Casanova: Marriage of convenience, or is it?
The morning of their wedding day had arrived. They had been engaged for just under a month. The wedding ceremony was due to go a head at eleven thirty that morning.
Giacomo and Rocco were in Giacomo's personal rooms; rooms that Astra would be sleeping in that up and coming night.
Rocco was helping Giacomo into his coat made of the finest Chinese silk. His waist coat was made of the same material.
He was dressed in jet black trousers with his knee cap black leather boots. He wore a white shirt under his waist coat that was royal blue with silver embroidery.
His coat was the same colour with the same silver embroidery on the lapels and the cuffs. He wore a tunic that matched the coat and waist coat.
His hair had been tied back with a royal blue cord. He looked handsome. Rocco thought it were a pity it was not the woman he loved that he was making all this effort for.
Giacomo looked like he was lost off in his own world. Rocco could see how distracted his friend and employer was. Rocco was dressed not as extravagantly as Giacomo, but his clothes were still more stylish and expensive then he was accustomed to.
He was going to be Giacomo's best man. The senior Grimani thought it best if his son were to take that role. He practically insisted upon it.
But Giacomo had put his foot down and said in none uncertain terms that he would rather slit his own throat first, before he had the junior Grimani as his best man.
Astra had been stunned by this. She was beginning to understand the strong hatred of her brother; that Giacomo felt. She couldn't say she really blamed him. Her brother after all was married to the woman Giacomo loved.
Mean while Astra was being helped into her wedding gown, one of her four maids had just finished lacing up her corset.
Her hair had been placed in her usual barrel curls and pinned behind her head instead of on top of it. The curls were being held up by pins with rhinestones on them. They gleamed brightly.
She was wearing diamond stud earrings and a matching choker that had been her mothers, and had been left to her when she had died.
Her make up had been done perfectly. She normally did not where a lot of make up. But today she had made an exception seeing as it was her wedding day.
Her face and her neck had been dusted in a crème coloured powder. Her high cheek bones were dusted in a pale pink blush. Her upper eyes had been dusted with a very light creamy brown colour, while her lower lids had been dusted with a slightly darker bronzed brown colour.
Her lower lids had been out lined in black kohl. Then her lashes were curled with black mascara, making them look longer and fuller. And finally to make her eyes look even wider and more pronounced a thin line of dark brown pencil was placed under her eyes.
Her mouth was out lined in a light rose coloured pencil then a slightly darker rose coloured lip colour was applied all over the full and pouty lips.
The maid was just finishing fastening the sixth and final pearl button at back of the gown. The gown was made of pure white silk. It flowed down to the floor and flared out.
The long and flowing skirt had a layer of material on top of the pure white silk underneath. The material was pure white with silver embroidery similar to what was on Giacomo's waist coat, tunic and coat.
The bodice was tight and low cut; it revealed the top half of her breasts. The material rested just a few inches below her shoulder blades, and clung to her hour glass figure.
The sleeves were tight and flared out slightly just below her elbows. The cuffs had the same silver embroidery the skirt had.
She then stepped into a pair of white heel shoes. She knew they were going to be killing her feet by the time she had shared the first dance with Giacomo as husband and wife.
Then another maid attached the long and flowing vale; that flowed out behind her, and ended in a flowing see through material just below her knees. Then finally she was handed a bouquet of pink roses.
Finally she was ready, ready to pledge her self to a man who did not love her and would never love her. She was going to be stuck in a loveless marriage.
The thought made her eyes begin to fill with tears. She quickly wiped them away carefully, so as to not end up looking like a racoon.
The maid noticed she had tears in her eyes, before she managed to wipe them away. Henriette as her maid of honour, Astra had no one else she could ask to take on that role that her father would have approved of.
Henriette saw the tear filled brown eyes and knew they were not tears of happiness. Henriette suddenly felt ill with guilt and grief. Hers and Giacomo's love for each other was destroying the innocent and kind woman in front of her, whilst her husband was choosing to ignore it or in less go stark raving mad with jealousy.
Astra nodded to Henriette who returned it. Astra said "ok, lets going and get me married, married into a loveless marriage. I wonder if I will learn to harden my heart, in years to come."
The question was not asked in spite, but in pure curiosity. Henriette had to turn the other way as tears sprang to her eyes, she wanted to curl up and die.
Astra sighed "I'm sorry, I never meant anything by it, I was just genuinely curious. How do you do it? I know you don't love my brother as he loves you."
Henriette covered her mouth with her hand and let out a pain filled sob. Astra had to stifle her own sob, as she gently reached out and wiped away the tears that had escaped Henriette's eyes.
Henriette was stunned. This woman was suffering and she was comforting her, the one who had the love of the man; the love that should have rightfully been hers as his wife.
Both women composed themselves and had one of the maids take care of their red and swollen eyes, so it was difficult to tell they had been crying at all.