"Mrs. Forger! Is that you?" I cringed so incredibly hard, refusing to glance over my shoulder and instead wincing my eyes. Loid peered behind us puzzled; we were mere feet away from our building's front door too. "I knew that was you right away, Mrs. Forger! Melinda! Come over here! Look! Here's the girl I was telling you about- er, young lady," one of the mean ladies corrected herself hostility. Finally, FINALLY, I forced myself to turn around to face that awful woman from back at the castle's tea party. I didn't know her name, but she was one of the ladies who was super rude to me. Another woman was with her; this one I didn't recognize and had a small boy's hand in hers. The woman and her son- I presume it was her son- crossed the road so to join the first lady accosting us. Loid blinked but didn't say anything; he was calm and collected as ever. I, on the other hand….
The woman who called out to us beamed at her chilly-looking friend. "Isn't she charming? I said she was just a little bird, a small branch of lily- dear thing. And this must be your husband! Good evening, Mr. Forger, I'm Mrs. Bates; Friedrich Bates's wife," Mrs. Bates held out her hand to shake my husband's. He returned the gesture cordially. "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Bates," he's not interested in her, I could read in his vacant expression. Or at least it was vacant until the other lady was introduced to us. "And this is my dear friend, Mrs. Desmond and her dear son, Damian." "Pleasure," Mrs. Desmond said quickly and coldly. "And mine," I bowed a little respectfully, expecting Loid to do the same. It surprised me a bit when he didn't, instead gawking at the woman like he'd been hit by a run-away train. He was squeezing my hand so tight now that it was beginning to ache. I'd never seen him so momentarily flustered before- well, over a stranger anyway. Why is he so tongue-tied now? And why is he grasping my hand so hard? Like he isn't even realizing…..
We all blinked to Loid unsure what to make of his reaction. He lips parted ever so slightly, but nothing came out. Mrs. Bates's head cocked to the side while Mrs. Desmond wore an unimpressed expression. Before I could ask him what's wrong, little Damian tugged on his mother's shirt impatiently. "Come on, Mother! We've spoken to enough people today. I wanna go home." Our eyes collectively shifted down to him; at least the ladies did. I looked at him and smiled. Heh, he's so cute; he kind of reminds me of Yuri when he was a child. So gentle and innocent….. If only Yuri could have stayed that way. Tugging my hand out from Loid's, I placed them both on my knees as I kneeled in front of him, smiling kindly.
"Hello there. You're a sweet little boy. How old are you, Damian?" Damian turned to me like I was the first person to speak to him all afternoon; judging by how his mother looked just then, I'd say that's likely the case too. His face grew all shy after a minute as his foot twittled on the ground and his hands bashfully behind his back. "Six…." He answered in a small, timid voice. I giggled, shutting my eyes for a second. "Well, you're a big boy. Did you have fun today with your mom?" He nodded, trying his very best to stifle a pleased grin; it made me wonder if he was used to be ignored and had come to expect it. Now he kept his eyes fixed on his shoes while his mother was eying him intently. I felt her gaze shift over to me as I stood back up straight. Our eyes met as I looked at her and grinned. "He's adorable, and so well-mannered! You must be so proud."
Mrs. Desmond's mouth opened, taking her time to respond to me. "Yes….. Yes, we are; me and my husband. I'm sorry, Mrs. Forger; I'm late to make your acquittance it seems. I was unable to attend the tea at the castle, you see." "Oh, that's fine! I'm sure you have a very busy schedule. It just a shame we were deprived of your company," my hand flew up in front of me. Mrs. Desmond grinned mildly, almost with an approving air, since we met, lowering her head a little. "Quite….." Was all she said in a satisfied tone. Mrs. Bates also blinked to me startled. "Well! I didn't know you had such fine manners, young lady. You certainly haven't let your "unfortunate" origins soil that decent personality of yours." "Uh, y-yes, thank you, ma'am," another backhanded compliment. Well what did I expect from her? She's made plenty of them before. Mrs. Desmond, however…..
Mrs. Desmond watched me another minute, as if the wheels in her head were turning. Damian's eyes meanwhile were drifting curiously from his mother to me and back again. No one said anything more right away; I think we were waiting for Mrs. Desmond to break the silence as she was clearly contemplating something. Eventually she did with a more assertive tone this time. "We'll be attend tea Thursday afternoon at the Conservatory. Won't you join us, Mrs. Forger?" "M-Me?" I blushed a tad at this invitation, though I'm not sure why. I'm also not sure why Loid suddenly beamed like he'd won the lottery. He reached out to take my hand again, clenching it tighter than ever. While I winced, he shot me a domineering look.
