"If I'm being completely honest I have no idea how I'm going to manage keeping my hands off of you when we get back. In public, anyways." Franchesca mused lightly.
It had been surprisingly easy transitioning from secrecy to... this, curled up on a bench together, arm in arm. Truth being told, Wolfgang wasn't sure how he was going to maintain professionalism with her, either. "I'm not sure how I'm going to handle it without your hands all over me, as well."
Though it certainly felt like it when she was with him, time did not stop for their pleasure. Each second the clock ticked away, their five minutes underneath the tree rapidly counting down. Now, Franchesca was sure that she wasn't done having fun for the night, but the thought evoked a small sigh all the same.
She stood up, her hand still holding onto his, as she stooped down to pick up her heels from the ground. Franchesca did not bother putting them on, they still had to make their way back, opting to carry them as she tugged her lover to a stand.
"You think we'll run into Dandelion and Raya while we answer our adoring crowd?"
"I'm almost certain of it," he replied, grabbing his mask from where he placed it down next to himself, and picking up Franchesca's, too. With his hand still tangled up in hers, he led the way slowly back to the party. Or the way he thought he remembered.
He got them a bit lost for a while, though eventually, the wrought iron gates marking the exit came towering back into view. The party, though unseen, was a murmur of white noise of a hundred conversations spoken in various languages.
"Here is your mask. Do you need help getting it back on?" Perhaps it was just an excuse to step up behind her and brush his fingers through her hair.
The masquerade looked as lively as ever when they returned. Franchesca peered over it all for a moment, the crowd, the sound of a hundred voices speaking to one another, the music that she could only guess would remain playing into the early hours of the morning.
There she separated herself from Wolfgang, taking a moment to redo the strapping of her stilettos and wobbling before answering his question with a sly smirk. "I'll tie your ribbon if you tie mine."
She stood straight once more, tilting her head while she turned to face him. "One last kiss before the masks come on wouldn't hurt though."
Not a man to turn down the offer, Wolfgang caught her waist and pressed a searing kiss against her lips. It took some effort to forcibly separate himself, as if he kissed her any longer, he would have seen to it that they never made it back to the event.
"Alright, turn around," he said, guiding her with one hand on her bare shoulder. The calloused fingertips grazed over her tender skin as he brought the mask over her eyes and tied the silk straps at the back of her head.
"There you are, lady fox."
Franchesca giggled excitedly as the distance between them closed, letting the lot them out just in time before Wolfgang pressed a fierceness against her lips that got her heart racing all over again. He pulled away and commanded her and she listened, albeit happily dazed. She thrived under his touch and smiled widely as the mask tightened against her.
"Here I am, my darling wolf. Now turn around." Franchesca instructed right back, quick to take Wolfgang's mask from his hand and usher him into position. She did the same as he had done for her, pressing a kiss against the nape of his neck as soon as his mask was secured.
She waited for him to face her before motioning back towards the courtyard. "Shall we?"
Franchesca's giggle was sweet and infectious, bringing a smile to his lips as he turned and crouched a bit so she could tie on his mask. It felt just as bad as it did earlier in the night, but he supposed he could tolerate it for a few more hours. The party was bound to thrive until the wee hours of the morning, but Wolfgang was never the type to stay until the very end. He simply couldn't be bothered. The kiss to his neck was a stark reminder of the exact reasons he didn't plan to stay, and the small hairs prickled with goose bumps.
Motioned back towards the courtyard, he nodded his response and ambled up the stone steps and back towards the crowd. He paused only briefly to extend his hand back to Franchesca, wiggling his fingers at her in a silly manner. "I think it's time we introduce you around."
Franchesca eyed the wag of his fingers with a playful sort of distrust, the expression on her face matching rather well to the animal her mask was formed in likeness to. "Time to show them that I'm even better than the image Dandelion had painted of me." She grinned, wrapping his fingers in hers before being drawn back into the thick of things.
She was a little worried but also a little excited. Most people back at Lorenzo would kill for the opportunity to meet and greet the people she was coming to, but it stroked Franchesca's ego to know that both her and Wolfgang were far from most people.
She pressed forward as she followed her lover, closing the distance between them so she could whisper in his ear. "So who's first?"
