| Details for The Wolf in Wolfgang |
| Summary: | Josefa has an encounter with Wolfgang in his flat. |
| Date: | September 21, 1937 |
| Location: | Wolfgang's Flat |
| Related: | — |
| Characters |
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Josefa never did come back from the bathroom. Eventually somebody found her on the sweeps to clear the place out, snoozing in a stall. Glamorous. Oh well, we can't all hold our liquor, and she had had three martinis and a cognac, which is a lot for a small young lady. The employee who found her helps her sway over to the bar and sets her down in a seat and goes to find Wolfgang.
Wolfgang actually sent the worker in after Josefa didn't come out after awhile. So he's very on hand to scoop her up out of the lady cook's arms he sent in for her and carefully cradles her like a sleeping princess in his arms to carry her up into the VIP Lounge. The side of his chin resting against her forehead as they go, a little melody buh-buh-buh crooning softly being sung to her.
Josefa is such a princess! And she's more than happy to snuggle on up to him and sigh contently when he scoops her up. "You smell nice," she informs him. Though, realistically, even the cook was a step up from sleeping on the bathroom floor, which, while undoubtedly clean, still smelled like bathroom floor.
Wolfgang chuckles softly and even places a kiss on her forehead. "Wish I could say the same for you Doll. Don't worry though. Wolfie's got ya." He carries her over to a booth and slides away the table after laying her down. One of his worker's comes over and has a mug of something bubbly and steaming and smelling like peppermint. "Here you go, sip that."
Josefa lifts her arm and sniffs it experimentally. "Hmm," she agrees in disapproval. She's usually well put-together, so she's going to be awfully embarrassed when this passes. Propping an elbow under herself she takes the mug from him and sniffs it daintily. You never know! It could be awful, and poisonous, and medicinal. It probably is. She sips it anyway, dutifully. "I take it I'm not the first girl you've picked up off the floor."
The potion soothes her stomach and makes her smell better. Like peppermint. "Not really, but it's probably not in the way you are thinking either." He reaches up to sweep and shift Josefa's hair about to make it look a little less just came from snuggling a loo. "There now, how are you feeling? If you'd like I can take you to my flat upstairs and you can further freshen up. I even have a very nice carpet that if you feel the urge to curl up on, it's much nicer than the loo you just graced."
Josefa takes a few more gulps of potion before it's fair to say she's feeling human again. Eyes closed she leans her head lightly into his brushing hand. "Better," she admits, smiling. "Thank you." Her eyes flick open at the offer, an eyebrow raised. "Carpet, you say?" Is she teasing him? "Why sir, carpet looks much better on me than loo. But what will the neighbors say?" Yes. She's teasing him.
Wolfgang grins and chuckles. "Well the great thing about living above a club, no neighbors." He teases her right back, "And you Miss Loucks, could make a shredded burlap garbage bag look wonderful."
Josefa probably could. "Oh, you're just saying that," she flutters, blushing. And then she clears her throat and pulls herself up into a seated position, tucking her hands into her lap. "Well. If you don't mind the company, I'm not going to turn down a chance to see if your carpet is really as nice as you say." For science, of course.
Wolfgang chuckles and points to the remnants of the potion. "Only after you've finished that off." Don't want her making his bathroom floor upstairs smell like the loo floor down in the club! "I warn you though, I'm just really moving in after renovating. So it's not exactly as grand as you might expect."
Josefa dutifully lifts the mug and takes another sip of it. Just trying to earn those good girl points. His admission earns a laugh from her however, and a little shake of her head. "I live in Hoxton, Mr. Montague. I sleep on a matress on the floor, and my refrigerator only works because I've charmed it to. If you show me back into your loo, I'll still think it far nicer than my flat."
Wolfgang frowns at this news, "I thought you might be living with family in Hoxton. What's a dame like you living in Hoxton for?" He offers her both his hands to help her up and then he slides an arm around her back to help her stay steady as she walks. "You know I'm in realty? I could get you set up with a place much more suited to a girl like you."
Josefa takes a deep breath and smiles awkwardly, finishing the potion and getting to her feet. "Ah, that. Well, my parents live in Ireland, and I was living with them, but I work here in London at the Ministry. They're muggles, so I couldn't get approval to connect the Floo, and I'm pants on a broom, and well, I haven't apparated since I splinched myself. So it just made more sense to move here." She's babbling and she knows it so she stops to take a great big breath before mumbling, "That's…kind. But I can't afford it."
