Chapter Nine
The following Saturday resulted in a role reversal as Guy cast his eye around the large sitting room he and Levi were in, looking for someone. That evening was a dinner party at the fine home of the Smiths, which meant rather a smaller gathering than a ball - but still an excellent opportunity to socialize and dance.
Levi, in one overstuffed red armchair, eyed his larger friend in a matching seat as he swirled his tumbler of whiskey.
“We both know she’s not here yet,” Levi drawled. “And that she’s sure to find us as soon as she is, whether you keep looking frantically about or not.”
“Who?” Guy asked innocently, blushing as he watched Levi roll his eyes dramatically back into his head. The pair both took a sip of their whiskey, one exasperated, one embarrassed.
“There’s no need to have any shame around me, Darby.”
“I know not of what you speak, Baxter,” Guy replied airily, swirling his own whiskey as he cast another sweeping gaze around the room before returning them to Levi. His friends eyebrows were raised so high they nearly disappeared into his hair.
“Fine, then. Why were you late again?” For cocktail hour was nearly over, with Guy having arrived nearly twenty minutes after the start. He had found Levi with a relieved smile, then observed the rest of the partygoers with surprise.
Guy was unable to hide the blush that crept up from his snug collar and to his cheeks at Levi’s question. To start the evening, the first suit his valet had tried to outfit him with didn’t even come close to buttoning. The second suit had gotten buttoned, but at Guy’s first breath, the tight vest’s second button from the bottom along with his pant’s button had burst off in protest. He was now in his green suit from the Middleton’s ball, but to his horror, had found the previously perfectly fitted suit now had noticeable puckering and pulling at the buttons on his widest bits.
Guy had mumbled something about being more aware of laundering needs to his household before rushing to get to this evening’s dinner party. He may still have made it on time, if not for another…inconvenience…that he refused to reflect on even momentarily. Now, instinctively, he sucked in a breath while tugging the slightly too-tight vest and undershirt away from his belly.
“I…lost…track of time,” Guy finally replied, his tone easy, but his words another obvious lie. Levi, who had observed his friend’s nervous adjusting to accomodate for his size at the question, merely nodded.
“As you say, Guy.”
But Guy ignored him as his dark eyes lit up, following a small blonde frame that had appeared in the doorway to the sitting room where they all drank. Juliet Seaborne’s lips were closed in a tight line, her eyes flashing, and the reason for her mood and late arrival became clear not long after.
Following Juliet into the room was, of course, her brother Nathan. But behind Nathan, already twittering at the evening’s decorations, was an older lady who shared her son’s dark features - Mrs. Seaborne. Guy hadn’t seen her for a few months, so it took him a moment to confirm, but while she stood next to Nathan the dots were easily connected.
Catching sight easily of Guy’s wide frame next to Levi’s tall one, Juliet practically stomped her way over - while still managing to smoothly gather herself a glass of red wine. She took an impressive gulp of it she reached the armchairs, allowing herself to lean against the side of Levi’s seat.
“Miss Seaborne,” Levi greeted with an incline of his head at the same time as Guy stood as quickly as he was able - unfortunately not the easiest feat to accomplish out of his overstuffed armchair with his snug clothing.
“Juliet,” Guy said as he did, bowing his head slightly. “How are you?”
“Please, no need to get up on my account,” Julie said, her voice appreciative but still dry as her lips tightened further. A glance over to where Nathan and Mrs. Seaborne stood near the fireplace, the latter openly staring at her daughter and the men she was with, elicited an audible groan. “I am…here.”
“How’d that come about?” Levi asked, his gaze flicking to Juliet’s family, then back up to her face. Guy gestured an offer to Juliet to sit in his seat, but she shook her head tightly. So carefully, Guy returned to the chair - keeping his stomach held in tightly as he gently tugged his shirt away from clinging to his round form yet again.
