*Ms Tamara*
With the progression of the night, Tamara couldn't shake off the feeling of all the warmth. She was still flustered, her cheeks flushed from her encounter with Mr Baraville.
Taking a few drinks and seeing that nothing helped, she excused herself before she walked toward the main door of the big house. She hoped that some fresh, cold air would help her nerves calm down. And she was right.
Stepping out into the courtyard and taking in a deep breath of the cold night air, she felt the chill relax her heated-up body, in turn relaxing her.
She then proceeded on walking down the steps before a stone wall awaited her to her right. Sitting down and crossing her legs, she pointed her gaze down to the ground, thinking.
She wondered where her parents were amongst all those people inside, she wondered if anyone else, aside from Diana and Eileen knew that she was here, outside?
She wondered if 'he' knew whether she was outside.
"Ms Tamara?..." the familiar voice booted her out of her trance. Turning around, she saw a figure emerging from the shadow of a tree ahead of her. His presence further gave her the answer that he, obviously, knew she was here.
"I see we meet again, Mr Baraville..." she greeted him back. From there, she waited until he stopped in his place. Surprised to see him take a seat on the stone wall beside her. "What brings you here?".
"Fresh air..." he responded.
Smiling before letting a giggle out against her own will, she simultaneously took Theodore's attention.
"You laughed?". Now, he caught her attention.
"Hm?...".
"I said, you laughed... was it something I said?" he proceeded to ask.
But, for a moment or two, Tamara failed to respond. "No..." she finally muttered out. "I guess I laughed because I also came out here for some fresh air.".
Now, he responded with a few moments of silence. "Inside, it can get quite stuffy, alright...".
Once again, muteness spread amongst them both. And it was then when Tamara let out a slight sigh that she decided to break it. "You know, you are really not all that talkative, Mr Baraville.".
"Please... call me Theodore," he responded. "Mr Theodore if you still want to keep it, somewhat, formal. But I don't want to insist on you calling me Mr Baraville. I hear it too much in my day-to-day life...".
"Shouldn't that be like music to your ears, that people refer to you with such respect?" Tamara couldn't stop her words in time.
"Such naive words. Just by that, I can tell you've never been rich..." he responded, but something about his words left a bad taste in Tamara's mouth. He was right, but his phrasing made it as though he used his wealth as something to rub her face with. "No offence intended," he added only seconds later, but not that it changed anything.
"What did you mean by that?" Tamara asked.
"What I mean by that is that... you think that being rich is sort of like a fairy tale...".
"Well, I mean... is it not?" Tamara inquired once more, but it was only seconds before her words began to not age well within her.
He replied with a laugh. "Far from that... Far from that...".
His words triggered memories of her being with Tamara from only a little while ago.
'Everyone is friends with you because you have money... because you have a good image'. 'I just feel... I feel I can know when I can sieve out those who do look at me that way... but with you two... I don't feel like that's the case at all. I feel a little more normal now that I am with you both.'.
"Why all the silence?" Theodore pulled Tamara out of her trance.
But to such, Tamara couldn't help but chuckle at his words. "Look who is talking about silence...".
A sheepish smile formed on his face as he nodded to her words. "You know... from a person of such... background as yours, speaking the way you are to me is... is-".
"Something you're not used to?..." Tamara finished the sentence for him. "Or perhaps... maybe even infuriating...".
He laughed at her words. "Why would I bother changing the way I feel for someone like you?".
'The nerve...' Tamara thought to herself. She folded her hands into fists as she stood up. "Because I am not swooned over by your fortune. By the money you possess...". She paused. "That might be one thing that would make you feel infuriated...".
He kept his gaze upon Tamara, looking up at her, his expression equal to that of someone looking dumbfound. In fact, he was. Then, without him registering it, a small smile found its way to his lips. "You seem to be the more furious one out of the two of us... Why might that be?".
His words took a moment to sink within her, and a further second took for her to reflect upon her actions. So, clearing her throat and regaining her posture, she ironed down her outfit with her hands. "I-I am not quite sure what you're implying...".