Wolfgang shakes his head, "Doll, trust me, there's plenty of other places than Hoxton that can fit in your budget. You sound like your pretty much disaster at anything having to do with travel. Glad you didn't blow up my limo the other night." He winks at her and then leads the way to a private stairwell.
"I'm a bit shocked I didn't blow it up myself," she says with a grin. "Actually, I'm rather good at driving. But you can't drive from Ireland every day." Josefa wobbles, placing her hand on his shoulder for stability, and then chuckles. "Well, I'm a bit of a mess, aren't I? I'm sorry about this."
Wolfgang leads her through the rather nicely appointed art deco penthouse suite. Definitely the home of a playboy of his caliber. "The bathroom is right this way. You're not a mess, just merely learning your limits now that you're out on your own."
Josefa certainly has those. Limits. "Ah," she says gratefully when he shows her to the bathroom. "It's nice," she adds, nodding around in general. "Much nicer than I've ever been in," she admits. "Except maybe Hufflepuff's dorms." Which is saying something. "Is it alright if I take a shower, then?"
Wolfgang nods and leans on the wall just to one side of the outside of the bathroom. "You can take a shower, or bath. There should be some bubble bath and shampoo and all that sort of Dame things you use in there. If you want to pass me your clothes I'll get them cleaned up for you. There's a robe on the other side of the wall."
Josefa glances askance at him, resting her hand on the doorjamb. "Thank you," she says again, pressing her lips together. It's an odd look to give a person, a bit of consternation and appreciation mixed together. Then she passes into the bathroom and closes the door. After a few moments her hand emerges through a crack in the door, holding out her dress.
Wolfgang takes the dress and walks off with it to leave her to her refreshing. Several minutes he returns and gives a light rap to the door. "How's your stomach? I'm starving so I've had some food started to be sent up soon." He calls through the door.
The tap runs for a good few minutes before a gleeful Josefa calls, "Your water is /clear/." Mercy take us all if that's all it takes to make her happy. "I could eat," she agrees in a more reasonable tone, probably neck-deep in bubbles at this point, when he taps on the door. "It must be nice, having someone to cook for you whenever you want," she muses, the soft sounds of little splashes accompanying her words. "If I'm hungry in the middle of the night I usually just pick something out of the ice box and hope it's not spoiled yet."
Wolfgang chuckles, "Stick with me kid, and you'll never go hungry again. So don't drown, meal will be up in twenty minutes…" His voice fades as he walks away from the bathroom to handle some things.
Josefa has a snort for him and nothing further to say. Some people are just spoiled! And you can bet she'll soak for at least most of those twenty minutes, finally emerging to wrap herself in the robe and dry her hair with a quick drying charm. Compared to her normal curled and coifed appearance, her hair hanging long and straight and all of the makeup washed away is a change, but not unpleasant. If you're going to spend time in a man's bathtub and eat his food, you can probably stand to go 'undone' in front of him for a little while.
Wolfgang looks very taken with her natural look and even comments, "I didn't think you could get any more beautiful." He stands up from where he is in the dining room to pull out a chair for her. The table is already set, a pile of saltimbocca and a small deep dish for two lasagna with 50 layers.
"Now you're just flattering me," murmurs Josefa, though obviously thrilled by the way she blushes. She walks barefoot over to the table and seats herself in the chair he pulls out, making sure the robe is secure as she does so. "I hope you didn't go through all this on my account," she adds, eyeing the food. "I'm kind of a…fish and chips on the couch kind of girl."
Wolfgang serves her and shakes his head. "Would you like to go settle on the couch? I can turn on the wireless and we can eat there, what ever would make you more comfortable. I can also have some fish and chips sent up." He really is a man that caters to a dame's desires.
Josefa is not used to being catered to, judging by the uncomfortable (and actually kind of horrified) look she gives him. "This is fine," she murmurs, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "Well, it's nice to live differently, isn't it?" She leans forward and gives him a grin. "I can pretend. I might even be able to eat with the right fork." Now she's teasing him again.
Wolfgang smirks and puts on a face that's shock and disgust. "Fork? You don't use a fork with lasagna!" To continue on with the teasing he picks up his spoon and feeds himself a bite of the thick pasta dish. "You really think I'm some rich snob…don't you?" He asks more seriously, though not in a bad way. Just more curious and perhaps worried that she's got this picture of him in her head.
Josefa looks at him for a few moments like she's not sure if he's having a joke on her, and then she shrugs and picks her spoon up too and sections off a bite to eat. Chewing gives her a moment to decide the best way to answer that. Once she's swallowed, she replies, "I certainly think you're rich. A snob… no. I think you're trouble," she adds with a smile, cutting off another spoonful of lasagna. "But I can handle a litle bit of that."
