It's a Business Doing PleasureIndex | Time Under Chaos | Game Logs | PreGameLogs | It's a Business doing Pleasure Jurt lounged in a chair across the desk from Petra, a comfortable sprawl. This was the third or fourth evening he had accompanied the King to the Queen and shortly there after had asked to speak privately with his kinswoman. "I won't beat around the bush, Petra," Jurt began, speaking over the top of his tumbler of gin. "I like Janelle and was wondering what sort of exclusivity I might be able to purchase?" Petra's lifted eyebrow was the only mark of her surprise. She reached behind her and yanked a heavy tasseled rope of silk. When she turned back it was to pick up a pen and scribble out a note. Then she looked back up at Jurt. "Purchase? I think you have a mistaken impression of what Janelle's original training was for. She's a courtesan. In Cornaro, that means being attached to one person at a time. In turn, you will see to her support and needs. So, what you are paying for, my dear cousin, is rent to me for her rooms here, her support and any gifts you would care to bestow on her. I'll expect her help playing hostess when you haven't a need for her." The door opened and one of the younger males on the staff sauntered in and Petra handed him the note. "Tell Janelle I would like a reply within the hour." Without a glance at Jurt, Armand nods and leaves on his errand. Jurt chuckles when the boy's gone. "I apologize if I misrepresented my interests with poor phrasing. Arrangements such as these in Chaos are, more complicated. Tests to determine the... courtesan's... level of ability in shaping, toxicity of bodily fluids, mental conditioning and the like." He gestures with the drink out toward the open sea. "Some sons ramble off into the Black Zone because it's simpler and often safer, not to mention cheaper, than finding a guild licensed woman. The slave trade is a common solution as well, but pleasures there are... different." "I have the... benefit of being shaped of Order as my mother was and respond well to Ordered pleasures of the flesh." He tosses back another sip and seems pleased by the tone his wet finger produces on the crystal tumbler's rim. "I understand that we're not dealing in slavery in this case, that I would not be purchasing the girl and that whatever I might offer in this circumstances will fill the purposes you so well outlined." "I'm rambling again, aren't I?" Jurt shakes his head, focusing on the few remaining ice cubes in the drink. "That's part of why I enjoy her company. I don't prattle on." "So, your terms? I know what a room's rental is for a night, but surely there's a rounder figure by the season or such?" Petra folded her hands in front of her on the desk and gave him a patient look while he prattled. She smiled when he wound down. "Actually, you don't know. Janelle is guild licensed, just not from a guild you know. But that's all right. It will be as if you were paying the lease on her very nice apartment and maid service, and yes, there is a contract and there is a flat rate for her room and board. Think of me as her landlady and her lawyer for this." She cocked her head and leaned back in her chair. "Have you talked to her about this?" "Yes and like any woman with a sensible head on her shoulders, she told me to talk to her... well... lawyer," Jurt says with a smile. "I assume that your note goes to confirm such things." "Of course, if she replies otherwise, I have no desire to pursue the issue." He drains the glass, listening to the cubes *tink* against the side. "Nor would I expect that you would let me." "Has she had other... patrons? Long term ones here in Amber?" Petra looked thoughtfully up at the ceiling. "No. Someone told me once that I didn't sell sex here, I sold intimacy - which is completely different and, in a way, he was correct. You might be surprised at how many men just want someone to listen to them, someone just to hold while they sleep. I have one client from the GC that comes in about once a month, hires about six people for the night, and just wants feed back on a book he's writing." She looked at Jurt again. "I grabbed most of my staff straight from The Jade. They never went out into the world they were intended for, so no long-term patrons back home either. " Jurt nodded, seemingly pleased with the answer. She leaned forward again at her gaze intensified. "Janelle is more than her appearance and her talent. I know she hasn't had any complaints about you, but please don't treat her like those airheads I've seen in the other gentleman's club in the city." "It would be cocky if I were to suggest that I would never do such a thing, but it would also very likely be lying if I didn't know what you mean," he answers, sucking an ice cube into his mouth. "Just what are you asking me to avoid?" "I am asking you to remember that she's a woman with a brain," Petra replied curtly. "Janelle and the others may well have a more complete and rounded education than anyone else in Amber that isn't one of us. It's what they teach at The Jade. She is everything the cortigiana onesta are supposed to be." She smiled crookedly. "And I promise you this: you will never be bored as long as you remember that." "Wonderful," Jurt answers, pleased with the answer. "Do they play Waystones in Cornaro, or perhaps teach them at The Jade? I can have a set delivered from the castle. She seemed to enjoy discussing poetry, but I don't know how much of that was just for my sake. I had thought to send a few volumes of Didias's poetry, no matter how these negotiations went, but if you've any suggestions... " "We have something like that," Petra nods. "And she wipes the floor with everyone but Ramon and Vincenzo in Jackals and Hounds. She honestly does enjoy poetry and even writes it on ocassion. In its native language it is very lyrical. Sadly, it doesn't translate well to Thari. So blank journals would perhaps be good." "She likes books. Pretty much anything except military history, she plays the harp and in spite of how smart she is, she is still woman enough to be enjoy