Cold All the Way Through, But Warming

One Night

AN: So, new longest chapter, and it gets hot later on.

The photography studio was quite glad to see the crowd I brought in. It was a respectable place I'd heard, with quick and ready service. The photographer greeted us and a few attendants were quickly summoned to assist us. Each of the officers had a bag holding their uniform, I had insisted on wanting formal portraits of them in uniform, and they were quickly led off to a room to don them. I was already well put together in a shirtwaist, waistcoat and walking skirt. The photographer himself led me to the main studio, a large room with a great many props set around a large plain backdrop. There was a bank of electric lights, which an attendant was adjusting as we walked in. The photographer gestured to the canvas backdrop, "We can change that if you like, what were you thinking?"

"Oh, that should be fine." I paced the area, "And we shouldn't need too much, just some chairs."

"You're just wanting a group portrait then?" He barely looked away from his camera as he attended to it.

"A group portrait, individual portraits, and one portrait of myself and one of them." I picked up a wooden chair, moving it over by the backdrop. "And I would like multiple copies of each." The attendant who had been adjusting the lights quickly rounded up some more chairs, and brought over a large plaster column, a plaster planter and a silk plant on top. Another was brought over, giving a formal air to the plain chairs.

"We can handle that ma'am, how soon do you want them?"

"As soon as possible, I can stay to pick them up."

"It'll be an hour or two." He looked over as an attendant walked in, followed by the officers. "Gentlemen, if you'll arrange yourselves for me. Tallest in the back, I'll have the lady in the center chair and then we'll move on to the individual portraits." It took some shuffling, and a muffled curse from Lowe, but eventually we were all arranged. Will had managed to position himself behind me, and I glanced back. He was in his jacket, his cap in his hands and seemed to be concentrating on looking straight ahead. The photographer huddled behind his camera, "Alright, look over here and wait until I tell you it's finished." I pasted a small smile on my face, holding as still as I could. It didn't take ten minutes for the picture to be taken anymore, but it was still long enough that my cheeks were beginning to hurt by the time the photographer spoke again. "Alright, we'll move on to the individual ones now. If I can get you all to head to the waiting room and I'll have you called in one at a time." He barely paid us any mind, instead engaging one attendant in a heated discussion over the location of a box of negatives as another attendant led us off to the waiting room.

I took a glass of water from a tray that had been set out on a side table, glad for the drink. It had been rather hot underneath all those lights. The officers all seemed to have the same thought, taking their own glasses and drinking greedily. Pitman downed his in one go, "All this wool under those lights, enough to make you sweat."

"Not exactly comfortable there, Herbert?" Charles chuckled, "Poor Moody got the first solo picture, better leave some for him." We took advantage of the variety of chairs around the room, and fell into conversation. They were all looking forward to returning home it seemed. Charles quickly tried to cover, "Not that we haven't been thankful for your hospitality here Anastasia, but I'd like to see my wife before I ship out again."

"I understand, 'Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home'." I smiled, "But if you're in New York again, feel free to visit. You all have a standing invitation to any parties I hold. And dinner." They had a laugh at that, the discussion of the excesses of New York society carrying them through the photography sessions as Moody, his jacket decidedly darker under his arms, came back and the rest were cycled through. When it was Will's turn, I followed him through. I stopped by the photographer, "This is the man I would like a picture with."