Duplicitous (F.C)

Angelic Brunette

Oliver's point of view
       As we drive through the shiny gates of Saltburn, the place Felix and Fareligh call home, I wonder if Calliope had felt this nervous approaching the castle-like home. After paying the taxi man, I begin to make my way up the pavement; well, the pavement, through the grass, and finally up the stairs. "Bloody hell." Muttering to myself as I try to find a doorbell on the walls of the house. After a moment of looking, I knock on the iron door; most likely bruising my knuckle in the process. "Mr.Quick." An elderly gentleman greets me.

       "You're early." He repeemends me as if it's a crime. "I got the earlier train." I chuckle trying to ease the hostility of the conversation. "Do let us know next time. You see, the gates were not open." I shrug. "Well, that's okay." Before I get the chance to say anything else, The man who has yet to introduce himself continues. "We'd sent someone to pick you up." Hopefully, not all of them were this stuck up and with no socialization skills. "Follow me." As I follow the man, I quickly remember to grab my suitcase; making me turn around to grab it.

       The walk into the estate is awkward, even though I've tried to make an attempt to make conversation. "Ollie, thank God you're here." Felix comes rushing over. "Duncan, I'll show him to his room, don't worry." Part of me was hoping to be greeted by Calliope as well. "Oliver try not to be too terrified of Duncan." He turns to face Duncan with his finger pointed. "Duncan, stop being so terrifying in front of my friends." Felix walks past the elderly man, placing a comforting grip on my shoulder. "So, let's begin the tour shall we?"

       As we walk through the endless halls and eerie corridors, I vaguely remember the layout of the mansion. "Through here is my room." Before pulling the handle, he turns to me. "Calliope may be still sleeping, so we probably should be quiet." Looking down at my newly rented watch , the time says 10:38 am. "Not a peep." We creep into the bedroom, and surely enough Calliope is fast asleep; entangled between the cotton sheets on the four postered bed. The sunlight creeps into the darkly furnished room, reflecting off of her naturally tanned complexion, highlighting her best features. "Dressing room." Felix had carried on the tour whilst my attention had been stuck on the angelic brunette. "Your room."

       "Wow." Just as he turns around, I manage to catch up with him. "I will leave you to it." He goes to venture off, probably back to check on Calliope. "Er, just one thing." he turns back around. "Mum has a phobia of er, beard and stubble." You hear something new everyday. "So I left a razor for you in the bathroom." I find the conversation at hand amusing. "What?" I scoff while Felix shrugs. "She thinks it's unhygienic. Something to do with her father. It's bonkers." He finds his mother's quirk just as strange as I. "I'm not even allowed to wear my fucking stud when I'm here." Him pointing it out made me realize that he no longer had it in.

       "Anything else I should know about?" It seems like the Catton's run a rather tight shop, which I didn't expect from Farleigh and Felix's relaxed behavior at school. "Just be yourself." It made me wonder if he had the same conversation with Calliope, and how she survived her first night with the Catton's. "They'll love you. It's relaxed. I promise." He holds onto the doors. "We'll be in the library." Everything in me had hoped that Calliope would be there too. "Library?" Hoping he would tell me which direction, or offer to walk with me

       Walking into the library after aimlessly wondering around, everyone stops to look at me. My eyes meet Calliope's and she warmly smiles at me. "Here he is now, we were just talking about you." Farleigh's snide comment brings me back to the room. "Don't be silly." The blonde turns to scold Farleigh, more-so because he gave away her sneaky antics than the fact his joke wasn't appropriate. "Farleigh you just make up the most awful things." My eyes land back on Calliope, whose attention is fixated on Felix as the two seem comfortable on the ground. Her head resting on his lap as the two play a game of thumb war; almost as if my existence didn't excite them. "Oh, what beautiful eyes." Elspeth exclaims. "Oliver, I have a complete and utter horror of ugliness. Ever since I was very young. I don't know why."

