Free Reads!! Wednesday Briefs – Innocence & Carnality Part 23
Welcome to the next part in my Wednesday Briefs flash fiction serial, Innocence & Carnality! Each chapter has to be between 500 and 1,000 words and this week I skipped using a prompt. Don’t hate me, just read and enjoy. lol
Nathan gets his first look at Delaga House at night.
Click here to start from the beginning
Part 23
Since I had yet to learn the layout of Delaga House, I went back the way I came up. I followed the back stairwell passing the occasional servant, all of which stepped at a determined pace between floors. The deeper I went, the more my resentment at Rother twisted itself into nerves. I had no idea how Rother would react to my escape. Once I found the kitchen, everyone was far too busy to give any awareness to me. I walked with anxious steps, caution sharpening my observations.
I followed the growing layers of conversation into the hall leading to a vast sitting room. The gaslights lit whorls of pipe smoke, leaving the foyer hazed in amber. An ornate clockwork musicbox against the wall played a tinny tune adding a playful atmosphere. A grand number of mostly men milled between the expansive rooms, in and out of the foyer. Were these Rother’s customers?
They came in all levels of status from coarse to elegant. One could tell by their stance and bearing. A strange mix of classes to do business with one another. I watched how they all interacted. It didn’t take long to recognize Rother’s employees from the patrons. The men were all dressed with the rakish flair reminiscent of Rother’s casual yet smart attire. Dressed in open collared shirts and suspenders, they catered to customers, chatting away like long lost friends. The women were something else entirely. They all wore dresses like my mother fancied, yet with far less material, and far more leg and cleavage showing. Giggling and heated glances were passed back and forth; my face heated with their open behavior. Vivian trailed a brazen finger down the chest of a wealthy gentleman who grinned over the attention. So rapt in her task, she never noticed me pass.
I schooled my discomfort at the display. Clearly, this was part of Francine’s customs I needed to adjust to. I was determined not to be offended so easily by things different from my homeland.
Trying to blend in, I followed along the wall, doing my best to watch without participating. A few of the staff I recognized served drinks to the crowd. I had yet to see Rother, Samantha, or even Blythe, but given the number of folks present, it wasn’t surprising they were lost among them.
It didn’t take long for me to find my annoyance once again. Did Rother really think I’d embarrass him at a party? Managing social functions was part of my schooling. I realized my ignorance of Francinian culture was a hindrance, but I wasn’t backwards. I could have managed with a little coaching. With the exception of the ladies’ fashions, this wasn’t all that different from a Victorian soiree. Minus the wanton frivolity, of course.
An odd mix of soft cheers and other sounds I couldn’t place drew me into the adjoining salon positioned across the foyer from the sitting room. It took some time to weave through the people, as the crowd’s density increased the closer I came. Squeezing between a pair of gentleman, I entered the room.
Everywhere I looked, men played games at several tables. A group of men sat focused on the cards in their hands, ignoring the cacophony around them. Another group watched intently while one player threw dice down the long run at another station. Mounted along the far wall, a large wheel painted into pie sections with numbers spun, the waiting players locked onto the possible outcome. People cheered and groused depending on how each round finished and how much money changed hands. The more I watched, the more uneasy I became.
They were all gambling.
Everything going on in this room was illegal.
My husband was running an illicit business and bound by marriage, I was a part of it. Did every piece of artwork and decoration in Delaga House come from criminal funds? Now I understood why Rother didn’t want me down here. He knew this wasn’t right and I wouldn’t approve—couldn’t approve. Rother didn’t want me to know how sordid his dealings were. I knew nothing of this kind of life and now I lived in the middle of it.
I wasn’t prepared for this. I needed to speak to Rother. I needed him to explain it all, but I couldn’t see him through the crowd. All my previous fury and efforts to adapt set themselves aside as my stomach twisted. The determination to be accepting fled from me in an alarming rush. Too many people dealing in scandalous activities, far too close together to me. I felt confined, surrounded by something I didn’t understand. Laughter and mirth from each and every person mocked me, smothering me in decadence. My chest tightened, pulse pounding, and every breath became labored.
I needed a safe place. Back to the bedroom. Pushing the thought’s irony aside, I turned around.
How had the throng of people become so much thicker? Getting out of the gaming salon was harder then getting in. I struggled not to shove men aside as my panic took hold. I need to go back the way I came.
An exhale of smoke burned my eyes as I navigated through the room’s center. I couldn’t risk taking the time to trace along the outer border again. I knew my reaction was irrational, but I couldn’t quash it. Only my Victorian veneer kept me calm and polite enough to prevent me from plowing down the middle of the group.
Get to the kitchen, go to the bedroom suite, and wait for Rother to explain this whole debacle, I told myself. Rother was many things, but I didn’t get the sense he’d lied to me so far. Kept silent and vague at times, yes, but what he’d shared had been truthful.
The crowd parted as my destination approached. I slipped into the kitchen and my pace came to a screeching halt by a hand gripping my arm.
“Where are you running off to, love?”
Check back next Wednesday for the next installation… Be sure to take a read at the other briefers free reads this week here: Wednesday Briefs
