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“Really, Hastie, it is a great party,” Henry assured his friend. “I just didn’t expect it to be so... crowded.”
“Is that why you’re cowering in the corner over here?” Lanyon teased.
“No, of course not! I’m just taking a break, that’s all.”
“Suit yourself, then. I’m going to go enjoy myself.” With that, Lanyon left Henry’s table.
Henry grinned to himself. Hastie Lanyon was nothing if not exuberant. And truly, he had thrown an excellent party. The large ballroom was filled with crowds of people dancing, mingling, and generally having a good time. He watched Lanyon join another group, where he made some sort of witty comment, causing peals of laughter Henry could hear from the other side of the room.
Henry’s gaze wandered over the rest of the guests. A woman he had never seen before caught his eye. She looked to be about his age, maybe a few years younger. Her face was framed by an intricate braid of golden hair, and she wore an elegant blue dress accented with white trim. After a few minutes, Henry realized he was staring at her. He quickly looked away, blushing. Hopefully she hadn’t noticed that.
“Honestly, Henry,” a voice said from behind him, “why do you even come to these things if you hide in the corner the whole time?”
“Hello to you too, John,” Henry said, turning to see Utterson sit down in the chair beside him. “And spare me the lecture; Hastie’s already told me off for ‘cowering’ over here.”
“Well, it’s nice to know he and I agree.”
They fell into an uncomfortable silence. “John,” Henry said after a beat, “do you happen to know who that woman is? The one in the blue dress over there?”
“The Carew girl? Her father’s one of my clients. I believe her name is Lisa.” Utterson examined Jekyll’s face, his brow furrowing. “Why do you ask?”
“Oh, no reason,” Henry replied, feigning nonchalance. “I had never seen her around before and was just curious.”
“Nice try, Henry, but I know you better than that.” Utterson chuckled. “You’re interested in her, don’t deny it.”
Henry felt his face redden. “Maybe a little,” he acknowledged.
“Well, what are you doing over here? Go talk to her!”
“Well, er, I mean-” Henry stammered, “she looks busy. I’d hate to- That is to say- Maybe later.”
“You’re unbelievable,” Utterson laughed. “Well, I’m not going to interfere. If you really want to meet her, you’ll get over your shyness.” He stood up from the table. “Oh, and if you do,” he said as he walked away, “let me know how it goes.” With that, he left, joining Lanyon’s group.
Henry settled back in his chair, his focus returning to this “Lisa Carew.” John was probably right. If he wanted to get to know her, he needed to go introduce himself. Henry shifted in his chair, beginning to stand up. But she was talking to someone else right now. He’d hate to interrupt her! Once she was done, he could go introduce himself. Henry sat back down, watching her join another man on the dance floor. There was no need to rush; the night was still young.
Lisa spared another glance for the man sitting in the corner. He had been watching her all night. Normally, she would be nervous about a man staring at her that much, but something about him calmed any concerns she might have had. Something about his expression, he seemed more nervous than dangerous. Something welcoming, inviting even…
She was drawn out of her musings by Simon Stride. “Hello, Lisa,” he greeted her, bending down to kiss her hand.
“Simon,” she responded somewhat warily. Their last conversation had been less than friendly, and she wasn’t sure how upset he still was.
“Come, Lisa, no need to sound so formal.” He gave a cautious smile, which disappeared when she didn’t return it. He cleared his throat. “I was wondering if I may have this dance?”
“Thank you for the offer, Simon, but no thank you,” she responded, stepping back from him. “I have quite exhausted myself for the time being.”
“Of- of course,” he said with an admirable attempt at nonchalance. “Perhaps later this evening?”
“We shall see,” she said, now thoroughly wishing to leave the uncomfortable conversation.
He stood there for a moment longer, as if looking for a topic of conversation. “Well,” he said eventually, “it was good to see you, Lisa.” With that, he left.
Lisa sighed with relief. Every conversation with Stride felt strained lately. He obviously still thought he could win her over, despite her repeated refusals of him.
But now was not the time to dwell on that. She shook herself slightly, then glanced back at the man in the corner. Was he ever going to move? The man looked as if he had been considering introducing himself all night, but he had never made any attempt to do so. Was he simply too shy?
Lisa smoothed her skirt, then directed her path towards the man in the corner. Someone had to make the first move.
She’s coming this way! Henry realized with a start. This wasn’t in the plan! What would he say?
He stood up as she reached him. “Hello,” he said, trying to sound as calm as possible.
She gave a small curtsy. “Hello,” she returned. “I don’t believe we’ve met before?”
