A Night at the Opera

Chapter 4: The Gamble

William never returned to his seat that evening. He was so unexpectedly overcome with emotion of seeing Emily that the idea of prolonged proximity to her without possible contact was excruciating.

He left quickly and hailed a carriage outside the opera house. Knowing that he couldn’t possibly sleep for the exhilarating anticipation of seeing her the next day, William decided to indulge in a game of billiards.

The carriage ride lent the opportunity for repose and before he knew it, Will was submerged in a deep reverie.

He reflected on his connection to the Summerset family. William’s father, Lord Stuart Burton III attended a university with George Summerset, Emily’s father. After many years as friends, the two men ended up on different life paths.

William’s father concentrated on increasing his family’s fortune and making connections in London society, while George Summerset, his financial state too modest to keep up with the fast paced Londoners, retreated to the country. There he resided in a small manor, satisfied with a quiet country life with his family. Stuart used to send young William to stay with the Summersets for his summer holidays where he spent a lot of time with their young daughter Emily. Soon William found himself more welcomed at the Summerset home than in his father’s.

After the untimely passing of his wife, Stuart Burton was consumed with accumulating as much wealth and power as possible. Rearing his son soon became a bothersome burden interfering with his ambitious plans.

William had never experienced much warmth from his mother, and with his father becoming a stranger to him, he found it a comfort to know that he had a friend and a confidant in Mr. Summerset.

William received a sizable allowance from his father, but months went by without any direct communication betwixt them.

He regularly visited Rosewood Manor in Devonshire and grew accustomed to spending time with Emily, but since her father’s death four years ago, William had ceased contact with her as to not encourage any romantic entanglements. However, he had always missed that certain connection he had with Emily. She had an amazing ability to understand him without having to question his actions, which was surprising given her young age. Her quick wit and insurmountable zest for life were contagious.

When he last saw her she was seventeen and quite beautiful. Oh yes, and that kiss. He had been haunted by that kiss for years.

As these thoughts clouded him, Will began fantasizing about what it would have been like if he never left for Italy that summer morning, but stayed with Emily instead.

Would they be happy living a quiet country life?

Would she still adore him after her fanciful girlish infatuation had subsided?

Would he find his equal in her?

True, she was younger than he, but what is seven years difference? These days it wasn’t uncommon to see a man with one foot in his grave marry a girl fit to be his grand-daughter. Let’s see, if four years ago she was seventeen then now she is one and twenty. William’s arithmetic was interrupted when the carriage came to a halt. The driver dropped him off at Pall Mall and William entered a familiar gentlemen’s club.

The air was filled with clouds of cigar smoke and the clamor of garrulous male voices. William proceeded to greet a few acquaintances and found himself having to produce a lie several times in order to explain the brilliant smile which he failed to suppress since certain gloved fingers had grazed his cheek.

“Who is she?” asked a particularly punctilious fellow. “Only a woman could stand behind such grotesquely blatant display of happiness.”

“Can’t a man have a cheerful disposition when amongst his friends?” asked he, all the while willing his face to resume the usual sober countenance.