In Good Taste (Cassius(s mom) and Irene)

The chilly evening air was a nice break from the scrutiny of the crowd inside. As it turned out, keeping up the mask of someone untouchable was tiresome in the face of all the opinions expressed at her tonight. It seemed that everybody at this party felt that they were entitled to say their piece. For her friends, it seemed they had chosen to avoid her altogether. Robert, seemingly disappearing into the crowd each time she spotted him. Not that it was all that surprising for a man who wanted to be liked at all costs to avoid the most unpopular person at the function. She didn’t exactly know what she had expected from him when she knew he was a coward. She hadn’t run into Charlotte either, but more than likely she was being dragged along by her husband more than anything else. Of course, she had received a fair amount of praise as well, both for her bravery and the quality of her work, which meant it wasn’t all bad. She still had her fans and her platform, despite it all. She was confident in her ability to bounce back, yet it didn’t make this evening any less strenuous. She could feel her nerves be tested, the urge to go on the defensive – but making a scene wouldn’t help her tonight.

Instead, she allowed the breeze to sooth her as it shifted. She leaned against the railing and glanced over the darkened garden, illuminated only by slyly hidden path lights and the spotlights on select sculptures. The landscaping around the Borcelle Hotel was a piece of art within itself and probably the most iconic gardens in Ilomar City. Joseph Laflèche, the architect of the building and surrounding nature, was a renowned icon for this reason – an influential person in Ilomarian art history and someone who had had a hand with the aesthetic movement that still dominated the region of Haling Dove. Irene lifted a glass of champagne to her mouth as she reflected upon this, eyes scanning the people around her on the porch. In moments like this, she wished she still smoked. But such things were unsightly at parties like these.

Despite it having been quite a while since Cassius and his mother spoke to Robert, Cassius’ head was still somewhat a swirling mess of thoughts and emotions. Thoughts and emotions he shouldn’t have…. His family’s circle of conversation had varied throughout that time, his siblings and mother would occasionally leave to talk to someone else, but eventually return to him and his father. The way that his father never left his spot but people constantly came up to him, to curry favors, gaining a new connection or something along those lines, to Cassius it just illustrated the power the man possessed.

Throughout that time his mother had drunk glass after glass of champagne or wine. She was visibly getting drunk now and Cassius internally sighed. His father had given him a look, a stern one that told what the man wanted him to do. Cassius placed a hand on his mother's shoulders. “Mother, let’s go and get some air, it’s awfully hot in here” He said, the perfect excuse for them both to leave outside. Hopefully some fresh air would sober his mother up. Cassius couldn’t help casting a glance around the room as they left for the porch outside the hall. He felt like a silly teenager, hoping to catch a glance of Robert once more. Maybe the fresh air would help him too.

The fresh air truly felt nice once they stepped outside. They went over to the railings and Cassius felt a sense of relief as he saw there were barely any people outside. He tried striking up a conversation with his mother, something ordinary and calming, but she made it clear she wasn’t in the mood to chat now that there wasn’t an audience watching them. So Cassius decided to just admire the view of the garden they had.

Which instantly brought him back to the earlier conversation, which in turn brought back all the emotions and thoughts he had during his inner chaos at the time. He took a deep breath, letting it slowly out as to ground himself. As he did that he mentally gathered all those thoughts and emotions and forced them into a box, a box he placed with all the other boxes that never should be opened in his mind.

“You!” He suddenly heard his mother say, and Cassius realized he had spent longer on burying those emotions and thoughts than he thought he would. He opened his eyes (which he didn’t even remember closing) and glanced to his side where his mother once stood, which she no longer did. Oh no…. Cassius mentally cursed himself as he spotted his mother well on her way towards a woman he had never met before, but knew really well who she was.

“How can you not be ashamed?” His mother yelled, as she went off on the woman who was no other than Irene Ford.

For a moment she had simply stood there, eyes closed and enjoying the caress of the evening breeze. The moment of peace was short lived, however, as a voice called out to her. She opened her eyes in surprise, seeing none other than Elvira Seymour heading towards her. She raised her brows as the woman stopped, asking her how she wasn’t ashamed. Irene gave the woman in front of her a long withering look, up and down. From her blonde messy hair, her swaying and the way her eyes were glossed over, she could quickly conclude that Elvira, the otherwise elegant woman, was drunk. Somewhere behind her stood her oldest son, looking horrified at his mothers behavior.

