Part 4
The drinks reception was in full swing, as the guests mixed and chatted with each other. Eliza and William had been around the room and introductions with the other guests had been made. Judging by their interactions, Eliza was sure that everyone else seemed to know of each other with the exception of her and William.
Arabella had seemingly found friends with Mr and Mrs Thompson, as she continued to give Eliza sideways glances from across the room. Eliza could only assume what Arabella was saying about her, but from her distance it didn't look like she was singing her praises.
Eliza had briefly spoken to Mrs Stratton, who was very young, and seemed a little nervous and unsure of herself. She was an incredibly pretty blonde haired lady in a delicate, soft cream gown with pink flower print. She was happily talking with Mrs Rosenthal. It seemed an unlikely friendship, as Mrs Rosenthal was a much older lady, and dressed as such, in a plain navy blue dress. Both ladies wore expensive diamonds, though not quite as extravagant as Arabella's.
Now as she was stood quietly with William by the fireplace, Eliza couldn't help but feel a little plain amongst the pretty ladies in the room, with their expensive looking dresses and jewellery. She was wearing a dress that belonged to her mother, that Ivy had found in an old trunk and altered slightly to fit her. It wasn't like she normally had much use for an evening dress or been able to afford to buy a new one for the evening.
Hugo Goldberg, Mr Stratton and Mr Rosenthal were in the middle of the room looking deep in conversation together. Rupert had briefly joined them with Tilly, before Tilly floated across the room to join Mrs Stratton and Mrs Rosenthal.
With Tilly distracted with the two ladies, Rupert left the group of men to find a quiet moment near the window in the far corner of the room. Eliza watched him for a moment, noticing he didn't seem his usual self, quietly reserved in the corner, watching the room.
She politely excused herself from William to go and speak with Rupert. She felt Tilly's eyes on her as she crossed the room, but she chose not to engage them, keeping her own eyes on Rupert.
"How are you?" She asked, genuinely concerned for him, as she stood next to him while he nervously scanned the guests, and drank large gulps of his champagne.
"Well, aside from the fact Tilly has been even more terrifying then normal with the stress of this party, I think it's going rather well." Rupert kept his voice low and seemed distracted, as he spoke, more interested in looking at his guests then paying attention to Eliza.
Eliza glanced in the direction of Tilly who, despite looking like she was paying attention to the two ladies she was with, was currently staring dead eyed at her and Rupert. Tilly was very obviously not in the least bit happy. Although, Eliza was sure she'd never actually seen Tilly look happy to know what that might look like.
"You did tell her you'd invited me didn't you?" Eliza enquired. "Because she does not seem happy with me being here?"
"Oh you know … I mentioned it in passing this afternoon. Like with my mother, the less time she knew the better if you ask me."
Rupert gave a slight chuckle to himself, while Eliza raised her eyes and shook her head. She was far from surprised that Rupert would have kept quiet about inviting her. She should know by now, that he had a habit of landing her in trouble, with both his mother and Tilly.
"He's looking rather handsome tonight," Rupert gestured to Eliza, his eyes fixed on where he was looking with a wistful smile on his lips.
Eliza looked around the men in the room wondering which of them Rupert was referring to. Certainly, they all looked smart and handsome in their black evening suits, but they were all rather married. Was he perhaps referring to one of his butlers, she wondered? Knowing Rupert's persuasion, she suspected that they too were men of the Midnight Rose.
"Who?" She questioned.
"Your Inspector." Rupert told her, his eyes were set on William talking with another gentleman in the room. Eliza looked at Rupert confused.
"He's not My Inspector," she clarified quickly, slightly disturbed by the term used by her friend. Rupert finally stopped staring at William and looked directly at Eliza confused.
"Are you sure about that?" He asked with an intrigued smile.
"Quite sure," she nodded firmly, and looking slightly irritated at the suggestion.
"Because he hasn't taken his eyes off you since you left his side," he pointed out to her.
Eliza, looked at Rupert confused for a moment, then gave a subtle side-glance to look over at William. Mr Thompson had left his wife and Arabella to their chatter and had moved to speak with William near the fireplace. Whilst the two men looked like they were in good conversation, there was no denying that William did indeed appear to be keeping his eyes in her direction.
"How would you know that?" She asked Rupert, looking back at him.
Rupert chuckled to himself again and gave her a knowing look. He'd found himself quietly watching the Inspector that evening, just for some light fun, of course.
"Rupert Parker!" she exclaimed quietly. Eliza widened her eyes at Rupert, as she caught up with what he meant. Could Rupert Parker have an interest in William she wondered, rather shocked.
"What!" he continued to subtly chuckle, and leaned into Eliza's ear. "It is not my fault he's rather easy on the eyes." He whispered so only Eliza could hear, not wanting anyone to over hear the comment.