“You both know I swore to not attend any balls or gatherings unless my mother stayed home,” Juliet said from between her teeth, clearly resisting glaring over towards the fireplace. Both Guy and Levi nodded. “Well. I overplayed my hand. She saw how much…fun I’ve been having. So when someone let slip I danced three times with the same man last week-” Guy, being that man, couldn’t help but half-smile at the memory. “-mother took the opportunity to declare Nathan an unfit chaperone, and that she would be coming along tonight whether I liked it or not.”
Juliet took a deep inhale through her nose, the fire in her eyes flickering dangerously.
“I tried to call her bluff and say I would stay home, and she just…said okay. I don’t know how she knew I would eventually give in!”
Levi risked looking from Juliet’s furious face over to Guy’s round one with a cocked eyebrow. Guy avoided his gaze and Juliet, luckily, didn’t seem to notice.
“So here we are now,” Juliet concluded darkly, finishing her glass of wine and crossing her arms with a scowl.
“Julie-e-et!” A lilting call from across the room turned the heads of the trio. Mrs. Seaborne, either not realizing the two men watched her too or not caring, mimed uncrossing arms and pointed at her face to showcase a smile, then looked expectantly at her daughter. Juliet all but bared her teeth before whirling back to face the chairs.
“You should just kill me now,” Juliet said. “I ought to have stayed home and read. I’m just…” her green eyes flicked to Guy’s dark ones, softening just a little. But she quickly looked away and shook her head. “…just stupid, I guess.”
“Kill you and miss all this fun? I think not,” Levi said cheekily, raising his glass at Mrs. Seaborne. Mrs. Seaborne blinked in horror at the attention from the town rake and looked quickly to the paintings on the walls.
“Hell born babe,” hissed Juliet, whipping out an insult that meant Levi was both immature and evil.
“That he is,” Guy agreed, unable to hide a grin at the banter. “But I’m sure we can get through the evening without too much bloodshed.”
“I’m not,” Juliet grumbled.
“Guy knows alllll about dealing with problem parents out in society,” Levi said casually. “He can help.”
At mention of his father, Guy instinctually stiffened, sucking in his belly even harder than he had been. Juliet noticed, tracing her gaze up and then down her friend’s round form, her brows furrowing slightly in concern. Guy’s memory, meanwhile, ran back a reel of some of his father’s greatest hits, including one of the last conversations they had: “Do you think anyone is going to respect the Darby name when it’s carried on by a puff guts?” Followed by a sharp jab to Guy’s smaller-than-now-but-still-soft midsection.
Guy took a breath, purposefully relaxing his stature, but before he could speak a bell chimed to signal that dinner was ready. Levi stood and offered Guy a hand, which he took gratefully to help keep his balance as he followed. Unlike most men Guy knew, Levi didn’t go on to crack a joke about his weight as Guy rose. Didn’t mockingly act like he was being pulled over, didn’t let out a purposefully exaggerated grunt of exertion. It was one of the things Guy was most thankful for in their friendship.
As was proper, Guy offered Juliet his arm to escort her into the dining room. Juliet took it with a half-smile as she joined the group on the walk towards the meal, ignoring her mother’s hiss to stand up straighter.
The half-smile broke into a full, broad grin as they found their place settings. Juliet’s name card was next to Guy’s, and she sat with relief as Nathan took his seat on the other side of her. Their mother was also next to Nathan, and Levi was directly across from Guy and Juliet. He offered the pair a wink as he sat, and moments later, the first courses were deposited to the middle of the table.
Just within reach, Juliet saw a steaming roast hare, cabbage salad, potato and leek soup, salmon, and a plate of asparagus decadently drizzled in butter. Recalling her conversation with Guy at last week’s ball, Juliet nearly squeaked with excitement at the sight. Enthusiastically, she began to add various portions of the offerings to her plate, depending on what looked good.
“What sauce is that, Levi?” She asked her friend, who was drizzling his roast with a delicious looking deep red color.
“Port wine,” Levi replied. “Here.” He passed it to her and Juliet added some thick sauce to her salmon, a bit to the salad, and even a splash in her soup.
