Chapter 2: Ballroom Blitz
It's been three months since I came here and I still haven't figured out how. The day after I came, myself and Lord Cain searched that alley up and down just to find nothing but rats, bottles, and other useless junk. Life has been good here, though. It's hard getting used to all the maids, butlers, and cooks, but I'm coping and I still ponder what happened in that alley those three months ago.
I woke up to the sun shining in my face through the beige curtains. I decided to get up and fought my way out of the three thick blankets.
"I almost didn't want to get up!" I said stretching and letting out a stifled yawn afterwards. I then got up, got dressed, and opened the large red oak door and made my way into the hallway. I walked down the flight of stairs and headed towards the dining room. I finally arrived and noticed Lord Cain sitting in the chair at the far end of the table and Mary Weather sitting to the right of him. Mary Weather had a look of disappointment mixed with anger on her face and Lord Cain had a smile on his face that said he was glad to see me. I walked towards the front of the table and sat to the left of him.
"Sorry I'm late. The bed was so comfortable I didn't want to get up!"
"That's quite alright. I'm glad you like it here." Lord Cain said while the cook was passing out the food.
The plate was a beautiful set of china with gold streams all around the outer part of the plate. The eggs, sausage, and biscuits were perfectly proportioned, not a piece of egg out of place.
"So, Sophie how old are you?" Mary Weather said with a cold tone of voice.
"17. And you?" I replied politely.
"10" she said picking up a fork and picking up a piece of food then putting it in her mouth.
I looked down at my plate pushing the eggs around in a circle. "So, is there anything going on today?" looking up from my plate and turning my gaze to Lord Cain.
"Well, I hear there's a masquerade ball going on in Mayfield that's begins at five. I don't recall anything else happening, though."
"Hey. Why don't we go Cain?! Please, can we?!" Mary Weather said with a sudden burst of excitement.
"Well, we will have to leave in a few hours. Do you ladies think that you can be ready by then?" he said with smirk tone and smile on his face.
Me and Mary Weather stared at each other and quickly dashed out of our chairs and raced each other up the stairs.
"Gets them every time!" he said raising out of his seat and quietly walked out of the room and up the stairs.
I quickly changed into a beautiful tan colored evening dress with a golden white top and the sleeves matched the bottom and was the kind that barely went past your shoulder, how they stayed there I have no clue! The worst part was when two of the maids had to help me with the corset. I swear they're a death trap that's been legalized! After that I pulled on a pair of white gloves that went up to my elbows. I started putting on my make-up and got a few helpful tips form one of the maids.
"Well, lets see, am I missing anything?" I said to the maid that stayed behind and gave me make up hints.
"I don't think so Miss Sophie."
"Please Amy, call me Sophie. I would say we're friends enough for that? Right?"
"Yes, I guess we are!" she said with a big smile on her face.
"Well, what do you think?" I said standing up and swirling in a small circle.
"Oh, my! You look beautiful, Sophie! Oh, good afternoon Lord Cain, I didn't see you there!"
"Yes, good afternoon Amy."
"Well, I will go check on Mary Weather and see if she needs my help." Amy said before walking out of the room and turning to the right.
"Hello, Lord Cain, I see you're up and ready!"
"Yes, and I see you are too. Did I hear her call you Sophie?"
"Oh, Lord Cain, I am just tired of all this Miss Sophie stuff and I know her well enough so I said she could call me Sophie."
"Well, as long as you're comfortable with this." he said turning around to look at me with a smile on his face.
Oh, God, he's smiling that smile again! Gosh! Don't turn red, don't turn red! Gosh, did it just get hot in here?
"So, umm, do you know anyone in Mayfield?" I asked trying to control myself from blushing.
"Well, yes, but one is in prison."
"Oh." I said knowing by the tone in his voice that he didn't really want to talk about it.
"Are you ready Miss Sophie?"
"Oh, you really know how to beat that one to death, don't you Lord Cain?!"
