Obscene Passion (Sample)

Chapter Eight

Lorraine walked down the hall with the maid that was assigned to her leading her towards the dining room. By the time she reached the dining room, the others were already present and Lord Lansbury turned to look at her as she approached. To her dismay, she found out that he had intentionally reserved a seat beside his and he patted it and beckoned to her to sit. Across him, Elizabeth sat with an almost too revealing frock with a low neckline and next to Elizabeth sat Lady Kristine but with an empty seat between them, which entailed that she was obviously keeping her distance. Lady Kristine offered Lorraine a tight smile and remained quiet.

Lord Lansbury turned to peer at Lorraine. "Hope you rested well?" He asked quietly.

Lorraine forced a brief smile. "Yes I did, milord."

"The room was spacious!" Elizabeth cut in cheerily. "It could have passed for our living room back at home. And what expensive tapestry I found in mine, so beautiful too, milord. And also, the bureau and the wardrobe was of splendid wood."

Lady Kristine furtively rolled her eyes but Lord Lansbury smiled at Elizabeth. "I'm glad that you are pleased. I hope you'll enjoy your stay here."

"Of course." Elizabeth beamed. "I intend to make the very best out of it." She giggled and they both stared at each other for a while, briefly forgetting the presence of the others.

Lord Lansbury suddenly cleared his throat, disrupting their lustful gaze at each other. He leaned back and clapped his hands twice in the air and immediately, servants marched in and set the various delicacies on the table and also the bottles of expensive wine and the tray of various fruits and dessert.  Four servants began to dish out the food of each individual while the others filled the cups with water and the goblet with wine. As they busied themselves setting the table, an almost lanky pale boy  of about seven strode in. He pulled out the seat between lady Kristine and Elizabeth and sat down, looking sullen. The servants dispersed while two stood aloof to answer and carry out any given order that may come up.

The boy's meal was quickly served and he glanced quizzically at Elizabeth and then at Lorraine, wondering who the two strangers were. He turned inquisitively to lady Kristine who noticed his stare and ruffled his hair. "Well..." She said aloud to get the attention of their guests as she loudly cleared her throat. "This is my son, Tyron..." She said proudly and pulled the boy's head to her side. "...and Tyron, this here, is lady Elizabeth and the lady over there is Lady Lorraine." She gestured with her hands as she spoke.

Tyron stared at Elizabeth then at Lorraine. He realized that Lorraine had the same mood like he did and they just stared at each other for a while without a word. Growing uncomfortable with the silence, lady Kristine quickly said. "How about we just get down to eating before our food turn cold." She dug her fork into her food and snuck peeks at her son who was trying to eat and noticed that he was also sneaking furtive looks towards Lorraine's direction. "If you don't eat now, it's going to be cold and we both know how you are towards cold food." She chided him quietly.

"But I don't have an appetite." He complained.

"Well, find it wherever it had gone off to." She laughed quietly but like usual, he didn't share her humour so he returned his solemn attention to his food.

They all ate quietly and only the incessant clanks of cutlery could be heard against the ceramic dishes. Once in a while, they would take some water then drink some wine, only Lorraine and Tyron stuck solely to the water. They both didn't have appetites but they forced themselves to eat in order to please those around them since it was an obligation. After the meal, dessert was served and they could now discuss among one another since the main meal was over. Elizabeth took charge of the chatting, talking on and on about trifling matters and mostly about the dresses she liked and have dreamt to have, the jewelries and the specific gems she adored, the balls she had graced and important events she had witnessed in them, the operas she had attended and whom she considered to be the best actor or singer, the kind of wares she'd have loved to deal in and all these she could achieve only if she found herself a wealthy suitor.