August 1852
He hated all of this. Absolutely any part of it in its entirety.
He mostly dreaded the fact he had to sit through another of his mother's richly organized dinners now.
At the same time, Callum was glad he wasn't the one expected to stay until its very end. He didn't even want to imagine how terrible that would be.
He glanced at Liam- his older brother- who was talking to a sweet, petite blonde girl; her purple dress was covered in frills and ribbons as per the latest fashion.
Callum's gaze lingered over the lace of her corset for a few moments longer than appropriate before his eyes moved up to the ivory clock on the wall.
The time was showing 9:14.
Good.
Callum reminded himself not to check the time so obviously often and looked away, searching for a place to put his eyes on.
The young lady sitting opposite him was still smiling politely, although Callum knew she found his brother as boring as he probably found her in return. However, engaging in conversations to the ones closest to you was- for better or worse- part of the table manners they all had to conform to.
"I haven't gotten the chance to talk to Sir Charles about his trip to...Where was he again? " Lord Tennyson was asking, addressing the lady sitting next to him. The woman was almost his parents' age, and almost as rich as they were.
Lady Oleanna was- in fact- one of the richest women in entre London, so naturally, this was among the reasons why his mother had to send her an invitation to the dinner, regardless of the fact he knew the two women couldn't stand each other.
Another unwritten rule that had to be followed.
"Oh, dear me, Tennyson. How very kind of you to ask." Oleanna smiled.
Callum tried not to roll his eyes.
His Father- the Dear Lord Tennyson had one sole reason to inquire after the Sir in question- trade deals.
After the British settled in the province they were now discussing in China, every second lord, baron, merchant, or trader- overall everyone who now belonged to the upper-class society couldn't wait to lay their hands on the riches, waiting for them there.
"He is still sailing, somewhere near Canton. " she explained, "He brought me this beautiful necklace as a gift the last time he came back to our summer house in Germany. "
The women gasped, each of them wanted to check the pretty, greenstone adorning the Lady's silver necklace.
Callum would categorize the jewel as excessive, but men weren't supposed to have a say in those matters.
At all.
"Great," his father called the servant standing nearby for more wine and added, “He still trades there, as far as I am informed, correct? "
And while women did not discuss business, let alone over dinner tables, everyone present knew Lady Oleanna was not just any woman.
She had been the one with the money, her husband - with a title. A great match, considering the current times.
"You are very well informed." Oleanna said, "But I would suggest, in order not to bore all those charming young ladies here with talks of the hardships of the trade to discuss matters later in the library?"
"Very considerate of you. Well, I suggest we do as advised."
That was all his father said.
Callum knew Tennyson might have won another partner, or not- that depended on how well he could persuade the woman to cooperate since Charles had refused all connections to his father's trade years ago.
He glanced at his mother, then.
Lady Charlotte came from a very old English family of royals.
Marrying his father had been another appropriate match at the time; money sought and found money.
Callum was almost sure they had never loved each other, but so far they had respected the deal. In public, at least.
His eyes traveled up to the clock on the wall- it was now nearing ten and he was very much hoping all that parade of fake smiles would end soon, so he could go spend the rest of the night in another company.
Which meant- very far from the Hither end of Portland Place, where the wealthy circles gathered. Callum could find what he was looking for only somewhere in London's East End.
"You don't seem to be enjoying your meal, Lord Callum." The quiet, gentle voice coming from his left said. "Is the dessert not per your taste?"
He still couldn't understand why young women chased him so relentlessly, but he had learned to quickly get rid of them.
The young lord leaned very close to her, perfectly aware of how inappropriate the move was, and purred in his most silky voice.
"And how would such a fine lady know what my tastes are?"
He looked up and pinned her with his cold blue eyes.
Color immediately blossomed on her snow-white cheeks and she quickly looked down at her small gloved hands, neatly folded in her lap.
Callum leaned back again and saw his brother looking at him, sharp critique in his eyes. The Lord only lifted his glass as a salute in Liam's direction. He finished his wine and asked the servant to remove the untouched plate in front of him.
The night was just beginning - soon - and he had no intention of spending it in the same company he'd had so far.
At exactly ten he excused himself and apologized for not being able to join the others in the library for more brandy and talks about trade. Liam would have to manage the rest of the evening by himself.