"I'm just kidding! Now I will go check on Mary Weather and we will leave as soon as possible."
"Alright." I said watching him walk out of the room. I couldn't believe how such a handsome man would ever be in my life.
"Hello, my Lord, beautiful day to go out of town, isn't it?" said the carriage driver.
"Yes, it is."
The carriage driver opened the door and Lord Cain helped me and Mary Weather into the carriage and shut the door behind him. Mary Weather was playing with the laces on her pink and white dress while Lord Cain was staring out the window.
"Hey, Mary Weather, do you know how to play rock paper scissors?"
"No, how do you play?"
"Well, I'll show you." I said turning around to face her.
We entertained each other until we saw a huge sprawling manor almost as big as Lord Cain's, but it was just as beautiful. The carriage pulled up to the front of the house and when the carriage pulled to a gentle stop, the carriage door opened, Lord Cain climbed out and helped me and Mary Weather out. A man in his late forties walked down the stairs and greeted us.
"Welcome Cain! It's a pleasure to see you again. Ah, this must be Mary Weather whom I heard so much about!" said the man bending down to shake Mary's hand. "Who is this? I don't recall you recently having a special someone in your life!" I blushed and smiled shyly at his comment.
"Leonard, I would you like to meet Sophie, she recently came to live with us."
"Good day, Lord Leonard, it's a pleasure to meet you."
"Oh, Sophie, call me Leonard. Any friend of Cain's is a friend of mine." he said shaking my hand with both of his. "Well, lets go inside and you can tell me all that has been happening since I have seen you last Cain!"
"Yes, that sounds wonderful."
We walked into the mansion and into a large room with beige walls, burgundy sofas, and a tan rug right in between the sofas. A fireplace was sitting right in front of the rug. Beside it was a set of rusty black tools that appeared to be recently used. Above the fireplace was a picture of Leonard, a dark brown haired woman I guess is his wife, a young light brown haired girl in her teens, and a light brown haired boy about the same age, both the same age as me I would say.
"Is this your wife and children?" I said pointing to the picture while Cain and Leonard talked casually.
"Yes, my wife Sarafina, my daughter Jennifer and my son Jeremy."
"They're very beautiful."
"Thank you. Well, would you like to see the rest of the house?" Leonard said heading toward the stairway.
We followed Leonard up stairs and his son came around the corner and nearly bumped into his father.
"Oh, sorry father, I didn't see you there."
"It's alright Jeremy." Leonard said with a smile on his face. "Jeremy, you remember Cain don't you?"
"Yes, it's a pleasure seeing you again!"
"Likewise Jeremy." Cain said shaking the boys hand.
"Jeremy, this is Sophie, a good friend of mine." Cain said grabbing my hand and leading it towards Jeremy's.
Jeremy shook my hand gently and politely said hello.
"Come on I want to introduce you to my sister!"
Jeremy said dragging me down the hall and to a dark red wooden on the right. Jeremy knocked loudly until the brown haired girl in the painting opened the door.
"What do you want?" the girl said with an annoyed look on her face.
"Jenny, I would like you to meet Sophie, she is one of Cain's friends."
Her face brightened and she shook my hand politely and excitedly then rushed out of the room. She slowed down to a steady walk and said hello to Cain and held out her hand. Cain put his hand under hers and kissed it.
My cheeks feel really hot. Why am I so jealous? I mean it's just Cain being polite, right?
"Miss Jenny, it's a pleasure seeing you again." Cain said standing up straight and introduced Mary Weather.
After a few hours of talking and getting to know each other better, Leonard called the butler and told him to show us to our rooms. We followed the butler and found our rooms. Cain's was across the hall from mine and next to Mary's.
Jenny walked up the stairs and headed towards us. "I will also stay in one of the guest rooms." She said walking towards the room on the left side of Cain's. "Good night everyone, sleep tight."
