Disclaimer: Don't own it. Am not pretending to. Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
"Ooh, Lord Cain!"
A flock of brightly-colored females descended upon the hapless Earl, as he tried, albeit futilely, to hide behind the buffet table.
"Good evening, ladies," he bowed, setting the plate of fancy crackers back on the table with a mental curse. "Society is especially radiant tonight," he smirked, perfectly concealing his irritation.
"Made all the more so for your presence, my lord," said a dark-haired demoiselle in a red taffeta gown. "We are rarely so favoured." She batted her lashes.
"I know, Lord Cain, daddy nearly passed out when he received your acceptance to our invitation," giggled a brunette in a gold and lavender ensemble. Judging from her comment and attitude, she was Ophelia Lavot, the eldest daughter of the host family.
"And with your sister, as well," chirped a shorter girl, one with fair hair and a white dress trimmed in ribbons. "She is simply adorable!"
"It is she you should thank for my attendance," Cain bowed again. "She requested we come, and I could not refuse her. It is, after all, New Year's."
"Indeed! Oh, Lord Cain, have you been to any of our celebrations in the past?" Ophelia inquired eagerly, leaning closely so that he would have a choice view down her décolletage. Cain appreciated the effort, but he really wasn't in the mood. His mission was being thwarted.
There's a duck pond outside, brother, Merryweather had said. Can you have someone fetch us some biscuits to feed the ducks?
Cain had looked from Merryweather, beaming up at him, to Kitty beside her, just as excited, and then over at Oscar and Mel, who were drinking toasts to everything from the Prime Minister to the Afghan campaign to having noses, and had been filled with a feeling like all his clothes were made of straw. He needed an excuse to abandon them, even if only for a few minutes.
No need, Merry, he'd replied. The buffet table is just over there. Wait here, and I'll fetch you a platter of crackers.
Now, he was intensely regretting his decision, and feeling resentful towards the sensation that had caused him to make it.
"No, I'm afraid I have been deprived of that pleasure," he replied to Ophelia's question.
"Oh, then you haven't anything to compare it to. I was going to ask how it stood up, but—"
"Excuse me, ladies, sir," a reedy voice interrupted her. Cain slowly turned, to face with mild astonishment, Melvin Howard.
"Yes, Mel, what is it?" Cain asked, eager to grasp at such a lifeline. Mel grinned like a cat at the present company, and bowed slightly to each of the females in turn. Cain was a little surprised to see their reactions.
"Lord Cain, an acquaintance of yours?" asked Ophelia, breathlessly. She straightened up and cast Mel a pointy smile. "You must introduce us!"
"I've never seen you at any events here in town," the dark-haired girl asserted.
"That's because I haven't been to any," Mel shrugged. "I'm Melvin Howard. Lady Ophelia's family probably invited my sister, and got me as well."
"You know my name?" Ophelia seemed surprised, and inordinately pleased.
"I would be remiss not to know the name of my host's daughter," Mel grinned. "Oh, right, Cain. Merry says she wants to talk to you, and it's urgent."
"I see," said Cain, picking up the platter of crackers with relief. "Well, my ladies, it appears that my sister grows impatient. Adieu."
He disappeared through the crowd quickly, leaving Mel the center of attention of the crowd of ladies.
"Mr. Howard?" the fair-haired one in white asked. "Do you dance?"
"Only on other people's feet," Mel grinned, and the girls all laughed.
"We can teach you to use your own, then," smiled Ophelia, and dragged him by the hand to the dance floor.
"Dear brother, whatever took you so long?" Merry asked, arms akimbo, one slippered foot tapping.
"Never mind that," Cain smoothed, bending to kiss Merry's hair and handing the biscuits to her. "Go feed those ducks."
"Come on, Merry!" Kitty smiled, taking the younger girl by the hand and leading her off towards the terrace, and the steps that led down to the garden from it.
Cain heaved a sigh, once they were gone. He now found himself alone, except for Oscar. Oscar didn't really count.