“Here is the port wine sauce, if you care for it,” Juliet said to Guy, her voice starting off chipper before trailing a little. Guy was collecting his food slowly, one might even say uncertainly, and so far only the cabbage salad and salmon was on his plate. But within his reach on the other side of the table, Juliet could see plum pudding and chicken confit. “Did you see the asparagus, too?”
“Yes,” Guy replied, meeting Juliet’s eyes briefly before he gave a small smile and allowed himself to collect two pieces of the long green vegetable. He eyed the port wine sauce skeptically, but hungrily.
“Are you all right, Guy?” Juliet couldn’t help but ask as her friend hesitated. Guy licked just the middle of his plump lips, thinking to himself before answering.
“To be frank, this is my first dinner party in…awhile. And my very first in Highcastle. They’re not…always where I am comfortable.”
“Oh,” Juliet said. “Well, what made you decide to come to this one, but not the others?”
Guy lifted his dark eyes to meet Juliet’s, and there was a moment of silence before he replied softly: “I don’t know. Why did you come to this one despite your promise regarding your mother?”
Juliet flushed. Guy didn’t break their eye contact, so despite the pink heat on her cheeks, neither did Juliet. Guy took pity on her after a moment, and continued, “Like I mentioned last week, Juliet, I don’t tend to indulge in front of so many people.”
“This is hardly ‘so many people’, sir,” Juliet said, her voice a little hoarse as she matched Guy’s low volume. “Me, Levi…Mrs. Patterson on your right, who is plenty busy with her own plum pudding…”
Guy flicked his gaze to his right, stifling a laugh.
“And doesn’t it feel better when you do?” Juliet continued. “The champagne and salmon rolls at Griffinhead Hall, the toast triangles at Wolfbriar…that wasn’t so bad, was it?”
“You are perhaps a a terrible influence,” Guy said wryly, eyeing the creamy soup in front of him before giving in to scooping himself a bowl.
“If that means you’ll eat, you know, at a dinner party, then I’ll take it,” Juliet retorted. “Everyone requires food, after all. No one minds.” After a pause, she allowed a glance of her own to her left, past Nathan. “I mean, my mother will - if she sees me going for seconds - but I trust us to be sly about it.”
At this, Guy did snort.
“My father would too,” he admitted, reaching for the port wine sauce. “Often well before seconds, unfortunately.”
“Before?”
“I might have taken what he deemed to be too large of a bite, or added a few too many varieties to my plate, or seemed to enjoy it just a bit too much - and he’d signal the footman to remove my utensils. I’d still have to sit there for the entirety of the rest of the meal - with no way to consume it.”
Juliet’s mouth dropped open, which she covered with her free hand as she stared at Guy with wide eyes.
“But why?”
Guy turned his head slowly to meet Juliet’s eyes, at which point his gaze flicked down and over his rounded form. When it flicked back up, he cocked an eyebrow in an obvious, but silent, retort - we both know you can see why.
Juliet did break eye contact first this time, her pink cheeks shining as she looked back to her plate to choose the perfect bite. Collecting a piece of asparagus, a piece of salmon, and cabbage all on the end of her fork, Juliet declared: “what an insufferably horrible man.” Before stuffing the bite into her mouth.
Guy grinned, helping himself to some of the rest of the food on the table.
“Yes, and that is putting it kindly. Care for some pudding or confit?”
“Yes, please!” Juliet replied enthusiastically as Guy added a delicious looking portion of each to her plate. As she was sure no one else listened at the moment, she added, “Thank you, Guy.”
“Mutton?” Nathan offered from her other side, and Juliet shook her head even as she still took the plate from her brother. He watched her in confusion as she turned to offer it to Guy.
“Mutton?”
“Oh, absolutely. Thank you.”
Juliet added a more than generous portion to Guy’s plate, ignoring his curious cocked eyebrow. She set the plate in between her and Levi, who made eye contact with Guy with a similar question on his face. Guy gave a nearly imperceptible shrug as he added a veritable lake of port wine sauce to the mutton and dug in.
