A Gentleman's Guide to Mad Science

A Little Party Never Killed Nobody

Victor

Earl Victor von Eldreich is no stranger to extravagance. Parties almost every night, more canes and capes than he can count, bathing in luxury is like breathing air to him.

He knows what it's like to have nothing, to feel like nothing. A boy with no title, no family, only the drive to get out of the slums. Just because he still feels the phantom cold cobblestone pressed into his back as he falls asleep every night, it doesn't mean that his evening companions have to know his penniless past.

The shifting of a body beside him snaps him back from his thoughts. He prefers not to stroll down memory lane as much as he can, blood and mud are so difficult to clean out of a wool suit after all.

"Where'd you go, Eldreich?" The man beside him notices Victor's far off gaze toward the pleated canopy above them and gives a teasing smile shifting closer to Victor.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Victor quips back, putting on his famous coy facade. Careless and self-serving on the surface but calculating and intelligent underneath. Victor von Eldrech is not above pleasure and fun. It has taken a while to build this kind of a work life balance.

"How about we go for another round? The sun is only just starting to rise and it is so cold outside these sheets..."

"As tantalizing an offer as that is Jack, I have matters to attend to and I know that Marian would not be too happy if you 'worked late' again."

Jack stared back with his mouth agape taken aback by Victor's comment. No, Jack had never mentioned his wife to Victor, even with the rivers of wine he drank the night before at Viscount Michael Livingston's soiree. Victor wouldn't be so careless as to bed someone he knew nothing about.

With that, Victor slid out of the crimson silk sheets, braving the chill in his room, and padded across the floor to get his long johns. The maids started the chores around the manor an hour ago, however, Victor has given strict instructions not to disturb his chambers til later in the morning... to allow for his guests to vacate his room with some of their dignity still intact.

Leaving Jack to finish collecting himself, Victor made his way into his closet to get ready for the day. His black suit with deep red waistcoat and cravat was already hanging for the night's festivities. While he mainly used these parties as a way to cut loose and forget, money was starting to run scarce. He needed to flirt with the right eligible gentleman tonight to bring his operation back from the dead, and that was saying something considering he has a doctor under his employment who is trying to attempt experiments just like that.

Victor was like every other esteemed member of society, except his business dealings were of a more sinister kind. He saw the profit that was to be had in funding medical research and advancements. He would buy and sell black market organs, bodies, and ingredients promising miracle cures to those in need. It was by the luck of the devil that he found a doctor capable and willing enough to enact his vision. On the surface he was known for his discrete medical services in which clients could order tonics and whatnot to cure their ailments, but for a heftier price they could request much more.

He turned to the mirror and finished tying his cravat. Giving one final look at his reflection he let his smile spread into its familiar rakish grin. Tonight he had to find a new fool to fund his business, he didn't want to think of what he'd lose if he couldn't.

Eric

'Make an appearance,' his parents said.'it will help you make friends,' they said. What a fool he was for believing that hogwash. A party at Eric's family's house and he still managed to feel like a stranger. His mother tried to introduce him to many of the ladies in attendance but with every bat of their eyelashes the wine he had consumed roiled in his stomach. That is why Eric chose to hide behind one of the overly extravagant plants his parents insist on keeping in a corner of their ballroom.