"Who is first..." he echoed after her, sweeping his eyes through the crowd and tabulating the faces he saw. Some of the individuals present were incredibly well-known, but also extremely eccentric, and were probably better left to later in the night, when he was confident Franchesca's sureness wouldn't be so shaken by nervousness.
He didn't even need to make a decision, because before he was able to locate a suitable partner of conversation, a feminine, accented voice called out from their left.
"Wolfgang, is that you?"
The woman who spoke pushed through the crowd a bit. She wore a mask, though it was slender and solid black, just barely covering the space above and below her eyes. She looked to be about his same age, perhaps thirty-five or so, and carried her age with equal grace. Her short blonde hair was a rich colour, matching the warm pink of her lipstick shade.
As she approached, the tight black dress fluttered at her ankles. Everything she wore was obviously expensive, and well-crafted, but nothing stood out as flaunting of wealth, like some of the extravagant attire choices made by other guests.
The woman placed her hand on Wolfgang's shoulder and arched up on to her red-bottom heels to press a kiss to his cheek.
"Emma," Wolfgang replied, his hand resting on her elbow. "Very good to see you again. Emma, this is Franchesca Rossi. Franchesca, this is Emma, the curator of this museum."
"Franchesca," Emma replied, testing the name on her tongue though the name never placed. "It is a pleasure." The woman didn't offer a hand to shake, though she did lurch her weight back on to one heel to look the younger lady over once. "You look like a painter-- oil, I'm assuming. Realism, likely, but with a more whimsical note than Wolfgang's style. You're his apprentice, I would only guess, but also his lover? Tell me, do you have a portfolio here I may see?"
The woman, Emma, seemed to register the situation quite readily and without hint.
Franchesca hadn't even been given the opportunity to offer a polite likewise in response before suddenly, and without reservation, she was simplified down to three sentences. The guess that she was his lover was hardly feat, they had been holding hands before Wolfgang had to greet her, but the way Emma pinned Franchesca's preferred medium and style was dauntingly accurate. The dark haired woman would have been impressed if she hadn't found such a forwardness rude.
But, considering the likes of Dandelion and how poorly she had reacted when she first met the mentor, Franchesca made it a point to keep her cool. She couldn't help the raise of a questioning brow, however.
In a matter of seconds, Franchesca considered the possibility that Emma was simply testing her--trying to gauge the kind of person she was through her reaction. Or perhaps bluntness was simply appreciated among all the complicated individuals that were drawn to their business.
Like the blonde hadn't offered her hand, Franchesca hardly offered her a genuine smile. "I'm afraid showing off my art wasn't terribly high on my list of agendas for the evening. I did not bring anything to share." She began, putting on a convincing enough front as she came closer and rounded about to Wolfgang's side.
"You guess right though--apprentice, lover, oil." Franchesca went on, chuckling softly as her gaze shifted to Wolfgang and then back. "Sometimes when I want to make things a little more difficult, I try to dabble in watercolor but nothing has ever come out as beautiful as the art gathered here tonight."
Under different circumstances, running into Emma was a difficult and uncomfortable process. It was still uncomfortable, but it was less difficult than it ever had been, because for the first time, Wolfgang didn't question the 'what ifs' in his mind. She was a woman he loved, and perhaps still held a little bit of regard for, but he didn't pine for unanswered questions. All his life, he'd been a strong advocate for 'things happen for a reason,' but when it came to Emma, he always forgot his own philosophies.
Finally, he understood why she left him. Had she not, he never would have gone to Italy, never would have become a professor, never would have met Franchesca. His gaze shifted to the dark haired woman, exchanging a glance with her. He'd known Emma for a very long time, yet it always felt like he'd known Franchesca longer.
"I suppose not," Emma agreed, curling a finger below her narrow chin. "It is a shame, though. You're young," she commented, though whether it was a natural observation or a pointed comment directed at Wolfgang, it was hard to say. "You're young, and you shouldn't fear being to the caliber of the artists here, yet. It takes time to perfect any craft."
"We were hoping to be able to stop by tomorrow and paint at the oak, if you wouldn't mind," Wolfgang interjected, forcing Emma's eyes away from Franchesca.
"Oh, of course," she answered. "We'd be happy to have you. We still house two of your most famous paintings. Perhaps we can add a third?"
"I do hope you'll be painting as well, Franchesca?"