The following Saturday resulted in a role reversal as Guy cast his eye around the large sitting room he and Levi were in, looking for someone. That evening was a dinner party at the fine home of the Smiths, which meant rather a smaller gathering than a ball - but still an excellent opportunity to socialize and dance.
Levi, in one overstuffed red armchair, eyed his larger friend in a matching seat as he swirled his tumbler of whiskey.
“We both know she’s not here yet,” Levi drawled. “And that she’s sure to find us as soon as she is, whether you keep looking frantically about or not.”
“Who?” Guy asked innocently, blushing as he watched Levi roll his eyes dramatically back into his head. The pair both took a sip of their whiskey, one exasperated, one embarrassed.
“There’s no need to have any shame around me, Darby.”
“I know not of what you speak, Baxter,” Guy replied airily, swirling his own whiskey as he cast another sweeping gaze around the room before returning them to Levi. His friends eyebrows were raised so high they nearly disappeared into his hair.
“Fine, then. Why were you late again?” For cocktail hour was nearly over, with Guy having arrived nearly twenty minutes after the start. He had found Levi with a relieved smile, then observed the rest of the partygoers with surprise.
Guy was unable to hide the blush that crept up from his snug collar and to his cheeks at Levi’s question. To start the evening, the first suit his valet had tried to outfit him with didn’t even come close to buttoning. The second suit had gotten buttoned, but at Guy’s first breath, the tight vest’s second button from the bottom along with his pant’s button had burst off in protest. He was now in his green suit from the Middleton’s ball, but to his horror, had found the previously perfectly fitted suit now had noticeable puckering and pulling at the buttons on his widest bits.
Guy had mumbled something about being more aware of laundering needs to his household before rushing to get to this evening’s dinner party. He may still have made it on time, if not for another…inconvenience…that he refused to reflect on even momentarily. Now, instinctively, he sucked in a breath while tugging the slightly too-tight vest and undershirt away from his belly.
“I…lost…track of time,” Guy finally replied, his tone easy, but his words another obvious lie. Levi, who had observed his friend’s nervous adjusting to accomodate for his size at the question, merely nodded.
“As you say, Guy.”
But Guy ignored him as his dark eyes lit up, following a small blonde frame that had appeared in the doorway to the sitting room where they all drank. Juliet Seaborne’s lips were closed in a tight line, her eyes flashing, and the reason for her mood and late arrival became clear not long after.
Following Juliet into the room was, of course, her brother Nathan. But behind Nathan, already twittering at the evening’s decorations, was an older lady who shared her son’s dark features - Mrs. Seaborne. Guy hadn’t seen her for a few months, so it took him a moment to confirm, but while she stood next to Nathan the dots were easily connected.
Catching sight easily of Guy’s wide frame next to Levi’s tall one, Juliet practically stomped her way over - while still managing to smoothly gather herself a glass of red wine. She took an impressive gulp of it she reached the armchairs, allowing herself to lean against the side of Levi’s seat.
“Miss Seaborne,” Levi greeted with an incline of his head at the same time as Guy stood as quickly as he was able - unfortunately not the easiest feat to accomplish out of his overstuffed armchair with his snug clothing.
“Juliet,” Guy said as he did, bowing his head slightly. “How are you?”
“Please, no need to get up on my account,” Julie said, her voice appreciative but still dry as her lips tightened further. A glance over to where Nathan and Mrs. Seaborne stood near the fireplace, the latter openly staring at her daughter and the men she was with, elicited an audible groan. “I am…here.”
“How’d that come about?” Levi asked, his gaze flicking to Juliet’s family, then back up to her face. Guy gestured an offer to Juliet to sit in his seat, but she shook her head tightly. So carefully, Guy returned to the chair - keeping his stomach held in tightly as he gently tugged his shirt away from clinging to his round form yet again.
