[Plot] Offley Place, Great Offley, Hertfordshire, England, UK

[Gus Spencer]

"Nothing criminal, here."

"Or I suppose I should say, nothing legally actionable."

"The Spencers held two seats on the Board. I am saying held, past-tense here."

"Getting a seat on the Board is reserved for those who aren't going to inherit a title."

"Do you see where I'm going with this?"

[Basil Benson]

Basil was silent as his form shuffled a bit, trying to make himself feel more comfortable, but failing. His arms now folded across his torso, he was playing with his tie in thought.

"Yes. I do."

[Colette Rosenhof]

"Is he always this serious or is my sibling rubbing off?"

Dafne asked, arching a brow between the pair of potential cousins as she slowly spooned ice cream into her mouth.

its 1 ofhis 3 emots
the ohters r sullen and

Colette tried her best to soothe Basil a bit, keeping a hand on his back to hopefully keep him grounded. Even if she didn't understand what was going on. What was the importance of getting a title, couldn't one get that just from owning a square foot of certain land?

[Dafne Spencer]

Dafne had a heaping spoonful in her mouth upon checking the next message, spoon and all. In her amusement, she spat it out the utensil in a barely contained laugh, sending it across the table. She barely managed to keep the ice cream in her mouth, but did have to clap her hand over her mouth and nose to make sure it didn't come shooting out of any of the skull orifices.

[Hugo Ealdwine]

Hugo gave Daf a curious yet somehow chastising look, hiding the fact that he was a little amused as well. He had a reputation to maintain after all.

[Gus Spencer]

"It isn't going to get easier if you take this, and nobody really wants to see how the sausage gets made."

"But let's just say it's the upside to not being what your parents expected," Gus says with a faint smirk.

[Basil Benson]

"That's all well and good, but it sounds to me like someone else already has it." Basil replied, his body language incredibly uncomfortable.

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette picked the spoon up off of the table and offered it back to Dafne without even a hint of disapproval.

plz dont tell him i said that
hes haviugn a prety rough day alrready

[Dafne Spencer]

Daf shared one of those informative smirks people who have known each other for awhile share towards Hugo, but she didn't actually explain herself as she took the spoon back from Colette.

I'll do my best.

"Not that flirting with my maybe cousin's girlfriend isn't a lark and all, but are you two going to share with the class, or is the context to this conversation one of those things I'm going to have to stalk you to get like I do most of our family?" She asked, looking between Gus and Basil.

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh good, I am not ze only one who does not understand all of zis."

[Gus Spencer]

"It's pretty simple."

"I'm giving our new friend here a chance to spite George Benson."

[Basil Benson]

"I'm in." He replied, without even pausing to think on it.

[Colette Rosenhof]

"Zat... is one way of getting closure, I suppose."

[Basil Benson]

"Do you disapprove Madame Rosenhof?" He asked, metering his emotional response rather well for Basil.

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette tried to look nonchalant, but the idea of getting revenge on someone worried her. So much could go wrong, there were many things that Basil could come to regret. But at the same time Basil knew his feelings and what he'd gone through his whole life better than anyone else, she couldn't say what was best for him.

"No, I do not. I simply..." She hesitated for a moment. Thinking that she might not be able to express her thoughts properly in English, she slipped back into French.

"This seems so sudden to me, but I supposed you've been considering this for quite some time already. You will always have my full support, no matter your decision. I just hope that you're certain that this is what you want, and you're prepared for the potential consequences."

[Basil Benson]

Basil's gloved left hand makes a gesture to the others that indicates 'one moment'.

He leans in close to whisper to Colette.

"I understand your concern, but this is the first person who has bothered to give me any sort of information on what is going on. What they are effectively telling me is that my curiosity into this situation is going to upset George whether I intend to or not... And if they say what I'm doing is going to upset George anyways, I don't see a point in not fully committing to it."

[Colette Rosenhof]

"Ah yes, that English phrase; in for a penny in for a pound?" She put her hand atop of his and gave it a reassuring squeeze. She understood now, and her commitment to stand by him was the same as it had always been. She snuck a quick peck to Basil's cheek in a feigned whisper before looking to the others.

"I am sorry, zere are times when my understanding of ze English language is... not enough. I do not mean to be rude."

[Gus Spencer]

"It's perfectly alright," Gus says.

"Besides which," their new acquaintance continues in Colette's mother tongue, "I speak French."

[Colette Rosenhof]

"Oh, of course you do. It should have been obvious to me from the beginning. Anyone dressed so dapper must be able to speak the language of love."

[Basil Benson]

Unknown to Gus and Dafne, Basil was wearing a falsely exhausted, teasing expression. It was somewhat obvious in his tone.

"Are you going to flirt with all of my cousins, or just the ones not assigned male at birth?"

[Gus Spencer]

"I thought you were looking for cousins, not looking for a third."

[Colette Rosenhof]

"Zere is no harm in making an observation." Colette simply stated, returning to her milkshake to help polish it off.

[Dafne Spencer]

Colette would receive a message from a scandalously smirking Dafne.

~You got in trouble.~

Colette had been in the English speaking world long enough to hear the cadence it was sang when she read it.

[Basil Benson]

"So when do we start?" Basil addressed Gus again, since it seemed like Colette was focusing on her snack again.

[Narrator]

The scene was rather quiet from Hugo's perspective, no major threats so far as he could tell.

or at least, it seemed that way. Until he noticed a almost painfully nondescript, dark haired female with large shades, sitting across the street. A flash didn't go off, so he had no evidence to presume she was taking photographs... but her phone was at just the right angle and the way she stared into it and never seemed to laugh or type to anyone was a bit... well not alarming, but not quite right by his bodyguard senses.

[Hugo Ealdwine]

Hugo casually moved to the window as if watching traffic, while in actuality blocking the watcher's view and watching for a reaction out of the corner of his eye.

[Narrator]

There was a reaction, if ever so subtle. A twitch of the mouth as he moved over her shot. She didn't put the phone away, but she was still holding it weirdly awkward for just... texting?

[Hugo Ealdwine]

Definitely watching us. And me without backup outside.

He took out his own phone and texted Daf.

Looks like we've got ourselves a shutterbug.

[Dafne Spencer]

Anything worth concern you think?

[Hugo Ealdwine]

It's not like there's anything they can use even if they had this place bugged.

Question is, are they watching us, or the lovebirds?

[Dafne Spencer]

Maybe both.

Do we approach?

[Hugo Ealdwine]

I shouldn't leave Gus without a better reason.

[Dafne Spencer]

Hmm.. let me see if I can't snap her back.

Dafne stands from her spot and comes around Hugo, camera at the ready, and gets the young lady across the street right back.

[Narrator]

At this, the young lady disperses, getting up from her spot on the bench and disappearing around the corner.

[Hugo Ealdwine]

The plot thickens, as they say. That or the tabloids are just interested in the lifestyles of the rich and invisible.

[Dafne Spencer]

Well we got her too, so there's that.

"Well-" Dafne announced. "Seems like we've come to some kind of an arrangement. Are we taking him back to Offley or letting the young man go about his business, or what?" Dafne asked, addressing Gus.

[Gus Spencer]

"There's some calls I have to make, but he's more than free to watch his girlfriend eat an ice cream sundae lasciviously."

[Colette Rosenhof]

"I do not do zat... do I?"

[Basil Benson]

"You could..... if you loved me enough. " He replied in a teasing tone.