He was a mercenary for hire; one of the best in the business.  It wasn’t often that he was contracted out for an unusual amount of silver, but it did happen.  However…

"She's offering how much?" Lewis said in a loud whisper.

"Shh," Darren said as he pushed the paperwork towards his partner.  "It's an exclusive job too.  Asked specifically for you…."

"But why me?" the silver haired man asked.  The tavern around them was bustling with business, but they could never be too careful in their line of work.

"Don't know, don't care," Darren replied as his finger trailed over the silver amount.  "She's famous, and pays a lot.  If she asks you to do her dishes, you damn better do her dishes."  It was rare for him to be so pushy, but evidently the coin was very worth it.

"That better not be in the contract," Lewis replied flatly.  "Fine….when can we meet her to discuss the particulars?"

"I'm glad you asked…she's upstairs waiting."  The go-between was smiling, as if he had planned the whole thing, but Lewis knew better.  There was no way he was that prepared.  No, the client had to have known that they would be foolish to decline the offer.

"I hate you," Lewis replied with a dead stare.  He stood up, and made for the stairs.  Whatever this mysterious client wanted, he would have to give her.  Well, within reason of course.  He wasn’t a hired killer exactly (though he had taken on such roles before), and despite his earlier claim, there was no way he was doing dishes.  

Simone was looking for a muse. Well, she was looking for a bodyguard but more importantly, this man was a muse.

Hair as white as snow. Muscular from various activities. Handsome hazel eyes. And that ever-appealing bad-boy look. This was the man she wanted. She was sitting with a quill, ink, and a stack of papers. She kept fluttering about though as she couldn't quite get the picture right in her head.

She was paying quite a bit for this job too. Once he came in she slammed her hands on the desk and stood up abruptly. Her eyes were locked onto his.

She was in a nice blue dress with her hair half pulled back. "You are absolutely perfect." She almost yelled it as she jumped back into her seat.

She picked up a drawing pad and a piece of charcoal. She very quickly sketched his face. "Turn your head slightly to the right." Once he had she finished it up. "I WAS RIGHT YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY PERFECT FOR MY MUSE!"

Lewis had at least heard of the name ‘Simone Auclair’ in passing. If he scoured his memory enough, he could probably even recall seeing her books in shop windows. So when he received a job that had her name on it, he had absolutely no idea what to expect.

The moment he walked in, Simone seemed ecstatic. Her excessive actions mixed with her starry gaze gave Lewis the indication that she was eccentric, at the very least. He was already feeling as though he might regret taking this job.

Cautiously, he acquiesced to her demand, and turned his head to the side, and almost winced when she started exclaiming that he was a perfect match to become her muse. Instinct took over, and Lewis’ scowl expressed his immediate displeasure at the idea.

“No.” He crossed his arms in finality to the decision. “Now what do you actually need from me. My time is valuable, as is yours I assume. Let’s see the contract.” His voice was steady and calm, but below it all he was a hairpin away from fury. This woman was mad, and everything she was doing seemed counterpoint to his own idea of what his work should entail.

Simone was already done with her quick sketch. Lewis was everything she had ever wanted in a muse that much was true. However, he was much more to her than that as she stared up at him once he insisted she tell him why he was really there. “Very well…”

The writer got up and she shuffled around the tavern room. It was hastily together as a suite for her and not at all matching her tastes. It was almost like this was last minute. “The contract.” She found the paper and handed it over.

‘1. Lewis will protect Simone at all times.
2. Lewis will accompany Simone to wherever she needs to go to protect her.
3. Lewis will stay at Simone’s residence to ensure Simone’s safety.
4. Lewis will do whatever Simone asks if it doesn’t risk her safety.’

“What I’ve paid you is simply the entry fee of getting to meet you. I had to ensure that you would even show up.” She dropped a heavy sack of silver onto the desk. “This is a daily stipend. What you’ll receive until the threat is taken care of. Room and board will be taken care of by me and whatever you need for the job will also be handled by me and my people.”

