Chapter 4: The Gossip Mongers

The carriage ride to the soiree was a silent one and Rose believed that Mr Rickhorn was a man of few words as he did not make an attempt to converse with her. Not that she wanted to speak with him as she could not imagine them having anything to speak about at all. But because it is basic manners instead of ignoring the person sitting in front of you completely.

"Are you well acquainted with the host of the soiree, Mr Rickhorn?" she asked, hoping to break the ice.

"Dre."

"Excuse me?"

"My name is Dre."

Finally, he turned his gaze away from the glass window to her brown eyes.

"And yes, I am well acquainted. I will introduce you once we arrive." he continued. "Also, Miss Woods, it will not offend me if you decline the invitation. I doubt you've been to a soiree in the city before, have you?"

Now he's just being rude, thought Rose.

"I will handle myself just fine. In the countryside, we are not brutes to not know how to behave." she retorted with a slight frown as she looked at him.

How charmingly naïve, thought Dre. The woman was defending her pride.

"Of course." was all he said and a corner of his mouth lifted. But Rose did not see this as she turned to look outside the carriage window before she would allow him to annoy her further. In truth, he only meant that she would not enjoy the soiree very much or the people there. But he will let her find that out herself.

The rest of the ride was quite. The roads where a pleasure to travel on compared to those in Willowtown, thought Rose. It is because the city was very well kept and maintained regularly.

It was a short ride to the hotel. Rose was a bit excited to be out in this part of the city she did not have the opportunity to explore yet. It was her first time away from Willowtown after all.

The streets where lighted up and bustling with people as if the day did not just end. It seems that in the city, the day begins once more when the sun sets, she thought as she watched outside the carriage window. There were men and women dressed in their finest wears, the atmosphere was filled with an electric ambiance.

"Wow." she whispered. Dre watched as she looked on like a child full of wonder and couldn't help but feel amused with her delight.

The carriage finally stopped and the door was opened for the two passengers. Dre had jumped out first and offered his hand to Rose. She was slightly taken aback by his sudden chivalry, but soon recovered after remembering that this was basic manners even if he did have an acid tongue.

After stepping out, they both made their way to doors of the grand building in front of them. They entered reception and after checking in with the employees, made their way up to the upper level of the building.

The next room they had entered was big enough to house thirty people, and sure enough it did. There was a lounging area on one end and a bar on the other. A pianist was in one of the corners of the room playing an evening tune that further contributed to the elegance of the room and the people in it.

Not long after they entered, a middle-aged woman approached them with extended arms. She was dressed in a slim fitted plum dress with diamonds twinkling around her neck.

"Dre, darling!" she exclaimed before embracing him.

"Diane, how are you?" he said after she let him go.

"Oh, I was worried you wouldn't come since you had attended a soiree only last night with Nicholus."

A very outgoing person he seems to be, thought Rose.

"And who is this lovely lady?" she asked as she directed her dazzling smile to Rose.

"Allow me to introduce Rosette Woods of Willowtown. She has come to stay in Rickhorn mansion for the time being while her parents are away." responded Dre. "This is this evenings host," he said to Rose, "Mrs Bingley."

Mrs Bingley seemed thrilled to be introduced to Rosette as she knew the Woods through business. As the evening went by, Rosette was accompanied by Mrs Bingley as she introduced her to a few more people and conversed with them. Dre almost immediately disappeared from her side once Mrs Bingley took her to meet the other guests. She did see him now and then speaking to some of the men present but soon after, she did not spot him.

She was sitting with Miss Bingley and a few other women on the lounging set when one of the woman turned to Rose and asked, "Lady Woods, you did say that you arrived in Kantor last evening. Did you by any chance see the woman Dre was with?"

Rose was not expecting the sudden question but then noticed how everyone seated there in their group unconsciously leaned in eagerly as if to hear her response.

"You mean Lady Lokh?" she said remembering Daisy mentioning her earlier today.

"So it's true! He really did take her back to the mansion..." said the woman who had asked her, she laid her hand on her chest as if feeling heartbroken, her slender fingers adoring her plenty sparkling rings.

"I can't believe she managed to pull it off." said another woman.

"Pull it off?" asked Rose with confusion marring her brows.

"Oh, yes." answered Mrs Bingley, "Samantha Lokh, a charming young lady. Clever too. She's been eyeing Dre for quite some time now, wanting to bed him." she continued.

"Pardon?" exclaimed Rose. What on earth does that mean, she thought.

"Don't be so surprised Lady Woods, even I would never pass the chance to have him take me." answered another woman who's name Rose could not remember after being introduced to so many people. Rose blushed red at her statement. How shameless these woman are, do they not have any dignity, she thought.

"I've heard from a woman I met at a tea party that one of the ladies at Miss Heidi's said she could barely stand the next day after Dre visited." spoke the first woman in a hushed tone, who has seemingly recovered from her heartbreak.

"Oh, goodness! What else did she say?" asked another as they continued their gossip.

"She said that the woman couldn't stop musing about how big he was,"

"Who is this woman that told you this?" asked another young lady with a glass of Champaign in one hand as she too spoke in a hushed tone, dying to know more. Everyone then turned to the first woman, Lady Green, as they too wanted to hear who it was that she heard such rich gossip from as this unknown woman seems to frequent Miss Heidi's. Rose sat with her flustered self and could do noting but let the gossip mongers speak.

Lady Green wore a smug smile on her face as they all, including Mrs Bingley, looked at her with impatience. She took her time to sip from her glass of wine and then spoke while staring at her glass as if it was the most interesting thing in the room, "Vanessa Harlow."

A loud gasp escaped from all of them in unison. "Vanessa Harlow visits Miss Heidi's? Who would have thought!"

"I'm not surprised, honestly." spoke another and they went into discussion about the woman in question. Rose was confused with their wording, so she asked, "What's wrong with her going to Miss Heidi's? Is not a good place?"

"Oh, darling. I forgot that you are not from here." answered Mrs Bingley, "It is a whorehouse, but one that only the elites visit." Rose's mouth was like a fish at this point, unable to believe her ears.

"Yes, Miss Heidi's Pleasure House, very well known." agreed Lady Green.