Chapter Twenty-Eight: A Play in Three Acts
It took a few scant days before the invitations to parties began to flood Comte d'Ardenne's household. Mathieu himself was overwhelmed, his belly jiggling with excitement. According to him, he had been out of the social circle for years, his status as widower rendering him obsolete in the eyes of the young and newly wed.
Suddenly, we were at every tea, every luncheon and every performance there was to be seen. I was now the very stunned owner of what felt like several thousand new gowns; I didn't wear any of them more than once every two months, I'm sure. Thomhas also looked dashing as he dressed to match. We made a very striking appearance every time.
Mathieu, of course, loved every minute of it. He had been the one to order all the new dresses (for morning, afternoon and night) and suits. It was like a holiday to him and he enjoyed spoiling his two dear guests. I was the granddaughter he had never had and he delighted in treating me as though I was the finest princess he'd ever seen. I, of course, loved every moment as well; Mathieu and I got along fabulously.
Arielle, too, was only too happy to have me suddenly invited to so many of the events that she herself was present at. I suspected that it was her doing that found us happily drowning in a deluge of events, but I didn't mind. Everyone was enjoying themselves. Arielle and I soon became fast friends, whispering behind fans to one another at the opera and carrying on a lively conversation whenever we didn't have to be quiet. Finally, I met the love of her life, the handsome Jasper d'Ethos. He was everything she'd said of him and more. Charming, eloquent and one of the handsomest men I'd seen, Jasper adored Arielle as she adored him. Soon, a new society set had formed, with Arielle and I at the center.
Thomhas, too, was enjoying himself. He was happier than I'd seen him and he almost always arrived to escort me somewhere with a flower of some sort for me. In public, he called me the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, whispering it in my ear to give me confidence when I was overwhelmed by whatever party we were at. We'd walk in together, his arm curved around my waist and my hand on his, and the knowing looks would start between our fellow guests; Those two are certainly happily married or, What a good match was made there!
For the most part, Thom and I ignored those looks and whispers and made our way over to the host and hostess to greet them first, but sometimes…oh, how I loved to preen under the envy of other women who had not been so lucky! It made me blush whenever I acknowledged what I was thinking, but I basked in it nonetheless. Then, of course, I'd remember that I was not married at all, but merely playing at some larger game and the warm glow would disappear except for some last, warm bit that made me press just a little closer to Thomhas.
Liar, liar, liar, my heart chanted in an endless refrain.
"Sera dy Cattalo!" I turned around, the hem of my gown skimming over freshly fallen snow. "Dear, do wait for me!"
"Darling," I said dryly, shivering despite the wool coat I was wearing, "I'd wait until the world ended for you." Arielle rushed up and caught my free arm. "How are you this evening? And where's Jasper?"
"Oh, he's coming." Arielle nodded quickly to Thomhas. "Hello there, dear Thomhas!" As soon as Thom nodded genially back, she returned her attention to me. "I'm doing splendidly this evening! Would you like to know something?"
"Of course," I said, grinning. "I'm always interested in knowing what you have to say."
"Hush, you." She grinned. "I think tonight might be the night!"
I felt Thom suppress a snort beside me and I made sure to accidentally kick some snow at him. "You think so?" The night was the night that Jasper would propose to Arielle. She had been trying to guess for the past month when it would be.
"Yes! I do think so!" She grinned and clutched my arm tightly. "Do I look beautiful enough? Where do you think he'll do it?"
I paused for a moment, trying to stifle my own laughter. Jasper had been planning this for just as long as Arielle had been guessing and he had come to the Ser and Sera dy Cattalo for advice. Thom and I had thoroughly enjoyed helping him plan his proposal to the love of his life. "Perhaps by the fountain?" This guess, which wasn't really a guess, was entirely wrong.
"What about the garden?" Thom suggested. He was having great difficulty speaking with a straight face.
"Oh, I'm so excited! I just know tonight is it!" Arielle had been saying this every night that we had gone out together. Tonight, she was actually right. "Do I look fine? Worthy of him?"
"Arielle, sweetheart, calm down." I smiled lovingly at her; in three months since I had first met her, we had become ever closer. "You always look lovely."
"Divine," Thomhas added cheerily.
