Enter Sir Nathaniel Jackson Winham and his sweet sister Emily Rose.....<br/><br/>Cloppity-cloppity-cloppity went the sound of hooves striking the cobblestones.  London in the evening seemed both hushed and rushed.  The lightmen lit the streetlamps and the decent made their way home to be with their families.  It was also the time when the not so decent made their way to take position beneath the flickering flames of the smoke smeared glass lamps.  The fog rolled curling and ominous, seeping from the alleyways and spilling forth into the street as if to give the burgeoning night a more nefarious feel.<br/><br/>A feel that made a young girl shiver as she watched from the small window of the cab.  It was a comfortable carriage though it had seen much better days.  Closer inspection would show the worn spots in the red velvet cushions and the curtains had begun to fade.  It didn't bother Emily Rose but she knew it bothered her brother.  He spent more nights away from home, hoping to rekindle the fortunes by gambling.  He didn't tell her what he did but she knew.  Coming home drunk and smelling of stale cigars, acrid alcohol and cheap perfume.  That and yelling at the top of his lungs how it was another good night.  But in the morning he brooded.  Well, he was always brooding.  he had become obsessed with money ever since their parents had gone to Heaven.  He still bought her dresses of the finest fashion, though lately they were fewer and fewer.  That was okay.  She knew it was a struggle even if he didn't tell her anything.<br/><br/>She turned to look at his very serious face, so handsome in the wan moonlight that filtered through the windows.  Her sudden attention seemed to draw his and he smiled sadly.  It was nice.  When it was only the two of them, he was kind and considerate.  He just wanted to protect her.  Of course, when they were in company he was stern with her, even a bit shocking.  He seemed wolfish and on the hunt.  It was very scary to see him that way.  Once they had attended a ball and she was stunned to see how he had aggressively charmed the host's daughter.  After seeing her home, she knew he returned to that girl and more than likely defiled her purity.  There was something off about her brother.  As off as she was perhaps.  Mayhap it was the family curse.  That thing that made them strange at times.  Never the same oddity twice.<br/><br/>Emily let out a soft sigh and stared up at the moon half hidden by dark clouds.  She felt a trickle of ice slide down her spine.  Like an omen, that dark feeling descended upon her.  "Nothing is as it seems," she whispered.<br/><br/>Nathaniel looked at her the moment she uttered those softly spoken words.  He had learned long ago to pay heed to the things she said.  The problem was, you never knew what exactly it pertained to.  Emmy was smart but she was shy and a tad strange at times which people tended to stay away from her because of.  Tonight, he hoped she would stifle it.  She was getting older and it was time for her to be a wife.  The thought made him growl.  The thought of some other man with his hands on his pretty sister absolutely had him reeling with anger.  He stamped it down.  He had to.  He couldn't keep her at his side forever lest it look bad on his part.  It wasn't proper and he was a Windham.<br/><br/>He looked out the window, not paying any particular attention to the passing scenery.  Tonight may be his last chance to make there dwindling fortune grow.  That and maybe some chance for revenge.  If he could get his hands on some information on Pettigrew than he could maybe extort the man for the pain he caused his family.  He couldn't prove the murder of his parents but that wasn't going to stop his brand of justice.  The only reason he hadn't skewered the fat bastard was something his father once said to him.<em>Vengeance is a dish best served cold.</em>Yes, well he certainly had let it grow very cold.<br/><br/>The cab had come to a stop in front of the the Winterstone townhome and brother and sister exited with flourish.  Emily Rose looked a pretty flower in her silk dress of ocean blue to match her eyes.  She had grown proficient over the years, doing her own hair long after they had to let go the maid servant, and the curls were perfectly coiffed to frame her face.  Faux pearls dotted like stars in the sea of black and red that was her updo.  She took her brother's offered arm.  He was dashing in his cape and coattails, the red sash stark against his white shirt like a splash of blood.  It was sad that they were poor aristocrats but they wouldn't be for too long.  She was sure her brother would come into his own....she could feel it.<br/><br/>They entered the home with practiced dignity though these kinds of affairs did not sit well with Emily Rose.  Capes were given to the waiting attendants.  Nodding their heads to those that looked their way, the two siblings took up a comfortable position.  Nathaniel had received the invitation and eagerly accepted it, but he still wondered what Winterstone was about.  He surveyed the room, his eyes lighting with appreciation on the women of the room.  His lips twitched as he contemplated which of the lovelies he would attempt to devour first.  The beautiful blonde or the pretty little thing trying to go unnoticed.  Escort to his sister or not, he still had a reputation to uphold, well, the one known in more private circles.