Caledon Hockley was not enjoying the ball. Since he had returned to society from his 'mourning period' - if you could even call it that- he was having a great deal of difficulty in securing a new wife. It was most perculiar; girls were still throwing themselves at his feet, yet none of them seemed adequate enough to become the new Mrs Hockley.
He sighed, and sat back in the wicker backed chair that stood at the edge of the dancefloor. Several girls were twirling for all their worth, desperate to catch his eye. But it did them no good. True, they were all passably pretty and from reasonably well bred families, but they didn't quite have the Rose factor. Rose was fire and ice all at once, filled with barbed wit and a burning curiosity to discover new things. It had annoyed him in the beginning, yet as time passed he had loved her for it. She was a challenge; a new thing for him to conquer. Cal liked a challenge from time to time; it showed the other men who was the stronger one, who had more power. And as long as he had power, he felt in control.
"Mr Hockley!"
It was Lord Wellton. "I heard you had just come out of your mourning period. My family and I are truly sorry for your loss" he said, the sympathetic look on his face clearly faux.
"Thankyou" said Cal mildly, knowing full well that Welton had a young daughter whom he was intent on introducing to Cal. Said younger Welton soon appeared at her father's side, a simpering look on her face.
"Our deepest condolences" she gushed, her lips pursed and eyes downcast in a grossly melodramatic way. If it hadn't been so improper, Cal would have grimaced there and then. But of course, he didn't. Instead he accepted their sympathies graciously, and offered the young Lady Welton to dance; just as social etiquette would have demanded of him. Lady Welton looked uttely thrilled at this, and Cal forced himself to smile blandly back as he lead her onto the dance floor.
Lady Welton, or Emily as she bade him call her, was not a good dancer. She tripped and stumbled her way through the steps and though Cal had never been one to blush, he fancied he could feel his face beginning to burn at the girl's stupidity. When the dance was over, he was quick to extricate himself from her grasp, and soon lost himself in a crush of gentlemen at the side of the room. His companion Chester was sipping idly from a flute of champagne, eyeing the ladies of the room with a vague curiousity.
"Any of them caught your eye?" Cal whispered in his eye, causing his friend to jump.
"Good god Cal, I didn't see you there" he exclaimed. "No, not really. I think everyone here is waiting for the Duke and his daughter to arrive; her mother is cousin to the king of England!"
"Really?" mused Cal. "Then the man who marries her will become exceptionally wealthy, I have to say. Is she pretty?"
"I have heard she is nothing exceptional. Though her wealth will undoubtedly speak for itself" replied Chester, his eyes constantly flicking to the entrance of the hall and back. "Why, do you think you're in with a chance?"
"Depends" murmured Cal "whether or not I think she is worth the competition"
"Surely with that amount of money she would be worth it!" said Chester in surprise. He would have thought that Cal of all people knew that.
"Not if she's hideous" mused Cal softly.
"You don't know that" said Chester placatingly.
"How old is she?" asked Cal, hoping she wasn't an old spinster of thirty. If she hadn't found a husband by that age then she was sure be ugly.
"Young, very young I've heard. Not a day older than sixteen they say"
Cal smiled at this. He liked young. Young was impressionable and easy to manipulate; young he could quickly bend to his will.
At that moment, the doors to the hall opened. The majority of heads in the room swivelled around, and sure enough it was the Duke and his family. The daughter seemed to be shielded by her parents, and Chester craned his neck to get a better look.Cal waited calmly for the family to pass them on their way to a table.
Soon the girl came into view. Cal himself gave start; she seemed so small! Her body was thin and waif like, as though one puff of air could blow her over. Even her dress added to the illusion; floaty white chiffon blending with her pale skin. Her hair was even lighter, so blonde it was almost white. It glimmered weirdly in the light.
Chester next to him made a funny choking noise."Is she pretty?" he asked Cal uncertainly. "I can't exactly tell".
"Your guess is as good as mine" he said, entranced yet horrified at the girl who was now walking over to a table. Even the way she moved was odd; strangely graceful and flowing as though she were gliding through water, rather than air.
Several bachelors seemed to be deliberating the same thing as Chester, each of them surrupticiously watching the girl with uncertain looks on their faces. Cal himself certainly felt rather thrown out of the balance, but quickly managed to compose himself. There was a small window of oppourtunity here; while the other men were being silly and uncertain, he could get her for the first dance.
He slowly got up, and walked over to her table. Her parents looked up, and the mother offered him a warm smile.
"Caledon Hockley" he introduced himself, holding out his hand for the Duke to shake, which he promptly did.
"Hockley? Am I right in thinking you are the son of Nathan Hockley, the steel tycoon?" he asked. Cal glowed inside, pleased that his family name had once again become an advantage.
