XI
Yamato and Takeru instantly paled.
"This is faster than I had feared." Stated Taichi, taking control of the situation. "Looks like we would have to make it up as we go along. Parkins, please inform our guest that we would be with him shortly. In the mean time, offer him some refreshments. Hikari, how long does it take to explain your plan?"
"I was just going to suggest that only you and me go meet him. Everybody else stay here, make it seem like he had interrupted an informal gathering of friends, which he had. Yamato must stay quiet and hidden as much as possible. Go sit over there in the shadows. Takeru can stay out in the open. This would be a private celebration of your engagement. If worse comes to worse and he comes into this room and spots Yamato."
"We will have to make it up as we go along. Come, Hikari, we must not keep our guest waiting. Oh, and as warning, I would probably invite him in. It is his daughter's engagement after all."
With that, Taichi and Hikari walked out of the room, leaving the rest of the group of friends to sort out what to do.
"Miss Ishida," said Ken, "Much as I would like to totally agree with Hikari, I would have to say that you cannot seem like you are hiding. It would only make your father more suspicious."
"But then, what should I do?"
"I say we have always planned this party to include you and we were not aware of the fact that you had run away from home. We assumed that you had heard about your sister's engagement from Daisuke coming to your home and had come to celebrate. Daisuke really did not know where you were until he came here and saw you here. Of course he was going to inform his lordship of your whereabouts in the morning. He did not see the harm in leaving it till morning."
"You know, Ken. I would say you were a perfect match for Hikari." Said Daisuke. "You can both come up with spontaneous plans, but what about what Taichi and Hikari are saying now?"
"Why don't we, or just me, go to the palour and confess all." Said Yamato, dejectedly. "It will save everyone a lot of trouble."
Everyone turned to Yamato, surprised.
"But, Miss Ishida, you wanted to make sure your father cannot find you!" exclaimed Koushirou.
"Yes, but this is causing everyone too much trouble. You have all already given me happiness in this brief time I have know you and my sister is now happily engaged. I really could not expect anymore. I have to go back sometime. I might as well do so now. Who knows? Father might decide that I am too rebellious and not marry me away after all."
"I must say I agree with the just walk in there idea." Said Sora. "The direct approach is always best, however, Yamato, I must say that you have to get rid of this attitude you have. We are not going to give up on you now. We will stand by you and see what happens."
"So it is decided? We shall storm the palour!" exclaimed Daisuke.
++++++++++
"Lord Ishida?" Taichi asked, holding out his hand to the older man on entering the palour.
"Yes. I presume you are Lord Kamiya and - ?"
"Hikari Yagami, my sister."
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Yagami."
"And you, Lord Ishida."
"I must congratulate you on your daughter's engagement." Said Taichi, intent on controlling the conversation. "In fact, we were having a gathering of friends to celebrate her upcoming nuptials."
"Yes, I heard that both my daughter and Lord Motomiya are here. I was incredibly surprised when Lord Motomiya came and visited me to ask for consent for their marriage. I had not expected Takeru to have anything to show for being out."
"Yes, well, Daisuke has been known to be very impulsive. We were quite surprised too when we learned that he had proposed. Would you like to join us in the drawing room?" Asked Taichi, deciding that letting him find out for himself would be the safest way to go. "I am sure everyone would love to meet the father of the lovely Miss Takeru."
"You called her Miss Takeru. Does that mean that you are aware that she has an older sister?"
Taichi winced slightly, realising his mistake. "Yes, she talks about her all the time. In fact-"
"I am here."
Everyone in the palour turned to see none other than Miss Yamato Ishida standing there in the doorway. Taichi and Hikari looked at each other, not expecting anything of the sort.
"Yamato."
"Father."
"Lord Kamiya, why have you not informed me that my eldest daughter was also here?"
"We-"
"We thought that you were already aware of the fact." Interrupted Ken, standing slightly behind Yamato in the doorway. "That is why you are here, is it not?"
