"You DO know where we're going, don't you?"
Diana said this as she peered out the window from the passenger seat of the little car as it struggled down a country dirt road that probably wasn't on any map printed.
From the driver's seat, her best friend Andy shrugged as he too peered out the windshield, trying to see anything through the dark September night that would give him a clue as to where they were going. "Sally said this was the road, it's on the map there." He indicated the small slip of paper that Diana had pinned to the visor for easier viewing.
"I'm beginning to wonder if she was sober when she wrote them down," muttered Diana balefully. "What's this party supposed to be for, anyway?"
"I don't know any more than what Sally and Greg told both of us," Andy replied, slowing down as the headlights indicated a sharp right turn up ahead. "Some kind of mystery thing, everyone pairs up."
Diana nodded, remembering the conversation she'd had with Sally about that. Within their circle of friends, created in college and strong ever since, she and Andy were the only two who remained unattached. Everyone else had either married or had been dating the same person for over a year now. So usually Andy and Diana paired up if neither had a date to bring to a party.
But since Andy and Diana had been friends since childhood, they never minded being paired up together. They had been close friends for many years, confiding in each other and leaning on one another. It was actually Andy who introduced Diana to the college crowd he ran with, having known her since grade school, and they had all accepted her in enthusiastically. Any friend of Andy's was a friend of theirs.
Andy and Diana could talk to each other very easily, and occasionally have a pretty good argument as well, but in general they got along so well that they almost took one another for granted. If there were any deeper feelings on either of their minds regarding one another, they were never expressed. Andy had dated his share of girls in the past, and Diana herself had also had an active social life. Many a night she had cried on Andy's shoulder after a bad breakup, which was how most of her relationships ended, in part due to her fiery temper. And Andy himself could recall many times he had kept Diana up all night, venting his emotions on her willing ears. There just wasn't anyone else who could listen in silence and understand with her eyes, as Diana could do.
"Look," Diana said, pointing up ahead. Andy saw it almost as soon as she spoke. The road dead ended in a driveway up ahead. As Andy's car got closer, his headlights fell upon the house they were supposed to meet the gang at, and first his jaw, and then Diana's, dropped open in astonishment.
The house they were looking at could only be called a mansion. At least three stories, not counting what could only be an attic, and spread out into two different wings. It rose tall over the manicured lawn and gravelled driveway. Looking up, Andy could see bars on all of the windows. The huge stone house looked exotic and creepy to him. To Diana, staring at it through the windshield, it looked like an English nursing home.
Andy stopped the car behind a group of other cars belonging to previously arrived guests, most of which he recognized. It looked like he and Diana were the last to arrive. He turned off the engine, but neither he nor Diana made a move to get out of the car. They both continued to stare at the house, wondering if they were at the right place.
"Do you recognize this place?" Diana asked, turning to look at Andy. In the moonlight, her ice green eyes looked doubtful and apprehensive. Andy saw it clearly and wondered, as he had many times before, if Diana ever really knew how expressive her eyes were; she could hide so little.
"I know I've never been here before," Andy said, thinking that Diana could have been right about Sally being drunk when she wrote the directions down for them.
Diana shook her head, her pale blond hair, done in a French twist for what had been described to them as a black tie affair, glinted in the moonlight. "I don't remember this place being mentioned by anyone in the gang before. How did Sally and Greg find it?"
Andy shrugged. "Greg's pretty good at finding what he wants to find. This mystery party was his idea. We'd better go in."
They both got out of the car. Diana took a quick moment to pull down her black sequined cocktail dress, which boasted spaghetti straps and a very short skirt, showing off her lean body and long legs beautifully. Andy waited patiently and watched her. He always liked to watch Diana, though he had always avoided thinking about why.
They both started toward the huge house, Diana stumbling a little on the graveled drive, which was not easy to navigate in high heels. Andy reached out and steadied her. It was the least he could do, after she had had the good manners not to laugh at him when he had shown up at her house in a tuxedo.
Diana accepted his arm thankfully. They continued down the long drive until they came to a small porch in front of large double doors that sported a lion's head knocker.
Andy rolled his eyes when he saw it, and Diana held down the urge to laugh. As good looking as he was, especially in his tuxedo, he was still the same Andy, a regular guy trapped in a monkey suit.
Andy reached out to grasp the knocker, but before he could touch it, the doors swung silently open on well-oiled hinges, making both of them jump. They were confronted by a tall, very thin man dressed in what Diana recognized as a butler's uniform. The man was as pale as death, with thin, pale hair to match, and his colorless eyes regarded them both disdainfully.
