A/N: Rosette's chapter - The Party Scene.
The sound of a bell chiming sent an alarming sound through the house. There were shrill squeaks in the hallway outside of the room Alice and I were in. Murmuring and giggles sounded through out the house as a hoard of women ran down the stairs and to the foyer.
I looked to Alice, who was smoothing out her flawless hair and fixing the light rouge on her cheeks. She looked up and smiled at my dumbfounded expression.
"This is an exciting event for the maids and servants, too." I nodded my head and kept my eyes on the floor in front of me while I practiced my balance.
"Head up, eyes straight." Alice said, not even having to look at me to know that I was doing terribly.
I resisted the urge to put one foot directly in front of the other. I doubted that heel to toe would constitute as graceful. The book wobbled on my head and I sighed before removing it. My back was aching from carrying flowers before, but with the added corset it was painful.
There was a knock, and Alice grinned, hopping up to the large white door. Her tiny fingers wrapped around the silver knob and pulled it open. Behind the door was a blonde man, taller and leaner than any I had seen before. He towered over Alice and had a smile on his lips.
The exposed skin of his hands had small nicks and scars running along the surface, and a few scars above his eye. He ducked his head and held out his hand to Alice. She beamed at him, the whole room lighting up with a newfound happiness. I found myself smiling along with them.
"Jasper!" She giggled. "Oh, I want you to meet someone." Alice turned her slight frame towards me and moved her arm in a sweeping motion to introduce me.
Jasper's eyes furrowed a little, a small dent formed above his right eye, which was a piecing sapphire. His whole face lit up when he saw me, and he grinned.
"The girl Edward bought." It wasn't a question. He turned back to Alice. She rolled her eyes and moved to my side.
"Yes and she has a name - Bella. She's Edward's personal maid now."
"Ah, lucky you." Jasper said to me solemnly. Just another thing to add up against him, I thought to myself. Not even his friends or his family like him.
I nodded my head a little sadly. In truth, I knew I had been blessed… I was only a servant now, no longer working in the hot barren fields. I was going to be able to bathe, eat, and perhaps even socialize.
"Maids were summoned a few minutes ago," Jasper said, in reference to me. Rosalie's greeting guests and she needs them." At the mention of Rosalie my back became straighter; the reminiscent throb in my vertebra cracked a bit.
"She's not Rosalie's to command. You saw Edward's show earlier." Alice grimaced, but wiped her face clean. "Where is that man anyway? He should have been here by now."
"Why would he be here?" I blurted. I was hoping to avoid him for some time before I was to be hanging on his arm all night. I couldn't see myself laughing at some poorly told joke and feigning interest in boring conversation.
She shook her head and looked at me incredulously. "To come and escort you, of course! You honestly don't think we prepared you for nothing, do you?"
"Well, no, but—"
"Speak of the Devil and he shall appear." Jasper mumbled cutting me off.
Edward rounded the corner in the same attire as Jasper. The dark jacket and slacks hugged around his slender waist and broad chest. My cheeks flushed and I tried to see him as an evil man, not an unbearably attractive snob.
His eyes met mine, and then raked downward. They went a darker shade of emerald and his tongue peeked out over his full bottom lip before slowly making its way up to the top. I coughed loudly and he brought his eyes up, his face going back to a hard mask.
"That dress suits you very well." He murmured.
I looked only at his face, not willing to let my eyes wander, and my cheeks became hotter. Jasper clapped his hand on Edward's shoulder before smiling at him. They didn't seem as though hated each other. If anything they seemed almost brotherly.
"Where have you been?" Alice demanded.
"Getting ready. Apparently Rosalie's dress apparel wasn't working out so she changed mine to match Jasper's."
"Picky, picky," Alice sighed under her breath. She turned to look at me and then pointed at Edward. "Take your date, we need to be downstairs."
I mentally cringed, trying to hold my posture. My shoulders went tense and I gritted my teeth as he came near. He held out his arm, his eyes ahead and an indignant look on his face. I lightly draped my hand across his arm and stood a few inches away from him.
Just being near him made me sick; my stomach tightened and I felt lightheaded. Alice and Jasper began to walk ahead of us, graceful and perfectly in step with each other.
