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Post by Valerie on Mar 31, 2008 17:37:54 GMT -5
"Nor is anything truly gained by it. You satisfy lust for a time, but it will return, like hunger, or thirst, and need to be sated again."
*She speared a piece of asparagus and munched on it thoughtfully.*
"Have you ever considered trying to fill the world with something greater; rather than merely drawing upon what it has to offer you? Creating something glorious and giving it back into the world which keeps you in such luxury and elegance?"
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Post by Valmont on Mar 31, 2008 17:40:34 GMT -5
"No," *he said, cracking the top of his creme brulee.* "I fulfill my 'function' in society. One does not seek to end hunger or thirst for all time; instead, we create new and glorious ways to assuage those needs. Do you ask the chef what he contributes to society?"
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Post by Valerie on Mar 31, 2008 17:43:18 GMT -5
"A chef can be an artist. Everyone must eat--why shouldn't it be enjoyable from time to time? And you have no real function."
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Post by Valmont on Mar 31, 2008 17:52:10 GMT -5
*Valmont smiled indulgently.*
"You are so young," *he said.* "There are other things everyone must do. Why not perfect those as well? Perhaps I am an artist in my own right. I don't expect you to understand, of course. The callow father of your child could not have been a connoisseur, or you could not say such things."
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Post by Valerie on Mar 31, 2008 17:55:55 GMT -5
"It is not my child," *she said quickly, with a shrug and a sigh.* "And there is no comparison between making love and fine cuisine. If you do not eat, you die," *she pointed out, rapping her spoon smartly against her creme brulee.* "I do not see monks dropping dead in their cells."
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Post by Valmont on Mar 31, 2008 18:04:25 GMT -5
*Valmont chuckled at that.*
"Valerie. Do you know how many monks would make me look like a paragon of saintliness? As much as I live to shock people out of their misperceptions about human vice and virtue, it's perfectly true. I don't diddle altar boys, after all. Whatever power I can hold over a potential conquest is nothing compared to the authority the Church brings to bear on the priests' every debased whim. And I would argue that while making love cannot be compared to sustenance, it can be compared to fine cuisine."
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Post by Valerie on Mar 31, 2008 18:10:31 GMT -5
*Something inside of her went clunk when he said her name, and she shifted awkwardly for a moment. He was speaking to her as if he knew her better than he did.*
"In any case, I think I'll stick with fine cuisine."
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Post by Valmont on Mar 31, 2008 18:14:33 GMT -5
"You'll let me know if you change your mind," *he said mildly, but he was somewhat shaken. What had prompted such a speech?
Valmont sat back and concentrated on his dessert. Fine cuisine, indeed! The truth was, there were miles between the two, as far as he was concerned. The pleasure was in accomplishing the thing he was best at. Something she could dismiss because she could never understand it.*
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Post by Valerie on Mar 31, 2008 18:16:16 GMT -5
*Valerie licked some sugar off her spoon. Slowly. Not really thinking about anything in particular.*
"What are you reading?" *she asked, seeing the book on the smaller table nearby.*
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Post by Valmont on Mar 31, 2008 18:23:12 GMT -5
((He was reading Wuthering Heights when she came in, but I'll give them something else to talk about.))
"Pride and Prejudice," *he said.* "I was going to start on Justine, Les Infortunes de la Vertu, but I didn't want to offend your delicate sensibilities by leaving it about."
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Post by Valerie on Mar 31, 2008 18:24:16 GMT -5
*Valerie snorted.*
"Justine? Lightweight."
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Post by Valmont on Mar 31, 2008 18:29:03 GMT -5
*Valmont fought down the urge to bristle. She hadn't been there to instruct him!*
"Maybe if you did your job, I wouldn't have this problem."
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Post by Valerie on Apr 1, 2008 13:07:39 GMT -5
"My job no longer concerns the reading public. I've ceased to be a librarian. Any interest in literature on my part is entirely personal from hereon in."
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Post by Valmont on Apr 1, 2008 13:15:35 GMT -5
"So what do you do? What is your purpose in life, hmm?"
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Post by Valerie on Apr 1, 2008 15:32:51 GMT -5
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," *she said with a trace of a smug grin quickly hidden behind an otherwise completely composed expression.*
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