"Oh, good." Arielle reached up and brushed a lock of her mahogany hair into place, then immediately took it out again and twirled it around her finger. "I do so love snow!"
Many pleasantries later, after we had greeted the host and hostess, the Lord and Lady le'Arete, and were wandering around having pointless and brief conversations with the other aristocrats present, I finally managed to slip away from Arielle for a moment. Quickly, I found Jasper and wished him luck after making sure he looked presentable. I told him where I had last seen Arielle and that I would make sure that she was at the archway at the proper time. He thanked me and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. "Kelryian, you're an angel."
"Only a snow angel," I retorted happily. "I melt in the sunshine."
"Go, go get her!" I laughed at his impatience and went to go find Arielle.
"There you are!" The anxious Marquise attached herself to me. "Have you seen Jasper?"
"No, not recently," I lied happily. "I suppose he's just running late making sure he looks his best for you!" Smiling broadly, I herded her over to the marble archway that framed a stained glass window of surpassing beauty. "You, Arielle, sit here and wait for me to get back."
"Why do I have to stay?" She practically whined, her anxiety bringing out her less favorable features.
"Darling, just sit, relax and stop thinking about that man for a moment!" I laughed merrily. "I'll get you some champagne."
"I'd like a glass of red wine, if you please." Arielle settled her mouth into that pretty pout and prepared to sulk until I got back. Just as I reached the table where drinks were sitting, already poured, I heard her shriek.
"He's done it, hasn't he?" Thomhas was standing beside me, his arm around my waist as I beamed in the direction of Jasper and Arielle.
"Yes, I do believe he has." Arielle has attracted the attention of all the guests with her excitement and so they all watched Jasper kneeling before her, asking her to marry him, and they all witnessed Arielle's passionate way of saying yes. I heard some appalled comments as the older ones among us turned away from the couple who were kissing each other enthusiastically, but the younger generation was quite entertained.
When Jasper and Arielle finally ceased staring into each other's eyes and saying "I love you", they rejoined the party. Arielle was positively shining with delight and Jasper was no different. The two of them left early, no doubt to enjoy each other's company privately.
"I told you!" Arielle whispered to me as she hugged me good-bye for the night.
"Of course, darling." I kissed her cheek quickly. "Congratulations!"
"Thank you!" And then they were gone.
Thomhas and I stayed as long as Mathieu did, which wasn't much longer. With the grand entertainment over for the night, we were not too averse to leaving. In the carriage on the ride home, with snow still softly falling, I fell asleep on Thom's shoulder, quietly dreaming until we arrived at Mathieu's house.
From there, Thom carried me to my own bed, his arms wrapped close around me. Sleepily, I bid Mathieu goodnight, but did not completely wake up. As I was placed, fully dressed, into bed, I felt the briefest touch on my lips before I was completely asleep again.
The next morning, when I awoke, I wondered why I was still wearing my pretty new gown. Then, I vaguely remembered falling asleep and understood why. I groaned and called for one of the maids to help me get out of the contraption.
Once undressed and bathed and dressed once more, I went to take breakfast. Starving as I was, for there was rarely any food of substance at those soirees, I easily ate my way through an omelet and a pile of toast before deciding that I was full.
Mathieu arrived just as I was finishing my morning tea and bid me a cheery good morning before squeezing into his own place at the table. "Last night was simply divine, Kelryian! Simply divine!"
I grinned. "It was, wasn't it! And the snow…oh, the snow just added that perfect extra touch."
"You'll be happy to know, my dear, that Arielle is begging your help with planning her wedding now. She's got no mother to help her, mein Gott! The poor dear will need all the help she can get." Mathieu fanned his face. "Planning weddings for you girls is impossible, but you shall have your own experiences to draw upon."
There it went again, that guilt tickling my stomach and screaming liar through my gut. "Of course. It should be quite fun!" A smile stretched across my unwilling lips. "I can't wait!"
Then, Thomhas was there as well, wearing riding clothes and smelling of horse. "The whole city is talking of Arielle's engagement! You should hear them!" He grinned. "Jasper is, I think, the happiest man on earth."
