Chapter Text
Lucy had spent the last two years in London, and during that time she’d attended the annual Fittes Gala twice. She and Norrie had rocked the world of ghost hunting agencies when they’d arrived from their small northern town and began advertising themselves as freelancers.
They’d become extremely successful in a short amount of time, due to their double combo of Sight, and Listening and Touch. They got contracted by the large agencies regularly to help out on jobs, along with getting hired by private clients who didn’t wish to pay the exorbitant fees that Fittes and Rotwell charged.
This year’s gala had gone all out. Even other agencies had been invited, which had been a definite no-no in years past. But this year Lucy spotted a few of the Rotwell crew, along with people from Tendy’s. Lucy even saw a short, dark haired boy with a petite, gorgeous girl. She vaguely recognized them but couldn’t quite place why.
“Here, bitch.”
Lucy turned to find Norrie approaching her with two glasses of champagne. “If you were anyone else I would’ve slapped you.”
“But I’m not so you didn’t.”
“Lucky you,” Lucy grinned as she took one of the champagne glasses.
“By the way, if I disappear from the party, it’s because I’m hooking up with that waiter over there.” Norrie pointed to a black-tied server who Lucy had caught her flirting with earlier.
Lucy elbowed her. “You bitch. He’s working .”
“Is that the only reason you’re calling me a bitch?”
“Honestly, yeah. Well, that, and the fact that you’re going to leave me to deal with this posh crowd all by myself.” Lucy surveyed the party over the rim of her champagne glass. It was just after nine in the evening, and the party was really heating up. She spotted the gorgeous girl and curly haired boy with a tall, slim, dark haired man. She could just make out high cheekbones and an impetuous smirk.
Exactly her type.
She looked away before he could catch her watching him. Men like that always knew how handsome they were and she hated to give them more ammo for their egos.
“Come on, let’s go mingle while you’ve still got me with you,” Norrie said, tugging on her arm.
Lucy nodded, and they disappeared into the crowd and the noise.
Three boring conversations later, Lucy was ready to stab herself with her rapier just for an excuse to leave the party. Jesus Christ, she always forgot how totally boring these old rich people were.
Norrie nudged her. “Someone’s been watching you for the last ten minutes.”
“Oh god, is it Long Hugh Henratty’s ghost? He always stares at me when I’m here. I think he can sense I can hear ghosts.”
“No, this one is very much alive, hot blooded, and handsome.” She nodded to the right, and Lucy looked.
The man she’d noticed before had apparently noticed her back. Their eyes locked and he grinned, an open invitation to come talk to him.
And suddenly Lucy knew who he and his companions were. “Norrie!” she hissed. “That’s Anthony Bloody Lockwood! Holy shit. He never comes to parties.”
“Yeah, because he’s never invited. Fittes and Rotwell both worry that he’s been a foil to their businesses.”
Lucy snorted. “It does them good to get a little nervous.”
“Are you going to go talk to him?”
“No, that’s what he’s expecting. I’ll approach him in a bit.”
“Right. Well, the sexy waiter just signaled me. He’s on break. I’ll be back…maybe.” And with that she slipped through the crowd, leaving Lucy by herself in the crowd. She caught sight of Long Hugh Henratty pivoting towards her, and flashed the ghost a rude hand gesture.
“Lucy! It’s nice to see you again!”
Lucy turned to find herself facing Quill Kipps. Her night was not improving any. She groaned audibly and sipped some champagne. “Hello, Kipps.”
“How’s my favorite freelance agent?”
“Just fine, until five seconds ago. Now six seconds ago…now seven…”
Kipps chuckled. “Afraid I’m going to ask you out again?”
“Yes. I don’t want to get kicked out of the party for telling a Fittes supervisor to go fuck himself…” She looked him coldly up and down. “Assuming his dick is big enough for that.”
“Ouch,” came a voice behind Kipps. “Now that’s what I call a rejection.”
Lucy turned to find Anthony Lockwood standing there, an amused grin spreading across his face.
“All right there, Kippy?” Lockwood continued. “If you need ice for that burn, there’s some in the kitchen I believe.”
“I’m fine,” Kipps gritted out. “She’s just playing.”
“You may be fine, but that ratty little boy on your team isn’t. He seems drunk, though that might be because he’s trying to play Hide and Seek with the ice sculptures. Better go sober him up, Quilliam.”
Kipps cursed and hurried off to take care of his agent.
Lockwood grinned. “I love watching everyone get drunk off their arses at these parties. It’s so entertaining. I don’t believe we’ve met,” he added, holding out his hand. “I’m Anthony Lockwood.”
“Right, from Lockwood and Co. Nice to meet you. I’m Lucy Carlyle.” She placed her hand in his. Sparks seemed to zip through her body like a lightning shock.
“The Listener.”
“You say that as though I’m the only one.”
“You might as well be. Everyone knows there isn’t another Listener half as good as you.”
She quirked an eyebrow. “Did you come over to roast Kipps or flirt with me?”
His grin widened. “Both. I was going to come over to talk to you anyway, since you clearly weren’t going to come over and introduce yourself. But then I saw Kipps walk over and figured I’d better save you from falling asleep from sheer boredom. Only you didn’t need saving. You destroyed him far better than I ever could. My kind of girl.”
She crossed her arms. “And it seems like you’re making an awful lot of assumptions, Mr. Lockwood - mainly about me being your kind of girl. I wasn’t aware you knew me on a personal level.”