"Well I can assure you, William is most certainly not a like-minded fellow!" she told him pointedly, but equally as quiet.
Rupert might have preferred the company of men, but Eliza had long suspected William's reputation for women, and she was rather certain he was not that way inclined.
"Sadly most aren't," Rupert confirmed.
Rupert's smile faded as he noticed Tilly moving speedily towards them and looking rather angry as normal. Eliza watched as Rupert's stance changed from relaxed, to a more formal uneasy standing, his shoulders rounding in, almost bracing himself for an angry Tilly. Eliza couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her friend.
"Fraulein Hildegard, you are looking lovely tonight," Eliza offered with a cheery smile, as Tilly reached them. She thought perhaps being nice might help soften Tilly, but it was seemingly of no use. Tilly gave her a silent nod and a scowl then turned to look at Rupert.
"Rupert, the other guests require your attention," she told him in her heavy German accent, whilst still glaring hard at Eliza.
"Of course." Rupert nodded his head to Eliza. Since he was rather scared of Tilly Hildegard, he dutifully followed her to speak with the other guests. Eliza looked at them sadly, if only Rupert could find the strength to follow what he wanted, rather then what the world expected of him.
Eliza released a heavy sigh. This was all she needed to top off her evening. Arabella was laughing at her, Tilly was giving her constant cold stares, and her supposed friend Rupert was following William around room with his eyes. This evening was certain to give her a headache.
She pulled her necklace over the top of the lace of her dress and held the pendant and twisted the chain in her fingers. She glanced over at William who was still standing by the fireplace speaking with Mr Thompson.
Was he Her Inspector, as Rupert had suggested? More to the point, did she want him to be? There was no denying something felt like it was changing between them. She was enjoying his company more these days, finding an excuse to see him at his office when she didn't really need to. Whilst it was always fun to annoy him, she found herself on occasion holding back from purposely trying to get in an argument with him.
Even she had to admit, he did look rather handsome in his black evening suit. Of course, if she was being completely honest with herself, he always looked annoyingly handsome. From the first moment she'd met him, when her father had brought him back to the house, she thought he was rather good-looking. Not to mention the first time she saw him in his PC uniform. That image was rather imprinted in her memory and a small smile crossed her face as she thought of it.
Despite trying, she could no longer truly say that his feelings towards her were purely platonic. That just maybe, she quite liked that idea.
William seemed to notice her staring in his direction and he caught her eye. He gave a gentle smile in her direction and she couldn't help but smile back. She watched as he excused himself from his conversation with Mr Thompson, picked up a new glass from a butler and walked towards her. She continued to smile at him in spite of herself, as her eyes held his as he crossed the room. He held out the glass for her to take. Champagne wasn't exactly his drink of choice.
"Thank you," Eliza said, untangling her fingers from the chain of her necklace and taking the glass from him. For once she didn't hide the necklace away underneath her clothes.
"You never told Ivy I gave you that?" he asked, pointing to the necklace he'd seen her playing with. Eliza just gave a laugh and raised her eyebrows at him.
"Please, Ivy is far more intelligent then we give her credit for. She knew exactly who this was from, which is why she brought it up in front of you. She would also know that I have not taken it off since you gave it to me."
William tilted his head and eyed her cautiously. Whilst she had thanked him for the gift when he gave it to her, it hadn't been mentioned at all in the time since. He had no idea if she'd even taken it out of the box, let alone that she had in fact continuously worn it for the weeks since her birthday. She held his eyes with small smile and shrug.
Was she giving away too much information, making it clear to him that she really did like his gift? That actually, it had meant a lot to her that he'd given her something. Even if at the time he'd brushed it off as nothing more then a passing thought.
His blue eyes bore into hers, and small smile appeared on his lips. He seemed to like that she liked his gift. Goodness, she didn't always like it when he looked at her so intensely, but for once she held his gaze with her own small smile. For the shortest moment it was like they were the only two people in the room.
Eliza subconsciously licked her lips, and William gave a quiet sigh. He hated it when she did that. He was certain that one day, that action would be his undoing.
"Ladies and Gentlemen…" One of the suited servers announced loudly from the doorway, interrupting their moment.
"Diner is ready to be served in the dinning room."
Eliza was the first to pull her eyes away from William's stare, as she always was. They watched each of the gentlemen find their partner, and then the couples filed towards the doorway.
With their moment over, William simply offered Eliza his arm, to escort her to dinner. With a smile she tucked her arm into his as they followed the other couples to the dinning room.
To be continued…
A/N: If you're wondering where I'm going with Rupert, watch episode 6 and the scene with Rupert and William on the steps of Eliza's house! Rupert is totally checking him out!