Chapter 14
To say Luthor's return to the Princeton's household that evening was cold would be an understatement, even Miss Persephone had lost her patience with him. In fact, she was the most agitated especially after finding out HE was the reason Mr. Kent had left town. By the way she was acting you could tell it was only a matter of time before he got kicked out of the house. So that night dinner was the quietest it had ever been at the Princetons. Everyone glared at Luthor at least once during the meal and Luthor could feel the tension in the air. He cleared the air.
"I would like to inform you all that I will be leaving tomorrow," Luthor informed them. "And you are invited to the wedding."
"Wedding?" Hades questioned. "You're engaged?"
"As of this afternoon, yes," Luthor told her.
"To who?" Persephone asked.
"Mercy Graves," Luthor answered. Diana dropped her fork in surprise. Mercy? This couldn't be.
"Excuse me," Diana said before leaving the table. She quickly went out to the stable, saddled a horse, mounted it, and headed for Mercy's house. She needed to hear it for herself. Once she arrived, she quickly dismounted, didn't even bother tieing the horse, and ran up to the door. Diana knocked several times and was greeted by the housemaid, who was a young woman with auburn hair, currently in a bun, and green eyes.
"Hi, is Mercy here?" Diana asked.
"Yes, Miss Graves is currently having dinner with master and mistress," the housemaid informed her. "I will let her know you are here." The woman left and headed back inside. When she returned Mercy was with her.
"Diana? What are doing here?" Mercy asked.
"Is it true?" Diana asked. "Are you marrying Luthor?" Mercy sighed.
"Why am I not surprised," Mercy said. "Come on in and we can talk properly." Mercy moved out of the way so Diana could come inside. "Let's go to the garden." They both made their way to the back and walked into the garden. Mercy sighed again.
"Yes, it's true, Diana," Mercy informed her. "Luthor proposed and I said yes. And before you ask why… let me explain. Diana…I'm not like you. I don't care about love. I just want to live comfortably and Luthor can give me that."
"Mercy…," Diana started.
"Diana, I'll be fine," Mercy told her. "You don't need to worry about me. I'll be okay. Now, how's Lois? I heard Mister Kent left for London."
"She could be better," Diana responded. "She's still upset, but she's trying to get over it."
"Any idea why he left?" Mercy asked.
"Nothing we can absolutely sure of," Diana told her. "We have theories, but nothing we're positive of."
"I'm sure Miss Persephone got her fair share of theories of why," Mercy said. "And has been lamenting and loudly at that."
"She's definitely been lamenting," Diana replied. "So when's the wedding?"
"It'll be in a few days," Mercy informed her.
"I'll be sure to be there," Diana told her.
"You're leaving? Already?" Clark asked Bruce once he saw him packing all his possessions that he didn't take to Netherfield.
"Dick and Jason are planning to arrive at Uncle Ra's tomorrow," Bruce told him. "I'm packing my stuff now so I can leave first thing tomorrow and be there around the time they arrive."
"Okay," Clark responded. "Be sure to tell them I said hi."
"Will do," Bruce said.
"Dinner will be in fifteen minutes," Clark told him.
"Okay, thanks," Bruce replied. Clark left Bruce in his room. Bruce continued to pack and while packing he found the letter from Lois Princeton to Clark which he hadn't thrown away yet.
'Why have I kept this?' Bruce thought. 'It's not like I don't know what she's written.'
Luthor left the next day to get ready for his wedding to Mercy Graves. For the Princetons though life carried on with mixed feelings. Lois was still recovering from Mister Kent's departure while Harley and Cassie were excited about the party next week. Diana was upset at thought of Mercy leaving while Shayera was furious that Mercy was going through with the wedding even when Shayera told her their speculation of what caused Mister Kent to leave. Bruce still kept the letter Lois wrote to Clark for some unknown reason and was currently on his way to see his uncle's. Well, anyway, Diana attended Mercy's wedding and Mercy soon after to move in with her new husband.
A week after the wedding, Diana went to visit the Luthors. She got out of the carriage and saw Mercy waiting to greet her.
"Mercy," Diana said.
"Hello Diana," Mercy responded. They gave a hug in greeting.
"This is a relatively nice place," Diana told Mercy.
"Yes, it is," Mercy responded. The Luthors' house was a small cottage-like place with a messy, uncut front yard and a white fence on either side of it. "I promise you the back is better than the front. Come on, I'll show you." Mercy led her towards the fence and opened the back gate. Diana walked inside and saw…
"Wow," Diana said in awe. The backyard was DEFINITELY an improvement. The garden was well-groomed and taken care of, not a single thing was out of place. There was an array of roses, violets, and many more.
"I know, you wouldn't think he would have such a lovely garden seeing how his front yard is such a mess," Mercy told her. "But Lex heavily values his garden especially since his great and glorious neighbor, Ra's Al Ghul, enjoys it so much."
"Lex?" Diana questioned.
"Apparently that what his friends call him," Mercy answered.
"It's a wonder he has any," Diana muttered.
"What?" Mercy asked.
"Nothing," Diana responded. "I just didn't expect that."
"Neither did I," Mercy admitted.
"Well, I'm glad to hear he treats you right," Diana said.
"He does, though mostly we just go about our regular activities and hardly see each other between meals," Mercy told her. "So I don't get in his way, and he doesn't get in mine."
"So you're happy here?" Diana asked. Mercy nodded.
"Very much," Mercy replied. "I get all the luxuries of home, still have my own space, AND I don't have to listen to my mother complain or ask about men I'm seeing. A winning arrangement for all parties involved."
"I don't see how this benefits Luthor though," Diana admitted.
"He gets a wife, that's benefit enough," Mercy said. "OH, that reminds me, we're having lunch with Lord Ra's Al Ghul tomorrow. Would you care to join us?"
"Well, I'd be honored," Diana responded.
