Faolan could feel the woman on his arm loosening her grip and was glad for it. It seemed that his body language had been enough to push her away. As they approached a building ahead, Charlotte seemed to let go of him entirely. The four approached the building, and stopped. Faolan kept his distance, averting his gaze from Lucien and Marie, who were engaged deeply in conversation.

He felt his heart thump loudly against his ribs as the woman asked them to come inside. He didn't know why exactly, but part of him feared that Lucien would agree. Faolan would refuse, no matter what, of course, but leaving Lucien there with them...the thought filled him with dread. He was slightly relieved when he heard Lucien's response, and looked up at the Frenchman for the first time since they had left the building.

[b]"Oh, you can't mean that!"[/b] Marie said loudly at Lucien's response, and squeezed his arm close to her as she pulled him towards the door, [b]"Come in...just for a little while, keep us company...we can't sleep in the house alone, right Charlotte?"[/b] she said, standing on tip-toe to get as close to Lucien's ear as she could.

Charlotte, who had seemed to catch on to Faolan's lack of interest, struggled to find and answer for a moment before saying, [b]"That's right, it does get awfully lonely in there..."[/b] While she was going along with the other woman's pleas, she did not seem as committed, and for this, Faolan was glad.

Faolan, seeing Marie's proximity to Lucien's face, could not hold his irritation at bay any longer. He said, quietly but firmly, [color=a36209]"Look, we're not interested in your...[i]services[/i]. You best get inside before you catch cold in those...dresses."[/color] The last word slid out of his mouth with a hint of contempt.

At the sound of this, Marie turned her attention to Faolan, her brow furrowed in anger. Finally, she let go of Lucien's arm and placed both hands on her hips, clearly offended by what Faolan had implied. [b]"Excuse me, mister, what did you just say?"[/b]

Faolan was fed up and could no longer keep his words or his emotions in check, [color=a36209]"I [i]said[/i],"[/color] he repeated, [color=a36209]"We've got no coin for either of you, so you best be gettin' inside."[/color]

Marie was flabbergasted for a moment, her mouth hanging open like a dead trout, before she came to her senses and took a step toward Faolan, her finger extended to poke him in the chest. [b]"And just what are you implying? My friend and I don't have to take this, it's harassment!"[/b] Her voice grew louder with each word.

Charlotte, seeing that the situation was getting out of hand, took a step toward her friend to intervene. [b]"Marie, we should just go..."[/b]

Marie whirled on her friend in a flurry and yelled, [b]"I'm not going anywhere until this molly apologizes to me!"[/b]

Faolan, his fists clenched at his sides, was clearly upset by the introduction of this slur, and he lunged toward the woman. [color=a36209]"What did you just say!?"[/color] He rose his voice, not as loudly as hers, but enough to cause Charlotte to shrink away.

Marie, however, was not backing down. She took another step toward the Irishman and spat, [b]"You heard me."[/b]

[b]"Marie!"[/b] Charlotte called, now several steps away from them.

[b]"What!?"[/b] The irate Marie answered back, her voice shrill, [b]"Anyone can see from a mile away that he's sweet on the Frenchie. So, what, you jealous that he's getting a little attention from the proper sex?"[/b]