Wolfgang reaches with his hands to pick up a saltimbocca roll and pops it into his mouth and chews it. He bobs his head gratefully when she says he's no snob. But then gives a little headshake and wolfish grin when he's called trouble. He washes the mouthful with his red wine and then protests. "Trouble? Man, that's the second person that doesn't know me very well accusing me of being trouble. How am I trouble? I also am not rich. I was rich before I put most my money into this place, not I could possibly be considered well-to-do." He gives her a wink and then gestures towards himself. "So how do you think I'm trouble?"
Josefa gives a very unladylike snort of amusement and simply eats more lasagna. This is, of course, the best course of action when you're trying to stay out of trouble yourself. "Well-to-do. Indeed. Well, I'll cry you a river when you become my neighbor, Mister Montague." Look at all this glorious ricotta! Let's focus on that for a moment. And so she does. All up until she finally has to justify her assessment that he's trouble. "Telling the gang on the rough side of town to leave one bird alone is impressive, you know. I don't think they'd listen if they weren't afraid of you for some reason. And why would they be afraid of you if you weren't trouble?"
Wolfgang looks at her with a bit of confusion. "Telling the gang to leave you alone? Miss Loucks, I believe the only thing I said was that you didn't have to worry about my limo's welfare when it dropped you off that night. Shore is an appreciator of fine vehicles and he knows better to mess with another man's vehicle." He takes another drink of his wine and another roll of lamb presuitto and sage into his mouth. Looking at her expectantly and as sweet as a lamb that was mistaken for a wolf as he chews.
Josefa gives him a measured look and then looks down at her food again, finishing her lasagna and gently moving the dish away. "Well then…" After that she seems at a loss for words. "I suppose I misinterpreted what you had said… Given the direction of my worry, in accepting your assistance, I had only assumed…" She presses her lips together and allows the subject to die quietly in the dirt rather than speak on. "Thank you for the meal. And the shower."
Wolfgang stands and moves to help her slide out her seat since she seems like she'd like to go. "I'm not upset or anything. It just sounds to me like there was some miscommunication some where. You were very sweet to worry about my limo that night. It's what made you stand out. Well that and you can sure dance. If you would allow me, I would like to take you out some time soon, show you around the city, and take you to a couple of those places we talked about. There is this one place down in Elephant and Castle, I think it's the perfect place for you."
Josefa's eyebrows are starting to knit. She gently extracts her hands from his. "I was not worried about your limo," she informs him, her words growing tight and clipped. "I was worried that your limo would get me mugged." And really, now you know why the Hufflepuffs' mascot is a badger, because Jo can really snarl when she wants to. "Perhaps it's well we've cleared up this misunderstanding now." Brown eyes dart past him. "I don't think it will be necessary. I have a flat, and perfectly fine neighbors." And if one stalks her routinely… well… that's a small inconvenience. "But thank you. I've very grateful for what you've done for me tonight."
Wolfgang frowns, genuinely perplexed by how his trying to convince her that he's not Trouble, capital T and all has gotten her so upset with him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I was just teasing." He smiles warm and as always with that bit of wolfish wuff in his expression. "Please don't be cross with me. I was just curious why you would think me trouble, the very day after I have a Hit Wizard dropping your name on me. Making it clear that I shouldn't be doing things to make sure you're alright. I was only worried that he might have skewed you on the kind of man I am."
That quenches Josefa's ire briefly, very briefly, the hint that a certain Hit Wizard has been marching around town talking about her with anyone, let along Wolfgang… And just as the fire was flickering down, now it's roaring to life. "Gideon." She says his name like it's a curse — maybe he is a curse, or so it feels lately. "You understand this, Mister Montague, I make up my own mind about people." And while she may have dismissed him now as 'Trouble', you can bet he's wound up on her 'rich fop' list. "If you'll excuse me…I have a threadbare carpet to go curl up on." And then she turns to make a very dramatic exit… in the bathrobe.
Wolfgang smirks and enjoys watching her make said dramatic exit. "I'll see you tomorrow then." Is called after her and he lets her go in the bathrobe. When she gets downstairs on the street is the limo and the driver is holding open the back passenger door open for her.
Josefa keeps right on walking past the limo, a stubborn set on her face. Spiteful little minx that she is, she'll probably walk the whole way home, too, and woe be anyone who bothers her. The Obliviators might find themselves with some extra work thanks to
this one.