“You both know I swore to not attend any balls or gatherings unless my mother stayed home,” Juliet said from between her teeth, clearly resisting glaring over towards the fireplace. Both Guy and Levi nodded. “Well. I overplayed my hand. She saw how much…fun I’ve been having. So when someone let slip I danced three times with the same man last week-” Guy, being that man, couldn’t help but half-smile at the memory. “-mother took the opportunity to declare Nathan an unfit chaperone, and that she would be coming along tonight whether I liked it or not.”
Juliet took a deep inhale through her nose, the fire in her eyes flickering dangerously.
“I tried to call her bluff and say I would stay home, and she just…said okay. I don’t know how she knew I would eventually give in!”
Levi risked looking from Juliet’s furious face over to Guy’s round one with a cocked eyebrow. Guy avoided his gaze and Juliet, luckily, didn’t seem to notice.
“So here we are now,” Juliet concluded darkly, finishing her glass of wine and crossing her arms with a scowl.
“Julie-e-et!” A lilting call from across the room turned the heads of the trio. Mrs. Seaborne, either not realizing the two men watched her too or not caring, mimed uncrossing arms and pointed at her face to showcase a smile, then looked expectantly at her daughter. Juliet all but bared her teeth before whirling back to face the chairs.
“You should just kill me now,” Juliet said. “I ought to have stayed home and read. I’m just…” her green eyes flicked to Guy’s dark ones, softening just a little. But she quickly looked away and shook her head. “…just stupid, I guess.”
“Kill you and miss all this fun? I think not,” Levi said cheekily, raising his glass at Mrs. Seaborne. Mrs. Seaborne blinked in horror at the attention from the town rake and looked quickly to the paintings on the walls.
“Hell born babe,” hissed Juliet, whipping out an insult that meant Levi was both immature and evil.
“That he is,” Guy agreed, unable to hide a grin at the banter. “But I’m sure we can get through the evening without too much bloodshed.”
“I’m not,” Juliet grumbled.
“Guy knows alllll about dealing with problem parents out in society,” Levi said casually. “He can help.”
At mention of his father, Guy instinctually stiffened, sucking in his belly even harder than he had been. Juliet noticed, tracing her gaze up and then down her friend’s round form, her brows furrowing slightly in concern. Guy’s memory, meanwhile, ran back a reel of some of his father’s greatest hits, including one of the last conversations they had: “Do you think anyone is going to respect the Darby name when it’s carried on by a puff guts?” Followed by a sharp jab to Guy’s smaller-than-now-but-still-soft midsection.
Guy took a breath, purposefully relaxing his stature, but before he could speak a bell chimed to signal that dinner was ready. Levi stood and offered Guy a hand, which he took gratefully to help keep his balance as he followed. Unlike most men Guy knew, Levi didn’t go on to crack a joke about his weight as Guy rose. Didn’t mockingly act like he was being pulled over, didn’t let out a purposefully exaggerated grunt of exertion. It was one of the things Guy was most thankful for in their friendship.
As was proper, Guy offered Juliet his arm to escort her into the dining room. Juliet took it with a half-smile as she joined the group on the walk towards the meal, ignoring her mother’s hiss to stand up straighter.
The half-smile broke into a full, broad grin as they found their place settings. Juliet’s name card was next to Guy’s, and she sat with relief as Nathan took his seat on the other side of her. Their mother was also next to Nathan, and Levi was directly across from Guy and Juliet. He offered the pair a wink as he sat, and moments later, the first courses were deposited to the middle of the table.
Just within reach, Juliet saw a steaming roast hare, cabbage salad, potato and leek soup, salmon, and a plate of asparagus decadently drizzled in butter. Recalling her conversation with Guy at last week’s ball, Juliet nearly squeaked with excitement at the sight. Enthusiastically, she began to add various portions of the offerings to her plate, depending on what looked good.
“What sauce is that, Levi?” She asked her friend, who was drizzling his roast with a delicious looking deep red color.
“Port wine,” Levi replied. “Here.” He passed it to her and Juliet added some thick sauce to her salmon, a bit to the salad, and even a splash in her soup.