"How convenient..." he responded. "When you're speaking out your accusations, you expect the whole world to cope with them. But when you're being handed the facts, you act all dumb...".
Tamara hitched a breath of surprise. "I beg your pardon!?... 'Dumb'??? Is that really a way to speak to a woman??".
"Not to ones who are after a man just because of his fortune..." Theodore responded.
She stopped herself to look at him, to glare at him more precisely. "I don't think I have once mentioned as such throughout this conversation with you...".
"Not directly..." Theodore responded, standing onto his feet as well.
"What do you mean by that??".
"Using the fact that I have more wealth than you as your defence against me... that's what made me think that you're after a man of higher wealth.". He paused for a moment. "In other words, you're simply playing hard to get...".
She still kept her eyes on him, baffled by his accusation. Though such was common in their time, it wasn't something Tamara would settle down for.
Before she could have stopped it, she let out a scoff at his words. "And here I thought I could have really trusted my sister's words of calling you a gentleman... speaking so highly of you...". She paused to take in a sudden rush of air. "Though left rather unimpressed opinion of you, I at least had a little bit of hope that you might... just might be someone winsome...".
"Are you implying that I am wrong about my accusation??" Theodore inquired.
"For me... you are as close to being wrong as one can be..." Tamara responded. "Though money is... beneficial for a day-to-day running of life, such as buying food, good wealth defiantly wouldn't be something I'd look for in a man.".
Confusion spread across his face. Such a reaction caught Tamara off guard, but it furthermore made her heart ache as this could have been the first time this man heard such a thing being said by a woman.
"Come again?...". His words further cemented this impression on Tamara. "How do you then expect to live with a husband who... who doesn't have any wealth...".
Tamara let out a sigh. "I am not asking for a poor husband... nor am I asking for my husband to be crazy rich.". She took a break. "All I want is for my husband to be loving. Loving towards me and our future kids...". Then she let out a scoff, her eyes remaining on Theodore. "But I guess for a man of your kind, that's a bit too much to ask...".
Her words left him speechless. He ended up trying to swallow down the slight lump that formed in his throat. But, it took him a few seconds to recover his ability to speak. "What you're asking for is practically a fairy-tale...". He then shook his head, "Sorry to break it to you, but fairy tales don't exist in this world.".
"It's not a matter of fact that they don't exist... it's just that no one is willing to make them come true.". And then, with a blink or two, she lowered her gaze to the ground.
All while she had her gaze elsewhere, Theodore never failed to avert his eyes from her. If anything, he further sharpened his gaze at her. "Do you write?...".
His inquiry took her off guard. She swallowed whatever was in her mouth before raising her gaze so that it met his. "I-... I don't see what's the... what's the importance of knowing that right now??...".
"That wasn't the answer I was looking for...".
His response further left her unprepared for what to respond with. And, in the end, leaving her with no choice, "Yes... yes, I do... Why do you ask?".
"Your words seemed like the ones of a writer..." he responded.
"And what about you? Do you also write?..." Tamara turned the table.
"I do...".
"Quite a common pastime, don't you think?" Tamara further asked.
"I do agree with you on that one...".
And with that, quiet descended between the two of them.
Then, before speaking up, Tamara cleared her throat. "I think it's getting rather... rather late. I should go, my sisters will be wondering where I went...".
He nodded his head.
She was expecting him to say something, but... silence. Instead, he took a step back and away from her before turning on his heels and walking off.
Such left Tamara looking at Theodore's back in confusion and agitation. And that was when it came out, "You know, for someone who considers themselves a 'Lord'... you should at least have a little bit of manners...".
She saw him stop, but not that she cared about such. Instead, she turned on her heels before she walked off and toward the big house.
Though, before Tamara even reached the steps, Theodore turned his head, his body following its direction and looked her way. "Yeah... try and you might just find your Mr Fuegerson amongst the wide crowd in there...".
She stopped, looked his way and sent him a glare. He expected her to explode at him once more but was found surprised when she turned around and continued her way inside.
That was when, as a result of their interaction, slight sourness began to spread in his mouth.