#Chapter 26: A Dull Date

Marcus checks his watch again. Lydia subscribes to the idea of being "fashionably late," a concept that Marcus personally cannot stand. His mother does it, too, and it drives him up the wall. In Marcus's view, a dinner reservation is for seven, you should arrive at the restaurant by seven at least, if not a few minutes before. To do otherwise is disrespectful to the establishment and the workers' time. However, he can't seem to get the rest of his upper-class society fellows to agree with him. Marcus sighs and tries not to glance at his watch again. He swirls his whisky and tries to focus on the chatter in the living room where he's sitting. Lydia's mother is sitting on the settee across from him, chatting amiably to the man on her right. He's a doctor, Marcus believes, and is there to pick up Lydia's younger sister for their date. The doctor seems to be in no hurry to get their evening moving along; in fact, he seems more than happy to drink fine whisky and engage in this min