“Here is the port wine sauce, if you care for it,” Juliet said to Guy, her voice starting off chipper before trailing a little. Guy was collecting his food slowly, one might even say uncertainly, and so far only the cabbage salad and salmon was on his plate. But within his reach on the other side of the table, Juliet could see plum pudding and chicken confit. “Did you see the asparagus, too?”
“Yes,” Guy replied, meeting Juliet’s eyes briefly before he gave a small smile and allowed himself to collect two pieces of the long green vegetable. He eyed the port wine sauce skeptically, but hungrily.
“Are you all right, Guy?” Juliet couldn’t help but ask as her friend hesitated. Guy licked just the middle of his plump lips, thinking to himself before answering.
“To be frank, this is my first dinner party in…awhile. And my very first in Highcastle. They’re not…always where I am comfortable.”
“Oh,” Juliet said. “Well, what made you decide to come to this one, but not the others?”
Guy lifted his dark eyes to meet Juliet’s, and there was a moment of silence before he replied softly: “I don’t know. Why did you come to this one despite your promise regarding your mother?”
Juliet flushed. Guy didn’t break their eye contact, so despite the pink heat on her cheeks, neither did Juliet. Guy took pity on her after a moment, and continued, “Like I mentioned last week, Juliet, I don’t tend to indulge in front of so many people.”
“This is hardly ‘so many people’, sir,” Juliet said, her voice a little hoarse as she matched Guy’s low volume. “Me, Levi…Mrs. Patterson on your right, who is plenty busy with her own plum pudding…”
Guy flicked his gaze to his right, stifling a laugh.
“And doesn’t it feel better when you do?” Juliet continued. “The champagne and salmon rolls at Griffinhead Hall, the toast triangles at Wolfbriar…that wasn’t so bad, was it?”
“You are perhaps a a terrible influence,” Guy said wryly, eyeing the creamy soup in front of him before giving in to scooping himself a bowl.
“If that means you’ll eat, you know, at a dinner party, then I’ll take it,” Juliet retorted. “Everyone requires food, after all. No one minds.” After a pause, she allowed a glance of her own to her left, past Nathan. “I mean, my mother will - if she sees me going for seconds - but I trust us to be sly about it.”
At this, Guy did snort.
“My father would too,” he admitted, reaching for the port wine sauce. “Often well before seconds, unfortunately.”
“Before?”
“I might have taken what he deemed to be too large of a bite, or added a few too many varieties to my plate, or seemed to enjoy it just a bit too much - and he’d signal the footman to remove my utensils. I’d still have to sit there for the entirety of the rest of the meal - with no way to consume it.”
Juliet’s mouth dropped open, which she covered with her free hand as she stared at Guy with wide eyes.
“But why?”
Guy turned his head slowly to meet Juliet’s eyes, at which point his gaze flicked down and over his rounded form. When it flicked back up, he cocked an eyebrow in an obvious, but silent, retort - we both know you can see why.
Juliet did break eye contact first this time, her pink cheeks shining as she looked back to her plate to choose the perfect bite. Collecting a piece of asparagus, a piece of salmon, and cabbage all on the end of her fork, Juliet declared: “what an insufferably horrible man.” Before stuffing the bite into her mouth.
Guy grinned, helping himself to some of the rest of the food on the table.
“Yes, and that is putting it kindly. Care for some pudding or confit?”
“Yes, please!” Juliet replied enthusiastically as Guy added a delicious looking portion of each to her plate. As she was sure no one else listened at the moment, she added, “Thank you, Guy.”
“Mutton?” Nathan offered from her other side, and Juliet shook her head even as she still took the plate from her brother. He watched her in confusion as she turned to offer it to Guy.
“Mutton?”
“Oh, absolutely. Thank you.”
Juliet added a more than generous portion to Guy’s plate, ignoring his curious cocked eyebrow. She set the plate in between her and Levi, who made eye contact with Guy with a similar question on his face. Guy gave a nearly imperceptible shrug as he added a veritable lake of port wine sauce to the mutton and dug in.
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