Edward's walk was fast and aggressive and had me stumbling to keep up with him. He slowed on the stairs, but only because there were people watching our descent. Of course, he wouldn't want people to laugh at his ungraceful date. I could see myself tripping over the hem of my dress and falling flat on my face. I had to shake away the thought before it actually happened.
An elderly woman was the first to approach us. The thick lines of her cheeks matched the ones of her husband beside her. She smiled, showing all of her decayed and missing teeth.
"Edward! Goodness, it's been so long. I haven't seen you since you were just a little lad." Her voice had a heavy English accent, her feathered hat drooping in front of her eyes.
Her husband stepped forward and shook hands with Edward. "It's been too long, my boy. I'm sorry about Carlisle and Esme; too good of souls to be sent off so soon."
Edward stiffened beside me before smiling falsely at the man before him. "Yes, it was a shame." His voice held a note of finality, thick with an unsaid order.
The woman turned to me next. "Oh! What a lovely young lass you have here, Edward! Look at her frock, such a beautiful piece." She grinned at me, her wrinkled cheeks lifting up into her squinting eyes. "Tell me, dear, what is your name?"
I cleared my throat a bit. "Isabella Swan," I wasn't sure if she heard me, but after a few seconds she boomed an 'oh!' and then walked away.
I stared after her dumbly before Edward pulled me along. "She's quick to move from person to person." He murmured.
That did not assure me of anything. A quiver in my stomach made me feel a little less than up to par. I stared ahead the entire time, trying to look like I belonged in this elevated crowd. The only place I felt I belonged was dressed in black and white with a tray in my hand… if that.
Light music began from the small orchestra in the corner and as it filled the room, more people started to dance. The songs went from buoyant to slow and some that people even sang along to.
I felt out of place as the room began to quietly murmur the lyrics and I moved my lips a little to seem as if I had the slightest idea what I was doing. Edward remained still beside me. He was quiet, smiling and greeting people as they came. He walked around in a bored state; I wasn't sure if he realized I was still loosely hanging on his arm.
That thought stuck with me. A few times I would slide my hand a bit from his arm to see if he would notice. I had hoped to escape from him for a few minutes, but every time I moved an inch from his side, his green eyes would peer at me from the corner of his long, dark lashes, daring me to move again.
I stayed by his side, taking the drinks he offered me with thanks. I had to have had at least three flutes of champagne, and he four by the time the room filled with couples spinning around the floor.
Edward grabbed my wrist and spun me out onto the floor. The bubbles from the champagne burned in my stomach and throat. He took the glass from my hand and set it on a tray in passing.
"Dance with me." He ordered, not waiting for my response. His left hand gripped my right and his right hand on my lower back. I put my left hand on his shoulder and moved to the floor.
I almost closed my eyes as we began to move around. People moved in close proximity to us, spinning gracefully as the different changes in tune and pitch directed the waves of movement.
"When you hear the harpsichord play after the piano, switch you hands." He spoke with a monotone voice and kept his eyes on mine. People stared at us, trying to get his attention, but he kept his focus on me.
The light tune of the harpsichord carried out around the floor and I switched my hands to the opposite position. My left hand fit into Edward's and my right sat on his shoulder.
My left foot caught on the hem of my gown and I rocked backwards slightly, hitting a man with my elbow. He glared at me before looking past me and then quickly away.
"You're not very graceful." Edward muttered.
"No, I'm not. Sorry." I didn't meet his gaze, not willing to look at him while he made snide comments.
"Don't look down. Head up shoulders straight, and look like you're remotely interested in conversation." I pulled my head, straightened out my posture and smiled falsely.
"Better?" I asked. I could hear the edge in my voice, and he snorted.
"No, but it'll do as long as you don't open that pretty little mouth for the rest of the night." He spun me in the opposite direction of the crowd and toward the little table towards the side.
He grabbed a flute of champagne and swallowed it all in one gulp before handing one to me. I sipped slowly on the drink this time. If there was going to be more dancing I'd need a mostly clear stomach.
"May I have your attention, please?!" I turned around quickly to the source of command.
