Ghosts of the Past [ RDR2 - Arthur Morgan ]

Chapter 30 - Play Pretend

Word count - 3736

A/N: enjoy this extra long chapter...

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Rosemary watched as Arthur and Dutch left the mansion, heading towards them. The party was a whirlwind of glimmering dresses and polished suits, but the elegance felt suffocating. The food was unrecognizable, the kind of indulgence that mocked anyone who had ever gone hungry. The five felt thoroughly out of place here. "Alright, Arthur." Dutch began "go see if you can acquaint yourself with the mayor. And steal nothing." He said firmly. "Hosea, see if you can't find us someplace to rob... And Mr and Mrs Danielson, go try and make some new friends." He gave out the orders one at a time.

With Dutch's instructions, the group quickly split off. Rosemary took Bill's arm. Though he was quite clunky in the way he moved, clearly uncomfortable and irritable.

"Make new friends," Bill echoed with a scoff. "Like anyone here's worth befriending."

"Don't be so sour." Rose said gently "Some of these folk might be good contacts. How about them?" She nodded her head towards two gentlemen "Let's start there."

Reluctant, Bill agreed, and led her over to two gentlemen in black. It seemed Bill was just going to stand there awkwardly, waiting to be acknowledged, But Rosemary was a bit quicker on her feet. "Evening, gentlemen." She greeted them. Really a husband should do the introductions, but in this circumstance?

"Evening," Bill grunted awkwardly, realizing his mistake too late. He dropped Rose's arm to offer a handshake to "Albert Danielson."

One man took his hand "Brynn Tildon. This is Mr Hector Fellowes." He greeted Bill.

Bill had reached his hand out for Mr Fellowes, but did not receive a handshake like he'd expected. Instead Hector Fellowes was looking at Rosemary "And your charming wife's name?"

"Lauren." Rosemary introduced, offering her hand, which Hector promptly kissed.

The kiss was brief, but it left a lingering discomfort crawling up her arm. She extracted her hand delicately, the forced smile on her lips not quite reaching her eyes. Men like Hector Fellowes always thought themselves charming, but she could sense the condescension beneath the gesture. It made her stomach churn, but she swallowed it down and returned to Bill's side.

"Enjoying the party, gentlemen?" Rosemary felt the smiles tighten on her face as she leaned into the charade. Lauren Danielson, socialite. It was laughable. Yet, as she charmed and nodded, she felt the weight of Dutch's expectations pressing down. She could play pretend for now, but the cost of failure loomed like a shadow at her back.

It was Bill's awkwardness that made this all the more difficult. Slowly through his strange attempts at conversation, Rosemary acknowledged that if she was going to have any chance of finding 'contacts' here, it would need to be without the iron ball and chain that was Bill holding her back. So after a few long moments of conversation she extracted herself with a simple kiss on the cheek to Bill before heading over to a group of ladies.

Already Rose's shoulder relaxed after leaving Bill's side. "Oh my." Rose exclaimed as she reached the women "Whoever is your tailor, I must take his name as that dress is simply..." She let off for dramatic effect. Three years of pretending to be Lauren Pennyworth kicked in, and all her acting abilities came rushing back to her.

The woman gushed happily "Oh dear, you know I can't go giving away all my secrets! Chloe. My name's Chloe Anderson. And these are my darling friends, Daphne and Bethelda."