Gentleman Code

August 1852 He hated all of this. Absolutely any part of it in its entirety. He mostly dreaded the fact he had to sit through another of his mother's richly organized dinners now. At the same time, Callum was glad he wasn't the one expected to stay until its very end. He didn't even want to imagine how terrible that would be.He glanced at Liam- his older brother- who was talking to a sweet, petite blonde girl; her purple dress was covered in frills and ribbons as per the latest fashion. Callum's gaze lingered over the lace of her corset for a few moments longer than appropriate before his eyes moved up to the ivory clock on the wall. The time was showing 9:14. Good.Callum reminded himself not to check the time so obviously often and looked away, searching for a place to put his eyes on. The young lady sitting opposite him was still smiling politely, although Callum knew

He was instructed to use the servants' entrance, which was to the side. An old man in an impeccable black suit with the traditional white shirt and a white bow tie greeted him. He was most likely the manager of the Household Servants."Pleased to meet you, Sir. I'm Oliver Abram- Lord Tennyson's new valet." He outstretched his hand, but the man didn't return the greeting.Oliver took his hand back and the other man seized him up and down. "You must have a very good recommendation to be hired for work in the household, especially dressed like that. "Oliver knew that even though he was wearing his best clothes, they were of much lower quality than the ones even the cleaning staff wore.The butler didn't wait for Oliver's response and said                   "This way, and try not to ask too many questions. Lord Tennyson hates them

The next day something similar happened and Oliver was beginning to worry he might never actually do any work. He was occasionally helping the maids or the men in the yard, but that was pretty much all he did.  He was given the black uniform of the valet, but he found himself rarely wearing it while he was outside with the man-servants.Something  that got him the constant disapproving eyes of the butler.That, Oliver was really trying not to poke Thomas's eyes with his constant idleness and obvious not involvement in the way Callum's clothing or appearance were tended.He just didn't see the Lord anywhere. The maids were saying he was often gone for more than even one night, so Oliver could only guess where he went. After all, the old Lord had warned him about his master himself. On the third day, Oliver got up, looked for the Lord, but he was informed that Callum had already gone out, so he headed for Tennyson's study.

He was walking outside in the sunny garden. An orange-yellow cat was lazily sleeping by a nicely cut bush and the furry ball registered his presence by only moving an ear.Oliver searched his pockets for a cigarette, although he wasn't sure if it would be appropriate to light one here. He didn’t see anyone around, so he decided it was safe enough and he could afford it.Oliver was just taking a cigarette out  when he heard someone come. And he always heard when someone was coming his way. He turned and saw it was the girl he'd meet the other day- Della. She was carrying something in her hands, coming his way. The girl glanced at the cigarette in his hand and Oliver said                 "Sorry, I just...""Oh, no, please, don’t mind me. "He put the roll back in his pocket, hoping he won’t crash it and h

They played a few rounds during which Callum was winning to Zhi's increasing annoyance. Oliver's head was starting to spin, even though he hadn't drunk that much.Callum, on the other hand, seemed perfectly sober, even though he was much ahead with his brandy compared to the others. They were given new pairs of cards when Xiao grunted. ."Go to Hell, you Red devil." The man threw his cards and slammed a first on the table. "Enough."He got up abruptly and told Callum it's time to go. "Wait for me with the girls, or wherever you see fit and I'll be back in an hour. "His master instructed. The four men got up, leaving all the money on the table and headed towards the back room.No one tried to take whatever they had left, and Oliver decided those people were more dangerous than they seemed and no one would risk taking anything from them. One of the girls climbed on top of the other, still on the floor and Oliver got up.