Large gatherings had never been my idea of fun. There was never a chance to relax, not a moment to just enjoy the atmosphere and the company. Instead, I was required to be on, ready to interact with some wealthy friend of the family whose name I couldn't recall, or with whom we had some business deal I was wholly unaware of.
Ever since my father had died, I had been seen as the man of the house. It didn't matter that I was in my teens, nor that I had no involvement with the finances or board of directors. All that mattered was that I was male, and I was a Darcy. My fate was to continue where my father had left off. My mother had proven herself more than capable of occupying his place. If I'd had my way, she'd continue to do so until I'd lived a life of my own, but I couldn't condemn her to take a position that was always intended to be mine.
As much as I loathed it, this was what my life was meant to be.
'This is a birthday party, not a funeral,' Charlie said. He'd returned from his dressing room with two ties in his hand. He held them both up and asked, 'Which one, do you think?'
'Which one do I think looks better, or which one do you think Jenny will prefer?'
Charlie blushed hotly. 'Better. I mean, do you think she'll care?'
I smirked. His flustered expression was always good for a laugh. 'I don't think she's going to say much about your tie.'
'What, do you think she'll notice something else?' Charlie asked. He spun around to face the mirror and turned here and there, inspecting his outfit. 'Is this too formal? Should I change? Do I have time for that?'
'This is why we never should have gone to that school.' I smoothed down my own shirt and popped my top button. 'You've assimilated. You're one of them. You're turning into your sister, Chaz.'
'Sorry if I don't want to look like I was dragged through a hedge backwards unlike someone I could mention.'
'Oh, sod off,' I countered. 'You just have your knickers in a twist because you can't sneak off with Jenny the whole night.'
'Who says I can't?'
'You're the host,' I reminded him. I approached the mirror and nudged Charlie out of the way. While I straightened my collar and tidied my hair I said, 'You've got hands to shake and fawning sycophants to smile at.'
Charlie dropped onto his bed and groaned loudly. 'I hate when Chantelle does this. Half of bloody London must be coming tonight.'
'Only the wealthy half,' I joked.
'I'd much rather be celebrating with the non-wealthy half. At least they'd be a laugh.'
'Careful,' I warned. 'You're starting to sound as cynical as me.'
'I'm spending too much time with you,' he said. 'What did you call it? Assimilating. I'm assimilating into a miserable fart.'
'I prefer to think of myself as sensible.'
'You're the only one who does,' Charlie muttered.
'What was that?'
'Nothing.' He sprang up from the bed and cleared his throat. 'Sounds like people are arriving. We should probably go down.'
'So that you can be the first one to grab Jenny when she walks in the door?' I teased.
'Oh, and you don't want to be the first to get Beth's attention?' he fired back.
It was my turn to blush. I felt the heat all the way to my ears. 'Why would I? She's nothing to me.'
'Okay, fine.' Charlie shrugged. 'I guess I'll set her up with one of my cousins or something.'
'Wait,' I said. Charlie was already headed out of the door. When I started after him, he picked up speed until he was at a run. 'Chaz! Come back here!'