"Ha ha, that Mel really is a ladykiller," boomed the ginger-haired man. Cain followed his gaze, to where Mel and Ophelia were dancing, Mel clumsy but both laughing, with a flock of girls to one side calling out that they wanted to teach him, too. "He saw you getting all the attention and went straight over!"
"You mean, it wasn't Merry's idea?" Cain asked, puzzled.
"Of course it was Merry's idea! That girl really is the brightest flower in the room, you know. Sheerly brilliant! Ahem. But Mel pointed your harem out to Merry," Oscar hummed merrily.
"Harem?" Cain choked.
"Mel's word, not mine!" laughed Oscar. "He was laughing about it though, which is probably why Merry didn't storm over by herself!"
"That certainly is… peculiar," Cain frowned. There was no doubt in his mind that Mel had mounted a rescue mission, but it troubled him to think that he'd looked like he needed rescuing, especially from that far away. And if Mel had considered a flock of women something to be rescued from, why had he sacrificed himself to it? Cain almost felt obliged to go rescue Mel back, as Ophelia pretended to trip and ended up entangled in his arms.
But no, it appeared that Mel was more enterprising than that. In that brief moment, he said something in Ophelia's ear that made her draw back, surprised. Mel scratched the back of his head sheepishly, and bowed to all the girls in turn. He left them with an awkward grin, and to Cain's amazement, not a one of them tried to follow him. Neither did they look any less besotted than when he had first appeared. Cain would have to get Mel to teach him that trick.
"Hallo, all," Mel greeted, plucking the champagne glass from Oscar's hand and finishing it off with an economical gulp. He leaned back against the wall, eyes half-lidded over a Cheshire grin.
"You dog, you," Oscar thumped him on the back. "You had them in the palm of your hand, with about as much effort as Cain!"
"Well…" a blush started up his neck.
"And then you go and leave them all hanging! They let you leave, too, without you even having to get slapped!" Oscar laughed, almost obscenely.
"I had to get away," he shrugged. "They're nice girls, but I'd rather chat with you two."
"Your priorities are the most depraved and skewed of any I've ever seen," Oscar said solemnly. Cain rather thought so too, if Mel really preferred Oscar's company as well as his own. Then again, most of the females present had heads full of air, and conversations to match.
"I told them I promised my sister I'd help feed the ducks," Mel confided to Cain, behind his hand. "So I have to look like I'm going outside."
Kitty and Merry, who just then dashed up to them, shivering, saved them the trouble of any pantomime.
"What's the matter? Did you fall in?" Cain asked, relieving his sister of the tray of biscuits. Oscar absentmindedly plucked one from the platter and began to munch.
"No, but its cold outside!" Merry exclaimed. "I forgot it was so late, and now it's freezing out there!"
"Mel, don't say it," Kitty warned. "Don't say 'I told you so.'"
"But I didn't tell you so," he blinked. "Oh, you silly thing. I don't understand how you get so cold so quickly," he sighed, and pulled the shivering Kitty into a hug, to warm her up. Merry glared a little, jealously, but hung back.
"Thank you," Kitty said.
"I'm not your personal warming pan," Mel chided mildly. "I'm not even that warm myself."
"Don't be silly, of course you are," smirked Kitty, although which statement she was affirming was a little ambiguous.
"Oh, come on," Mel finally made her dislodge. "Go find a valet or thingummy and get your coats. It's only an hour till midnight. More people will be going outside in a bit, to see the fireworks, anyway."
"Okay," sighed Kitty, and Merry took her by the hand, rescuing the biscuits from Cain and Oscar with the other. They were gone in a flurry, as suddenly as they had come. Oscar looked bereft, though whether it was from the removal of the crackers, or of Merry, was difficult to tell.
"Is it really eleven 'o' clock already?" Oscar mused, plucking his watch from his fob pocket.
"Time flies, eh?" Mel chirped.
"Well?" asked Cain, arching one sable eyebrow. "Are we going to follow our sisters?"