He crossed his arms, too, but he didn’t look mad. Instead he seemed to be entertained. “Let’s see. So far I’ve witnessed you destroy Kipps, make a rude hand gesture at Long Hugh Henratty, and call me out for flirting with you. Pretty sure that makes you my type…Though maybe I’m not yours?” He raised an eyebrow inquiringly. “You have a business partner…?”
“Would that be the only reason I wouldn’t be interested in you?” she retorted. “If I preferred women?”
“Of course not. But it’d save my ego from crashing.”
Her lips twitched. “I like guys. Norrie and I are best friends. And you’re kind of an arrogant dickhead.”
“Nicest compliment I could ask for coming from you.”
“You make me sound mean.”
“You told Kipps he has a small dick.”
“I insinuated that he might have a small dick. I don’t actually know this for sure.”
“Not interested in finding out?”
She snorted. “No. He’s asked me out twice so far. I don’t know why he keeps pushing it when he knows I’ll just turn him down in increasingly rude ways.”
“Because he’s secretly a masochist,” Lockwood shrugged. “Me, I just walk away with my tail between my legs and never darken her doorstep again. Kipps likes being kicked when he’s down. Just maybe not in front of me.”
She grinned. “I take it you’ve known him for a bit?”
“Since I was 12 so…about ten years now.”
“You’re 22? Are you still able to, uh…” She trailed off awkwardly. Fading Talent was always a touchy subject.
“See ghosts? Yeah. But my Sight has always been really strong. It’s not quite as good as it used to be, but it’s still there.” He smirked down at her. “You’ll be one of those who’s Talent doesn’t start fading until their mid twenties at the earliest.”
“Which means I’ve still got a few years to go. I’m only 20.”
“When did you come to London?”
“Two years ago. Funny how our paths have never crossed.” She offered him a huge smile. “I guess you never needed a strong Listener.”
He chuckled. It rumbled low and warm in his chest. “Actually, I thought about hiring you a few times. But the cases either fell through, or it turned out the job would be a waste of time for you, so I didn’t bother. I wish I did, though.” His gaze rested on her lips. He had very nice eyes - deep brown, like her favorite chocolate.
“It’s a shame. It might’ve made a nice change,” Lucy said mildly, making damn sure that she gave no sign that he was affecting her in any way. “Kipps and I met on a job. He followed me like a puppy all bloody night.” She shook her head. “Hopefully he’s been embarrassed enough that he won’t come crawling back. Also,” she grinned in amusement, “ Kippy ? Quilliam ?”
“He calls me Tony, which I fucking hate, and he knows it. So I’ve got my names for him.”
“So cute. Little pet names!” she smirked.
“I do think he needs a leash, but I’ll leave that up to someone who can deal with him. It sure as hell isn’t me.”
She let out a laugh. Shit. Her defenses were crumbling.
But he looked so pleased that he had made her laugh that she allowed herself to soften up a bit.
“Are you two just naturally competitive?”
“Something like that.” He smiled at her. “We’ve had a couple cases together. They were interesting.”
“Yeah, I bet they were. I’m shocked you two didn’t kill each other instead of the ghost.”
He laughed. “Look, we tried. But in the end, survival triumphed over our natural instincts to beat the living shit out of each other.”
She grinned again. “Okay, but who was winning the fight?”
“Me, of course. I’m slightly offended that you even had to ask.”
“I had to check. Kipps is scrappy.”
“But I’m all technique and finesse.” He flashed a grin at her, and
goddammit
- her knees shook.
“Ooh, there’s a new line,” she teased. “Does that work on all the girls?”
“Not sure.” He leaned against a pillar, propping his elbow up against it so he could smile down at her more easily. “You’re the first one I’ve tried it on.”
“Oh, really?” She leaned against the pillar as well, keeping her arms crossed but she let the grin stay on her face as she looked up at him. “So if I walked around the room, I wouldn’t find any other girl you’ve said that to?”
“Nope. And you’re the first girl besides Holly I’ve spoken to all night.”
“So, what makes me so special?”
“Did I mention the part where you destroyed Kipps with a single line? That’s pretty special.”
“You really do just like me because I’m mean!”
He laughed. “Yeah, but I don’t want you to beat me up, unlike him. I like the feistiness.”
“You do, huh? Sure you can handle me?”
He smirked. “You’re a bit of a brat, aren’t you?”
She just smiled up at him innocently. “I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.”
“Lucy!”
Lucy and Lockwood both looked around to find Norrie shoving through the crowd. Her hair was slightly disheveled and her lipstick was smeared.
Lucy grinned. “Did you have fun?”
“Yes. Oh, I see I’m interrupting something. Did you actually introduce yourself?”
“She did not,” Lockwood informed Norrie. “I had to come over to talk to her. She’s very stubborn. And feisty.”
“Yeah, don’t piss her off. I’m the only one allowed to do that.”
Lockwood straightened up, and Lucy kicked away from the pillar. “Are you ready to go?” she asked Norrie.
“Yeah. I’d rather disappear before he comes back out. It was okay, but I think he wants to see me again and…no.”
“Why not?”
“We snogged. That’s it. I’m not looking for a relationship.”
“That’s fair,” Lucy said with a shrug. She looked at Lockwood. “Well, I’m sure now that we’ve met I’ll see you around.”
He grinned. “Count on it.” Before she could walk away, he seized her hand and raised it to his lips. “I’ll see you soon, Miss Carlyle.”