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Openings were usually just another chance to put on an act for the self important members of society.  Tonight wasn't about Jasper's work, but that of a friend.  These events, in his mind, were simply a chance to show a bit of sincere support for fellow artists.  He had found over the years wealthy patrons tended to only care about claiming the most expensive new work to show off at their next dinner party.

Glancing over at his date for the evening, he was glad to see tonight would be a bit different then the usual dull networking he did at these events.  Dolly was always a breath of fresh air.  She had a way of livening up events, and he had considered it a personal victory that he had gotten her to agree to attend the opening with him.  They had both been a bit flirtatious in the past, but it seemed various aspects of life had stopped him from ever pursuing her further.

She was apparently free from romantic obligation, as far as he could tell.  He had found that in the past he tended to stay away whenever there was a man in her life.  It usually seemed easier...he couldn't help flirting with her and the last thing he wanted was to cause strife in a relationship.

"I have a feeling we may cause a bit of a stir with the society gossips tonight, darling," he said, with a wink.  "The artist whose work we're seeing was one of my mentors.  Apparently he's been experimenting with some new styles...so this may be a bit interesting."

In Dolly's personal estimation she had exactly three jobs tonight: job one was looking fabulous, job two was to walk the fine line between tipsy and sloppy, and the final job was to keep her date enormously entertained throughout what could actually be a terribly boring event if left to it's own devices. Thus far jobs one and two had been easy, and really job three would more than likely follow suit because Jasper was the sort of person who found her entertaining in general. Her lips twitched teasingly as she leaned close to his ear, "Scandalous ought to have been my middle name. You want front page headlines or just to send the gossip hags twittering? I live to serve after all".

She'd never say in so many words, but it was nice to be back out on the town with Jasper. They were kindred sort of spirits, both entirely bored with their upbringing and supposed breeding, both artistic (though his was arguably more noticeable because Dolly still wasn't sure what she did counted as some form of art). Beyond the shared trials of childhood in the upper echelon of society in common, they both had a similar sense of humor and desire to shake things up at their roots to get tongues wagging. From the outside looking in it was probably a wonder the two had never seriously dated (in so much as Dolly had made the rounds in recent years breaking a good many hearts to make up for her own). For Dolly it had always been a matter of prizing their friendship more than the possibility of a relationship.

Now... well she wasn't completely sure. It was important to have friends, people who understood where and what you came from. She hadn't decided yet if it was really worth losing on the off chance a relationship might pan out. It would be different this time of course; her perspective on it was unlike it had been before. There was no hopelessly pining or trying to get over someone else to get through while trying to maintain a grown up relationship. She found she thought of Dominik less and less as time went on, resigned to the fact that the past was better left undisturbed. Still, relationships were messy, even when you weren't secretly in love with someone else... or at least she figured they were. She'd never really tried dating on it's own merit rather than viewing it as a distraction. Squeezing Jasper's arm she grin shifted from playful to genuine, "Have I told you tonight you look absolutely dashing"?

Jasper grinned at Dolly.  One of the many reasons he adored her friendship over the years was the feeling that there was finally someone who understood how he felt about society.  He could play along a bit, but there was nothing quite as entertaining as doing something that would get tongues wagging.

"Let's just see where the night takes us," he said.

At some point he would have to make sure that she knew, in spite of all their teasing, that causing a stir had not been his motivation for inviting her that evening.  It was just often so easy to joke about the old biddies who so often wagged their fingers at the younger generation.  How often had it been implied that he should be settling down instead of wasting his time with parties?

"Have I told you tonight you look absolutely dashing"?

"Thank you, darling," he said, placing his free hand over hers.  "I'm glad you..."

"Jasper, dear, always lovely to see you out at these events," a voice said cutting off his words as he turned towards the speaker.  An older lady approached them...she had bought a few of his paintings at one of his shows the previous year, but her name had completely escaped him.  "When can we expect your next show?"

"With any luck sometime within the next couple months," he said.  Looking at his date he added, "And I'm hopeful the lovely Dolly St. James will be featured as a model."

There was part of him that hoped the other woman would take that as a clue to introduce herself, or perhaps Dolly might know this particular old biddy from another event.  Either way, he offered Dolly a small smile.

Dolly quietly bask in the attention, feeling very much in her element. She only partially wished they were at a showing of Jasper's own work. She'd have to volunteer the next time he had an opening. Of course all this pleasantness was derailed when Dame Gertrude of Lincolnshire decided to stick her big fat bulbousy nose right where it didn't belong as usual. Dolly forced a polite smile, as the redheaded woman and Jasper exchanged pleasantries, blue eyes scanning for someone with more alcohol. If there was one woman Dolly was loathed to spend a single second around it was Gertrude bloody Gorre. She never let anyone forget she'd once had tea with the queen. Dolly would have liked to snap her old turkey waddle neck in half every time she brought it up.

The two women regarded one another with forced politeness, "Lovely to see you've beaten that bout of gout Trudy. We were so disappointed you missed the New Year's Eve Gala," the curvaceous author lied through her teeth. If she hadn't been in a flood length gown and heels that night she'd have done cartwheels when Liadan had informed her that the elder witch was poorly. In fact, despite the bad taste it was in Dolly had mumbled something about hoping it was fatal. It was not exactly clear why they detested one another so fully but it probably had something to do with Gertrude trying to fail Dolly in Charm School the summer she was thirteen. St. James' women were known to hold long grudges.