Chapter 367: Proud
Her own veins still pulsated with life beneath her fair skin which retained the deeper shade of red since their morning bath.
Every time a potential distraction entered her line of sight, it was quickly dusted away by the recurring images of their bodies together... Of his hands, lips and tongue on her. The sound of his voice murmuring sweet nothings so close to her ears.
Nothing was strong enough to keep those scandalous thoughts at bay. Not even the chirpy girls around her managed to keep her attention for longer than seconds at a time.
"Arabella?" Ada called her name for the umpteenth time.
"Yes!" she leaped a little in her seat, "I am all ears!"
"No, girl, you aren’t," Madame Arumina slowly shook her head from left to right, "But, lucky for you, we, here, more than understand your little... Predicament,"
Out on one of the balconies that gave view upon the gardens, the women sat in front of a garnished table for lunch as it had been planned.
Arabella honored their invitation through body alone. Her mind refused to be kept bound in one place and that despite the beautiful scenery before her eyes.
"Understand what?" she practically squeaked the question, steam threatening to whistle out of her earholes.
"Worry not," Estrid sat straight, "We will not ask any invasive and or intimate questions as that would be grossly inappropriate,"
"Well, that is a relief!" it was Abigail that let out an awkward chuckle as Arabella seemed too taken aback by Estrid’s straight forwardness.
"Indeed, it is," the young woman seconded that thought when her voice returned.
"It’s a bummer you cannot enjoy a honeymoon right from today," Ada plopped her cheek into her own palm as her elbow rested upon the table, "You two could definitely use the time to rest,"
"Don’t fret, Ada. We will be taking one right after the tribute auction," Arabella hoped the smile her features offered was calming and reassuring enough.
"That is good!" Abigail’s tone came frail and a tad high pitched again. It was as though the girl played referee whenever something slightly uncomfortable came up.
"Speaking of the auctions," Arumina shaved the idle chat and cut to the chase, "I hear you will be more involved in the preparations from now on," the older woman half asked.
"Oh... I still need to discuss the details with Lady Persephone, but the overall answer is yes. I should get more involved this time around,"
"That is wonderful to hear!" Ada lit up, "We have already started the gathering rehearsal plans. Katherine and I are on top of it, so you do not need to worry about that,"
"Thank you. I fully trust the two of you," her smile faltered momentarily when the image of Allegra flashed behind her eyes, but she quickly chased it off, "I will still have to apologize to Cassandra and Seraphim since I haven’t spoken to the Lady about them yet. I had no time to do so, but I promise you, it will be done,"
"Don’t fret for that, please," Ada took her hand and gave it gentle squeezes, "Their time will come when it does,"
"On the bright side, the fairies have agreed to help redecorate the ballroom which is a blessing," Arumina settled her teacup back on its saucer.
"Yes. It’ll take us a lot less time than usual with the help of magic," Estrid’s stance remained rigid the whole time, "Besides, we hit two birds with one stone when preparing for the wedding. Almost everything is ready,"
"Yes, the only thing that’s left is the blood for the...,"
Their voices still rang but traveled to the backdrop as the sweet breeze carried Arabella’s mind with it.
Down in the gardens, a masculine silhouette worked in the distance. Among the greenery, Edgar stood out as the most peaceful piece of that scene.
After a few minutes of quietly admiring him, Arabella excused herself from the table as lunch was already over anyway.
Her feet led her down in levels and out of the manor...
The gardener trimmed the remaining sharp edges that stuck out of the rose hedges since they had no time to fully tend to them when preparing for the wedding.
"Now, isn’t that a miracle to behold?" his face brightened upon landing on her figure.
"What is?" she looked back at him curiously.
"Your husband somehow agreed to let go of you and so soon at that!" he chuckled.
On her end, it was a giggle that left her mouth, "Yes, well, we both struggled to go our separate ways this morning," she nodded, "The girls invited me for lunch,"
Edgar’s features twisted in an instant upon hearing those words. The man looked as though he’d seen the most painful thing ever.
After drawing a sharp breath through his teeth, he offered her a sympathetic grimace, "You poor thing! They must have put you through the wringer," his head shook, "I know how those girls can be ruthless with their...," he cleared his throat, "Questions," Edgar coughed.
"Lucky for me, Estrid stood guard, ensuring they didn’t ask any... Improper questions," she grinned.
"Ah, yes! Dear Estrid can be so reliable... A true lifeline in these circumstances,"
The two of them beamed along with nature who offered the great range of colors as well as shades that breathed life into their eyes.
Although Edgar’s light dimmed a bit before he spoke again, "I am not sure if I am still in my lane when saying this but... Yesterday, I felt so proud of you," his voice took a more serious tone.
"Proud?"
"The way you kept on walking past him when he stood up and also the way you didn’t crumble when he uttered those words,"
It didn’t take her longer than seconds to grasp the meaning of his words, "My father has always been quite the piece of work," she gave him a small smile along with a shrug.
"You know, I am sure I am the last person you need to hear this from, and I even think I’ve said this before but... You did the right thing by coming here," he stopped all of his doings to look her straight in the eyes, "If you’ve had any doubts up until now, keep them at bay. From the small bit I’ve gotten to witness of it, your old life was worth leaving behind,"