askanthea:

Mycroft had alerted  her to how how vain the man was and Anthea had corroborated that when she saw him for the first time. The way he carried himself, the suit, all of it screamed look at me and how much better I am than the rest of you. But when he told her about his kerchief and a bow tie for the dog, Tallulah or Tarragonor something like that, she remembered from the file, the PA actually scoffed.

Looking down at the pocket square, she nodded appreciatively and smiled slightly, “What a charming use of funds. Although the fabric and pattern is lovely, it seems a waste to have destroyed the rest.”

Maybe this would be bearable if they only spoke about fashion. Anthea could only hope and pay that would be the case. 

“It has nothing to do with ‘funds,’ my dear. While I won’t deny that I have no shortage of liquid assets with which to play, I’m not interested in seeing what endless money can buy. Anyone can do that. Anyone with a head for clever investments. I’m something a bit different. Exclusivity is one of my strong suits. I don’t like doing things that other people have done, or do them the way other people have done them, or have things that other people have.” He shook his head slowly. “It’s just not the way I operate.”

“And you didn’t answer my question.” His voice dropped, dangerous again. “What can I get you to drink, Miss Anthea? You’re making me feel as if I’m not a particularly good host. Do you know, by the way, how difficult it is to get blood out of satin, once it’s dried? That’s one of those things you should take care of right away, if at all possible.”