Already, they seemed to have drawn the attention of the few people standing on the porch, who to their credit tried their very best to not visibly let it show they were listening. Directly attacking people at parties like this, it was frowned upon. Passive aggression was very much allowed, but this? Surely the gossip would spread like wildfire and Irene knew better than to match the energy of the other woman's embarrassing behavior. So keeping her cold gaze upon Elvira, Irene lifted the glass to her lips, slowly taking a sip. She figured this was about the article, as all her conversations had been about this night and given the Seymour family's image as a pillar of conservative culture. Absolutely wonderful. But Elvira had initiated this unprompted, which gave Irene an upper-hand in terms of appearances. Of course, flat out insulting the other woman wasn’t in Irene’s best interest either, that would be rude and unnecessary, which wouldn’t reflect well as Irene already wasn’t viewed favorably tonight. So, as she lowered the glass once more, she smiled graciously and spoke:

“Hello to you too, mrs. Seymour,” she spoke calmly, eyes shining with what could only be described as subtle condescension. “Are you enjoying the champagne this evening?”

So she stood, head held high and dignified, not even wasting a second to humor her question about whether or not she was ashamed. She had no reason to be. She wasn’t the one of the two here exhibiting shameful behavior. Either way, she still braced herself on how the woman would respond. Elvira was already drunk and clearly in a mood to confront, so even as Irene’s cold demeanor didn’t match the anger of the other, she doubted she’d back down, especially considering the subtle insult buried in what really sounded mostly like idle smalltalk.

Cassius wanted to say something, anything to drag is mother out of this situation, but as his mother sensed it she gave him a glance that told him to stay out of it. Cassius knew what would happen if he ignored that glance, he felt like a child.

“Oh please” His mother responded to Irene. “You have quite the gut to show up here after that foolish article” She continued, her speech clearly showing she had had a glass too much. “You shouldn’t be spreading those filthy vermin’s propaganda like that” She said amongst her word vomit of a rant about the article. Cassius had to concentrate to not show the hurt he felt outwardly at her words. It wasn’t easy hearing his mother say such things about his friends. He glanced around, hoping to see one of his siblings, hoping he’d spot Artemia somewhere, she had her own talent of pulling their mother out of these situation with elegant and grace. Alas, he saw none of them. Great, he had to deal with this on his own.

Cassius stepped up to his mother, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Mother-” He tried to whisper to her, an attempt to stop this before it went too far. However his mother just shrugged off his hand. “Stay out of this Cassius” She said to him, her voice ice cold. She barely looked at him before her attention was brought back to Irene.

“You call yourself a journalist, yet you do something absurd like that?” His mother continued her rant, not caring about all the people around them that was now soaking in the scandalous behavior of his mother.

The woman continued her drunken rant and the corner of Irene’s mouth twitched, as she tried to hide her amusement. There was no need to correct her, as the woman was very clearly embarrassing herself without Irene even needing to lift a finger. Her son tried to step in but was promptly put in his place. Irene glanced at Cassius, cocking a brow curiously at this exchange – this was certainly quite the contrast to their usual brand of the perfect family. Though the exchange had only been short, the coldness in the woman's voice was unmistakable. Of course, what went on behind closed doors at the Seymour household was none of her business, yet that didn’t make it a less interesting tidbit of gossip. The kind of gossip the tabloids could have a field day with, though, Irene was above such journalism.

Then, Elvira ranted on and Irene’s attention shifted back to the woman in front of her. You call yourself a journalist, yet you do something absurd like that? Irene almost laughed. Of all the questions she had been asked tonight, this had to be one of the most ridiculous.

Irene smiled and tilted her head to the side, looking like she actually considered what she was being told. “Hm. That’s interesting,” she spoke, nodding. Had Irene been a kinder woman, she wouldn’t have engaged with this at all. They had an audience, after all, who had all but given up the act of pretending not to listen. They would talk about it either way and, Irene, well, people already thought what they thought about Irene, but for someone of the Seymour family to act like this? At least they had something actually interesting to talk about now. Might as well have some fun with it.

“Should I take this as an official statement against the free press, or?”

