The Road Grew Strange

“He was terribly injured, you know, in the boiler accident — ”

“ — lost both legs, I heard. You can hear the machinery when he walks — ”

“ — such a handsome boy. Cecilia is beside herself — ”

Sitting stiffly at the long table, Hector tried not to hear the whispered comments. It was physically impossible to shut them out, the sensitivity of his rebuilt ear too acute.

The piercing chimes of the crystal goblet silenced the talk, drilling into Hector’s brain.

“Attention — can I have everybody’s attention, please?” Sir Bartholomew stood at the head of the table.

“My dear friends,” Hector’s father said, beaming around at the guests. The buttons of his plum velvet suit strained. His face was florid and sheened with moisture. “You know how much I dislike the art of making speeches, so I will save you from that dire fate.”

A polite titter travelled around the table. Hector’s gaze followed the laughter. From old Meister Chancellor to the fourteen year-old bride sitting beside Callum Faust, his father’s partner, they wore the same expressions; eyes glittering with avarice and their mouths ripe to bursting with self-satisfaction. All were primped and powdered, their soft, doughy hands laden with jewellery.

“ — new increases in the fiscal quarter — ”

Was that all they cared about? The servants referred to their master as Bartie. Did he even know that? Perhaps he did, and didn’t care. He could buy or sell any of them, at any time.

“ — another prosperous year!”

The gentlemen lifted their glasses and the ladies tapped their hands together. The talk around the table rumbled as wine flowed into delicate crystal and down their throats.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Faust lean close to his child bride, the old man’s hand diving under the table. Seated opposite, two women talked, mouths pinched with shrewish rancour, eyes flicking back and forth, missing nothing. At the end of the table, his father roared with laughter, his jowls rolled up over the froth of lace at his throat.

Was this all there was? Self congratulation and malicious gossip and indulgence? Wealth derived from the work of others?

Related posts:

User Story examples and formats in Agile using use cases, gherkin language, and Business analysis techniques to make the description precise and easy to read

I am sure you must have read about the Air Pollution level in Delhi recently. Just being in that environment could be comparable to smoking 50 Cigarettes a Day. And we hold the Smokers accountable…

All of those pop-up ads. All of those scrolling images that get in your way when you’re trying to read a news article or research something. I now have a better understanding of what they are and the…