Trails of Intertwined Stars: Chapter 74

~Chapter 3: The Dinner Party~

The night drew soon, and the butler had pushed open the patios to let the air into the drawing room; where Henry was hosting his guests. Henry, himself, lay draped against the sofa like a curtain; idley swishing the wine in his glass as he looked among his guests with his typical, elegant smile. He was usually a miserable man, but when surrounded by guests, he could seem quite charming, yet his tongue was bitter and poisoned. Beside him was a young man, with marvelous features. A mirror image of beauty; with blonde curls and elegant blue eyes, with cherry red lips and a dashing smile. When Leora was young she had called him Prince Charming by accident, quite smitten by his looks, like all that cast their gaze at him. Yet, as she grew older, Leora lost that fancy and only truly saw him as a vain man, who, like many her brother spoke to; had been corrupted by Henry. The young man's name was Dorian Gray, and he had been Henry's little subject for the past month or so. On a different armchair, was Lord Bernard; a man who could never seen to quit smoking and owned a few Workhouses. Leora had always despised him. He was old and fat, he reaked of tabacco and mildew; his humour was vulgar and unsightly.

Standing by the open patio door, trying to catch the wind; was the artist, Basil Hallward. He was a sullen looking man, who Henry had often called dull and boring. Leora found him the complete opposite. She was absolutely fascinated with his art, and would argue that he was the main influence for her own passion in art. Basil, on the other hand, never seemed to like Leora's persistent nature, and never truly answered her question if they were on the topic of art. Or if he did, it was blunt or a lie. And, the final person in the room, was the Duchess Gwendolyn, yet she always insisted on being called Gwen. She was a loud woman, who always felt the need to be in other's lives, even if she had no business there whatsoever. She wasn't old, but she wasn't young; the tips of her hair were starting to catch a greyish tint.
"Henry, I still cannot believe you are marrying that woman!" Lady Gwendolyn laughed, covering her mouth," Lady Brandon is it? You and her both seem to be entirely opposites!"
Henry let out a long sigh, swishing his wine, glumly," It is not my best choice."
"Whyever not?"
Henry smirked, cattily," The woman never knows when to be quiet, that's why."
There was a small rumble of laughter; mainly from Lord Bernard and Dorian.
"Why, Harry, what was the point of marrying if you do not love her?" Dorian grinned, charmingly.
Lord Henry shrugged his shoulders, sipping his wine," Because I am bored."
Basil let out a glum sigh, casting his gaze back out to the garden.

"Say, Leora," Lady Gwendolyn turned to Leora, making her jump a little as she'd been distracted," Are you in love yet?"
Leora blushed at the question.
"No, not quite," She shook her head.
"Only with her dreams," Henry corrected; gaining another round of laughs, before he countered his crowd," I am quite serious. This morning she was telling me about a man who saved her from the spirit world."
"The spirit world?" Lord Bernard let out an obnoxious laugh," That sounds like your sister. Much too absent minded."
Leora glared at him, clutching her dress in frustration.
"Now, now," Dorian hummed, richly, practically grinning ear to ear," Leora is still young. There is no rush to marry. Besides, I am sure a man will happily wed her for status."
"If she does not scare them away with her insistent questioning," Henry muttered, sipping his wine; earning an approving hum from Basil.
Leora glared daggers into her older brother," I do not do that! Besides, it was just a dream, unfortunately."
Basil turned back to face them all, leaning against the patio in an idle sort of manor; sullenly," Funny you should mention that, I believe I saw Leora with the new gardener today."

