Had Theo been in a better mood he might have protested that his feelings for Fletcher had nothing to do with pirates and fantasies. However, he simply sighed and allowed the conversation to continue. While he could see how it pained Fletcher to consider a replacement for Ash, he also knew he had to gently push the matter. 

"Jack," he began softly, "I understand how difficult this is. And I understand it is a risk you don't want to take with someone else. However, if I might suggest there is a possibility that someone could be hired who...could fit the role we need played. Someone either known for such a lack of scruples or someone willing to be a co-conspirator. We just don't have the right staff to accomplish this currently...that is of course unless you want to send Dewey into the lioness den," he jested. 

Fletcher's ears went hot at that comment. He tilted his chin up and squinted down his nose at Theo, one eyebrow arched as he scrutinized the man. "And some people have a pirate fetish," he opined. "Lucky me."

He was caught off guard, though, as Theo once again fervently insisted that that night at the market was squarely on his shoulders and not Fletcher's. He pushed off from the mantle, crossed arms tightening into a knot. Where Theo's voice had risen, his lowered until it was nearly a whisper. "I promised you nothing would go wrong, and then I was stupid and took you somewhere I shouldn't. Because I wanted a drink, Theo. None of it would have happened if I'd been smart and stuck to the plan."

Fletch groaned and rubbed his face, then shoved the hand back under his bicep. "Can we not do this again? Make everything into an argument? You want to work with me, so...work with me. And...no." He looked to the side, lips pursed. The muscles in his jaw tensed as he ground his teeth and tried to wrest control of himself. "If your dad wants him replaced, he's going to need to wait. Or make Niles do it, I — "

He looked back at Theo. It was unclear whether the redness in his eyes was from drink or lack of sleep or from holding back what he did now. "Can't do it now. Not on top of everything," he finished.

Dark sadness deflated Theodore's shoulders and smothered the light in his eyes. While he had not grown as close to Ash as he was to Fletcher, the loss still deeply grieved him. "Some people just find that attractive," he commented quietly without thinking.

Fletcher blaming himself however did bring Theo's inner fire back to life. "None of that was your fault!" He exclaimed not for the first time. "I was the one that started the bar brawl AND the tantrum in the marketplace. I was the one that set it all ablaze. You just keep being left with the pieces to pick up and try and make sense of. I don't want that to be the case here. I want to work with you not against you, and not just do things myself."

Theo looked over at Fletcher, the corner of his lip caught between his teeth as he hesitated. "...have you still not found a replacement for Ashley yet?"

"Never said it'd be me as bait," Fletch scowled. "If Ash were still around, he'd be bloody perfect for it, you know?" The whiskey eased the pain of the man's memory and he chuckled a little at the thought, but at the sight of Theo's seriousness, he cleared his throat and kept going. "Someone prettier and younger, anyway. Doubt she'd actually go for a wrinkled, eyeless arsehole except to try to grind me under her boot. So it's not off the table if we can find someone else. And...I don't know. I couldn't tell. I know games, but not these games. She wants leverage, that's all I can make of it. And she's willing to stir up trouble to get it. But she's young. She can't be that good at it, Theo — I refuse to believe it. She's got to slip up at some point. So maybe that's your answer: play ignorant, watch, and wait. As for how much you want to burn it all to the ground...well. You know what I'd do. But last time we tried that, it came back to bite someone we cared about, so...tread lightly, I suppose."

Theo looked to him, his entire expression disbelieving what Fletcher said before sinking into sorrow. Were Theo's blinders really the best anyone had ever treated his bodyguard? Was the man just so happy to have something that he'd accept anything without realizing or acknowledging, perhaps even defending how much the nobleman kept making things harder, more complicated, and worse for him at every turn.

He felt it best to not comment further. "And you said you did not wish to be alone with her nor proceed in this manner. Therefore, we need a different plan. Do you think she actually has someone? Or was she just trying to undermine me? The other question is how badly do we wish to destroy her and her reputation. Because we could utterly destroy her but it would leave her with no future or prospects most likely."

Fletcher's frown deepened. "How you've treated me?" he repeated in honest confusion. "What — better than anyone's treated me in my life? Yeah, it's awful. Truly. I'm really upset, Theo. Can't you tell?" He snorted dismissively and shook his head, opting to cross his arms and lean on the mantle rather than sit. "And I already told you how I'd do it. A honey trap seems straightforward enough in a world with my rules and not yours. Here, though...I dunno. With how everything's gone lately, I'd just as likely make things worse, and I wouldn't see it coming."

He started to shake his head and opened his mouth to brush it aside and then stopped. There was a pause as he failed to immediately answer and then when he did it was spoken very calmly and softly.

"I feel guilty for how I've treated you and how I continually blunder into upsetting you. It is not your problem to fix or manage though and I don't want you to worry too much on it. I will sort myself out, I promise."

Theo sighed and motioned for Fletcher to sit if he wanted. "What would you have done if she had been common? Perhaps we can start there."

"Here," Fletch muttered. He added half the wood back, scraping the hot coals into a unified bed and setting the logs up lengthwise in an orderly fashion. "Building a bloody bonfire in the damned house," he tutted to no one as he fixed what Theo had started. After it was done, he stood and turned towards the nobleman, wiping his sooty hands off on his coat. "I don't," he replied with a wince. "Not more than I've already said. You know it's not my world. If she was common, I could have it sorted in a week. But she's one of you, so...I'll help, but you've got to tell me what we're doing." He paused, frowning and looking Theo over. "Something wrong? You look a bit peaky."

Theo startled as Fletcher knelt down into view and jerked the wood back he had been trying to set to flame. Sheepishly he nodded his head and signed 'yes,' as if speaking would draw more attention to his embarrassing attempts.

He moved back to sit in his chair, his face looking far more grey and drawn than when he'd been covered in aging cobwebs and dust. "Do you have any thoughts or suggestions on the matter? I'm afraid I still don't know exactly what to do. I'm afraid of making things worse or putting you at greater risk again. I am sorry by the way I left you two alone. I never considered she'd be so...slimy."

"As much as it injures my pride, I have seen too much to deny that the days of Essyrn's dominance are long gone. I still believe it to be the greatest city in all of Le'raana, but fewer and fewer travelers come to marvel at its splendor. And I fear that the ravages of time will only worsen no matter what we do." 

Ghaej was clearly troubled by the idea. But he couldn't see things any other way after seeing his nation wither firsthand.