His mother scoffed at her words. “What I read could only be considered propaganda spread by filthy terrorist vermin, not actual journalism” Elvira said, not even responding to Irene’s question, which Cassius was slightly relieved for. He could only imagine the chaos that would happen if his mother made a drunken official statement. “Those terrorists are dangerous, worse than the disease ridden rats-” Elvira did not get to finish her sentence.

“I don’t think it is very professional of you to listen to the ramblings of a drunken woman” The dark and deep voice of his father interrupted their conversation as he now suddenly stood next to his wife. “Now excuse my wife’s behavior, she got carried away with the drinks” He added as he placed an arm around his mother, casting a side glance at Cassius. The disappointment in his father's eyes was only there for a second, long enough for Cassius to see it, but short enough for others not to. Alaric words turned the situation slightly, making it seem like Irene was at fault for baiting the clearly drunken woman. His mother didn’t say a word now that her husband was there.  

Artemia stepped forward from the crowd, walking over to their parents. “I’ll take mother home, father” She said quietly as she took their mother's arm, his father’s arm dropping to his side as he gave Artemia a nod before staring down Irene, daring her with his gaze to make the situation worse, or even write an article about it. Artemia and his mother left as he did. Cassius hated that gaze, it was a gaze his father often used to put people in their place, and Cassius had received it plenty of times during his childhood. Cassius sent Irene an apologetic one behind his father’s back, but only for a second. He couldn’t let others notice after all.

Of course, Irene had had no actual intentions of taking a drunk woman at her word – Elvira didn’t even answer her question, far too caught up in her own ranting, Irene would be a horrible journalist if she took this at anything but the embarrassing behavior of a drunken prejudiced woman. It was petty drama that people would no doubt gossip about, but not much more than that. But what transpired next, that was truly interesting. Alaric appeared out of nowhere, his wife shutting up immediately. Then there was the sideway glance at Cassius, subtly enough that Irene almost missed it, before Elvira was swept away. Then there was that warning glare that Irene could not help but think was a threat. She cocked a brow curiously, not missing the apologetic gaze from Cassius, yet didn’t react much as he seemingly only had done so in secrecy. She took a moment to weigh the situation. Alaric clearly had power oozing from him, but not the sort that came from natural respect. No, judging from the scene that had just transpired and that withering look he was giving her, this was a man who demanded obedience through intimidation, rather than earning it. Something Irene had never had much respect for. She didn’t fear men like him, the cracks in their power had a way of showing eventually. She had ended the career of a man like him much before just by being patient. Powerful men had their weaknesses, so although her intention wasn’t to bring him down, she didn’t flinch at the gravity of his appearance or the weight of his stare. She lifted the champagne glass to her lips, taking a calculated sip before meeting his eyes dead on, smiling unbothered as she tucked a blonde lock of hair behind her ear.

“Good evening, Alaric,” she responded calmly, making a conscious choice to use his first name instead of titles. Not obviously disrespectful enough to cause a scandal, but to make it clear she wasn’t intimidated. “Not very professional, no. But as you see, I am not working tonight.” She gestured to the party still going on inside. What sounded like polite small-talk was really also a way of showing that she had no intentions of making any sort of writing about this incident. She really had no reason to. He had asked her– no, more like commanded her to excuse the behavior of his wife. She really had no intentions of doing any such thing: not so much because she had anything against Elvira, but more so because she didn’t want to give a man like Alaric the satisfaction. Instead, she settled for saying: “Charming woman, your wife.”

His father didn’t bat an eye at her use of his first name, sure it wasn’t indecent, but by the look the crowd had on Irene showed that she was one of the few to dare use it. Cassius found himself envying the bravery she showed towards his father.

“It’s important with days of rest to do one's best” His father responded when Irene gestured to the party that was going inside. When Cassius glanced at the windows, a part of him hoped he would spot Robert once again, another was relieved when he didn’t. His brother, Lysander stepped up next to Cassius, glancing at Irene and their father. He must have seen Artemia taking their mother home.

“She is, you should meet her when she hasn’t had that much to drink” His father said, it was his way of saying both to her and the crowd that the woman they just had seen wasn’t who his wife really was.  Lysander looked at Cassius before leaning in. “What happened? I saw Mimi with mother” he whispered low enough for only Cassius to hear. Mimi was Lysander’s nickname for Artemia, he struggled saying her name as a toddler and thus he said Mimi instead and it just stuck. Lysander was the only one allowed to call her that though, Besides Edwin.The last part spoken by a voice deep within Cassius' mind, one he chose to ignore as he often did whenever it spoke. Cassius only glanced at him, giving the look they always shared when they both knew there was going to be a conversation about something once everyone was home, Lysander nodded, understanding the glance.

