Chapter XVII.

Tamara and Eileen continued their stroll through the crowd and it wasn't long before they found their way to Diana.

With a drink in her hand, upon seeing the two sisters approaching her, she jumped up ever so slightly before rushing to them and pulling them into a hug, making sure her drink didn't spill over them all.

"Tamara! Eileen!" Diana greeted them both before pausing, looking at the two Clare sisters. "I wanted to congratulate you on Gertrude's marriage.". Following her words, a small, sheepish smile appeared on her lips.

Eileen looked at Tamara as Tamara at Eileen before they both looked back at Diana. "Thank you. Thank you very much, Diana," Tamara spoke out, a smile growing on her lips.

"I am glad she managed to get her life together unlike some of us..." Eileen cracked a joke just as she looked back at her married sister who came into view.

And in reply, both Tamara and Diana giggled at Eileen's words, Eileen herself joining them only seconds later.

And then, leaving her empty glass by a random server who walked around with a tray in her hand. "My apologies..." Diana stated promptly before turning and heading toward Gertrude.

From the side, both Tamara and Eileen looked at the interaction between the two women. Hugs were exchanged between them both, Diana seeming ecstatic. And then, she also hugged Henry when he walked toward his bride, congratulating him also.

To such actions, both Eileen and Tamara smiled to themselves before they turned and looked at one another, falling into each other's arms as they hugged one another.

It was a little bit before Diana returned to both Tamara and Eileen. With the women regrouping, they were off walking around the ground floor of the house.

At one moment, Diana closed up to both Tamara and Eileen before whispering, "There are quite a few amiable men around...".

"Funnily enough, it wasn't too long ago that Eileen and I mentioned the same thing," Tamara replied, smiling at Diana.

"And I can only hope that you both share the same impression as me," Diana responded, eyeing both Tamara and Eileen, which in turn only caused them all to break into giggles.

With time passing, eventually, Diana was pulled to the side and asked for a dance. This left Tamara and Eileen, once again, alone. They both walked through the hallways, looking at all the couples who dances, but giving a bit more attention to all the single men that scattered the crowd.

The bachelors who seemed too good-looking to be alone.

"You should ask one to dance with you, Eileen..." Tamara stated.

Giving her sister a look of surprise, Eileen replied, "Two dances in one night?...".

"It's Gertrude's marriage, we should be happy... joyous," Tamara began. "And what way to show that than to dance to your heart's content?".

Eileen remained silent for a few moments before a laugh broke her silence. "But... who should I as to dance?...". As if her question was heard by the men afar, their eyes averted to the two sisters. Although Tamara wasn't fazed, Eileen couldn't help but steer her gaze elsewhere. "They are looking our way..." Eileen whisper-shouted to Tamara.

"And one of them is approaching us..." Tamara spoke.

"He is not!" Eileen responded, her eyes widening.

"Turn and see for yourself..." Tamara replied, nodding her head at the youthful man who approached them both.

Just as Eileen turned her head, her gaze was met by a broad chest, coated in a suit.

"May I ask you for a dance, Ma'am?".

And with that, again, Tamara was left alone.

And so, turning around, she was just about to begin walking when she bumped into someone all of a sudden.

"My apologies..." the familiar voice went off.

Freezing for a moment, Tamara looked up at the voice. Her eyes trailed his suit, the suit that carried a sense of familiarity. And it wasn't until her eyes met his that she pinpointed exactly who it was.

"Ms Tamara...". The way her name rolled off his tongue, was something she failed to notice up until now.

But she tried not to let such an effect seem so obvious.

"Mr Theodore...". Almost immediately, like always, she further greeted him with a curtsy.

He did a gesture similar to that, bowing his head.

Straight after, silence descended upon them both. Each looks into the eyes of the other.

To Tamara's surprise, Theodore was the one who broke the silence between them both. "All alone here?".

"Up until two minutes, I had my sister with me. But then a rather handsome suitor came up to her and swayed her away from me, so she can dance with him," Tamara responded with a small smile growing on her face.

"Oh?". With that mutter of his, the air between them seemed to have thickened ever so slightly. 'Handsome suitors?' he thought to himself. For some reason, reason unbeknown to him, her words didn't seem to sit quite well with him.

And with that, another wave of silence descended upon them both.

Then, Theodore took a sudden inhale before he inquired, "Would you like to go out for some fresh air?".

Such a request caught Tamara off guard, to say the least. Or perhaps, 'caught off guard' would have been an understatement. She did not expect it in the least.

But, in the end, she managed to blurt out, "sure...". And with that, whilst Theodore lead the way, Tamara followed closely behind him.

Minutes passed before they both reached the main door of the house, there were people still incoming. Managing to pass through the crowd, they both stepped outside into the cool, Autumn air.

Taking in a deep breath, that was when Tamara commented, "You don't truly know how stuffy it really is until you step outside...".

"Mhmm..." Theodore responded, nodding his head.