"Indeed. Though now your cause of celebration would have to be canceled for I cannot allow my daughter to marry a chronic liar."
"He is not!" exclaimed Takeru, entering the room. "Daisuke is not a chronic liar. In fact, he is a very honourable man as he kept his promise to me."
"Either way, he withheld information from me, information which I specifically asked for and for that I feel I would have to withdrawn my consent."
"No! You can't do that to her!" exclaimed Yamato. "You can't! You have already ruined my chance for happiness, why do you have to ruin hers too?"
"But, Yamato, you ran away from my arrangement. Is that not enough to prove that you have no respect for me and what I think is suitable for my daughter?"
"You can't ruin Takeru's future just because you cannot control me."
"Alright, I will consent to their marriage." Said Lord Ishida.
Yamato's face lit up.
"However, you must come back with me and marry whomever I wish."
Yamato's smile faded, but she remained hopeful. "Fine."
"It is a deal. Come Yamato, we are leaving." Lord Ishida said, starting to walk away.
"NO!"
Lord Ishida paused and turned to Taichi.
"And why not? What say have you in my family?"
Taichi's eyes widened. He had shouted no impulsively. He knew he had to come up with something and that he had already paused enough as it was. He turned to looked at Yamato's surprised and shocked face, taking a deep breath, he spoke what came first in his mind.
"Because we are engaged to be married."
"Engaged?" inquired Lord Ishida, amused. "If you are engaged, then why does my daughter have such a surprised expression on her face?"
Come on, Taichi. He thought. You got yourself into this, get yourself out.
"Because it was supposed to be a secret. I was not supposed to tell anyone yet. See how all my friends are also surprised. We were going to wait for the right time to tell everyone, but I could not let her walk away from me with you, so I had to stop you."
"And are you aware that my daughter is already betrothed to someone?"
"I am fully aware of that, but I am also aware of the fact that not only does Yamato not like him, but that I have a higher rank than he does."
"How can you be so sure?"
"He is merely a marquis. I am a duke."
"True, true. Well, Yamato. Is this true?"
Yamato glanced at Taichi once and replied "Yes, father. It is. I thought you would not mind as this would give you a better connection."
"Very well. Lord Kamiya, I consent to this and my other daughter's marriage. I will sort out the details of Yamato's other betrothal. In the meantime, I expect you to come arrange the details tomorrow." And with that, Lord Ishida, turned and exited the room.
"Taichi, what were you thinking?" was the first thing out of Hikari's mouth as soon as Lord Ishida left.
"I don't know!" wailed Taichi. "I had to make sure that Yamato stayed. It was the first thing that came to my head."
"Yes, but now you have to marry her. You don't even know how she feels!"
Taichi turned to Yamato. "Miss Ishida, I know that it was impulsive and totally out of line of me to do that. However, now that I have done this, I must follow through with my promise. If you do not wish to marry me at all, you may tell me and I will sort it out tomorrow."
Yamato looked at Taichi. "I do not mind being engaged to you at all. However, you must have many better choices than me to be engaged to."
"No, Miss Ishida, I do not." Taichi denied. And ignoring the fact that he was still in a room full of people, he knelt down in front of her. "I do not because I am in love with you."
Yamato was surprised and stammered "You . You . cannot be! You are just saying that. Like you just said that you were engaged to me!"
Taichi bowed his head. "Miss Ishida, that might have been the most impulsive thing I have said in my entire life, but it was also the most sincere and heartfelt thing I have said." And looking up, continued. "Miss Ishida, I would be honoured if you would marry me for I am very much in love with you."
Yamato smiled happily, with tears in her eyes. "Yes, I would marry you. I think I am also in love with you, however you must promise me one thing."
Taichi stood up and declared. "Anything."
"Start calling me Yamato again."
"Most certainly," and with that he pulled her close for a brief kiss.
"Well," stated Hikari, remembering an earlier conversation with her brother. "It seems like my romance novels were right after all."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Yamato and Takeru instantly paled.
