenia next to Mario rather than across the table. He knew that he really had nothing to say about the matter, but this way he at least kept up the appearance that his input had some import.

Dinner lasted almost an hour longer than usual as Mario continued to regale them with stories. Robert noticed that there were a number of times that his wife's bearing indicated that she was taking mental notes as Mario seemingly rambled on about this and that. For that matter, Robert himself had been filing away a number of things pertinent to his own business.

By 8 pm things had wound down enough that everyone was comfortably, but not overly, full of both food and talk. Robert pushed back his chair, stood, and announced, "Thank you for coming tonight Mario. I've enjoyed the evening a great deal more than most."

He looked at the clock on the mantle in such a way that everyone else looked too.

"Well. Well. It's still that early. Mario, since it's finally warmed up this Spring, a chamber music group that my bank sponsors will be putting on a free concert in half an hour. It will be on the green just south of where The West Road reaches The Park."

He put his thumb under his chin and curled his index finger on top of it, "Hmmm. Since you don't live here, you'd probably best have a guide seeing as how it's the first performance of the year and the attendance will likely be rather large, even if it is a Sunday. Genie, would you be willing to show him where it is? If you like, you can stay and listen too. The concert should end by 10. I expect that you'll be able to be back by 11, don't you think?"

When he first started talking about the concert, Genie was at a loss. Why was he bringing it up now? By the time he'd finished speaking, she felt that her grin must have her looking like a total idiot. She stood, turned toward Mario, and said, "Mr. Brown. I'd be pleased to escort you to the concert, if you don't mind walking me home afterwards. It will be a bit late to be on the road by myself."

Mario stood and bowed to Robert. "Mr. Donetti I thank you for your consideration. I do indeed enjoy good music, and having a guide in such a large city would be a great help."

Turning to Eugenia he offered, "My thanks to you as well for offering to be my guide."

Next he faced Miranda. "Thank you for having me. It was an extremely pleasurable evening. It's rare that I can enjoy both the meal and the company."

She smiled warmly. "The pleasure is mine. Please come visit us again. Now, you two had best be going. Robert was right. Even though it's a Sunday, not many will turn down the first concert of the season after such an unusually long winter."

Mario bowed, turned, and followed Genie to the front door, where he retrieved his cap and Genie put on the shawl that Mimi handed her. "So you don't take a chill while you're out."

Once they were outside and a reasonable distance from the house, Genie took Mario's hand. "So we don't get separated in the crowd."

He squeezed her hand gently. "Of course. I'll need to be sure I can find you afterwards. I did promise to escort you back after all."

With that, they both laughed, and strolled hand-in-hand on the way to the first of the events they'd share during their many years together.