"Of course she will. She'd love to go, wouldn't you dear?" "I uh… uh….." And his eyes said, nay commanded me right then to agree. What's the big deal? Why is he so adamant that I go to this tea party? Does he want me to spend more time with Mrs. Bates or Mrs. Desmond for some reason? Oh, I get it! A lightbulb suddenly went off in my head. These are party officials' wives and getting to know them better will probably give us a better chance at getting into the Garden of Eden club. Don't worry, Loid; I've got you. With an invisible understanding nod, I grinned back at the two ladies. "Yes, I would. Thank you for inviting me; that's very kind."
Mrs. Bates nodded in total agreement at this remark. "It is very kind, and highly unlike you, Melinda. You're usually more cautious around strangers." Mrs. Desmond gave her a deadpan expression. "Donovan may be a recluse, Hetty, but I assure you, we do not share that distasteful trait. Mrs. Forger seems like a polite young lady and I think she'd be an ornament our society," then Mrs. Desmond spun her head back around my way. She wasn't a particularly friendly-looking woman but did have this genuineness about her that the other ladies didn't. That and I really liked her son, so I guess I was projecting that onto his mother as well. Mrs. Desmond's lips and posture stiffened.
"Well, young lady, we'll see you on Thursday then." "Yes! See you on Thursday. I'll bring some cookies for Damian," I grinned down at the now blushing boy. His mother peered back down at him before up at me again. "That's very thoughtful of you. Well-to-do ladies rarely ever pay attention to children; even our own," she tacked on, causing a hole in my stomach to open. So I knew it then….. That's why he looks so pleased whenever I speak to him. Mrs. Bates nodded yet again. "It must be that non-pretentious air about her; such a sweet lamb. You got lucky with this one, Mr. Forger," he tapped his shoulder with her closed fan. Loid was still too speechless to respond.
They then turned to leave, with Damian giving me a small wave with the hand his mother wasn't holding. I flashed him a warm smile and waved back. Then I said goodbye to the women. "See you soon, my dear!" Mrs. Bates called out. "Yes! See you on Thursday! Have a good night," I hollered back to them. Mrs. Desmond gave me a single nod. "Until Thursday," was all she stated. And with that, they were off. It was only then that Loid could finally breathe….. again, for some odd reason. Why did they make him so nervous? Especially that Mrs. Desmond lady? He clenched his chest as if reminding himself to breathe.
"Holy shit…. What just happened? I can't believe that just happened….." He uttered this more to himself than to me. His eyes were still as wide as dinner plates. I touched his arm confused and concerned, instantly grabbing his full attention once more. "Loid? You alright?" "What?! Oh….. Oh, yes! Yes, I'm fine; there's no need to worry. I'm…. fine," he hesitated here for a second, though I don't know why. His eyes shifted from me back onto them, or rather Mrs. Desmond. He studied her every move as if making a mental memory of her. I blinked at him again, totally lost by his erratic behaviour. My lips parted a sliver. "Loid, what…?"
"Mrs. Forger," he cut me off immediately, making my eyes grow a little. The look he gave me just then was crisp and calculating; the same kind of eyes he first looked at me with when he asked me to marry him. He was back to his scheming self, and I didn't know what to make of it. My hand rose up to my chest a tad. "Yes?" His sharp eyes grabbed mine and didn't let go. He was still clinging onto my hand too… "Befriend that woman," was the only instructions he gave to me. When he read in my face next that I wanted more context, that mysterious grin drew back onto his lips. He was grinning again, not smiling now….. I stammered a bit in my response. "U-Uh, ok. I-I will."
Only then did his warm smile return, like he let himself relax and calm down once more. His shoulders softened and his fingers became less stiff. He smiled at me, just when he'd been half-grinning a second ago. "Just be yourself. That'll do the trick." "Loid…." My eyes widened. His hand gave mine a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry; I have complete confidence in you." "Y-You really think so?" Tea didn't go so well with the ladies last time… But my husband nodded resolutely, without a hint of doubt. Then his gaze grabbed hold of mine again, refusing to let go as he sincerely beamed one final time over the matter at hand. "Yes, Mrs. Forger. You have a way with those women, and it doesn't take a genius to know why. They see it…. They all see it," and he paused here only for a second, letting his lips linger on his next few words.
"That kindness of yours is so irresistibly attractive."