"This is faster than I had feared." Stated Taichi, taking control of the situation. "Looks like we would have to make it up as we go along. Parkins, please inform our guest that we would be with him shortly. In the mean time, offer him some refreshments. Hikari, how long does it take to explain your plan?"
"I was just going to suggest that only you and me go meet him. Everybody else stay here, make it seem like he had interrupted an informal gathering of friends, which he had. Yamato must stay quiet and hidden as much as possible. Go sit over there in the shadows. Takeru can stay out in the open. This would be a private celebration of your engagement. If worse comes to worse and he comes into this room and spots Yamato."
"We will have to make it up as we go along. Come, Hikari, we must not keep our guest waiting. Oh, and as warning, I would probably invite him in. It is his daughter's engagement after all."
With that, Taichi and Hikari walked out of the room, leaving the rest of the group of friends to sort out what to do.
"Miss Ishida," said Ken, "Much as I would like to totally agree with Hikari, I would have to say that you cannot seem like you are hiding. It would only make your father more suspicious."
"But then, what should I do?"
"I say we have always planned this party to include you and we were not aware of the fact that you had run away from home. We assumed that you had heard about your sister's engagement from Daisuke coming to your home and had come to celebrate. Daisuke really did not know where you were until he came here and saw you here. Of course he was going to inform his lordship of your whereabouts in the morning. He did not see the harm in leaving it till morning."
"You know, Ken. I would say you were a perfect match for Hikari." Said Daisuke. "You can both come up with spontaneous plans, but what about what Taichi and Hikari are saying now?"
"Why don't we, or just me, go to the palour and confess all." Said Yamato, dejectedly. "It will save everyone a lot of trouble."
Everyone turned to Yamato, surprised.
"But, Miss Ishida, you wanted to make sure your father cannot find you!" exclaimed Koushirou.
"Yes, but this is causing everyone too much trouble. You have all already given me happiness in this brief time I have know you and my sister is now happily engaged. I really could not expect anymore. I have to go back sometime. I might as well do so now. Who knows? Father might decide that I am too rebellious and not marry me away after all."
"I must say I agree with the just walk in there idea." Said Sora. "The direct approach is always best, however, Yamato, I must say that you have to get rid of this attitude you have. We are not going to give up on you now. We will stand by you and see what happens."
"So it is decided? We shall storm the palour!" exclaimed Daisuke.
++++++++++
"Lord Ishida?" Taichi asked, holding out his hand to the older man on entering the palour.
"Yes. I presume you are Lord Kamiya and - ?"
"Hikari Yagami, my sister."
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Yagami."
"And you, Lord Ishida."
"I must congratulate you on your daughter's engagement." Said Taichi, intent on controlling the conversation. "In fact, we were having a gathering of friends to celebrate her upcoming nuptials."
"Yes, I heard that both my daughter and Lord Motomiya are here. I was incredibly surprised when Lord Motomiya came and visited me to ask for consent for their marriage. I had not expected Takeru to have anything to show for being out."
"Yes, well, Daisuke has been known to be very impulsive. We were quite surprised too when we learned that he had proposed. Would you like to join us in the drawing room?" Asked Taichi, deciding that letting him find out for himself would be the safest way to go. "I am sure everyone would love to meet the father of the lovely Miss Takeru."
"You called her Miss Takeru. Does that mean that you are aware that she has an older sister?"
Taichi winced slightly, realising his mistake. "Yes, she talks about her all the time. In fact-"
"I am here."
Everyone in the palour turned to see none other than Miss Yamato Ishida standing there in the doorway. Taichi and Hikari looked at each other, not expecting anything of the sort.
"Yamato."
"Father."
"Lord Kamiya, why have you not informed me that my eldest daughter was also here?"
"We-"
"We thought that you were already aware of the fact." Interrupted Ken, standing slightly behind Yamato in the doorway. "That is why you are here, is it not?"