Franchesca wanted to point out that it wasn't a matter of fear. It was a matter of respect. It was the opening of an entire gallery, a unified collection, and though the majority of the people surrounding them could easily make her career happen, she had no intentions to try and force herself into the spotlight. Her time would come. She was always sure she would be someone, Wolfgang simply confirmed that belief with his support.
Tonight belonged to the gallery, to the masquerade, but that didn't mean she couldn't leave an impression.
It did not escape Franchesca's notice that she had been excluded from Emma's words right until her question. It would have been so easy to point out that Wolfgang had clearly said we, but she bit back her snark.
"Something that could very well end up on these very walls, in fact." Franchesca responded, her confidence matching the boldness of her claim. It was quite the thing to say, something that subjected her to intense expectations, but she meant every single word of it.
Continuing her polite front, Franchesca smiled and tilted her head slightly. "So long as you'll be happy to have me as well, anyways."
She could not help herself.
Emma arched her slender eyebrows, seeming to smile at Franchesca's bold mouth. "Perhaps," she agreed. "You are rather feisty, aren't you? Yes, of course, you are both welcome tomorrow. I may stop by myself, if you don't mind. I can offer a private tour of the gallery."
Looking between the two women, it was like peering a ways into his past, his present, and even his near future. Emma knew, of course she did, but he wondered if Franchesca understood the depth of his and Emma's former relationship. He'd told her once of having a fiancée once upon a time, and that she left him for another man, but he couldn't remember if he'd given her a name, or the small detail that they may end up crossing paths at some juncture.
"How is your husband, by the by?" Wolfgang asked suddenly, though not maliciously.
There was a flicker of a frown on Emma's face for a moment, but she swiped it away before it stagnated too long. "Well," she answered. "He travels a lot. Unfortunately, he couldn't make it tonight, but we are both incredibly invested in our work."
He saw his own fate in the face of Emma. Loneliness, exhaustion, overwork, even some level of regret. His hand fell gently against the small of Franhesca's back.
"Anyways, I should go, I have a few things to see to. I look forward to seeing you both tomorrow. Nice to meet you, Franchesca."
"So I've been told." Franchesca nodded, taking on the description like it was a badge of honor. As Dandelion would probably call her, she was a fiery little fox through and through, as unforgiving as she was quick witted. The smile was Franchesca's symbol of victory, a sign that she had done well and held her own against the first of the elite she would come to know.
With that smile came a surge of confidence that she hoped to ride for the rest of the evening.
The way her expression shifted at the mentioning of a private tour however, was rather telling of the excitement the thought gave her. There was still so much artistry for her to see here, so much artistry for her to appreciate.
Franchesca listened attentively as the conversation transitioned into a bit of an odd moment, at least for her, and smiled sweetly as Wolfgang's hand found its place touching her body.
"Likewise." Franchesca finally told Emma, waving her off politely as the blonde in the black dress disappeared into the sea around them. Immediately her eyes turned to Wolfgang and she left the question her look gave him up in the air.
He noted her questioning look, and chose to ignore it for the time being. There would be plenty of time for conversation between the two of them later, but for now, he figured it'd be best for her to spend her time meeting as many people as she could… not worrying about the company she already knew.
"Come on, let's go find someone else," he said, his hand not leaving her back. Instead, his fingers curled warmly around her side. He didn't guide her, but he did turn and less than two paces off, stumbled into another familiar face.
"Colleen?" he inquired. The woman had her back to him and he placed his free hand on her shoulder, causing her to turn.
"Oh, Wolfgang!" she cried with a crooked smile. "So good to see you again. I hope you brought your companion along this time? Dandelion has spoken so much of her this evening, I hope to see this woman in the flesh… Oooh, you must be Franchesca." The older woman, with a swirl of dark grey hair, found Franchesca in a moment and launched herself forward to place kisses on both of Franchesca's cheeks.
"Franchesca, this is Colleen. Colleen, Franchesca. Her husband is the one owning the gallery opening this evening," he explained, giving footnotes to Franchesca as they went along.
Franchesca was fortunate enough to have found someone who she could communicate with without uttering a sound. He wanted to move on and she was content with waiting, there was plenty to occupy the both of them after all. That was readily apparent as they found the next networking opportunity hardly three paces away.
Franchesca's eyes turned to the woman but before she could squeeze an introduction in she was receiving a kiss on both of her cheeks. The young woman laughed warmly at the interaction, Colleen was not Italian but her greeting certainly was.