Cassius didn’t quite catch what his father said, but what he did hear was something across the lines of Irene being charming herself, it was a hidden comment that despite her humble background she was as eloquent as a lady raised in high society.

By the way his father hadn’t ended the conversation there, which made Cassius sure that he had not liked the way she had spoken to him. His father, unlike his mother, never mentioned the article. Lysander glanced from his father to Cassius, and as if the brothers were communicating through their minds, they both had had the exact same thought about what their father was doing. None of them could leave now without making their father look bad and none of them wanted to be here for the power showdown that was happening.

The crowd by now had grown, she noticed, some even openly staring at the two as if they were watching a fight happening in a school hallway. Of all the conversations she had had tonight, this was probably the one people would talk about the most. Or, well, depending on who else decided to confront her. Who knew if the king himself was going to show up to rant at her next. She doubted even Robert’s network was that wide, though.

She still didn’t budge, meeting Alaric’s gaze calmly as they engaged in what could possibly be described as the most tense form for polite conversation. The man didn’t need to bring up the article for Irene to know where he stood on the matter – where the entire family stood, evidently. Another one of his kids joined the group, the two standing behind their father as though they were his back-up dancers. The unquestioning support was undoubtedly how a man like this got power to begin with, born into it or not. Three against one was hardly fair. But this whole interaction was rigged against her, the Seymour family held much more influence than that of a single journalist. Something Alaric made certain to point out in his compliment – her humble background. It didn’t surprise her, to people like these she would always be viewed as inferior – she had not been born into the elite. She had earned her place here, though, which in her mind made her heaps better than the likes of Alaric Seymour. Still, she smiled cordially. As much as she didn’t like the fact, a man like this had the connections to make her life truly miserable if he wished. It was a delicate balance between standing her ground and lamenting her fate. As long as he knew that as much as she didn’t accept her place as being beneath him, she was no threat to him.

“Thank you,” she spoke, accepting the backhanded compliment with her head still held high and dignified. “Well, I won't take up more of your time, Alaric. I’m sure you have more important people to talk to.” She couldn’t help the slight cock of her brow at the word important, nor the slightest hint of satisfaction of getting in the last word. Then she added, for good measure. “Do give my best to your wife.”

The slight polite smirk his father gave Irene as she spoke, just made him seem more intimidating for Cassius, perhaps because he had seen how scary his father actually could be. Lysander seemed to be inching away without the crowd noticing.

“I do hope the rest of your evening is nice” His father said, a very fake polite goodbye. “I will let her know” He added, his whole demeanor as if he really didn’t care that she got the last word as if he had already done what he came for. His father turned around now towards Cassius and Lysander. “Perhaps we should see how your mother is doing?” his father said now speaking to his sons, his voice quiet and low, so the crowd couldn’t hear them. Cassius knew by the look in his father’s eyes that it wasn’t concern for his mother that made him want to urge them home. “Excellent idea father” Lysander said, “I’m going to go and get my coat” he added as he left to find his coat. His father’s gaze rested on Cassius and he could already guess that his father was going to blame this whole thing on him somehow.

“I think I might stick around a little longer,” Cassius said, slightly surprising himself. He knew what was waiting for him once he was back home, was it really weird he wanted to stay here where he could avoid it? “You know, to establish my future connections” he added as an excuse, one that his father couldn’t refuse. “Do give mother my best regards though” he added. His father glanced at him, before nodding. He eventually left him too and the crowd seemed to disperse.

Cassius let out a deep breath when he was sure no one was looking. His eyes searched the diminishing crowd. Him not wanting to deal with the conversation his father was going to have with him later was the only reason he decided to stick around this party, right? There was no way he stuck around just to catch a glance of a certain someone again. Cassius' gaze returned to Irene. He didn’t know really what to do or say, so he stepped back, retreating to a dark corner of the porch where he could ground himself once again before he had to return to pretend to be the golden child of the family and do what he had told his father he had was going to do.