"And you aren't?" Mathieu, kindly old gentleman that he was, kept trying to get us to talk about our marriage. "You've married one of the prettiest girls on the face of this earth!" He patted my hand across the table. "And she loves you!"
I nodded quickly. "Indeed, Mathieu, indeed."
Thom flashed a broad smile. "I am truly honored to have the affection of my wife." Then, he gave me one of those looks that meant we would be talking later about this. I sighed. He always made it seem like it was my fault.
Quickly, I finished my tea and escaped to my room. I hid there until Thomhas came to find me. He knocked first, but didn't wait for me to say come in.
"Kelryian, this situation is getting out of hand."
I picked a piece of blonde hair off of my pillow. "What do you mean?" Nonchalant—I was so nonchalant. But not really.
"I can't keep…performing like this." He still smelled of horse and of sweat. "It's just not right."
"Why not?" I twirled a strand of my hair around my finger, and then let it fall over the edge of the bed. "I've been performing like this since I was fifteen, Thomhas, if not longer."
"True." He sank down onto the chair by the door. "But still. I think it's…not right."
"And how are we going to get married, then, Thom?" I sat up and tucked my legs and skirts underneath me. "Everyone believes us to married already and don't you think it would be rather strange to go through the ceremony again?"
He sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair. "It's not just the legal matters, Kelry. It's more."
This was getting annoying. Every so often, we'd have these discussions. Every time, we'd come to no conclusion. "What, then?"
"There are ambassadors coming from Tännon who know that we are not married. They will tell everyone here and then we shall be undone." Thom, never one to sit still when anxious, began pacing. "We need to figure out something."
"Thom, come here." I patted the bed next to me. I couldn't stand to see him pacing. "Sit. Stop moving around. You're making me nervous."
He laughed softly. "Sorry, nervous habit."
"I'm well aware."
Thom looked at me then, with those dark eyes of his, and smiled. "How do you do it?"
"Do what?" I was still irritable from the uncomfortable breakfast this morning.
"How do you stay so calm?" His hand brushed my cheek, the leather of the glove soft against it. "I don't understand you at all."
"It's habit." I grinned suddenly. "A nervous habit, perhaps." Again, seriousness fell like a curtain over my face. "What do you propose we do, Ser dy Cattalo?"
"Well, Sera dy Relandrant," He used my true name for the first time in months, "I think that you should marry me in a very quiet ceremony so that when the ambassadors from Tännon come, they will have no grounds on which to out us."
I sighed and looked at my lap. His proposals were always lacking what I was looking for—with Daryan, I had found it. If Daryan had proposed to me, it would have been with love and passion and because we were in love, not as a convenience. With the memory of Jasper and Arielle in my mind, still fresh, I was sorely disappointed by this sterile proposal. "Thom." I looked at him, my eyes full of sorrow and anger and frustration. "I…can't." I shrugged. "Who would be our witness?"
"Kelryian," He looked pained. "We must. I'll tell Mathieu, and he'll be our witness. We will find a way."
"But…" I couldn't find a way to voice my objection, really. I didn't know how to phrase the idea of love to this man who had seen me love another. "Why do you wear gloves?"
He looked down at his hands, startled. "I…I don't know. I just do."
"Take them off." I reached for his hands and started pulling the leather away, revealing his hands, which looked no different than any other man's hands. Finally, I held his hands in mine. "I cannot marry you, Ser Thomhas dy Cattalo." I stared straight into his bottomless eyes, losing myself in them. I was so lost that I didn't even notice that he'd moved toward my until his lips touched mine and his fingertips were tracing my cheek. Startled at first, I almost pulled away until Thom's hands blocked my way. Then, oh, then! I let myself be suffused with a passion that I had almost forgotten. I tangled my hands in the dark hair that he was always running his hands through and felt it, silky, running along my palms.
"Will you marry me now?"
I thought about it for a moment. "Maybe." I laughed at his frustration. "Kiss me again and I'll let you know."
Author's Note: Yes, it's happened. Finally! I bet you're all excited, right? I know I am… :D I hope you enjoyed this latest installment. My goal is to finish this before I go back to school. School just eats up my time like nothing else. Hmmph.
So anyway, let me know your opinions on this chapter—feedback is always welcomed! Thanks for reading!
