The Markus Party

CHAPTER 3, THE SPOON

Lucy wasn't quite sure why she decided to use the word handsome. For a moment it felt out of place, revealing more of her emotions than she intended. But it was true. Louis looked exactly like the statue by the gate. It was uncanny how close the likeness was, to the point that she felt she may be going insane. "It is him. I wouldn't forget a face like that." Lucy whispered again.

"Yes, but that was a statue. Do you really think it moved?" Jasmine asked with a concerned look at Lucy that instantly replaced her fear.

"No...I just."

"People make statues of themselves all the time." Jasmine reasoned, to ease her own mind too.

"Made of gold? Of impeccable craftsmanship? But placed at the smallest gate into the castle?" Lucy's voice kept lifting with every word, ending up sounding like a squeaking mouse. Her eyes widened too, just as dramatically.

"Well...that's just what people do when they get filthy rich. They can make ten thousand more statues and place them at every inch of their castle if they want to." Jasmine's voice was also lifting, and so were her eyebrows. But she was mostly trying to appear above it all. This wasn't what they should be talking about; she sighed, gulping at her wine to calm her nerves. Lucy was ignoring it. Jasmine couldn't any longer. "The gossip!" She was almost shrieking, her fear returning. When others started noticing them, they quickly gobbled up the food on their forks and pretended to be laughing at something genius one of them had said.

The reason for their unease was this gossip. Apart from the statue, there was another reason that made Louis' face so startling. All four of them remembered that, when by the statue, Lucy had made a comment about similarities and none of them had taken it seriously. Until they saw it in flesh and motion. Then they couldn't shake that unease.

"Do you think it's really true?" Jasmine leaned in again, once they'd stopped drawing attention.

Lucy was stammering, unfocussed. She gulped down her wine and when she'd gotten tipsy enough, she leaned closer. "Yeah, Louis looks like Peter." Once they'd admitted it, they calmed instantly for some reason. At least it wasn't a magic trick, or an illusion; just something everyone could see.

They settled into their meal, making fast work of the duck in front of them. Jasmine called out for some of the sweet rice and an eager hand passed over a whole bowl. They opened another bottle of wine, a Romanee-Conti, and listened to the room talking. Baldwin was going on about his plans for the party, mostly impressing football club owners with his skills. Others had a similar idea and were talking about their own skills a little too loudly. Be it in fashion, cooking, architecture, or even swimming. They all wanted to get into Louis' ear about their secret plans for the party. Aside from revelry, it was also an opportunity for something more. Imagine walking into the CEO of a major business, or even the owner of the most expensive hotel. After all, this group were the chosen ones. Which means that there was a definite chance all these people would want to hire them for the prestige. And, as the talks wore on, Louis said something about his love of art that made one person suddenly stop eating.

Louis said, in a patronizing tone, "I could never part with a single piece from my collection. I'm always looking to add more. They may be scattered across the castle as you say, but I know exactly where everyone is."

"He knows where they all are." Lucy mumbled into her wine glass, barely audible.

"What?" Jasmine leaned in closer. She was pretty tipsy, but unlike the other interns who were mostly drunk, she maintained a certain level of composure in order to keep her wits about her. However, a duck leg was in her hands swinging wildly as she laughed and danced lightly to the music.