Andy was struck speechless, but Diana, as usual, was not. "Good evening," she said, picking up the manners she had been taught in childhood but only used when necessary. Only someone who knew her so well, such as Andy, could hear the barely contained laughter beneath her velvety tone. He had to bite his lip to keep from laughing himself.
"You are...?" The butler blocked their entrance, standing ramrod straight, his eyes on Diana, who had spoken first. Diana gave him their names.
"You are expected. Please follow me."
"We are expected," Andy muttered under his breath, loud enough for only Diana to hear. Diana rewarded him with a sharp poke in the ribs, as they followed the walking ghoul into the house.
Both Andy and Diana stopped in their tracks, gazing in awe at the foyer that they stood in. Diana's entire house could have fit easily into it. Marble flooring stretched before them, even up the massive staircase right in front of them. The walls were hung with expensive artwork, and the foyer was well lit, and completely silent. It looked like something out of a movie about very rich and very weird people.
"Jesus," Andy muttered. Diana said nothing.
The sound of a voice being cleared broke them of their inspection of the front hall, as they both remembered their butler escort, who was now standing impatiently in the hall that led to the right of the staircase, waiting for them. Andy flushed, and Diana returned the butler's glare as they continued to follow him. They headed down the long, well-lit hall, Diana's heels loudly announcing their approach on the marble flooring. The butler's pace did not permit pause to view the expensive art hanging on the walls.
Finally they came to a set of double doors, which the butler ceremoniously swung open, then stood aside for them to enter. Andy gave their escort a nod of thanks. Diana ignored him completely. She had not liked the butler's response to her polite treatment of him.
They found themselves in a library. Every wall held shelves of books, all leather bound, and judging from the freshness of the leather scent, probably never taken down and read. In the center of the room, there was a large stone fireplace, in front of which there was an assortment of comfortable looking chairs, all of which were occupied by their friends.
Everyone turned to stare at them. Diana and Andy slowly halted their approach toward the fireplace. The seed of doubt that had already been planted in their minds now blossomed into a full flower of apprehension. Their close college friends, the people they had gone to parties with and bars with, were staring at both of them as though they were strangers. No one said a word of greeting, no one stood up. No one smiled. They just looked at them both in an expectant way, as if waiting for one of them to sprout a second head.
A chill ran down Diana's spine, and she took a step closer to Andy, looking up at him in confusion. His dark blue eyes returned her gaze with the same confusion. Whatever they had been expecting, it was certainly not for their closest friends to treat them as though they were strangers.
"Sit, please."
The voice came from directly behind them. Diana, whose nerves were beginning to grow raw, jumped, whirled around, and very nearly swung a fist at the man who now stood behind them. He had approached them in silence, and Andy quickly grabbed Diana's elbow. With a visible effort, she regained her composure.
The man who had spoken was not the butler who had escorted them in. This was a tall, very regal-looking gentleman with snow-white hair, dressed in a dark black suit. He smiled at them, the first friendly gesture they had seen since arriving. Andy relaxed a little, but did not let go of Diana's elbow. He knew the smile would make no difference to her. Her guard was solidly up now, and it was clear she did not like this entire affair so far. Neither did he, but having known the group of people in front of the fireplace a little longer, he was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Vaguely he wondered if Diana trusted anyone except him.
The tall man who had spoken gestured toward the two remaining empty chairs, set a little apart from the others, but Diana made no move toward them.
"Who are you?" she asked, piercing the man with those ice green eyes, giving him what Andy liked to call "the iceberg stare" that she was famous for. And even on this cool, elegant stranger, it worked. He looked at her and flinched. But he recovered quickly.
"I am Edward St. John," he replied calmly. "I own this house, and I have been asked to host this affair. Please, make yourselves comfortable."
Obviously unsatisfied, but aware of the expectant stares of the others, Diana warily moved to one of the chairs and seated herself. Andy took the other and moved it closer to hers, knowing she was growing increasingly upset, and hoping he could keep her calmed down. He was beginning to worry. No one knew Diana's temper like he did, and this sort of game was just the thing to set it off. And when she lost her temper, she did not care what she did or who she did it to.
Everyone was still staring at them, and Sally and Greg, who had arranged this whole thing, were now smiling at Andy. It was becoming obvious to both Andy and Diana that they were the focus of this whole party, but neither of them could think of why. Neither had a birthday coming up, or any other reason to be thrown a party.
