Summer of Like // Farleigh Start x OC

2: So She Asked Me; "Truth or Dare"

I've always known that Saltburn was huge - Venetia had never even tried to pretend that she wasn't insanely rich and lived in basically a castle - but I didn't understand just how huge it was until I'm standing in front of it, travel bag in hand as the driver slows to a stop in front of the massive oak doors.

    "Jesus, V..." I say, eyes locked on the monstrous house. Suddenly I feel very small, and wish that I'd just stuck to my guns and fought harder to go home. I don't know this place - nor do I know these people, outside of Venetia. But I'm already here, so I swallow my nerves and get out of the car when the driver opens the door. I almost reach back into the car to grab my bags before Venetia stops me.

    "Don't worry about those, the footmen will bring them up." She says, grabbing my hand and tugging me towards the house. "You have to meet everyone, and I'll show you around - I asked Mum to tell the maids to set you up in the room across the hall from mine, so we'll be close." Excitement exudes from her like sweat, and it's a little infectious - I find myself grinning as we bound up the front steps together.

    The massive doors open, revealing a stoic looking man in a butler's uniform. "Venetia. Welcome home."

    "Yes, hello Duncan." Venetia chirps. "So wonderful to see you again - how have you been?" She asks, still holding my hand. "Oh- this is my friend, Evie- I don't know if Mum told you that she was coming along-"

    The butler - Duncan - nods. "Yes of course, all the staff was informed - welcome as well, Miss Evelyn."

    The use of my full name - and the formal 'Miss' attached make the feeling that I don't belong here even stronger. "Oh, um, thank you. You don't have to bother with that 'Miss' stuff - just Evie is fine."

    Duncan nods again, just as stiffly as before. "Of course." He steps just outside of the frame of the doors, and sweeps an arm forward, silently welcoming us in. Hands still clasped with mine, Venetia leads me inside with a smile.

    The inside of the house is just as lavish as the outside, though I don't have much time to take it all in as Venetia tugs me along. There's too much to see - portraits and sculptures and rare books and antique furniture, all interspersed with the kind of clutter that you could find in any home. It's a little jarring but I don't give it too much thought, too busy being pulled along by Venetia.

    "Mum and Dad are likely in the library." She says. "I really think Mum will be so glad to meet you, she's always gone on about how anyone I want to bring back here is more than welcome - she'll be so excited."

    I feel out of place here, sure, but I've never seen Venetia so happy. I think I was right in assuming that she was a little jealous of her brother bringing home a new friend every summer - and maybe a little pressured to do the same, if what she's saying about her mom is true. I'm happy to be here for her, if nothing else, and that feeling is enough to force the strangeness of being at Saltburn aside.

    It turns out the library isn't much of a library at all, as Venetia slows to a stop in what seems to be more of a living room than a study. A large couch takes up the center of the room, facing a TV against the wall. Sprawled on the couch is an elegant woman with long blonde hair, and the kind of face you'd find in a magazine. I can see bits of Venetia in her face - the sharpness of her cheekbones, the slope of her nose. Venetia's mother.

    Next to her, a woman smokes a cigarette, dressed head to toe in black. Her bright red hair and heavy eye makeup seem almost like a mask for the rest of her face, her style distracting anyone from looking too close. The way she sits on the couch, perched all the way at the edge, makes me think that she also might be like me - a guest.