The Bringer of Bad News (Jacques)

Jacques head was surprisingly clear that morning when he woke up, a slither of light just about giving off enough to be able to see in his room. Beside the Clement heir lay a brunette beauty with whom he'd had the fortune of a couple of nights this term already -- Jacques wasn't exactly in to the 'bad boy' look, he'd keep a girl around for a short while before his 'feelings' fizzled out.

Moubani was keeping Jacques interest, for the moment, though, and the young man brushed his lips against her throat as he rolled on to his side that morning.

And, perhaps Jacques might have been allowed to continue his kisses along the witch's neck had a knock at the door come in that moment.

Letting out a soft groan, Jacques rolled out of bed, pulling on a pair of sweat pants before heading to the door, hair tousled, bare chest and not in the slightest bit expecting Miss Sierra Stark to be at the door when he opened it. Almost as soon as he opened the door, Jacques closed it in the woman's face -- she was staff, after all, and... if Sierra was here....

Jacques quickly hurried back to his room, pulled on his shirt, asked Moubani to please stay in his room, and not to make a noise, before hurrying back to the door, and opening it again.

"Miss Stark, I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting company." Jacques explained -- though more to buy himself time as he looked down the hallway for a sign of his Maman anywhere. If he remembered correctly, though, his parents were either in Italy, or Greece at the moment. A million miles away from here. "Come in." Jacques added once he'd settled himself down a little bit more in that moment. His Maman was not coming, Miss Stark he could deal with.

"Something from the Palace?" Jacques asked conversationally, trying to remember if his Maman had noted anything he was supposed to be doing that he'd forgotten.

"I didn't, no. But, it is no bother." Jacques replied, settling down now he knew his Maman had not turned up, out of the blue, in the most awkward of timings. Not that Miss Stark's presence was much better, he would just have to hope the staff would have more sense that to tell his Maman of the state of undress she'd found him in. Jacques, quickly, made note to never answer the door like that again.

As Sierra entered, Jacques' eyes did a quick scan of the room, feeling mightily relieved that there was no evidence of the young lady who led in bed next door on show here. Whilst he doubted his Maman truly believed his innocence, Jacques would not like for the staff to start rumours. His Maman deserved much better than that, after all.

The explanation of why his Maman's aide was here was presented a few moments later, and Jacques took the papers from Sierra, moving to his desk and opening the envelope carefully with the aid of his letter opener. Upon opening the small bundle, Jacques could see it was just a number of run of the mill decisions being made by the accountants, estate managers, and copious number of staff that were managing his (currently small) estate. Jacques and his father had agreed to start moving the assets over slowly so that he could begin to manage his own portfolio so that, hopefully in a few decades time, he could make the transition to Lord Clement effortlessly and without false starts.

Scanning over the numbers, Jacques checked that everything was in order, comparable, and nothing glaringly obviously wrong, before bringing his quill to each sheet, signing them off in his flourishing hand without a word. Pulling out a new envelope, Jacques placed them inside, and sealed it with wax, placing his own personal seal in the melted white wax before holding it out to Sierra.

The newspaper, though, Jacques found quite an unusual gift from the Palace.

"Is there... something specific inside that I should put my attention to more closely?" Jacques asked. He would not be surprised if his Maman and Papa had sent it on the understanding Jacques would write to them with what he deemed to be the important information within, but before he set to trying to work that out, he would make sure he had all the information he would need at his finger tips.

"Seb and Aiden..." Jacques echoed, for a moment not placing the name. "Oh, Sebastian, Mimosa's friend." Jacques said as an after thought. Though, why he would be presented with such a piece in a newspaper about a man Jacques only really knew from Mimosa's excited explanations was entirely unclear to him.

Surely, if anyone wanted to know of Sebastian and Aiden, it would be the youngest Clement, and not himself. The light confusion likely showed on Jacques' features in that moment as he took the newspaper and opened it to the pre-marked page that his attention should be drawn to.

"Sorry, for also bringing some bad news,"

Jacques brow knit for a moment, before it hit him. In the same moment his eyes found the story, and he slowly read over the death of the two young men who were important to Mimosa. Whilst he was not close to the two, Jacques felt saddened in that moment, knowing now why this information had been brought to him. With his parents away from the Palace on official business, it would fall to him to ensure that Mimosa was told in the right manner.

Folding the newspaper back up, Jacques turned back to Sierra in that moment. "Please can you make arrangements with Headmistress Goshawk for me to visit Hogwarts. Today. Ask her to ensure no one else can give Mimosa the news, too." Jacques told the witch before him, knowing she would have to do his bidding just as much as she would have to do his Maman's.

"Also, arrange for flowers to be sent to Mrs. Aquila in Venice. And..." Jacques paused for a moment, clearly thinking things over. "I will need our American diplomat here, today. I need to ensure the bodies are recovered quickly, and not held for too long. A mother should not be kept waiting to bury her only son." Jacques finalised. Placing the newspaper down, his hand came to his face, his eyes settling on a point on the wall as he thought things over.

He was going to have to tell Mimosa that her Uncle was dead.

"You may go." Jacques finalised to the member of staff before him, closing his eyes in that moment because he had no idea where he was going to start.