"Indeed. Though now your cause of celebration would have to be canceled for I cannot allow my daughter to marry a chronic liar."
"He is not!" exclaimed Takeru, entering the room. "Daisuke is not a chronic liar. In fact, he is a very honourable man as he kept his promise to me."
"Either way, he withheld information from me, information which I specifically asked for and for that I feel I would have to withdrawn my consent."
"No! You can't do that to her!" exclaimed Yamato. "You can't! You have already ruined my chance for happiness, why do you have to ruin hers too?"
"But, Yamato, you ran away from my arrangement. Is that not enough to prove that you have no respect for me and what I think is suitable for my daughter?"
"You can't ruin Takeru's future just because you cannot control me."
"Alright, I will consent to their marriage." Said Lord Ishida.
Yamato's face lit up.
"However, you must come back with me and marry whomever I wish."
Yamato's smile faded, but she remained hopeful. "Fine."
"It is a deal. Come Yamato, we are leaving." Lord Ishida said, starting to walk away.
"NO!"
Lord Ishida paused and turned to Taichi.
"And why not? What say have you in my family?"
Taichi's eyes widened. He had shouted no impulsively. He knew he had to come up with something and that he had already paused enough as it was. He turned to looked at Yamato's surprised and shocked face, taking a deep breath, he spoke what came first in his mind.
"Because we are engaged to be married."
"Engaged?" inquired Lord Ishida, amused. "If you are engaged, then why does my daughter have such a surprised expression on her face?"
Come on, Taichi. He thought. You got yourself into this, get yourself out.
"Because it was supposed to be a secret. I was not supposed to tell anyone yet. See how all my friends are also surprised. We were going to wait for the right time to tell everyone, but I could not let her walk away from me with you, so I had to stop you."
"And are you aware that my daughter is already betrothed to someone?"
"I am fully aware of that, but I am also aware of the fact that not only does Yamato not like him, but that I have a higher rank than he does."
"How can you be so sure?"
"He is merely a marquis. I am a duke."
"True, true. Well, Yamato. Is this true?"
Yamato glanced at Taichi once and replied "Yes, father. It is. I thought you would not mind as this would give you a better connection."
"Very well. Lord Kamiya, I consent to this and my other daughter's marriage. I will sort out the details of Yamato's other betrothal. In the meantime, I expect you to come arrange the details tomorrow." And with that, Lord Ishida, turned and exited the room.
"Taichi, what were you thinking?" was the first thing out of Hikari's mouth as soon as Lord Ishida left.
"I don't know!" wailed Taichi. "I had to make sure that Yamato stayed. It was the first thing that came to my head."
"Yes, but now you have to marry her. You don't even know how she feels!"
Taichi turned to Yamato. "Miss Ishida, I know that it was impulsive and totally out of line of me to do that. However, now that I have done this, I must follow through with my promise. If you do not wish to marry me at all, you may tell me and I will sort it out tomorrow."
Yamato looked at Taichi. "I do not mind being engaged to you at all. However, you must have many better choices than me to be engaged to."
"No, Miss Ishida, I do not." Taichi denied. And ignoring the fact that he was still in a room full of people, he knelt down in front of her. "I do not because I am in love with you."
Yamato was surprised and stammered "You . You . cannot be! You are just saying that. Like you just said that you were engaged to me!"
Taichi bowed his head. "Miss Ishida, that might have been the most impulsive thing I have said in my entire life, but it was also the most sincere and heartfelt thing I have said." And looking up, continued. "Miss Ishida, I would be honoured if you would marry me for I am very much in love with you."
Yamato smiled happily, with tears in her eyes. "Yes, I would marry you. I think I am also in love with you, however you must promise me one thing."
Taichi stood up and declared. "Anything."
"Start calling me Yamato again."
"Most certainly," and with that he pulled her close for a brief kiss.
"Well," stated Hikari, remembering an earlier conversation with her brother. "It seems like my romance novels were right after all."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++