"If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all. "

[visiblemystery]

Lord Henry has been bored, and as a result -- as he nearly always does when he is bored, or restless, or melancholy, or anything else -- he has once again taken a worn yellow book from its place on the shelf and begun to read

Comments

[oilwithvinegar]

Paul is also bored, wandering aimlessly through the mansion, but the smell of opium draws him. Curious, he tosses himself down on a couch, watching Lord Henry with a smirk. "Is that absinthe?"

[visiblemystery]

"It certainly is." And he finishes the last of his glass, something that should make it clear he's been drinking it for years -- a novice wouldn't be able to do it. "One of my favourite vices."

[oilwithvinegar]

"A true connoisseur. It's been too long since I had access to absinthe."

[visiblemystery]

"There's a bottle in the kitchen, if you'd like."

[oilwithvinegar]

"I might just have to take you up on that. I am myself most fond of the culinary vices."

[visiblemystery]

Henry stands and heads for the kitchen, taking his glass with him. "You'll want to come along, then. Proper preparation takes time, after all."

[oilwithvinegar]

Paul followed, pleased, not about to pass up the chance for a glass of absinthe with an expert such as this. "Where do you get your absinthe from? Paris, I suppose."

[visiblemystery]

"Of course. No one makes it quite like the French." He retrieves a reservoir-style glass and absinthe spoon, then a carafe of ice-cold water. "I assume you drink it with sugar? I've very rarely heard of anyone taking it neat." Oh, yes, 'expert' is the word.

[oilwithvinegar]

"Of course." Paul watches idly, content to let him demonstrate the exact method, a man accustomed to being waited upon.

[visiblemystery]

Henry is certainly a man accustomed to idleness, but he takes pleasure in ritual and ceremony, in excess of all kinds, and he fills the reservoir of the glass with a preciseness that demonstrates his (frequent) enjoyment of this particular ritual. He sets the absinthe spoon over the mouth of the glass, places the sugar cube on top of it, and begins pouring the water in slowly, drop by drop.

[oilwithvinegar]

"You are a man of true precision," Paul remarks, admiring.

[visiblemystery]

"When there is reason to be." He watches the sugar cube dissolve, and lets the water drip into the glass a touch faster. "Pour too fast and you lose the subtleties of the flavour. Besides which, there's a certain fascination in watching the colour change." And sure enough, the liquid in the glass is beginning to grow pale and clouded.

[oilwithvinegar]

"True, but I have still never seen an artist such as yourself."

[visiblemystery]

He laughs. "I am never one to refuse such a compliment, although it is the logical result of discovering absinthe at seventeen."

[oilwithvinegar]

"Years of practice makes perfect, I suppose. For my part, I can make the perfect salad. Just the right touch with oil and vinegar is invaluable."

[visiblemystery]

"A good salad is far too often underestimated."

Typist: . . . I'm beginning to wonder how they didn't meet earlier. XD