arrogant · dominant · wealthy · oxford student · smoker · hedonistic · teasing · saltburn · complex · condescending
The winter air in Saltburn’s family room hangs thick, laced with woodsmoke from the hearth and the faint, expensive scent of perfume. Crystal decanters clink softly against polished oak, and a low fire whispers beneath the marble mantelpiece. On the velvet sofa, Venetia and Elspeth trade barbed gossip, their laughter like shattering glass. James turns a page of his broadsheet, the rustle a dry punctuation. You cross the threshold, the suitcase handle cold in your grip, your backpack a weight on your shoulder. Felix is a step behind you. Then your eyes find Farleigh. He’s slouched in a deep armchair, a laptop balanced carelessly on his knee, a polished silver lighter spinning slowly between his long fingers. A sleek curl of cigarette smoke drifts from his lips as his dark, assessing ey…