"Hmm…" Mel scanned the room. "No, we are not. I do believe I have spotted Miss Ophelia and her posse joining the exodus to the lawn. We can raid the buffet table once more and contrive to linger a little, can we not?"
"You don't fancy the Lady's company?" Cain asked, probably teasing. Mel made a face.
"Oh, she's all right, I suppose… although she's not really my type," he shrugged.
"Not your type?" Oscar inquired incredulously. "She's rich, well connected, and beautiful. What's not to like!"
"That's just the thing," Mel frowned slightly, running a hand over his chin. "I imagine she'd be hard to impress." Oscar slapped his knee with a grin.
"Isn't that just!" he guffawed. Mel fidgeted.
"Who says you need to impress her?" Cain drawled. "Besides, she seemed pretty impressed by just you."
"Oh, did she?" Mel said vaguely. "I thought she was just marking territory."
"Oh well, what the hell," Oscar said, sing-song like. He suddenly sat to attention, ears pricked like a dog's. "Hear that? Another bottle of champagne's been opened!"
Oscar, following his ears, led the other two across the floor. Cain sipped conservatively at the glass of bubbly he was handed, and watched Oscar and Mel drink a toast to easily impressed females.
Out by the pond, Merry and Kitty, now swathed in their velvety cloaks and woolen pelisses, were happily throwing crumbled crackers out at the skittish ducks. Usually, the ducks were asleep at night, but all the noise and light from the party had kept them awake. A few lazy, mud-coloured carp blubbed to the surface occasionally, to gobble what crumbs the ducks missed.
"We're friends now, right?" Merry asked Kitty. Kitty started, blinking.
"Well… sure, why not?" she shrugged cheerfully. In her adult opinion, it took a lot more than a few hours of running around a party together to build a friendship with someone, but Merry was vibrant and personable enough to be an exception. There was a moment of silence, as they threw more crackers at the ducks, before Merry spoke again.
"You like my brother, don't you?" Merry asked, but it was more of a statement. Kitty jumped and blushed.
"Well, yes, he's very handsome…" Kitty murmured. "And dark and mysterious, and a little bit dangerous… I think Mel would call him suave."
"Kitty, he's—" Merry began, but Kitty continued.
"He makes me want to scruffle his hair," she grinned, cutely evil. "He's like a cat. I want to scratch behind his ears."
Merry burst out laughing, at the image of a proud, irritated Cain tomcat being forced into cuddling by a determined Kitty. She'd been about to warn Kitty off him, out of concern for her friend's innocence and probably more than a little jealousy, but it seemed her fears were unfounded. Perhaps it was Cain who needed to be warned, for his own safety…?
"I wish I had a cat, but Cain only brings me dolls and teddy bears," Merry sighed. "One I could dress up, and have a tea party with, or use as a pillow at night."
"You could try dressing up Cain and having a tea party with him," suggested Kitty, and the two girls burst out laughing crazily again.
"Have you ever had a cat?" Merry asked, serious again. Kitty nodded.
"Yes, but he died of old age," she said, but when she looked up, she was smiling. "But it doesn't matter as much now that Mel's back."
"Huh?" Merry tilted her head. Cain as a cat she could understand, with his cat's eyes and easy grace. But gangly, twitchy, Mel? Kitty just grinned.
"I'll show you what I mean later," she said, and then started as a flash of light caught her attention. "Ooh, look! They've got sparklers!"
Hee, Cain as a cat. …! That's another plotbunny for another day, however. Right now I'm sticking to this one. Just a little bit of moving characters around this chapter. I'm working on getting canon characterization right, I promise…I think I'm doing best with Oscar, but they're all hard to get right. I'm not really sure how Cain acts at parties, because in the books he's always either being antisocial or chasing murderers or picking up chicks…heheh, no, Mel doesn't particularly like girls. Although… from his attitude, one supposes it would be more accurate to say that he isn't impressed by Ophelia, not that he feels she wouldn't be impressed by him.
I'll have plot in the next chapter, swear to howdy! Or if not, then I'll at least have Riff.