Oliver was standing in the middle of the small, shabby room in East London.This had been his home for the past few months and he had to admit he might actually miss the place.It was the attic of an old house, governed by Lady Eleanore. The owner had initially refused to accept bachelors, such as he was at an age, perfect for a young man to start thinking of getting into a more serious contract with a lady.But when he'd offered a handsome sum of money, Lady Eleanore had agreed to have him.The morning sun rays made the dust dance in the small room, but Oliver knew rain was coming. The weather changed so fast in London at that time of the year.He didn't have much, except for a few books and a few pairs of suits which he gathered in an old leather suitcase.Oliver wasn't sure if he'd need any of them, though, as he was going to have a uniform for his new job.He was going to be a valet in one of the richest families
He was instructed to use the servants' entrance, which was to the side. An old man in an impeccable black suit with the traditional white shirt and a white bow tie greeted him.He was most likely the manager of the Household Servants."Pleased to meet you, Sir. I'm Oliver Abram- Lord Tennyson's new valet." He outstretched his hand, but the man didn't return the greeting.Oliver took his hand back and the other man seized him up and down."You must have a very good recommendation to be hired for work in the household, especially dressed like that. "Oliver knew that even though he was wearing his best clothes, they were of much lower quality than the ones even the cleaning staff wore.The butler didn't wait for Oliver's response and said"This way, and try not to ask too many questions. Lord Tennyson hates them
Callum had the worst hangover he'd had in a while.And that said a lot, considering he had a pretty solid experience with port and whisky.He looked around the dark room and saw his clothes from last night all over the floor.Callum had no memory of how he'd gotten back to the mansion, but at least he was in his nightgown.He got dressed. By himself. He'd had a valet only once years ago and never allowed a servant to help him get dressed from then on.Callum was just finishing the tying of his black cravat.It was in very strong contrast with his white shirt, but when he added the black coat he decided it wasn't shockingly bad or dark enough.There was a knock on the door as he was trying to put his hair in order. It had overgrown a bit and he knew how inappropriate that was, so decided to just leave it the way it was."Yes?" he called. It was Thomas.
The next day something similar happened and Oliver was beginning to worry he might never actually do any work. He was occasionally helping the maids or the men in the yard, but that was pretty much all he did.He was given the black uniform of the valet, but he found himself rarely wearing it while he was outside with the man-servants.Something that got him the constant disapproving eyes of the butler.That, Oliver was really trying not to poke Thomas's eyes with his constant idleness and obvious not involvement in the way Callum's clothing or appearance were tended.He just didn't see the Lord anywhere.The maids were saying he was often gone for more than even one night, so Oliver could only guess where he went. After all, the old Lord had warned him about his master himself.On the third day, Oliver got up, looked for the Lord, but he was informed that Callum had already gone out, so he headed for Tennyson's study.
“How has the manor been treating you, Mr. Abram?”Tennyson said. He was keeping himself quite level, although it seemed like it was forced and something wasn’t quite right. It most likely wasn’t, since Oliver had been called here, and he was definitely one of the numerous things the Minister had to deal with. And of course, Oliver’s never failing sixth sense was a good way to judge the situation.“I am getting used to everything. Thank you. ““Do you have everything you need?”“I do, yes. As I’ve mentioned, everyone’s been very helpful. ““Indeed, they all are.“Except for you, Oliver almost heard it behind the Lord’s look.Tennyson crossed his arms.“I’ll be direct, because I am quite occupied as it is. I don’t see you doing what you’ve been hired for. “Oliver wanted to protest, or try
He was walking outside in the sunny garden. An orange-yellow cat was lazily sleeping by a nicely cut bush and the furry ball registered his presence by only moving an ear.Oliver searched his pockets for a cigarette, although he wasn't sure if it would be appropriate to light one here.He didn’t see anyone around, so he decided it was safe enough and he could afford it.Oliver was just taking a cigarette out when he heard someone come. And he always heard when someone was coming his way.He turned and saw it was the girl he'd meet the other day- Della. She was carrying something in her hands, coming his way.The girl glanced at the cigarette in his hand and Oliver said"Sorry, I just...""Oh, no, please, don’t mind me. "He put the roll back in his pocket, hoping he won’t crash it and h
"And then the prince stabbed the big monster!" The child exclaimed, full of wonder and Jenny laughed."Percy, you are the monster my nephew's talking about? ""You ain't funny, Jenny. "Percy made a face at her and she pretended she didn’t see it and ignored him. Oliver hadn’t told anyone he’d seen them in the study, but he’d spent the day with Percy and the kid again, so he’d hinted they should probably be more careful. He’d saved the details around the fact he wasn’t the only one who had seen them that day.Obviously, the Lord didn’t care in any way for any of this, but Oliver suspected Thomas wouldn’t be so indifferent if he found out. And if the butler didn’t like something, that meant trouble for all of them.Oliver got up and said "Thank you for the dinner, Adelia. I'll be heading up. "
They played a few rounds during which Callum was winning to Zhi's increasing annoyance. Oliver's head was starting to spin, even though he hadn't drunk that much.Callum, on the other hand, seemed perfectly sober, even though he was much ahead with his brandy compared to the others. They were given new pairs of cards when Xiao grunted. ."Go to Hell, you Red devil." The man threw his cards and slammed a first on the table. "Enough."He got up abruptly and told Callum it's time to go."Wait for me with the girls, or wherever you see fit and I'll be back in an hour. "His master instructed. The four men got up, leaving all the money on the table and headed towards the back room.No one tried to take whatever they had left, and Oliver decided those people were more dangerous than they seemed and no one would risk taking anything from them.One of the girls climbed on top of the other, still on the floor and Oliver got up.