clothes and jewelry." With that Petra rose and retrieved from the bar a bottle of the gin he had been drinking and a glass of something the color of fresh blood before returning to the desk. "Freshen your drink. I imagine she'll be here in just a few minutes." Jurt poured himself another and smiled. "So, if she doesn't object, should I pay some deposit or can you direct the bill to the exchequer?" "I'll take care of it," Petra assured him affably. "After today, we won't need to discuss this until the contract term is up. Which is a year." "That will be wonderful," he answers sipping at the gin, looking over Petra with obvious appraisal. "Cousin, just how did you find yourself in such a place?" Jurt wondered aloud. She looked puzzled by the question. "You mean the Queen or my position on it?" "The Queen, of course," Jurt chuckles. "I wouldn't expect any place less than the head of most anyplace you call home." "I built it, you know," she grinned. "I attended The Jade too, the same time as Janelle, Antonia, Aura, Sorcha, and Ornella. Stalmos was on the staff there. I started there because I was bored, and a courtesan's life in Cornaro is a very good one. After I met your brother and let him talk me into coming back here, I discovered my self at loose ends. As much as I love a good game of chance, there comes a time when even it is boring." "And then I visited the places in the city that called themselves Gentlemen's Clubs." Petra tsked and shook her head sadly. "The only difference between them and a whorehouse is the setting. I sent Vincenzo and Sergio out to investigate them one night. They were terribly disappointed in both the company and the atmosphere." She smiled. "And I confess, I didn't particularly feel that those places were worthy of Merlin's patronage and, by extension, the rest of our little group." "And so, I met with some of Amber's finest gentlemen -and a few ladies - who were both wealthy and intelligent and explained my ideas for an elegant place where they could find companionship both physical and intellectual with no strings attached. A place I would personally staff with the best I could find of everything. They couldn't get their wallets out fast enough." "I have a good head for business, and I *know* this business because I was trained to be a part of it. It isn't *exactly* what The Jade prepared me for, this is more in line with Mansion dei Piaceri Terrosi. After such lofty promises, I couldn't very well leave it in anyone else's hands, even after the loans were paid back. She flashed a cocky smile. "Besides, I enjoy myself." Jurt nods. "It makes sense," he agreed. "If you enjoy your job, then you never have to work a day in your life, eh?" "And in general, I must admit, my brother seems on better behavior here than other places he frequents," Jurt added dryly. "Is that a Jade secret or just one of yours?" She tapped the tip of a well manicured nail against her chin thoughtfully. "A little of both, perhaps. It also behooves my business interests to keep your brother happy with his visits here." She turned to look at the door a split second before the double knock came. "Entrare." Janelle's tall, leggy form slipped through the door and closed it behind her. She smiled and gave Jurt a sly wink as she approached the desk. Jurt returned the wink and raised her a smile just as sly. "I'm going to go out on a limb and say you know what this is about," Petra said wryly and waved Janelle into the chair beside Jurt's. "Si," the redhead noded and continued in a more formal tone. "È la scelta che faccio." Petra's responding nod was solemn. She opened a desk drawer and pulled out two things. One was four copies of a contract outlining the rights and responsibilities of all three parties involved. They included Jurt's financial responsibilities, and an insurance clause in case anything done by Jurt or caused by his actions led to Janelle's physical harm or death. The contract period was for one year with the option for renewal at the end of that time. Jurt's practiced eye devoured the contract quickly, asking for clarification on any points that seemed vague and when satisfied, signed all four copies in a lazy flowing script. From his pocket he produced a small package wrapped in silver paper topped by a crimson bow. "A token," he offered once Janelle had also signed. Within is a slim bracelet of polished silver set with a marquis cut amethyst. "The stone is thought to help alleviate stress and promote calm and serenity," he explains. Janelle beamed, obviously very pleased. "It is beautiful. Would you?" She held out the bracelet and her wrist for him to clasp it on her slim wrist. Jurt did so, kissing the pulse point on her wrist as he finished. No matter what the life, fair skinned redheads always blush. Janelle's cheeks tinged a charming pink while she watched him from under her lashes. She gave him that smile that he knew the meaning of oh, so well. While they were otherwise engaged, Petra signed and sealed the contracts with her personal signet. She sat back and waited for the moment to be over, not wanting to interrupt with the last of the business. Sensing his host's patience, he turned back with a smile. "Anything else, before we take our leave, cousin?" "Just this." Petra turned from smiling at Janelle and slide a Trump card across the desk to him. "While surprises are nice, a call in advance is appreciated too. I will send your copy of the paperwork to the castle." "A wonderful idea. My thanks," Jurt answered. Petra then leaned back in her chair and regarded Janelle. "Perhaps you would care to show Jurt your *real* rooms now?" "Si," the redhead nodded and flowed gracefully to her feet. "Yes." She turned and looked at Jurt. "If you like." "By all means," he replied. "I had cleared my schedule for intense negotiations this afternoon, but this, like everything on the Queen, was wonderfully pleasant." "And only promises to be more so." He held the door for her and nodded his farewell to his cousin with a simple smile, suggestive of nothing.
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