Now for the real problem. She cleared her throat. “There is this man who has been stalking me. He’s been a problem for a while but we’ve never really taken it seriously. All authors get their crazy fans. At a book signing yesterday night he crashed in and declared he was marrying me and taking me away. In the chaos, I managed to get away and come here. The security was tight for the event. No one even knows how he managed to slip in. I can’t just stop what I’m doing. I have a very busy schedule Mr. Terrowin.”

She held up her hand and sighed. “You being my muse is just a bonus. This is actually the real problem. My safety is at risk as well as my freedom to move around as I please. There is a bonus for completing the job as well. I didn’t want to hurt this man but obviously… Well if it comes down to it we’ll have to.”

Lewis skimmed over the contract, and looked at her. It was obvious that there was an actual problem; her distress over the break in was real enough. The fact that she was paying so much, though, was strange.

“With this amount, you could hire an entire bodyguard service,” he stated. “There’s at least enough in there for a week of pay for a whole group. Why just me?” He had to ask the important questions, even if he had a general idea of what the response was going to be. She could have been lying about everything, though he highly doubted it at this point.

Better safe than sorry.

“Say I do accept,” Lewis sounded aloud. “How long is this for? While I assume you’re well endowed, I doubt you can sustain this kind of funding indefinitely. Stalkers don’t just give up. Not unless they have a life altering event…” There was a subtle hint of finality to that statement, and they both knew what it actually meant. “Because that is an entirely different kind of contract, and a very different kind of pay.”

Simone took a moment and formed a line of thought, “Because it has to be you. Besides with the way I like to live having one person is better than having a lot. I’ve done my research and while you do make a good muse that wasn’t my only reason for reaching out to you. I like my quiet Mr. Terrowin. Too many people and it’s suddenly all folding in on itself. It’s better this way.”

For how long… She pursed her lips a bit. “Can’t say for how long. I can keep this up for a while though. My father left me a good portion of money… and the money from my books is a bonus… Plus well… I own gold mines so this really isn’t strapping me.” She was actually a good target. “The gold mines thing wasn’t really out in public. I like my privacy but I have an ex-fiance who is more than a little upset. He found out recently about how much money I’m actually worth… and well…” She frowned a bit. “Can’t say for certain if everything is connected or not. I don’t think it is but you can never be too careful.”

Simone put her hands together and frowned deeply. “I don’t want to end his life if I can help it. I’m not the sort of person who likes that sort of thing. It’s never even crossed my mind. I’m just hoping if I make myself unavailable like a steel wall… That he will give up.”

Lewis looked at the bag of silver, and then to Simone, who seemed eager for his response.  Something about all of this seemed really off to him, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.  At least the pay was on point for the feeling he was getting, and that ultimately was what mattered most.  

“Fine,” he said as he walked over to sit down at the table.  He took a quill to the contract, and passed it over to Simone.  “Now.  I want details.  I need your schedule, addresses, and your planned routes and transportation methods.  I also want time with your staff.  If I get a sense of anything off, I want the right and power to fire anyone without question.  Is that clear?”  This was only the start of the list of things he had to do, but Simone didn’t need to know the whole process.  Non-lethal traps would need to be laid, and buildings would need to be scouted out.  He would also need to procure building plans…

“I’ll also need a room.  Either across or next to yours.  If one doesn’t exist, I can make do,” he stated.  “Until I know more, I’ll…need to ask that I have permission to enter your room at any time.  In case of emergencies.”

Simone seemed to relax as soon as he accepted her offer. “That’s no problem at all.” She got a journal out and handed it over. “This is all my appointments… Schedules. Everything for the next two months. I don’t ever go off schedule. Everything even my meals is listed for the day-to-day. I like being on time.” She wanted to reassure him. “As for my house help… Just get with Martha and she can help you. She’s the one in charge of everything. I trust her with my life. You’ll get everything you asked for of course. Anything to help. The room across from mine is yours.”

She took a moment to pack up some things. “We’ll head back to the house for now so you can settle in. I take private carriages for my own safety. You can look it over and talk to the coachman if you want. He’s staying in another room here. I’ve had to cancel a few affairs because of the situation. I do have a book signing tomorrow though. The other side of town. It’s in my notes.”

