Seeing that got me excited. "Sir Fabien, how noble and fair minded. The Whites are simply the same as any other merchant family. I won't lie and call them all saints, but you won't be offended if you keep your manners." I said to him. He rolled his eyes. "Colorless don't deserve courtesy." he said, though it was with much less heat that before. I decided to write a letter and send it to them. I asked Gerald if it would be fine if Fabien and I came to call on them and have another meeting. Fabien got some crucial instructions from his father on what the family needed. That made him feel more prepared for the meeting. When we got to Sunday, Gerald was doing Mass in the small church that our household went to. We had no idea that this was going to happen. I had a holy symbol of the faith with me. I passed it to Fabien. "Ask His Grace to bless this for me. I am too low born and impious to ask him here." I requested. He glared daggers at me. I bet that he knew what my real motive was. With a loud groan, he went up. I saw him approach at the end of the service. People watched as it was blessed.
Gerald looked really pleased. Even the other priests were avoiding him. Fabien then brought it back to me. "Here." he said through grit teeth as he shoved it towards my chest. I took it and smiled. "Thank you so much. Now, it will be a bit easier. He is going to remember this moment. You'll have something to talk about as well." I told him happily. That would allow them to have a warmer conversation during the big business conversation. We then got home. Lord Jeffery and his wife were both still pretty uncomfortable. They would simply have to get over it. I was going to accompany Fabien to the White manor. The day eventually came. I noticed that Fabien was wearing black leather gloves. I did not comment on it at all on the way there. When we arrived, we were shown to the parlor. Gerald was there waiting for us. He looked happy to have us there. His father and brother were in the master study. I bet they were preparing for the meeting. After an hour of being entertained, they sent for us. We followed the servants up. When we got there, Fabien shook hands with them with his black gloves on.
Doing that made the both of them confused. Fabien did not make any apology or explanation to them. It looked like I was going to have to save the day. "Please forgive my young master, Sir Fabien, for the use of gloves. His circulation has been poor lately. The gloves keeps his hands warm and have the added benefit of being pleasant to the touch." I said nervously. The other 3 just looked at me with even more confusion. None of them seemed to buy it. "Of course. It is all as Sir Rhombus says." Fabien said with a bit of a wry smile. "...I see." was all that Gerald's father had to say on it. We sat down and then the meeting began. It was a rapid back and forth. Fabien was at a disadvantage. The Whites were a pair of sharp minds with a penchant for searching for the money. Fabien was only one person. He was also a second son. He was the spare, not the heir. Fabien only had a crash course for this conversation and the Whites lived this every single day. I could not help him. Nothing that I could add to the conservation would be productive. I could only hope it went well. Eventually, they finished.
