Chapter 11
"Bonnie dear, we are concerned about what happened at the Ellison ball and what kind of effect that might have on your reputation. What you and Damon did...well, it was a rather flagrant disregard for propriety." The morning after the tumultuous evening at the ball sees Bonnie summoned to Elijah's study, faced with a pair of very unhappy parents. Jenna looks uncomfortable with the whole situation, she is disappointed in her daughter and she makes it all too evident. While she, like the rest of Mystic Falls, cannot help but be aware of Bonnie's bond with the elder Salvatore, it is not a relationship she can envision coming to a happy conclusion and she cannot but feel concerned for her. Bonnie knows how Giuseppe Salvatore feels about even the friendship, anything more is simply impossible!
"Momma, we danced! In front of a roomful of people, no less. Everyone knows we did nothing improper."
"Bonnie, your dance, despite being too improper even for the waltz, is not in question," She knows she has done wrong when Elijah looks so stern and yet, in her heart, she cannot find any regret. Why must everybody scrutinise and comment on what she does? Why can she not spend an evening with the man she loves without giving rise to gossip in every drawing room in town? Why is it that whatever she does is always wrong? "It was your time spent with him on the balcony, without a chaperone, that has given rise to questions. Niklaus Mikaelson expressed himself concerned and now Mrs. Mikaelson has written to ask if she may join us this evening for tea. Kol will not wait long, Bonnie. He needs an answer."
"Papa, I cannot marry Kol Mikaelson. I could never be happy in an arranged marriage to a man I do not know and cannot love."
"And who do you think you will be happy with, sweetheart? Damon? You know, Bonnie, you know that his father will never allow the boy to marry you. I can understand how you feel, but you are paving a way for heartbreak if you continue down this path."
"This does not have anything to do with Damon!" Oh, why can they not understand? This is about her wants, her wishes, her happiness! That is not tied up in another person, that affects her and her alone and it is her decision to make. "I simply cannot be comfortable with what Kol is offering me. I know that that is what happens all the time, that thousands of women around the world accept and live in these marriages but that is not for me. I am not any other woman."
"No, you are not! You are not just any other young lady, which is why this is all the more important for you! You need the protection, the support the Mikaelsons are offering you. And this might be your only chance! Jenna is correct, whatever dreams and hopes you might harbour with Damon Salvatore, it is time to give them up. His father will never allow this union."
"Damon is his own person! Giuseppe does not dictate his life. If we wish to get married, we shall and no one can stop us!"
"You are speaking like a child!" Jenna snaps, her patience at an end. "Why can you not realise we are doing this for your own good. Do you think you love him?"
"Yes, yes I do," and that quiets the whole room. "I love him, Momma. Because he saw me when no one else did, he wanted to be my friend and then, slowly he became so much more. We always seek out the other when we need the person we trust most in the world, the one person who understands us better than anyone else. Everything is just better when I am with him."
"Bonnie," Elijah's voice is softer, more empathetic but the firm note has not disappeared. "I understand that you may now feel like you cannot be happy with anyone other than Damon, but do you not think that it is because he has always been here. If you associated with more men, you might come to realise you do not feel as strongly as you think you do at present. You are only sixteen, sweetheart. What do you really know of love yet?"
"And yet, I am old enough to get married?" Her voice is bleak. "To be forced into a union not of my choosing?"
"We are not going to force you, dear," her momma's voice is gentle and Bonnie wants to sink at the tone of sympathy. She just wants to crawl into her lap again and let her fight all her troubles as she did when she was six, to ask Jenna to kiss her aches better. But she is, to all intents and purposes, a woman now and it is her responsibility to bear her own burdens. "It is your choice, of course, whether or not you will accept Kol's proposal. All we ask is that you think on this carefully and that you consider what both Damon and Kol can offer you. And that you meet with Mrs. Mikaelson and her family this evening, with politeness and grace."
And Bonnie must agree of course, for what else can she do?
X
"Damon Salvatore, do you realise how you have shamed me and our family by making a spectacle of yourself with that girl? I cannot hold my head up anywhere in town anymore, hearing everywhere that you made a fool over yourself with that little whore!"
"Do not call Bonnie that!" Damon hisses through gritted teeth, his fists clenched. How he wishes he could simply deal with his father as he does anyone who offers insult to Bonnie, a punch through the face. He simply cannot understand how people can be this blind! How can they fail to see her beauty, her sweet nature? What does it matter, what colour her skin is? It is beautiful. "Bonnie deserves a great deal more respect than you in these parts, old man. She is from the prestigious Bennett family. What standing does a foreign trader have amongst age-old families?"
"How dare you disrespect the Salvatore name in that manner?" Giuseppe might well be having an apoplectic fit as he splutters and chokes. "What will happen to you if I throw you out of my house on your ear, boy? And make no mistake, I shall do it if you continue to dishonour me and remain tied up in that girl's apron strings. I would like to see how you would survive then, useless waste that you are. You would starve on the streets. Would your precious Bennetts give their bastard daughter to a beggar? You are a fool if you think so."
Damon cannot even bring himself to speak. He did not think his father had any power over him anymore. He is perfectly aware how little he matters to his father, how low an opinion his sire has of him but to be told in such clear-cut terms that the man who fathered him thinks him 'useless waste' still manages to hurt. It cuts deep, another wound to add to the many others, those only partially healed by Bonnie. And God, he wants, just once in his life not to be a disappointment. And Giuseppe is not even aware of another bloody lash so carelessly laid on his son's already scarred heart.
"Such a girl should not even be invited to such events, let alone being allowed to attend them. Elijah, such a soft fool, to be so taken in by his brother's little bastard! The thing must be a witch."