       "Maybe because you're a terrible person." Calliope's eyes widen at Felix's statement. "Don't be mean." Calliope and Elspeth scold Felix, even though everyone else in the room found it comical in some light, including Pamela. "Has Venetia seen you yet?" Elspeth makes herself comfortable on the couch again. "She'll die." Must've been the blonde I had a silent encounter with on the way to the library. "She's been draping herself all around the house all day, hoping you'll come across her." Farleigh scoffs. "As it were." I keep my composure. "Do stop." Sir James disrupts the two from talking about his daughter in an ill manner. "The poor boys only just arrived." He stands from the couch. "Oliver, how good to finally meet you." He shakes my hand. "Trip all right?"

       "Yes. Thank you, sir." Elspeth sighs after using my manners. "Oh, God. Don't with the sir." Another thing to add to the list of things that displease Elspeth. "Come and sit by me." She scoots over patting the newly open space. "This is my dear friend named Pamela; she's been staying with us." Her tone sounds more like she's griping over the fact that Pamela has overstayed her welcome. "Hey." She holds out her hand expecting me to kiss it, but I slightly shake her hand to be polite. "Pamela, darling would you go find Annie and ask about tea?" I've got a sneaky suspicion that's she's trying to rid of the redhead. "Which one is that?"

       "You'll find her, darling, Annie." Pamela gets up, still oblivious to who she was looking for. "Where's erm..." Elspeth cuts her off. "You'll work it out, darling." She slowly inches towards the hallway. "Okay, I'll work it out." She tries to convince herself. "Kitchen." James informs her. "Ah, the kitchen." Calliope and Felix chuckle at something he just whispered to her. I couldn't help but want to know what the inside joke was that made Calliope turn a bubble gum pink. "Poor dear Pamela." Elspeth brings me back to the conversation whilst Felix and Calliope continue to whisper to one another in the crowded room. "She's had an awful time this year. Hideous."

       "But, oh, Oliver, so have you." She abruptly grabs my chest, causing me to jump. "God, I was so sorry to hear about your father." The chuckling by my feet quickly came to a halt. "How utterly, utterly tragic." All eyes are on me, meaning I have a part to play. "I've lost so many friends to addiction." She keeps her closeness to keep me comfort, but I find myself feeling uneasy. "It's the root of Poor Pamela's horrors too, I'm afraid." A sense of comfort comes from the gentle touch on my leg. "And the only interesting thing about her." It calms me to know I wasn't the only one on Farleigh's hit list. Elspeth scolds the boy.

       "No, she is rather dull, actually." It's almost as if there was a switch once she got the chance to gossip about her friend; a term I would use loosely. "But she's so beautiful. You have to admit she's very beautiful." Almost like her praise will make up for the backstabbing she's giving her friend at the moment. "It's only ever really been a curse. I mean, the men. Oliver, you wouldn't believe it." I believe that I want this conversation to be over. "The latest one is some ghastly russian billionaire. Malignantly ugly, of course. She's been holed up here for months hidden from him." Venetia makes her way into the room, a bit covered than before. "Anyway, let's not talk about that."

       "Darling, tell me about your mother." She comes closer, holding my hand. "How is she bearing up?" The questions seemed more of an interview than wondering about my well being. "Still drinking?" How they allow Elspeth to have no filter is unbeknownst to me. "Nothing shocks me, Oliver. Tell me everything." I sit in shock at the lack of Elspeth filter. "Shall we start getting ready for dinner, C?" Venetia smiles at Calliope, cigarette in hand. "See ya later, lover boy." Calliope plants a kiss on Felix's already glossed lips from their previous lip lockings. "Should probably get ready too." He says after Calliope exits with Venetia.

       "I see everything, Felix." He waves his mum off. "So, about Calliope." This is definitely a conversation I wanted no part of. "What do you know that we don't?" My reasoning for being allowed into saltburn. I had a feeling my loyalty would be tested, but not so soon, and not against the girl who had been there at my lowest. "I just want to protect my boy, you should understand, right?" Calliope wouldn't appreciate me giving Elspeth the rundown of her life, given I knew more than Felix knew about his bird. "I'll make your telling worth your while here." Despite my distaste for the wealthy, my desire for comfortably in Saltburn was more important.