"That is indeed me" he said with a smile. The Duke clapped his hands together happily.
"Yes, I remember your father well. We were at Oxford together"
"Really?" asked Cal, feigning surprise. He was well aware his father had been at Oxford with the Duke.
"Yes, we were in the college rowing team together" the Duke continued amicably. "I suppose I had better intrduce you to my daughter, May" he gestured to his daughter, who hadn't looked up once and was staring shyly at a vase of flowers in the nearby corner.
"Hello May" said Cal, not really knowing what to do. If she didn't even look at him, how was he to work his charm and flattery?
"She's a little shy" explained her mother. "She wasn't particularly keen on coming out this evening, were you dear?"
Cal chuckled at this. "Quite understandable, quite understandable" he said.
"She never really likes going out in public at all; people always stare at her" said her father, somewhat sadly. "She's part albino".
"Ah, I see" said Cal, the reason for her strange appearance finally dawning on him. "Would you like to dance, May?" he asked her, directing the question at the girl. She looked up then, and he felt a jolt of unease in the pit of his stomach. Her eyes were pale and translucent, coloured with a blue so faint it looked almost lilac. He wondered if she could even see him properly.
She nodded slowly. "I'd like that" she said, her voice mellow and soft, an element of sorrow to it.
"Lovely" proclaimed her mother happily, and May stood up to take the hand Cal offered.
As the dance began, Cal noticed that she was avoiding his eye.
"Are you ok?" he asked gently. She looked up at him then, her eyes just as sad as before.
"You think I'm a freak" she said softly. Cal felt his eyes widen at this sudden accusation, surprised that this silent creature had said something so bold.
"No, no of course not!" he exclaimed, almost stuttering.
"But I am one, am I not?" she persisted. "I can only come out in the evenings because the afternoon sun burns my skin, and whenever I do come out everyone just stares at me"
Cal did not know what to say to this. His usual wit and humour that normally came to him with a click of the finger had all but deserted him. He felt suddenly very sorry for her, compassionate almost. Only almost though. Such emotions made a man weak, as his father had taught him.
"Does it affect your life a lot then?" he pressed carefully. "Is your sight affected at all?"
May shook her head. "No, my sight is fine. Better than average, actually"
"Oh?" said Cal in mild interest. "How unusual".
"I know" she said with a small laugh. "The doctors said I was very lucky not to inherit the full gene"
"I'll say" commented Cal. "Do you look forward to being married?"
"No" she whispered. "Because the man who marries me would only do it for the money. No one in their right mind would marry someone who looked like me"
Cal was very startled by now. It was fascinating, how quiet yet knowledgeable she was. But something about her seemed to be resigned to her fate, as though she had accepted it a long time ago.
"I'm sure that won't be the case" he lied, as the dance finished. May frowned slightly, and he led her back to the table.
"Did you enjoy that, poppet?" asked her father, looking anxiously from May to Cal. Cal did he best to look cheerful.
"Your daughter is a fine dancer" he said, not lying this time, for she certainly was. Just not in a conventional way.
"She dances a lot during the day, seeing as she cannot go outside" explained her mother. "We had a special hall built just for that purpose, didn't we darling?"
May nodded, fiddling with the edge of the tablecloth. She looked past Cal to the series of people who thought they were keeping their staring subtle, and felt her throat close up with tears.
"I want to go home" she whispered.
"Now, sweetheart, don't be silly" chided her mother, patting her daughter's hand. "Why don't you sit with us Cal? You could get to know May better. Lord knows she needs some more firends"
"Certainly" said Ca, whol was only too eager to accept the invitation. He sat down opposite May. "So, you dance during the day, do you?" he asked, trying to strike up conversation. May nodded.
"I love to dance" she murmured. "I would love to dance on Broadway"
Funny that. Rose had always wanted to be an actress on Broadway.
"Ah, one can only dream" said Cal, with a wry laugh.
"Dream indeed" repeated May. She kept glancing around herself, worried about the stares people were giving her.
"Don't look at them darling" said her mother gently. "They don't matter."
"I want to go home" repeated May sadly.
"Soon, my love, soon" said her father reassuringly. "So, Cal, I heard you were on Titanic" he said, looking at Cal directly.
"Yes" said Cal shortly.
"Dreadful, dreadful" said the Duke, shaking his head solemnly. "I heard you lost your fiance, am I right?"
"Yes" said Cal again, not wanting to go into the subject. But May was staring at him.
"You were on Titanic?" she said, her lilac eyes startled. "My friend was on the ship too. But I don't think she made it..." she broke off, her eyes suddenly filling up with tears.
"I'm sorry" said Cal softly, his lips pressing into a thin line of sympathy. "What was her name?"
"Rose" said May quietly, the mere mention of the name causing Cal's pulse to quicken. "Rose DeWittBukater"