Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
chapter ten.
ㅤ ㅤ
𝕬𝖙 breakfast, the ambiance was much different from the black-tie dinner from the previous night. Everyone seemed much more relaxed and openly speaking with one another, all tensions lost.
Felix and Gabriette sat close to one another, their clinginess having carried from the bathroom to here, their chairs practically glued to one another.
"Morning," Oliver remarked, and received a chorus of greetings from the family as they ate.
"Ollie, have some breakfast," Felix says as Duncan places two boiled eggs next to his full English breakfast and Gabriette's yogurt parfait and bowl of strawberries.
"Oh, could I have a full English breakfast too, please?" Oliver's words make everyone pause awkwardly, a beat of silence passed as Duncan quickly looked to Elspeth.
Elspeth rushes to intervene and break the painful silence, "Breakfast is on the side, darling, just help yourself!"
Duncan gives Oliver a tight smile, while Gabriette and Farleigh shared an amused glance. Felix nudged Gabriette's thigh, which made her twist her lips into a polite smile.
"How would you like your eggs?" Duncan inquires flatly, expectantly looking down at Oliver.
Confused, the boy retorts, "It's fine, I can get them," making Gabriette smile into her strawberry and Farleigh into the newspaper he read.
"Not the eggs. The eggs are made for you," Farleigh comments, his tone guarded and condescending.
Trying to lighten the ambiance, Elspeth speaks cheerfully, "Exactly, and everything else is on the side."
Oliver nods in understanding, "Fried, over easy, please," he says, clearly embarrassed.
"Ollie, we were just talking about that Shelley biography," Felix says quickly, not letting anyone take a jab at Oliver and instead steering the conversation back to its original topic.
"Oh, yeah?" The boy spoke, uncomfortably stroking the top of his thighs as an attempt to loosen up.
Pamela trying to be a part of the conversation, juts in, "Shelley who? Shelley, Belinda's sister, Shelley?"
Sir James turns in his seat, "Oh, Percy Shelley. The poet. The romantic poet," he talks as if he were interacting with a child.
Pamela mutters an 'oh' and Venetia speaks, "Do you know the story about Shelley's doppelgänger?"
Sir James, now intrigued, sits up straighter, looking at his daughter, "His doppelgänger?"
"Shelley's housekeeper was cleaning one of the rooms when Shelley walked past the window and waved at her. So, she waved back before she realized that Shelley was in Italy. And she was on the top floor of the house," Venetia continued the story, but Felix let his silverware fall to his plate and shook his head.
"Oh, Vee!! Stop, stop, stop!! I won't sleep!" The boy exclaimed, covering his ears with his hands.
"A few hours later, he drowned," Venetia concluded.
"Oh! That's just given me goosebumps, look, Pamela!" Elspeth gasps, holding out her arms as Pamela dutifully looks at them, muttering a sincere 'oh, no'.
"Isn't he the one that ran off and married the author of Frankenstein?" Gabriette adds, not directing the question to anyone in particular as she held out a cut strawberry for Felix to eat, distracting him from Venetia's 'disturbing' story.
"Yes! That's indeed the one who married Mary Godwin," Sir James replied, content that the conversation was on a topic he enjoyed.
"I heard he fucked his sister," Farleigh comments, making the adults sigh and scoff in disgust.
"I think that was Byron," Oliver attempts to correct him, yet Farleigh pays him no mind, having gone back into reading his paper.
As Pamela tries to get herself back into the conversation, she makes talk with Elspeth as Duncan arrives, setting down a plate of fried eggs in front of Oliver.
Gabriette scoops some parfait onto her spoon, "Want some?" she holds it out to Felix that immediately eats it, nodding appreciatively before his eye caught Oliver, staring down at his eggs, frozen.
"Is everything okay, Ollie?" Felix questions as his and Gabriette's eyebrows furrow in confusion at the boy's reaction.
Oliver hesitates for a second but eventually admits, "Uh, of course, yeah. It's just... Runny eggs, I.. I get a bit sick from them.. Sorry," Duncan silently whips the plate away, patience wearing thin.
Gabriette's hand pauses, leaving the spoon in her mouth as her eyes flit between Oliver, Duncan, and Felix, catching Farleigh smirking into his paper as well.
Oliver continuously apologizes as Duncan disappears into the kitchen again, the rest silent.
"So, Mary Godwin, you said, James?" Gabriette turns to Felix's father, in an attempt to get the conversation going again. The old man's face lights up in delight as he nods before beginning to ramble about Mary Godwin.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