"Franchesca Rossi, or as I assume Dandelion has mentioned at least once or twice, the Mrs. Reiter. It's a pleasure to meet you." She started. Franchesca hardly considered herself a socialite but things were surprisingly coming rather easy to the young woman. She placed a friendly hand on the older woman's shoulder.
"I hope Dandy hasn't filled everyone's head with too unlikely stories. If he says that he, Wolfgang and I have had a threesome I can assure you without a doubt that that man is lying."
Another laugh left as Franchesca took a step back towards Wolfgang. The dark haired woman shook her head.
"Regardless, the gallery is beautiful and I can't wait to look a little deeper into the works when I have the chance."
"Oh, oh," the older woman, with deep creases forming at the edges of her mouth, responded. "A threesome? My, that is naughty. Good thing Dandelion Medina has a good idea to respect his elders, much like myself."
Colleen was a friendly woman, and she looked the part. While beautiful in a classical way, her waist was a little soft in the middle, and her cheeks were fleshy and worn from smiles. Her mask, a classic face mask, bore intricate beadwork designs, and probably cost a small fortune—though the large rock on her wedding finger already spoke to her wealth. She looked like a mother, and often acted like one, too. Her gestures and body language were all as open and welcoming as her words, and a smile deepened her as she looked between Franchesca and Wolfgang.
"But I have heard quite a bit, indeed. A smart match you two make. Very handsome together," she assured them both, causing Wolfgang to smile. "As for my husband, I'm not sure where he ran off to. Boasting about his artwork to anyone who will listen, I'm sure," she continued, rolling her hand a few times to express her boredom. "You give him a gallery opening, and he thinks he's Picasso or someone. Ah, well, who knows. I do know he wished to meet with you, Franchesca. And, of course, you too, Wolfgang. He said something about an opportunity or something or other."
She shrugged it off under the cornflower blue silk of her dress. "Have you tried any of the desserts yet? They're divine. Wolfie, fetch us women some desserts, would you?"
Wolfgang smiled and bowed a bit. "Of course," he agreed to the request readily. He gave Franchesca's hip one small squeeze before he wandered off.
"So," the woman turned back to Franchesca once Wolfgang was out of sight, "how are you liking it here, dear?"
She was practicing directness, Franchesca. Her lack of hesitation when it came to Wolfgang had paved the way to where they were now and considering the likes of Dandelion, Raya and Emma... well, it couldn't hurt to be more bold. For a moment she felt like she overshared when Colleen reacted to her threesome comment but she was glad to see the older woman react to it with grace.
Franchesca took note of it, learning just as much as she was networking.
The conversation moved on and Franchesca listened attentively, nodding when it seemed appropriate and feeling just an ounce of concern at the thought of Wolfgang leaving her side. By all means she was doing well, but it was still her first big event. Alongside Colleen she watched that handsome outline of a man disappear on the way to the desserts table.
Franchesca turned to the face woman fully. She could not help but feel like it would be easier doing all this talking had there not been masks involved.
"It's a lot of adjusting, frankly." She admitted with a small grin. "I'm a stranger to these things but I'm fortunate enough to have a strong web of support." Franchesca was not only speaking about Wolfgang, but her aunt, Raya, and admittedly--Dandelion as well.
"Beyond that... well, the city is beautiful and being here at your husband's gallery opening has only made me realize how badly I'd love to open my own one day."
"Mmm," the older woman hummed thoughtfully. "Yes, these events are enjoyable and some of the people here are earnest and good, but not all. Artists are fickle creatures, I've come to find." It was clear Colleen was not an artist, and her interest in art was questionable. Her loyalty to her husband, however, could not be denied. He could have been hosting a toilet convention, and she would have been there to support him. She was one of the few who truly loved her mate, and did not marry him for fame or money.
She had plenty of both in her own right.
"Ah, so you're an artist yourself, then, are you? No wonder my husband wanted to speak with you. My husband is opening his own museum in Munich later this year, and is looking for a novice, unrecognized artist to be his first live-in artist. He's been struggling to find a good candidate."
She chuckled. "Oh, he'll be so upset to hear that I've already told you the big unveil before he's given you his spiel, but after everything Dandelion has been saying about you, he may want to consider offering you the position."