With that, silence descended amongst them both as they continued ascending down the flight of marbled steps.

"I know this residence quite well, I can show you around a bit..." Theodore spoke out as he turned toward Tamara.

"I don't mind. A mere 5 minutes out here would do me just fine, I don't know about you," Tamara replied to his offer.

With him walking ahead, although she didn't say so, he noted that she accepted his offer when she followed behind him.

"Do you know Henry for a long time?" Tamara asked.

"We've become friends ever since we were children..." Theodore began. "His father and my uncle got into a fallout when we were younger. But he and I remained as being friends. We grew distant when he and his family moved back to Douleur, but upon his return, it brought us back to being that bit closer. Like in the good, old days.".

"I remember Diana telling me something like that. His return to Veursau was a result of his family falling out also," Tamara spoke out next.

"His parents divorced and with that, his mother and he were kicked out of his father's place, giving them a one-way ticket, sending them back to Veursau.". Theodore took a short break, taking in a deep breath of the cold, October air. "Initially, they stayed with Henry's grandparents, until they both fell ill. With them sadly passing, they are now staying at Henry's uncle's place for the time being.".

"I... I didn't anticipate his story to be so saddening...".

"Yeah... the saddest thing of them all being that his parents split up when he was at such a young age," Theodore answered back.

Silence followed his words shortly after. Tamara followed Theodore's side as he further pursued walking down the dirt footpath. They were met by couples that headed in the opposite direction to theirs.

It was only seconds later that Tamara decided to break the silence between her and Theodore. "What about your family?".

Theodore responded by looking her way. Seconds later he spoke, "What about my family?".

"You're living with your aunt and uncle in Veurause," she paused her words. Biting her lip, she proceeded on saying, "I apologise, Mr Theodore, you are under no obligation to answer such a personal question.".

I know I am not..." Theodore began. And there, silence followed, just for long enough for Tamara to think that he wasn't going to answer her question. She expected such an outcome to arise.

But just as she was about to change the topic, he continued, "My parents and I... we don't have the best of relationships. Though they don't quite know it themselves, I've fallen out with them. It has come so far that I see my aunt and uncle more so as my mother and father.".

"Would there be a reason for such?" Tamara spoke without thinking over her words. Widening her eyes ever so slightly after hearing them over, she added, "if I may ask, of course.".

Theodore let out a gentle sigh before stopping in his tracks. Turning so as to face Tamara, that was when he proceeded to continue, "They aren't the people you'd want to be associated with if you had them as your parents. Let's just put it that way...".

Tamara's gaze slowly lowered to the ground as she let his words sink in. "I can't imagine how it would feel. I am so close to my parents. I love them so much.". After finishing her sentence, she let her gaze rise back up to meet Theodore's.

He nodded his head dismissively as he turned, facing the way they came from. "I guess... I haven't really had a chance to get all that close to them for me to feel any pain. Which I am happy about, relieved even.".

"I'd imagine so..." Tamara responded.

With that, silence descended amongst them both.

With a gentle breeze that blew over them both, it served as some sort of reminder as to where they both were and how much time had really passed.

In response to such realisation, Theodore broke the muteness between them both with an inquiry, "Should we begin our way back?".

---

Reaching back to the residence and entering back inside, they were greeted by the percussion, playing gentle, ballroom music. Just like when they left.

As they walked deeper into the hallway, the heat that they escaped from a little while ago made a pleasant return, heating up the coldness that engulfed them outside.

With Theodore and Tamara entering the hall where all the dancing took place, they gained the attention of a few couples who looked at them both. Only more people looked at them as they advanced deeper into the hall.

With the last few notes being played, the song came to an end and all the couples split up, some regrouping, the rest scattering themselves amongst the wide crowd.

"Where are we going?" Tamara inquired, still following Theodore.

"I'm not too sure myself..." he responded.

He continued walking for a few more steps before...

"Theodore?".

The voice of a female took the attention of both Tamara and Theodore.

There, Tamara spotted an older lady approaching them both, with a youthful woman by her arm.

It wasn't a second later that Theodore mutter anything. A word that both himself and Tamara expected the least tonight, him to say and Tamara to hear. "Mother?".

Looking toward the youthful woman, his eyes widened ever so slightly. "Elizabeth?" her name escaped his lips in the form of a whisper.

Tamara knew neither of the women, but the feeling that developed in the pit of her stomach promised her that they were anything but good. The feeling she sensed matched that of what she thought she'd feel if she were to ever come face to face with a parent of his. Not thinking that tonight would have been the night when she was to find such out.

'Elizabeth?...' the name dwelled on her mind as she kept her eyes on her. Whoever she was, basing it upon Theodore's reaction, Tamara knew that she was someone who meant something to him.

All the while Tamara looked Elizabeth's way, and Elizabeth Theodore's. Theodore's mother looked at Tamara.

At that moment, a thought enter her mind. 'Who is she?... And what is she doing around my son?'.