"I have borne enough from you, Father," Damon's voice holds the soft deadliness of a predator about to lash out. It strikes a hint of fear, even in Giuseppe's cold heart and the older man takes a step back at sight of his face. "But if you say one more word against Bonnie, I shall not be responsible for my actions. For all your foolish pride, you are so far beneath her you are not even fit to utter her name. Say what you want of me, but I will not listen to you abuse Bonnie and sit silent. Your days of terrorising me are over. You have no control over me or my actions anymore."
"I will cut you off," whispers Giuseppe.
"Do it. If your pride can handle a penniless Salvatore, then do it."
The study door slams, the sound of footsteps and then the front door too closes with a bang. Giuseppe Salvatore sinks down into his comfortably padded chair, hands shaking, his wide eyes fixed on the still trembling inkwell and pen-stand.
X
Bonnie surveys herself in the mirror carefully. She thinks the pale pink cotton dress, with its wide crinolines skirts and lace edged bodice and sleeves is too elegant for simple tea, but has been informed that Mrs. Mikaelson is fond of doing things in a grand manner and she must create a good impression. She supposes her scandalous dance and rendezvous on the balcony with Damon has been reported, and so this is the last effort to put her best foot forward. An effort not destined to succeed.
Mrs. Mikaelson is a great deal younger and less sickly looking than Bonnie had expected. She has the same pale locks as her daughter and seems an elegant, ladylike woman. Even her exclamation, "Good Lord, but I did not think she would be this... black!" is elegant.
Jenna, who had risen to greet her, collapses in her armchair again. Caroline and Miss Parker, on either side of Bonnie draw closer to her, as if they can protect her from the cruel words. Elijah's lips thin. And as for Bonnie, she is frozen, halfway between shock and anger. Here it is again, those dreadful words, those horrified looks. Will she never get away from them? Will she never be allowed to forget that she is different. What did her parents do? How could they not have thought of the consequences of their actions? And this time, it is sososo much worse, because this is the family she is supposed to be marrying into. This woman stands in place of a mother to her.
"Mother!" Rebekah hisses, shooting a glance in the direction of Elijah.
"Do not 'Mother' me, Rebekah. I must speak as I think. This is not what I was expecting when you told me the girl is a gentlewoman. Why, she is hardly better than a slave. Where is the Bennett blood? I knew her history but as the recognized Bennett heiress, well, this is a shock."
"Madam," Kol cuts in. "I must, perforce, ask you to restrain your speech. It is not such as would be used in polite company."
Esther ignores him. "Come here, girl. Let me see you...Well? Why do you not listen to me? Why does she not speak, Kol? Does she not have a tongue?"
Bonnie gathers every weapon of dignity and pride. She draws herself up to her full height and manages to fill up the entire room with the force of her presence. It is time for her decision and that is easily made. She shall not bear this humiliation for the rest of her life. "I do have a tongue. But yours has not given anyone else a chance to speak since you entered the room. Your attitude will surely be enough of an explanation as to why I am declaring now, in front of all these witnesses, that I will never marry your son." Kol shoots her a sharp look, which she pays no attention to. "I will never willingly go into a family that will look on me with shame and hide me away in a well-decorated prison. Keep your son, Madam. And I shall keep my dignity."
X
"Miss Bennett, Bonnie, listen to me! My mother often says things she does not mean. No insult was meant, I assure you."
"Do not insult my intelligence now, Mister Mikaelson, by offering these empty platitudes," she replies coolly, spinning around to face him. And he must admit, oh what a glorious sight she makes, eyes flashing, cheeks flushed with anger, a few curls tumbling out of the elegant chignon as a result of her departure from the drawing room, like a storm-tossed ship. She takes his breath away and she does not know it. "Bennett heiress? So, it was my money and property that was the motivation behind this charade?"
"Miss Bennett, it may have begun that way but I truly have begun to admire and respect you. I need you to believe me, no humiliation, no disrespect was intended. We...we desperately needed the money, my grandfather left us our inheritances in such a strange way that we cannot touch the money unless we get married. And Mother and Klaus have accumulated such debts! We needed a house, a fresh beginning in a new land but..."
"But you could not lay hands on your own fortunes. Thus, it fell to your lot to sacrifice yourself to the bastard Bennett heiress for the benefit of your family, also gaining access to the massive web of Bennett connections. Well, Mister Mikaelson, not that your story is not fascinating but I would be much obliged if you removed yourself from my presence. And it would be an added benefit indeed if I never had to see you or another member of your family again."
"This has nothing to do with my mother's words! This is all about Damon Salvatore, this entire theatrical performance! You have probably been rehearsing what you would say to me when you turned me down." His temper gets the better of him, but she seems so goddamned high and mighty, so arrogant, he wants to shake her!
The look Bonnie Bennett gives him makes him feel like a worm crawling at her feet. "Had I never met Damon Salvatore, had he never even existed, after that scene in the drawing room, I would not have deigned to allow you to even touch my gloved fingertips, Mister Mikaelson. You did well to keep your mother away these last few times, it would have been better for you if you could have hidden her away till our wedding. Alas for you, the mother revealed to me what to expect from the children."
Turning away towards the window, "It would be wise of you to take your leave immediately," she declares.
x-x
In case anyone has an issue with it, let me clarify that I am not against arranged marriages in the modern sense of the word. I'm Indian, arranged marriages are common enough here. What I do have a problem with is the kind of arrangement that used to be practised in the olden days, where the girl had no agency at all.
Thank you for all your reviews on the last chapter. Don't forget to review this one.
EmperorsConcerto – I was not sure about the word myself but it turned out 'freak' is a sixteenth century word.