The Last Dynasty

Chapter Nine

Hope you liked the gifts? Dinner by 8? Hmu if you're down.

"The gifts were from Duncan." Celine waved her phone towards Tessy's face showing her the text.

"Awwn," Tessy's replied and then buried her face into her screen.

"Again, not an 'awwn' situation. My brother is asking me out on a date. PS I'm like five years older." Celine fell heavily on the leather dressing chair before the human sized mirror in front of her.

Tessy dropped her phone and clasped her hands together forming a tight lock between both hands and then pushed it forward, then continued, "it's just dinner. People can go for a dinner together and it might not be anything serious you know? Let's not just jump into hasty conclusions."

"Babe, this is Nigeria. Dinner is the baptismal name for a date. No one buys gifts for someone they are not interested in... I guess it's time to come clean. I'll reveal my identity this night," Celine replied.

"No you can't do that yet. For all we know, Damian decided to send you out of the house because he started growing suspicious of you. This is our only lead to knowing what's happening in the house and keep up with finding out about your mum," Tessy replied.

She sprang up from within the thick sheets and leapt into Celine's closet. There were over fifty rooms in that house for all she knew, but they still shared a bed. She came out few minutes later with a long dress whose side was slit open up to the knees. It was special gift Celine had gotten many years back such that it was impossible to tell if it still fit. Tessy, as though reading her mind, helped her get into the dress but had to tug the hems by the zipper and drag it backward forcefully so as to close it up.

Tessy twirled her a rough 180° and brought her in view with the mirror. Celine admired the slender curvature her body displayed. She placed her hand on her lower abdomen and felt a slight budge. Perhaps it was a fat lunch, she presumed and quickly forced in prolonged breaths which hid the bulge. "It's time to get you ready," Tessy whispered into her ears. Her words left a cool chill on Celine's ear lobes, rising the hairs attached to it and making each stand.

*****

Duncan whistled as he subtly danced about the standing mirror in self approval. He was graced in a black tuxedo and had applied extra gel to his hair making each strand wavy in appearance. He whistled as he used a small comb to ruffle his hair the more with its tiny bristles creating extra curls on his hair. He apparently wanted Daniel to say something complementary but the latter seemed carried away by the moving figures on the screen to care about his brother's stunt. Until he finally noticed.

"You do seem extra cherry," Daniel said, muting the audible graphics on the screen until they were just moving pictures and walked towards him by the room's end.

Duncan sprayed his perfume of strong scent and intoxicating glamour, which would linger for what seemed like minutes in one's nostrils before sinking down to the trachea. Daniel usually pitied asthmatic patients who dared entered his room at times like this or even worse, into Damian's room for he was the king of mixing perfumes until he got a unique scent. Duncan walked into the stuffy air of cologne and spreading his arms to let in all the scent to stick to his cloth, he said, "I'm in love."

"That is sick, the good sick. You haven't fallen in love in twenty-three years and you're twenty-three by the way," Daniel teased and broke into a short chain of laughter.

"There was Rita," Duncan interrupted, still ruffling the coils. It needed no more tweaking but he wanted perfection.

"Rita was a crazy person," Daniel quickly replied.