Chapter Text
"I need to borrow your Mr. Fancy," Angie said without aplomb, plopping down into the seat opposite her.
Peggy raised an eyebrow. "Good morning to you too, Angie."
Waving her hand to speed up the conversation, Angie shook her head, looking incredibly serious and determined. "I'm not joshing, English. I need to borrow Mr. Fancy."
Had she figured out who Mr. Jarvis was? Who he worked for? flitted quickly through Peggy's mind, and she frowned. "His name is Mr. Jarvis," she corrected, pulling her coffee mug up to her lips, "And whatever do you need him for?"
Angie glanced around the automat, then lowered her voice, leaning in. Her eyes were dark, and Peggy almost didn't register what she was saying.
Almost.
"I need to take him home to Ma as my wolf."
Coughing, choking a little as coffee overflowed her mouth, Peggy still somehow managed to leave the experience mess-free, her other hand immediately slapping a napkin to her mouth. "Angie," she gasped, patting her throat, grunting an ingrained thank you when Angie shot up with an, "Oh jeez, Pegs, I'm sorry. Probably shouldn't've laid that on ya while you were drinkin'," and clapped her on the back.
Barely waiting for Peggy's breathing to regulate again, Angie gave her an apologetic smile as she was called away to make another circuit around the room. "Sorry. Sit tight. I'll be back."
"You better," Peggy replied flatly. Looking down, glaring at the napkin she held in her hand, she sighed, and began making sure she truly was coffee-free. What in the world?
Jarvis was definitely not a wolf. In fact, he was the utter opposite of a wolf.
And he was married.
Something Angie apparently didn't find important. "Many of the gals in my neighborhood have married men," she shook her head as soon as Peggy informed her, "And you think I hadn't already figured that out?"
"Fine. But you still haven't told me why you need him," Peggy succeeded in getting out fairly civily. It wasn't like her jaw was clenched. Hard.
Angie squinted and looked down. Worried her lip. "I..." She tightened her hold on her ever present coffee carafe, "Okay. Listen." Shifting forward, she purposefully kept her gaze to the left, away from meeting Peggy's dark, boring eyes, "I... You gotta understand, Pegs, that I have a large family. A large, baby-rearin' family. And me n' the city? Livin' alone and trying for Broadway? I swear it's like my family, led by my Ma and Grandma, have all their focus on me. Of course, I don't know why, seein' as my cousin came back from the West Coast with a concerning choice to not eat meat... But that's not the point." Waving her hand, Angie got herself back onto track. "See, I can normally throw 'em off. Only..."
"Only?"
"...They caught me at a bad time, okay?" Angie hurried out. "I'd had a hard audition, a week of terrible tips, stumbled off the subway and torn my new hose, and so fed up I finally told them I had a fella - - who now has to come for dinner else I'm wantin' no prayers come Sunday."
Peggy sighed. "I don't see how that - surely you have someone who would not read too much into acting as your... Paramour." Angie mumbled something, and Peggy tilted her head. "Sorry?"
"I said, I told them he was English."
"E-" Peggy blinked, shock reverberating through her body. Had she heard that correctly?
"And that he had served in the war."
Peggy found herself only barely getting out the thought of how Angie had figured out Jarvis had been in the war before Angie continued.
"And that he treated me real nice, was awfully proper and 'gainfully employed' with dark hair and beautiful eyes - " Angie glanced at Peggy, then quickly finished with a blurted, " - and frequented the automat, which was where we met."
Peggy didn't say anything for a couple of moments, her lips pinching as she cast around for something to say, some way to react. "...I can see how the accent would be of chief importance for the ruse to work," she finally stated.
Angie's tight, concerned expression and apologetic, grimacey jerk of a smile said it all.