Rosalie was standing on a platform between the interconnecting staircases. The large, burly man was beside her, and she wrapped herself possessively around him. Rosalie commanded all of the attention in the room as soon as she spoke. The only thing that could be heard was the tinkling of glasses.
"I'd like to thank you all for coming to our home today." Edward cringed beside me and took another gulp of his drink. "This all means so much to Emmett and myself. I hope everyone enjoys their time tonight. I want our engagement party to be long and full of heart, just like our marriage will be." She picked up her glass on the railing and held it in the air. "To a long lasting marriage!"
"To a poor man." Edward muttered taking down the rest of his drink.
"Here, here," I agreed, taking a sip.
The music picked up again, and the whole room was still while Rosalie took the floor with Emmett. Her red dress flowed in all the right ways around her feet with each twirl and spin. After a few minutes of their flawless dancing, the room started to move again.
"Edward!" The same old woman whom we met at the stairs was wandering over. Her husband seemed happily oblivious to the party around him. "It's been too long!"
He sighed before hesitantly accepting the old woman's embrace. "Maybe not as long as you think, Mrs. Eunice."
"Why, Edward. When are you going to be the one we're all celebrating for?"
"I'd hardly call this a celebration." He muttered.
"What was that, lad?"
"I said, 'It's a hearty celebration'." He smiled, putting on a show for the elderly woman as she grinned.
"Well, you have such a pretty lass on your arm. Surely she would be a model candidate, wouldn't you agree?"
I swallowed back the hysterics in my throat and coughed loudly, covering my mouth with my hand. Mrs. Eunice looked at me for a second, and smiled again.
"What's your name, dear?"
"Isabella Swan," I said for the hundredth time that night. Every person who came along wanted to know the girl on Edward's arm.
"Even a pretty name! She'll make a precious wife one day." Mrs. Eunice smiled before she looked over to another poor soul. She waddled her way over to them.
Edward shook his head before dragging me along with him. I grabbed another champagne flute and swallowed it, Edward following after my example. The room was loud and boisterous with music and chattering.
The clock on the wall read ten in the evening. I sighed and rubbed my hand over my soar eyes. How much longer would I have to endure this? I was jerked forward and looked up at Edward to see him staring out with narrowed eyes.
"What is it?" I asked, letting the irritation in my voice show.
"Edward Cullen!" A tall, dark man came nearly sprinting to a stop front of Edward. He stopped about a foot away and grinned a wide smile. "How long has it been?"
"Not nearly long enough, Jacob." Edward showed no emotion in his face, but his green eyes were darker, and his jaw was set. I'd seen the men in the field use the same expression time and time again.
"Oh, come now," Jacob nudged Edward's shoulder and I half expected a hiss to come from his lips. I tried to hide my amusement by covering my mouth with my hand. Jacob looked at me, and he raised his eyebrows.
"Was there something you wanted, Jacob?" Edward asked exasperated.
"It's a party, aren't the hosts supposed to greet their guests?" He turned to me then, extending his hand. "Hello, I'm Jacob Black. You may know my family name from the acres of land about a mile west of here."
"She doesn't know. She's just arrived here, Jacob. Now, if you're quite finished…"
"Well, I'm not. What might be your name, my lady?"
"Isabella Swan." I answered as I took his outstretched hand. He grabbed it and pressed it to his lips. I couldn't help the grimace that came onto my face. Edward's shoulders shook beside me with suppressed laughter. I wanted to smack him.
I retracted my hand quickly from his grip and folded it behind my waist, smiling apologetically but not making eye contact. Truth be told, I wanted nothing to do with anyone attending this party.
Edward grabbed my elbow and pulled me away from Jacob, who waved after me. I pulled my elbow away from him and began to walk forward.
"You shouldn't make a scene like that." He hissed behind me.
"And you shouldn't pull me along like a dog," I shot back. His eyes went hard and he grabbed my arm, placing it over his.
"I have never struck a woman in all my life," he mumbled, walking toward Alice and Jasper, who were talking to each other casually. "But you are pulling out all kinds of urges."
A/N: Isn't Edward sexy when he's angry? We think so : )
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