In Willowtown, there were the rich, middle class and the poor. Rose's family was one of the wealthiest families in the little town. Since it was in the country side, there were seldom any events such as soirees taking place. And since the town was a bit small, word would go around quite fast which prevented those in the upper class from getting into mischief that they would not like to be known by others. And so, it was frowned upon to be anywhere near promiscuous. This was how Rose was brought up.
So when Miss Bingley spoke ever so casually about a brothel which, so it seems, Dre had allegedly visited, she was speechless.
Excusing herself from the party of gossipers, she woke up and made her way to one of the corridors before asking a waiter for directions to the powder room.
Rose couldn't believe that this was how people in the capitol interacted and that they would engage in such degrading topics. If her parents knew about this, they would have not allowed her to come all this way, thought Rose.
As she stole herself, her mind busy in her own thoughts while walking in a narrow carpeted hallway she looked for the powder room and contemplated staying there for the rest of the night. Approaching a turn in the hallway she suddenly heard light thud that came from down the corridor. Her footsteps halted, her earlier thoughts forgotten.
She started to move towards the turn and slowly peeked to take a look at the sounds coming from the other side.
What she saw was a shocking display of a man and woman, tangled in each others arms, all the while their mouths pressed against each other. What was more shocking to Rose was that the young lady had her arms strapped around Dre Rickhorn's neck!
She stood rooted to the spot, unable to move. What does he think he is doing, she shouted in her head.
It seemed that the thud came from Dre being pushed by the very eager young lady onto the door behind him where they now were. Rose saw him reach his one arm around her, stopping on her thigh and bringing it hook on his hip. The other hand went to her bottom and squeezed generously before pressing her lower half against him. This caused the woman to moan into his mouth. All this was caught by Rose and, for the life of her, she did not know why she did not walk away.
Finally coming to her senses, she decided to turn around and return to the lounging area, the powder room all forgotten. Bur before she could move, Dre's dark eyes flew open and met her gaze . She felt her heart pound in her chest at being exposed for peeping. But this was not her intention! Why didn't she move away, she scolded herself. Without stopping, he stared back at her with hooded eyes while Rose's widened like a guilty thief.
"Rosette! Oh, here you are darling, did you get lost?"
Rose finally tore her gaze away from the two, face flushed as she turned around to see Lady Green approach her.
Finding life in her legs again, she walked towards the obviously drunk Lady Green. "I did, do you know where the powder room is, Lady Green?" she said in haste to distract her.
"Why, of course dear. And please, call me Elizabeth! Oh, you country folk and your formalities." she responded in a drunken slur.
The two went back to the lounging area where they were previously seated. On their way there, Rose noticed how compared to earlier, the atmosphere was a bit more lively and loud. Though to her surprise, she noticed quite a few men and women in compromising positions. Some men had women seated on their laps while the drank their liquor, some women openly flirting with the gentlemen by the bar, running their dainty hands over the men's torso's suggestively.
What have I gotten myself into, thought Rose. It seemed that she had failed to notice the change in atmosphere while she was seated with the gossip mongers and when she got up to avoid any further involvement in their conversations. Rose had thought that with mingling with the higher class people of the city it would benefit her and her goals, maybe she could make some connections as well. It was what her had parents suggested. Buy who would have thought that she would have such an experience?
Her mood having been soiled, she wanted to go back to the mansion. She suddenly missed the company of her new hand maid. Daisy was absolutely pleasant company. After a bit of debate she finally decided that she will be leaving. But the issue is that she will then need to leave with Mr Rickhorn as they both had arrived with one carriage.
Finding a servant who was distributing drinks, she managed to ask for him to find and tell Mr Rickhorn that she wanted to leave and that she would be waiting downstairs in the reception of the hotel.
"Lady Woods, are you leaving already?" asked Miss Bingley disapprovingly when Rose got up and announced that she will be going.
"Yes, ma'am. I'm afraid I am too tired to stay longer than this."
"Oh, you country folk! So eager to leave when things just start to get interesting." said one of the woman. Rose ignored the total lack of dignity most of them seemed to have let go of for the time being and gave a slight bow after saying goodbye.
She made her way downstairs to the reception room and could feel her chest lighten, though a slight headache did form on her left temple. Arriving at the reception room she found Mr Rickhorn leaning against the desk near the entrance. His hair was ruffled and Rose couldn't help but notice the red make-up stain on his collar and neck.