"Oh!" gasped ember with false enthusiasm. "How exciting!-- But I mustn't-- I wouldn't want to overextend your invitation, lord Gaensburg. Rules MUST be followed! They're what separate us from 'the beasts'."

He made a coy smile, then fanned a little air at himself.  "However, my schedule after visiting my cousin is, open ended."

The subtle slander against the "lower classes" was kind of an artform. You had to do it discretely and innocently in order to pull it off right, damn whoever might be in earshot.  You couldn't just pretend to be a noble, you had to BE a noble-- otherwise you would get caught in the act and be too hammy.

The barb was clearly well received by 'Lord Landon', as he made a satisfied snort, and prattled on about how more people should be so observant, before screaming loudly at the kitchen for his man servant, Luca, to hurry things along.


Ember became aware of eyes behind him, and discretely craned his head to look.  That dashing foreign boy with the straw hat and the sword was entering, and making eyes at Vivian. Almost as suddenly as his entry however, was his departure. Ember wondered what that was all about...

Moments later, Luca returned with a somewhat dinged up tea service from the kitchen, before carefully setting it on the table. Dry 'ship biscuits' were the only available morsel, and from the look on the boy's face, 'water discipline' had been a topic of discussion while he was preparing the tea. Fabulous. While it would likewise cause consternation for the crew, it would be a nice after-embarasment lecture for Lord Landon.  Ember had nearly forgotten about it himself, having pushed it from his mind as a necessity to follow, seeing as he could produce his own water on command, if a bit slowly for his tastes-- but sufficient to not need to utilize the ships stores for his morning toilettes, and the occasional drink.  The ship's stores of water were starkly finite, and wasting it was a very serious matter. "Tea", even a very terrible one, such as this, was a radical excess. 

"Oh, how dreadful..." he muttered, this time only halfway faking it. The tea service really did look quite horrid. He felt very sorry for the poor manservant, who was sure to get the wrong end of the stick for this. For a moment, he contemplated the propriety of causing that poor chap any further emotional harm-- the accessory to wounding his master's ego-- but pushed it from his mind. He would discretely find some way to make this work out for the boy in the end, he just wasn't sure what that would be just yet.

"but the sea air leaves me so very parched-- "

"It would seem the service on this ship is below second rate!" bellowed Landon. "I should have expected no less! My UNCLE shall hear of this!"

Ember just heaved out a sigh, carrying on with the act.  "oh dear... Remember Lilly... Dignity and Poise..." he murmured to himself, half-mocking the kind of liturgical utterance that noble ladies wanting to remain 'true to form' recited to themselves when things were going poorly for them, to avoid appearing 'unladylike', amping up the toxic femininity to match the toxic masculine being thrown off by Landon. ".. Rules must be followed..."

Hamming up the role had a purpose, of course. Landon had taken the seat opposite him at table, and was leering lecherously while continuing to drone on about the inferior service of this ship, careening from 'unsafe' hallways, to 'shoddy, third-rate kitchen service', while Luca poured the tea.  Despite appearances, the serving boy did have an eye for attention to detail, ember noted-- the tea itself, while served from such sub-rate service, was quite excellent. It was a shame to waste it, but the plan needed to be carried out.

"Oh, it's quite lovely-- I suppose appearances can be--"

Beneath the table, where nobody could observe the motions or action, ember withdrew his wand, and discretely conjured an illusory rodent. A very large, somewhat grotesque, and misshapen rodent, that appeared to be suffering from some form of mange. The kind of thing that could give a prissy nobleman (or woman) nightmares. The moment had at last come.

"---EEEEEKK!!!" he shreiked, in a shrill cry that could curdle fresh milk, before throwing the hot tea all over lord landon, and jumping away from the table. (while subtly commanding the illusory rodent to pounce from its hiding place beneath the table, up onto the bench, then onto the table, and then toward Landon.)