Everyone walked into their rooms and shut the door. Me and Jenny were the last ones to enter our rooms and before Jenny went into her room, she smiled at me in a way that made my blood boil. I turned around and shut the door.
Who does she think she is?! She may have more money than me, but that doesn't mean anything! I wonder if she wants Cain and thinks that I am in her way? Could that be it? Now that I think of it, do I share the same feelings for Cain as she does? Oh no, how could I fall in love at a time like this?! Well, I'll have to tell her that I don't want to fight over this and just be nice. I'll sleep on it for now and settle this later.
I walked in to the bathroom, took a quick bath, changed into my night gown and climbed into bed and quickly fell asleep.
I woke up and quickly got dressed and hoped that I didn't over sleep again. Then made my way out of the room, down the stairs and into the living room. Cain was sitting on the sofa to the right and Leonard was on the sofa to the left. They were talking casually as they were yesterday. I walked in and quietly sat down next to Cain.
"Good morning, Sophie, you're up early." Cain said with a smile on his face.
"Really? I thought I overslept again." I said with a light chuckle.
He and Leonard laughed.
"Well, I have business to attend to so I am going upstairs to my study. I will see you two at breakfast." said Leonard standing up and making his way to the stairs.
"Sophie"
"Yes, Lord Cain"
"Sophie, you know how you want to be called by your name and nothing else?"
"Yea" I said puzzled
"Well , I understand what you mean and I want you to call me Cain." He said looking down at the floor.
"Alright" I said looking at him with a smile on my face.
He looked up and smiled back.
"Sophie"
"Yes, Cain"
When he didn't say anything I turned to face him and he moved closer to me and pressed his lips against mine. I just stayed there, to shocked to move. My cheeks felt flushed and I couldn't believe what was happening. He slowly backed away and stared me in the face. His cheeks turned a little pink, barely enough to tell. He moved back into the position he was in before and stared into the fireplace.
"Cain, you like me don't you?" I said staring at him, looking for any sign of a reply.
He turned his gaze away from the fire and back at the floor, then gave me a smile that said what he was thinking.
"Yes" he finally said. "I thought it was just a feeling at first but then it just stayed and never went away."
"Can you find it in your heart to love someone like me?"
"What do you mean, Cain?"
"I never told you this because I wanted to keep you away from them."
"Them? Who is them?"
"My father and his organization. They call themselves DELILAH. At first my grandfather was the leader and created it to discover new ways to help prevent illnesses and diseases. Then my father took over and practiced inhuman experiments. My half brother is also in on it. They kill innocent people for their own use and are always one step ahead of the police.
He got up and walked towards the fire place. He got an angry look on his face and slammed his fist on the mantelpiece. He calmed down and continued talking.
They kill or attempt to kill everyone that I know and love. They won't stop till there is no one left. I will stop at nothing to get rid of that organization. My father wont stop till I am dead, and I wont stop till he is too.
I got up and walked towards him and put my hands on his shoulders.
"Cain, I don't care about what your father or brother has done, all I care about is you. I love you Cain."
He stared at me for a minute then smiled and leaned down and kissed my forehead.
"You know we missed breakfast." he said looking at the clock on the wall.
"Well we can get something quick I guess. Oh, it's about time for the ball, Cain, I'm going to go get dressed and I'll be right back when I'm done."
"Alright, oh and if you find Mary Weather tell her to start getting, too."
-Meanwhile-
"Where is Cain and Sophie?" said Mary Weather staring at the leftovers of her breakfast.
"I left them in the living room." said Leonard wondering what had happened.
"Sorry I am late, I had to talk to Sophie about something." Cain said walking into the dining room and pulling out a chair to sit down.
"Well as long as you're here, Cain. Is Sophie coming?" said Leonard wondering where the girl had gone.
"She said she was going to start getting ready."
"Well, it's a good thing they're serving food there." Leonard said with a chuckle. "We might as well follow Sophie and start getting ready."
They all walked into the hallway and up the stairs.