Henry choked on his wine, setting the glass down in an angry sort of manner as Dorian rapped on his back to clear the alcohol out of his windpipes.
"Is this true?" Henry glared at her," You wouldn stoop that low?"
Leora sighed," Oh please, that boy is much too annoying for me. Besides, what does status matter?"
"It matters terribly," Lord Bernard cut in, with his richly-disgusting voice," Especially for a woman. You think status doesn't matter in your case? Believe me, you will be seen with no peasant if you wish to live and breathe with your head held high."
Leora rolled her eyes.
"He's right," Henry glared at her sharply," It would do you good to see that, Leora. But... thinking about marriage is not a bad thing. You are taking a while."
"I'm only nineteen!"
"You'd be surprised how quickly time goes, dear," Dorian yawned," Much too quickly. It's such a precious thing."
"On the subject of dreams and the Underworld," Lady Gwendolyn cut in, gently fanning herself as she stretched upon the divan," I hear people in China have Ghost Festivals and marriages, isn't that peculiar?"
Dorian scoffed," More peculiar than the British seance and spiritual photos? I think not."

"No matter, let me explain," Lady Gwendolyn sighed, pouting childishly at Dorian," I heard that Lord Walker went to China recently for trade purposes, and he came across an interesting book. It was something about a cross-over between the spirit world and the living, and how dreams are sometimes the barrier between. Lord Walker, being a man of science, laughed at the seller; calling him a silly man with his head too wrapped around superstition. The seller apparently looked deeply angry about this, and insisted he take the book and cursed him; begging that the ghosts would spare no mercy on him. Curious, Lord Walker read through it and all these fascinating stories about rituals to bring the dead to us. Then one day, he became very ill. Heard voices, saw things; poor man. I went to visit him, after all we are quite close in relations. Despite his ill claim, he seemed very eager to speak of the book fondly. Though, admittedly, he seemed a bit uncomfortable when holding the thing. He handed it to me to keep and read at my leisure, and I believe I have it somewhere in my bag..."
Lady Gwendolyn rummaged through her bag, whilst the party members seemed a little lost for words. Dorian, being the innocent man that he was; had his lips parted his shock and his eyes wide. He was pale, as if he would faint about the idea of ghosts wandering among the living and being cursed by an angry seller. Basil let out a hiss, snatching the fan off Lady Gwendolyn and furiously fanning the poor, pale male.
"See what you've done?" Basil frowned," Your silly stories have made poor Dorian ill again!"

Henry let out a bored hum, just as unfazed by the story as Basil seemed to be," Dorian is scared by the drop of a hat. He'll be fine. Considering his pallor, the ghosts may think him one of them."
Lord Bertrand let out a billowing puff of tobacco smoke, seeming a little uncomfortable," Do not speak of ghosts so idly, they are unpredictable things."
Henry cast his gaze at him, surprised," You believe in those things?"
"I neither believe in them or disbelieve in them. Like everyone else, I do not know. Whilst I find it unlikely, I prefer not to jinx my luck."
"Spoken like a true man of business," Henry threw his head back in a laugh, before turning to his sister," Well, you're quiet?"
Leora was, but not out of fear. She found it quite exciting. For whatever reason, she'd struggled to remove the mysterious male, from her dreams, out of her mind. She had wanted to see him again, but not for the reasons any sane person would think. No, no. She wanted to draw him! He had such interesting clothes, and he was much more different to her. A subject like that was hard to find, especially considering she rarely left the comfort of the manor. She wanted, no, needed that book to get her model.
"Here," Lady Gwendolyn hummed, passing the book to Henry.

Henry took it with a bored frown, gazing over the odd cover. He turned to open the page. Dorian let out a cry, swiftly pinning the pages shut.
"Do not open it, Harry! I beg of you!" Dorian cried," You will curse us all. Oh, Harry..."
Basil grasped the panicked man's shoulders, his face set in a determined expression," Do not be wicked, Henry. Entertain Dorian on this, some things are not to be messed with."
Henry rolled his eyes, setting the book down on the table," You are both boring and foolish as any other person in our society. But, I could care less about the book's contents. Come, let's dine. All this talk of ghosts has left me quite hungry."
Leora watched as the collective of guests got up from their seats and made their way out of the drawing room; Basil still consoling Dorian. The girl swiped the book off the table, tucking it under the folds of her dress and following after them.