Curse of Rose de Winter

Chapter 25

We spent the rest of the night talking. Sometimes Samuel and Ivan joined, but I don't think they had romantic interest in me.

"I want to study finances, if you ever need help in that field do call me," Samuel said, hanging out business cards. Leroy and him seemed to get along. "Where did you work as an assistant?"

"Chapel Hall," Leroy said. "Politicians often frequent there and one is taking me under his wing to help him with his elections. I can't say the name under our contract, but I only proofread speeches as of now."

"What do you plan on doing?" Samuel asked.

"Well, ideally I'd like to see how the democratic wing is run by the big shots. I disagree with a few ideas but it's hard to voice it because I don't want to get fired."

"Understandable—"

"Then you've come to the right place!" Ivan said, face flushed from the alcohol. "The Whitecrosses have plenty of players in the field. We've recently gotten progress after leaving the Republican Wing because of that Teddy boy—"

"Ivan! We can't divulge his identity!" Samuel gave his face a sharp wake up slap, but Ivan went on in his drunken fervor.

"I'll hook you up with some people! But be warned—be warned—"

He turned around and before he could retch, Vaughn literally carried him out the door, looping Ivan's arm around his own.

Samuel groaned in embarrassment at his cousin as Olivia laughed in a singsong voice.

"Oh, young men, am I right?"

A group of dark haired and older men were getting harassed by Scarlett and Olivia seemed to look on with superiority before she whispered softly in her awfully pretentious way.

"Scarlett is trying to get connections with the Mazzanti family—oh, poor dear. She should simply accept she's no longer going to have any future acting."

"Stop it," Angel hissed before meeting eyes with me. She walked over to me, and I was surprised she seemed bored; I had always imagined she would be social and talkative at a party.

"What's the matter, Angel?" I asked, taking her aside.

Angel touched her pink skirt and looked at the ground. Her dress and Connie's matched, but Angel's was a strapless gown with a ruched waist while Connie had sleeves and was a darker color like fuchsia.

"Ivan is so terribly desperate. And there's no wealthy men here who can set me up with fashion designers or the such; they're all old money, or have names that are famous." Angel took a small pastry of some kind and began to nibble on it. Connie and Ruby were enjoying their own corner quietly.

"You don't like any of the men?" I asked. "Leroy," I said in a whisper, "seems intelligent. His brother Noah also seems kind."

Noah was older by six years and had already began working as some accountant. He traveled back and forth to places which I heard as both the fake Rose and now as Blanche from a short talk after talking to Leroy.

"Well, he's old," Angel said innocently.

"There's no one here younger than me, and I'm your senior by six years."

"Do you think—do you think Dylan is interested?" Her voice was so soft I couldn't process it.

Dylan? Interested in—her?

No, they were cousins! While some families still married inside I'm sure the de Winters wouldn't—but they were rich. And rich families tended to be the strangest and most private as they didn't want to lose wealth—but cousins?