Enjoying themselves. At that, Aslan cracked a small smile.

He wasn’t sure how Crane managed to keep his head up through it all.

“Ah, work,” Aslan said. “Minor crimes, but they add up.”

Nisa rose a delicate brow at that. "Oh? Well they are minor at least. For a moment, I thought perhaps you'd be making a new friend. It is always work with you, what would others think to see a man like you never go out socially? Well, save for this party." She held up a hand to do a very slight gesture towards the party.

"But, I do like having you all to myself. It helps me keep an eye on you not that you've needed it." She smiles more and nods to someone who looks their way.

Hold no one precious. If there was no one he cared about, there was nothing for her to be jealous of.

“You are right,” he said. “We are, after all, the company we keep.”

Much as he knew she liked him best without distractions … the verification still settled like a chill in the night. Expected – unavoidable, even.

“And what are you afraid I might do without your dutiful eye, dear sister?” he asked, like it was an inside joke and not him weighing his continued survival chances.

Her eyes peered at him, studying, as she took a small sip of her drink. "I don't expect you to do anything. But you know I do like to keep an eye on things. It's so easy for one to falter." She laughed quietly and glanced around. "I do worry, do I force you to remain cooped up at home?" Her voice had a melodic teasing tone to it.

There was a flicker of something in his eyes. A slight shift. The quiet, racing panic of a mouse in broad daylight.

“Nonsense,” he reassured. “A home needs a breadwinner, and so I venture out plenty.”

Typically, the breadwinner was a husband. And if she picked up those breadcrumbs …

Nisa seemed to accept his excuse though she eyed him carefully. Finally, with a small laugh, she looped her arm in his so that he could lead her around the room to introduce her to anyone she didn't know. " Well, that is true. Perhaps I should venture out as well. I could stand to meet more people, and there are plenty of interesting well mannered people in Whitby?" She looked towards Aslan for validation.

He could only hope that the exhaustion didn’t weigh down under his eyes. Labor in his breath. Show any sign of existing that he couldn’t bury.

Maybe it was time for someone else to deal with her. Maybe someone else could put her on the right path. She let their father take the fall for her, but she hadn’t hurt him directly.

Maybe a man who loved her would set her straight.

… Aslan found himself skimming the crowd for rich fucks instead.

Maybe someone who deserved to die would be a better bet first. He glanced to a well-moneyed looking crowd that seemed on their way out.

“Plenty of well-mannered men,” he agreed … then after a pause, “and women.”

Hm, no. A woman wouldn’t solve the problem. Best not to say that out loud, though.

Nisa turned to her brother at his suggestion. She had a smile on her face he'd only seen as she had taught someone a lesson, a lesson they didn't not survive. "I could not believe you'd make such a suggestion. And in public. But maybe someone here is good enough, but they are so hard to find. "

Aslan blanched. Ha ha ha oh fuck was he dead.

“You were happier with friends,” he pleaded in hushed tones. “Before they-- they moved.”

His Adam’s apple was damn near lodged in his brain. Was this the night it all ended? He was so, so close on that other case.

His eyes searched. A distraction. He needed a distraction for her. Something, anything- … no. Someone he didn’t mind risking distracting her with.

His gaze landed on Evelyn Murphy. Evelyn was a town busybody with a laudunum habit. It had gotten increasingly worse of late, to the point she had stolen enough of her ladyfriends’ tchotchkes that they had banded together to prove it. They had decided not to press charges, preferring instead a shame-based intervention.

She caught Aslan’s gaze on her as she was about to slip a silver buffet spoon down her bosom, and acted as though she were just itching her breast with it instead.

“Not everyone is as cultured as you, Nisa.”

Was he really entertaining this?

“What if you … took on pupils? Taught your ways?”

The words had his voice behind it, but they felt so far away.

Nisa walked with him, her arm around his tightened. Was it to keep him from escaping her? Her smile steadied so it didn't remind him so of the devil she had dwelling inside. "Ah, that is true. I had some very charming friends." The woman's head turned to him. "You look nervous, brother? Should we depart?"

But before she could consider leaving so early, he made his suggestion and she paused. "Why.. Aslan.. my dear, dear brother. That is the best idea I think you've ever had!" She released him to clasp her hands together. "It is my duty to educate those around me. Doing it as more of a profession than a hobby could be just what I need."