The Finding

Part 7 Guests

Arising with a headache was not the best way to start the day.  Katherine new she was underage drinking wise, therefore she had yet to have wine until that night. And only after three glasses did she start to pay the price.  She was a light drinker.  Her vision became distorted.  Her hearing questionable, and her mind groggy.  She was however, relieved that the headache wasn't as bad as it could have been.  It was mild at most.  Silently she cursed Tomas for providing her with such a drink, though he likely assumed that she was of age.  Was there even a legal age here?  Where even is here?  She certainly wasn't in the U.S anymore.  Katherine bet that she wasn't even on earth. She was in some sort of alternate universe where things were really outdated.  What if she was a time traveler? She thought. Nah.

Sure enough, Darcy was there to dress her right when she woke up.  God, did this lady ever sleep? Probably not.  As usual Darcy made her bathe which at least this time she allowed Katherine to bathe herself, though Darcy still waited in the corner of the room, her eyes cast downward, every once in a while telling her that she needed to scrub it all off.  But what was it that she suppose to scrub off? Her skin? Either way her skin was blotched with bright red as she finished.  Darcy handed her a towel and a mason jar with some sort of cream in it.

"Moisturize yourself with this."  She opened the jar and a whiff of mint hit her fast.  It looked nice enough so she went with it, applying it evenly over her body.  When Darcy was satisfied she brought out another gown of an older sort complete with a corset and roughly tugged it on her.  Her pale skin glistened against the gold, thick, fabric, her blue veins prominent against the almost parchment colored skin.

The men were in a common room on the first floor.  There were also two other men sitting in chairs opposite them.  In the corner of the lavish room was a small woman playing a violin.  She looked to be enjoying herself over there.  The first man, whom was beside Eli was quite tall with exemplarily posture.  His hair was a sleek black, gelled back to a point of perfection.  The other man, beside Tomas was much shorter, but still tall by Katherine standards. He had tousled dirty blond hair, and unlike the other was slouching.  No doubt, he was the more relaxed one, with his slightly undone collar and sleeves rolled up.  He could practically slay an army with his jawline alone.

The men looked up at Katherine, eyes widening.

"Oh, I didn't realize you guys were having guest," Katherine quietly muttered.

"Hello, I am George, and this is my friend Harvy.  I assume that you are Katherine."  The blonde stuck out his hand. Katherine whined as he had a rather firm grip on her wrist. "Wow," he said while looking at her, "Tomas's description surely didn't do you any justice."

"Thank you," she looked down shyly, "Its a pleasure to meet you."

He kissed the back of her hand. "Oh the pleasure is all mine. Miss correct?"

"Yes."

"Well, even as a young maiden, as such a beauty as you are I have to say that I am surprised you are not wed. Do you currently have an arrangement.  A dowery?" They all looked like they were hanging on the edge of their seats, awaiting her answer.

"No, I haven't really been involved with many men, though Christopher was promising."

"Christopher?" Christopher had been her most recent boyfriend whom she had loved but separated with when he went off to law school in a completely different state and decided that they could not continue their affairs.

"Yes, he and I were involved for a bit, but he decided to study law elsewhere."

"Well, what an imbecile he is to pass on a beauty as rare as such."

"Hardly."

"Oh I am afraid you are wrong, my dear, gems must be cherished."  Katherine blushed at his words. At least he was kind in his words.  " So you are not currently spoken for?", he inquired.

"No I am not." Katherine looked down, slightly confused by his wording and slightly embarrassed.

"Well in that case-". His words were cut short as Tomas made a loud noise in his throat.

"So would you guys like to tell Katarina why you are here."

"Oh, excuse my intrusion.  I hear that you are looking for something. A person to be exact. Well, Harvy and I special in finding what is lost.  We want to help you find our aunt."  Katherine was overwhelmed. Will all the chaos that had happened between the boys she had, regretfully, almost forgot on the real reason she was here, to find her aunt.

"You see, all I need is your help and I can begin to start looking.  The thrill of finding things is fantastic, its euphoric."

"How much is your service."

"Ah, all it would cost would be your hand in-". Again he was cut off, but this time it was Eli.

"Fifty pounds of silver."

"Hmm." He pondered the idea.

"Wait, I don't have that."

"Enough, I would be happy to pay the debt." Eli said anxiously.  Katherine shook her head and looked down.  Eli lifted her chin with his hand. "No, it is my pleasure.  Perhaps you could company me to dinner this evening as a thank you."

"Of course."

"Dammit! No fair," spoke George.