“No, we haven’t.” Come on, Henry, stop stating the obvious. “I am Dr. Henry Jekyll. It is nice to meet you, miss…?”
“Carew, Lisa Carew.”
“Miss Carew.” He stood there for a bit, grinning like an idiot. Eventually, he recovered his senses enough to ask, “May I have the next dance?”
She smiled warmly at him. “Why yes, you may.”
Dr. Jekyll led Lisa out onto the dance floor, where they began to waltz. Before long, Jekyll started tripping over himself, throwing them off rhythm.
“I’m so sorry,” he said, blushing. “I’m usually a better dancer than this, I promise.”
Lisa fought to suppress her smile. This man was so shy and nervous, it was adorable! “It’s quite all right,” she assured him. They continued the dance, and fortunately finished without too much incident.
“I suppose asking for another dance is probably a bad idea,” Jekyll laughed nervously.
Lisa felt a little bad for him; he looked so embarrassed! “Dancing may not be the best idea,” she conceded, “but I wouldn’t mind a little conversation.” She led him back to the table he’d been at earlier. “So, ‘Doctor Jekyll,’” she asked, sitting down, “what exactly are you a doctor of?” His smile faded slightly. “Oh! You don’t need to answer that if you don’t want to. Forgive my prying.”
“No! I’d love to tell you,” he assured her. “I just don’t tend to talk about my work at these sorts of events. It unnerves most people.” He cleared his throat. “I will be brief, for much of it is rather boring. I work in association with St. Jude’s Hospital as an alchemist-“
“Oh!” Lisa interrupted. She blushed, realizing her rudeness. “Forgive me. It’s just, my father is Chairman of St. Jude’s Board of Governors.”
“Is he? I may have crossed paths with him, but I’ve never officially met any of the Board.” He shifted in his seat. “Anyway, my specialty is with the mentally ill. I’m working on a formula to separate good from evil, allowing those broken souls to escape the prison of their minds and rejoin society.” He looked down nervously. “I know it sounds egotistical to believe that there is an objective ‘good’ and ‘evil’ capable of being separated; I’ve been accused of playing God for believing so. But I have a rather personal stake in this.” He looked up, blushing. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to unnerve you. I really shouldn’t have said anything.”
“No, don’t be! Your theories are quite interesting.” It was clear he cared deeply about his work. Lisa was drawn toward his passion, the way his eyes lit up when talking about his theories. He was so earnest and open, miles different than any other man she had known.
Their conversation was interrupted by the host of the party, a Dr. Lanyon Lisa was only barely acquainted with. “Henry!” he greeted Jekyll enthusiastically. “I see you’re not cowering in the corner now; you decided to be social at last!”
“Hello to you too, Hastie,” Jekyll responded, clearly stifling a grin. He gestured towards Lisa. “This is Lisa, Lisa Carew. I don’t know if you’ve met before?”
Dr. Lanyon turned toward Lisa. “Sir Danvers daughter, right? I believe we’ve only met in passing. It is grand to officially meet you, Miss Carew.” He took her hand and kissed it. He straightened from the bow with a flourish, and Lisa giggled slightly.
“It is good to meet you too, Dr. Lanyon, am I right? You are our wonderful host this evening, if I’m not mistaken.”
“I am indeed! I trust you have had a good evening so far?”
“Oh, yes, I have had a wonderful time, thank you.” Lisa stood up and smoothed her dress. “I’m afraid I must be going; my father must be wondering where I am.” She curtsied. “Thank you for a wonderful evening, Dr. Lanyon, and thank you for the dance, Dr. Jekyll. It was so nice to meet you both.”
Henry stared after Lisa’s retreating figure, startled out by Lanyon plopping down into the chair Lisa had just vacated.
“Henry Jekyll, you’re a devil!” he teased boisterously, shoving Henry lightheartedly. “That girl there is one of London’s most lovely girls. You’re already smitten!”
Henry laughed. “Far from that, Hastie,” he replied, shoving Lanyon back. “We were just getting acquainted.” Unfortunately, his beet-red blush betrayed him, a fact that Lanyon did not let slide.
“Admit it, Henry, you’re already a lovesick fool!” Lanyon lounged back in his chair. “Never thought I’d see the day that Henry Jekyll would be infatuated by something other than his experiments!”
Henry chuckled. “Are you done?”
“For now.” Lanyon stood up and turned to leave. “Oh, and Henry,” he added. “Next time try not to be as awkward and clumsy. Though it did make for an amusing sight.” With that, Lanyon dashed off before Henry could sputter out a response.