Once everything was packed she got on her carriage. The ride home was nice with no interruptions. The gates to the Auclair mansion opened so they could go in and Simone seemed happy to be home. There was a large set of gardens on the front, sides, and back. She liked her time out in the sun.

“Martha, this is Mr. Terrowin he’ll be staying with us while we try to get everything figured out,” Simone said to a maid who had a brown hair and seemed well put together.

The maid bowed to him and gave a smile, “Whatever resources you need you only need to ask. We do have a situation though…”

A blonde man was running for the gates but thankfully they closed, “SIMONE BEATRICE, we need to talk.”

Simone made a face and motioned for the help to start unloading her things from the carriage.

“That would be Lord Jerome,” Martha spoke to Lewis separately. “Nasty split they had but once he found out about the Mistress’s affairs he’s been coming here ever since to get back together. He’s been out here almost every day asking for her.”

“I’m going inside,” Simone said softly.

“SIMONE,” Jerome yelled. “I said I was sorry. So what if Vesta has a larger bust tha–”

Simone picked up a rock, she threw it up in the air, and then she chucked it at Jerome’s head. She was a good shot as the man yelled holding his face. “Word of advice, making the woman you’re trying to get back angry at you… is probably a really bad idea.” Her words were laced with venom before she went inside.

“No love is lost,” Martha spoke up to Lewis. “As you can see she isn’t really heartbroken over it. It was an engagement set up by their fathers.”

Before they left, Lewis had a small chat with the carriage coach. After deeming him not a threat, he decided to ride alongside him, instead of inside of the carriage, stating it would be far easier to see a threat coming. Thankfully, nothing of major note happened during the short ride to the Auclair mansion, however the events that transpired after piqued the mercenary’s curiosity. The man who had scorned Simone, the ex-fiance, Jerome, wasn’t subtle in his attempts to win back Simone’s heart. What was shocking, however, was her impeccable aim, which brought the slightest of smirks to Lewis’ face.

Given the way she interacted with Jerome, and his own actions in reflection, it was easy enough to determine he wasn’t a real threat in this situation, nor was he the one that was stalking her. At least, not in the sense that she felt threatened, at least.

Martha, though, seemed rather unusual for a maidservant. As they walked in, he asked a few probing questions, all which were answered to a satisfactory degree. “I’m rather impressed,” he stated to the maid. “You’re rather on point with all of this…” He would make a note to tell Simone that Martha was cleared. “And you’re sure that there will be no issue investigating the remaining staff?”

After clearing up the staffing questioning, he made his way to his new room. He didn’t have a lot of belongings on his person, but what he did carry was easily stashed away in the wardrobe and closet. The room was well furnished, otherwise. If all went as planned, this wouldn’t be the worst gig he had ever done.

After making sure he had everything settled in his own space, he moved across the hall, knocking before entering. “If you don’t mind…I would like to go over the schedule with you to confirm a few things. I’ll just need a moment of your time.”

Martha gave Lewis a confident smile, “I’m merely doing my job to the best of my ability Mr. Terrowin. The Miss has been in my care since before her father passed. It was he who hired me to take care of her. From her meals to making sure she is dressed for her day. I interview the help and try to be as thorough as I can about it. Obviously, by myself, things still slip through the cracks.” She nodded to him. “It would be no issue at all to interview them. They’ve been up to speed on the incidents with Miss Simone.”

Simone was in her room fiddling away with a quill. “Come in,” she spoke up as she heard the knock. “I normally work in my study but I figured you would find me easiest here if Martha was busy.” She got up from her desk and looked Lewis over a bit more. He really was the perfect muse for all of this.

“Please, take a seat and we can discuss it… Unless you prefer to stand?” Once Simone took her seat Martha brought in some tea and coffee. “Coffee Martha?” She tilted her head up at her maid.

“Mr. Terrowin seems more like a coffee drinker to me Miss. So I took the liberty of getting a cup for him.” Martha was incredible like that as Simone took her cup and mused over it.

“My day today is concluded but tomorrow will be another book signing across the way. We have dinner in a few hours which Martha is leading in the kitchen.” She tilted her head towards Lewis. “Shall we go over tomorrow's schedule more or are you setting up for tonight?”